Well, you may or may not be aware of it, but apple has recently announced they will be switching to intel chips in 2006. The repurcussions of this should be interesting, to say the least.
Now, I've been planning on purchasing a Powerbook in September, for school and such. However, with this news, I've decided against doing so. I really don't want to plunk down a few grand on a laptop just before apple makes such a huge change. Nor do I want to purchase one of the first models off the line after the change. So while I really would love to get a mac laptop, that purchase has been put off for a few years, at least.
So now what the heck do I do with this lump of cash I've been slowly saving up?
Well, much as I hate windoze, it looks like I'll be selling off my current PC (as planned) only to buy another PC. I really don't need any more power than I've got, but I've got the cash now, and I'm hoping to build something that'll last me for a bit (not really a problem, given my tendency to only buy gmaes once they go head for the discount bin). I've been looking at prices and reviews for the past week or so, and I believe I've covered all my bases. Thus far, my plan looks like so:
MSI K8N Neo4-F NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard -- PCIe (though not SLI - unless someone can be very convincing that it's worth the extra cash), socket 939, far better on board audio out than I would ever bother with, four DDR RAM slots. And decently priced, too (or so it appears to me).
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ / 512KB Cache / 2000 MHz FSB / Socket 939 -- one of the pieces I may look at upgrading down the line. But probably not for a while.
MSI Radeon X800 XL / 256MB DDR3 / PCI Express / Dual DVI / TV Out / Video Card - biggest single price tag of the bunch.
Kingston 512MB Non-ECC, CL3 PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory (x2) - the motherboard has 4 RAM slots, so I also would be thinking of rounding out the RAM with another 2 512 MB sticks down the road. I've always had good luck with kingston, though I haven't really gone through a lot of RAM.
Ultra MS Blue Dragon Case with Ultra 500 Watt-X Power Supply - I really like the idea behind the power supply (totally modular, with removable cables and coverable connections). And the reviews I've read of it are all thumbs up. And the price is right - I originally was looking at absolutely dirt cheapest cases I could find, and spending ~$100 on the power supply. This does a much nicer case and what appears to be a VERY good power supply for about the same price.
Western Digital 200GB Serial ATA hard drive - not much to say. More space than I need, probably, but the price difference is so small I may as well go nuts.
And that's all. I already have an LG DVD burner; I'll probably add a DVD-ROM as well before I finish. I also have a wireless card and an extra PCI USB card. I'm still looking into monitors, and can stick with my IBM flat CRT. I'll probably do that and keep a lookout for a good deal or another price drop on 17-19 inch LCD's down the road. If anyone sees any gaping holes in my setup, or suggestions for changes, please let me know. This will be only the second PC I've built, and the first time doing the whole thing myself. I do, however, have a couple friends who can help me out if I get stuck.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
gekko
PS oh, and btw, any prices I mentioned or linked to are in Canadian dollars.
Now, I've been planning on purchasing a Powerbook in September, for school and such. However, with this news, I've decided against doing so. I really don't want to plunk down a few grand on a laptop just before apple makes such a huge change. Nor do I want to purchase one of the first models off the line after the change. So while I really would love to get a mac laptop, that purchase has been put off for a few years, at least.
So now what the heck do I do with this lump of cash I've been slowly saving up?
Well, much as I hate windoze, it looks like I'll be selling off my current PC (as planned) only to buy another PC. I really don't need any more power than I've got, but I've got the cash now, and I'm hoping to build something that'll last me for a bit (not really a problem, given my tendency to only buy gmaes once they go head for the discount bin). I've been looking at prices and reviews for the past week or so, and I believe I've covered all my bases. Thus far, my plan looks like so:
MSI K8N Neo4-F NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard -- PCIe (though not SLI - unless someone can be very convincing that it's worth the extra cash), socket 939, far better on board audio out than I would ever bother with, four DDR RAM slots. And decently priced, too (or so it appears to me).
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ / 512KB Cache / 2000 MHz FSB / Socket 939 -- one of the pieces I may look at upgrading down the line. But probably not for a while.
MSI Radeon X800 XL / 256MB DDR3 / PCI Express / Dual DVI / TV Out / Video Card - biggest single price tag of the bunch.
Kingston 512MB Non-ECC, CL3 PC3200 DDR 400MHz Memory (x2) - the motherboard has 4 RAM slots, so I also would be thinking of rounding out the RAM with another 2 512 MB sticks down the road. I've always had good luck with kingston, though I haven't really gone through a lot of RAM.
Ultra MS Blue Dragon Case with Ultra 500 Watt-X Power Supply - I really like the idea behind the power supply (totally modular, with removable cables and coverable connections). And the reviews I've read of it are all thumbs up. And the price is right - I originally was looking at absolutely dirt cheapest cases I could find, and spending ~$100 on the power supply. This does a much nicer case and what appears to be a VERY good power supply for about the same price.
Western Digital 200GB Serial ATA hard drive - not much to say. More space than I need, probably, but the price difference is so small I may as well go nuts.
And that's all. I already have an LG DVD burner; I'll probably add a DVD-ROM as well before I finish. I also have a wireless card and an extra PCI USB card. I'm still looking into monitors, and can stick with my IBM flat CRT. I'll probably do that and keep a lookout for a good deal or another price drop on 17-19 inch LCD's down the road. If anyone sees any gaping holes in my setup, or suggestions for changes, please let me know. This will be only the second PC I've built, and the first time doing the whole thing myself. I do, however, have a couple friends who can help me out if I get stuck.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
gekko
PS oh, and btw, any prices I mentioned or linked to are in Canadian dollars.
"Life is sacred and you are not its steward. You have stewardship over it but you don't own it. You're making a choice to go through this, it's not just happening to you. You're inviting it, and in some ways delighting in it. It's not accidental or coincidental. You're choosing it. You have to realize you've made choices."
-Michael Ventura, "Letters@3AM"
-Michael Ventura, "Letters@3AM"