New system - need advice

4

4keatimj

[H]ard|Gawd
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Oct 16, 2003
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Hi all,

I am thinking about getting a new system to replace The Old Machine (see sig). I was looking at spending less than $1000 Aus ($750 US), but i already have case, fans, CD-ROM, burner and floppy drive. I can get a P4 2.8c, QDI mobo, 256 meg DDR-RAM, GeForce FX 5200 128meg video, and 40 gig hard drive. This rig will be used for gaming, assignments, and more gaming, and maybe a bit of programming. How does it look? It comes to just below $1000AUD, but there is enough money to warrant a bit more in the system. The choice is 256meg of RAM extra (bringing total to 512meg) or get the Hyper-threading version of the 2.8. Which one would you go for? And would the FX 5200 cut it for games, or would I be better off going for a Radeon?

Thanks to all in advance for your advice,

4keatimj
 
BTW the price also includes a new PSU, the old one is over 5 years old, the same age as most of the parts in the system.
 
ok, since I am in the US, I cant really tell you about prices in your area (like to visit some day tho)
My suggestion is multifold -
look at amd and see if you can get similar performance for less $ (can be possible here - dont know there)
Also, what motherboard are you going to use? If you are not afraid of a bit of overclocking get the 2.4c or 2.6c and save some $ - going retail on the cpu (I have heard) is not a bad idea as the cooler with the cpu has good room for overclocking. Even if you dont decide to overclock do down grade the cpu to enable more $$$ to spend towords the memory and video card -
512mb is pretty much what you need to play games - period. Try to buy ram that is the same bus speed (ie for 800mhz intel bus that is DDR400 or PC3200 and the lower latency the better performance)
Also you will be very dissappointed in the 5200 - think mx400 of lore (and the suckiness thereof...) and you have the 5200 -
My suggestion is get at least a ati 9600 or nvidia 5700 - pro or ultra if you can - this will enable you to play the future games (Half-life 2 and Doom ]|[) in some reasonable screen depth (say 800x600)
As for the power supply - make sure it has 350+ watts (400 recommended) and has 20+ amps on 3.3v+, 5v+, and 12v+.
Good Luck
 
Thanks for the info.
I went to the computer shop (i've done some work there before) and the suppliers can't supply the 2.6, the 2.8 is standard. How does Hyper-threading hold up? Can anyone reccommend it?
 
Yeaha.
Don't spend 750US, if you are gonna 256 5200 and a QDI mobo, what ever that is.

Are u getting from yer local store?
 
Goto www.newegg.com, add everything you want in your basket then convert the funds to AU @ xe.com. NewEgg doesnt ship internationally but it'll be good comparison.
 
hyperthreading is a cool thing - it does usually boost performance somewhat. Try to get the 2.4c if you can - or if you can only get the 2.8 (wierd try other suppliers/stores) that is ok - but make sure you have a better vid card than what you recommended (I stand by the 9600pro as it seems to outperform the new 5700 ultra by around 15% from the tests I have read and is like $20-30 US cheaper) - also you will want the ddr400/pc3200 ram at least 512mb
what motherboard are you looking at?
Again you may want to look for other suppliers/stores...
 
if u can get the 9800 pro its around 200 and it will go down once the new cards come out which is soon
 
OK thanks guys, great advice.
The QDI mobo has a VIA chipset, and is a really good quality board for performance. But should i try to find a name board (like ASUS or Gigabyte, i know another store that stocks them)
I'll look to see if i can get the 9600 from another shop.
And RAM you say? Fair enough.
The problem with Australian tech supplies is that when the currency exchange rates are taken into account, as well as shipping costs, it still ends up costing a hell of a lot more in US dollar terms. I mean about $800 US for a 9800XT Pro? Or is that about normal over there? Some of the prices are a real rip off.
I am unfortunately on a budget, and i may have to compromise here and there.
Again, thanks.
 
$800 for a 9800XT is over twice the price here in the US...
Sorry to hear your parts issue
as for QDI - never heard of the brand - via chipset which one? I'd get a 865 intel chipset board -
and good luck with getting what you need...
 
Any reccomendations on an AMD system? There is a place where i can get AMD chips and mobos. BTW i'm not really shy of overclocking the new one, any reccomendations for parts that are easy to OC?
 
amd makes sense for your price range -
my recommendations are these:
For lowest price arena: Athlon XP system
Nvidia Nforce 2 Ultra 400 chipset on the motherboard, as the new Via KT880 is not quite out yet .
Here is a link showing performance of Nforce 2 in both dual and single bus speeds as well as the new via chipset:
http://www.tomshardware.com/motherboard/20040308/index.html
As there is a small performance boost with the dual bus memory of the nf 2 ultra 400 chipset - make sure to buy same brand, model number, and size memory (2x256 ddr400 or pc3200)
A cheap example of a good nf2 ultra 400 chipset is this:
http://www.biostar-usa.com/mbdetails.asp?model=m7ncd+pro
the board I have... aopen, shuttle (tho they are made by ecs...) , chaintech, albatron, asus, abit, DFI are good manufacturers
Avoid PCChips and ECS boards.
if you want good onboard sound look for the MCP-T southbridge as the sound quality is on par if not better than the sound blaster audigy 1 -
you will pay more for the board, but it may be cheaper than buying a seperate sound card...
if you want to overclock DFI is the present overclock king. But their high end board (lanparty) is too expensive ($150+ US) my suggestion is look at their infinity line:
http://www.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_product_spec_details_r_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=2141
as it is nearly the same as the lanparty with out the bells & whistles (such as a carry handle for your case...)
Now as for processor - go with either a barton 2500+ (as they are multiplier locked you can still go 200 mhz on the front side bus giving you 11x200 or 2.2ghz= 3200+ barton speeds) or if you can find it a mobile 2500+ (unlocked and lower voltage - think of a standard 2500+ that is picked due to the fact it can run at 2500+ speeds at 1.45 volts instead of the standard 1.65.) Mobile will be more - but I have heard people getting massive overclocks (say 2.6+ghz)
Now the other way to go is Athlon 64 - it still may be cheaper than Intel. - go with the 3000+ cpu and a VIA chipset board. Abit or Asus most likely.
Again make sure to get a 9600pro video ard as you wont be sorry when Doom]|[ arrives...
 
Thanks a lot HvyMtl, I have a feeling i won't go Athlon64, it is $600 Aus (about $450 US), so i won't get much change out of $1000 Aus. The XP 2400+ is $150 Aus ($117 US), so that looks like a good option. I don't know if i can afford dual channel, but there are a few Asus boards, the A7N8X-X (http://www.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n8x-x/overview.htm) that uses NForce2 400. Hell, that means i might be able to afford dual channel. Great. Any advice on this board?
Sorry i forgot to mention i will use my current sound card (Hercules Gamesurround Muse 5.1 DVD) which isn't even a year old now, it has great quality sound, so i won't need onboard sound, even though all boards have it (sorry i forgot to mention it :eek: )
Hmmm, now AMD seems a tasty option. I still might buy the hard drive and maybe RAM from the first shop i was talking about, they are pretty good mates of mine and i would like to do business with them. I just need 400mhz DDR-RAM, yes? Is that PC3200 or PC4000, or am i confusing two different types of RAM and just generally talking crap? :confused:
Looking at video cards know, would the Radeon 9600 SE 128 be a good card? I've heard some pretty good things about it (http://www.asus.com/products/vga/r9600se/overview.htm) Help here?
Got to go. Thanks.
 
bump...
No actually i am now thinking of the P4 system, with 512 meg RAM and the ASUS 9600 SE (http://www.asus.com/products/vga/r9600se/overview.htm). I've installed heaps of P4s but no Athlons, and cooling is extra for AMD systems. So the specs now may be:
P4 2.8c
512 MB DDR-RAM
QDI mobo
ASUS Radeon 9600SE
P4 power supply
40gig HD

Thats all i need, have CD-ROM, burner, floppy, sound card, modem and ethernet card. Hows it look now?
 
Looks good. If you're doing a lot of gaming, that 9600SE probably won't be sufficient, and make sure you get quality RAM.
 
id go for the extrta 256mb's of ram, the 5200 will handle games, but your not going to be able to run them at super hight res. with all the settings maxed

id go for it
 
Thanx guys.
I'll let you know what happens. The 9600 is the best card that fits in my budget. The 9800XT Pro costs $1088 Aus, equates to over $750 US. Rip off, yes? But anyway, the budget is $750 US, so i'm trying to follow.
Again, thanks for your time and reccomendations. I'll tell you when its all up and running :D
 
okay, i thought for a fair while (yes, i don't think that often ;) ) and i was wondering what card offers the best performance with a good price? I would prefer to go ATI, but i've heard that Oc'ing the FX5900 can give comparable performance to good ATI cards. What to do?
BTW no 9200. Not good for me. :p
 
Well my friend plays Halo with this system...

P4 2.66ghz
don't know the mobo
1gb RAM
5200ultra vid card


He plays Halo at 800x600 with most of the detail settings to the max. If you are willing to play games at low resolutions, a 9600SE should be sufficient for your gaming needs.

BTW, ut2k4 demo runs great on that machine...


Good luck with the build!
 
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