Need to replace my computer

[Crashtopher]

My current PC (P4 1.5Ghz, 512 RAM, radeon 9200) has sucked for long enough, so it's time to upgrade. My FPS ranges from 30-40 at good times as goes down to 1 during heavy action. I'm sick of it.

So, time for a new PC.

First Question: AMD or Pentium? Seems like AMD is much cheaper than Pentium. Any drawbacks?

Anyway, I've never built a PC, and I don't really see the need to learn, so that leads me to my second question:

With all the places out there where I can buy a PC, who does the best job and stands behind their product? How about someone like ibuypower.com?

Thanks, Crashtopher

[Mag-Mower]

AMD defintley, cheaper, more powerful, and more reliable than intel. as for your second question, i went onto IRC this morning and asked the same question about ibuypower.com, because they seem cheap enough, and they dont seem to have any real problems, but i would for a response from some one like Rbstr or electrofreak on that one...

[Crashtopher]

Anyone else?

[Rbstr]

AMD 64 hands down it kicks ass, it's cheaper, and much better technology ATM.

Secondly, to give someone a recomendation a price range comes in quite handy.

Lastly, to get the best bang for the buck, stability and to make it your machine i realy recomend building your own.

The on a scale form one to difficult it's so easy a snail could do it, provided he didn't get slime on the components.

If you must buy one ibuypower is probably the best out there and they don't price-gouge the fuck out of you.

[Mag-Mower]

Rbstr; I checked ncix.com, built a system, then went to ibuypower, the and made the same system , for less... would that be a bit suspicious?

[Rbstr]

go make an identical system at alienware and see how much it would cost.


ibuypower is one of the companies that doens't screw you over.

It's just the way it works, you get a name for your self(like dell or AW) you start charging for your name, and for the sake of maximizing profits.

[Electrofreak]

AMD 64 for the win indeed. They kick ass. What kinda budget are you workin with?

[Crashtopher]

Hmmm. Budget would be somewhere in the range of a grand.

On Ibuypower.com I just built the following:

AMD Athlon-64 3500+
1024 MB [512MB X2] DDR-400 PC3200 Memory Module
nVidia GeForce 6800 256MB
80 GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive
52x32x52 CD-RW Drive
(I have a DVD drive that I was going to put into my existing compy. but now I'll just put it in the new one.)
3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Total: $1,067.00

How's that sound? Anything I should change?

[Electrofreak]

Looks pretty good for the price... and it just about fits into your budget. I don't think I can reccomend any changes (such as a SATA drive, sound card, low-latency RAM) that wouldn't simply cost more. I can almost guarentee though that that machine will run PS with maxed graphics (including 32 bit textures) and never dip below 50 FPS in any situation.

Do you know what chipset the motherboard has by any chance?

[Crashtopher]

The motherboard:

Foxconn WinFast NF4K8MC-RS nVidia nForce4 Chipset w/LAN, 5.1 Sound, USB 2.0 PCI-E Motherboard

That ok?

[Electrofreak]

The brand name isn't anything special, but you can't really go wrong with an nForce 4, 5.1 sound and PCI-E. That computer will kick ass, and its fairly cheap too. I'd say definately go for it.

Let me put it this way. When you install PS onto that computer and start playing it, you'll probably look over at your current machine and start laughing uncontrollably.

[Mag-Mower]

how about this? the only thing that i can think that might need to be changed is the PS


Case ( Raidmax 268 ATX Mid-Tower Case w/350W Power Supply Silver )
Meter Display ( None )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 6-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Beige )
Case Lighting ( None )
Power Supply ( Standard Case Power Supply )
Processor ( AMD� Athlon-64 3000+ CPU w/ Hyper Transport Technology )
Free Software/Game ( Free Napster Download Coupon Free Napster download coupon with purchase of AMD-64 based systems )
Free Software/Game ( Free Half Life 2 Download Coupon Free Half Life 2 download coupon with purchase of AMD-64 based systems )
Operation System ( MS Windows XP Home Edition )
Processor Cooling ( Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink + 2 Extra Case Fans )
Motherboard ( GigaByte K8NS nForce-3 250 Chipset w/7.1 Sound, LAN, USB 2.0 8x AGP Motherboard )
Case Round Cable ( None )
USB Port ( Build-in USB 2.0 Ports )
Memory ( 1024 MB [512MB X2] DDR-400 PC3200 Memory Module Geil or Major Brand )
IEEE-1394 Fire Wire Card ( None )
Video Card ( Nvidia GeForce 6600-GT 128MB w/DVI + TV Out 8x AGP Video )
Hard Drive ( 80 GB HARD DRIVE 80 GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive )
USB Flash Drive ( None )
2nd Hard Drive ( None )
MP3 Player ( None )
TV Tuner ( None )
Raid Controller ( None )
Video Camera ( None )
Raid Configuration ( None )
Power Protection ( None )
CD/DVD Drive ( 16x DVD-ROM Drive Beige )
CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive ( None )
Headset ( None )
Printer ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Speaker System ( **<< iBUYPOWER Recommended >>** Blue Lighting Translucent Gaming Speakers )
Printer Cable ( None )
Fax Modem ( None )
Network Card ( 10/100 Network Onboard )
Floppy Drive ( None )
Zip Drive ( None )
Monitor ( CRT Monitor ViewSonic 17" E70F Perfect Flat .21H DPI Color Monitor [Beige] )
Keyboard ( PS/2 104 Key Windows 98 Keyboard Beige )
Mouse ( Microsoft IntelliMouse 1.1A USB Internet Mouse Beige )
Warranty ( Warranty Service Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty )
Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) No Rush, Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days )

[vidman1000]

What's the deal?

ibuypower.com and cyberpowersystem.com are practically identical.

[Crashtopher]

So I just came into some money and I am now able to buy my new PC.

However, the Motherboards I originally had spec'd (with nforce4 chipset) is no longer available. They are all nforce 3 chipsets. Is this a problem?

[Daleon]

Personally I'd try and stick to an NF4 mb. There were only a few "good" NF3 mb's really. Lots of memory controller issues on the cheaper made ones.

You'll get better parts if you buy everything individually from newegg.
Asus NF4 dual pci-exp
AMD XP3500+ rev E.
6800 GT 256
WD 250G SATA
2x512 PC3200 Corsair or Patriot rated at around 2-2-3-6 or better (seen this going for about $110-125 lately for a gig at monarch)
PS = I prefer to stick with Enermax, but a quality 400-500w that costs atleast $50-60 (anything cheaper and you'll likely get junk that doesn't have stable rails and end up with reboots and errors especially if you OC)
Case = personal preference (though I like the LanBoy II quite a bit for light weight, great cooling and quiet with plenty of room and nice price)

You can easily get all the above for around a grand and have a fast quality system. Don't be to worried about building your own system if you haven't done it before either, its practically plug and play these days. If you have to buy the OS, chalk a few bucks up to MS for that.