What should I get?

[tgxiii]

Or, rather, what should my friend get? She likes to do video editting and Photoshop, but she is on a REALLY tight budget. We have a choice between two options:

1. Compaq built 2.4 GHz Celeron, 128 MB DDR, 40 GB HD, 17" monitor, keyboard, mouse: $400 after MIR.

2. ECS K7S5A Pro mobo, Athlon XP 2000+, 256 MB PC2700 DDR, Maxtor 40 GB HD, 64 MB GeForce2 MX400 vid card (no mouse, keyboard, or monitor, but she has her old ones): around $300.

Which would you suggest? Please, no unhelpful answers like "Neither! Wait for the AMD64 or Prescott!" I know the options aren't very good, but which of the two would be better for video editting and Photoshop? Thanks.

[Gouki]

Just at a glance, I'd say #2 because you'd have twice the amount of ram and it's PC2700. Not the fastest ram out there...but it ain't too shabby either.

[RedFury]

I'd probably have to side with the system based around the ECS board simply for upgradeability, and the fact that you have 2x the ram and none of it is getting sucked away by a symbiotic onboard video card-considering we are looking for a system that can handle graphics the best....stick with the system that gives you the most RAM and highest quality video card.

It's amazing what difference you get with 2x the RAM when workign with Photoshop, and having a system that can render everything you are doing at high levels of detail is an absolute MUST HAVE. Video editing ( depending on the level ) may require a more powerful video card down the near future, but the GF2 MX will get you going, although I'd be willing to bet we could find a better Video card for just a hair more than you are paying for the GF2 ( unless you already have the GF2...then we run into problems ).

[tgxiii]

This is kind of last minute because she will be dorming this week and she does not have a computer yet! I only chose the GF2 because it was the cheapest I could find at Fry's. Maybe I could lend her one of my old TNT2 cards and just order something online. We have a budget of around $50. What video card would you suggest?

[ShawnD1]

omg don't tell me you seriously considered getting 1. I can understand it being tempting because it comes with a monitor but I mean come on it's a celeron.

As for video card, just give her your TNT2 or some other spare video card you have laying around. If she doesn't plan on playing any games, a TNT2 will be just fine.

[tgxiii]

I wasn't considering getting option #1, her parents were for the convenience. But I did convince them to give the Athlon build I described above a try.

I doubt she'll be playing games, but she will want to be doing video editting and Photoshop like I said earlier. We are looking at any of the following:

Radeon 7000 64 MB, Radeon 9200 128 MB SE, GeForce 4 MX 440-SE 64 MB

or should she just save up for something more?

[ShawnD1]

You're thinking of not using a crap card (TNT2) and going for a not as crappy but still crap card. Just save the money for future upgrades .

[tgxiii]

LoL. Unfortunately, things DO look this bleak for this particular computer. Any suggestions as to what video card to get, that is, what card to save up for? Please bear in mind that we are looking at a budget card, so no 5900s or 9800s.

[ShawnD1]

Just keep saving the money until something hits your eye. When you are ready to buy a video card, you'll know .

[dustyrun]

Go for #2. A celly is just not up to editing.

Rick