Help on my new computer?

[Finner]

Hey guys,

Several months ago I had a thread going about what computer I should get and was told multiple times I should build my own.

Not feeling totally confident about my computer building skills, I chose parts out on NCIX and had them assemble it for me. I wanted something I could upgrade whenever I needed but was powerful enough right now to suit me. This computer will be primarily used for games and websurfing.

Antec Nine Hundred Mid Tower Gamer Case 900 ATX 9 Drive Bay No PS Top USB2.0 1394 Audio 1 $89.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN SATA Hard Drive OEM 5YR Mfg Warranty 1 $68.88

Powercolor Radeon HD 4850 625MHZ 512MB 1.98 GHz GDDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Video Card 1 $119.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail 1 $188.99

Antec Earthwatts 750W Power Supply ATX12V V2.2 EPS12V Active PFC 80PLUS 120MM Fan 1 $99.99

ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 CrossFire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard 1 $132.98

2 x Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X4096-6400C5 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN Memory Kit 2 $55.99 $111.98 (8 GB ram total)

Samsung SH-S222A/BEBS 22X DVD+-RW IDE DVD Writer Black OEM 1 $31.99

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM 1 $136.37

PC Assembly and Testing with 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG OS If Purchased) 1 $50.00
Shipping & Handling:$8.00
Shipping Insurance:$15.62
Environmental Fee:$10.00
SUBTOTAL:$1,064.78
No PST - Outside BC residents$0.00
GST(5%)$53.24
TOTAL:$1,118.02

ALL PRICES IN CANADIAN DOLLARS

Critique away!! Let me know if I got a good deal, will it be easily upgradable and are there any glaring weaknesses with the parts i chose?

Thanks for all your help.

[bomber317]

A couple of things, you live in Edmonton right?

If so, there's a memory express up there and they will price match NCIX's prices. I think they will build it as well, but i'm not sure what the pricing is on that. That way you save on shipping. You should check it out.

They will also price match ANY store in Canada. So, use Shotbot.ca, put in your parts and look for the cheapest price BEFORE rebates. (they won't match rebates)

I would spend another $30 on the CPU to get the Q8400 (quad core)

I would also look for good deals on ATI 4770 (it's almost the same as the 4850, slower in some cases, faster in others)

If you want to do more research, bit-tech released their monthly buyer's guide. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buy...should-i-buy/1

Oh... if you know anything about installing OSs, I wouldn't buy the Vista software. Instead download the Windows 7 RC from microsoft for free and when Windows 7 is released, buy that.

I'm probably biased, but I love Windows 7 over Vista.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by bomber317

Oh... if you know anything about installing OSs, I wouldn't buy the Vista software. Instead download the Windows 7 RC from microsoft for free and when Windows 7 is released, buy that.

I'm probably biased, but I love Windows 7 over Vista.

Even if you don't, Windows 7 is so much better than Vista that you will be much happier in the long run and learn how to install it! It really isn't that hard.

My mother reinstalled Windows ME then upgraded to XP on my grandmothers computer. To put this in perspective, it takes me about 10 minutes on the phone with my mom to walk her through telling me if her computer is plugged into the router or the modem. The hardest part is literally making sure your DVD drive boots before your HDD.

[SebC]

Thanks for this thread... your system specs make what I have seem less obsolete than I would have thought.

Multicore will be a lot more futureproof. I'd also consider a good CPU cooler... you'll get about 50% better CPU performance if you overclock it.

[McG]

if you are in edmonton i have had lots of success buying computers from bcom.ab.ca.

in fact, the one that i am using to type this is from there. good prices for peripherals too.