New System Purchase Question

I am buying a new computer and really want an AMD. I will be doing
graphics and software dev and other stuff. I know that dual core will
be good for me. My problem is with the system maker, who do I go to?
Alienware looks great, but they optimize for games players and are
quite expensive (I know that the last 1% of performance costs the
most, I just don't need it.) HP seems so middling in what they offer.
I don't want to put this together myself, I can (and have) done it but
it is not fun for me. So does anyone have a suggestion for a
reasonably reliable, reasonably cost effective system?

TIA.


--
Matt Silberstein

Do something today about the Darfur Genocide

http://www.beawitness.org
http://www.darfurgenocide.org
http://www.savedarfur.org

"Darfur: A Genocide We can Stop"

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 16:26:29 +0000, Matt Silberstein wrote:

I am buying a new computer and really want an AMD. I will be doing
graphics and software dev and other stuff. I know that dual core will
be good for me. My problem is with the system maker, who do I go to?
Alienware looks great, but they optimize for games players and are
quite expensive (I know that the last 1% of performance costs the
most, I just don't need it.) HP seems so middling in what they offer.
I don't want to put this together myself, I can (and have) done it but
it is not fun for me. So does anyone have a suggestion for a
reasonably reliable, reasonably cost effective system?

TIA.

If you want to build yourself a system then buy the components from
Newegg. If you want a system built for you then MonarchComputer is a good
choice, I got an X2 4400+ system from them.

Stay away from Alienware,their prices are inflated,their ratings for
reliability and customer service are terrible.Try Monarch or Envision
Computer Services,good prices and ratings.
"Matt Silberstein" wrote in
message news
I am buying a new computer and really want an AMD. I will be doing
graphics and software dev and other stuff. I know that dual core will
be good for me. My problem is with the system maker, who do I go to?
Alienware looks great, but they optimize for games players and are
quite expensive (I know that the last 1% of performance costs the
most, I just don't need it.) HP seems so middling in what they offer.
I don't want to put this together myself, I can (and have) done it but
it is not fun for me. So does anyone have a suggestion for a
reasonably reliable, reasonably cost effective system?

TIA.


--
Matt Silberstein

Do something today about the Darfur Genocide

http://www.beawitness.org
http://www.darfurgenocide.org
http://www.savedarfur.org

"Darfur: A Genocide We can Stop"

Matt Silberstein wrote:
I am buying a new computer and really want an AMD. I will be doing
graphics and software dev and other stuff. I know that dual core will
be good for me. My problem is with the system maker, who do I go to?
Alienware looks great, but they optimize for games players and are
quite expensive (I know that the last 1% of performance costs the
most, I just don't need it.) HP seems so middling in what they offer.
I don't want to put this together myself, I can (and have) done it but
it is not fun for me. So does anyone have a suggestion for a
reasonably reliable, reasonably cost effective system?

Not sure what you got against HP, it looks like you're looking for a
middle-of-the-road system, and HP will suit you just fine.

Gateway also sells such systems through its Emachines division.

Yousuf Khan

I would second the comments by General S and Gojira. I've bought a LOT of
items over the past 4-5 years from Newegg and they've never let me down, not
even once. Doing a great job on occassion is easy; ALWAYS delivering is what
sets Newegg apart from the crowd.

Alienware certainly is overpriced but they have the "cool" factor though I
place no value there (others may).

Never dealt with Monarch but I have heard good things about them on a
regular basis.

Dell, HP and Gateway are ok if you just want a box and stick to factory
spec. The stuff that they churn out by the thousands are generally well
configured (meaning, play nice together) and reliable so you'll rarely need
to deal with customer service. At least that's been my experience. They may
not have the best rigs or components but if you use them for what they're
intended, they're workhorses. If you're gonna tweak, customize, enhance or
add stuff, you'll probably be better off with whiteboxes or building your
own.


joe.

"Matt Silberstein" wrote in
message news
I am buying a new computer and really want an AMD. I will be doing
graphics and software dev and other stuff. I know that dual core will
be good for me. My problem is with the system maker, who do I go to?
Alienware looks great, but they optimize for games players and are
quite expensive (I know that the last 1% of performance costs the
most, I just don't need it.) HP seems so middling in what they offer.
I don't want to put this together myself, I can (and have) done it but
it is not fun for me. So does anyone have a suggestion for a
reasonably reliable, reasonably cost effective system?

TIA.


--
Matt Silberstein

Do something today about the Darfur Genocide

http://www.beawitness.org
http://www.darfurgenocide.org
http://www.savedarfur.org

"Darfur: A Genocide We can Stop"

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 15:56:24 -0500, Yousuf Khan wrote:

Matt Silberstein wrote:
I am buying a new computer and really want an AMD. I will be doing
graphics and software dev and other stuff. I know that dual core will
be good for me. My problem is with the system maker, who do I go to?
Alienware looks great, but they optimize for games players and are
quite expensive (I know that the last 1% of performance costs the
most, I just don't need it.) HP seems so middling in what they offer.
I don't want to put this together myself, I can (and have) done it but
it is not fun for me. So does anyone have a suggestion for a
reasonably reliable, reasonably cost effective system?

Not sure what you got against HP, it looks like you're looking for a
middle-of-the-road system, and HP will suit you just fine.

Gateway also sells such systems through its Emachines division.

Yousuf Khan

I have an HP A64 laptop and a 3800+ desktop and they are both fine
machines. However I was just looking at the HP site because we are looking
to get another system for simulation. HP doesn't have any X2 4400+
machines, the best they have is X2 4200+ which only has 1/2M caches vs 1M
on the 4400+, so HP isn't a great choice for an A64 development machine at
the moment. HP does have dual Opteron workstations so if you are looking
for a 4 core system they do have some good offerings right now. I also
looked at the MonarchComputer site again, a 4400+ system with 4G of
premium OCZ DDR, a 250G Seagate SATA drive, a DVD RW, a Thermaltake case
and Cooler, and a 500W Enermax supply will set you back a little over
$1600 which is a decent deal. The Opteron 175, which is identical to an X2
4400+, curiously is a few bucks cheaper so I'd choose that if I were
ordering a system today. I didn't include the graphics card in the
calculation because the price range is so wide, $60 to $1900, I'd pick the
cheapest card for my needs but the OP wants to do graphics development so
he needs something much better. I also didn't include the OS in the price
either. The nice thing about Monarch is that they'll sell you a system
without an OS which is how I buy them. Windows users will have to add in
the cost of an XP license which is $239 for XP64.

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 16:26:29 GMT, Matt Silberstein
wrote:

I'll add my vote for Monarch Computer WWW.monarchcomputer.com with one
caveat. They generally are slower to build and ship than the 15 days
they state on their website. The up side far outways their slowness
which is about 5 more days to build.

You get to choose the brands and models you want of all components;
MB, HD, power supply, case, fans, CPU, RAM, CD, DVD, floppy, and sound
card if you want one, just to name a few. You can even select round
cabling for better air flow. Cables are tied and or sleved to keep
them out of the way.

It does take a little more savvy buying from them just because they
have so many choices. But in the end you can get a top quality
system.

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 18:05:51 -0500, in alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 ,
General Schvantzkoph in
wrote:

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 15:56:24 -0500, Yousuf Khan wrote:

Matt Silberstein wrote:
I am buying a new computer and really want an AMD. I will be doing
graphics and software dev and other stuff. I know that dual core will
be good for me. My problem is with the system maker, who do I go to?
Alienware looks great, but they optimize for games players and are
quite expensive (I know that the last 1% of performance costs the
most, I just don't need it.) HP seems so middling in what they offer.
I don't want to put this together myself, I can (and have) done it but
it is not fun for me. So does anyone have a suggestion for a
reasonably reliable, reasonably cost effective system?

Not sure what you got against HP, it looks like you're looking for a
middle-of-the-road system, and HP will suit you just fine.

Gateway also sells such systems through its Emachines division.

Yousuf Khan

I have an HP A64 laptop and a 3800+ desktop and they are both fine
machines. However I was just looking at the HP site because we are looking
to get another system for simulation. HP doesn't have any X2 4400+
machines, the best they have is X2 4200+ which only has 1/2M caches vs 1M
on the 4400+, so HP isn't a great choice for an A64 development machine at
the moment. HP does have dual Opteron workstations so if you are looking
for a 4 core system they do have some good offerings right now. I also
looked at the MonarchComputer site again, a 4400+ system with 4G of
premium OCZ DDR, a 250G Seagate SATA drive, a DVD RW, a Thermaltake case
and Cooler, and a 500W Enermax supply will set you back a little over
$1600 which is a decent deal.

Without a monitor, right?

The Opteron 175, which is identical to an X2
4400+, curiously is a few bucks cheaper so I'd choose that if I were
ordering a system today. I didn't include the graphics card in the
calculation because the price range is so wide, $60 to $1900, I'd pick the
cheapest card for my needs but the OP wants to do graphics development so
he needs something much better. I also didn't include the OS in the price
either. The nice thing about Monarch is that they'll sell you a system
without an OS which is how I buy them. Windows users will have to add in
the cost of an XP license which is $239 for XP64.

I have that so not including it is a bonus.

--
Matt Silberstein

Do something today about the Darfur Genocide

http://www.beawitness.org
http://www.darfurgenocide.org
http://www.savedarfur.org

"Darfur: A Genocide We can Stop"

On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:08:27 GMT, in alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 ,
"Joe Yong" in
vT2lf.1194$Oq3.536@trnddc05 wrote:

I would second the comments by General S and Gojira. I've bought a LOT of
items over the past 4-5 years from Newegg and they've never let me down, not
even once. Doing a great job on occassion is easy; ALWAYS delivering is what
sets Newegg apart from the crowd.

Alienware certainly is overpriced but they have the "cool" factor though I
place no value there (others may).

Never dealt with Monarch but I have heard good things about them on a
regular basis.

Dell, HP and Gateway are ok if you just want a box and stick to factory
spec. The stuff that they churn out by the thousands are generally well
configured (meaning, play nice together) and reliable so you'll rarely need
to deal with customer service. At least that's been my experience. They may
not have the best rigs or components but if you use them for what they're
intended, they're workhorses. If you're gonna tweak, customize, enhance or
add stuff, you'll probably be better off with whiteboxes or building your
own.

Then I have to add coming back up to speed on motherboards and memory
and, sigh, everything. Ok, so what motherboards make sense for a
X2-4400? And what memory? I was probably going to get a nvida 6800
and either a Ego Juli@ or Audiophile 2496 sound card. I'm getting one
drive for now as the prices keep dropping and it is easy to drop in
another drive.

--
Matt Silberstein

Do something today about the Darfur Genocide

http://www.beawitness.org
http://www.darfurgenocide.org
http://www.savedarfur.org

"Darfur: A Genocide We can Stop"

"Matt Silberstein" wrote in
message ...
On Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:08:27 GMT, in alt.comp.hardware.amd.x86-64 ,
"Joe Yong" in
vT2lf.1194$Oq3.536@trnddc05 wrote:

I would second the comments by General S and Gojira. I've bought a LOT of
items over the past 4-5 years from Newegg and they've never let me down,
not
even once. Doing a great job on occassion is easy; ALWAYS delivering is
what
sets Newegg apart from the crowd.

Alienware certainly is overpriced but they have the "cool" factor though
I
place no value there (others may).

Never dealt with Monarch but I have heard good things about them on a
regular basis.

Dell, HP and Gateway are ok if you just want a box and stick to factory
spec. The stuff that they churn out by the thousands are generally well
configured (meaning, play nice together) and reliable so you'll rarely
need
to deal with customer service. At least that's been my experience. They
may
not have the best rigs or components but if you use them for what they're
intended, they're workhorses. If you're gonna tweak, customize, enhance
or
add stuff, you'll probably be better off with whiteboxes or building your
own.

Then I have to add coming back up to speed on motherboards and memory
and, sigh, everything. Ok, so what motherboards make sense for a
X2-4400? And what memory? I was probably going to get a nvida 6800
and either a Ego Juli@ or Audiophile 2496 sound card. I'm getting one
drive for now as the prices keep dropping and it is easy to drop in
another drive.

--
Matt Silberstein

Do something today about the Darfur Genocide

http://www.beawitness.org
http://www.darfurgenocide.org
http://www.savedarfur.org

"Darfur: A Genocide We can Stop"

Since you're not using it for gaming,you don't need an SLI motherboard,a
board with the NF4 chipset would support X2 CPU'S ,Abit makes very stable
and reliable boards.For memory,you need DDR 400 PC3200 RAM,using two matched
sticks in dual channel works best.