abespam Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 I don't have one ... yet. But yes, im going to buy a new computer in June and i thought i'd ask the more knowledgable ppl regarding video cards and cpu's. Turns out i can get a third of the comp's price back under my tax claim (in its first year), because i can use it for work purposes. Anyways i've never built my own desktop before, and as much as i'd like to, i just don't have the knowledge. Plus some bad experiences in the past means i prefer to have a warranty coming with my desktop. So im gonna order a pre-built one. Neways im going to be using this pc for games - including all the top end games that will come out, so i want it to run well. I was wondering whether its better to have: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Dual Core Processor or Intel Pentium D 2.8GHz Dual Core 2x1M Cache Processor 820 .. works out from the site im buying it from that the whole package with the intel is $200 cheaper (Australian Dollars, so don't think of it as that excessive). Im guessin this price difference includes the difference in the motherboards, of which i have no idea what is supplied. I'm happy to pay that extra amount though if the performance is better. However with the Intel, i'd be getting a 1gig of ram at 533mhz rather than 400mhz with the AMD. Secondly, nVidia GeForce Go 6800GS 256MB 256-Bit PCI Express Graphics Card or ATI Radeon X1600Pro 512MB 256-Bit PCI Express Graphics Card .. I've heard that the 6800GS is very good for its price and runs top end games well, also that it completely outclasses the x1600XT. But i havent really heard too much about the x1600Pro, and its also a 512mb video card. Also the x1600pro is $150 cheaper (aust. dollars). Again i dont mind the price for the performance. If you guys got any advice, i'd be happy to hear it. I would be paying about $2500 (for non-aust. ppl don't really compare prices to US). But that includes: - 200gig hard drive - 19" Wide Screen lcd monitor (1440 X 900) - DVD DL burner - integrated 7.1 Channel High Definition Audio - 5.1 Channel Surround Speaker System with Subwoofer, - Wireless keyboard and mouse - 10/100/1000M Ethernet adapter - 802.11 b/g PCI Wireless adapter - 23-in-1 Internal USB 2.0 Card Reader (not quite sure what this is) - xp pro - 1 year warranty Appreciate your opinions, and bear in mind the Aust. market prices are considerably different even factoring in the exchange rate. Btw if anyone knows of another Aust. supplier that would sell the above rig cheaper (pre-built) i'd appreciate it. the above is off the pioneer website. edit: soz, but i just realised that this was really quite expensive, since for $2600 i can get a dell comp with geforce 7300LE, better audio, 20inch screen, 320 gig harddrive. and thats dell. Bleh i'll keep lookin Cheers fellas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 Too bad you live in Sydney, cause I run my own part time business building custom rigs for those like you that want that type of performance and reliability, but can't do it themselves. I'm pretty cheap too Anyways, if you still want to give it a go for yourself, check out these links: http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/step/1 http://sysbuild.corsairmemory.com/report.aspx?id=2&sid=1 Got some good step by step instructions there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiE23 Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 edit: soz, but i just realised that this was really quite expensive, since for $2600 i can get a dell comp with geforce 7300LE, Cheers fellas I wouldn't trust that card. It would be like getting an ATI 1300 because it's a bigger number, even though it's slower than a 9800. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokarev Posted May 7, 2006 Share Posted May 7, 2006 nVidia GeForce Go 6800GS 256MB 256-Bit PCI Express Graphics Card or ATI Radeon X1600Pro 512MB 256-Bit PCI Express Graphics Card .. I've heard that the 6800GS is very good for its price and runs top end games well, also that it completely outclasses the x1600XT. But i havent really heard too much about the x1600Pro, and its also a 512mb video card. Also the x1600pro is $150 cheaper (aust. dollars). Again i dont mind the price for the performance. 512MB for a video card to this day does not make a difference whatsoever, so don't let it sway your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abespam Posted May 9, 2006 Author Share Posted May 9, 2006 thanx for the info, but i'll still probably let the suppliers put it together for me. Yeh i think im probably gonna stick with the 6800GS, but havent decided yet about athlon or pentium yet.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorden Darkblade Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 If you're going to play more I think Athlon is better and for office and working programs I think Pentium is better. I could be wrong though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acdcfanbill Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 the difference in performance for gaming and office products is practically negligable. each side has studies that show they are better, but in reality, they are both bound to the x86 hardwear setup, and most performance differences i would think come from the motherboard and ram/hard disc setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abespam Posted May 9, 2006 Author Share Posted May 9, 2006 well i am going to be using the comp for office programs as well, but just the basic word processing and web surfin, no substantial graphics programs or nething. But it looks like athlon is the way to go. I had problem with Athlon a while ago when i bought a 1.1Ghz athlon, and the whole computer decided to die every 6 months, first the PSU overloaded and had to be replaced, then the actual processor had to be replaced, than the motherboard had to be replaced (of course thats what the tech ppl said, they didnt really go into detail of what was wrong). Motherboard (from another site i found)- Gigabyte S939, GA-K8N-SLi , looks decent Im probably gettin a SATA Western Digital hard drive, but in that link by Seeker it recommends the Seagate Barracuda. Whatya reckon? Also is there any real reason to get a brandname ram? Probably gonna stick with 1x1gig of ddr at 400mhz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Western Digital is a really good HD. Seagate and Maxtor are also reliable brands. With Hard Drives, you just want to read some reviews on what your planning on getting. Tech reviews are okay, but I trust the ones from users more than anything. Go to newegg.com look up a hard drive of the brand/specs that you are considering, and see what people are saying about them. For RAM, some say it's all the same. It very well may be considering I have never had RAM crap out on me, but I have had great results with Patriot and PNY brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manoman81 Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 Never had problems with Western Digital or Maxtor drives. Same for PNY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorden Darkblade Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 I would go with either Western Digital or Seagate for HD. As far as memory I hear that the brands Kingston, Corsair, OCZ and Patriot are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtriniman Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 Wait a bit for Vista. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lorden Darkblade Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 A bit... Vista is only coming out in 2007... That's too long to wait if you ask me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 Wait a bit for Vista. erm, yeah, wait for vista. Buy it right as it hits shelves, and you can be part of that unpaid focus group that gets to weed the bugs out of a brand new OS so that a year later, people at large can have a finished product. [/sarcasm] seriously, Windows XP is great. Very stable, great features, easy to work with, and most of the bugs have been worked out by aforementioned focus group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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