I need to build a PC FAST!

[92UrS4]

Mine has been limping along with a finicky power switch. I thought it was the case, swapped everything over to another case I had, same issue. Of course I had to do this because I could no longer switch it on. The MB is getting power, but when I hit the power button on the case nothing happens.

Prior to this when the computer would turn on it operated just fine.

That being said....I believe the MB has a problem since it isn't working. I have a pretty good MB, ASUS P4P800-E with a 3GHz P4, I have like 2GB of DDR400 RAM and a couple hard drives and a DVD burner.

I looked at eBay for the same mainboard and it is still a small fortune, around $100. Considering I have had this for 4 years I am surprised.

I really wouldn't mind upgrading to something like a quad core or a little more updated and speedy to get me through the next 4 years

Dub and I were kinda starting to talk about this stuff then all of a sudden my issue became pressing. Unless of course one of you has a line on a Socket 478 board.

Please chime in on what's the good stuff to have these days. I am a little out of touch.

[jayryan]

I just built a system for my HTPC but couldn't recommend anything to you. PCs are so cheap to build any more, I just get what I need at a reasonable cost

Here's what I did and it's running really, really well:
ASUS M2A-VM HDMI AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon X2 BE-2400 Brisbane 2.3GHz Socket AM2 Dual-Core Processor Model ADH2400IAA5DO
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Seagate 7200rpm 320GB System HDD
HT Omega Striker 7.1 PCI Audio Interface
Lite-On 4x Blu-Ray DVD ROM SATA
Galaxy METAL GEAR Dual Bay Case - FW400
- Seagate 7200RPM 320GB SATA (vids and photos)
- Segate 7200RPM 250GB HDD (music)
Generic Exteral Case - USB 2.0
- WD 7200rpm 80GB Sata (backups)
External Lacie 7200RPM 1TB FW800 HDD (currently housing wedding footage)

[92UrS4]

Well in the end I may just buy a brand name PC, HP is doing $400 off of PCs at $999 or more, this is what I have put together for $624 shipped, just debating on whether to pull the trigger or not:

HP Pavilion Elite m9300t customizable Desktop PC
KZ854AV#ABA

    * – Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
    * – Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q6600 (2.4GHz)
    * – FREE UPGRADE to 3GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM from 2GB
    * – FREE UPGRADE! 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300, DVI-I, VGA adapter, HDMI
    * – 750GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
    * – No additional (Ethernet LAN port on system board)
    * – LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
    * – 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, video, audio
    * – ATSC-NTSC TV tuner with PVR, FM tuner, remote
    * – None (Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/ front audio ports)
    * – Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
    * – Norton Internet Security(TM) 2008 - 15 month
    * – HP keyboard and HP optical mouse
    * – HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

[jfrahm]

For work I have been getting a lot of PCs from Newegg.  They have some great deals:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883107718

[92UrS4]

Thanks Joel, I JUST pulled the trigger on the one I posted. I have some apps that take full advantage of the quad core for my development needs.

I should have it in a few weeks I suppose, I had some of our more hardware knowledgeable guys take a look as well and they felt like it was a good buy and that I couldn't build the same thing for less.

This is the first time in my life I have bought a put together PC, I can't believe I struggled so much with doing it.

[jayryan]

Jay, that sounds like a smokin' deal!

[ColoradoB5]

Dang Jay, we just talked about this the other day, didn't we?

I just got mine on Monday, but should finished getting it going tonight.  Work has been Bizzay.  Worked until 2:30am this morning.

Here's what I got for $730 shipped from tigerdirect.com.

Apevia Black X-Cruiser Case ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB, Audio and Firewire Ports (A107-1050) 1 $69.99 $69.99
 
OCZ / GameXStream / 700-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / SATA Ready / SLI Ready / EPS / Active PFC / Power Supply (O261-2005) 1 $129.99 $129.99
 
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor HH80562PH0568M - 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket 775, Processor (CP2-DUO-Q6600) 1 $189.99 $189.99
 
Masscool 8W553 / Socket 775 / Aluminum / CPU Cooling Fan (S457-1035) 1 $19.99 $19.99
 
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2x2048MB) (O261-8038) 1 $94.99 $94.99
 
Biostar TF7150U-M7 Motherboard - v5.1, NVIDIA GeForce 7150, Socket 775, MicroATX, Audio, Video, HDMI, DVI, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, Serial ATA, RAID (B450-2224) 1 $89.99 $89.99
 
PNY XLR8 GeForce 8800 GT Video Card - Performance Edition, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDCP, Video Card (P56-8810) 1 $119.99 $119.99
 
The memory and PSU came with $30 rebates so it will only end up costing $670 shipped after I get those back.  W00t!

[92UrS4]

Very nice Dub, I know it's crazy. Looks like you got a good deal on everything there too.

It's funny, I got this sweet quad core machine at work and my PC at home started acting up, then you and I talked about building new machines and I guess I hurt it's feelings so it decided to get the last laugh.

[34k]

Jeeze, it's about time I build a new box. I'm still "gaming" on that same one I had at the last two LAN parties, Winston.

lol? Well, no it's not really funny.

The real kicker was when I got a new laptop for work and it ran Team Fortress 2 so much better than my home desktop. That's just embarrassing!

[ColoradoB5]

Jeeze, it's about time I build a new box. I'm still "gaming" on that same one I had at the last two LAN parties, Winston.

lol? Well, no it's not really funny.

The real kicker was when I got a new laptop for work and it ran Team Fortress 2 so much better than my home desktop. That's just embarrassing!

Andy I have a hard time believing they could make a laptop that runs as well as your gaming machine ran.  I think that amount of spankage you doled out on the rest of us was truth for that.

The good news is that I am finally able to hang on the games now...I haven't found anything yet that I can run on the highest resolution and settings.

Oh and for all of those parts I bought, they have gone down and on newegg.com you can get the whole thing for about $50 cheaper before the rebates.

Jay, did you get a system yet?

[92UrS4]

Yes, i got the new system, it is really nice, I actually really like he windows media center w/remote. I really want to order another for our HTPC. Of course more beefed up with Blu-Ray and all that. The PVR works pretty good though I haven't tried editing my recordings and burning them yet. Not even sure if I can edit them before burning (cut out commercials and lead and trail time).

It is nice and fast and I swear that the networking is a lot faster even though I am not using a fast er network card. A few other techy guys around here agree Vista is a bit faster with networking.

The quad core is efficient and I haven't really stressed it out yet. Still getting set back up with all my apps. So far only my VPN client doesn't work, but we are working on getting the newer version.

[ColoradoB5]

Yep they probably included the TCP/IP suite that came with Windows Server 2003 SP2 with Vista and that does speed things up a good bit.

I'm still on XP even though my system probably would run it without issues.  Bill has enough of my money!