Need to repace my lightning burnt PC with insurance money :(

[jrllosin]

This place seems to be a great source of info as I have been looking at the topics here for the past 3 weeks and all I can say is "Wow!!"

Ok, I have built some pcs in the past and now my most favorite has been struck down by lightning. My insurance will help me get it repaired but only within reason, not at all what I was hoping for, but better than nothing.

Well, here's the only usable parts from my old system that i can salvage:

1. ATX case
2. Floppy drive
3. CD Rom, LightOn
4. Hard Drive, Seagate Barracuda 80 GB SATA Model # ST380013AS
============================================


1. Power supply, I have been looking at a Thermaltake Toughpower 600W SLI Cross-Fire and Dual Core CPU ready with (4) 12v rails that can provide 48 Amps, and it uses Active PFC. Model W0103RU

2. MB, Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe (AMD Athlon FX/Athlon 64, Socket 939, nForce4 SLI, ATX, 4GB DDR, 1GHz Bus - MPN: A8NSLIDELUXE

3. CPU, AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200

4. Memory, Corsair TWINX2048-3200PT 2GB DDR400 XMS3200. Not sure if there is a difference with XMS3200 and PC3200?? help on that plz.

5. Video, Sapphire Radeon X1900 XT 512MB PCI Express X16 MPN: 100149

6. DVD R/W, not sure as to what kind is good atm. I had a Plextor before and like it.

And to not forget, I would go with the best out there, but I'm on low income so I'll have to make due with what my insurance company will pay for. It sux!!! But what can ya do? I'm going to have to keep it under $1000 cuz I don't think they'll pay much more than that.


As far as what I use my pc for: games like HalfLife 2 , some video editing, bookkeeping and product ordering for 3 businesses.


So any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks John.

 

[Corasik]

The reason Insurance companies are starting to get funny about replacing PC's is that too many people these days think that just because their old computer gets stuck down, lightening/fire/accidently thrown down the stairs etc, that they can replace their P3 600mhz/Geforce 2 GTS, with a Core2 E6800/Geforce 7950GX2 etc.

Im willing to bet that you could build a computer that would be considerably faster than your old system, and not even come close to spending $1000.

Of course, if you are just unlucky, and it was a very new, current high end PC, then no doubt you would have all the current receipts and be able to justify a higher replacement value with the insurance company.

Be happy that your insurance company covers 'Acts of God' like a lightening strike.

That said, the Spec you have listed would appear to be more than sufficient for both Gaming, video editing, and book keeping.

If your really into video editing though, I'd try and squeeze in a bigger hard drive. 80Gig wont go very far if you work on the raw uncompressed video files at any kind of quality level.

Seagates 320Gig 7200.10's are very good value for money, and pretty quick with it.

 

[waylander]

Looks fine but I'd go with AM2 even if the DDR2 ram costs more.

 

[sailer]

Looks good overall. Like Waylander, I'd suggest AM2 if you have to build from scratch. Then I'd get a lessor processor in order to afford the ram. Then the cpu could be upgraded later. But if you're limited on money, then what you speced out will surely work.

XMS ram is better, having tighter timings and better overclocking ability.

 

[erik_tilton]

At least you didn't lose other appliances.

It could have been much worse, you should consider yourself lucky! One person I've talked to lost her air conditioner, her oven/range, her computer, her television, her microwave, (at this point I was thinking, "Holy &&&&ing %%%% that's mad dough yo"), her refrigerator, some other things I forget, and she was almost holding back tears.

 

[microgiant]

I wouldnt bother to even make a claim unless it was over 3k or so. You make a claim or two too many and you will find yourself paying too much for insurance or uninsurable.

 

[INeedCache]

Maybe a good surge protector would be a good place to start.

 

[phreejak]

Absolutely

The first thing he needs to get is a good surge protector - not a cheaply built one but a good one

 

[nobly]

Maybe a good surge protector would be a good place to start.

Darn you stole my line..

To the OP:
Also you can get fried through your phone jack so suppress that too - or get a surge w/ phone line protection.
That's how my DSL modem died, but it was a surge, not lightning.

 

[jrllosin]

Hello srry i was gone for a little bit, things aren't go so good.

As to the surge protectors, i have $15K in it, and it did its job very well, where my problem lies is in the cable and phone lines.

Where it all started, is in the cable line, our providers sub station was hit directly by lightning then it traveled to us and others. My surge equipment worked well, but then again it did not surge through the power lines, but only through the cable and phone lines.

That sux!!! But it happened and i will deal with it, that's why i have $30K added into my insurance policy for my electronics. Thank god. =)

I lost these things...

1. Motorola Surfboard cable modem
2. Linksys 2.4 Ghz Wireless Router
3. 3 Com Superstack Switch 4400 24-port
4. D-link fast Ethernet print server
5. Uniden 2.4Ghz phone
6. Intellifax 770 fax unit
7. Linksys 10 Port hub
8. Linksys 5 port hub
9. My Custom built computer
10 Emerson 20" flat screen tv
11. (two) Sony play stations
12. My Favorite Big screen tv. 42" Akai Projection HDTV.

So MY computer... Humm well i know that they will not replace my MB and other components with the state of art technologies, but they will pay for me to replace them with something that comes close to it. That's all i need to do. there are tones of choices out there, that i know of, that's why i came here. See what you great ppl might have to say and suggest for me.

I will re-post soon to give ya an idea of what i did have as i know that would greatly help you and me. so stay tuned, lol (its a try at being funny.)

Ok here ya go, this is what i have in my Pc atm.

1. Mb Abit NF7-S
2. Video Card Radon 9600 SE 128M
3. Cpu AMD Athlon 2500xp
4. Memory (2) 512M memory sticks
There ya go, need help in finding some suitable replacement that will work better that what i had.

Thanks John

 

[nobly]

Wow, that really does suck... heh.
*makes mental note to protect cable lines at home*

But hey, on the bright side, hopefully you'll get enough $ to build a better performing computer!

Just let us know the budget you have, any components that you can use, and what you typically use your computer for. That way we can pretty much just start you out from scratch and we'll know what to design for.

 

[jrllosin]

Wow, that really does suck... heh.
*makes mental note to protect cable lines at home*

But hey, on the bright side, hopefully you'll get enough $ to build a better performing computer!

Just let us know the budget you have, any components that you can use, and what you typically use your computer for. That way we can pretty much just start you out from scratch and we'll know what to design for.

Ok thanks Nobly,

As far as what I use my pc for: games like HalfLife 2 , some video editing, bookkeeping and product ordering for 3 businesses.

Well, here's the only usable parts from my old system that i can salvage:

1. ATX case
2. Floppy drive
3. CD Rom, LightOn
4. Hard Drive, Seagate Barracuda 80 GB SATA Model # ST380013AS

As far as a $$ amount, i don't have any idea, they told me to see what it would cost to fix as close as i can to the original parts as i can.

 

[jrllosin]

Just to let ya all know, ill be gone this weekend and will get back on Tuesday the 5th of September, then i will answer all your questions.

I just didn't want you to think that your opinion or comment is not appreciated.

Thanks to all the support!!
John

 

[jrllosin]

Ok i'm back now, had a great weekend and hope ya all did as well.

I'm still not sure if there is a difference with XMS3200 and PC3200??
Help on that plz. I think someone said that it has tighter timings and better overclocking ability, Humm idk.
I was trying to look it up, but no luck.

 

[nobly]

Ok i'm back now, had a great weekend and hope ya all did as well.

I'm still not sure if there is a difference with XMS3200 and PC3200??
Help on that plz. I think someone said that it has tighter timings and better overclocking ability, Humm idk.
I was trying to look it up, but no luck.

XMS refers to Corsair's premium line of memory. It has tighter timings than normal PC3200, and therefore, overclocks better. It can also be rated at a higher speed than normal 'value' memory modules.
For more info on the XMS line:
http://www.corsairmemory.com/corsair/xms.html

XMS is brand specific to Corsair. Other brands have their own names for the premium line - examples: ballistix (crucial), hyperx(kingston).

If you're building a brand new computer, you may want to consider going DDR2, since most of the computer world is phasing out DDR. PC3200 is DDR. I'd urge you to go down this route to preserve some sense of upgradability.

 

[jrllosin]

Ok great, thanks Nobly, that does help me alot, ill have give it more thought on that memory. You do have a very good point.

Thanks bud. =)

 

[nobly]

No problem, this is why the forums exist!

One more note, if you're not going to overclock, there's no real point in getting premium memory. You'll do just fine with a value line.

If you do go AMD and their new socket AM2, you might need some higher end memory to get the best performance(DDR2-800).

 

[jrllosin]

Yes you have a piont there, thanks. I guess i was not sure at the time.

 

[Kenyada]

BTW, a really good surge protector by Panamax (they make several models) will filter surges through electrical cable, telephone cable, DSL and tv/satellite cable. In addition, Panamax will ensure your connected equipment for up to $50,000. Those surge protectors aren't cheap, but they are well worth the price.