THE BEST OF!

[inversion]

I didn't know exactly what area to post this but here it goes. I have 1500 dollars to build a computer with, and would like to get some opinions. I have posted here before and always get the results I am looking for!
The main thing is, the computer is going to be built to be used also by a visually impaired young lady. She is not blind but has a eye disease that might eventualy make her that way. She has expressed an intrest in the software "JAWS" for visualy impared persons and she has been told it is the best out there. I am doing the best I can to make this dream of her's a reality, as of now she uses web tv. The people involved in making her dream a reality (her mother, family and I) have been able to come up with the 1500 and maybe even as much as 2200! The thing is, I need to know what your opinions are all the way down to the case! They have already expressed a big intrest in capable graphics and sound (her daughter and I will also be playing games on it, so let's crank it up!) I myself am very partial to the AMD line of processors and I would like to make the whole system easily upgradable in the years to come. We live apart right now (she lives in Florida) but will be able to live together again in the near future, so that I will be able to help her as much as I can. I will probably need to find someone in Florida that is capable of building the system, or if you have any ideas please let me know. I am not a "genuis" (I wish) but am capable of working on my own computer and have come a long way in improving it, my brother used to be a tech, (do you think it is a task we could take on?) I myself would really enjoy that. (On my computer we have installed a Voodoo5 card, turtle beach sound, bigger hard drives, new cd R/W, better processor and rigged up some strange configs of fans for cooling. for the small price of doing it ourselves, with the help of tom's forum, it has been well worth it!) Let's make this dream a reality, and I would like to thank everyone for the help so much!
I can't tell you how much this wiil mean to the family.

 

[FiL]

i don't know the JAWS software at all, but if you're looking for opinions as to what computer would be best for games then you're in the right place

if you want to go AMD then aside from getting the CPU, (2000 or 2200+ would be the most cost effective models.) then the Abit AT7-MAX2 is a really good motherboard.

add to that like 512Mb of PC2700 DDR RAM and a large hard drive and perhaps a ATi Radeon 9700 card for games and you'll have an awesome system.



<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/mol_gen" target="_new"><font color=red>My Computer</font color=red></A>

 

[Crashman]

AMD's current platform is a dead end. AMD is releasing their new processor on a new platform. So if you're looking for upgradability for "years to come" you either have to wait for the new platform (which should be good for at least 3 years), or use an recent Intel board (which should be good for 1.5 years or more).

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[johnoh]

I'm an amd fan too but if want the mobo to last you should go with Intel.

I encourage you to build this thing yourself and then ship it to her. Having someone else build it could lead to problems because building a system involves the hour you thought it would take plus the x hours you didn't plan on it taking.

That said, micropro.com will build any system for a good price and stand behind it as a system, not just the parts.
Whether you build it or have it built I recommend playing around with their configurator as part of your brainstorming.

As you probably know the very best system will be 10% better but 40% more expensive then a very good system, so if you still want the very best at least do so while being aware of this.

John A

 

[SidVicious]

I suggest you spend a lot of that money on a really big 21 or 22 inches CRT.

Highest resolution should be top priority because it will make it possible to display a lot of oversized characters on the screen. Factors like dot pitch, moiré, screen curve and convergence can be overlooked because I don't think she'll notice or care about such negligible effects.

I'm not sure about the keyboard, If she's having an hard time seeing, she may need one with big letters printed on it, unless she know the keys layout by heart.

Keeping in mind that a 21 or 22 inches CRT can cost anywhere from 500 to 900$ I suggest you go "cheap" for the rest of the system.

A Radeon 8500 or GeForce3 GPU 64Mb, Axp 1800+ with stock cooling, 256Mb of Samsung PC2700 approved by Asus to run on a A7V333. should be more than enough for games. I'm suggesting the A7V333 because I'm using this board and it's really stable and easy to work with. It has onboard sound, can support future 166MHz FSB AMD CPUs and has many USB and USB2 ports, including FIREWIRE.

Sure, Socket A will disapear in the next two or three years but keep in mind that AMD will still be producing and selling AXP T-breeds and Bartons as long as the value market will require, because the performance market will be Hammer, the AXPs will replace the Duron in the value market. That means you will be able to upgrade to a faster Socket A 166MHz FSB CPU in the years to come.

Fok Speling Misstake

 

[inversion]

I wanted to thank everyone so much for the help! Kepp up the great work and I will let you know what I do.

 

[Black_Cat]

I suggest you spend a lot of that money on a really big 21 or 22 inches CRT.

JAWS is a program designed for people who are completely blind. It converts text into speech. I got a chance to use a trial version of JAWS. It's pretty cool.

My suggestion would be to get the least expensive video card you can find, get a good sound card and a decent set of speakers. The voices (I believe there are a few voices to choose from both male and female) are a bit difficult to understand because they kinda sound like Stephen Hawking.

Either AMD or P4 platforms will be more than enough to run JAWS.

To start press any key. Where's the "any" key? --Homer Simpson.