ok guys,

I know your all wizards of crunching here, but what can I find stateside for a good generic computer with a AMD CPU in it? Either laptop or desktop would be good. Being I am transporting this thing back here to Europe I suppose a laptop might be best.

Your ideas? and places to order or buy these types of machines?

---

Sorry, I have to ask, why only AMD? Intel quadcores are quite reasonable these days...

Or a cheap Intel dual-core lappy: Compaq Dual-Core Laptop 15.4", 120 GB HD, $449 @ BestBuy with No Rebates. Possibly $349. YMMV.

If you HAVE to have an AMD: Bestbuy Compaq Lappy Athlon TK-57 V6719NR $349 YMMV

I don't actually own one of these laptops, but I have done a lot of business with the company that sells them, and I have never been disappointed.

---

Rosie, Rosie, she's our gal,
If she can't do it, no one shall!

i have always been a AMD user, primarly due to cost.
that business unit is way out of my price league.
the best buy unit is a little more like it.

---

if I do a serious investment for the long term - 5 years or so, what do you guys make of this machine?

---

This was active this morning, but I think dead now, but things like this appear with frequency on SlickDeals, especially as the q6600 is being replaced (more or less) by the q9450:

The monitor alone is probably worth $300+, and you could even eBay it, and wind up with the q6600 for about $350...

Dell EPP Inspiron 530 Desktop: Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHz, 1GB DDR2, 250GB HDD, DVDRW, 24" Widescreen E248WFP Monitor, Vista Home Basic $612 Or $587

i *KNEW* there was a reason why I did not want to upgrade to a new PC... "Vista" ...

Or as Jobs said, our "Home" version of OS- costs x; our upgraded version costs x; our business version costs x ...

Mocking of course, the three tier pricing of Vista ...

Of course, I could try to install XP OEM I have ... :)

{edit} Forgot why I posted ... you could also consider an Apple, I know, a little more expensive ... but ... they made me a convert ...{/edit}

---

well my "personal banker" says quadcore is out, so whats the best price dual core, either lap or desk? then there is the famous AMD vs Intel question.

---

well my "personal banker" says quadcore is out, so whats the best price dual core, either lap or desk? then there is the famous AMD vs Intel question.

G'Day greg_be,

I can't help with the price question but as another AMD person I do know from a lot of reviews that for tower/desktop computers the X2 range of chips is very good and still competitive with Intel (though Intel has the upper hand at the moment).
Anything from X2 5600+ upwards is fast and still fairly energy efficient, great for games if your into them, excellent for business, and very cheap at the moment (even here in Australia).

The Phenom chips are a bit dearer are getting faster than the first release (which means these chips (quad core) are now great value), and are possibly the future of AMD's chip direction.

Add some cheap hard drives, memory (DDR2 is still quite fast and a lot cheaper than DDR3, personal choice), suitable motherboard, case and power supply (at least 550W) and your away.

The Turion X2 chips are still very good value and supply good performance in the Laptops.

I myself like the Opteron chips but that is me.

---

Don't count out the Intel quadcores... Just WHAT is your max $ ?

Dell Epp: Intel Q6600, 3 Gb, 500 Gb Hdd, Xp Or Vista $457.76

More RAM, no 24" monitor to lug by to Euroland... and XP !

Dell Vostro 200 Mini Tower $269


Dell PowerEdge T105 Server Dual Core AMD Opteron 1210 1.8 GHz, 512MB DDR2, 80GB HDD, DVD ROM $249 plus shipping


Price drop**HP Pavilion Slimline s3220n Window*s Media Center w/TV Tuner, Athlon 64 X2 (B) 5000+ 2.6 GHz (65W), 2GB DDR2, 400 GB, GeForce 6150SE, Refurb $385.99 w/ coupon + FS

all very nice.
seems also a weight limitation at the moment.
i think we might be coming back maxed out on weight, not sure.
depends on shopping.

ok, so heres another question, with a old case like a Aopen QF50A P4/AMD case with 300W power supply, would it be possible to gut it out and put in a MOBO for a quad core? I am not sure the dimensions are the same for the MOBO.

the power supply weight is what is killing my idea of bringing back stuff from stateside. the case might add a few pounds as well. I saw just a box alone at 23 pounds/10.45 kilos. I am limited to 50 pounds or 23 kilos per bag being I am flying in cargo class.

so any ideas here?

---

If that is a "pre-built" case for a vendor, like say Dell ... then the chances are lower that you will be able to re-use the case with a new MB.

You CAN get decent cases for a fairly low price.

Again, if you are in an area that has a nice retailer like Frys (west coast, Calif) where you can get parts you can usually get pretty good help in buying the sackful of parts to assemble a system.

Again, if it is to go back and forth you likely need a laptop ... and sad to say, at least in my opinion, they don't make for good DC machines (a generalization) ...

So, the question is, portability, or good for DC ?

Or two systems ... :)

One thing, if you set long range goals ... here is one plan I used.

A more expensive case, cheap MB processor combo, minimum memory, HD, video card. Build system... 1-2 years later, remove MB processor, memory (if money is tight, use old memory) ... have faster system ...

1-2 years later, replace MB processor again and definately upgrade memory ...

I had several cases that I used for a decade of upgrades and still would be if I was hard into BOINC again ...

In other words, buy strategically ... a case can last a long time ... with a larger than needed PSU you can last through severeal generations of MB processors ... when and if needed, you can upgrade the PSU in the case as they are std ... if you buy a really good case ... even then they are usually only 100-200 for the best ...

---

It will be very difficult to find a new dual-core laptop for less than $350.

Given the weight constraints you face for your return trip, I'd recommend that a family member jump on any of the $350 lappys that remain available, and hold it aside for when you arrive stateside.

The case is a generic case.
My system was built by my nephew after I researched a few things.
So again, if using a generic case such as the one I described, can I stick a dual or quad core mobo in it? Power supply is new, just about year of full time running. The other lasted about 4 years before the fan died on it. the power was ok still. Is 300 watts enough to run todays demanding cpu's and dvd rom's?

I will be in Socal for vacation, so yeah, let me know where that place is and if its within striking distance of Disney or San Diego let me know.

I have west coast family and Oregon family, I was planning on shopping around Portland (tax free) for a cpu and mobo etc.
Same for laptop.

I would love to stick with just upgrading my case innards if possible to save money and weight. A laptop of course I can just carry on board. The issue again is weight. I plan on continuing DC for as long as I can.

---

AMD Phenom 9600 + A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) combo deal 219 SHIPPED!


AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition 2.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor (Retail) + Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Tower PC Case $219 Shipped

I will be in Socal for vacation, so yeah, let me know where that place is and if its within striking distance of Disney or San Diego let me know.

Unless they closed it ... and moved ... it is just north of the stadium on HWY 15 ...

going north it will be on the left side of the hwy in a small valley ... as I recall (been a few years) the next exit (unless they added one) or two exits north of the stadium will be the exit ... cross the hwy and then use the access road ...

If you have the generic case you should be able to use about any MB processor combo ... Frys puts several on sale each week with prices for the MB & CPU running from 200 to 600 ... RAM is not usually on sale every week too ... so is a HD, though, for a cruncher you do not need anything much larger than 20-30 G as you won't have much installed on it... even so, a 1 TB drive was on sale this week for $199 I know, I paid 234 for 4 of them and got money back with a price challenge ...

The only downer would be if you got it home and it did not work ... but, you can check prices and ask questions ... unless you get a "dud" the sales guys/gals usually know their stuff ... tell them you are building a machine to do DC and need processing speed, cache, and multiple channel memory and they can find you the best compromise for your budget ...

Best advice I can give you ... :)

In Sacramento there are two stores ... an embarrassment of riches ... one near the Arco Arena and the other in Roseville

---

[RAM is not usually on sale every week too ...

Delete the word NOT ...

RAM is usually on sale each week ... though the specials vary and may or may not include what you want/need ...

---

nice stuff guys, thanks
newegg looks like some good deals.
240 dollars or 152 euro is pretty nice deal.
much better than a whole new case and power supply.
then i suppose i need to upgrade my video card as well.

now..i think we are almost at the end of questions, but now I need vista i suppose to run this qudcore. i doubt xp is up to the task is it? I know of a place called software warehouse or something like that, where i got my US version of XP at.

thanks for the advice so far

---

nice stuff guys, thanks
newegg looks like some good deals.
240 dollars or 152 euro is pretty nice deal.
much better than a whole new case and power supply.
then i suppose i need to upgrade my video card as well.

now..i think we are almost at the end of questions, but now I need vista i suppose to run this qudcore. i doubt xp is up to the task is it? I know of a place called software warehouse or something like that, where i got my US version of XP at.

thanks for the advice so far

XP is fine - you can have as many cores as you like per CPU on XP Home, but you need Pro if you're using more than one CPU. So basically, any version of XP will be fine for you.

---