new PC HELP ME!!!!!

[Martin6]

I have no clue what isthe best of the best so I fyou can I will tell you what I want and you guys try to detail it to me please

I need a awesome CD burner
Fast modem
Fast processor
And whatever gives youb etter downloads.

THanks

[Swamp Fox]

Hey Martin6!

I'm not sure, but I think the only thing that will help with your downloads would be to go DSL or similar instead of using a modem. If that's not an option, get a free download accelerator off the net to help manage your downloads. My program of choice is "Download Accelerator Plus" but there are more out there. They don't speed download times that much, but they do help keep track of downloads and let you resume your download later if you get booted offline.

As far as processors go, (I assume you use Windows) if you do a lot of gaming, I hear nothing but fast and good about AMD processors...and they're cheaper than a Pentium too! :) I personally use Pentium, because they have proven themselves to be pretty reliable to me, but I have nothing to measure the quality against, since that's all I've ever bought.

PS - what kind of graphics card do you have??

good to see ya man!
:wave:

[BenchRacer]

I need a awesome CD burner

I personally have been using Plextor a long time. They are rock solid. However there are some other breands out now that run slightly faster. But you could not go wrong with a Plextor.

Fast modem

Make sure it's a 3com/US Robotics. And avoid anything that says 'Winmodem' like the plague. Winmodems flat-out suck.

Fast processor

AMD, AMD, AMD! Right now there is no valid reason not to go with AMD. For Ultimate power look into the Athlon XP's, if money is a factor, their inexpensive Duron chip is faster than most P3's by Intel.

And along with a fast processor, memory is just as if not more important. Memory is still fairly cheap, but the prices are starting to go back up. Buy as much as you can afford. Also, I highly reccomend DDR memory. There are substantial performance gains by using DDR over the common SDRAM.

And whatever gives you better downloads.

And like Swampy said, the best(only way as far as I'm concerned) way to improve downloads is to go with some sort of broadband connection. I've never used any type of software accelerator, so I can't comment on those.

For high-end computer info, I reccomend checking out and subscribing to Maximum PC (http://www.maximumpc.com). I've been a subscriber for many years now, and they keep me on top of the best of the best.

Good Luck!

[Martin6]

thanks I apperitate the help. Forogtto say but what about these dvd burners they any good?

[BenchRacer]

Originally posted by Martin6
thanks I apperitate the help. Forogtto say but what about these dvd burners they any good?

I'd say hold off on a DVD burner. The industry hasn't adopted an official standard yet. So you could buy one and then in six months have it be completely useless. Plus they're still too expensive.

[NH99Fan]

Originally posted by Martin6

I need a awesome CD burner

I've been using the Yamaha SCSI CD-RW drives for years. They're very reliable and are in the middle of the road for cost. If you want reliability and speed, I strongly recommend getting your devices with a SCSI connection instead of Serial or Parallel.

Fast modem

I agree with BenchRacer...STAY FAR AWAY FROM ANY MODEM WITH "WINMODEM" ON THE PACKAGING!!! I went through five of them in one year, before I got wise to the 3Com's...

If you want quick downloads, Broadband is the way to go. It's a bit more expensive compared to the other options, but is well worth the money if you are into online gaming or downloading files.


Fast processor

The AMD Athlons are the best bang for your buck (about a quarter the price of the comparable Intel processor), although they can be quirky with certain applications (like Sonar, Sonic Foundry Vegas Video, Photoshop, etc.). If you want your workstation to scream, get the Athlon, at least 512 MB of DDR Memory, get fast drives (no slower than 7200 RPM, if you can afford it, get the 10,000RPM SCSI-II's) and most important of all...Keep your system LEAN. I've seen too many people clutter their workstations with frivolous applications/tools and wonder why their system is bogged down. Try to install only what you need.

Another thing to keep in mind, if you are thinking about installing MS Office, be forewarned...Outlook is a serious resource hog. If you can get away with just using, Outlook Express, you and your workstation will be much happier in the end.

Make sure to defrag your drives on a regular basis (once a week should be plenty for the average user). I like to use the defragger that comes with Norton System Works. It's much more thorough than the defragger that ships with the OS.

Regarding OS's, I personally have found that Windows 2000 Professional is the most stable of all the Windows OS's. XP isn't bad, but it's still too new for me to trust it (not to mention there still aren't a lot of drivers out yet).

And whatever gives youb etter downloads.

Like I mentioned before, look into a Broadband (or even DSL) solution. If you are looking to speed up file downloads, you can try Download Accelerator (available on www.downloads.com). Most of the time, it will cut the download time by half depending on the site you are downloading from. The bad thing is that the Download Accelerator people track where you go for "Marketing Research".


Hope this helps! ;)

[nwilcox]

I have no clue what isthe best of the best so I fyou can I will tell you what I want and you guys try to detail it to me please

I need a awesome CD burner
Fast modem
Fast processor
And whatever gives youb etter downloads.

THanks

As a reseller I would not spend a ton of cdash on a awesome CD burner because once the Standard format has been adopted DVD burner prices will ball even more. Are you wanting a dial-up modem? If so, get one with the V.92 protocol at least. I ONLY build my systems with AMD Athlon processors, you get more for your dollar and a AMD is cheaper to upgrade as well because the AMD motherboards are cheaper as well. I prefer Windows XP. Downloads all depend on internet speed. But a program that will let you resume downlaods may be a little help, once Windows XP Service Pack 2 is released, they have added a "Resume Downloads" feature as well.