edit: Thinking of buying a new computer :O

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 2:16 pm

hey,
I was thinking of upgrading my computer last night, and noticed that I'd have to buy a new mb, a processor and a video card. Probably new memory too (I have pc-133 at the mo) I figured a bit used xbox or ps2 would probably be cheaper. Now I was wondering, can you burn the games with a normal CD writer, & do you need mod chips to run them? Just for backup purposes, you know

if the answer is no, expect this thread to turn into the planning of a new computer (well, new < 200e).
p.s. I'd appreciate some answers before you turn this topic into "computers vs consoles vs engineers"

edit: subject

Calal · Post by **Calal** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 2:24 pm

Yes, you' d need a DVD writer and a mod chip for both consoles.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 2:41 pm

I see... thanks. I don't think I want to waste another billion bucks on one right now
ok, a cheap computer it is then. I'm thinking:

Athlon XP 2200+ (1.8gb, enough for me, current one is 0.75)
ASUS A7V8X-X (I don't know much about mobos... but I think ASUS isn't utter shit? that one's cheap too)
A graphics card < 100euros (thats a bit over 100 bucks I reckon)

any recommendations or suggestions? I haven't really followed the n00z since... I dunno, since Radeon 8500, so I'm not so sure of anything... but these parts have to be pretty cheap, no more than 250 bucks in total. Are radeon 9000's 9200's any good considering their super cheap price? I have Rad7500 at the moment. Please note I don't need to be able to run any forthcoming games, just the good ones that came out this & last year

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 2:58 pm

You could get MSI Geforce FX 5200 for ~80 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬. Or Radeon 9000 Pro for a bit over 100 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 3:14 pm

Kashluk wrote:You could get MSI Geforce FX 5200 for ~80 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬. Or Radeon 9000 Pro for a bit over 100 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚Â¬.

Oh hey, I didn't even consider buying a Geforce because Spazmo has brainwashed me. Damn.
How do these thingies compare?

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 3:21 pm

Well, Radeons are right now ahead of Geforces and 9000 pro is newer than FX5200... So I guess Radeon's a better choice.

Of course, ATI's cards have been blamed to be too heavily set on the 2d enviroment (I guess that's why the tag "Pro") and that NVidia's better on 3d (well, uh, "FX"?).

But I can't tell for sure, because I haven't seen these two in a same MB-magazine test.

Edit: oops, not "newer", I meant "more expensive"

Spazmo · Post by **Spazmo** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 3:28 pm

Kashluk wrote:I R SMRAT n KNO ABT TEH VIDAEO KARDZ LAWL

This is a pack of lies and silliness. I don't even know where to start on this so I'm not going to.

ANYHOW! Your picks for mobo and CPU are just fine. If you're looking for a video card for around 100 euros, I'd say go with a GeForce if that's what you can afford. Check out sites like Tom's Hardware Guide or Anandtech for video card comparisons.

MurPHy · Post by **MurPHy** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 6:07 pm

ASUS A7V8X-X (I don't know much about mobos... but I think ASUS isn't utter shit? that one's cheap too)

I don't know too much about ASUS boards, but I would recommend the K7S5A board by ECS. This is what I'm using right now, and it is rock solid reliable. I was using a VIA KT-133 board before this one, and it doesn't even compare. I would get the blue screen of death about twice daily; now it's not uncommon for me to see it once every two months! It doesn't have any options whatsoever for overclocking, though, so if your're into that thing, your're SOL with this board. That's not bad, however, as this board has a boatload of options and can support SDR SDRAM and DDR SDRAM. It comes with onboard sound and an NIC for a your network (if you have one, that is), and supports the AMD Athlon processors from the 1GHz T-bird all the way up to the XP 2600+ (on a 266MHz FSB). The best thing about this board is that it costs about $45! I shit you not. For more information, go to http://www.ecsusa.com/products/k7s5a.html.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 6:43 pm

thanks for the tip, I found the pro version for 48e in finland... though the ASUS one isn't expensive either, 63e. I won't be buying the new parts until after xmas though, so I have enough time to consider.

What are the differences between Geforce FX5200/5600 andFX5200/5600 Ultra?

Nicolai · Post by **Nicolai** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 6:47 pm

the ultra-part mebbe?

MurPHy · Post by **MurPHy** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 7:40 pm

the ultra-part mebbe?

Too bad it's not that simple! Heh. I believe that the main differences are slower core and memory clock speeds, and it might use an older style GPU chip altogether. I'm not 100% sure on this though, so you can find out at www.tomshardware.com.

Briosafreak · Post by **Briosafreak** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 7:50 pm

LZ don`t go below the Radeon 9600 pro or xt, or the GeForceFX 5600, it`s a waste of money, i bought one 9200 just a few months ago and now i`m buyng a new one, and i`m no speed gazillion effects freak, they are just too weak...

Before buying it try this site http://www.guru3d.com/ the forums are down right now but when they got up again they are an excelent place to find answers to all your doubts.

If someone tries to sell you a 64 bits card kill him on site, and 128 megas of memory is the minimum too.

If you buy a good Radeon, even a 9600 pro (i found the xt a bit better) you get Half-Life2 for free, as a download when it goes out.

Forty-six & Two · Post by **Forty-six & Two** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 7:56 pm

I just wish I had some money for a new graphics card and more RAM maybe, so I can play Planetside with higher FPS. Im just to poor though

MurPHy · Post by **MurPHy** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 8:13 pm

I just wish I had some money for a new graphics card and more RAM maybe, so I can play Planetside with higher FPS. Im just to poor though

Me too. Except I'm playing Battlefield 1942.

Jeff · Post by **Jeff** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 8:52 pm

Well 9600 isn't too expensive, XT & Pro are though. :P
There's this relatively cheap 9600 manufactured by Micro-one... never heard of it. Are there big differences between the manufacturers, i.e. should I buy a card by a well known manufacturer?

If you buy a good Radeon, even a 9600 pro (i found the xt a bit better) you get Half-Life2 for free, as a download when it goes out.

By then my computer will probably be outdated anyway, haha

Another question: I currently have 512mb of PC133. is DDR significantly faster? Should i switch?

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 8:55 pm

I don't think there's that much difference between the manufacturers, except price/software... Just grap the cheapest bulk version and you'll be fine.

Edit: DDR is muchos machos better than ordinary SDRAM. I'm not sure about this, but some people say 128 DDR already pwns 256 SDRAM?

Spazmo · Post by **Spazmo** » Thu Nov 27, 2003 10:51 pm

MurPHy wrote:*stuff about the K7S5A*

Actually, I've got the same mobo, and it's pretty reliable. Nice features on it, too. The integrated sound came in handy when my sound card blew out and the integrated network freed up the network card my ISP gave me for another machine.

Mandalorian FaLLouT GoD · Fri Nov 28, 2003 12:33 am

Kashluk wrote:Edit: DDR is muchos machos better than ordinary SDRAM. I'm not sure about this, but some people say 128 DDR already pwns 256 SDRAM?

is it because they are pretty much the same?

MurPHy · Post by **MurPHy** » Fri Nov 28, 2003 2:56 am

Kashluk wrote:
Edit: DDR is muchos machos better than ordinary SDRAM. I'm not sure about this, but some people say 128 DDR already pwns 256 SDRAM?

is it because they are pretty much the same?

The one really BIG difference between SDR SDRAM and DDR SDRAM is the speed. An explanation of the acronyms should help.

SDR: Single Data Rate
DDR: Double Data Rate
SDRAM: Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory

So basically DDR is twice as fast as SDR (in theory). What it does is instead of transferring data once per clock cycle (a la SDR), it transfers data on the rising edge and falling edge of every clock cycle (if I remember correctly). So 128MB of DDR SDRAM is twice as fast as the same amount of SDR SDRAM. As for 128MB of it being the same or better than 256MB of SDR SDRAM, perhaps. But a general rule of thumb for RAM is the more the better, regardless of speed type.

Kashluk · Post by **Kashluk** » Fri Nov 28, 2003 11:04 am

Yeah, that's what I've been told. The "twice as fast" thingy I mean.

Just grab 512 DDR and you should be for a long time