I don't have anyone really to bounce this off of, so I figured I'd post here for my gstwin friends to give some feedback.

My current PC is almost 8 years old with a 1.3ghz P4 and 768mb of RAM, running Windows XP.  It does ok and has few problems, but it can really be a dog.  So I want to upgrade soonish.  I don't want to spend too much, but I want something that will last quite a while.  I don't know if I can expect it to last 8 years, but maybe.  I don't need it to do much heavy lifting; I don't really play games, just occasionally watch video and store pictures.  And of course I mostly do internet browsing, email, and some office applications.

After doing internet research for a week or two, I'm warming up to the idea of building my own computer and have been pricing things out at Newegg.  My goal so far has been to get a good processor, 4GB of RAM, Vista and a few other basic components for under $500.  I have good serviceable peripherals, so that let's me focus more on good PC components.  Here's about what I'm thinking right now:

Newegg wishilist link (requires newegg login, I could also copy and paste if preferred)

I'm not sure how the X3 will do or if I'll be wishing for a quad core.  From what I've read, the Phenom II's are pretty good though.  And the X3 saves quite a bit over the one of the X4's.  Maybe I just need a good dual core for what I do, but sometimes I have a lot of windows open.  I guess I'm open to Intel as well, but haven't been looking at them due to price. 

I know very little about picking a Motherboard, so I did my best.

At this point I plan on forgoing separate video and sound cards because I don't think they'll be that important to me.  And I can always add them at some other time if I want.

One thing I started stumbling on is OS.  I just realized that windows 7 is coming soon (end of year?).  I don't have much of a problem with Vista, but it is known as a resource hog.  I think 7 will be a bit leaner and probably be the standard for a number of years, like XP was.  So do I just get Vista and live with it?  Or put this on hold until 7 comes out, or at least until I can get a free upgrade to 7 from vista?  Or do I try Linux for a while, something like Unbuntu?

I don't have a problem with open source software; I use Firefox/Thunderbird and have been playing with openoffice.org.  I can't say that I've ever used Linux before, and I would probably not be modifying it myself.  But I'm thinking I can save 100 bucks on Vista for now and maybe stick with Unbuntu or get windows 7 when it is released. 

The one thing I'd be concerned about with Unbuntu is making my printer available to windows laptops on my wireless network.  I'm thinking that may not work.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome

I've heard Windows 7 is half-way decent and light years ahead of Vista.   The beta copies aren't registered, see if you can find someone willing to rip you a copy.
Free upgrade to 7 from vista?!?!?!?  I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

Quote from: spc on April 17, 2009, 09:33:41 AM
Free upgrade to 7 from vista?!?!?!?  I wouldn't hold my breath on that one.

That's how I got XP.  My PC was purchased with ME, a few months before XP was released, with a "free upgrade" card.  Once XP was released I sent in my card and got an XP upgrade CD.  IIRC, I have to install ME before XP if I reformat, so that is a pain, but otherwise it works fine

And yes I guess a beta copy of 7 would be another option to hold me over until it's released.

I wouldn't bother with Vista honestly.  I would use XP or Ubuntu until 7 is released unless you can get your hands on a beta.  I have an iso file for the beta around here somewhere but i think it may be expiring soon.

vista sucks ass. the only good thing that vista has is the partition tool. other than that, nothing works as well, and way slower than in xp. Don't waste your money on vista. save the cash and spend it on a cheaper mobo without integrated graphics, and a dedicated card. i have a corporate version of xp pro with many legal installs left on the license. let me know if you want it.

 I have 7 Beta... is it not being distributed anymore??


Ah... just looked and I see its not. And you can only use the key once. So far I like it, I put it on an extra laptop I have and it works great 

Quote from: scottpA_GS on April 17, 2009, 11:57:15 AM
I have 7 Beta... is it not being distributed anymore??


Ah... just looked and I see its not. And you can only use the key once. So far I like it, I put it on an extra laptop I have and it works great 

I agree. Switched from Vista to 7 for abour 4 months now and so much more stable and faster.

THe consensus seems to be that I should go for windows 7. 

Any comments on my hardware picks?

Quote from: manofthefield on April 17, 2009, 12:35:33 PM
THe consensus seems to be that I should go for windows 7. 

Any comments on my hardware picks?

mac os > *

ubuntu > anything windows

7 > anything windows has done to date

as far as hardware, we have laptops. mac laptops, but laptops. you can get awesome hardware for so cheap now. if i were building a box, i'd get a tigerdirect special with 4Gb of ram, flash drives (SSD), dedicated graphics, and everything in a RAID.

and a cheap, beige box.

then i'd install mac os on it and enjoy the multi-core cpu goodness. or ubuntu, or gentoo, or anything that didn't have microsofts' stamp on it.

well, you don't have the option of using 7. The beta is closed so you can't get a license for it, and even if you make it work, they're going to shut down any beta copies in august or before because they're actually going to start selling it. Go for xp.

Vista runs great now since the release of service pack 1.  I run a top end gaming machine using Vista Home Premium as my OS and have had no troubles.  Before service pack 1 Vista was the biggest flop microsoft ever made as it would not run anything.

As for Windows 7 am not sure but will be happy to check it out when it comes out.

XP is not supported by microsoft anymore so there will be no more service packs (after SP3) or updates.  Besides XP is only 32bit VS Vista that is 64bit.  That 64 bit chip people have and using XP guess what......your only using HALF of your chips potential

XP is good but honestly Vista now kicks butt.

actually there is a 64 bit xp out there. but wiht mediocre  driver support.. atm, with 4gb of ram wanted. you WILL need a 64 bit os. cause windows will not see  all 4gb wiht a 32bit setup. and eys if you must get the vista 64 bit wiht teh upgrade , not  abad deal. im still on MCE ( xp) i wouldnt mind mac, but im a gamer. and cant use a mac os . even with an emu. the games run not well, and mac isnt hackp[roof either remember that

you know for that price, just get a prebuilt and save teh headache.. it comes out cheaper than buying parts from newegg and testing and all that.

Vista 32 is fine, vista x64, I am currently on it. The only issue i ran into it is that if you format with x64, a 32bit computer cant read the drive and you cant format it that easily, vista x64 locks teh drive.

So be aware on that part with vista x64.

Now for the computer, www.geeks.com has some new dell vostro's for under 500. Heck if you go to www.dell.com/dfo (dell factory outlet) you can get some really cheap computers.
Anything you get, just bump up the ram to at least 2gb, 3 is ideal. anything of 3.5 and you are asking for x64 based OS.

I am currently on a 2.4ghz core 2 duo laptop with 4gb and x64 and i swear its not any faster than the 2.0 ghz core 2 duo.

If you want to save money get a nettop or something... but then the processor is a 1.6ghz and wont run the 8 years you are hoping it would last.

Now for the x3 and x4 AMD processors. I have found the triple core is plenty, the quad core is hella fast but seriously unless you are re-encoding dvd's or somethin gyou will not see that difference.

Do yourself a favor, dump teh crt monitor for an LCD. You can get 19" LCD's for about a 100.

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on April 18, 2009, 02:51:45 AM
you know for that price, just get a prebuilt and save teh headache.. it comes out cheaper than buying parts from newegg and testing and all that.

Vista 32 is fine, vista x64, I am currently on it. The only issue i ran into it is that if you format with x64, a 32bit computer cant read the drive and you cant format it that easily, vista x64 locks teh drive.

So be aware on that part with vista x64.

Now for the computer, www.geeks.com has some new dell vostro's for under 500. Heck if you go to www.dell.com/dfo (dell factory outlet) you can get some really cheap computers.
Anything you get, just bump up the ram to at least 2gb, 3 is ideal. anything of 3.5 and you are asking for x64 based OS.

I am currently on a 2.4ghz core 2 duo laptop with 4gb and x64 and i swear its not any faster than the 2.0 ghz core 2 duo.

If you want to save money get a nettop or something... but then the processor is a 1.6ghz and wont run the 8 years you are hoping it would last.

Now for the x3 and x4 AMD processors. I have found the triple core is plenty, the quad core is hella fast but seriously unless you are re-encoding dvd's or somethin gyou will not see that difference.

Do yourself a favor, dump teh crt monitor for an LCD. You can get 19" LCD's for about a 100.

yeah im on an x2 5500 atm. with 4gb, and it has a built in vid. but im using a 3870oc card., aka find a mobo wiht a built in gpu if needed. like you said  can add a gpu later. and im on a 32 bit os now. so its seeing as TGG said roughly 3.5gb of it.

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on April 18, 2009, 02:51:45 AM
you know for that price, just get a prebuilt and save teh headache.. it comes out cheaper than buying parts from newegg and testing and all that.
...
Now for the computer, www.geeks.com has some new dell vostro's for under 500. Heck if you go to www.dell.com/dfo (dell factory outlet) you can get some really cheap computers.
Anything you get, just bump up the ram to at least 2gb, 3 is ideal. anything of 3.5 and you are asking for x64 based OS.

My findings seem to be that I can get better components for the same or lower price, but I'll check those places out.  I kinda like the idea of building it myself, though I probably won't if I have to do a lot of troubleshooting.

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on April 18, 2009, 02:51:45 AM
If you want to save money get a nettop or something... but then the processor is a 1.6ghz and wont run the 8 years you are hoping it would last.

Yeah, I have a couple year old laptop as well, I know there is no way that will keep up for 8 years

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on April 18, 2009, 02:51:45 AM
Now for the x3 and x4 AMD processors. I have found the triple core is plenty, the quad core is hella fast but seriously unless you are re-encoding dvd's or somethin gyou will not see that difference.

Cool, that's kinda what I was wondering

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on April 18, 2009, 02:51:45 AM
Do yourself a favor, dump teh crt monitor for an LCD. You can get 19" LCD's for about a 100.

I did myself that favor a year or two ago, also have a nice wireless keyboard and mouse and good enough speakers

Well then you are all set.

If you want to build, let me know of your config on here. Since you are going with an all in one mobo with built in audio and sound... this is what I'd suggest from newegg going from yoru wishlist.

first off take the motherboard out.. and replace with:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $128 --> What I spec'ed - much better board
or
ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $78  --> decent board.

Both have better than stock video cards crap from Intel. The second board is an microATX.

Next you will need to add some ArticSilver5 - $9, there are some cheaper ones like the Tunic for like 5.

Next you will need some fans. Get some fans for that case. You will need one fan in the back of the case and maybe one up front or side. You will need it to move air out of your case. Even the cheapest fans will do wonders. Spend less than 10 total on that.

You will need to get some SATA data connect cables from newegg for your hard drive and your burner. Since the case comes with only 1 SATA power connector you will need some 4pin to SATA power connectors too.

You should be set..

TGG

yup nothign better than artic siler imho. maybe ther eis. BUT hten again after ipolished my HSF it ran no matter what i put on it. cept it seemed that arctic ciler ran cooler thananything else

my current pc i run xp on. it's roughly 2-3 years old. only 200g hd and 1g ram.  and i really don't have any problems with it. the only problems i'm currently experiencing are not related to my computer, but my isp. they've been out twice in the past 6 months for modem malfunctions. claim to have gotten a "bad batch".  well, they are schedualed to come out AGAIN today. it hasn't failed yet but it likes to shut off from time to time.    anyhow. i plan to purchase laptops for both my wife and myself in the future but will still keep this desktop. it's been good to us.    you're going to find everyone had different experiences with different OS etc. and everyone has different needs/uses for their pc. it's my understanding that for gaming/video/photoshop type applications, (things that may require multiple windows open per time) mac systems really shine. this is because of how mac os operates. but for general usage, i don't find it necessary to spend the extra money to go from windows to mac.  just my opinion.

Quote from: TheGoodGuy on April 19, 2009, 07:11:56 PMIf you want to build, let me know of your config on here. Since you are going with an all in one mobo with built in audio and sound... this is what I'd suggest from newegg going from yoru wishlist.

first off take the motherboard out.. and replace with:

GIGABYTE GA-MA790GP-UD4H AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $128 --> What I spec'ed - much better board
or
ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $78  --> decent board.

Both have better than stock video cards crap from Intel. The second board is an microATX.

So what is superior about these mobos?  You're saying the video is better on them?

What benefit, if any, would I get from going from a AM2+ to a AM3 mobo? (The Phenom II chip I have specced is set up for AM3 and also works with AM2+)

a bit more of a future proof if anything. i bought an am2+ as well, im wanting a cheap quad as well, BUT im a gamer so i wnat as close to 3ghz as possible
so i can run my vent/ts, my background music, my game and stuff. and process fraps vids