I have some questions concerning buying my next c

[cbrown6775]

I could ask the "computer guy" at work but why not ask a 1000 computer guys. My questions realy deal with is "X" worth the extra cash i.e. would I notice the difference. Before I start plz plz plz plz don't suggest I build my own. Im a [TOS Violation]. I pay some one to change the oil on my car and I work on the Apache Longbow helicpter, the most advance Attack Helicopter in the world. So now that everyone knows what your dealing with I will continue. Please feel free to answer anyone or all of the questions below. My price limit is$3000.00 ish. Im currenly in germany so I'm ordering online. Also plz explain why if possible.

* indicates what I was leaning towards


1. Who would you order from?
a. Dell
b. Alienware
c. cyberpower* (they will ship next day!)
d. other


2. Which cpu would you buy, will I even know the diff?
a. (800FSB)Intel

[Dan]

My answers:

1: Alienware - they look good and are supposedly good. They are american though, and i'm in the UK.

2: (800FSB)Intel

[Iroquois]

Instead of the Intel, get an AMD rig. They're better for gamming and 3d graphics work while Intels are better at image processing, music editing, and general use. I guess you've got money to burn so get an Athlon64. The Athlon64 3400+ is a bit better than the P4 EE 3.4ghz. There are two socket choices, 754 and 939. Try to get a Socket 939 because AMD is going to phase out the 754 soon.

As for where to get it, I'd pick other. It's usually best to get a small computer shop to assemble a custom one for you or even to buy the parts and build it yourself. I wouldn't suggest the DIY project unless you know what you're doing.

For graphics. I'd pick the Geforce 6800GT. It has some features that the X800 Pro doesn't have.

For Ram, 1gig of PC3200 DDR is plenty.

Your HDD choices are fine although 7200rpm drives are cheaper.

As for optical storage. If you like to watch movies, get a DVD drive. There's is no difference in speed or price between CD-ROM and DVD-Rom drives. Even a low cost DVD+/-RW drive would be a good choice because it's excellent for backup.

[congo]

1. Consider ordering from a local supplier who will custom build and maintain your machine close by home.

The advantage here is that if something goes wrong, you pop it into his shop for a quick fix and pick it up as soon as its ready, no sending the system away for lengthy repairs.

You need to explain to him EXACTLY what you want and don't except substitutes, if you don't feel right about the dealer... go somewhere else. You need a sympathetic supplier, preferably an enthusiast who knows how to build and set up a performance machine.
Look for an established small supplier who offers personalised service.

2. Seriously consider an AMD 64 bit machine.

3. 1 gig of RAM is sufficient, it's the quality of the RAM that is really important, you'll want RAM that can be set to very fast timings for best performance.

4. A faster hard drive will load information slightly faster, it has very little if anything, to do with FPS.

5. Either of those video cards will offer good performance, however, certain manufacturers make special editions which have faster RAM installed on the card and the GPU and RAM timings are set higher by default. Selection of one of these "special" cards requires research.

6. DVD drives and burn capable drives are slower in general than the simple old CD ROM drive. the speed was limited to 52x when discs began shattering as faster drives were developed.

Ideally, the latest high quality DVD-CD multi-format burner should be purchased along with a fast DVD - CD ROM read only drive. Less painful burning operations are then able to be made Disc to Disc, using the pair of drives.

If you need a specification, just ask. Your main concern should be which chipset you intend on basing your system on. The chipset (mainboard) will determine the potential of the machine.

Good Luck.

[Gixer]

Check out my spec

[Iroquois]

The fast HDD are really only good if your running databases or websites. Using it as a server in other words.

Now that I think about it, you may even want to concider a motherboard with a PCI-Express slot instead of AGP. In a few years AGP will be out and PCX will be in.  The Geforce 6800 and 6600 as well as the Radeon X800 all have PCX versions.

[cbrown6775]

Thx for all the help guys.  I have made my decision  and now my children will not be going to collage so Daddy can play games.  I did buy a AMD instead.  Can someone tell me how mine compares to a intel...i.e. 3.2, 3.4, 3.6 ghz??????  Thx again guys!


CAS: ALUMINUM X-SuperAlien Server 420W W/ Window & LCD Temperature Display Fan Control
CD: 16X DVD ROM
CPU: (939-pin) AMD ATHLONT64 FX 53 Processor
HDD: Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD360GD
HDD2: Western Digital Raptor 36.7GB 10,000RPM Serial ATA 150 8MB Cache WD360GD
MOTHERBOARD: (939-pin Socket) ABIT AV8 VIA K8T800 MAINBOARD WITH LAN, USB2.0, IEEE, & AUDIO
MEMORY: 2048 MB (1GBx2) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY
MONITOR: [BLACK] ViewSonic

[Iroquois]

The FX-53 is equivilant to an Intel P4 3.8ghz.

You've got a very nice set up there. Wish I had that kind of money to burn.  ;D

[Dan]

I hate you! Its me that needs that kind of PC! Outburst over lol...... V. nice machine mate!
Dan G

[Iroquois]

I hate you! Its me that needs that kind of PC! Outburst over lol...... V. nice machine mate!
Dan G

What's it my Mom keeps saying. "If you get a decent job and work hard, then you can get all that stuff."    ::) I'm pretty lazy so hopefully that decent job entails something in the civil service.  ;D

[4_Series_Scania]

If you wish to do video editing, then the p4 EE is the one to go for,certainly not from a value for money point of view though!!!

Honestly, 2GB of RAM? do you need all that? If video editing is one task you plan to do, then the 2GB is understandable..... You certainly won't need that much RAM to enjoy FS9 !

I'm a little surprised on such a high spec proposed machine, your going for the "Mid Range" 6800GT - An Ultra would be better and will certainly overclock to even greater speeds.....

Anyway, from my local store http://www.overclockers.co.uk if you must go AMD 64 then this little lot will do you nicely....

AMD Athlon FX53 (Socket 939) - Retail (CP-089-AM) -

[cbrown6775]

I'm a little surprised on such a high spec proposed machine, your going for the "Mid Range" 6800GT - An Ultra would be better and will certainly overclock to even greater speeds.....



HUH...........Plz explain?

[Gixer]

If I knew now what I knew I probably would have got the GT myself.

The Ultras at the moment DO NOT overclock at all well.  My XFX comes at 425/1200 outta the box.  Can get the core to 435 but cant get the memory any higher than the 1200 its at.  So unless this can be sorted in drivers its as good as Im gonna get.  

People have been clocking GT's to 425/1200 (well XFX ones) fine so your saving yourself

[4_Series_Scania]

Depends on which Ultra you go for, some don't O/Clock well, I have a friend who's 6800Ultra is overclocked and it certainly betters the overclocked 6800GT based machine I built for another friend a few weeks back....

Sry ,cbrown6775, I'd missed the Ultra in your updated specs......

Ultimately, forget about overclocking it for a good while yet, Doom3 running @ MAX settings on my friends 6800GT tells me theres little point in overclocking these beasties yet, nothing current I've seen seems to demand the extra performance. (And that includes running with 8xAnti alaising & 16 x Anisotropic filtering!)

Either way you look at it though, AMD will always be the enthusiasts first choice simply because of price.
AMD's are the current performers no doubt... But overclocking? I dont think you can clock much better than P4's still.

2.4's doing 3.6Ghz, 3.4's doing 5Ghz+ (ok thats excessive, but some people have done that).

Clocking P4's up to 275mhz FSB is pretty easy to do, and the performance gains on the cheaper chips is still awesome.  8)
But the top intels Vs AMD's arnt exactly bad in a match-up. Of the benchmarks I've come across, theres very frequently only about 10-15Fps between the two brands and even less than that in real world applications, I'd say that i am an enthusiast but if i can use a cpu that performs above average in games and out performs in terms of use for applications I would have to go with Intel.
Suffice to say, I'm not too keen on the prices !!!

As for a business side of view though you can do more work per cpu at once than an AMD and over the last 5-6 years they have been very stable where as AMD were finding there feet, give it another 5 years or so and I'd be very interested to see where AMD are.


Simply put my needs at the moment require me to listen to music have several applications running at once, be connected to my other machines and be able to burn a CD whilst having something spare rather than being able to play UT 03 at 100Fps.  ;)

[cbrown6775]

My new computer will not be here for at least 4-5 weeks due to back order items.  In the mean time how would I go about over clocking my current hard drive.  Radeon 9200?

p.s. Do I realy need to over clock  anything on my new computer?.....I figured it would be fasy enough for anything....