My (final) new computer

[hobcat1]

I've been waiting three years to get a new computer. My PII 266 is starting to get awfully old...
Anyways, I'm ordering my new one from Cyberpower, reviewed nicely in PC World, etc.
Is there anything inherently wrong with this?:
Ahanix Platinum XP tower with 425 Watt PSU
AMD 2100+ XP (who needs the 2200 for another 50 dollars?)
MSI KT-3 ULTRA ARU motherboard (USB 2.0,ATA133 RAID,5.1 SOUND)
AMD certified fan, heatsink, and three case fans
DVD 16x
no CDRW, I already have a 16x
obvious floppy
512 MB PC2700 RAM
60 GB ATA100 7200 hd (80 GB for $35? ATA133 for $30?)
generic PS2 keyboard and mouse, come with it for free
generic modem
standard 2 USB 2.0 plus 2 USB 1.1
Win XP Home
Corel 2002
Creative Inspire 5300s (should I just go and buy Z560s?)
GeForce 4 Ti 4200 128MB (overclock it)
builtin sound on MSI board (is this any good? would I be better of with the $65 Audigy OEM?)
Viewsonic E90FB (black to match, good deal for good reviews)
Grand total:$1322.00
THEN, you have to add 99 dollars for shipping. I could go up to 1400 on price, but the lower, the better. Does this seem like a good price? Obviously, compared to the likes of Dell/Gateway, etc. , it's darn good. But compared to others? Since it's not my money, I can't build it myself.

Anything I should change?

 

[Alex]

1 thing is very wrong: creative inspir speakers... the logitech z540's have exactly the same specs but are infinitely better. Not a doubt about it. I think they are awesome enough and Z560's are not necessary...

ATA133 is NOT worth it and its your call how much HD space you'll be needing...an extra 20GB for $30 seems reasonable but only if you'll need it...

Contrary to popular belief, the 64mb ti4200's perform and overclock better than 128mb ones (especially gainwards golden sample 64mb cards) so id get that instead and save a couple bucks...

do you really need a floppy? just something to think about... haven't used mine at all so my next rig won't have one...

the onboard sound is reasonable but its a shame to have such nice speakers (assuming u get z540) and not have a good soundcard to use them with... audigy oem is very worth it... look at the AT special offer ($55 and free shipping...)

hope this helps!

 

[clockhar]

Originally posted by: hobcat1
I've been waiting three years to get a new computer. My PII 266 is starting to get awfully old...
Anyways, I'm ordering my new one from Cyberpower, reviewed nicely in PC World, etc.
Is there anything inherently wrong with this?:
Ahanix Platinum XP tower with 425 Watt PSU
AMD 2100+ XP (who needs the 2200 for another 50 dollars?)
MSI KT-3 ULTRA ARU motherboard (USB 2.0,ATA133 RAID,5.1 SOUND)
AMD certified fan, heatsink, and three case fans
DVD 16x
no CDRW, I already have a 16x
obvious floppy
512 MB PC2700 RAM
60 GB ATA100 7200 hd (80 GB for $35? ATA133 for $30?)
generic PS2 keyboard and mouse, come with it for free
generic modem
standard 2 USB 2.0 plus 2 USB 1.1
Win XP Home
Corel 2002
Creative Inspire 5300s (should I just go and buy Z560s?)
GeForce 4 Ti 4200 128MB (overclock it)
builtin sound on MSI board (is this any good? would I be better of with the $65 Audigy OEM?)
Viewsonic E90FB (black to match, good deal for good reviews)
Grand total:$1322.00
THEN, you have to add 99 dollars for shipping. I could go up to 1400 on price, but the lower, the better. Does this seem like a good price? Obviously, compared to the likes of Dell/Gateway, etc. , it's darn good. But compared to others? Since it's not my money, I can't build it myself.

Anything I should change?

Man, that's a best of a 'puter.
Well, yea, I'd invest an extra 65-70 on a new soundcard especially since your going with creative 5300's. If your gonna spend money on speakers, might as well not weigh 'em down with a junk video card. Other than Corel (why Corel - why not MS Office, Works or dare I say StarOffice?), all seems good.

 

[hobcat1]

Is it worth $45 for them to put in a window and neon light?
Also, I think I'll forget the 5300's and just pick up a Z560 at a local store.

 

[Alex]

Originally posted by: hobcat1
Is it worth $45 for them to put in a window and neon light?
Also, I think I'll forget the 5300's and just pick up a Z560 at a local store.

good call on the speakers!
the window and neon light looks very nice and IMO $45 is fairly reasonable, as it includes the labour...

 

[EdipisReks]

i would personally get the 128 mb geforce4 ti4200, but that is just me not wanting to replace a 64 MB card with another 64 MB card . anandtech.com had a nice round up of ti4200's, and (if i remember correctly) a good 128 MB card overclocked will beat a good 64 MB card overclocked, especially at high rez and with FSAA. and i would go get a santa cruz instead of an audigy, if that is an option for you. in my experience, and the experience with several of my friends, the audigy has severe issues.

 

[hobcat1]

What about the Philips Seismic Edge? It's very cheap...Also, I really want to hook up my XBox, via optical, if possible. I have the Z560s (will have), and I want to take advantage of them.

 

[EdipisReks]

is the seismic edge 4.1? i thought it was 2.1. maybe i'm thinking of the rhythmic edge...

 

[hobcat1]

Seismic edge is actually 5.1, if it matters. So is the Acoustic, but it's I/O options are better. The Rhymthic is a four channel card.

 

[CrazySaint]

What brand of HD is that? I'd recommend you get the WD 'SE' 80GB with the 8MB cache since it runs as fast as a SCSI drive. They run for $120. Also, if you're willing to overclock, I'd suggest you consider getting a 1.6A and OC'ing it. With any luck, you'll save money and hassle and end up with a faster system (plus you'll actually be able to put that PC2700 RAM to good use ). Just make sure you get some good quality PC2700 like Samsung, Mushkin, or Corsair XMS. If you decide to go the 1.6A route, take a look at the EPoX 4G4A+ which I believe has all the same features as the KT3 Ultra-ARU (plus the semi-crappy Intel graphics) and seems to be the current favorite among overclockers. It costs about $120 at MWave.

 

[ceZium]

Very nice setup for the price, IMO the Z560's are much better than the creative's, but that's only my opinion.

 

[hobcat1]

Nah, I'm sticking with AMD. I don't plan to overclock, unless for the graphics card. Ti 4200 can overclock to right between the speeds of the 4400 and the 4600, at a much cheaper price. Memory is name brand only. I don't know what brand the hard drive is, but I do know it's a name brand. I don't think the 8MB cache is available there.