New PC - need opinions

T

TheSheriffIsNEAR

250+ Posts
I considering this PC from Cyberpower. Please tell me if I'm missing something, have overkill in one or more areas, or am otherwise clueless.

I'm not a gamer. I'm looking at this one because I want a fast and powerful PC to cover multimedia and anything I may try to get into later on, and one that will last me at least 3 years. I want XP Pro for now and may upgrade to Vista later on.

I wouldn't be comfortable building my own PC. I priced all the components below on Newegg just to see the difference, and the Newegg parts total came out to $120 less than buying it built, which makes the Cyberpower box more than reasonable to me. I'll be getting a monitor and speakers elsewhere.


# Gamer Infinity 8000 Dream (NO MONITOR)
# *BASE_PRICE: [+759]

# CAS: ($20 off Mail-in Rebate) NEW! Apevia X-Jupiter Jr. 420 Watts Case [-16] (S Type Metallic Gray Color with Side-Panel 250mm UV LED Fan)
# CASUPGRADE: NONE
# CS_FAN: Default case fans
# CPU: (Quad-Core)Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9300 @ 2.5GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit [+116]
# CD: LG 20X Double Layer DVD+-RW Super Allwrite + Lightscribe Technology [+9] (Black Color)
# CD2: NONE
# CABLE: None
# FLOPPY: NONE
# FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer [+10] (BLACK COLOR)
# FREEBIE_VC2: None
# FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
# FREEBIE_OS: None
# HDD: Single Hard Drive (74GB Gaming Western Digital Rapter 10,000RPM SATA150 16MB Cache WD740ADFD [+97])
# HDD2: SPECIAL!!! 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive [+49]
# IEEE_CARD: NONE
# KEYBOARD: Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard (Black Color)
# MOUSE: Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse (BLACK COLOR)
# MODEM: NONE
# MONITOR: NONE
# MONITOR2: NONE
# MOTHERBOARD: (QX9650 Support) Asus P5N-D nForce 750i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
# MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)3GB (3x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Memory [+50] (Corsair or Major Brand)
# NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
# OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 [+31]
# PRINTER: None
# PRINTER_CABLE: None
# PRO_WIRING: None
# POWERSUPPLY: 500 Watts Power Supplies [+49] (**Recommended** WIN-500XSPX APEVIA 500W JAVA Power Supply-Black)
# RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
# SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
# SOUND: Creative Labs SB X-Fi Xtreme Audio 24-BIT PCI Sound Card [+64]
# SPEAKERS: NONE [-5]
# TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
# TVRC: None
# UPS: None
# USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
# USBHD: NONE
# VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express [+30] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5])
# VIDEO2: NONE
# VIDEO3: NONE
# VIDEOCAMERA: NONE

# _TOTAL PRICE: ($1248.00)
 
I will repeat what has been my computer advice for the last 3 years or so. Buy something cheap, around $500 or $600. Get another one when its gets slow. Its better to buy a $600 computer every 18 months than a $1200 computer every 3 years. Personally I think its worthwhile to switch to a laptop now. Even if you use it as a desktop maching 90% of the time, that week you visit your in laws it'll be nice to have around. It used to be worthwhile to get a desktop, on the theory that you could incrementally upgrade the components yourself, as needed.

Once upon a time computers were like televisions. You'd buy one only when your old one dies or technology has advanced to a crazy degree. But now they are like the toasters you buy in the grocery store gadget aisle. Cheap and disposable. Unless you are a gamer, any budget system that runs XP and has 512 ram will run all your apps. You can probably even do some video editting. The only thing worth spending money on is a virus blocker and a backup external drive (for when you switch to the next disposable budget computer). Don't download too much shareware and bloatware and your budget machine will be fine.
 
214 gigs is not much hard drive?

I didn't see any mention of an operating system...that will be $150 or so more unless you plan to use a pirated OS.

I disagree with the above poster about 512 meg of ram being sufficient. A gig is minimum, especially if you do any video editing. I had 512 in my laptop, and it would hose up whenever I tried to edit video...I didn't have a dual core processor though, so that could make a difference.
 
Thanks for the comments. Wow...fifteen hours and no Mac fanboy replies? Miracles do indeed happen....

Eyes, the OS is XP Pro. It's mentioned a little past halfway down on the component list and in my preface.

Gaucho - I get much more for my $ on the Cyberpower site.

Clever - I'll consider that idea. I need to price out some systems at that range and see what the differences really are.
 
I'd drop the dual HDD and just get a big (500 or 750 GB) harddrive and create 2 partitions (100+400/650).

Def go with at least 2GB of RAM, especially if you are considering going Vista at a later point in time. Both my boxes run 2GB and I find it to be plenty.

That looks like a nice build. That quad core should rip.
 
also, that motherboard has built in analog audio and s/pdif optical and coax outs. You could probably shave a few bucks off the build by dropping the soundblaster card.
 
I'd get a floppy, you never know. Also, it's pretty skimpy on that proprietary heatsink and fan, it could run hot; I'd get something more serious. The power supply is minimal and that is a pretty old vid card. You can get a Nvidia 8800GT for around $160 now. Unless you are going to create a RAID config for 2 hard drives, I'd get a single hard drive and not less than 500GB. The Rapter is a very good and extremely fast hard drive, but very small capacity and the other one would drag it's speed down. Stay with XP Pro, it is still the leader.
 
Are you talking aboutwww.cyberpowerpc.com? Their website is almost exactly the same as Ibuypower.com. I wonder if they are the same company. I bought my computer four years ago from Ibuypower and am delighted with it. Only problems are the mouse didn't work upon delivery so I went out and bought a $15 mouse, then the power supply started fading away after two years so replaced that for about $60. Everything else is great, I got a lot of powerful components and a nicer looking case than any other company I researched.
 
Are you saying the 10k RPM HDD wouldn't get me anything worthwhile?

I know most Realtek chips don't have a stereo mix mode (which I need), and I've only seen rare instances where driver updates add the feature.

Is $1250 a good price?
 
You're a good video card away from a nice system there. Personally I think its overkill if you aren't going to be gaming.Three items in particular stick out to me. The CPU, motherboard, and Raptor hard drive. All 3 are high end parts and you will be paying a premium for them.Looking at the Infinity 8000 Dream deal you mentioned, here is my advice.CPU: Get the E8400. It will outperform that slower quad-core on damn near everything you do and is $76 cheaper.

Fan: The stock cooler will be fine. They are good enough these days even for moderate overclocking.

Memory: Take the 2GB option. $50 for 1 more gig is a total rip-off (you can get 2GB for $35). If you want more memory buy it from newegg. Installing memory is very easy.

Motherboard: I would drop down to the Asus P5N-E and save $27. There's not alot of difference from the P5N-D, especially if you aren't using the onboard sound.

Hard Drive: Like others have suggested, I would ditch the raptor. That money will be better spent getting one big hard drive. I don't like that this site doesn't let you chose your HD manufacturer. I would never buy a HD that wasn't Seagate or Western Digital.

Video Card: Get the 512MB version of that 8600GT instead of the 1GB. The 1GB version of that card is a marketing ploy, with no noticeable performance gain.

Power Supply: That power supply will be enough if you stick with the 8600GT video card. Avoid "STANDARD CASE POWER SUPPLY" =)

Optical Drive, Keyboard, Mouse: eh, whatever.


Make sure you check their other deals too.
Mega Special III Comes out to $826 with the specs I recommended above, and your Optical Drive, Soundcard, Case, and a 500GB Hard Drive.


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best buy has some screaming deals on hp entertainment lap tops.

I got a lap top with the following:

3 GB RAM
AMD Turion x2 processor (can't remember the speed)
250 GB HD
17 inch widescreen High Def monitor screen
DVD-RW
lots of ports
wireless a/b/g (not n)
standard LAN connection
windows vista ultimate

all for $899 ($799 but I upgraded to vista ultimate)

For itunes, office apps, and web browser use, this thing is fast even with vista.
 
Kisatz,

Thanks for the breakdown.

I had wanted the P5N-E board in case I wanted to upgrade to a Core 2 Extreme once prices drop. Would either board support them?

I called their sales dept. about the hard drive manufacturer. They said they use different vendors and wouldn't say anything specific. I left an email with their tech support in case they know.

I think you priced the Mega Special without the OS - there's not one selected by default.
 
Yeah, you're right I missed the OS. As for the hard drive, if they were giving you a name brand they would be telling you. Don't let me scare you off on the HD brand. I would never let someone else build my PC either.

For Core 2 Extreme support. The Asus website specifically mentions it for the P5N-D, but makes no mention of Core 2 Extreme support on the P5N-E page.

If you look at the product specifications on those boards at newegg.com both the P5N-D and the P5N-E claim Core 2 Extreme support.

Either Asus' product page for the P5N-E hasn't been updated since Core 2 Extreme CPUs were released, or Newegg has the wrong info. If it's important to you I would advise asking over on the Asus motherboard forum.
 
Anybody use a laptop + docking station at home?

I'm still running a PC that I built back my freshman year in college (almost a decade ago)... I don't do any gaming on it anymore and don't do anything too system intensive, so it hasn't been too big an issue, but its starting to get pretty sluggish and its not a virus/spyware issue, just hardware getting old.

I have a cheap Dell laptop that i use while on the road to remotely access my computer at home using LogMeIn, and I started thinking that maybe I should cutout the middle-man and get a nice laptop and a docking station so I don't have to stare at a laptop screen at home.

Any thoughts?
 
most newer laptops should have vga/dvi out. Depending on the laptop you may not even need the docking station. Personally I have my laptop connected to a dual monitor setup, external kb/m, and klipsch 5.1 surround while Im at home.
 
I have a docking station at my office and one at home. I run a dual monitor setup at the office (LCD monitor + the laptop screen) and just use the single monitor at home. Although when I am at home I usually have my home desktop running and access the files on the laptop thru the home network.

I think that the docking station is essential because it is a lot simpler than pluggin in the ethernet, monitor, mouse, etc. each time you want to use it. All you got to do is plop the thing down in the docking station and you're off.
 
9600GT over 8600GT. Best value out there, and you can find them for less than $150. You won't regret that choice because of its versatility.
 
If you are looking at the deal he is talking about the 8600GT (512MB) just makes more sense to me. Looking at the prices:
8600GT (512MB) $71
9600GT (512MB) $175

The $71 for the 8600GT is actually pretty close to what you would pay for that card ($59 after mail in rebate at newegg). But $175 for the 9600GT is grossly overpriced ($120 after mail in rebate at newegg). Also with the 9600GT you'll have to look closer at your choice of power supply.

If you are ordering the video card from another source, I would agree completely that the 9600GT is a better bang for the buck choice than the 8600GT.

Really it comes down to your price range. The 8800GT (512MB) is down to $150 right now, with free shipping and no tax (depending on what state you live in). This is a monster card, but you'll want to make sure you have a good power supply and good airflow in your case as it runs pretty hot.

I'm rambling a bit =) and getting into stuff even further into the realm of gaming PC's.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I did talk to a guy on Cyberpower's live chat about the hard drives. He repeated there's no way to determine (or to choose) what brand I'll get, but said lately it's been between Maxtor, WD, and Fujitsu.

I checked the IBuyPower.com site and they do look very similar. A test box I priced on both sites came out the same. Cyberpower's site has more component options so I'm going to stick with them.
 
On the whole, I generally agree with Kwisatz, so I'll use Kwisatz's format

CPU: Perfectly fine. I'd recommend not getting the dual-core since Win7 will be heavily multithreaded and 4 cores will be better than 2 (even if the 2 cores are clocked faster)...trust me...their is a BIG difference.



Memory: Definitely take it down to 2GB. You'll save money (RAM is extremely cheap when you buy it yourself), and unless the other GB is split between two sticks (i.e. 2 512MB sticks), you'll be relegated to Single-Channel and you don't want that.

Motherboard:
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