Computer Guys

[my porsche]

I'm considering building (would be fun but I don't know enough about them, I would probably mess it up) or having built a computer to take to college. I have a friend that builds them for money, he could probably do it, but I would still need to bring him a parts list.

What should I put in it, and what all parts do you need? I want like eleventy gigabytes of RAM for sure, bluetooth etc, basically a really good computer. If possible I'd like to be able to have a laptop to take to class and then sync with the desktop after, would I need a docking station or do laptops have bluetooth now and can do this?

Or are there laptops that rival desktop performance? I could have a setup similar to the teachers at my school, which a monitor, docking station and a laptop.

[#1 Mustang Fan]

It would be best to set-up a Network system (Wire-less or not) if you were set-up your Laptop with a Desktop regularly. Which requires a router of some sort. Laptops do have bluetooth but it is as slow as hell compared to wifi..

There are definitely Laptops that rival some desktop capabilities but Desktops don't have as many limitations and are much cheaper for the same Performance.

Basically you need a Motherboard, Case with power supply - bigger the better depending on what your going to be running, for a CPU I'd look at intel pentium processors, Dual core is a waste of time unless you have programs that have been written to properly make use of it and there aren't many programs that have, bit of RAM, graphics card if you need it, HDD with SATA or IDE, Dvd/Cd/Blueray Readers and burners. I've just mentioned a few things off the top of my head but there's a whole lot more you need in reality so I'd suggest getting some hands on advice from your friend.

[Zorlox]

Are you saying that you want a new laptop to bring to class and a new desktop for home/dorm/apartment/whatever?
There aren't many advantages to having a desktop in college unless you really need the power for gaming, CAD, or video/photo editing.

You should probably decide how long you plan on keeping it/them, since your computer will be 4-5 years old when you graduate. You could either get a top of the line one that'd still be pretty current when you graduate, or else get something inexpensive that would be cheap to replace.

I have 2 laptops now (since I got one for free) and the one that stays home is hardly ever on so it's not very useful to have multiple computers.

So if you could reply with how long you want it to be current and what you plan on doing with it, I'm sure other members can provide plenty of insight.

[Rockefella]

Desktop Computer

- Case : Inexpensive but durable. Preferably aluminum or something with a bunch of room for components and expansion bays.
- Hard Drive : Buy 2. One should be something like 500 gb, the other 320 gb or so. I'd like to have 2 versus 1 for backup purposes and such in case of a crash.
- Graphics Card : Depends on what you're doing. If you're into gaming and/or video editing/HD or Bluray video then spend on the high-end stuff. Otherwise your middle-of-the-road video card will suffice.
- Sound Card : See the above.
- Motherboard : Don't want to skimp here, but on the other hand, you're not going to build an uber gaming machine. See what other people have reviewed to be good and what will fit your needs overall.
- RAM : Not sure if you want to go DDR3 at this point. It's brand new and going to be fast, but expensive. I'd just stick with 4-8 gb of DDR2. Cheap and gets the job done.
- Power Supply : 450W power supply should be more than enough for what you're doing.
- Accessories/Miscellaneous/Peripherals : Monitor is up to you, as are the keyboard, mouse, and speakers. Stuff like thermal grease, fans (unless you want to go liquid cooling) and cables/wiring I would leave to your builder friend.

Those are the basics you should look at as far as I'm concerned. If you want to get into details ask someone else. I usually talk to fiset when it comes to that stuff since he built an uber machine not too long ago. lolathimhedoesntevenuseitforgaming

[blingbling]

^ wanting a top of the line means he doesn't care about cost

go with the ddr3, you have nothing to lose if you do not care. graphics card ONLY if you are going to do what the above has mentioned (games, videos, CAD). motherboard must simply comply with anything you place on it. hard drive is capacity based, but in terms of speed SCSI hard drives are the absolute fastest.

and when getting the central processing unit, please do not just look at the PROCESSING SPEED. also make sure to look at bandwidth and bus speed. those two affect performance as much as processing speed but it is not advertised as such.

if you have all three components (RAM, SCSI hard drive, and a server type processor) with high BUS speed (even if the capacity or PROCESSING speed is lower) it will ensure low error rate and a very smooth operation. good luck man.

remember, your computer is only going to be as strong as it's weakest link. if you have a sick monitor, but a slow OR weak video card, it will be pointless. and if you have a strong video card but the bus speed is too low, it is also wasted performance.

[pimento]

Or give your mate a case of beer/whatever he drinks and ask him to put something together that will fit the budget and do what you want it to. We could debate the pros and cons of various pieces of hardware for ages and you'd never get a straight answer of of the thread.

But if you want debate... For the record, SCSI is both old tech and overkill (servers I used to work with were all SAS.. but SATA will do you fine), quad cores are utilised well enough that you want one (certainly they're more future proof), server hardware is overkill and probably not optimised for what you're going to stress it with (gaming?) and if you get 4GB of RAM or more make sure you have a 64-bit OS installed (compatability is not anywhere near as big an issue as it once was). You can go nuts on graphics if you like, but if you're not going to do much gaming go for something at most second or third tier, they're generally more stable and need less monitoring and tweaking.

This is what I built myself late last year:
Intel Q6600 (2.4ghz quad core processor)
Gigabyte EP45-DS3P motherboard
4GB DDR2-800 RAM (Corsair XMS2 Twin2X4096-6400C5)
Gigabyte Radeon HD4870X2 2GB graphics card
2 x 500GB in RAID 0 for system, 2 x 1TB (JBOD) for storage
Vista Ultimate 64-bit
DVD burner from old PC

It's a good rig, but if you're not going to be doing much gaming, go for a Radeon HD4870 1GB or HD4850 graphics card, this one has heat/noise issues that need to be looked after.

[my porsche]

Great thanks guys, given me a lot of good info for when it comes time to buy.

What do you guys know about docking stations for laptops? If I were to just have a nice monitor with a good laptop and backup external hard drive? How does that work/what hardware do I need?

[Zorlox]

A docking station is probably overkill unless you really want the simplicity of only plugging one thing in when you want to use your monitor and whatever peripherals you have.

I have a similar setup to what you're describing; I have a 32" lcd tv with the vga and audio cables running to my "desk", a 320 gb usb powered hard drive, and a usb mouse. I've never even considered a docking station, but that's probably because I'm cheap. You might want to get a USB hub if you need extra ports and a real keyboard if you don't like typing on laptop keys. Since you can get bluetooth keyboards and mice, you'd just have to plug in a monitor cable, audio cable (if you want), and hard drive cable and you'd be set.

You should definitely read reviews for external hard drives before picking one. I spent a weekend comparing different models and reading reviews before deciding on one and I'm glad I did.

[Knuto]

This is what I built myself late last year:
Intel Q6600 (2.4ghz quad core processor)
Gigabyte EP45-DS3P motherboard
4GB DDR2-800 RAM (Corsair XMS2 Twin2X4096-6400C5)
Gigabyte Radeon HD4870X2 2GB graphics card
2 x 500GB in RAID 0 for system, 2 x 1TB (JBOD) for storage
Vista Ultimate 64-bit
DVD burner from old PC

How much would something like that cost if you don't mind me asking? I've been thinking of getting a stationary computer for a while now. I have a laptop, but 99% of the time it sits on my desk at home and really can't handle my newest game.

[pimento]

How much would something like that cost if you don't mind me asking? I've been thinking of getting a stationary computer for a while now. I have a laptop, but 99% of the time it sits on my desk at home and really can't handle my newest game.

It ended up at around A$2500, but the Vista I got free from my boss's technet account (people with MS acreditations can pay some dollars per year and have access to every MS product) and I recycled the two 500GB drives and the DVD drive from my server/TV PC and old desktop respectively. I also have a 24" monitor from a bit over a year ago, which I think nowadays the equivalent is about $500. It's a samsung.. excellent monitors, highly recommended.

[Knuto]

OK. I think I can go down one level. I searched around for some tips and reviews for building. Something like this maybe, in A$:

Motherboard: MSI K9A2 Platinum
291.41

Ram: Crucial DDR2 PC6400 4096MB CL6 2*2GB
98.38

Intel Core™ 2 Quad Q9300 2.5GHz Socket
524.76

Asus Radeon HD 4850 1GB GDDR3
382.34

Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 500GB, 7200RPM
101.88

Sony NEC Optiarc DVD±RW burner AD-7200S
53.68

Corsair Powersupply 650W Black, ATX/EPS
213.63

Cabinet: Cooler Master Elite 331
108.46

Total 1740 A$. But I have really no idea if this would work

[pimento]

That'd do you well, solid performance and should run games smoothly enough. The graphics card will be the bottleneck, but if you're not interested on maxing every slider on a large monitor then you'll be served well by that.

You also made me realise I forgot to mention my PSU and case.. Antec 850 somethingpower and Antec three hundred respectively. Nice chunky PSU (mainly for the GFX card and possible CPU overclocking down the line) and nice understated case.

[CdocZ]

Cortana </geek>

[zeppelin]

Falcon Northwest

If you want a desktop rivaling laptop, go no further. They have two options, the bigger complete desktop replacement, or the still impressive thin and light model. Be warned though, they don't come cheap.

[Rockefella]

Falcon Northwest

If you want a desktop rivaling laptop, go no further. They have two options, the bigger complete desktop replacement, or the still impressive thin and light model. Be warned though, they don't come cheap.

Damn, those are expensive.