Need a new computer - Any suggestions?

[CajunTech]

I see a few people on here own/work at computer stores and consulting companies so here is my situation..

Just finished a small business class and approved for a $3000 business loan. Around $1000 of which is set aside for laser printer, business cards, switchbox, and cables. This leaves about $2000 for a PC or laptop. I'm leaning towards a Toshiba Satelite Pro 6100 (1.7ghz, 256MB, 60GB, 16MB geforce2go, 15", XP Pro - $1750.00), but was wondering if anyone had any other suggestions or can put together a PC at a really good price. I would normally buy the components from pricewatch, but a stipulation of the loan is that the checks have to made out to the vendors and I would rather one check going to someone than a check going somewhere for each component.

Even tho the computer is being purchased with business funds, I would still like to use it for some gaming.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

Man...

Have a buddy of yours buy the parts, then repay him with one check! Seriously, buying your own parts and building your own PC is the ONLY way to go, unless you get an AlienWare PC...but you won't get that for $2000.

[Cypher]

Originally posted by LA_MERC_LaTech
Have a buddy of yours buy the parts, then repay him with one check!

That's a great suggestion, but I'm guessing that whoever is giving this loan would raise an eyebrow if that check was made out to an individual instead of a "vendor"...


Originally posted by CajunTech
a stipulation of the loan is that the checks have to made out to the vendors

However, CajunTech, if you have a friend who works at a local computer store, you might be able to get him to special-order most of the parts you want through their supplier. I know a few other guys here work at computer stores; maybe they could give some better recommendations.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

Thats kinda what I was meaning. didn't really explain myself too well. Sorry about that

[Cypher]

OH... in that case, my bad, LaTech!

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

No no...it was my fault.

[bighead]

madone? u think u could hook a brotha up?

[LA_MERC_Captain_Obvious]

you kinda need to know if you want a laptop or a desktop though...
but for $2000 you can get a pretty strong desktop AND a decent laptop.
buy a little router and hook em together to share the internet and printer at home, then you can take the laptop around without having to mess up your gaming rig...I mean workstation.

newegg.com has some great prices and are very helpfull if you need to call them.
CDW.com has some good stuff too. I order alot of stuff for our office there (and alot of my personal stuff) and our sales rep usually takes alot off the price. if you order the laser printer and other stuff from them, I'm sure they would discount the prices list on their site.

getting someone here who works in a computer store would be the best route. probably get the best price and maybe have them asemble it too if you're not familiar with doing it yourself.

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

I would stay away from a "computer store" actually, unless you know the people that work there. Prices at computer stores tend to be a noticeable amount higher than online. Just my opinion (used to work at such a store)

[CajunTech]

I actually do all of our ordering here for IT supplies and I do a little side work every now and then (have 4 PCs to build by Christmas). I have a few vendors I normally use like Insight.com, Newegg, TCWO, DriveGuys, and I tend to use pricewatch and techbargains a lot. The only problem is not all of these carry everything I am looking for and I'm not sure if they all accept checks. If anyone has suggestions on a PC also I'd be happy to hear it :)

I'll list what I currently have at home below (I figure I could end up with a few PCs out of this equipment):

Soltek "Purple Ray" MOBO - Primary IDE channel is blown
Tyan Trinity S1854 MOBO
AthlonXP 1700+
Sony 48x12x48 CD-RW
Plextor 8x4x32 CD-RW
2x Maxtor 60GB ATA100 7200 HDD
2x Seagate 40GB ATA100 5400 HDD
1x Geforce3 ti200 64MB AGP
1x Matrox G400 32MB AGP
1x Soundblaster Live! Platinum (card and live drive)
1x Creative Dolby Digital 5.1 Speaker Setup
2x 256MB PC2100 DDR
1x 256MB PC133 SDRAM
2x 512MB PC100 ECC SDRAM

A few CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, 2x PII-450mhz.

I also have a Pentium 166mhz, 128MB, 1.6GB system that I plan on using as a Domain Controller. Had it running Windows 2000 server before with no problems, except for the time it took to boot up (5-10 mins I believe hehe).

[LA_MERC_LaTech]

Cajun,

I have an IDE Controller card you can use on that Soltek MOBO...

LaTech

[CajunTech]

Thanks Tech.. May look into trading or buying from you. I need to try and run the PC using my secondary IDE channel and see what happens (chunked full of drives right now).

How's this sound for a gaming rig?

Gigabyte GA-7VAXP Ultra motherboard, AMD Athlon 2800+ cpu, 512MB Corsair Extreme Series 400mhz DDR, 2x60GB ATA-100 7200rpm hard drives in a Raid-1 config, Geforce3 ti200 64MB video card.

Would a Radeon 9700 Pro 128 card make that much of a difference?

I also saw a little celeron laptop for around $600-$1000 at Bestbuy/Dell (when they have specials). Thats about all I'd need in a laptop for presentations and the occassional DVD watching during a trip :)


Still leaves a lil money for advertising, laser printer (el-cheapo), switch-box and cables..

[LA_MERC_Dirge]

Yes always cheat on the good side for vid cards. That radeon will run rings around that geforce 3. Of course the geforce 4 ti 4200 is probably the best value card around right now (<$130)

[LA_MERC_Captain_Obvious]

Dirge is exactly right. I have a gf3ti200, had it for a year now. it's been an awsome card. constant 99fps in CS at 1024x768. no problem in any of the other games I have either - SoF2, AvP2, JK2 etc. all at max settings.

but for a new rig, I would get something more powerfull, with some of the game scoming out like Doom3, Splinter cell, free cell, mine sweeper, etc.

the 9700pro is freakin awsome, but very expensive when you are on a budget. the gf4ti4200 is a great choice for value. but if you want a little more ummffhh and willing to play a little more, look at the 9500 pro. it's shipping now and is starting to show up for sale. price is around $199. it's the same card and features of the 9700pro, just lower clock speed. in bench marks it's kicked the ti4200 to the curb, and in most cases stayed even with the ti4600.
they had a great review and test of it on anandtech about a week or so ago.

also, is that mobo using the KT400 chipset? if so, don't get the ddr400 ram, get the ddr333. it's been proven time and time again that using ddr400 in the kt400 chipset actually hurts performance. just about every review site I've seen has noticed this when they tested the kt400 chipset.
the nforce2 works great with ddr400, but not the kt400 chipset.

[Tracker]

Here is a good site that i was turned on too.http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/custom/thunderbird.htm
Check it out I think you will be very happy with it.

Tracker

[CajunTech]

Very nice site with awesome prices. Can buy a complete system from them for the same price I'd pay buying components to build my own. They even have the components I was looking for.

[[KoG]^Independent]

im selling my rig, which is highly decent for around $1k if you want some details feel free to ask.

[Tracker]

Glad I could help...Ill have mine in a week or so

Tracker