"Hardware recs?"

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DrSlop (297 posts) Mar-02-00, 03:38 PM (Pacific) "Hardware recs?" I hope this question isn't too off topic even for the OT board, but I figured that the best people to ask about hardware are people who use their computer for the same reasons I do... Especially since I know very close to nothing when it comes to hardware. My school just gave me a little money to buy a new work/home computer -- and it sounds like the perfect opportunity to get my computer up to gaming standards for the next couple of years -- the bad news is that I have to buy it within the next week or so (to fit into this tax cycle) and its only about $1000 and I would really prefer to not add too much of my own money... the good news is that all I need is the machine itself, I already have a monitor, modem, etc. and a whole bunch of extra RAM that I can migrate (I'm thinking of buying just 64 MB)-- any suggestions about what I can reasonably put into a machine with that price tag that will last me for about 2 or 3 years? Mainly, I was wondering what chip speed I will actually need in the next about 2 years, and what will just be overkill... Intel or AMD? I'm not a speed freak (I only play crpgs), just want the machine to be able to run the games reasonably well. I was thinking of getting the Matrox G400 -- does that sound like a good choice? As for sound cards, I'm completely clueless... I heard of the SB Live, but that seems awfully expensive for a sound card. Anyway, any suggestiong on what I have to get or the common pitfalls and ways that companies sucker clueless folk like me to spend too much money would be helpful. Thanks in advance -- finally I'm sure to be able to play W8 when it hits the shelves! OE   Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Table of Contents

My 2 cents, Simon -ur, 04:15 PM, Mar-02-00, (1) One thing to keep in mind, Llevram, 07:07 PM, Mar-02-00, (2) RE: One thing to keep in mind, DrSlop, 07:34 PM, Mar-02-00, (3) RE: One thing to keep in mind, elrond, 09:12 AM, Mar-03-00, (4) That reminds me ... more HD and DVD ?, Llevram, 09:35 AM, Mar-03-00, (5) RE: That reminds me ... more HD and DVD ?, DrSlop, 09:42 AM, Mar-03-00, (6) Where to buy, Simon -ur, 11:24 AM, Mar-03-00, (7) One last question --, DrSlop, 06:57 PM, Mar-05-00, (8) My question to your 'friend', Llevram, 09:06 PM, Mar-05-00, (9) Clarification...., DrSlop, 11:14 PM, Mar-05-00, (10) RE: Clarification...., Simon -ur, 09:16 AM, Mar-06-00, (11)

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Simon -ur (2 posts) Mar-02-00, 04:15 PM (Pacific) 1. "My 2 cents" I think that nowadays, you should rather invest in a good graphic card than in an overly expensive processor. Concerning the soundcard, I still haven't heard a really significant difference that would justify investing more than a few bucks. But as new motherboards tends to have 0 ISA slot, I can't recommend a SB16 anymore So the idea is: Get a good graphic card (GeForce256, G400 is pretty good too). Don't spend too much on the processor (Athlon 6-700, if you manage to find a motherboard). Spare on the soundcard (Vortex 2 based for A3D, or a yamaha 192XG clone). Aim for an insane amount of memory (min.128). Don't forget you never have enough HD-space. If you care, you can have a look a Tom's page, though I think it's becoming less interesting these days http://www.tomshardware.com Simon   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Llevram (5022 posts) Mar-02-00, 07:07 PM (Pacific) 2. "One thing to keep in mind" If you want to continue to play Wiz 7 (CoDS version) you would want to stay below 450 (or maybe 400 MHz). And really, do you need any more than that? And since you don't have to spend money on a monitor I would go for a higher end graphics card, more HD space then more memory (upto or beyond 128MB). Tools for your Wizardry(r) toolkit   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

DrSlop (297 posts) Mar-02-00, 07:34 PM (Pacific) 3. "RE: One thing to keep in mind" The CoDS thing isn't a problem since I have an old 486 sitting in a corner just for that purpose -- though thanks to the advice here I am considering going for maybe a 533 or something around there (that seems to be pretty much the low end these days), and then investing in more RAM. Thanks for the help, and any more comments are very appreciated -- I should be putting my money where my mouth is sometime early next week. OE   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

elrond (83 posts) Mar-03-00, 09:12 AM (Pacific) 4. "RE: One thing to keep in mind" I'm gonna have to agree with Rick on this one, processors seem to have hit that point where they are no longer the problem for any of the latest games. All of the emphasis should be in the video card. Hell, one of my friends is running a P2 450 with a 1st gen TNT, and it can run everything smooth enough. As long as you're not into Running Quake and going for the insane fps rate, you'll do fine. Hard drive space is always good as well, may want to throw in a form of backup (cd-burner). Another consideration, especially regarding RAM, is which operating system you plan on running. I'd say 128 is more or less the min nowadays, but you don't really need anything much higher. Sound card wise, I guess it depends on if you want that surround stuff that some of the new games support. If you want to go cheap, i think there's a Sound Blaster Live Value version that is significantly cheaper than the complete version or whatnot. Since you don't really plan on using your computer for all that much, I'm sure whatever you end up getting will be more than sufficient.   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Llevram (5022 posts) Mar-03-00, 09:35 AM (Pacific) 5. "That reminds me ... more HD and DVD ?" RE: HD I can remember when I thought there was no way I would ever fill my brand new whopping 10 MB drive (a few years ago). I thought the same thing when I (fairly recently) got my 6 GB drive. So far, both times I have been wrong. But I tell ya, it's not my fault It's those darn developers - when the trade-off swung from compact code to hard disk space is cheap, everything has just continued to bloat. Same thing goes for demos delivered via the Interenet .... as access speed goes up, so does the size of an "acceptable" download. Bottom line, you can never have too much hard disk space (as long as your bios can recognize it ) RE: DVD To me, this is still kinda new, but I saw someone demonstrate their DVD player on a PC last semester and it was pretty cool. They played a Stak Trek movie (well a couple minutes of it anyway) through an overhead projector at school - very cool. But, personally, I'll wait a while before thinking about getting one, unless I can find a reasonably priced one, that doubles as a CD-ROM player. Tools for your Wizardry(r) toolkit   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

DrSlop (297 posts) Mar-03-00, 09:42 AM (Pacific) 6. "RE: That reminds me ... more HD and DVD ?" My girlfriend just bought me a DVD player -- and I do plan on putting one into my computer, just because it seems to me like I can get the system I want (128 Ram, top of the line video card, etc.) with a DVD player, and have to only add about 100-150$ of my own cash. Since we're on the topic (and thanks for all the help) -- is there any place that people would suggest to buy a computer from? I want a place where I can pick and choose my own specifications, rather than choosing among a set of "standard" machines -- what places have the best quality/price ratio? Also, I think (thanks to everyone's help here) I've pretty much worked out what I'm going to get... the only thing I'm still debating over is which video card to get -- any specific suggestions on which work best? OE   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Simon -ur (2 posts) Mar-03-00, 11:24 AM (Pacific) 7. "Where to buy" If you're confident enough to buy on the internet, http://www.buy.com usually have the best prices. I only ordered DVD from them (quite a few, in fact) and never had any problem. Otherwise there are various price comparison engines out there, like http://www.pricewatch.com Simon   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

DrSlop (297 posts) Mar-05-00, 06:57 PM (Pacific) 8. "One last question --" OK -- folk here have been so helpful, I've decided to tax your patience with one final question. My friend just offered me a system, and there are only two things about it of which I am uncertain: 1 -- the motherboard is a Tyan which uses a VIA chipset -- is this (the lack of an intel chipset) going to be a problem with running any games? 2 -- It has a Nvidia TNT2 32 MB AGP video card. Is this any good? 3 -- On a side question, has anyone ever heard of ABS? they seem to have pretty low prices, but I was wondering if anyone had any knowledge of them. Thanks again, OE   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Llevram (5022 posts) Mar-05-00, 09:06 PM (Pacific) 9. "My question to your 'friend'" What's wrong with it? But as to your questions, sorry, don't know. Tools for your Wizardry(r) toolkit   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

DrSlop (297 posts) Mar-05-00, 11:14 PM (Pacific) 10. "Clarification...." I didn't mean to suggest that my friend was selling me a computer directly -- just that he offered this specific system from ABS as a system that he thought might meet my requirements for a price I can manage. OE   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

Simon -ur (2 posts) Mar-06-00, 09:16 AM (Pacific) 11. "RE: Clarification...." Well, I thought you wanted to "upgrade" your old machine, so I believe you will get better stuff for your money if you buy "piecewise" instead of a whole system. But that would depend on what you intend to keep and if you are familiar with open you case and tinkering with the stuff inside. But I'm sure your gadgeteer skill is high enough for the task 1. VIA used to have some problems in particular with AGP 2x and 4x. And also with Nvidia products. I don't know if these are solved now. The non-intel thing is of no consequence AFAIK. 2. Nvidia TNT2 is reasonably good. But their latest chip "GeForce" is about 50% faster. This is RIGHT NOW the best choice. Also if you go for a "weaker" processor, the Nvidia card do not provide much acceleration for DVD playback. In this respect ATI cards are MUCH better. And I believe their Rage Maxx is also a good 3D perfomer. 3. Never heard of ABS. I built all my machines. Also if you have interest in Linux, accelerated drivers for the graphic card are another story, but enough ranting for today. Simon   Remove | Alert Edit | Reply | Reply With Quote | Top

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