Help Me Build a New Monster

by Dirk Hoag on Mar 3, 2008 4:57 PM EST

While I know you Gentle Readers are hockey fans first and foremost, chances are you're fairly PC savvy as well, since the online version of this humble tome does so much better than the print subscription. So I've got a thoroughly non-hockey related problem that I'd like to get your input on...

OK, here's the scoop; I may have, through my own stupidity, fried my desktop PC at home, and am facing the prospect of getting a new one, so I'd like to get some input on which direction I should take, since it's been almost 5 years since I last did this.

The PC that may be dead has a Intel P4 3Ghz processor on an ASUS P4C800 Deluxe motherboard, 1GB RAM (DDR400) and some peripherals worth salvaging (hard drives, DVD drive, etc.). I was trying to plug in some additional memory, decided to take it back out and check a few things online before proceeding, and closed the box. When I fired it up, a rather nasty smell starting coming out of the case, and when I powered back down, I realized I hadn't taken the new memory card out after all, and worse yet, it was only sitting halfway into the slot. Now when I try to boot I get one long beep followed by two short ones, an endlessly repeating cycle that I haven't been able to get definitive info on as to what it means (some say main memory failure, others the video adapter).

I'm trying to figure out if perhaps the existing memory got fried and putting different DIMMs in might resolve the issue, but I'd rather not pay for that only to find out that's not the problem, and the mobo is indeed toast. So I've started browsing online for a new rig.

In terms of how I'd use the new box, I do a little gaming (NHL08, duh), but mostly it's database and spreadsheet work. Since it's been so long since I've had a box built, I don't even know where to start. AMD? Intel? 2 or 4 CPU? 2GB RAM? 4GB? 32-bit or 64-bit OS? I assume, based on everything I've read, that XP is the way to go over Vista (Windows only for me). I'm not looking to blow huge sums of money here, so I like to find sweet spots where the diminishing returns for that extra $ start to tail off.

Any insight you folks have to offer would be greatly appreciated...

Tweet Comment 5 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

RTFM ;-)
Three beeps is main memory read/write error. Isn't it?

by Mogen_david on Mar 3, 2008 5:45 PM EST reply actions

That's what it says, but I've also seen info in a few different tech forums stating that one long, two short = video adapter issues.

I currently have two sticks of 512MB each, and have tried them individually in each of the four slots, with no difference in result. So if it is indeed a memory issue, either both my cards are fried, or the motherboard itself is.

*sob*

by The Forechecker on Mar 3, 2008 5:50 PM EST reply actions

Different motherboard mfg's have different diagnostic beep patterns. Point is, your board (and possibly more if you are very unlucky) is almost certainly fried.

Personally i'd recommend going with something on the low end of Intel's quad-core lineup. Good place to find these on the cheap is in Dell's XPS 420 boxes. Grab them from Dell's refurb site and you're set.

I used to build all my own boxes, but i can't touch what Dell can put together a mid-range XPS for these days (though i usually opt for one with a low video card then swap it for one with more horsepower).

I also have to say that personally i like Vista ok, but it is a system resource hog. Try to run it on 1-2GB and it sucks. Throw 3-4GB at it on a quad-core box, and it's great.

Best part is, you can do all that and still be out less than $1000 these days.

Good luck!

by Paul Nicholson on Mar 3, 2008 7:46 PM EST reply actions

Intel is leading the pack with its dual core processors, and ones running around 2.6GHz are quite affordable. Nvidia is currently besting ATI in the graphics card market. Get 2GB of RAM for XP (DDR800). 32bit Windows is still the way to go for the vast majority of consumers.

by Nimnio on Mar 3, 2008 9:28 PM EST reply actions

Well, I swapped in some fresh memory, and that took care of the beeps from the BIOS; instead of giving me that main memory message, it doesn't do anything at all. The fans spin and the hard drives get moving, but it doesn't POST or show anything on the screen. Time to start spec'ing a new box...

by The Forechecker on Mar 4, 2008 4:09 PM EST reply actions