The hunt for a new computer

[bluesbreaker]

G'day guys,

I'm looking at buying a new PC when my tax cheque comes back. I'm looking at 2 budgets really, up to $3500 (for a whizz-bang one with new monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse), or up to $1000 (if i decide to get a television + surround sound, without the kb, mouse and monitor). I really want tv input/output for the gfx card.

Anyone have some recommendations or know of some good sites with AUSTRALIAN prices for hardware? I probably wouldn't buy off the net, would go to the computer fairs.

Thanks.

Edit: Forgot to mention. If I go the decent puter, i'll be using it to play games, if i go the cheapo one, it'll be used as a media centre to control my mp3s and downloads (i'll buy a ps3 for gaming instead). With those things in mind, is there any particular hardware i should be looking for? looking for value for money, not necessarily the top of the line stuff that's virtually obsolete by the time it comes to market.

 

[Simo]

digitalstar.com.au has some good deals and is customisable.

Others know the stores if you plan to buy parts and put it together yourself.

 

[Frederick]

G'day guys,

I'm looking at buying a new PC when my tax cheque comes back. I'm looking at 2 budgets really, up to $3500 (for a whizz-bang one with new monitor, wireless keyboard and mouse), or up to $1000 (if i decide to get a television + surround sound, without the kb, mouse and monitor). I really want tv input/output for the gfx card.

Anyone have some recommendations or know of some good sites with AUSTRALIAN prices for hardware? I probably wouldn't buy off the net, would go to the computer fairs.

Thanks.

Edit: Forgot to mention. If I go the decent puter, i'll be using it to play games, if i go the cheapo one, it'll be used as a media centre to control my mp3s and downloads (i'll buy a ps3 for gaming instead). With those things in mind, is there any particular hardware i should be looking for? looking for value for money, not necessarily the top of the line stuff that's virtually obsolete by the time it comes to market.

Too tired to compile my own, so I'm nabbing these from whirlpool:

Option 1:
$3000 Extreme Gaming Box:
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz (LGA1366)$475
HSF Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 (includes paste and 2 x NF-P12 fans) $89
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-DS4 $362
RAM: G.Skill NQ 6G Kit(3x2G) DDR3 1333 $335
HDD 1: 1 x Western Digital 74GB Raptor SATA 16MB $169
HDD 2: 1 x Samsung 1TB SATAII 32MB $160
GPU: ATI 4870x2 Generic $730
Case: Antec P182 $210
PSU: Corsair HX-620 620W $146
Optical Drive: ASUS 20x BLT-2014 Lightscribe SATA $35
Sound Card: Auzentech Prelude X-FI 7.1 $255
Total: $3031

Just add monitor, KB and mouse and you're done

Option 2:
BLU-RAY AMD HTPC
CPU: AMD 4850e – $105
Motherboard: Asus M3N78-EM – $119
RAM: DDR2-800 4GB-Kit – $72
HDD: WD Caviar GP 1TB EADS – $164
Case: Antec NSK2480 w/ 380W PSU – $143
GPU: Integrated
Optical Drive: LG GGC-H20L BLU-RAY and HD-DVD Reader DVD Burner – $127
TV Tuner: Hauppauge 2200 – $180
PSU: With Case
Total: ~$910 (or ~$1100 if you buy Vista Home Premium 64 bit)


The motherboard has an integrated nVidia 8300 graphics chip, and is fully capable of displaying BluRay at 1080p via HDMI output. Also has optical S/PDIF out


These prices are all fairly current, and representative of the sorts of prices you can expect to find at your local fair. Check out www.staticice.com for an Australian wide comparison of online retailers

 

[perverse]

yep, what fred said pretty much.

find a tech savvy mate who will put it together for you, and if you can't find one i'll chuck it together for a carton and a pack of smokes if you're in the newcastle area. lol.

 

[bluesbreaker]

I know all about putting comps together, been doing it my whole life, just lost interest in computers at around the geforce/collapse of 3dfx days. But if i have troubles, i'll give you a call, you'll have to come out Bolto though, lock the car doors on the way through .

 

[Jono078]

Jesus Christ, where on earth is the i7 920 going for $475!?

I haven't seen cheaper than $599.

www.excelcomputers.com.au

They are at the Newcastle computer fairs and are almost always the cheapest.

 

[Frederick]

Jesus Christ, where on earth is the i7 920 going for $475!?

I haven't seen cheaper than $599.

www.excelcomputers.com.au

They are at the Newcastle computer fairs and are almost always the cheapest.

http://www.staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=intel+i7+920&spos=1

Excel are great. Bought pretty much exclusively from them at the basketball stadium fair over the past few months. Had an instance about a month ago where I bought a complete system from them for a friend, but the motherboard was DOA. Drove down to Lidcombe the next day with the system, they tested the mobo, then swapped it over free of charge. Two weeks later I bought another mobo from a different vendor at the fair as they were $20 cheaper than Excel. This mobo was also DOA. Rang this mob and asked if they would test and swap it over if I drove down. They said they would but they charge for the test. I tell them to kindly f**k off