Newb questions buying a pc

[BBC454]

I am looking at buying a new pc, the Dell Inspiron 8000 laptop just isn't cutting it any more! I am mostly looking at buying an ABS M5. It seems like no one has anything bad to say about ABS.

I am more partial to AMD than Intel but I just can't ignore the better performance from the Intel's. This computer will be mostly for games (Doom 3, HL 2, etc.), and I do quite a bit of file converting and play a lot of movies. My first question is, will I see much of a difference between the AMD 2800+ and the 3200+? The M5 has DDR400 so that won't make a difference. Also, do you think it is a good idea to get 512MB ram or 1GB? I am leaning towards 1GB because at college here I will host games when playing. For a video card, I am getting the 9800 pro.

I am not interested in o/c, and want this comp to last at least 2 years; by then I figure 64 bit will be around a lot more. I would love to get the 64 fx, but I don't think I need it that bad and it is pricey. If I were to get it I would wait for the fx-53. Any input is welcomed, I just don't want to spend $2000 and be mad at what I bought. Do you think the 64 fx is worth the money? Does the processor make that much of a difference with graphics?

Thanks

 

[mrgoblin]

Wasting money is buying an amd processor thats over 2500+ thats non 64bit. Do yourself a favor. Go to www.overdrivepc.com They custom make pcs and overclock em. The quality and time they put in there is astounding. How can a company make a custom built gaming pc when theyre churning out hundreds a week? Any company (abs) that takes 20 mins to answer the phone isnt a winner in my book. Go to reseller ratings.com and see. they have a perfect 10. for about 2 g's ull get a 2500+ overclocked to 3200+ speeds, a 9800 pro, 2 raptors and a very nice setup. Its as close to a personally built pc ure gonna get.

 

[aka1nas]

$2000 is a waste of money on a modern system. You realistically don't need the fastest offerings from either Intel or AMD as they traditionally have a hefty price premium for minimal performance gain. If you don't want to overclock or mess with the machine yourself too much, you could go with something decent in an AMD or Intel Rig, like around a XP 2400+ or a 2.6Ghz P4C. RAM is a little pricey right now, so I would probably stick with 1 512MB chip and another when its cheaper and you start to need it more. The big question is if you want to build it yourself or would prefer to have a prebuilt machine with a warranty. Most people on this forum, myself included, will probably advise you to build as you will have more flexibility with the hardware and can save a few $$ if you pick parts intelligently. The video card you chose is great, and if you are a heavy gamer I would definately stick with that, unless you would prefer to upgrade that graphics card to something better next year when Doom 3 and Halflife 2 are actually out and you can get a better card for a cheaper price at that time. In that case, I might even say to step down a little but to a radeon 9600 pro or thereabouts and save some cash for next years upgrade. That all depends on whether or not you want to ever crack open the case again once you have it together.

 

[BBC454]

I do not want to build it myself mostly because I hate having to work with getting the software worked out. I want a raid 0 configuration also, which can be a pain to set up. After looking at tests done between the processors, I think I will go with a 2.6 or 3.0 intel, there is only a $100 difference. Also, I do run various programs at the same time so I think the HT will help.

Also, I don't mean to be a smart a**, but why would I pay the same price for something that is already tricked out? And, if you look they cost more. I can spend the same and later on o/c it and it will be faster yet.

Lastly, does the processor make much of a difference when playing games?

 

[jd103]

Check out cyberpowerpc.com. You can basically configure any system you want (AMD-Intel). Their prices are pretty good to.

 

[Medicated858]

The 64 bit processors are definitely not worth the money. There is nothing out there that takes advantage of them. I'll put it this way my brother is a programmer for Sun and when I started talking to him about the exciting new 64 bit processors he laughed cause they're pointless right now.

 

[waitingforprescott]

You might also want to check out the awesome 3300, I think it's the best deal abs has. Personally I think abs's gaming systems are overpriced. If you want a more customizable system you might want to also check out monarch computers.

 

[piasabird]

If you like playing games the Video card is more important than having the fastest processor. This might also be important if you are encoding video or watching streamed video from the Internet. Similarly if you want a video card with a TV/FM tuner a better video card is also important. There is a big price jump between say a 2.6C 800Mhz P4 and the top of the line. Sometimes as much as $400.00. Just by selecting a processor that is 2 down from the fastest processor available there is a significant savings. I would never spend over $400.00 for a processor. I did pay $400 for a Intel processor one time and it ran for over 5 years.

However, if you are not interested in any of the above things and P4 processor and integrated video is probably fast enough to get the job done. Personally, I think a nice video card that runs over $50.00 but is not too expensive is a good investment. You can have the fastest processor on earth and if you dont have a fairly good video card it is useless. You can probably get by with a ATI 9200 which is a fairly nice video card. For around $150 you can get a ATI 9600 Pro. For around $250 you can get a 9600 All-in-wonder with the TV Tuner and use it like a TIVO.

 

[piasabird]

I forgot to mention some of the options for where to buy the PC. There is always the option to purchase a DELL. Dell makes a wide variety of PC's that are ready right out of the BOX. IBM also sells a lot of PC's like the Net Vista which has been relabeled as think centre PC's. I really would not recommend a Compaq. Some shops make some more customized PC like the guys at:

Alien Ware

These guys make top of the line PC's which are pretty good.

If you go to some computer shops you can also get them to put something smaller together like a Shuttle Bare Bones Kit. These Small Form Factor (SFF) PC's are getting quite good and quite powerful, despite their small size. A custom built shop actually charges on average a little more than say buying a DELL. However, they usually offer more customizable options. Christmas is a good time to look for a good sale. Lots of times there are computers on sale at Best Buy which are pretty good. Some people like some of the Sony Viao PC's they sell there.

Make sure you know whether the PC has integrated Video or a good video card. Look for a list of components. If it is a cusom build shop make sure you get all the driver disks for everything. If it is a large comany ask them if you get an OEM separate operating system disk and whether you get a recovery DISK, which is a little different.

You should at least have a DVD drive that can handle playing DVD's. A lot of software and games are starting to get really large. Because of that they are coming out on DVD's, because they can hold more on fewer disks.

 

[RollWave]

cyberpower RULES

 

[mrgoblin]

Avoid Cyberpower like the plague! My pc was doa and they wanted to charge me 15% to return the pc! they wouldnt take my calls and no one was there to pick up the phone. VERY rude.