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you may want to check out sites like i buy power for good affordable systems. they've got plenty of stuff that's fairly modern for under $600.00

Destructionator XIII wrote:Do you all think getting a 64 bit processor is worth the cost? I must say that I don't see it being all that useful right now.

probably not unless you intend on running alot of graphics intensive applications. if not then you could downgrade to the next best chipset and still be good for a while.

*Waves hand in front of face of Destructionator XIII*
You will go buy a Mac-G5 and reveal in it's Bad-Assness
*Waves hand in front of face of Destructionator XIII*

Crossroads Inc. wrote:*Waves hand in front of face of Destructionator XIII*
You will go buy a Mac-G5 and reveal in it's Bad-Assness
*Waves hand in front of face of Destructionator XIII*

somehow, i don't think $500 or $600 won't cover a G5, although i guess it's the thought that counts

Since as far as I understand you want cheap since your not running heavy duty stuff, if you build it, you can get under 500$ without monitor.

Check any of the webs budget PC guides, anandtech.com has some good one's.

64-bit is nice, future stuff will use it more, but for web surfing and the like? just fluff.

Basically it depends;

For the likes of browser, RAM is probably more important than CPU.

Now for gaming issues: actually you don't have to be worry too much, because most good games were published before 2001 (or 2002). Games like Jane's Fleet Command, Deus Ex, Mechwarrior 3, Mig Alley, and even Warcraft III would do fine with a Pentium III processor. In general, something in the class of Pentium IV or AMD Athlon XP would be a safe bet.

Athlon 64 can do nice if you're planning to play the likes of Doom3. The question is: is the gameplay worth it?

As for myself, I'm sticking with AMD Barton 3000+, because it's the highest CPU can be handled by my ASUS A7V333 mobo. But why A7V333? Because that one mobo has universal AGP slot so I could stick my Voodoo5 5500 in. It's my "3dfx-legacy" system.

"But Voodoo is slow like hell for newer games!" Yes, but who cares. Most newer games suck in gameplay, while nice titles from the past also happen to be the ones which look beautiful with Voodoo. Not to mention the FSAA.

So unless there's something out there with gameplay equalling the likes of EF2000 or Privateer, but with very resource-consuming system requirements, then I would really buy an AMD 64 with *dual* nVidia GeForce in SLI configuration (and no, LOMAC doesn't count since its flight model is so headaching while I'm actually longing for dynamic campaign).

If your favorite games are based on Quake III engine (like Jedi Knight 2), Pentium can be better than AMD. But AMD rocks in everything else.


Regardless, my computer buying decision always depends on *gameplay*. How about yours?


PS: and if your system is a "DOS-legacy" one, for heaven's sake don't sell it! Many excellent games are DOS-based like Strike Commander, Privateer, Crusader: No Regret, and even Privateer 2.

Destructionator XIII wrote:I've heard that integrated video and audio sucks, but it is cheaper.

Does it suck enough that I should shy away from it, or will onboard be good enough from most things?

i'd recommend at least a 128 meg graphics card. especially if you plan on playing games newer than 5 years or watching any kind of movies.

I was on integrated graphics for 2 years playing mostly dos and older games. I never had a problem.

Darth_Zod wrote:

Destructionator XIII wrote:I've heard that integrated video and audio sucks, but it is cheaper.

Does it suck enough that I should shy away from it, or will onboard be good enough from most things?

i'd recommend at least a 128 meg graphics card. especially if you plan on playing games newer than 5 years or watching any kind of movies.

I guess it's a little bit exagerrating. Even a two-years old game like Return to the Castle Wolfenstein can do well with 64Mb graphic cards[/b].

You don't need more than 64 Megs of RAM. You don't need a graphics card with more than 8 Megs of RAM. In fact, get integrated everything if possible. Pentium IIs are great.

Darth_Zod wrote:you may want to check out sites like i buy power for good affordable systems. they've got plenty of stuff that's fairly modern for under $600.00

Monarchcomputers.com is a far better site to buy from. They have a higher approval rating and a much wider selection.

Sea Skimmer wrote:

Darth_Zod wrote:you may want to check out sites like i buy power for good affordable systems. they've got plenty of stuff that's fairly modern for under $600.00

Monarchcomputers.com is a far better site to buy from. They have a higher approval rating and a much wider selection.

*makes note of addy* never heard of them before, otherwise i might've recommended it.

Beowulf wrote:You don't need more than 64 Megs of RAM. You don't need a graphics card with more than 8 Megs of RAM. In fact, get integrated everything if possible. Pentium IIs are great.

If your serious...

Thats exactly what you need for a legacy machine, but nothing else will run.