ok ive now decided im sick on knowing nothing...

[the beasto]

ok so i want to buld myself a computer so i can learn etc etc...

ok so ive got a kind of broken comp here a 3200 amd athlon 2.8ghz i think. with 512mb of ram 128mb graphics card. o so what do now need to do to buildme a new comp? i want something faster, so does this man i will have to get a new motherboard/processor?

if so how much am i looking at for them? also what else would i need?

thanks kris

 

[Trancendental]

An Intel Processor Do not ever get an AMD trust me, ignore all post about AMD are the greatest.

An Nvidia Graphics card, Ignore all psot about ATI are the greatest.

Then a Large "SATA" Hard Drive NOT an IBM/HITATCHI Ignore anyone and find out where they live and stab them is they otherwise.

Will need a new Mainboard to support the new Intel, 'A-Bit' make good boards.

Then you need some RAM, Minimum 1GB and you need a Sound Card.



What I recommened you do if you are on the Teach yourself Flex is Choose a Mainboard and then look into what it is capable of.

You can, or rather you have to anyway, build around what the Mainboard can do.


I'm off to play Battlefield 2142

 

[x Alex x]

well i have had an AMD computer and now have an AMD laptop and i think they're great

 

[Stu DemonD]

And I love my X850XT PE ATI card :spin:

 

[bassy-alex]

An Intel Processor Do not ever get an AMD trust me, ignore all post about AMD are the greatest.

An Nvidia Graphics card, Ignore all psot about ATI are the greatest.

I disagree too.... it seems to me that because Intel and Nvidia put their names on the fornt of games etc, people assume they are better. Me and my dad both spec'd new pcs at similar times, and after a lot of research, decided that ATI and AMD offerd a lot more bang for buck.

I would never buy an Intel based machine over an AMD one - ive had no problems with mine, and its quicker than similarly priced Intels.

Ps... thats my only critiscm of Toca Race Driver 3 - the intel branding at the start :yuck: !

 

[Stu DemonD]

Ah, but I love Intel though

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

Intel are the current kings, core 2 Duo just wipes the floor with AMD at a great price. I've never had an Intel cpu, ever. But just like all the other gamers I've switched over because of the awesome power. I've also always stuck to Nvidia cards but I have just ordered an ATI X1950PRO as again it spanks the equivalent 7900GS. So as for the ignore Intel/ATI, well you can but you're missing out! Mind you I'm talking about gaming spec PC's really, AMD probably are still the best at a budget home build.

 

[Trancendental]

You know the comments to Ignore above

 

[Stu DemonD]

Next you will be telling him to install 98 SE as a backup :spin:

 

[OwenS]

Usually i'd say that AMD are FTW... but he has a point... the new dual core intels are truely brilliant... but i'd still buy an AMD

 

[Trancendental]

Next you will be telling him to install 98 SE as a backup :spin:

Well my Windows XP died during the night and would not get passed the Windows XP Logo after a reboot.

Wouldn't do it in 'Safe Mode' wouldn't get get past it for a last known good configuration and the Blue Screen error was so quick that I didn't notice it restart the first couple times so could not even identify the problem.

Windows 98 SE to the rescue again (Cause I never had a Bootable Win XP SP2 CD)

 

[bassy-alex]

It all depends what you want it for... i wouldnt buy a dual core for gaming or high drain applications. For gaming, you want all your power in one place, the dual core things are only really good if your doing a couple of things at once (multimedia maybe) so its not something for me. I guess they'd probably be good if you had a really messy system, but mines pretty tidy, as i need as much of the availiable resources for music editing and gaming....

each to their own tho!

 

[jug]

ATi and Nvidia cards are so similar you cant really compare them. I've owned both and they look the same, use the same parts, and do the same job just as well (if comparing same specced cards obviously).

I'd love to paste that onto a gaming forum. Both sides would shout at me and no one would agree, but that kind of proves my point.

Its like comparing Pepsi and Coke, no one who drinks either will say both are just as good, but obviously they are.

You tend to find that the first video card someone owns is the brand they favour, just like cars (and most things)

More important than the ATi/Nvidia argument is the AGP/PCIe debate. I'm PCIe, and it would seem obvious that there is no point buying an AGP motherboard these days, but the debate goes on. I guess you could argue there is still a point, price. I cant wait till they stop making AGP boards, then people will finally shut up about it, until the next slot comes along :bang:

 

[Trancendental]

Its like comparing Pepsi and Coke, no one who drinks either will say both are just as good, but obviously they are.

You tend to find that the first video card someone owns is the brand they favour, just like cars (and most things)

Nah Coke n Pepsi are really not the same, they may both be Cola's but its like comaring Tesco Cola to the two, the difference, to me at least it blatently obvious. I'm a Diet Pepsi man myself

My first G-card was an ATi, The support for it stopped all to quickly. For my next card I was torn between the 'Riva TNT' and the '3DFX VooDoo II'

We all know what happened to 3DFX and furthermore their graphics capabilities could be "wrapped" onto other cards making the visiual quality as good as an original 3DFX.

Nvidia's products have a long life span and the support lasts equally long. There are still drivers for their TNT 2 and maybe even their first TNT.

Their Drivers are outstanding and allow for a lot of tweakage to get optimum performance. The Driver Hardware architecture means that driver compatibility can go backwards for many generations of cards and so you never have to be searching for hours on a site looking for a serial/model number for a specific card.

This is why I'd choose an Nvidia Card over an ATi Card.

 

[pinin__prestatyn]

It all depends what you want it for... i wouldnt buy a dual core for gaming or high drain applications. For gaming, you want all your power in one place, the dual core things are only really good if your doing a couple of things at once (multimedia maybe) so its not something for me. I guess they'd probably be good if you had a really messy system, but mines pretty tidy, as i need as much of the availiable resources for music editing and gaming....

each to their own tho!

The dual core processors wipe the floor with the single ones at gaming. Check any benchmark

 

[jug]

Nah Coke n Pepsi are really not the same, they may both be Cola's but its like comaring Tesco Cola to the two, the difference, to me at least it blatently obvious. I'm a Diet Pepsi man myself

thats my point, they're not the same, but both do the same job just as well, so hoiw can one be better. its human nature to assume a difference means one will be better, but thats not true.

Nvidia's products have a long life span and the support lasts equally long. There are still drivers for their TNT 2 and maybe even their first TNT.

same as ati. although why you would need support previous to radeon 9200 or geforce 4 is beyond me, but both offer it.

Their Drivers are outstanding and allow for a lot of tweakage to get optimum performance.

same as ati, you can use all the best tools with either ati or nvidia drivers. actually almost any directX compatable card will work with the overclocking facilites. both nvidia and ati provide thier own tools for doing this on many cards, but 3rd party tools work on both and are usually better, especially when it comes to using artifacts to decide what the safe overclock limits are, and contolling temperature and fan speed. no nvidia or ati tools are as good as 3rd party ones, and both are about as good as each other.

The Driver Hardware architecture means that driver compatibility can go backwards for many generations of cards and so you never have to be searching for hours on a site looking for a serial/model number for a specific card.

much like ati's catalyst is independant of card so you download it for all cards.

This is why I'd choose an Nvidia Card over an ATi Card.

this is why i say there's no difference except the ones you create in your mind. they both use the same chips, soldered onto the same boards, using very very similar drivers, providing the same services just as well as each other.

the only difference i can find is ati cards seem to die from overheating more easily, but a quick visual comparison between similar spec cards shows no reason why that would be true, remove the stickers on the fans and usually both look identicle.

its like comparing a GP to a new corsa. all thats really in it is opinion and perception.

 

[Trancendental]

thats my point, they're not the same, but both do the same job just as well, so hoiw can one be better. its human nature to assume a difference means one will be better, but thats not true.

But it all depends on what the job is.

Revitalisation?

Taste?

Increased Pulse Rate?

Teeth Rotting?

In my opionion Coke and Pepsi only share three of the similarities above. But the One which is important to me can't be replicated by the other which means that they don't do the same job.

Just like with the TNT and the Voodoo, One had a 3DFX chip and the other one didn't but one had a much better benchmark then the other so it depends on what the user wants, visual beauty or better performance even though both would be... whats that word? decent enough to live with on a daily basis.

The ATi's and the Nvidia's may also share a key attribute which seperates them from eachother.