your advice please

IddinLunasglory · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 504 Location: Denver Co

Hey all....
ive decided to give up on my homebuild and buy a new computer...
what im asking is for any advice from anyone about where to go for a PC that is stable but UNDER 1K (including s&h) !!
I dont need a screaming machine just something >2gig processor (prefere AMD to pentium but not avid about it)
would like a decent sound card as well
only must is a 256 Nvida vid card.

I was looking at "Cyberpower" they had good ratings in the magazines I read. but i saw a few realy nasty experiences with them at epinons.com

I was not impressed with the selection at Dell (only 256 card they had was an AMD)

I really want a full system with every thing i need that will have support. something i dont need to upgrade for a bit.

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2004 5:47 pm Post subject:

Small question before I give you some links...

Why do you prefer an AMD to Intel processor? Intel kicks AMD's ass for stability, ESPECIALLY for gaming, the only reason to use an AMD processor is for price. Razz

I don't know what the big deal is with the video card, either. Yea, NVidia chipset with 256 DDR onboard is nice, but you're looking at almost $500 just for the video card (the wholesale price in my reseller catalog is $439). The same chipset with 128 runs for less than half of that, and I can't think of much you're going to do besides hardcore 3D video rendering that you're going to notice that huge of a difference on. Cool

_________________
Sage Shiloch Venzolmes - Arch Convoker - Walkers
QUALITY, not quantity.

Elnrik Talshiar · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2003 Posts: 820 Location: Denver, CO

Check these out, see what you think.

Click here.

BTW, I think Shi's right. You're not going to be able to get a $1k system with a 256 vid card in it (unless you buy a $400 system and slap in the $500 video card Laughing

).
_________________

(AKA - Brent)

IddinLunasglory · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 504 Location: Denver Co

actually Cyberpower had this i was looking at..

X-Dreamer Case 350W w/ Window (SILVER)
AMD Athlon XP-2600+ Processor ~ CL205
Albatron Nforce2 Ultra DDR 400 Dual Channel MB w/ Audio & Lan
512 MB PC3200 400MHz DDR MEMORY (Major_Brand)
MAXTOR 120GB 7200 RPM ATA 133 HARD DRIVE
NONE - 2nd Hard Drive
nVidia GeForce-FX 5200 256MB DDR W/ TV OUT & DVI
ARTEC 16X DVD ROM (BEIGE)
ARTEC CD-RW 52X24X52 (BEIGE)
NONE - MONITOR
Creative Labs SB AUDIGY 5.1 W/ 1394 IEEE

Price: $739.00

I guess almost every computer i have had was an AMD since they came out.. i am not really opposed to Intell and if i found a good deal i would get one. They tend to be much higher priced systems in my experience.

I already have a monitor that is just fine so dont really need one

As for the 258 vid card.. i was under the impresion that the new Doom3 and half life will need a 256 card to run them... ? both these games i definatly plan on playing

IddinLunasglory · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 504 Location: Denver Co

compare to the same system with an intel
X-Dreamer Case 350W w/ Window (SILVER)
(800FSB) Intel Pentium 4 CPU @ 2.6GHz 512K ~ C2024
ABIT IS7-E I865PE 800FSB AGP8X Mboard
512MB (256MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Dual Channel
120GB 7200 RPM ATA 100 HARD DRIVE
NONE - 2nd Hard Drive
nVidia GeForce-FX 5200 256MB DDR W/ TV OUT & DVI
ARTEC 16X DVD ROM (BEIGE)
ARTEC CD-RW 52X24X52 (BEIGE)
NONE - MONITOR
Creative Labs SB AUDIGY 5.1 W/ 1394 IEEE

Price: $886.00

Elnrik Talshiar · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2003 Posts: 820 Location: Denver, CO

OR... hehehe

ATX MEDIUM TOWER CASE 350 WATT (BLACK)
(800Mhz FSB) Intel Pentium 4 CPU @ 2.6GHz 512K w/ Hyper Threading
ABIT IS7-E I865PE 800FSB AGP8X Mboard (with SATA)
512MB (256MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Dual Channel (Corsair_XMS)
MAXTOR 200GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB CACHE HARD DRIVE
NONE - Hard Drive
ATI RADEON 9800 SE 128MB DDR AGP 8X W/ TV-OUT & DVI
ARTEC 16X DVD ROM (BLACK)
ARTEC CD-RW 52X24X52 (BLACK)
NONE - MONITOR
3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD

Price: $996.00

It's not much more, but going with Corsair memory, Serial ATA hard drive, and the ATI 9800 vid card should increase performance from the Intel config you selected up there. After the PC arrives, head to a PC store and buy a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS card for $79.99 and you're golden.

Just my 2cp. But then... I'm sure it's easier for me to spend your money that is for you to spend your money.

As for Doom3, etc etc etc, you'll need a video card capable of using programmable shaders. I'm pretty sure a 128mb card will run just fine. Someone correct me if that's wrong.
_________________

(AKA - Brent)

IddinLunasglory · Member Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 504 Location: Denver Co

unfortunatly after my experience with 3 ATI cards in a row i wil never get one again Crying or Very sad

but nice system config hehe

Daneloire · Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 10:10 am Post subject:

The one thing I notice about those systems you mentioned is the meager power supply. If you're going to run a high-end processor and still expect to power a number of system fans, hard drives, cd-burners, whatever... 350W is a very low number. For a gaming PC, I'd recommend maybe one of Enermax's 420W NoiseTaker power supplies.

-Dane

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 10:26 am Post subject:

The $886 machine is a good buy.

I read up on Doom 3 AND Half-Life 2 (which I think is going to be a huge disappointment), and couldn't find any specific information about system specs for either, other than id Software plans to make Doom 3 tailored for higher-end machines. Half-Life 2, which currently has no release date, hasn't made any promises other than they say they're tailoring the engine to run smoothly on lower-end systems.

In the end, its all going to come down to how much money you want to spend. You can turn off anti-aliasing and a couple other goo-gaw graphics effects and still get a refresh of 60hz out of Doom 3 most likely, with a 128 MB graphics card.

If you plan to do this type of high-end, cutting-edge gaming, why you'd want to do that on an AMD processor boggles my mind. Paying 740ish for an AMD when you can get an Intel for 890 is well worth the price of getting the Intel.

Despite many years of development, AMD still doesn't measure up to Intel for stability, and life span. I've often took that sleezebo way out of getting more bang for the buck out of a budget, and it failed me every time. I do a lot of process-intensive database applications, graphic rendering, and just general use where I've had lock-ups, random reboots, crashes, and overall speed problems with AMD processors, closely followed by burn-outs.

Its a good buy if your computer is only on 4 hours a day and you do word processing and spreadsheets. Gaming is one of the computer industry's most hardware-demanding facets, and I just would not trust that to something paper-thin like AMD.
_________________
Sage Shiloch Venzolmes - Arch Convoker - Walkers
QUALITY, not quantity.

Jiminie · Member Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 68 Location: Brighton CO

You've gotten lots of good advice here bro.

Thought I would throw in my opinion on Nvidia however. I have had the same experience you had with crap cards tho these were all with the Nvidia chipset, which I will never buy again lol.

ATI is the way to go says I. Just something to think about fer both of us I suppose. Bad cards might not always be related to chipset maker...

Good Luck,
Jiminie
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Elnrik Talshiar · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2003 Posts: 820 Location: Denver, CO

I'm with Jiminie on this,

ATI has had better rated graphics cards, performance wise, and have been rock solid for me.

And I'll also agree with Shi, Intel > AMD.

As far as the power supply thingy, 350 is teh suk, I'll agree totally.
_________________

(AKA - Brent)

Shiloch Veneficus · Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2004 11:20 pm Post subject:

Elnrik Talshiar · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2003 Posts: 820 Location: Denver, CO

Talvarien · Member Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Posts: 609

You computer people, and you're unbelievable knowledge base, scare the hell out of me! Shocked

talv
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PH@T L3WTS

Daneloire · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2004 10:21 am Post subject:

Everyone has to be good at something Razz

-Dane