Computer advice

[Deleted User 1]

Okay, I am not a computer freak nor am I a computer freshy, I need your advice in what I should get to build my next computer since I'm competing against my mate (who has a better computer sort of thing) So far his computer has got the biggest hard drive stroage I have ever seen, and he has the powersupply to support it (2000 gigabytes by the way) but he is totally lacking in the sound card and the graphics card department, his ram memory is alright and his motherboard ain't half bad. I've got £1500 ready to build and I got my eyes set on a few components but I might need some advice from anyone here. I just need things to go in the main computer, I got the 1gigabyte ramstick in my computer so that's covered... now, any ideas?

[Elc]

2000 gigabyte hard drive? Mine is puny compared to that, at only 40 gigs.

For soundcards, I generally go with Soundblaster but I'm not sure if there is anything better out there. For a graphics card, it really depends on what kind of performance you want, such as do you want it for gaming or just regular internet surfing and the like. I'm not an expert in that regard, so unless anyone here is knowledgeable in that area, my advice would be to ask a salesperson about the various graphics cards and see which one fits your needs.

As far as processors are concerned, ever since I got my current computer (which needs some upgrades as well) I've gone with AMD Athlon instead of Intel Pentium, and I don't really have any complaints.
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"You make me smash the clock and feel, I'd rather die behind the wheel.
Time was never on my side, So on I wait my whole lifetime."

[Deleted User 1]

Thanks... an Athlon processor is pretty good, same with the intel pentium processor 4. For the sound card I was just advised to get a card but forgot what the whole name was. As for the graphics card... well I want the best but if not then I would want one for gaming, I was also advised to get the latest Nvidia grphaics card which also supports 64bit colours for the future. My mates computer has around 4 harddrives in it, he has a tower computer built and now he tells me he's getting a new internet thingy, i don't know what it's called but it's connection is 2mbps while mines a miniscule of 512kbps.

[Horned Loa]

Heh, internet connections can vary but it all depends if you want to pay more on a regular basis than he does. If you want better than him then go for T1 or T3 connections. Those can go way above what he gets, but are incredebly expensive. Besides, such fast connections are really unnecessary. The only time it'll show a difference is when you download a massive file (100MB+). Most of the other files will download just as fast and online gaming and surfing the net will be as fast as can be with slower connections than his. It depends on how much you are willing to spend.

I've also got an AMD Athlon and I too have yet to have a complaint. I've seriously no idea what you'd do with a two terrabyte hard drive as you most likely will never fill it out, and with the ever increasing hard disk capacity and growing use of the internet, I wouldn't be suprised if some sites started hosting online storage some time in the near future.

Obviously you want a good gaming experiance, so I'll just tell you what I'd get in your case. First of all make sure you have a good MONITOR. Do not underestimate them as a monitor is possibly the most important piece of equipement a gamer can have (make sure you keep your vision in check). Next would be your RAM, followed by CPU/Graphics Card and Sound Card. Your 1 gig RAM is not bad for starters, so I'd focus my money on a GOOD CPU, Graphics Card and a Sound Card. You might also want to save a bit for a decent set of speakers on the side. I think your friend has WASTED a lot on the two terra hard drives so you've got a better chance to make a much more efficient gaming machine. If its good for gaming it'll be good for just about everything else.

By the way keep in mind that a new windows is due out very soon......well around start of 2006, but thats bound to slow down your computer (heh at least eat all your RAM).

[Deleted User 1]

[Horned Loa]

I see. Well in that case he got quite a bargain Captain JNX. If you can find components for the price he found it at, then by all means get it. $350 seems like nothing for a 2 terra hard disk. If you can get one too then do so by all means.

T1 and T3 connections download at incredible speeds. They work through the means of a fibre-optic cable and aren't available just like that. If you are willing to pay for one and want the fast download speed, I can't exactlly remember which is which but I know one has speeds of up to 45mbps whilst the other one goes over 100mbps. Like I said if you want it that bad and its available (and if you can afford one), go for it. You'll never have to wait for anything agains, but bear in mind that stuff will download much faster than you can view it, so your pc can get filled up with crap that you'll never use.

I personally prefer to store my movies on seperate DVDs but if you want them on your Harddrive the go for it. In the end its all up to you and $350 is very cheap for a 2 terra HD so if you can get one I'd recomend buying it.

[Saben]

Does your friend run Linux or Windows? I know that with Linux there is a way you can set up two identically sized harddrives so that they increase your total dramatically. My friend used to have two 80 GB HDDs that he set up to equal over a terrabyte. I have no idea how he did it but there is some way.

I think Black Fang is right in what to invest in, a 19" LCD monitor would go down very nicely, as would a set of good surround sound compatible speakers. I don't know what your motherboard is, but the majority of motherboards nowadays come with excellent on-board sound (5.1 compatible) and on-board LAN (gigabit). As for graphics cards, well, there is quite a bit around. I hope your RAM is DDR-2, anything else is a joke, really. You might also want to look at getting a SATA based hard-drive (which means ensuring your motherboard is SATA compatible), even though they are like 3 times the price of regular hard drives for the same capacity they are capable of reaching much higher speeds. Anything else is really up to you...

[Horned Loa]

Hmm, I really don't think thats possible Shem. It sounds like a good idea and I know that RAM speed can be increased if two seperate compatible chips are inserted so I'd assume the same can be done with a HD but increasing it over 5 fold is just insane. Ask your friend what he did if you can. Linux is definately more flexible though.

Hah, actually if I was going for a gaming machine I'd get TWO 19" LCDs hehe, I might actually get another one some time soon actually. As for surround sound, I'm thinking of actually placing speakers on the wall behind me, somewhere near the top (kinda like at the movies) and possibly a powerful bass hehe.

Good point with the RAM actually. Heh forgot about that. As for the SATA HD, its really up to you because we have no idea how fast you want data read of your computer but it is definatelly the way to go if you want the speed. If not go for something slower but possibly with a larger capacity.

[Deleted User 1]

okay... I can't ask my friend simply ecause we're competing with each other and as for the motherboard I have a good one, six ram stick slots, high speed, cpu SATA compatible... I think. Anyway, it's coming along great, thanks for that Athlon advice near the first few post, I asked around for that and got a better one.

[Horned Loa]

LoL well the main difference between an Athlon and a Pentium is that an Anthlon is faster but the Pentium is more expensive hehe. So you make the choice. :P

As for the competition, you ever heard of a lil thing called sabotage LOL jk.

[Kohaku]

Why don't you try to use the PCI-express VGA Card? they're better than most of other AGP-8x VGA (except Radeon X-800 and GeForce 6800 series) and they're cheap. You can try Radeon X-300 or GeForce 6600. For the brand if you wanted to use the ATI, the best brand for it is HIS, but if you wanted to buy the nVidia, the best brand IMO is Pixelview.

Of course if you wanted to use PCI-e graphic card you must change your motherboard and processor and they cost a lot of money (for example the AMD processor that compatible with PCI-e socket-ed motherboard cost about 1000 dollars just for the processor, and if I'm not wrong the motherboard costs about 300 dollars heheh and there your money goes) but the VGA itself is not that expensive (about 110 dollars for a Gigabyte ATI Radeon x-300).

For the motherboard, use the one with nForce chipset for the AMD (nForce 2 ultra if your processor is Athlon, or nForce 3 if you use AMD 64), and make sure that it has Serial ATA port for the Harddisk. And make sure that it can support dual channel for your memory card. The brand that I suggest for the motherboard are ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI. For the memory, I highly suggest that you use a dual 512 memory if your motherboard supports dual channel. A Corsair 2x512 PC 3200 is more than enough for you. Another cheaper brand is Maxtor and Visipro

For the harddisk you don't need a super large one because a 120gb is more than enough. I highly suggest that you use SATA Hardisk and of course if you use SATA dual harddisk, it is better than one. My suggestion is Samsung Spinpoint, or Seagate Barracuda, or Maxtor diamondmax. Don't use Western Digital Caviar since it's more expensive and the performance is worst.

Lastly for the processor I suggest that you use AMD (athlonXP or 64). Why? it's because I'm against Intel and I'm an AMD fanatic (yeah, no objective reason heheh) but I guess it's just because AMD is Cheaper.

And If you want to conserve money, just use the integrated soundcard and just use a standard flat 17inches monitor, because your money is better used on the system.
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[Glen Cott]

I would advise, instead of looking for a processor with a high hertz value, get one that is 64-bit instead of 32-bit. In theory it is meant to double the speed, but because of wierd computing things that I don't understand, it actually makes it run much much faster.

Everything else I would suggest has already been said.

[Horned Loa]

Heh its because it grows at an exponantial rate rather than double. 64-bit means it runs on twice as many bits......but the speed of it increases far more than that.

[Deleted User 1]

I want to thank everyone here for advising me what to get and all, you've been of great and now thanks to all that helped... I will have to go out shopping again :P I guess I might try ordering them over the net first see if I can get them for cheaper... Once more, Thanks everyone! :wink:

[Kohaku]

Actually the real reason why you should buy AMD is if you are the one that like to modificate your computer. It's beacuse all this time Intel use different socket for every new P4 series, so if you want to upgrade your computer you have to change your motherboard too. AMD all this time use socket A (except AMD 64).

Yay, I just recently bought a new motherboard, DFI Lanparty NF-II Ultra!
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