Follow Up: Desired Specs
Here are some specs for the computer that I want:
Realistic Goal
Case: Full-Tower Chassis (420-watt power supply)
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ w/ 1 MB buffer, 1600 Mhz bus
Motherboard: ASUS K8V Deluxe
Chipset: VIA K8T800
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM PC-3200 (2×256MB)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 SE 128MB 8x AGP w/DVI & S-Video
Hard Drive: 120GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 Serial ATA 7,200 RPM 8MB Cache
Optical Drive: Lite-On 16x DVD / 52×32x52x CD-RW Combo
Floppy Drive: 3.5″ 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 - 6.1
Network Card: 3COM Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Speakers: Logitech® Z-640 5.1 70-Watt Speakers
Monitor: HP M70 17″ CRT Monitor (keep old one)
Keyboard: HP Multimedia Keyboard (keep old one)
Mouse: Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 Wireless Optical Scroll Mouse (keep old one)
Alienware says this configuration will set me back $1850. Pretty good price, actually. But I think I can do it myself for $500 less. We’ll see.
Dream PC
Case: Alienware Full-Tower Chassis (420-Watt PS) - Space Black
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 FX-53 3400+ w/ 2 MB buffer/1600 Mhz bus
Motherboard: ASUS SK8V
Chipset: VIA K8T800
Memory: 2GB Corsair XMS DDR SDRAM PC-3200 Registered ECC - 4 x 512MB Module
Video Card: ATI RADEON 9800 XT 256MB 8x AGP w/DVI & S-Video
Hard Drive: 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE Serial ATA 7,200 RPM 8MB Cache
Hard Drive 2: 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE Serial ATA 7,200 RPM 8MB Cache
Optical Drive: Plextor PlexWriter Premium 52×32x52x CD-RW - Black
Optical Drive 2: Plextor PX-708A 8x DVD±R/W Drive - Black
Floppy Drive: 3.5″ 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro - 7.1
Network Card: 3COM Gigabit Ethernet Adapter
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Power Protection: Belkin Universal UPS 1200VA
Display One: NEC 30″ LCD3000 LCD - Black
Display Two: NEC 30″ LCD3000 LCD - Black
Speakers: Creative GigaWorks� S750 - 7.1 700-Watt Speakers
Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Keyboard - Black
Mouse: Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB
Printer: Lexmark-X6170 All-In-One Office Center with 6′ USB Cable
Networking: D-Link 802.11G Wireless Base Station and USB Adapter
Headphones: Sennheiser RS85 Stereo Wireless Headphones with HiDyn Plus
Webcam: Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000
Software: Lots of games, Office Pro
And all for the low, low price of $14,500.