Weekly Buyer's Guide: Mid-Range System - June 2004
by Evan Lieb on June 18, 2004 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Keyboard and Mouse
While trivial, it's still important that you purchase the right keyboard and mouse. Different people have different preferences for a keyboard's look and feel, and the same goes for a mouse. Therefore, we suggest that you personally try out a keyboard and mouse. Recommending that you purchase these items online is misleading, as there are too many users with different preferences for this type of thing. Visit your nearest PC outlet to try out a keyboard and mouse yourself; a PC Club, Best Buy, CompUSA, or Circuit City store will do. We suggest that you start with Microsoft and Logitech keyboards and mice. Make sure you also check out optical mice from Microsoft and Logitech as well. A good solid optical mouse from either manufacturer should run about $20, but in some cases, can run as little as $10 if you can find the right deal.If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.
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Holyhandgren - Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - link
where can i find the K11 case? i've looked around and havent been able to find it anywhere..Holyhandgren - Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - link
computerfan - Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - link
I am also looking forward to the SFF review. I am going to be building a system around the Antec Aria. I already have a good idea for most of the components except for the big question mark beside the motherboard. I want an AMD mobo that is fast, without IGP. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.wardhand - Monday, June 21, 2004 - link
Looking forward to your SSF round-up. I'm getting ready to build a budget SFF for my wife. I'm looking at the Antec Aria case and a Athlon XP CPU (probably a 2800). I have not decided on the motherboard, so I look forward to your review.Locutus4657 - Sunday, June 20, 2004 - link
#15 Last maxtor I had was absolutly silent... As is the IBM/Hitachi deskstar I'm currently using as my misc drive. My new WD 120 however I can actually hear which makes it significatly louder than my Maxtor 40GB or my IBM 80GB.Nighteye2 - Sunday, June 20, 2004 - link
Not a whole lot. Modern graphics cards do most of the visual work, anyway.michaelpatrick33 - Saturday, June 19, 2004 - link
i have a xp 2400 and i just ordered the x800xt platinum for $435.00 shipped online. How cpu clogged will i be until i upgrade to a 3500 or 3800 around september. I have a 9600 pro now. Also what power supply would i need minimum for the x800xt. i have a 300 watt now thanks sorry for a little off topicjustbrowzing - Saturday, June 19, 2004 - link
These are terrific guides & the idea to expand alternatives is a good one. But bang-for-buck performance shouldn't be the only criterion for selection.Component noise is important for many people, or should be, because you don't realize it until after you've bought & installed it that it's driving you crazy--those WD HDDs being a prime example.
Also, flat-screen monitors just simply can't be ignored anymore, and a 17 in. lcd should be included as a truly alternative monitor, not just another crt. You're fighting a losing battle here: crts just hog way too much desktop real estate & look like tech dinosaurs, no matter how well they perform (though lcds have no image distortion).
Xaazier - Saturday, June 19, 2004 - link
1200 is high end to me :(SKiller - Friday, June 18, 2004 - link
"The Maxtor drive is the obvious choice as it has no whine thanks to its fluid-bearings"Hmm not sure which model of Maxtor you're referring to, but the recent models I've seen are pretty loud. Noticeably louder than WD (assuming they're not the defective "whine" ones) and a definitely louder than Seagate's.