new computers in melbourne (east)

jazzlobber

jazzlobber

dear SS computer nerds!

looking to purchase a new PC, desktop with a fast cpu and memory etc.

has anyone any recommendations for shops in melbourne that do a good deal etc, i'm not looking to buy a dell or whatever, just looking for a reliable shop that build pc's to your specs etc

we live in glen iris, so something around this region would be good

cheers
 
Would you consider a laptop?

The main advantages are:

  • They are inexpensive nowsadays. The cheapest base entry model I've seen is an Acer from Officework at $650 with DVD burner & 15" screen (Acer sells cheaply, yet having one of the best screens in terms of clarity/sharpness and colour rendition, even better than many high $1000s laptops)
  • All in one design means all components have been designed, integrated and tested by manufacturers. Less chance for problem to the consumer. Less cablings. No external component such as speakers. Wireless, network, modem cards are all in-built. Most has slots for memory cards (to transfer data with digital cameras, mobile phones, PDA etc.)
  • Quiet operation due to much smaller ventilation fan
  • Ability to use the computer anywhere due to its portability & battery. You can surf the net anywhere you want as long as the wireless permitted: In the lounge room, under the apple tree...
  • CPU speed is fast enough for most computing needs, including DVD watching and normal gaming, simultaneously
  • It's possible to get 30%+ tax subsidy on initial purchase cost via salary sacrifice (Not possible with desktop). Further depreciation can be claimed if laptop use is business related
 
Hi jizzlobber,

I'll second the MSY recommendation. I got my computer from there early this year, cost just over a grand for something you'd pay $4,000 for at Harvey Norman. All good quality parts too. Granted, I had a mate set it up for me, but I would say that it'll cost you at most a couple hundred bucks for them to do it?

Mark
 
their labour + warranty charge was $70 when i got mine done, not sure on it now though, but it is in their parts price list.
 
I'll second MSY as well. Another option is Digiworld on La-Trobe (CBD). Digi are a bit more expensive but their service is second to none.

Happy hunting...
 
Thanks alot guys, the MSY crowd it is, i didn't see any costs for them to fit it together for me, but 70-100 bucks is fine,

now the only decision is Intel Vs AMD the intel is more expensive but is it worth it is my next task to question.

cheers
 
jizzlobber said:
Thanks alot guys, the MSY crowd it is, i didn't see any costs for them to fit it together for me, but 70-100 bucks is fine,

now the only decision is Intel Vs AMD the intel is more expensive but is it worth it is my next task to question.

cheers
Click to expand...

You're gonna start a religious war with that one :) For my .02c I'd go with intel. The new Core2duo's are nice processors, energy efficient and run cool.

Can I ask what this machine is going to be for as much of the answers might relate?

Cheers,

Arkay.
 
Without a doubt the current range of Intels flog AMD and are very overclockable.

I currently run an AMD X2.

MSY have good prices but I consider them to be the 'soup nazi's' of computer parts. If you don't need the handholding and service, they're good. My other choice is CPL (www.cpl.net.au) in Notting Hill and West Melbourne.
 
Arkay said:
You're gonna start a religious war with that one :) For my .02c I'd go with intel. The new Core2duo's are nice processors, energy efficient and run cool.

Can I ask what this machine is going to be for as much of the answers might relate?

Cheers,

Arkay.
Click to expand...



Thanks Arkay, the machine would be mostly used for pleasure, i.e. web surfing, and playing games etc but will at times also be used for number crunching with modelling programs related to my work - these are intensely using CPU and memory - some problems can be running for a couple of days at a time to solve.

Also a small amount of video editing using vegas or similar.

my work software is not optimised for X64 or multi processing capabilities so i'm not sure if the AMD or INTEL is better for me.

Also potentially i would like to get back into MS flight sim, so guess i need a beefy Graphics Adaptor too.

cheers
 
Nice :)

Best bang for buck is likely this:

$175 Asus P5k 1394
$340 Intel E6850 core2duo CPU
$139 DDR2 Kit-800 OCZ Ram

Drives to suit. Cheap as chips now. Seagate 320gb is only $96.

Just make sure you get sataII drives. I find seagate to be the best..
If you're going to be doing a bit of video editing the 750GB drives are now $285... I really should go buy a few of those but properties come first :)

Then you need to pick a video card.. I'd go for an 8 series nvidia for gaming performance.. How much is up to you, you can pay up to $1000 just for the video card!!

Video cards are a bit of a nightmare at the moment. MS released a new directX 10 standard with Vista. Everyone went and made cards to suit and MS then released directx10.1... Guess what? The directX 10 cards can't support 10.1.... Dodgy *******s. So I'd check into that before buying the video card. I don't know much about but there should be some info on the net. Personally I think MS and Nvidia have joined forces to guarantee zero customer satisfaction....

That should cover just about anything you want to do with it :) Are you planning on running Vista (spit), or XP?

Cheers,

Arkay.
 
thanks mate;

i may try to build the system myself and save on a few things like monitor etc

is the ocz ram a good bet then; DDR2 the best ram in general?

i think i would like a minimum of 2gb of ram.

reckon i'll stick with XP pro for now.


If i was to build up a system from scratch i would need:

Motherboard
CPU
Harddisk
Graphics Card
RAM
CASE and power supply
Sound Card (possibly & speakers)
Network Card?

any thing else i've not included?

cheers
 
Keyboard and mouse :)

You won't need a sound card. The onboard audio on most motherboards these days is fine. Same goes for network. Should come on-board and work fine.

Any ram will do as long as it's DDR2 800Mhz (the speed rating is important for performance). The OCZ is good quality stuff. The Adata would be fine also.

Buy a case that doesn't have a power supply and get the supply separately. The supplies they ship in cases are usually rubbish. Get something at around the 450-500w mark from antec or seasonic (depending on how grunty the graphics gard is). A good quality power supply can make a big difference in the performance and life of the machine.

Antec cases are nice and come with antec power supplies so that might be something to look into.

Have you had any experience building your own system? It can be a fairly daunting task first time.

Cheers,

Arkay.
 
Arkay said:
Keyboard and mouse :)

You won't need a sound card. The onboard audio on most motherboards these days is fine. Same goes for network. Should come on-board and work fine.

Any ram will do as long as it's DDR2 800Mhz (the speed rating is important for performance). The OCZ is good quality stuff. The Adata would be fine also.

Buy a case that doesn't have a power supply and get the supply separately. The supplies they ship in cases are usually rubbish. Get something at around the 450-500w mark from antec or seasonic (depending on how grunty the graphics gard is). A good quality power supply can make a big difference in the performance and life of the machine.

Antec cases are nice and come with antec power supplies so that might be something to look into.

Have you had any experience building your own system? It can be a fairly daunting task first time.

Cheers,

Arkay.
Click to expand...

Yeah i'm thinking maybe a sound card and set of speakers to get the 5.1 thing for the games, hehe

I've tinkered a bit over the years i think my most ambitious task was when i had to buy and install a CPU Fan that stopped working on an old machine, spreading the heatsink paste was a big scary alright.

but sticking cards in slots and ram etc should be okay, software and drivers another story.

yeah keyboard and mouse although i'm sure i've got an old one of each kicking about the place.

cheers
 
On board audio should do 5.1 no problems as well. Just need to get a set of 5.1 speakers.

There's a great PC build guide that one of the guys on the xpmediacenter site did. Fully documented with pictures. Could be very useful, just ignore the tv tuner sections etc.

You can download it from here but you'll probably have to register first. Don't worry. The user details aren't used for anything.. It's just another forum.

Cheers,

Arkay.
 
Arkay said:
On board audio should do 5.1 no problems as well. Just need to get a set of 5.1 speakers.

There's a great PC build guide that one of the guys on the xpmediacenter site did. Fully documented with pictures. Could be very useful, just ignore the tv tuner sections etc.

You can download it from here but you'll probably have to register first. Don't worry. The user details aren't used for anything.. It's just another forum.

Cheers,

Arkay.
Click to expand...


Arkay, thanks for the link, the guide for building is good, makes me think about also using this machine as HTPC and for running FSX or latest version of MS Flight Simulator etc.

I've also read online about Nvidia supposed to be releasing G92 chipset in November so could be worth a few months wait

cheers
 
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