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Advice needed: Buying new PC


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I know my way around and how to fix HRDWR/SWR on the magical boxes, but as far as which components are better than others, I only know about sound cards. The rest im in the dark

Here's the specs of the system im looking into, anyone care to say if any of the components are of bad quality? Im keen on knowing if the MBD, RAM and monitor are good.

Pentium 4 Computer System

Intel Certified ATX Mid Tower Case with 300 Watt Power Supply

Intel D850GB motherboard - i850 Chipset

(Use memory in pairs only!!!)

5 PCI - 1 4X AGP Slots - ATA/100 Controller - 4 USB

Heavy-duty Heat Sink and Fan Assembly

1.44 MB Floppy Drive

104 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse

Millennium Gold Service Plan on any system we assemble!

Processor Pentium 4 - 1.5 GHz CPU

Memory 256 MB (2x128MB) Rambus 800 MHz

Hard Drive 5400 RPM 60 GB Ultra/100

Video Card GeForce2 MX Dual Display 32MB AGP

Sound Card Sound Blaster Live! 5.1(OEM)

Network Cards 3COM 3C905CX-TXM 10/100

Monitor AOC 9GLRS - 19 Inch - 0.25mm 1600 x 1200

Operating System Windows Millennium installed and on CD

Service Plans One year on site warranty

Thnx for any help!

(SC, any help here? )

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Get a faster hard drive, and maybe instead of 2 chips of 128 rd-ram get one 256 chip and one contunuity module, that way when you upgrade the ram later on all you have to do is just get another chip of 256 rd-ram. Otherwise it will be expensive to upgrade the ram from 2 chips of 128 to whatever you decide later on.

www.upgradesource.com click on memory and check out the prices on the rd-ram and you will get my point.

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like this?

Pre-configured AMD Thunderbird/Duron Computer System with DDR Memory

ATX Mid Tower Case with 250 Watt Power Supply

Iwill KA266 Motherboard - 266/200 MHz FSB - DDR Memory

1 4X AGP - 5 PCI Slots - Ultra33/66/100

Heavy Duty Heat Sink and Fan Assembly

1.44 MB Floppy Drive

104 Keyboard, Mouse

Millennium Gold Service Plan on any system we assemble!

Processor Thunderbird 1.3 GHz CPU (266 MHz FSB)

Upgrade Case Full Tower ATX case

Upgrade Power Supply to AMD approved 300 Watt ATX PS

Upgrade Motherboard Asus A7A266-WA - built in Audio - Ultra/100 - 266/200 MHz FSB

Memory 512MB PC2100 DDR Memory (Two 128 MB)

Hard Drive 7200 RPM 60 GB Ultra/100

DVD Drive 16X Pioneer IDE DVD

Video Card Matrox G450 DualHead Display - 32MB DDR - 4X AGP

Upgrade Sound Sound Blaster Live! 5.1(OEM)

Network Cards 3COM 3C905CX-TXM 10/100

Monitor AOC 9GLRS - 19 Inch - 0.25mm 1600 x 1200

Operating System Windows Millennium installed and on CD

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You might save some money, but if you can spring for P4, then get that, it's much faster, and I think it will be worth it in the future since it will hold up longer.

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I have to disagree with SOBACK on this one the AMD processors are every bit as good as the Intel counterpart and as mentioned earlier by Gallion you can save money by buying a system with one in it.

On another note watch for OEM components there usually stripped down versions of the original card and may be missing some features that you may find handy.

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quote:

Originally posted by Emmett.hendrick:

I have to disagree with SOBACK on this one the AMD processors are every bit as good as the Intel counterpart and as mentioned earlier by Gallion you can save money by buying a system with one in it.

Whereas I have to wholeheartedly agree with SOBACK. I have only had to deal with program vs CPU problems twice over 500 user years (100 machines/users X 5 years). Both instances were caused by AMD processors. The processors themselves were fine (complete rebuild of the first machine sticking with AMD showed no hardware failure) but the software (Windows9X based) in question either would not run or would run and return faulty data. Replaced both systems with PIIs and viola! the problems vanished.

Needless to say, I won't touch AMD with a ten foot pole.

[ 04-26-2001: Message edited by: Tyrn ]

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quote:

Originally posted by Tyrn:

...but the software (Windows9X based) in question either would not run or would run and return faulty data. Replaced both systems with PIIs and voila! the problems vanished.

Me thinks that's because Microsoft are working with Intel (well known), and have written their software primarily for use on Intel-based systems, I don't think it's a deliberate incompatibility (but then on the other hand, we ARE talking about Microsoft...)

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quote:

Originally posted by Rm:

Me thinks that's because Microsoft are working with Intel (well known), and have written their software primarily for use on Intel-based systems, I don't think it's a deliberate incompatibility (but then on the other hand, we ARE talking about Microsoft...)

Indeed, there is a reason it's called "WINTEL" and not WAMD/WINAMD/Some other variation. And as I currently live in a WINTEL world, I stick with the combination that works.

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I will clear it up. On bench tests, AMD processors scored higher then P3, P4 is a whole new generation and therefore is the fastest processor right now. So if you get a P4 then it will be a while before they become absolete and also RD-ram is better then dd-ram, some may disagree because of the numbers ex.ddram 2100 it is actually a pc-266 ram they just uped the numbers in the name because they wanted to compete with rdram and that made it sound like it was faster. Read this --> http://www.csg2000.com/MyPage1.asp?ShowMeMore=DDRFAQ

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Tac,

If you are interested in hardware guides and comparisons, try the following sites:

Tom's Hardware

Sharky Extreme

Tom's site I know has some mobo roundups you may want to look at, I think the Iwill is in there but the newer Asus wasn't when I last went shopping (at the time there were only 3 mobos that supported DDR RAM!). As for monitor, dunno, have been using the same one for the past 4 years and haven't been shopping since. RAM is RAM AFAIK, though I've heard the generic stuff can be scary. Brand name is better, "Micron" is the only name that pops up in my mind, but that's cos I can't think of any other brands...

Reading through your specs, there are several dead giveaways that this will be some custom-built job from some business that custom builds. If you're handy with a screwdriver, can follow diagrams and instructions carefully (this is a BC forum, we (should) all be expert manual readers by now ) and have steady hands why not build it yourself? Save money and have more control. All components are still under their individual mfg warranties. The only "nasty" part (and most time-consuming) is setting up your OS and installing software; the only thing you don't get is a service contract.

[ 04-26-2001: Message edited by: Joel Schultz ]

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quote:

P4 is a whole new generation and therefore is the fastest processor right now. So if you get a P4 then it will be a while before they become absolete

Sobak, that is a completely incorrect remark. I'm not an AMD fan, myself, but their 1.3ghz is running on par with the p4 1.7ghz. Yes, RDRAM has a wider bus..., etc. However, the P4 has a SERIOUS flaw. It's got a huge bandwidth overhead that kills any performance gain you should be getting. Thus the price drop.

Don't get me wrong, though, I love INTEL. However, the most bang for the buck is in two places: Dual P3's or 1+ghz AMD.

Personally, I'd grab two 1ghz P3's before the AMD and long before the P4. If you MUST have a p4... wait. Wait for another price drop or wait for the .13micron fab.

Also, there is no reason to be thinking single CPU. Win2k Pro costs just as much as WinME. GO DUAL. GO DUAL. GO DUAL. Unless you're on a restrictive (sub $1000) or don't want to build your own rig, there is no good reason that should keep you from having two cpu's under the hood.

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Akira, my knowledge in computers is limited on how to put them together, install stuff, and fix minor problems. So, can you explain about the .13micron flab and also why would it be good to have 2OS on one pc?

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.13 micron is the new CPU tech that is coming out soon. In short, chips with .13 micron will hold more stuff (aka, more speed and power) than current CPU's. Think: Miniaturization.

You can have 2 OS in one PC, yes, but Akira meant 2 CPU's in one pc.

I have read that dual cpu's are really good, but I dont know how much better it would (or why it would) be better to have 2 800 mhz chips instead of one 1.3ghz chip. Would love to know Dual AMD 1.3's...hmmmm

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Mostly depends on what you're doing. Since we're in BC land, I'll just say that from what I remember, BC supports SMP (Symetric Multi Processing) meaning, two cpu's are better than one.

Basically, anything that is cpu intensive bennifits from dual cpu's. Granted, if all you do is type in Word and surf the web, then one cpu will do you just fine.

However, if you're doing graphics, 3D, music, video, vid/audio encoding, etc. 2 is better.

Just something to think about.

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quote:

So, can you explain about the .13micron flab...

The .13 micron is the size of the circuitry in the processors, like if each "wire" had a .13 micron diameter. I'm not sure, but I think a micron is a 1000 times smaller than a milimeter. Smaller circuitry = lesser power usage = lesser heat emanation

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I was looking into building a Dual CPU system a little while ago but was told that put a dual 1GHZ chip on a board would not be possible, has that changed now? is there dual motherboards for 1GHZ processor.

The other thing of course for SMP is your OS must support it so you will be looking at either NT or WIN2000 (Win2000 is my recommendation).

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is out of COMPUTER GAMING WORLD 06/2001 issue. Tech Medics.

Q. WHICH PROCESSOR SHOULD I BUY

I'm thinking of ordering a system from Alienware and I was gonna get a machine with an AMD T-Bird 1.2GHz processor. But they also have an Intel Pentium 4 for about the same price. Which processor would you choose, and have you heard of either processor having any issues with games?

A. Since they're the ones that are gonna build your machine, I forwarded your message along to Gerald Zapata, Sales Manager at Alienware. This is what he had to say:

"Alienware has extensively tested both processors, and as a result, both processors are very stable and compatible with all your current games. But Intel's Pentium 4 will eventually outperform even the fastest AMD processors currently available as soon as games optimized for it are released. The Pentium 4 also uses the fastest Front-Side Bus af all processors that are available now, 400MHz. Another good thing to keep in mind is that the Pentium 4 has been optimized for Microsoft's upcoming Windows XP, which means even more potential for extra power from the processor."

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Im waiting for the Palomino chip to come out.

My credit card still hasnt happened.. argh.

Also, AMD 1.3 ghz BEATS a P4 1.7ghz in all benchmarks. Wait when the Palomino chips come out... muahaha.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Pentium 4 yuck, I have an AMD Chip and Gigabytee motherboard made that choice after reading that Intel are pushing their Pent 4's with Rambus even though they know there are problems with that technology (i.e they want to get rid of current stock)I havent had any compatibility probs with 98 and Amd chips either.

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Are u talking about RDram? That thing is the best. I got a motherboard that supports RDram for my P3 533 and actually was using my computer as a host for networking. RDram performs like it's 150% faster then SDram with equivalent rating. 2 years from now when I will have upgraded my pc to the fullest and will be looking for a new one. I will most likely be getting an intell processor. Very happy with their performance, and so far very happy about RDram too.

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