to sheng and any others who want to buy a DIY PC around 1000$
<HTML>First of all, if you don't know anything about the pc hardware and you have enough money, go to buy a brand one in futureshop or staples.
in my opion , there are 3 levels of pc. 700$, 1000$ and 1400$.I'm talking about the 1000$ pc today.
There are five important parts in PC(CPU,Motherboard,video Card,monitor and harddisk) since there are too many choices of them.
1.CPU,that is the only good component in a brand pc. frequency is not the most important. I'm runing win2000+apache(web server)+tomcat with INTEL celeron of 700MHz although I like AMD more. It's working well. so we choose cpu at last depending on the money left.
2.motherboard, for a pc of 1000$, you should choose a brand name motherboard.ASUS,Gigabyte,MSI,Awill,Intel,Epox and ECS all have good products.
3.video card.since you do some autocad work , pick a ATI video card.Don't choose NVIDIA that is for gamer instead of designer. Actually Matrox's card is better for designer but it's hard to find one in the present market.
4.monitor. you do autocad work and your son is only 7, so a 19" or good flat CRT17" is perfect for your work and your son's eyes. don't save money on monitor.For this point, I agree with Ginseng.
5.hard drive.I prefer West Digital and Maxtor(Quantum was merged by Maxtor). 3 points: 7200RPM, 2M cache and at least support ATA-100.
6.sound card, if you don't want to play DVD on your pc ,a card of 30$ is enough for your use or just buy a motherboard with audio in it. there is no difference between the 30$ card and the one integrate on motherboard.
7.cd-r or dvd, not many choice in Canada , so pick a sony ,creative or LG.the speed dosen't matter, pick a cheaper one.
8.cd-rw, if you want I recommend LG 16*10*40.It's very good. or you can chooose sony. no difference, just pick the cheaper one.
9. memory, the price was up recently, at least 128M.also few choice in Canada, choose a one with lifetime warranty.
the price:
monitor 350$ smsung 950P(19") or a 17" perfect flat monitor. don't buy the cheap flat one such as samsung 753DF. But 755DF is fine.
hard disk: 150$
memory:50-60(SDRAM 50,DDR 60)
cd-ROM:40-50
fllopy disk+network card+case:100$
mouse + kb=50$
so only 250$ for cpu+video card +mb+audiocard.
#1,Duron 900 MHz 85$+sis735MB(ECSK7S5A with audio)100$+ATI radeon 7000 110$
overall 1050$
#2, Duron 900 MHz 85$+Sis 730 MB(any brand from above with audio video and lan)150$
overall 1000$
if you want the latest chipset for fastest cpu ,you have to pay at least 200$ more.
AMD xp 1600+ 210$ , KT266A MB 200$ ATI radeon 7000 110$
overall 1200$</HTML>
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