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July 04, 2005
The new poker machine
Thrower-induced recovery notwithstanding, it was time to get a new poker machine. I can't trust my laptop to keep on working the way it's been working the past few days, and rather than find myself without a computer at what will most likely be the most inconvenient time possible, I figure the best thing to do is get a replacement. I checked out Dell's site to see what kinds of deals they had available, but they seemed rather so-so. A little over $500 would get me a 2.8GHz Pentium 4 with 512MB SDRAM, an 80GB HD, DVD-ROM/CD-RW, and integrated video with a 2 year warranty.
I don't really need a high-powered machine. But Glasstrack assured me that for the money I was willing to spend, I could get a much better machine if I were willing to shop around and buy the components I needed. Here's what we came up with...
Case: Antec Sonata
Purchased: Fry's Electronics
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $79.06
Motherboard: MSI 865PE Neo3-F
Purchased: newegg.com
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $83.69
Processor: intel Celeron D 325J
Purchased: newegg.com
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $88.66
Memory: 1GB Corsair ValueSelect 184-Pin DDR SDRAM (PC 3200)
Purchased: newegg.com
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $90.42
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 200GB (7200 RPM)
Purchased: Fry's Electronics
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $57.86
Graphics: ATI Radeon 7500
Purchased: 3B Tech.net
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $29.00
Optical Drive: NEC ND-3520A DVD-R
Purchased: newegg.com
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $47.29
Network Card: D-Link DWL-520
Purchased: CompUSA.com
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $8.65
Input Devices: Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Elite Keyboard w/Tilt Mouse Combo
Purchased: 3B Tech.net
Price (after tax, s/h, rebates): $53.00
Total Cost: $537.63
I'm looking forward to getting this thing put together. The Sonata case is supposed to be super-quiet due to several noise dampening features. For whatever reason, I have this thing about computer noise--it drives me crazy. Let's see if this thing lives up to the hype.
Damn this national holiday! I want my computer now!
Posted by glyphic at July 4, 2005 03:26 PM
Comments
Excellent - I love building computers :) You got some good deals there. Have fun with the assembly!
Posted by: phlyersphan ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.studioglyphic.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 5, 2005 11:27 AM
Speaking of - have you ever checked out zipzoomfly.com? I get a lot of parts there too - and they have free 2-day FedEx shipping on most items.
Posted by: phlyersphan at July 5, 2005 11:28 AM
Re: ZipZoomFly
Yeah, I was going to get the memory from there, but the price at NewEgg was slightly better, and I figured I'd consolidate the shipments in one box, though there's no price advantage to doing so. I should have compared all the prices there, but I got lazy. :)
Posted by: StudioGlyphic at July 5, 2005 11:44 AM