I need a new computer, any suggestions?
 

I have about $900-$1000 to spend on a computer. I need something that is satisfyingly fast for running vids and multi-tasking. Somewhere around 2.8 ghz P4. I need suggestions, spending less is better.

I have a harddrive, and CD drives already. But I need a new case.

it should be easy to get that fast for that much but you prolly wont be able to get a nice video card

if u're looking for something compact as i'm guessing u're a student go with this. thats what i have now, and it runs great! some reviews said that it has problems when u stick in an AGP vid card, cuz it blocks an intake port, but i'm running at Gforce 4 w/ no problems. very happy w/ it.

my specs are:
INTEL PENTIUM 4 2.4 GHZ
PC3200 512MB DDR 400MHZ
WESTERN DIGITAL WD1200JB 120.0GB 7200RPM 8MB CACHE ATA/100
WESTERN DIGITAL WD2000JB 200.0GB 7200RPM 8MB CACHE ATA/100
LEADTEK WINFAST A250 LE TD GEFORCE4 TI4200 128MB DDR W/ VIVO
LG GCC-4480B COMBO 48X24X48 CD-RW 16X DVD
MSI MEGA651 MEGA PC BAREBONE SIS 651 AUDIO LAN MODEM 1394 AM/FM TUNER (actually really small only about 8" tall)

which cost about $800 CDN w/o the HDs. but i got it in sept, so it should be cheaper now

DETH, where did u get ur computer from? do u know any good companies to buy from in the southern ontario (TO etc) area.? mine is startin to get a little outdated and im thinkin of pickin up a few parts this summer

try www.pricewatch.com that's where I got the stuff for my Computer really cheap. you can get some great deals especially on chip's since the new ones were released a week ago. good luck and have fun.

www.newegg.com <-----Awesome site. Free Fed Ex 2nd day shipping on a bunch of things.

ya, but the prob w/ pricewatch.com is that its all american.

@callen i got my comp from www.vibecomputers.ca i';ve bought 2 comps from them and the service and products were outstanding. if u;'re looking for something in Ontario try www.canadacomputers.com. i live really near the downtown comp district and they usually have teh best prices around, as well as a pretty good selection. hope that helps :mrgreen:

Do you want to buy or build? Cus you could easily get a better comp then the one u seem to want for $1000 if u build it.

well i actually bought it...it's the cheapest i could find, although the case does cost a premium cuz of its compact size

What currency is your budget in?

I also recommend pricewatch. AMD provides the best bang for the buck imo, and with XP 64 starting to trickle out the future looks very bright:) If you want to look at comparisons check out the CPU section of tomshardware.com.

yeah, AMD is definitely a better CPU, in my opinion. I've been usin AMD for years and now run a 2800+ and i've never had a problem with it.

www.ncix.com
www.apower.com
www.atic.ca

some prices are canadien., but they do ship and are dirt cheap!

A64s are probably the best processor you can buy now regardless of what you're doing. With Windows 64, its content creation and such has improved greatly to a point which I think it matches P4s. In games, I believe they're faster aswell, but don't expect Windows 64 to come out soon. Also, there isn't much of an upgrading path for the current A64s.

^^ my thoughts exactly...IMO its a bit premature to be investing in tech that hasnt really proved itself yet... esp in comps considering u're likely going to have it for max 5 years

yep.. but windows xp64bit is only a beta ATM and trust me its hard getting drivers for a lot of hardware, but I guess over the next few months that problem should be fixed and then it will fly.. I'm running it dual boot with normal xp pro, and its definitely a little snappier in some things, but as I can't get drivers for my capture and sound cards, or for the sata raid controller on my m/b its not worth using it as a full time o/s yet.

still, in xp pro the a64 rocks and is as fast as a p4 with ~1.4ghz higher clock speed depending on the app you're running, in games and normal apps it rules, maybe in some video editing tasks its a little slower but the difference is not massive, and when skt939 motherboards and the revised a64's are out in a couple of months it will be the system to have, especially when matched with xp64bit edition :D

http://dan.is-mad.com/upload/files/xp64.jpg

I doubt the A64 will beat P4 for much longer if AMD doesn't scale the chips higher. The Prescott core for the P4s I've read increase performance more as it gets scaled higher, like the A64s. But the P4s can go to 4-5Ghz Intel clams.