My computer is almost seven years old and has the Windows XP operating system recently everytime I try to clinck on a link in the forum and elsewhere it starts this beep thing. Is it an error with the cpu and what can I do about it? Just tried to click and an emo and it beeped again?? Any help would be appreciated.

Marie

Do you hear this beep when you boot your computer as well ? If you hear the computer beep during boot , it is usually in indicator of failing memory .

Creeping-Doom,

No beeping when the computer starts.

I just did a DOS Ck disk and found some errors on the hard drive and had my computer reapir them so hopefully everything will now work ok. I should have thought of that sooner but its been a long time since I've had any problem with my pc.

Thanks,
Marie

Beeping problem is back and I did chk disk and repaired the error again.

Does anyone have a suggestion for anything further that I can do??

Thanks,
Marie

It is likely that your hard drive is in the midst of failing . As a precautionary measure , I would back up any important files and see about purchasing a new hard drive .

Yup, what Creeping Doom said.

Creeping-Doom, thanks for the information, I'll sure do the back up..

Marie

You are welcome ! I've just conducted some research , & I have located this : Seagate Barracuda

It appears that the price of a hard drive has increased a large amount in recent months . Just to be thorough , I have also researched Best Buy and Wal Mart . Their prices are consistent with the link I have posted , as well as other online retailers , such as Tiger Direct , Mwave , and Geeks .

HDDS are outrageous right now - supposedly due to the flooding in Thailand, HDD prices have gone up as much as 150%. I hope they will come back down soon.

I can agree with your hope ! In regards to the supposed reason why HDD prices are so expensive , I would venture to say that manufacturers are doing that because they can , instead of any natural disaster in Thailand or anywhere else . I admit I may be in the wrong though .

It's a legitimate problem. Approximately 70% of hard drive motors come from Thailand, which is the main issue.

The biggest plant there is already back to producing though, it's just a matter of getting stock replenished now.

Yep, I purchased a 1 TB Barracuda for $49.00 last year (the same drive is now $130.00).

I was planning getting a new computer next spring but it looks like I'll be shopping for a new one earlier than I planned. I now own a Cyber Power one that I've had for almost 7 yrs. and I'm sure all the components need a upgrage. I think my hard drive is a Hitachi.

Any sugestions on a new one guys, you seem to be a knowledgeable crew. I don't do a lot of heavy gaming on my computer (I use my PS3 for that) just mostly adventure games and some casual games but I want something with a good graphic card but not anything with 3D, I don't plan on going that route, and tons of memory.

Thanks,
Marie

What is your budget, marie?

Probably from $1500 to 2000.

Holy cow! You can get a monster gaming machine for that budget!

If you like your Cyber Power computer, they have some holiday specials right now. Several people here have also had eCollegePC build computers for them too.

This is an example of one you could get from eCollegePC for $1,256. Something like this would leave you some bucks to get a great new monitor if you need one!

3.3Ghz Intel Core i5-2500 6MB Cache Quad-Core
Stock Intel LGA1155 Heatsink and Fan
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 (Intel Z68, 2xPCI-E, 8xSATA, 4xDDR3)
8GB (4GBx2) PC3 10666 DDR3 1333Mhz Memory Lifetime Warranty
1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache Serial ATA300 (Major Brand)
12X LG WH12LS30 Blu-ray Disc Burner SATA Model Lightscribe w/Nero
1GB GeForce GTX 560Ti GDDR5 PCI-E Dual-DVI/HDMI (Major Brand)
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
CoolerMaster Black CM690 II Advanced (5 5.25, 5 3.5) 3 Fans, Audio/USB/1394
600watt Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus
Onboard LAN included
Onboard Sound included
Wires and Cables ran behind case and tied up for maximum airflow
3 Year Parts and Labor Warranty

This one is very similar to what I got for my 13 year-old grandson and I to build after Christmas. His parents tasked me with putting the components together. I have everything hidden away in my closet upstairs and I really like that case.

The motherboard is one of the new Z68 motherboards which allow you to take advantage of both the graphics integrated into the Sandy Bridge CPU and the discrete graphics card. It also has the Intel Smart Response Technology which is the way we're going to go on our build. If you're so inclined, it allows you to install a small (40 - 60) GB solid state drive (the really fast, but really expensive ones) along with a big hard drive. Instead of using the SSD as a boot drive and storing everything on the large data drive, Smart Response allows you to use the SSD as a cache to vastly speed up the tasks you do the most often. It doesn't speed up writes that much, but definitely speeds up the reads. Unless you're a real power user, it's a great compromise. You could add a 60 GB OCZ Vertex 3 SSD to this build for $117.

Memory isn't that expensive, and Windows 7 works best with 3D graphics for the Aero desktop. You'd actually have to go out of your way NOT to get a 3D graphics card, and if you did, most recent adventure games would not work because almost every game uses some form of 3D graphics these days. Now if you're talking about a 3D monitor, those are optional.

The computer Draclvr configured for you looks fine to me. Don't worry about getting something that looks like more than you need at the moment. Hopefully the new computer will last you 7 years, the way your last one did. Having more computer than you need is a lot better than having less computer than you need. Unless you enjoy upgrading your computer every couple of years, get more than you think you need at the moment.

Draclvr and Jenny 100, thanks for all your information, I'm checking out the cyberpower and ecollegepc sites and see what I can come up with in my price range.

Thanks,
Marie

If you look at the Sandy Bridge (or 2nd Generation Processors which is their "official" name), keep in mind that when you see the letter K behind the version - such as a Core i7 2600K - that means that the CPU is unlocked for overclocking. If you don't plan on overclocking, you won't need to pay the extra $20 for the K series.

Since this is new, I would look for a motherboard with SATA III and at least a couple of USB 3.0 ports. Then make sure the HDD and SSD (if you get one) are SATA III.

That looks like quite the nice system you listed Draclvr ! Indeed , for the amount of money that is being quoted as a budget , a monster gamer could definitely be built ! If it could be self assembled , the cost could be less . In any event , I have read a large amount of good things about ecollege , and cyberpower . Both appear to be reasonable in their prices . In contrast , Ballistic Gaming and Digital Storm seem to be most expensive . Not to usurp what has already been listed by Draclvr , which is a very nice setup , I used the custom builders from both eCollege and Cyber Power , and came up with the following :

From eCollege :

cpu : AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition (3.7 ghz) Quad Core
cpu fan : Arctic Cooling ACALP64PWM
motherboard : Asus M4A87TD EVO (2 pci-e , 6 sata , 4 ddr3 ram slots)
ram : 8GB (2GB sticks x 4) Corsair Vengeance ddr3 1600
hdd : 1TB 7200rpm 32mb cache
dvd drive : 24x LG sata dual layer burner with lightscribe
gpu: Nvidia gtx 570 (1280mb ram)
operating system : Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
case : Antec 900 mid tower case
psu : Corsair cmpsu-750tx v2 (750 watt)
case fan : extra 120mm fan
onboard lan
onboard sound
3 year parts and labor warranty
wires tied up for maxium air flow

Cost : $1327


From Cyber Power :

cpu : Intel I5 2500k 3.3ghx Quad Core cpu
cpu fan : Cooler Master Hyper 212
motherboard : GigaByte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Intel Z68 Chipset (USB3.0, 2x SATA-III RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 3 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI)
ram : 8GB (2GB sticks x4) Kingston HyperX ddr3 1600
gpu : Nvidia GTX 560ti 2GB
case : Azza Toledo 301 mid tower case
case fans : 2 Enermax 120mm fans with blue led lighting (for case top)
hdd : 1TB 7200RPM 32MB cache
psu : Cooler Master Silent Pro 850 watt
dvd drive 1 : LG blu ray player/dvd dual layer burner
dvd drive 2 : Sony 24x dual layer dvd burner
keyboard and mouse : Xtreme Gear keyboard and mouse (they are no extra charge)
Operating System : Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit)
Media Reader : 12 in 1 media reader (for camera memory cards . again , no charge)
Onboard LAN
Onboard Sound
Wiring : tied neatly for maximum air flow
Warranty : 3 years limited plus lifetime technical support

Cost : $1418


My sole reason for quoting an AMD based system , was strictly for comparison purposes , not as a preference of any kind whatsoever . Again , a very nice system Draclvr !! I hope that your grandson is enjoying his computer !

We've yet to build it, Creeping Doom. He thinks he's getting new jeans, socks and a couple of new games. I'm setting it up out here Christmas morning and when they come out here that day, he will find his "real" Christmas present. I was given a budget of $1,000 and with the $100 Grandpa and Grandma are throwing in, the deep discounts and rebates over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, I was able to put it all together for $1080. It has a better motherboard, an 800 watt 80 Plus Gold CM PS and I scored a Core i7 2600 for $279 plus a free copy of Batman Arkham City! I also got an Asus GTX 560 Ti for $20 off plus a free copy of Battlefield 3, so he's getting all this plus two new games! Grandma is excited!

How's your computer shopping going, marie?

It appears you scored some deals , congratulations ! I am quite confident your grandson will be more than happy with his "real" present !

Here's what I found at eCollege:

CPU:3.4 Ghz Intel Core i7-2600 8MB Cache Quad-Core
CPU Fan:Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H60 120mm Water Cooler (I have water cooler with my current Cyberpower)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-M Pro (IntelZ68,HDMI 2xPCI-e, 6xSATA,4xDDR3)
Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) PC3 l0666 DDR3 1333Mhz
hdd: 1TB 7200 RPM 32 MC Cach Serial ATA300
gpu: 1GB GEForce GTX 560Ti 2GB
case: Apevia Blk X-Jupiter Jr 2 Fans Audio/USB/1394/Temp
psu: 850watt Corsair CMPSU-850TXV2
Drive #1: 12x LG UH12LS28 Blu-ray/ 16X DVD+/RW DVD
Burner SATA Lightscribe wNero
Drive #2: 24X LG SATA Dual Layer DVD/=RW/CDRW w/Nero
Case Fan: 120mm Case Fan
12in Blue Neon Light
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Premium 64 Bit
Thermal Disply: NZXT Sentry 2 Touch Scrren Fan Control & Temp Display
Onboard LAN
Onboard: Sound
Wiring tie neatly for max air flow
3 year Parts & Labor Warranty

Cost $1406

I'm still working on the Cyberpower specs.

The first word I thought of was "yummy!" Since you're looking at a Z68 board, I would suggest at least looking at the Intel Smart Response Technology that would be available for you if you also popped in a 60 GB solid state drive. This video at Newegg uses a Gigabyte board, but it does explain the technology very well. Intel Smart Response Technology Z68 Boards

I noticed that one of the best deals at Cyber Power included water cooling systems.

Draclvr, I'll have to check the Intel Smart Respons out, I think I saw something on it in an article I read from PC world, I will need to check on on of their past articles.

I googled it and saw a demo and it looks like you can use the solid state drive to load your frequently used apps more quickly, sounds very promising. I will have to check and see if eCollegepc offers the Intel Quick Response, and a solid state HD.

Marie