PC Advice

Jack Daniels

If you know nothing about building your own comp is this an alright deal? Or should I not go to Costco.com? lol
$599.99

Is everything just to crappy? I'm being cheap.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11497536&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|84&N=4001486&Mo=1540&No=2&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=84&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1〈=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

An award-winning American manufacturer, ZT Systems is celebrating 15 years building high quality PCs right here in the USA. All ZT computers feature Lifetime 24x7 Toll Free Technical Support.
Processor & Memory:

• AMD Phenom™ II X4 Processor 945 (3.0GHz)
• AMD 780V / SB700 chipset
• 8GB DDR2 SDRAM memory (4 x 2GB, shared)

Drives:

• 1TB (7,200RPM) SATA Hard Drive
• 22x max DVD±RW optical drive
• Front panel 19-in-1 multimedia card reader

Graphics & Video:

• Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 3100 graphics with DVI

Communications:

• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN

Audio:

• 8-channel capable audio with Jack Sensing

Keyboard & Mouse:

• ZT 104-Key Desktop Keyboard
• ZT Optical Mouse

Expandability (total bays):

• 2 x 5.25" external (1 occupied)
• 2 x 3.5" external (1 occupied)
• 4 x 3.5" internal (1 occupied)
• 1 x PCIe x16
• 1 x PCIe x1
• 2 x PCI

Ports and Slots:

• DVI port
• VGA port (15-pin)
• 6 x USB 2.0
• 2 x PS/2
• 6 in 1 Audio-out port
• RJ-45 (LAN)

Operating System & Software:

• Microsoft® Windows 7 Premium - 64 bit
• Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 (90-day trial)

Additional Information:

• CPU Dimensions: 14.25" H x 7.2" W x 16.5" D
• CPU weight (approximate): 25 lbs.
• Power Supply: 300W ATX
• Hardware Warranty: 2-year limited hardware parts and labor from date of purchase
• Lifetime 24/7 toll-free phone support
• Email and fax support from 9am-6pm EST
• For information, visit www.ztsystems.com/support

Ben Apuna

Doesn't sound too good to me though that really depends on what are you planning to do with it. If it's for 3D work or games the main bad point being the Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 3100 graphics with DVI. With the integrated graphics solution you might not be able to upgrade for better performance in the future. I'm not a big fan of AMD cpus either but that's a personal bias...

Xaltar

It has 1 x PCIe x16 so you can upgrade the gfx card BUT:
Its total crap.

1.There is no motherboard manufacturer identified in the info
2. Onboard graphics sucks
3. 300w power supply is fucking pathetic and will not allow you to upgrade your graphics whithout upgrading that too.
4. That case is horrible and small, airflow will be a problem.

By the time you add $120 for and middle of the road graphics card and another $100 for a good power supply (if it would even fit in the case) you will be up to over $800. Then add a screen and peripherals and you see where I'm going here. Go to newegg.com and pick your parts, order them then either learn to put it together or take it to a professional to build for you..

Jack Daniels

Ya, that's what I figured. Think I'll have to get a friend to build me one.

Thanks

Mark Dygert

Yea what a pile of garbage you could build the same system for a lot cheaper, not sure why you would want to tho...

It has a max of 8gb which is pretty weak for a cap and a sign its a budget motherboard. The video card is integrated into the motherboard and uses the system ram. These kinds of cards are notoriously lousy at playing games. Even if you use the expansion slot to upgrade the card and put some of that ram back in the system that slot is pretty weak.

Without shopping for deals here is what it would cost to build this tower of shame:

165.99 AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103675

52.99 MSI 770-C45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
(big pile of garbage)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130228R

79.99 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

228.00 Kingston HyperX 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134040

FREE Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 3100 graphics with DVI
(It's integrated into the motherboard... this never goes well.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131330

188.99 Windows 7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116716

15.99 Rosewill RV300 300W ATX12V Power Supply
(This will probably need to be upgraded if you get a new video card or any other kind of expansion that draws power.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817707006

23.99 Linkworld 32318-2228U Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164117

Grand total: 752.00 (which you could use to buy so much better)

If you're up for failed upgrade attempts, crappy support and the inability to play games, let alone at a decent frame rate you should go for it.

ZacD

I don't want to sound biased of nvidia, but I've heard and seen a lot of issues with ati's cards and 3D apps.

If your a student you can get a great deal on win7, http://windows7.digitalriver.com/store/mswpus/en_US/DisplayHomePage?resid=FA1dJwoBAkgAABGote8AAAAE&rests=1257525922263

You can get a better build than that for $752.00

3DLee

Yeah, that PC isn't even close to worth the money. Have your friend build one, it's a much better value.

Calabi

Well if you want the latest and greatest Nvidia havent got much out.

I've used just about every 3d app(trials) and have had no problems/glitches/errors on my x1950.

ZacD

Calabi wrote: »

Well if you want the latest and greatest Nvidia havent got much out.

I've used just about every 3d app(trials) and have had no problems/glitches/errors on my x1950.

Then I may of been the unlucky one, but I've seen exploding meshes, messed up cameras, and performance issues on different computers with ati's