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yellow_star · Feb 26, 2005, 02:22 AM

Hi,
I need a PC for my study.I study programming.There are subjects such as data structure,operation system,windows programming,artificial intelligence,etc.Cost is from $450 to $600.How should I choose components of my new computer?256MB or just 128MB Ram?DDRam or SDRam?Which CPU processor(how much GHz)?And which kind of HDD and mainboard?

thebriggsdude · Feb 26, 2005, 03:23 AM

600 bucks well your limited on new ones, maybe used, I would say get a computer with a motherboard that supports ddr sdramn and fill it with 512mb of ram. Get maybe a 2 ghz processor, intel would be the best to go for, a 128 mb graphics card to. And a dvd rom/cd-rw drive or a dvd-rw with cd-rw capability's, what do you want, laptop or desktop.

fredg · Feb 26, 2005, 08:17 AM

Hi,
I would go with 512 RAM. Whatever you do, don't settle for just 128 RAM.
The AMD processors are very good, but that's a matter of personal opinions and choices.
Why don't you call 2 or 3 of the top computer companies, talk with a representative, and see what they suggest. Dell, Gateway, and Compaq all have good sales representatives, and can build one for you; giving you the cost involved, without being obligated to buy. Then, call back the company that gives you the best cost with the most equipment.
Best wishes,
fredg

thebriggsdude · Feb 26, 2005, 03:11 PM

Oh yeah, reason why I say intel, amd and intel are basically they have no difference but in price, if you go amd don't get a sempron, if you go intel a celeron the newest ones are pretty good. Intels cheaper though. I've seen budget pc's that use a sempron and then one that use a celeron be the same price, the celeron having more goodies with it and the celeron being almost 3 ghz and the sempron being I believe 1.5 and they are slow...

ScottGem · Feb 26, 2005, 04:27 PM

I agree with Briggs, you are a limited with your price range especially if you want that to include a monitor. If you are just looking for a tower, you are probably restricted to a low end Pentium IV or a high end Celeron. I agree that the Sempron is not a great choice, but you can't compare clock speeds on these models alone. There are other factors involved.

Frankly if you could extend your price range to around $800 you can get an AMD 64 which would be better for writing and testing programs.

256M is entry level for a Win XP machine. I would not go less then 512M and for program debugging I would want 1G.

thebriggsdude · Feb 26, 2005, 08:59 PM

Yep, I especially for right now am using a high end celeron, 2.93ghz, and believe me its pretty good. Though amd right now is little better but intel is much cheaper. But see with me I bought the cheap one because I could get a bigger 3.0 ghz processor with ht tech cheaper then having them add it. :D

phr0ze · Feb 28, 2005, 01:29 AM

Check out Newegg.com for some great prices. I know everyone here is leaning towards intel. If you are truly on a budget I wouldn't worry so much about processor brand. Esp with programming. Here is what I recommend; get one of these cheap combos. They come with everything on them. You can get your system down to $500 with a 17" flat panel if you push it. I've compared the specs with dell's $500 system and you get half the machine with dell. (Dell will give you a better motherboard/processor, but all the other specs are lousy, and by the time you upgrade the rest it costs you a lot more)

BIOSTAR Socket 478 Chipset Motherboard With Onboard Intel Celeron 1.8Ghz and CPU Cooler, Model "U8668 D-COMBO7" -RETAIL - $87

or

BIOSTAR KM266 Pro Chipset Motherboard With Onboard AMD Sempron 2200+ CPU kit, Model "M7VIG400-COMBO" -RETAIL -$90

They both come with video, sound, and network. They also have an AGP slot if you want to upgrade later.

Ram should cost you about $35 for 256MB. Get two of these for $70

Hard Drives can be had for $40 for 80 gb if you find the right deals. I recommend comp-usa if you have one.

Spend only $30 on a case and make sure it includes a PSU

Its $35 for a DVD/CDRW combo drive.

Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers can be had for $7 each

I am a programmer and I will say the feature that matters the most is the RAM (512MB minimum). The next best feature is the screen you have to stare at all day. On the weekends I build systems for people. I usually don't encourage my customers to buy these all-in-one motherboards unless they are on a really tight budget. You will have tons of skeptics here about the use of these motherboards. But you ARE on a budget. And the systems I've built with these types of motherboards actually turn out very nice. (I expect more problems with these motherboards than I have actually had).

Gl

thebriggsdude · Feb 28, 2005, 08:01 AM

Yeah they do turn out nice, me I bought a hp pavilion, regular 500 buck deal with a great motherboard with loads of expansion slots, sweet cpu, dvdrom/cdrw drive and a all in one memory card reader and a 40 gig 5200rpm drive, not much money left to slap in a lot of ram and a graphics card and a 160 gig drive, maybe a extra 200 if I get them right.