What to buy for EUR 4k?

[Noia]

Katja; want me to come build one for you?

A good place to start might be with computerland.nl, they have a shop right next to Den Haag CS, nice place, good service and they do assembly for you, so you just kind walk in, say what you want then come back a few days later.

EDIT: Also, might I say, with 4000 euros, the sky is the limit, infact, I would go so far as to say its too much, you don't need much more than 1200 for a very nice system with TFT and such, but 2000 will deffinatly get you something that will last and last and last.

Contact me if you want more info, I used to build systems for P&O Nedlloyd......much more fun building modded systems.

[Katja]

It's an interesting offer, noia! But I already know quite a few people who are willing to build whatever computer that I like for me. Besides, I can always teach it myself with the help of some friends. But thing is, I will have to rely on whatever machine that I will use, quite heavily. Thus, if it crashes after a month or so due to assembly errors or whatever, I want it to be fixed ASAP. (Preferably onsite too.) None of my friends can guarantee this kind of service. If I order it at some shop with 3 years guarantee, I should be safe for these kinds of situations.
To be honest, after I have a new PC, I will probably start disassembling and re-assembling the current system that I have. It would be a nice backup alternative. Maybe install Linux on it and use it as some fileserver. Once I have a new system, I can do whatever I like with the old one.
Dell offers a very good on-site support if need be. Many other computershops do the same, if you but a system that they have assembled. People who build their own systems often just have to work things out by themselves...
As I said, I am more into software than hardware. The hardware must be very reliable. And I do believe you can build a very fine system for me, but I don't think you'll fix it (for free) on site if something fails after a month...

[foxyloxley]

If I order it at some shop with 3 years guarantee, I SHOULD be safe for these kinds of situations.

Oh Dear .........
the INNOCENCE of youth
As in most things in this life, the warranty will not be worth the paper it is written on.
It will have exclusions and get outs built in.
The most common being the one along the lines of :
To be returned to OUR workplace, at YOUR expense,
using the ORIGINAL packaging.
you will have to PAY for labour / parts [delete one OR the other, but ONE will be there]
All warranty claims will be voided if WE determine that the PC was used for purposes NOT recognised by ourselves / for work / used at LAN parties etc.

By all means buy over the counter, but just get the standard FREE 12 month warrenty, and LEARN how to repair it yourself

OR : take up the offer to have it built to YOUR spec by friends or fellow AO'ers, and take the chance that it WILL work

[Jeckgo]

hey Mark,

Katja is so sweet only... it doesn't mean anything

[Jeckgo]

Katja,

It is better for you to wait the Pentium V... to keep you updated

Why??? Is there really a dual processor on PC? I know that there is dual processor on Mac G5 but on PC i dont think so... or maybe i dont know

[morganlefay]

Thats right...you dont know!


There are definately MBs that support dual processors or quads for that matter....now it all depends if the OS or the applications can use them...


MLF

[Katja]

Learning to repair it myself... Hmmm... That's just the problem. I care more about the software side than the hardware side of computers. It's why I tend to have lots of hardware that I can simply add by plugging it into my USB port. I have an USB TV card, several USB harddisks, USB printer, USB mouse, USB joystick, USB fingerprint-recogniser... I love USB since it allows me to add things by simply plugging it in without thinking.
And well, I have installed extra memory in my PC. I have replaced a CD drive with a DVD/RW drive and I've also once replaced the network card and added a USB hub card. This all doesn't take much knowledge. But when something breaks down and I have to find out which component went down... Now, that would be a problem and I don't have any interest in learning more about that...
Besides, I tend to have very good experiences with computer shops. I had an on-site warranty for my current system and when at one point some smoke came out of my monitor before it died, they did come by and replace it with a new one within a day. Nice people, those people from Dell. (And it happened a month before the warrenty ended. )
Of course, you should always read the small print in any warrenty anyways. Which means making sure to go to a reliable source.

But first things first. I want to know what is available for EUR 4k. Once I know what is available and what I really want, I can always decide for some home-made thing so I can spend some cash on additional hardware wishes.

[foxyloxley]

at one point some smoke came out of my monitor before it died

Little known fact is that ALL computers are smoke powered, and when the smoke gets out ............

They DIE

But first things first. I want to know what is available for EUR 4k.

Absolutely ANYTHING for that price :you lucky thing you:

Make a wish list:
that is, a list of what your DREAM PC would do / could do

then ORDER IT

[The Duck]

If I were you I would build the computer for a good learning experience and if you have any problems you could always ask here .

[Aspman]

Do you really NEED a new pc or do you just WANT a new one? bOth are valid reasons to buy a new pc but if you just want one it might be better to wait until you know exactly what you are going to need.

Games aside you don't need anything very powerful right now.
you shouldn't be put off from self building, it's far easier than most people assume BUT it isn't always cheaper.

I self built my last ,machine so that I could save money in the short term using parts from my Dell (a P3 733 so probably a similar model to yours) and being able to upgrade gradually. Thats worked fine for me. I'be upped the HD and changed the gfx card a few times. I know that I will be able to reuse things for a while yet as everything it running on generic parts rather than bespoke brands.

Dell makes ok machines but the support sucks even worse than it did before. Want good Dell support spend £100k and learn to speak an Indian dialect.
They are still cheap enough to consider but don't ever take any Dell upgrade options. Dell memory costs waaaaaaaay more than anyone elses. Buy the machine with the base spec and upgrade from other manufacturers such as Crucial, Corsair or Kingston. Same with HD and other parts. Ditch the 3yr warranty too.

Building your own? I don't know Dutch suppliers but Ebuyer.co.uk is very cheap here. With what you are doing you really just need a base spec machine.

An Athlon64 3000+ with 512 Mb memory and 120Gb HD with a mid range grfx card would probably do the trick for not a lot of money. Mobos from Asus, Gigabyt and Abit are generally quite good but everyone has their favoutite brands.

Don't buy anything too expensive and save your money for something nice.

PS. Maybe a cheap laptop would be more useful to you right now if you are studying. Get the monster desktop later.