Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Getting a new PC (without getting ripped off)

I'm writing this as a rant after seeing a laptop for sale in a catalog, which boasted it had a "HUGE 20GB Hard Drive".......

That kinda killed me a little inside.

Many people want a new computer, but some don't know what to look for, and get less than they should for a price.

What are you getting the PC for? You might consider gaming, video editing, or maybe thats all crap to you and you just want a decent computer to browse the web and hold some digital photos.

You must consider the above, because it can mean a difference in hundreds of bucks.

Most people can get away with a factory built tower as a PC.


I have my own special needs in a PC, it needs to hold everything for about 10 people, and shouldn't lag.

Consider my build as an example, It acts as a powerhouse, working both to run my games, and serve the rest of the house with movies and music.
 I spent a bit extra than what most would, do to my nasty habit of hoarding information, and loving to customize PCs.


Summary


Computer:
Computer Type  ACPI x86-based PC
Operating System  Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate
OS Service Pack  Service Pack 1
Internet Explorer  8.0.6001.18702 (IE 8.0)
DirectX  DirectX 10.1
Computer Name  ENTERPRISE
User Name  Zandercorp
Logon Domain  ENTERPRISE
Date / Time  2011-04-06 / 16:59
Motherboard:
CPU Type  QuadCore AMD Athlon II X4 620, 2800 MHz (13 x 215)
Motherboard Name  Biostar TA790GXB3 (3 PCI, 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16, 4 DDR3 DIMM, Audio, Video, Gigabit LAN)
Motherboard Chipset  AMD 790GX, AMD K10
System Memory  3328 MB (DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM)
DIMM1: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9  1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)
DIMM2: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9  1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)
DIMM3: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9  1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)
DIMM4: Corsair XMS3 CM3X1G1333C9  1 GB DDR3-1333 DDR3 SDRAM (9-9-9-24 @ 666 MHz) (8-8-8-22 @ 592 MHz) (7-7-7-19 @ 518 MHz) (6-6-6-16 @ 444 MHz)
BIOS Type  AMI (07/30/09)
Display:
Video Adapter  ATI Radeon HD 3300 Graphics (256 MB)
Video Adapter  ATI Radeon HD 3300 Graphics (256 MB)
3D Accelerator  ATI Radeon HD 3300 (RS780D)
Monitor  Generic PnP Monitor [NoDB] (942RY1NA00923)
Multimedia:
Audio Adapter  ATI RS690 HDMI @ AMD RS780/RS880 Chipset - High Definition Audio Controller
Audio Adapter  ATI RS690 HDMI @ ATI SB750 - High Definition Audio Controller
Storage:
IDE Controller  Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
IDE Controller  Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
Storage Controller  AZCH756R IDE Controller
Storage Controller  Microsoft iSCSI Initiator
Storage Controller  VIA RAID Controller - 3249
Disk Drive  Generic Storage Device USB Device
Disk Drive  ST31000333AS ATA Device (1000 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive  ST32000542AS ATA Device (2000 GB, 5900 RPM, SATA-II)
Disk Drive  ST3250623A ATA Device (250 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
Disk Drive  ST3500830AS ATA Device (500 GB, 7200 RPM, SATA-II)
Optical Drive  Optiarc DVD RW AD-7170A ATA Device (DVD+R9:8x, DVD-R9:8x, DVD+RW:18x/8x, DVD-RW:18x/6x, DVD-RAM:12x, DVD-ROM:16x, CD:48x/32x/48x DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM)
Optical Drive  QNY 0PUZ896VCPQ SCSI CdRom Device
Optical Drive  QNY 0PUZ896VCPQ SCSI CdRom Device
SMART Hard Disks Status  OK
Partitions:
C: (NTFS)  218.2 GB (24.2 GB free)
D: (NTFS)  931.5 GB (315.8 GB free)
E: (NTFS)  6997 MB (1975 MB free)
F: (NTFS)  7051 MB (6706 MB free)
I: (NTFS)  465.8 GB (114.3 GB free)
X: (NTFS)  1863.0 GB (1219.0 GB free)
Total Size  3492.2 GB (1681.8 GB free)



TL;DR : Don't get screwed out of your hard earned cash buying or building a new PC.
Read up on current standards by going to http://www.tigerdirect.com or http://www.newegg.com

13 comments:

  1. lol 20gb hard drive.... and thanks, I'll check this out whenever I buy a new computer

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  2. Windows Vista? Brings back old memories! :P I hate computer catalogs, especially those trying to sell "brand name" computers the same way cars are advertised.

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  3. Dude, thx alot for this, im thinking in buyin a new pc and this hit the spot bro. Again thx

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  4. I'm glad i haven't had to buy a new one.

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  5. nice setup, might refer back to this if I get one in the future.

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  6. 20gb is huge :D thanks for the sites will check them out

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  7. you didnt list sources... a great place to buy cheap parts is www.pricewatch.com and www.newegg.com

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  8. Haha, huge 20gb hard drive. I've been thinking about getting a new computer, but I'm not sure what yet. Thanks for the information about it!

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  9. Nice post, people believe anything that the employees of places like pc world tell them

    For Comic Reviews And Discussions
    http://marvelcomicuniverse.blogspot.com/

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