[jqp]

PC builders, what would you build? My everyday beater* is getting a little too obsolete

*A beater is a car you drive in the northeast US in the winter, you know it may get salt corrosion, dings and dents

AMD Athlon 64 4200+
2GB DDR2 800
Nvidea 6800 embedded
Multiple SATA II drives
Lite On DVD burner
Gighertz network
Decent Antec case
upgraded to a 500W power supply

Not a bad utility machine, but utility functions are requiring more power these days!

I can reuse some components, I really want a new mobo, processor, video card, memory. Dual core is OK, 45nm Quad core may be affordable...

Have you discovered any good stuff? THere are so many options  

[woodsyi]

I picked up an open box special from a local B&M store for $800.  I am thinking I can't buy the parts for cheaper.  I think I will upgrade the 350W PS and add a Blue Ray player somewhere down the road. 

(Open Box) Studio XPS-121M; Intel® Core i7 Quad Processor 920; 6GB Tri Channel DDR3-1067 SDRAM; 750GB Hard Drive; DVDRW Drive; 19-in-1 Media Card Reader; ATI® Radeon HD 4850; 10/100/1000 Network; Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit); Display Not Included

 

I got a Samsung 26" LCD (wuxga)  with 10k:1 dynamic ratio last year on that Paypal/E-bay rebate ($250). 

Together, I hope this will be my main home PC for next 5 years, like the last one (Pentium IV).   Actually, my wife uses it more as she telecommutes couple of days a week. 

[Crimson]

That's a good price. Just last week I got a non-XPS Studio with the Core 2 Quad, 6GB RAM, 500GB HD, GeForce 9800GT, Vista Premium 64, Small Business Office 2007, and a 20" Dell widescreen for about $100 more.

[WGH]

jqp - what are you going to use the machine for? I also have an AMD 4200+ with 2 GB ram and it is plenty fast for my needs, I no longer have time for games so the Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra still works for me. Right now our machines are like clones except for the BFG video card (no shared memory).

Get new AGP graphics card and sound card to free up memory, a fresh install of XP that is tweaked with these install tips
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=63375.msg573386#msg573386
and you will be surprised how fast that 4200+ really is. Of course there is nothing like a new fast uber machine, so what are your priorities:

Gaming? Check out the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 for $330 (unless you run 1920 x 1200)
Video? Blu-ray in your future?
Music?

Motherboard - ASUS is always a solid choice - how many slots do you need?
Processor - I am an AMD fanboy but if I built today it would be Intel, they make the fastest processor for the money these days. Get the Intel i7-920.
Case - Antec Sonata all the way.
Power supply - PC Power and Cooling because they never fail.
Memory - Crucial because it's the best. If you are installing XP then 2 GB is all you need. Vista - go for 4 GB.
DVD burner - Who cares, get the cheapest from Newegg and get another when it dies. Plextor's are great if you have money left over.

Wayne

[jqp]

This is just my daily beater, but I also use it for media ripping and photo manipulation. Granted reinstalling XP would help...but I want some of this stuff at amazing prices

Actually I got the video wrong - its only an nVidia 6150

I am thinking about this:

$138   MotherBoard   Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P Intel P45 LGA775 ATX Motherboard
   o   Firewire 3 IEEE 1394a ports (2 on the back panel, 1 internal
   o   SATA 8 x SATA 3Gb/s
   o   LAN 2 x RJ-45 Gigabit
   o   Copper 2 oz. baby!
      
$200   CPU   Q8300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 1333MHz Socket 775 Quad-Core 45nm Processor, Model: BX80580Q8300. Retail
 $65   Memory   4GB DDR2 800MHz
$150   Video   - may get a 1GB card with 256bit video interface which would be $100 more
===      
$553      

I may wait a while, in which case prices will be lower Plus it will be Windows 7 ready

[BradJudy]

For $549, I think it's hard to beat today's deal from Dell (quoted from gotapex.com):

For $549 after a huge $450 instant discount, get a Dell Vostro 410 Tower with a 2.4Ghz Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600, 3GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320GB HD, 16x DVD+/-RW double layer burner, 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 graphics, 7.1 channel audio, Windows Vista Business w/XP Pro downgrade, a 1 year on-site warranty, plus a 19" widescreen Dell E1909WFP LCD monitor! http://www.gotapex.com/deals/redirect/54829/TY3DHFFE/

[jqp]

Except that everything about the system I am looking at is better than that Dell

[BradJudy]

Except that everything about the system I am looking at is better than that Dell

Except the monitor, hard drive, optical drive, Windows license. 

It depends if you want a whole new system and be able to reuse/sell/donate the old one, or do piecemeal upgrades to higher performance parts. 

BTW: I wouldn't worry about being Windows 7 ready.  I'm running it on a 4.5 year old laptop without trouble. 

[jqp]

I have a better monitor, hard drive, and burner    See my first post

[Levi]

You know my take is as far as computer goes. 

Build the best computer you can afford.  This way, it will last you several years.

This is what I built for a beater computer w/SCSI 320 15K RPM drives.