2010-05-15, 02:52 AM
You don't want to/can't build a computer?
On that note, is there any electronics chain in Europe comparable to Fry's/Microcenter? <<< Those stores always have CPU+Mobo deals. For example, Fry's past/current deals: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1800959
Anyway, for general price guidelines for CPUs, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best...,2599.html is a good resource to start with.
Other thoughts (even though prices in Europe might be different):[INDENT][INDENT]Hard drive: I'd pay at most $70 for 1 TB. So that's about 14.29 GB per dollar. The good SSDs are around $3-4 per GB or 0.333-0.25 GB per dollar. (So if you want a SSD, get a small one as boot/applications drive and configure Windows/Linux to use cheap the storage for everything else.)
RAM: These used to be cheap... Anyway, shoot for < $80 for 4 GB DDR2/DDR3 RAM.
DVD/CD burner: These go for around $20-25.
Graphics card: I recommend that you buy the card that gives you the performance you need at the quality+resolution that you want. I think these things go obsolete in 2-3 years -- in which time, you can just buy a new graphics card with the money that you would have otherwise spent on a more expensive card. (So if you spent $200 now or $100 now + $100 in a couple years, the future card should have similar/comparable performance but with more features. Or $300 vs $150+$150, and so on).
And here's Tom's Hardware Price Guideline (you might be able to buy stuff for cheaper with mail-in rebates though): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/grap...,2621.html
Power supply: Use http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psuca...orlite.jsp to calculate a good estimate of wattage you need. Additionally, your graphics card should specify a minimum current from the 12V rail. NOTE: This is (generally) MORE IMPORTANT than total wattage. So buy a power supply that meets/exceeds that requirement. (Also, 80PLUS certified is preferable.
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On that note, is there any electronics chain in Europe comparable to Fry's/Microcenter? <<< Those stores always have CPU+Mobo deals. For example, Fry's past/current deals: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1800959
ZottenKerel Wrote:Anyway my friend advised a Core 2 Quad Q8200 or higher and then getting a good graphs card for it, he says it's pretty cheap and can last me a while and works fine. Any suggestions there?I'm not sure if it's possible to buy C2Q 8xxx series anymore. So if you want to buy a quad-core CPU, you'll need to pay ~$180(USD) for one from Intel. Problem with that is that AMD dominates in value when price is below ~$200 -- unless you want a fast dual-core below $200 (where i3 and some of the dual core Pentium E6xxx can be had for a good price).
Anyway, for general price guidelines for CPUs, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best...,2599.html is a good resource to start with.
Other thoughts (even though prices in Europe might be different):[INDENT][INDENT]Hard drive: I'd pay at most $70 for 1 TB. So that's about 14.29 GB per dollar. The good SSDs are around $3-4 per GB or 0.333-0.25 GB per dollar. (So if you want a SSD, get a small one as boot/applications drive and configure Windows/Linux to use cheap the storage for everything else.)
RAM: These used to be cheap... Anyway, shoot for < $80 for 4 GB DDR2/DDR3 RAM.
ZottenKerel Wrote:Does 8G or 6G DDR3 Ram make that huge of a difference?It does if you want to do heavy virtualization (e.g., VMWare, VirtualBox, etc.) -- heavy as in run 3+ OS'es at once. Or if you do professional quality photo/video editing.
DVD/CD burner: These go for around $20-25.
Graphics card: I recommend that you buy the card that gives you the performance you need at the quality+resolution that you want. I think these things go obsolete in 2-3 years -- in which time, you can just buy a new graphics card with the money that you would have otherwise spent on a more expensive card. (So if you spent $200 now or $100 now + $100 in a couple years, the future card should have similar/comparable performance but with more features. Or $300 vs $150+$150, and so on).
And here's Tom's Hardware Price Guideline (you might be able to buy stuff for cheaper with mail-in rebates though): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/grap...,2621.html
Power supply: Use http://www.extreme.outervision.com/psuca...orlite.jsp to calculate a good estimate of wattage you need. Additionally, your graphics card should specify a minimum current from the 12V rail. NOTE: This is (generally) MORE IMPORTANT than total wattage. So buy a power supply that meets/exceeds that requirement. (Also, 80PLUS certified is preferable.
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