buying a computer ...?

for moniters get a CTX 19inch,its the cheapest highest quality moniter on the market.

and if you want a good comp you need to build it or have it built,off the shelf pcs are junk.

 

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I'd wait a couple months before upgrading, that's what I'm doing. I have the money to upgrade, and I really wanna do, but AMD's socket M2 is coming out very soon. The new, dual-core FX-60 chip was stated to be the last socket 939 chip. And well, I'd rather not have to buy a whole new CPU, new motherboard, and new RAM as the M2 socket allows for DDR2 RAM.

Luckily, with the expansion pack for Half-Life 2 being delayed a couple months and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion being delayed until this quarter, I'm doing fine waiting on upgrading, otherwise I'd be having nervous twitches, lol.

- N

 

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I'm seriously thinking of going for the new dual core IMac---style and substance.

Why are computers better than dedicated consoles for gaming, or are they?

 

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suggest you wait a bit with a Mac,
they are shifting now from PPC to x86

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4600442.stm

 

why 07, is there something big coming out then?

P.S I don't agree with Communist Hamster, i think you need more RAM than that

 

Ah, but all duendy will use it for is browsing. She doesn't game or edit photos, or videos. So 512MB of RAM will probably suffice.

 

I'm also a bit with spurious here.

Even when it comes to gaming, which is usually resource-greedy, the latest PC specs aren't really all that necessary. Try getting stuffs which were hot maybe a year ago and I guess that's already good enough.

Oh, and as for disk-burning, CD/DVD, you can do that, though if you can do with USB, that'll be just as fine IMO.

 

'07 is when AMD is scheduled to release the procs with more than dual core, as well as the 65nm process. Both of these equate to a drop in the price of the late '06 top of the line prices. Even if you aren't planning on going with AMD, these releases will most likely be echoed in the Intel camp and a similar price drop will be seen there.

 

But sureley those will be top end computers and highly expensive, just like dual core was last year

 

Mmm, triple core processors. The PS3 has a sextuple core processor effectviely doesn't it? 6 Cell processors in parallel.

 

Cool, then you can just buy a PS3 instead of a heater when your room is a bit chilly.

I heard the new XBox is a bit noisy due to the presence intensive cooling systems known to man as fans. Is that true?

 

yes they will, but they will drive the price on the dual core top end down. that was my point. Also, by that point the dual core fx's should be out and refined. fx's having their core clock unlocked, are a thing of beauty for oc'ing.
If you want to go top of the line, you'll always pay dearly. I tend to go with the best of what has just become outdone.
That was, you'll be able to pick up a dual core running at 3.5-5 ghz range for what a about $400-600 (just a guess) as opposed to paying over a grand for a dual that isn't hitting those speeds.

 

If you are getting a new computer now in 2006, anything that is not 64bit will be legacy soon, so make sure you get a 64 processor, and a motherboard with a PCIE slot on it for your video card. This will be the standard for the next few years.

I use Intel suff. I would be gear towards the P4 630. It is the cheapest 64 processor with hyperthread, prescott, and 2MB cache. Otherwise, the P4 521 is the cheapest that has the same features, and 1MB cache.

I use ATI for graphics cards because they manufacture their own cards.
NVidia does not, and I do not know who their main card manufacturer is.
Also, I suggest a minimum of 256MB for your vid card. That is because many online games and high end software will work much better.

For ATI, the X800XT is ideal, but it's very expensive at $260. It's a 256MB card for a PCIE slot. There is also the X700PRO, but they do not have much info on it.

For hard drive, I use Western Digital. At least 200GB
For RAM, I use Corsaire. At least 1GB.
For DVD burner, I would go with a Toshiba. I had a friend that had probs with Sony. I have burnt DVDs with the Toshiba for years with no prob.
Sound card, an Audigy 2 ZS is the best short of going platinum. Then there is the Audigy 4 series, but they are still too new and high priced.

 

Oh man, someone admitted they use Intel!

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- N

 

my brother builds computers and his setups run cooler AND faster then the ones on toms hardware.

technicly,he is building the fastest,most reliable comps with the same parts as anyone else.


a new medium range gamer is around $1000 with delivery,allthou a bargin gamer is around $750,and thats with software optimization[thats VERY important to a good comp].

its what im using now and it kicks super ass for the price.


i dont mean to hock my wares on here,but if you want the best for the money,go with costum built.


amd 64 3000
asus motherboard
1GIG dual channel patriot ram
maxtor 80gig HD
NEC dvd burner
nvidia 6800 256 video card
audigy 2 sound card

and the processor runs around 85-90 degress F.and it runs 5-7 FPS faster then other sytems with the same parts.

 

I agree. While the new iMacs are powerful, not all applications are built to run on Intel hardware. They do still run, but through software emulation, and are a bit slow. For instance, Warcraft 3 runs, but crashes on cinematics, because the system is trying to access a function that only existed on the old PPC chips; something that the emulation doesn't catch for some reason.

The emulation is good enough for 95% of the work a person will need to do, but I'm not getting one until more applications have been ported (or built as a Universal Binary that can run on either platform).

almost. The PS3's Cell has one full-fledged core, and then a bunch of simple SPEs that do very specific tasks. So if you want to add 2+2, great! you have 6 SPE's to choose from. If you want to add 2.43756+1.973647, then you have to use to the main PPC core.

 

sweet jeeeesus. tis is all like chiNEESE. can we cool it. try and communicate what a novice may be able to dig??

sorry i have not responded. there are various reasons. i am v e rrrry tantative about new technology. shit whenever i get anything i am almost frightened to touch it. so u can imagine me considering getting a fukin wack off compuutee. this is a big thaaaang fo me

i receieved a notification from our server yesterday that the broadband monthly cost is gonna be much lower than i imagined. it was THAT thatr been one of theputt offs for me getting a computer

thanks everyone btw FOR the inof but as i say it was getting a little chinese. you are all so familiar wid the terminology, but it isrelly confusing when yu aint

can i first ak tis---mybe i should go find the quote. will later. someone said--DONT buy off-the-shelf-computer they are crap.
now this advice is commensurate wit what a technician from my server told me, but i forgot to ask---WHY?

so, why...?

 

Duendy

You should do some research, try dialling 'computers faq' on your browser and see what you come up with.

If you're not computer savvy, forget about putting one together yourself, that stuff is for hardcore gamers that don't mind spending anything up to 4 grand on their pukka component rigs.

For a cheaper home/office type system, prices are very reasonable when you buy off the shelf, but don't pay a premium for 'names' like Dell, Gateway, HP etc, because at the end of the day, it's the components that make the system, not the company that markets them under their 'brand' name.

In UK, check out Mesh and computerelectronics (Cube), 2 British companies that seem to have it sussed on quality and value for money. After researching their stuff on their websites you should call them and discuss your queries with them and then go with the one that sounds genuinely helpful.

Good luck.

 

Thanks Tablariddim

i'm closest i've been to actuuuually going out tere and gettin one

as i have been getting a...limited experience of te wwWeb on a widescreen telly, the tought of losing the big screen was also a turn

is the largest monitor one you can get a 19"

can you 'zoom' computers......? ie., i ideally would want a keyboard away from the monitor, so it'd be handy to be able to make text, pics bigger

i am manly wanting it for Web, and include s need for mp3s, video-----say tere was alos a film on, or a TV channel running shit on thw web. being able to see it

so i need how much memory for tis

i guess what i am looking fr now is help wit itemizing in a ordered list

u know like

monitor/large

manly for internet/vide--whateever internet can do?? am not really hip to it

memory?

makig sure it can be upgraded if needs be

a bargain!

a dvd burner

i knoooow. i am such a novice

but if you dont assssk...

 

Duendy

I'm no expert, but because I'm currently researching the subject myself, I'm sort of getting a clearer picture of what this shit is about.

Basically, the latest machines use Dual Core chipsets; AMD Athlon are faster than Intel, the more RAM (memory) you have the more applications you can use at the same time, the better the graphics card the better video/gaming experience, The bigger the Hard Disk the more stuff you can store, for TV you need a TV tuner card, screens go up to 23" but they're expensive, you could probably use your big screen TV if the graphics card supports it, it has to have TV/divi out, I think it also needs to have SPDFQ port, Firewire port as well, you can use wireless keyboard and mouse.

Like I said before, contact Mesh or Cube and tell them exactly what you want and what your budget is. You could probably get a very good system for close to a grand or an amazing one for up to 2 grand.