Okidoki, I'vd read the threads, but...

...got no help there, so...

I've got an offer to have me a comp build, just hardware, to a reduced price compared to a "fully equiped and all kinda helpdesk, service proggie's filled to the rim kinda **** pc"...

But I got some issues to debate of course. See, here's my problem...I'm not to updated on hardware stuff, and want's a machine that isn't to expensive, but can handle things like photoshop, 3DSM, Illustrator and Dreamweaver. And some games aswell, since a newly discovered the joy of relaxing a while with a calm session of blood, killing and violence.

So, a "avarage graphix Joe 3D gaming" machine is my wish here.
What spec's would you consider ? As motherboard, cpu, RAM, videocard, soundcard, hardrive, cd, dvd and everything else, goes...

How did your answer not get answered in the threads? There are lots of them discussing all that.

Here are some links to PC buying guides... This one is under $1k.

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/MVGSBG/article.php/1557141

This one is $4k...

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/EGBG/article.php/1577311

PCGamer magazine also always has a section in their hardware section with the latest recommended system for 3 different prices ranges. I'd just make sure whoever is building it for you knows what they're doing, and is going to use good parts.

Every single custom built PC I have ever seen that was built in a little mom and pop computer store has turned out to be total garbage. Parts going out... parts never working from the beginning, wires not plugged in, parts blowing out 6 months after the PC was built, etc. Then when you have trouble with the PC, who are you gonna call? Nobody.

I would personally only buy a name brand PC, if I wasn't going to build every piece of it from scratch myself so I knew I was getting good parts. And I would buy the stuff in one of the guides I posted so I could ensure compatibility and everything.

I'm sure all the "hardcore" guys in here will recommend something different. But I would much rather buy a boxed computer that works and has a warranty so I could just worry about using the thing, rather than tweaking it and tearing it apart to troubleshoot it when something goes wrong every other day.

I would probably tread the middle ground. Building your own computer is not always cheaper but it is always better. Choosing quality custom parts will always be better than some cheap generic parts they include if either 'mom & pop' or a branded manafacturer build it.

As I say, it's not always the cheapest option, but you can guarantee that all the parts will be fitted correctly and your hardware will stand the test of time etc...

For speed and performance you would want a motherboard with:
a faster front side bus - like 333 mhz at least.
You will want an ATA 100 or better IDE port.
DDR Ram is ideal, more the better....
512+ of Cache is ideal

One trick is to add shadowing for the CMOS in BIOS to use RAM (never cache unless you have lots to spare.)

a motherboard brand that is good:
ASUS

As long as you buy everything together you should not have any hardware conflicts and make sure everything matches - ie buy Ram that is the same speed as your FSB rating, make sure the harddrive matches the ATA rating, etc. If you stick a 266 Ram in with a bunch of 333, then they all go to 266. This is the kind of stuff you want to watch out for.

I would go with an AMD chip - cheaper, and rated faster than Intel right now.

Originally posted by Patteman
...got no help there, so...

I've got an offer to have me a comp build, just hardware, to a reduced price compared to a "fully equiped and all kinda helpdesk, service proggie's filled to the rim kinda **** pc"...

i spent the better part of my day trying to decipher that. Thus, I am unable to help you with your question.

[edit]
i realized you weren't a native english user...um, you can always try [H] that's where I picked up some stuff, they even have a resource for "first time computer builders".
Best place to buy stuff from IMO is newegg.com it can be cheaper than buying from a local store. although shipping is certainly a bitch.

Ok first, thx all.
Second, Amenranozira, hehe...it wasn't meant to be something to understand really, so your not so far off. And no, english isn't my native language, could you really tell ...I thank you for that link, there seems to be things to consider there to say the least.

Marble, ok got ye, but I've got one question for you...Is the AMD really "better" than intel ? I mean considering the price and all. This is one of the big issues for me, I read alot in order to get an opinion of my own, but the more I read the more confused I get. 'Cuz there's prolly the same amount of plp for intel that it is for AMD...And where is the comparison...eh...I mean what kinda ghz/mhz on a AMD is the same as a P4 2.5 ? Sound issues here, fan and processor...What would make the least noice ? Is that even relevant in the processor discussion (I want a silent comp..)

Deke, thx for them links.

I'd just make sure whoever is building it for you knows what they're doing, and is going to use good parts.

Well, this was the actual issue here. I mean, I can read articles and opinions and try and build from that, but I was kinda hoping to get an example from you guy's on what a relativily cheap, yet good behaving comp would consist of...There is a bunch of guy's here who actually do this for themselfs, I would imagen, and could possibly give advice...

My intention, without knowing to much 'bout the subject, was to name what parts my comp should be consisting of....Hehe, always trying the easiest way, you know. Then after naming them I would get a ..."cost-proposal" or what you would call it, then decide what to do...

For my way of thinking in system building; you forgot one REALLY important bit of information, that is necessary for me to help you.

HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO SPEND?

If you could do the conversion to US dollars (for us narrow minded Americans), I bet I could recommend how you could spend it. Also, do you need a new monitor, speakers, and/or modem--are there any parts you're going to reuse from your old system?

The way the AMD's are rated (and I am speaking about Athlon chips - I would crack you in the head if you bought a Duron chip - ie. would you buy a Celeron chip to save money? k...)

My XP is called the XP 1800, which means it was rated comparable in performance and speed to an Intel Pentium 1.8 GHz. But in reality it is running around 1540 MHz.

One great thing about AMD's - they are cheaper than Intels and their performance is equal and in this great race of processors, they beat Intel and vice versa, so yes they are great chips.

As far as the fan goes, it has nothing to do with the chip other than what the fan is rated for. You spend more - you can buy a quieter fan. Heat sinks can make a big difference. Buy one of those big fancy ones will set you back some cash, but will dissipate heat better. But the cooler you keep your cpu, the better it performs. Normal CPU temps run around 95 - 110 Far. range (give or take a little).

I have trouble keeping up with brands because it seems like every great company builds a crappy run of parts or a crappy company all of a suddenly designs something rock solid. Just stay away from unknown brands or nameless motherboards.

COST = approx $ 1000-1500 is what I have in mind.

Then I might consider a AMD in order to put what I don't have to spend on an Intel, on the vidoecard instead, eh ? Or something like that. Memorywise then, there's a lot of talk 'bout what kind of memory you should get...Is it a similar discussion in the memoryworld between a few brands like the one between AMD and intel ?

Right now DDR is the Ram to get. With Ram, stick with known brands like Kingston, eg. generic ram can get you in trouble. $1000 would get you a very nice pc with an ok video card. $1500 will get you a very nice pc with an awesome video card. If you game stick to Radeon, they get the best reviews. If you dont care, then Nvidia cards will work just as well. Dont get an MX version though - stick to the ti4200 or higher series. AGP of course. Dont get a PCI vid card.

But one thing to note about Intel Pentium IV's and probably the new series due out. In BIOS you have to make sure that hardware ID's are not going to be sent. Its something that Intel did a while back and I think by default it is shut off because a lot of people got pissed off, but just double check.

Also for a new motherboard - make sure both the primary and secondary IDE's are ATA 100 or better. Also double check the Ram slots. They do sneaky things like have 3 slots for Ram, but if you use the last slot then it only runs at 266 or higher, which means if you get a 3rd stick of Ram you will lose speed.

With your amount you should be able to get around 1 gig of Ram. That would be very nice =)

But this is a good time to start looking into a pc because companies tend to release their new products around spring - summer, which means prices go down for what is already out there.