Computer Purchase Question

[bobbyb]

Need Your Valued Opinion re: Computer Purchase

I am looking at a STANDARD (Tower style) Systemax AMD Athlon 64bit 3400 Processor +/2.40Ghz; 512kb of L2 Cache w/Hyper Transport Tech running on K8M800 motherboard; 200GB Serial-ATA Hard Drive; Mem Type: DDR; The interface is SATA; 1GB High Speed Mem with 10/100Mbps Net Adapt for High Speed; wireless keyboard; 3 PCI slots-1AGP and 4 Expansion slots. MADE in the USA!!

My questions are:
I am not too familiar with with the Athlon 64, nor Systemax - Would you all consider this a good starter for me?
Is there anything additional I should add or look for when purchasing?
I have zero knowledge re: Athlon 64 as I have been an Intel user since day one - Your thoughts re: pro's/cons would be appreciated.

Thank You for taking the time to answer,

bobbyb

[xfile]

Need Your Valued Opinion re: Computer Purchase

I am looking at a STANDARD (Tower style) Systemax AMD Athlon 64bit 3400 Processor +/2.40Ghz; 512kb of L2 Cache w/Hyper Transport Tech running on K8M800 motherboard; 200GB Serial-ATA Hard Drive; Mem Type: DDR; The interface is SATA; 1GB High Speed Mem with 10/100Mbps Net Adapt for High Speed; wireless keyboard; 3 PCI slots-1AGP and 4 Expansion slots. MADE in the USA!!

My questions are:
I am not too familiar with with the Athlon 64, nor Systemax - Would you all consider this a good starter for me?
Is there anything additional I should add or look for when purchasing?
I have zero knowledge re: Athlon 64 as I have been an Intel user since day one - Your thoughts re: pro's/cons would be appreciated.

Thank You for taking the time to answer,

bobbyb

I bought a new generation (Dual Core) by AMD a few months ago. My first non-Intel. I think it's comparable to Intel. From what I read AMD is increasing in market share. They already have the majority market share over Intel in work stations and servers. They are on the upswing with pc's right now. I feel the AMD is equal to or better than Intel...my opinion only...good luck :cool:

[headhawg]

bobby,

I have used both AMD and Intel processors and I like them both. I usually build my own computers (or at least spec them out if I don't want to deal with the warranty hassle) and I make my choice based on value -- how much bang for the buck. For my last upgrade I chose a P4 2.67, but if I were building a box today I would opt for something in the AMD 64 line.

The only new technologies that appears to be missing from your machine is a dual core processor and PCI Express expansion slots. Dual core is probably an overpriced luxury now as few apps take advantage of a 2nd core for multithreaded operations. PCI-E could be a concern if there is a fancy upgrade that you might want to do down the road and the new device is only designed for PCI-E.

I don't have any experience with Systemax, so I can't help you there. Are you buying direct or from a vendor? You might want to check out www.resellerratings.com for store ratings if you are purchasing online.

Good luck.

HH

[bobbyb]

Thanks for the reseller link HH! - I'm looking at TigerDirect in Ontario as one store possibility. I will add the PCI-E - :ThmbUp: for mentioning that to me, duh.....

Xfile - appreciate the comments - thank you. It's tough getting GOOD info as all the outfits are more into hype than substance.

ps: Systemax is located in Ohio/Units are assembled in Ohio.

bobbyb

[BillW]

Thanks for the reseller link HH! - I'm looking at TigerDirect in Ontario as one store possibility. I will add the PCI-E - :ThmbUp: for mentioning that to me, duh.....

Xfile - appreciate the comments - thank you. It's tough getting GOOD info as all the outfits are more into hype than substance.

ps: Systemax is located in Ohio/Units are assembled in Ohio.

bobbyb

bobbyb,

I can't vouch for Systemax, but I deal with TigerDirect all the time - good folks. Also just bought a 3700+ and put it on an ASUS M/B with 2GB RAM - love the machine. I agree with comment below - dual core a little over priced at the moment - definite underlay.

Bill

[NoDayJob]

Talk to these people. I have been dealing with them for several years... stick with ASUS motherboards whenever possible.

http://www.cpusolutions.com/html/index.htm

NDJ [AKA Troll #1]

[PaceAdvantage]

I've always used ABIT boards....anything I should know?

[bobbyb]

Thanks Bill and NDG!

Bill, the M/B in the unit is expandable to 2 Gig - so I'll go that route.

ND - Comp site is super nice. I can see why you deal there. Thanks for the heads up everyone.

bobby

[BillW]

Thanks Bill and NDG!

Bill, the M/B in the unit is expandable to 2 Gig - so I'll go that route.

ND - Comp site is super nice. I can see why you deal there. Thanks for the heads up everyone.

bobby
Bobby,

I have some rather memory intensive stuff going on, hence the 2 GB. Not necessarily recommending it, but you can never have too much if you can afford it.

PA - always heard good things about Abit, just have stuck with ASUS here.

Bill

[JustRalph]

warning will robinson:

Some early versions of WinXp wouldn't run over a gig of Ram.......without crashing..........if you have an early version..........be careful.

[headhawg]

I've always used ABIT boards....anything I should know?
Rumor has it that Abit is in a bit of trouble financially. They make good boards -- especially for overclockers :) -- but I also prefer Asus.

[MichaelNunamaker]

Hi BobbyB,

AMD Athlon 64bit

I _love_ these CPUs. They are faster than Intel chips. They draw significantly less power than Intel chips. They are 64-bit processors so you can also run 64-bit Windows if you ever want too. And you get all this for less money than an Intel CPU. Almost every system I own is an Athlon64 or Opteron (AMD's workstation CPU).

Mike Nunamaker

[bobbyb]

That's It

Thanks Michael for your comment's. I had an opportunity to play around with one last night - and it was fast ....!!!

Thank You to everyone that took the time to answer. I'm going to pick it up today! It's pre-loaded with XP Pro, and the M/B is expandable to 2 GB + I will add the PCI-E (HH - great tip, and yep, I would have not thought about it).

Kudos to the members; this is the best forum in the world!

bobbyb :)