I am looking to get a new PC. I'll be upgrading from a P4 2.8ghz Dell 4700. I am looking to get the best bang for my buck because just as with the Dell I bought 4 or 5 years ago, I don't plan on upgrading again for another 4 years or so (I bought this when I started at my job to run websphere development studio).

I will be ordering two new 22 inch monitors at the same time ($199 each) to add to the19 inch I have now (see http://farm2.static.flickr.com/140 [...] _o.jpg)... so I want to be sure I have enough multitasking capability to really get good efficient use out of the massive screen real estate. I do not play games on the PC, I rarely play any kind of movies (because the Xbox is hooked up to the TV and the network), and I don't expect those habits to change anytime soon. So with programming, occasional photoshop usage, and the need to have many system hog IDE's running concurrently, I think that a 400-500 dollar computer should do the trick, right?

Would you mind weighing in on some of the sales on Ebay that I have considered as far as the specs are concerned? Remember, I am not really looking for top of the line here, just a stock performance increase (I have no interest in overclocking). As it stands, the Quad cores I am looking at will be 6.4 times faster than my current PC. Not to mention the desired memory upgrade of 4Gigs will quadruple the amount of ram I am working with now. All this for $400 less than I paid for my Dell refurbished 4 years ago!

The goals here are multi-tasking large bloated pieces of software with ease across three monitors (I already have the graphics cards), and I have a home server with all the space I would ever need... so hdd space is really not a concern either (my current build fits in just under 8Gigs and that is with 5 IDE's and all graphics apps I need).

TIA
Rob

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOADED-CORE2-Q [...] 286.c0.m14

This next one doesnt come with RAM or a HDD. The HDD isnt as much a problem because I have 4 750G Sata drives sitting right next to me, but the RAM may end up costing a bit to get me to 4G if I want that.
http://cgi.ebay.com/BEST-BRAND-NEW [...] 286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.com/INTEL-CORE2DUO [...] 286.c0.m14

I would avoid buying computer parts from ebay. There is no warranty, and there is no telling what you may end up with.

Are you in the U.S.? If so, I recommend you order from newegg.com.

I would go with a Q6600, and a P45 motherboard.
You can get 4 GB of DDR2 for around $80 - $90.
With all your hard drives I would recommend a full tower case.
a PSU around with 600 W should be more than adequate.

I see your point about there being no warranty from Ebay, but I just can't seem to find something similar on newegg. Everything in the same category either looks like a 16 yr old kids hopped up ricer mobile with neon lights and stuff or its $900. (see http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 883227065)

I am in the US, and I have the 22 inch Acer's sitting in my Newegg.com wishlist right now. If I can manage to find a decent PC for 400-500 dollars on newegg then I don't see any reason why I couldn't just order a PC from them. Its finding a comparable pc for that price I guess is the challenge.

ya the Q6600 was what I have had my eye on I think.
I didnt realize that RAM was that cheap now. Wow.
I have an external enclosure for the drive array actually so this really isn't much of a concern either.
Good tip on the PSU, thanks. I will need it for the drives.

Any help finding a decent PC on newegg is appreciated. Maybe there is something there I am not seeing, but I really don't want one of those glow in the dark ones. I use this for business and that would just be embarrassing to let a client see.

Thanks,
Rob

Build your own pc the way you like, save money, and get only what you want.

If you don't want to do that then I would suggest getting a neon light variety and taking out the LED's or replacing the fans with ones without LEDs.

I see your point. I guess I can't have it both ways, but I do fear my inexperience wasting away some expensive processor or mobo because I don't know how to put that thermal paste on right or something n00bish like that.

Doing all of the research necessary to ensure that the components I get are all compatible really turns me off too. I have a pretty hectic day job in the IT field and the idea of coming home and having to do massive amounts of research about processors and mobos etc has been enough to keep me buying prebuilts so far. I don't really keep up with it all so I look out on this vast sea of components that is the custom pc world and I think... wow, where do I start and why is everything focused on gaming.

You know what would be great, if there was a place that had custom pc specs that are proven to work really well together with price guides on the configurations. I haven't seen anything like that... other than by looking at the setups of users here in their signatures or maybe an article or two on the main site.

Maybe I am looking right past it, but does anyone know of any resources like that? How about ones that do not focus on the highest of the high end gaming rig setups with dual graphics cards and all that jazz, but are more focused on a price range (best bang for your buck) incentive?

I did some more research about the first ebay pc I listed (the 2.4ghz quad core system for $500 with free shipping).

http://cgi.ebay.com/LOADED-CORE2-Q [...] 286.c0.m14

I priced out each of the components as if I were going to buy them from newegg.com to build my own pc with the exact same specs. I came up with $475 without shipping (which would be significant for that much weight and number of items). Considering that this ebay seller offers free shipping in addition to the fact that the CPU is already seated, fans mounted, and everything is tested, this really seems to be a great deal. The auction lists that the components are brand new with a 1 year warranty and all systems are "carefully tested and burn-in".

Here is the newegg.com price break down as I figured it from the specs listed on the Ebay auction page:

Any thoughts? Is there something I am not thinking about here?

The fact that you can get ripped off very easy when you but anything from ebay.

I have been using ebay for years and have had success so far. Now, of course i don't want to get screwed, but as everyone should, I make sure to read good and bad feedback on a seller, and check the overall rating to ensure that the user is not bogus.

I remember when people used to sound just like you when talking about ordering things on the internets rather than walking into the store. Maybe I would be singing a different tune had I been burned before.

Thanks for the advice,
Rob

Here is a good, reliabe system that will serve your The only thing you may not like with all these parts I have suggested is the hard drive space. For most everybody I think 160gb is more then adequate, if not I will post another one for you. I spent a fair amount of time puting these parts together, they are all work together and you will be very happy with it, so at least look at the damn thing.

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103211

motherboard(and its good):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138112

Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371005

memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820211188

hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136112

none flashy computer case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811121003

The total cost of all of this is 320 dollars. With tax and shipping should come to 350 or 370. And it has room to upgrade for the future. Trust me if you buy this stuff and put it together you will be pleased as pie.

Thanks for the post E3212! That's a huge help.

I am looking over all of the components now on newegg. Have you used both the Intel Core2 Quad Core Q6600 as well as the AMD that you mentioned? It looks like the AMD CPU is quite a bit slower according to this: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/common_cpus.html

Thanks again for the help. I am glad to have something to really compare to.
Rob

There are only a few processors at each price point that are worth buying and it goes like this

the one I suggested for you
AMD 6000+ for $112
E8400 woldale for 169
Q6600 for 194
Q9650 for 340


A read a review of the q6600 on newegg, where a person with 4gigs of memory ran 74 web browsers, itunes, crysis, and a few other applications all at the same time to test the limit and couldn't find it. You really don't need a quad core because:

A quad core is designed for multithreaded application like video rendering and other high powered software.

Most applications are only coded for one core anyway and those application are more clock speed dependent. 2.6ghz is plenty fast. My girlfriend runs a old 1.6ghz centrino with one gig of memory it serves her purposes well. This amd processor is almost twice as fast and has a 4x larger cache then that. With four gigs you will be fine.

Make sure to get vista 64bit from newegg or your office, or you computer will not use all four gigs of memory. It will only run two or three gigs max do to the limit of 32bit operating systems.

Good luck