StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Posted: **2003-09-06 11:43am**

Ypoknons wrote:As said above. 2Ghz is about entry level right now, and AMD's 2500+ marked Bartons (and below) are a pretty good value for money. If you were going to build your own, phongn's suggustions are good, but I think Sonata cases are a bit on the high side in terms of price, but if there aren't cheaper case/PSU combos it is a good case. Asus would usually charge a premium on their motherboards, and here in Hong Kong Gigabyte has the value advantage. Also, if you are just going to use single channel RAM then don't bother with nforce2 Ultra 400, nforce2 400 or KT600 motherboards will suit you better. Soltek isn't bad.

True enough, but the Ultra 400 series tend to have more headroom if he wants a future Athlon XP upgrade, plus it's one of the more stable A7N8X varients. There's also plenty of cheaper cases on Newegg, but I like the Sonata

Posted: **2003-09-06 11:44am**

Hobot wrote:I'm currently ordering parts in order to build myself a computer...[edit=clarifying]I was planning on using open-source software[/edit]...do you think it's important to have a legal copy of Winblows?

I would suggest having a copy of Windows around (if you're buying stuff, you can usually get an OEM version as well) just in case you need to do something. It's not critical, but it is useful.

Posted: **2003-09-06 11:55am**

Shit, 2Ghz is entry-level? Considering I have a PII 350 right now, I'd be happy with just 1.

Dell looks good, but a little pricey(I'm on a really, really tight budget), and I do want a DVD-Rom-I'm assuming it can play CDs as well as DVDs...

I did manage to find a customized computer over at Cyberpower for $617 that has most of the stuff I'd like, so I may go with that in the near future....

Posted: **2003-09-06 12:14pm**

HemlockGrey wrote:Shit, 2Ghz is entry-level? Considering I have a PII 350 right now, I'd be happy with just 1.

For gaming, 2GHz is entry-level.

Dell looks good, but a little pricey(I'm on a really, really tight budget), and I do want a DVD-Rom-I'm assuming it can play CDs as well as DVDs...

Yes.

I did manage to find a customized computer over at Cyberpower for $617 that has most of the stuff I'd like, so I may go with that in the near future....

There's been some decent reviews of them on SB, but check Reseller Ratings before making a purchase.

Posted: **2003-09-06 01:16pm**

phongn wrote:
HemlockGrey wrote:Shit, 2Ghz is entry-level? Considering I have a PII 350 right now, I'd be happy with just 1.
For gaming, 2GHz is entry-level.

Well, I have a 1.53GHz Athlon XP, and it's still doing just fine for gaming.

Posted: **2003-09-06 01:34pm**

Eh, that's equivilant to a 1.8GHz P4, which is close enough

Posted: **2003-09-06 03:42pm**

How much would

1. a new motherboard/chip at about 1.5
2. 512 DDR
3. 50ish gig HD (would be secondary, probably transfer everything over and reformat the first)

cost? I could just gut my Gateway and replace all the old shit with the new stuff.

Posted: **2003-09-06 08:46pm**

Prices from Newegg.

Code: Select all

$ 65.00  Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 40GB HD
$ 83.99  Crucial 512MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM
$ 94.99  Asus A7N8X Motherboard
$ 57.00  AMD Athlon XP 1.53GHz Retail

$300.98  Subtotal

Posted: **2003-09-06 08:51pm**

Crayz9000 wrote:
phongn wrote:
HemlockGrey wrote:Shit, 2Ghz is entry-level? Considering I have a PII 350 right now, I'd be happy with just 1.
For gaming, 2GHz is entry-level.
Well, I have a 1.53GHz Athlon XP, and it's still doing just fine for gaming.

Hell, I can play Generals and UT2k3 just fine on an old 1.4GHz Celeron with a GeForce2MX graphics card. I can't crank the resolution to ridiculous levels, but at 800x600, it works fine.

I imagine Doom3 will be vastly more of a CPU hog than any existing game, but until then, an old PC still gets the job done with most current software.

Posted: **2003-09-06 08:54pm**

Well....I don't care about Doom3, I just want to be able to run Warcraft3!

Posted: **2003-09-06 08:57pm**

Darth Wong wrote: Hell, I can play Generals and UT2k3 just fine on an old 1.4GHz Celeron with a GeForce2MX graphics card. I can't crank the resolution to ridiculous levels, but at 800x600, it works fine.

Dump the MX. the Mx is a POS. Get a more top of the line FX card. You'll be
able to play at 1024x768 most everything smoothly.

Posted: **2003-09-06 08:59pm**

MKSheppard wrote:
Darth Wong wrote: Hell, I can play Generals and UT2k3 just fine on an old 1.4GHz Celeron with a GeForce2MX graphics card. I can't crank the resolution to ridiculous levels, but at 800x600, it works fine.
Dump the MX. the Mx is a POS. Get a more top of the line FX card. You'll be
able to play at 1024x768 most everything smoothly.

I'm sure he has 600 bucks to dump at the spur of the moment ~ HUK

By the way, my GeForce4MX doesn't perform so well, but it was a free upgrade, so I can't complain.

Posted: **2003-09-06 08:59pm**

It is a 1.4GHz Celeron, though, so a GFFX might just be wasted on it - CPU limitations and whatnot.

Posted: **2003-09-06 09:15pm**

Darth Wong wrote:Hell, I can play Generals and UT2k3 just fine on an old 1.4GHz Celeron with a GeForce2MX graphics card. I can't crank the resolution to ridiculous levels, but at 800x600, it works fine..

I used to routinely play Unreal Tournament (the original) at 1280x1024, with some of the detail settings tweaked, and got about 150 fps on average. Of course, for a while (on my old Win2K install) it showed ridiculous 1500+ fps averages. I have no clue what caused that.

Posted: **2003-09-07 03:26am**

Darth Wong wrote:If you're not comfortable putting together computers yourself or dealing with local builders, get a Dell.

http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/offers/sp ... en4600.htm

The second one from the right is $1019. Dell cases are nicely built, the motherboards are made by Intel, and it comes with 256MB RAM, 40GB HD, GeForce4 MX graphics, a CD-RW drive, a 17" monitor, a legal copy of Windows, and an SBLive for sound.

While you may get slightly better price/performance elsewhere, Dell makes it easy and their machines are reliable.

(Bolding mine)Sorry to ask, but does that mean that if I buy a cheap Dell, and a cheap P4 chip, I can install the chip in it, thus saving money?

Posted: **2003-09-07 04:13am**

Hey, try ABS Computer
I have seen a lot of good reviews, as well as some excellent ones on them, and they have a good score on Reseller Ratings. My guess is they are also less expensive than Dell.

Posted: **2003-09-07 04:14am**

Hey, I finally get stars, but only 3, damn it, just because i was lazy and registered late.

StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Thinking about buying a computer in the near future...