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I'm getting a new a computer soon, but being the amateur I think that I need my current choice looked over. Any advice/laughter or ridicule is welcome

P4 3GHz 800MHz FSB 512K Cache
512MB DDR 333
160GB hard drive 8MB cache 7200rpm
Geforce Fx 5600 256MB graphics card
DVD +/- RW
Firewire card
4USB ports
6 channel on board sound

A Big Flying Fish wrote:I'm getting a new a computer soon, but being the amateur I think that I need my current choice looked over. Any advice/laughter or ridicule is welcome

P4 3GHz 800MHz FSB 512K Cache
512MB DDR 333
160GB hard drive 8MB cache 7200rpm
Geforce Fx 5600 256MB graphics card
DVD +/- RW
Firewire card
4USB ports
6 channel on board sound

Looks good to me. Wouldn't go for onboard sound though, and I'd only take the firewire card if I really needed it. Personally, I would've also gone for AMD over Pentium, but that's just me.

It all depends on what you want to use it for, that machine will definitely run the latest games. In-fact it would probably be good for a long time.

A 2-in-1 solution to Embracer's post: get an Audigy sound card. It comes with one firewire port (more than you will ever need).

The problem with AMD seems to be that if the cooler fails, the thing basically just burns out. And the warranty usually doesn't cover that.

Are you planning to build it, or buy an Advent?

Slartibartfast wrote:A 2-in-1 solution to Embracer's post: get an Audigy sound card. It comes with one firewire port (more than you will ever need).

The problem with AMD seems to be that if the cooler fails, the thing basically just burns out. And the warranty usually doesn't cover that.

It depends on the motherboard. My cooling failed and there was no damage because the motherboard shut everything down before it got too hot.

Vendetta wrote:Are you planning to build it, or buy an Advent?

Build hopefully. One thing I was worried about was the supposed problems that newer Geforce cards have with DirectX 9 games. any further feedback would be appreciated.

Slartibartfast wrote:A 2-in-1 solution to Embracer's post: get an Audigy sound card. It comes with one firewire port (more than you will ever need).

Wow, I didn't know they had a firewire port. Not a damn clue.

Edit: By the way, that was not sarcasm. Hehe.

That sounds good.

Well, it looks nice, but acording to Valve the Radeon 9600 Pro would be a better choice when playing Half Life 2 and directx 9 games in general.

If the on-board sound is based off the NForce2 chipset, then don't even bother with a different card. That one will do you quite nicely.

Looks good except for the onboard sound, but I haven't kept up with things as well as I should so I'm not too sure about the video card either. Onboard sound is fine if you need to save space, but it can have compatibility issues and screw up future upgrade options.

I think ATI would be a better bet at this time.

Yeah, nVidia seems to be a mess right now.

I hate you.

If this is a system update for HL2, I would suggest you hold off for a bit. ATI's R380/RV380 will be released soon and nobody knows what tricks nVidia has up their sleeves.

You could also save quite a bit of cash and get a P4C 2.4GHz and overclock that thing up to ~3GHz (but you'll need good RAM for that). You must use at least DDR400 (PC3200) with the P4C, by the way. Also, what motherboard chipset are you looking at? 865 or 875?

I'd suggest a Seagate drive since they're quieter than the rest of the competition. Plextor will be releasing an update to their 8X DVD+/-RW soon, Pioneer also makes a good one. I've heard bad things about Sony's DVD+/-RW.

The Audigy 2 is good, but I'm partial to the M-Audio Revolution myself.

Yeah, skip the 333 DDR RAM and get 400. It's pretty much gonna be the standard 'til DDR2 comes out.

And I would recommend you scale the proc down to 2.8 or even 2.6. Going all the way to 3.0 is spending a LOT more money for only a couple hundred mhz. Not worth it.

And, coming from someone who has until recently been an INSANE nVidia fan, hold off on the graphics card. The current FX lineup just isn't cut for handling DX9 features, so you're essentially gonna be left in the dark for future games. Wait 'til nVidia's updated cards come out... also, I'm anxious to see how the new company XGI handles their cards.

SPOOFE wrote:Yeah, skip the 333 DDR RAM and get 400. It's pretty much gonna be the standard 'til DDR2 comes out.

That, and it's silly to run RAM asynchorously, performance suffers. Keep with dual-channel DDR400.

And I would recommend you scale the proc down to 2.8 or even 2.6. Going all the way to 3.0 is spending a LOT more money for only a couple hundred mhz. Not worth it.

The P4C 3.0 might be cheaper by the time HL2 is out - the P4EE should be shipping by then. It could be a better value then.

And, coming from someone who has until recently been an INSANE nVidia fan, hold off on the graphics card. The current FX lineup just isn't cut for handling DX9 features, so you're essentially gonna be left in the dark for future games. Wait 'til nVidia's updated cards come out... also, I'm anxious to see how the new company XGI handles their cards.

IMHO, nVidia might not be able to solve their current problems with DX9 until the NV40 comes out. XGI looks interesting.

Slightly OT: Sapphire (ATI's primary OEM) actually tried an "R350 MAXX" with twin processors. Even using a ten-layer PCB they couldn't get the thing to work - though since their fiasco with the original dual-proc card they swore off that idea.

I heard the ATI is buggy as hell tho. And that it sucks balls for OpenGL in non-games stuff, like using a 3d-modelling software like 3D Studio MAX.

So I would also wait till nvidia fixes his problems and maybe get one of those. Not that I have money tho... just hope my GeForce2 can handle HL2

Slartibartfast wrote:I heard the ATI is buggy as hell tho. And that it sucks balls for OpenGL in non-games stuff, like using a 3d-modelling software like 3D Studio MAX.

The newer Catalyst drivers have been improving driver stability. They aren't perfect, no, but not as bad as they once were. They aren't too hot at CAD/CAM type applications (even their FireGL line), but most people who do that kind of thing grab something from 3DLabs. Their Linux drivers suck.

FWIW, nVidia didn't always has perfect drivers either. Anyone remember the early Detonators - or even the pre-Detonator era?

So I would also wait till nvidia fixes his problems and maybe get one of those. Not that I have money tho... just hope my GeForce2 can handle HL2

Your GF2 will handle both HL2 and D3 at lower quality settings. NVidia is unlikely do fix their current DX9 problems before the NV40. The Detonator 50 series of drivers is rumored to greatly boost performance, but various analyses around the 'net show that the drivers are cheating to get that boost.

With all the new gear coming out these two months (Athlon 64 and Prescott) I think perhaps waiting another month and prices will drop quite a bit?

You'll still be getting more or less the same stuff, but at lower prices. It's only a month or too as well.

I think I'll proberly wait. With all the new stuff coming out I get the feeling I could save a shit load of money.
All advice thanked for.

Geforce Fx 5600 256MB graphics card

unless your a Nvidia fanboy, switch to the Radeon 9600, cheaper, and faster, and better DX9

A Big Flying Fish wrote:I think I'll proberly wait. With all the new stuff coming out I get the feeling I could save a shit load of money.
All advice thanked for.

Good. You could also get a better performing machine as well, but unless you absolutely must have the latest and greatest NOW, just hold off.

Ace Pace wrote:

Geforce Fx 5600 256MB graphics card

unless your a Nvidia fanboy, switch to the Radeon 9600, cheaper, and faster, and better DX9

Over here, it's $50 more.