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Post by The Black Dart on Nov 11, 2007 17:43:36 GMT -5
I am looking into getting a new computer and I was looking for some advice.
What would be the best parts, hardware, moniter, hard drive, case, et cetera avaliable now?
It would be used for gaming and for work.
Thanks in advance.
~TBD
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Post by ŞíŘ on Nov 11, 2007 17:51:38 GMT -5
Since the AM2 chips are an lolfest right now afaik, I would recommend a newer Intel C2D and an ASUS mobo for it. (I tend to prefer AMD but Intel is just producing better products)
As for memory, I recommend Corsair, they tend to have tight latencies and are very reliable.
HDD? You'll hear varied opinions on brand, just make sure it's SATAII. You can find stupidly high capacity for stupidly low prices now.
Video Card - nVidia is still leading this one. I don't know what ATi is doing, but thumb-twiddling seems high on the priority list. I am ATi/nVidia neutral.
Monitor - Take your pick. I usually hate on Dell all of the time, but their large LCD displays are very nice.
Case - The only important factors in a case are power supply and how sexy it is. Ok, so there are front panel connectors and drive bays and etc etc etc but really you just want an ATX case with a power supply > 500w that looks good to you. If not, get a case without a power supply and go buy a nice one, they're all over Newegg. Read reviews, find one with a good rating, because the bad ones are known to DoA.
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Post by The Black Dart on Nov 12, 2007 13:33:35 GMT -5
i exalt u
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Post by Chim on Nov 16, 2007 7:03:21 GMT -5
It's been a couple days I know, but if you haven't done all your purchasing yet, and you want some more opinions, here are mine.
I'd definitely start with an Intel Core 2 Duo like Mr Sir says and I'd probably stay at least over 2ghz. I'd also go with an Asus motherboard - more than likely with an Intel chipset. I don't really care about SLI, so I don't need to go with the nvidia chipset, but the nvidia chipset isn't bad either - you'll probably save some money staying away from SLI boards anyway. I'd get an aftermarket heatsink/fan for the cpu - preferably a Zalman.
For ram, I like Corsair, but as far as main brands go, a lot of them have been getting cheap (as in cheaper parts). I also like Kingston. The last ram I bought is called G.Skill and it has really impressed me. It is low latency and very cheap from new egg (although I haven't really overclocked it much).
For a power supply, I really like Antec - especially the modular power supplies, but other manufacturers make good ones too. The last one I got was a modular power supply by Enermax called the liberty. I'd probably gear towards a 500w. For a case, I love Antec. I think I'd have to find a really kickin' case to steer away from an Antec case. You want to look for one with decent airflow - preferably one with 120mm fans because they are much quieter than 80mm fans.
As far as video cards go, this is where I usually spend the most money (at least on a single item). I splurged last time and got the 8800 gtx superclocked and haven't been disappointed by it yet. Before that I got the 6800 gt and it was really, really awesome for the price. If you are under a budget, go for a gt version - not the gtx or ultra or whatever. I'd also stay away from ATI. I think their drivers are crap. They also do not compete in the gtx arena.
Sound cards anymore are kind of useless. Most motherboards have great audio. If you are not happy with the sound on the motherboard you choose, then just get an X-Fi by Creative.
For a HDD, I love Western Digital. Seagate is a good HDD, too. If you want space, there are lots of 250-500gb drives that are fairly cheap now. If you want performance, go with a Raptor (10,000 RPM). I love mine. I have 3 HDD in my computer. I install the OS on the Raptor and keep data on the other two.
For monitors, I've stuck mostly with ViewSonic. Some of the Dell monitors are really good, though. If you want great performance, just make sure it's at least a 5ms refresh and make sure it has good brightness and contrast. 300cd is a good brightness and 3000:1 contrast is excellent - I'd try to stay close to those numbers, but I'm pretty picky about my monitor. I tend to want at least a 19" screen or bigger. If you go with widescreen, I'd probably try to get a 21".
Some of this might cost a decent chunk of change, but you can definitely waiver a little if you're under a budget.
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Post by Jayne, The Hero of Canton on Nov 16, 2007 10:04:24 GMT -5
In terms of intel vs AMD, this is a competition that changes on a weekly bases. There are die hard fans on both sides who will try to rationalize that one is better than the other, but the truth is, they're both good chips and good companies (although, I'm partial to the AMD drivers myself). Unless you're buying the latest and greatest (which almost no one ever does), you're really not likely to be affected by the competitive standings of the day. You have to consider what your processor is really going to be doing. If you're looking for a gaming rig (and who isn't), you're looking for GPU power. Gaming is all about the GPU. Thats where you spend your money. Most people aren't dissapointed when they buy a mid-range CPU and spend the extra cash on a high-end GPU. However, if you're doing high scale vectoring in a cad program, compiling software, or something else that requires a lot of calculations, a strong CPU is probably what you need. In terms of RAM, I know many people make a huge fuss over brand. The truth is, they're all made in the same factory in Taiwan anyway. In the 20 years I've been dealing with computers, I've never had a stick of RAM go bad on me. For the low chance that somethings is going to happen, RAM is so bloody cheap its not worth worrying about. It's also not going to affect your performance as much as most people think. I usually buy the cheapest stuff I can get. The true bottleneck is the hard drive. There are only a few choices in hard drives. The biggest difference between them is the control chip, the motor, and the quality of the cache. Despite rumors that one brand is better than another, they pretty much have the same integrity between them. Don't be fooled by fanatical personal anecdotes saying that one brand sucks and another brand is awesome. Hard drives are unreliable by nature, and you will eventually have one blow out on you now and then. If you're brand loyal, then the ones that blow out are likely to be the same brand. Thats how these rumors get started. Hitachi manufactures the plates for all of them, so in regards to integrity, they're pretty much all the same. WD uses a smaller voltage motor than standard and wider plates that are mounted closer together. For this reason, WD drives tend to be heavier (due to the larger step-down transformer), but quieter (because the arm has to do less work). For this reason they tend to be my preference, but I wouldn't worry about brand too much. Just by a name you recognize, and you'll be okay. Antec is a good power supply. You should have no trouble. Just keep it clean. A shot of compressed air every now and then should do the trick. This is especially important if you keep your case on a carpet. The best advice I can give is to always make sure your computer is properly grounded. Check the U-ground in the receptacle you're using, and make sure there is continuity. Also, never cut the ground pin off the power cable or stuff it it in a two-wire extension cord. This is the surest way to kill you're power supply. You probably know this already, but just in case someone else hooks the thing up for you... In terms of your GPU, i really can't comment. It's been almost half a year since I bought one, and they're changing much faster than any other component. My only advice is don't waste your money on the high end cards. The mid-high end cards usually work just as well. The thing is, you have to plan how long it will be before you have to upgrade again. The price difference between mid-high and high range cards can be anywhere from $300-$500 more, but will only give you a few more months before they force you to upgrade. Not worth it, in my opinion. www.tomshardware.com/ is a great site (just make sure your adblocker works.) They have some pretty good advice and benchmarks. Anyway, thats my two cents. Hope it helps. Cheers, -Jayne
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Post by Chim on Nov 16, 2007 21:33:06 GMT -5
Jayne, I hate to do it, but I must argue with you a little bit. Yes, you are correct that AMD vs Intel has been a seesaw to who it goes to, but not weeks... I'd say more like years. When the Athlon 64 came out, AMD won it over (when it came to gaming - the Intel with hyperthreading did better in servers, though). However, with dual core, there is no comparison between the Intel Core 2 Duo and the AMD Athlon 64 x2 - look at any benchmarks and the Intel will win out significantly. I actually run two computers (three counting my laptop) and my intel machine is much better even though the Athlon 64 x2 has a faster clockspeed. The nice thing about amd chips is that they're cheap.
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Post by ŞíŘ on Nov 16, 2007 22:26:54 GMT -5
This is just Intel's resurgence. AMD was better than Intel for years. Throughout the last decade they played the gigahertz game, trying to pump the big shiny clock speed number so that uninformed consumers would leap for them... at the expense of thermal problems, power usage, and lacklustre cache and bus, unfortunately.
Their redemption has come with the era of 64-bit multi-core chips, as the Core2 series seems to be beating AMD's offerings soundly from what I can tell. I'm just worried about AMD... they're no longer doing the actual fabrication, they contracted it out, I could've sworn I read something on /. about their finances being worrisome.
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