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New System Suggestions

xmulder

n00b
Joined
Jan 2, 2005
Messages
5
Im really stuck with what to buy for my new computer! Id like something thats quite up to date with a fair bit of power behind it, but im not sure i want to make the jump to 64 bit processors just yet. Im also a big fan of AMD, so thats a must unless anyone can win me round ;)

The machine will be used for gaming so it needs to be fast and efficient.

So far im certain im getting an 80gb Maxtor diamond Max Plus 9 hard drive (possiably 160Gb, but that depends if i get a sky tuner card) and a Radeon 9800 of some discription. Im looking to get about a gig of memory however the different makes elude me as to their perfomance and reputation.

I was looking at an ASUS KV8 motherboard, however its a 64 bit app and im wary of making the change - how exactly will it effect my computing and is it really worth the upgrade?

So basically im asking for system recomendations - what goes with what, who is reputable and above all what will squeze every last frame out of and AMD ;)

Thanks in advance, and nice site!
 
How much is your budget? Will you be making it yourself or do you want to buy it pre-assembled?
 
It depends on your budget, although Athlon64 is getting cheaper, with their least-expensive chip going for around $130.
 
wow two allready ;)

I have a total of around £300 (abour $450-$500 ish) allthough i will spend more if its going to be a long term investment ;) but would prefer to spend less (who wouldent)

I will be assembling it myself. My main aim is to put together something thats going to be fast and reliable.
 
I'm in the same boat as you, I'm spending £430 - £460 though.

2 x Antec Cooling Fan 120mm Blue Led Lights
1 x Ebuyer 500w Power Supply Black With Dual Fans
1 x Ebuyer Extra Value Dracula S-313BB Black Body - Chrome Front & Black Panel - ATX Case PSU Not Included
1 x AMD (Winchester) Athlon 64bit 3500+ 939pin 512kb L2cache 90nm Retail Boxed Processor With 3 Year Warranty and Fan Included
1 x Seagate ST3160023A 160GB 7200rpm 8mb Cache Barracuda 7200.7 Plus - OEM
1 x MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum SKT 939 Nforce3 SATA GIGBIT LAN 7.1 CH Sound Retail Box
1 x Crucial CT6464Z40B 512mb DDR 400MHz PC3200 CL=3 Memory Module

That costs £460 all in all, for £430 you get that but a Newcastle CPU instead of Winchester, from what I know the only difference between the 2 is the size, how hot they get and a tiny speed increase.

www.ebuyer.com
 
I had a look there before and ended up with a total of nearly £700 - a bit over my budget lol.

Work owe me around £400 at the end of Januray so if i wait then i can spend a bit more - but id rather get it now ;)

How does the system you have listed come out for performance? Is there much benefit to getting a 64bit chip and what are the downsides?

Thankis :D
 
the AMD A64 processor is generally faster than similar (similar frequency) intel P4 processor and there is no downside of having an A64 processor since it's backwards compatible with x86 32bit OS's and apps. the upside is that there is a 64bit version of Linux out there (i think it's either SUSE or Mandrake) and Microsoft is at work on a 64bit version of windows. so go with the A64 system if you're looking for a long term investment.
 
Thanks very much for that Darkpark - tis very helpful!

Looks like the ASUS K8V for me then ;) :D
 
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