New Computer What do you recommend?

[kelvinmaki 0]

Building your own computer is actually quite easy, there's barely anything to it. You just need to know basics, what is what, and it's a breeze putting stuff together. Unless you have absolutely zero knowledge or interest in it, and then a preassembled computer is maybe better. But I will never buy a branded computer.... a waste of money.

Yeah. My first 2 computer are from branded companies and they serve me pretty well for normal usage. However, if you are into extreme gaming, like sound surround with sharp smooth graphics, then I would choose my own specification. Current computer, my 3rd computer is a self assembled and it rocks.

[FirefoxRocks 0]

Yeah. My first 2 computer are from branded companies and they serve me pretty well for normal usage. However, if you are into extreme gaming, like sound surround with sharp smooth graphics, then I would choose my own specification. Current computer, my 3rd computer is a self assembled and it rocks.

Well I'm not looking into extreme gaming, it is pretty well normal usage. And I forced myself to wait until Windows Vista Service Pack 1 before purchasing the new system. I hope it is worth it.

[Karmen 0]

Yes, I need to experience Vista before deciding if it is good or bad for me. If it sucks, oh well, at least I have something more to learn about. I personally think that Dell is great, my school uses Dell and quite a few people around my town uses Dell also (some use Acer because the local computer shop sells Acer systems).

 

I am definitely thinking about getting Core 2 Duo, that was my first instinct. I do think Macintosh computers are expensive and again, too easy to use. I was wondering about Skype on AMD processors because of this: https://www.cnet.com/news/amds-lawyers-call-on-skype/.

 

Anyways, I'll see if we can reach an agreement sometime soon (hopefully before 2008).

i really wouldnt bother with Vista, there are far to many bugs and exploits without the scripting of the software. A friend of mine uses Vista and his computer crashes every third day. But thats just my two cents.

 

On the side note, i would recommend HP (http://www8.hp.com/us/en/home.html), I personally use a HP desktop and i couldn't find a problem with this computer if i created one myself. Its simply perfect in my eyes and VERY VERY affordable and definitely within the price range your looking for.

 

here are a few here to look at and all are around the $1000 mark.

 

/us/en/UnsupportedBrowserErrorView?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=10151

 

I hope this has helped you and good luck with your computer shopping.

 

Kind Regards

- Karmen

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

i really wouldnt bother with Vista, there are far to many bugs and exploits without the scripting of the software. A friend of mine uses Vista and his computer crashes every third day. But thats just my two cents.
On the side note, i would recommend HP (http://www8.hp.com/us/en/home.html), I personally use a HP desktop and i couldn't find a problem with this computer if i created one myself. Its simply perfect in my eyes and VERY VERY affordable and definitely within the price range your looking for.

here are a few here to look at and all are around the $1000 mark.

/us/en/UnsupportedBrowserErrorView?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=10151

I hope this has helped you and good luck with your computer shopping.

Kind Regards
- Karmen

From that list, I would just highly recommend this: /us/en/UnsupportedBrowserErrorView?catalogId=10001&langId=-1&storeId=10151

Its specs are great and what's better is that it's powered by AMD Athlon 64 X2.

xboxrulz

[adaml 0]

dell are very good but one thing i hate is that my dell cant be upgraded in any way apart from the graphics card and thats allcorrect me if i am mistaken

[levimage 0]

Hey Firefoxrocks, did you buy a new computer already.... just wondering cause this topic is not really going anywhere. I don't know what advice you're looking for. Anywho, just get a used computer/refurbished one if +$500.00 is out of your price range.

[FirefoxRocks 0]

dell are very good but one thing i hate is that my dell cant be upgraded in any way apart from the graphics card and thats allcorrect me if i am mistaken

That's true, there isn't any extra PCI slots in my current system to insert a wireless network card in. Guess it will have to be external.

Hey Firefoxrocks, did you buy a new computer already.... just wondering cause this topic is not really going anywhere. I don't know what advice you're looking for. Anywho, just get a used computer/refurbished one if +$500.00 is out of your price range.

$500 isn't out of my price range. I'm looking at something around $1000 (incl. tax). No we didn't buy one yet because Dell took out the cheap option (forcing you to buy 500GB of hard drive if you want something relatively cheaper).Can anyone give me reasons to get AMD instead of Intel?

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

That's true, there isn't any extra PCI slots in my current system to insert a wireless network card in. Guess it will have to be external.$500 isn't out of my price range. I'm looking at something around $1000 (incl. tax). No we didn't buy one yet because Dell took out the cheap option (forcing you to buy 500GB of hard drive if you want something relatively cheaper).
Can anyone give me reasons to get AMD instead of Intel?

AMD is known for being cheaper than Intel. AMD is very overclocking friendly. It also features the all new HyperTransport, which makes the system's Front Side Bus a lot faster. Furthermore, AMD's 64-bit implementation is better than Intel's. Intel's performance on 64-bit feels very sluggish for the price you're paying for. Another thing that makes AMD better than Intel, imo, is its integration of the memory and ethernet controller so that the system doesn't require an external bus in order to connect the components together. This is especially a problem with intensive tasks and gaming, when you have to use an external bus as it drags the system.

Furthermore, AMD Athlon chips runs cooler by default than Core 2 Duo and Pentium based chips.

xboxrulz

[FirefoxRocks 0]

AMD is known for being cheaper than Intel. AMD is very overclocking friendly. It also features the all new HyperTransport, which makes the system's Front Side Bus a lot faster. Furthermore, AMD's 64-bit implementation is better than Intel's. Intel's performance on 64-bit feels very sluggish for the price you're paying for. Another thing that makes AMD better than Intel, imo, is its integration of the memory and ethernet controller so that the system doesn't require an external bus in order to connect the components together. This is especially a problem with intensive tasks and gaming, when you have to use an external bus as it drags the system.
Furthermore, AMD Athlon chips runs cooler by default than Core 2 Duo and Pentium based chips.

xboxrulz

Cheaper? So what?
Overclocking? Isn't that disabled by manufacturers by default? And why would you need to overclock it?
What is front side bus?
64-bit? Does that mean it needs to run Windows 64-bit version? If so, then I'm not even going to think about it.
If all the components are connected together in tight integration, does this mean the memory, motherboard, Ethernet controller and CPU are connected as 1 component?

[Miles 0]

I would suggest not getting Vista. It's buggy and unreliable. At the very least wait until those issues have been sorted before buying it. Anyways, you should get a wireless router rather than an internal wireless card, get an internal wired networking card though, and connect it to your router. That allows expansion of your network in the future. Yes, I do recommend a tv tuner. Having had one in my previous PC it was extremely useful, I still have memories of recording tv programs on it.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Cheaper? So what?Overclocking? Isn't that disabled by manufacturers by default? And why would you need to overclock it?
What is front side bus?
64-bit? Does that mean it needs to run Windows 64-bit version? If so, then I'm not even going to think about it.
If all the components are connected together in tight integration, does this mean the memory, motherboard, Ethernet controller and CPU are connected as 1 component?

No, AMD actually ALLOWS you to clock your system. Starting with Phenom, AMD supplies you with an easy way to overclock it. They will give you a software that would let you monitor the system and use a slider to overclock it. Of course you can still use the traditional method, but AMD makes it easier.

Front Side Bus (northbridge) is the connection between your processor and your memory, and other input/output devices that are embedded to the motherboard. Your Southbridge handles your PCI/AGP/PCI-e connections and your audio. AMD replaced the Front Side Bus with Hypertransport. Intel can only go up to 1333MHz with their FSB right now. AMD can go up to 3600 MHz!

The faster the FSB the better since you make connections with the more important components faster so that it wouldn't drag your system.

As for 64-bit, if you really want to use more than 4GB of memory (you can't run 32-bit with more than 4GB of memory) and want your system to use its full potential, of course 64-bit is better. However, not all hardware has 64-bit support in the Windows world. As for Linux and Mac, there's bigger support for 64-bit. If MacOS X detects that you have a 64-bit processor, the system is then ran on 64-bit. Linux has a 64-bit option, but must be manually activated. There are way more driver support for both.

xboxrulz

[micky123 0]

Ok well we are considering purchasing a new computer. We've looked at a few different options, mainly Dell.

Some of the features are already decided, like this:

Windows Vista Home Premium

2GB RAM

At least 320 GB hard drive

22" wide-screen monitor

The graphics card and sound card aren't really such a big deal, we do not use this PC for gaming/video-editing anyways. The PC will primarily used for Office applications, web development, general Internet/email use, watching DVDs and learning about Windows Vista (I can't wait to use User Account Control!).

 

The most important thing on the list is 3 Year Tech Support. I won't explain that here, but even with Linux it is the most important thing on the list.

 

Now some things I would like to know about:

Should I aim for getting the Pentium D dual-core processor (1.6 GHz) or the IntelÂŽ Coreâ˘2 Duo Processor E4500 (2MB L2 Cache,2.20GHz,800 FSB)? A lot of people on CNet say that Windows Vista is optimized for 2 processors, but it brings the cost of the PC up by $100 (incl. taxes and everything).

Is it worth adding $30 for a 13 in 1 Media Card Reader? I don't think so, because I rarely use media cards, mostly USB flash drives. But they may have other uses.

Should I pay $20 for a Data fax modem or $40 for an Internal PCI 802.11g Wireless Network card or neither? I thought that this would be a good deal, but apparently the other people want to connect the new computer to the router and buy a wireless adapter for this Windows XP computer.

Is a TV tuner a good investment ($100)? We initially thought it was, but now we are unclear on this.

Also if you have other opinions on the any other components then feel free to tell me. So far the PC with the Core 2 Duo processor is $1,103.52 CDN (including taxes and shipping). We don't want anything too expensive, however we want to make a good investment as we would use the PC for about 4 years before buying another one.

Hi Firefox,

I suggest using the Core2 duo option, the pentium D proc was a failure from Intel, if you use a Pentium D along with a P4, there is no performance increase noticeable

Core 2 Duo on the other hand was more successful than the pentium D technology and the speed difference can definitely be seen.

My Choise is Core 2 Duo, AMD is suffering and may close shop soon, so do not consider the same!

[wutske 0]

Overclocking isn't disabled by manufacturers, they've only locked one particular variable that can be used to overclock the cpu and that's the multiplier. The cpu clock is defined by the multiplying the FSB with the multiplier (so a 200Mhz FSB and multiplier 11 results in a 2,2Ghz cpu clock). Nowadays, you can only lower the multiplier which of course results in a lower cpu clock. This doesn't mean you can't overclock, because you can still raise the FSB (until the motherboard/memory can't handle the FSB anymore ).There are however a few cpu's that are completely unlocked (you can freely set the multiplier), AMD sells these cpu's as black editions, Intel only gives these cpu's to a limit group of tester (they're called engineering samples if I remember correctly).@micky123: I don't think AMD is closing down soon. Too many companies would suffer if Intel becomes the only player on the desktop cpu market.

[xboxrulz1405241485 0]

Hi Firefox,I suggest using the Core2 duo option, the pentium D proc was a failure from Intel, if you use a Pentium D along with a P4, there is no performance increase noticeable
Core 2 Duo on the other hand was more successful than the pentium D technology and the speed difference can definitely be seen.
My Choise is Core 2 Duo, AMD is suffering and may close shop soon, so do not consider the same!

Ummm... I'm pretty sure that VIA and other X86 manufacturers would go down the drain before AMD does. AMD is the world's second largest x86 chip supplier. Also, remember, if worse comes to worst, AMD can stop its x86 manufacturing (hopefully that would never happen or else we're stuck with bad chips forever) and go over to making GPUs permanently since they did buy out ATI.

Overclocking isn't disabled by manufacturers, they've only locked one particular variable that can be used to overclock the cpu and that's the multiplier. The cpu clock is defined by the multiplying the FSB with the multiplier (so a 200Mhz FSB and multiplier 11 results in a 2,2Ghz cpu clock). Nowadays, you can only lower the multiplier which of course results in a lower cpu clock. This doesn't mean you can't overclock, because you can still raise the FSB (until the motherboard/memory can't handle the FSB anymore ).

There are however a few cpu's that are completely unlocked (you can freely set the multiplier), AMD sells these cpu's as black editions, Intel only gives these cpu's to a limit group of tester (they're called engineering samples if I remember correctly).

@micky123: I don't think AMD is closing down soon. Too many companies would suffer if Intel becomes the only player on the desktop cpu market.

Yes, AMD does sell them as Black Editions, but the Phenom as I stated above also lets overclocking easy. However, the details about its multiplier unlock ... I'm not sure.

xboxrulz

[Mordent 0]

Well, my laptop's now officially "old". Despite being able to run a fair portion of "classic" games, Thief: Deadly Shadows proved too much for it. The video card was what let it down, which is hardly suprising. GeForce4 440 Go (64 MB) or somesuch, so it looks like it could be time for an upgrade.

 

Now, my question for you all would be: if this old thing's lasted so long at a reasonable rate (nothing top end, and I always turn the graphics down to near minimum to keep the frame rate above 20) and is able to play a fair portion of newish games without too much complaint (namely tolerably, and without too much stutter), how long do you reckon it would be before I would need to upgrade significant portions of a desktop computer to keep things running? Basically, I'm definitely considering going for a laptop of some description for the portability, but I'd rather not have to buy another one next year just to keep in step.

 

Sure, I realise that the computer industry's moving at a ridiculous rate, so within a year even a brand new desktop will probably be needing a few bits upgraded to keep with technology, but would laptops / desktops have any real differences in how quickly they need replacing? Laptops are notoriously difficult to upgrade, so if I buy a top end laptop now, thoughts on how well it would last me?