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Help! Buying new PC... a64 or P4 3.2ghz? Please :(
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Posted by: Iny YASHA
Hey guys, I just got my paycheque from work and I now have my entire budget at hand for a new PC! I'm building this PC since I'm going to university next year... and I know that NOBODY needs a blazing PC for actual school work, but hell.. I'm a gamer at heart :P
I was just snooping around and I've come down to either getting a new a64 (3000+) or sticking with intel and getting a PIV 3.2GHZ machine... I read that there were different types of 3.2ghz cpu's (prescott..etc) could anyone tell me which was the better one? Also, I heard that the nforce3 250gb had a lot of problems, and a few friends actually suggested NOT getting a new 64bit system...
To be honest the only reason I want a 64bit system is because its new and sleek, but im retarded that way :P If the a64 is going to be a really bad choice someone please let me know! hehe
I'll mainly use the pc for school work, and gaming.. general use... but I know for sure I want something thats fast in terms of specs (just nothing SUPER fast like the 3800+).
In other words.. as I type this post out I'm starting to think the 3.2ghz is best for my uses.... hehe, someone help me! 
-Iny
Posted by: compukeith
Personally, I've got a P4 2.8Ghz HT, 1GB DDR400 RAM, 300GB HDD, 256MB Nvidia 5600, WinXP Pro and that thing kicks ass in everything I do. Now, I don't (and don't plan on) running extreme games such as Doom3 (which I know would kick the crap out of my computer), but it works beuatifully for multithreading so I can run F@H while playing SWG. My personal preference is Intel with the Northwood Core.
I know that this is going to start a debat though. AMD or Intel. It's always inevitable. Furthermore, there will be a huge debat with Intel on the Northwood vs Prescott cores. That's also inevitable.
Therefore, I will state right now that this is my OPINION! Please don't patronize me because I happen to prefer the P4 HT with a Northwood core. Done.
Posted by: Iny YASHA
Hey! Yeah, I think I'm leaning on intel atm.. although its a bit more pricey I don't like the fact that everyone I know is telling me there are problems with the nforce 3 250gb chipset.
Now, I read a whole bunch of benchmark tests between the northwood and the prescott core, and they both have their ups and downs... so I'm totally up in the air about this decision... the prescott costs a little more than the northwood though..
I really want to be able to play next generation games, stuff like doom 3 and hl2
Thanks again!
-A.
Posted by: C-Money
For the vid card go with the GeForce4 TI-4200.
(Best bang for your buck.)
Or if you want to play something like Doom3, you should probably wait & get the GeForce 6800 PCI Express.
Posted by: Iny YASHA
Hmm, for vid card I already have a FX 5900 Ultra.. any good?
-Iny
Posted by: Bix VT
It should run Doom3 a little slow, but ok. As for the CPU, get a P4 2.8C and overclock it. That will save you money as well as give you much better performance. Depending on how much cash you have, I reccomend getting the GeForce 6800 Ultra or the Radeon X800 XT for a video card. They will run ANYTHING at max quality settings while still maintaing over 30fps.
Posted by: valis
I agree with Bix VT, consider building a cheap, "disposable" computer to use as your main machine for a year or 2.... many things are going to be changing about comps very shortly- and all our hardware will soon be obsolete..... such as: Processor sockets are getting redesigned, DDR2 is coming out (this is huge), PCI express (not really a big deal), SATA is becomming more standard (get one now if you can, its worth it), 64 bit processors will be more mainstream.
I recommend getting a p4 northwoood with 800FSB, and HT, overclock it, pick up 512-1024mb DDR400 mem, MB with SATA support (maybe RAID), a SATA drive (2 if you wanna use RAID), a FULL size tower case, with at LEAST 400 watt PSU, reuse your optical/floppy drives, then spend your extra cash on cooling (copper covers for the mem, case fans all over the place, HD cooler, fan controller, maybe watercooling- you can re-use it in the next machine, if not watercooling, then at least a NICE fan/heatsink for the CPU)
reason not to get a prescott: it runs super hot.... its essentially a northwood with the voltage cranked up, so it runs uber-hot. Bad for overclock.
Then in a year or two, build a new machine with all the perks that are gonna be coming out this year- DDR2, PCI express, 64bit processor, etc
Posted by: Ocean
ti4600 is really good now too, for like 100
9500 pro performs good at 130
and 9700 pro at 160
right now best bang for buck is 9800 pro round 195.
oh an for doom3 you will most likely get better performance from an nvidia card.
and the newest ati driver (SUCKS) for doom 3. not the cards, just the driver. carmac himself i think said something along the lines as the 6800 was built for doom3.
Posted by: Iny YASHA
Hey, wow you guys all helped a lot! Okay, lemme know what you think of this.. I sorta have the setup for the system complete...
P4 3.2GHZ Northwood 800FSB
ASUS P4C800-E
Extra case cooling
Neon tube
2x512MB DDR400
Soundblaster Audigy 2
Western Digital 200GB 8mb / 7200
1.44 floppy
Logitech Optical mouse, not wireless
Logitech Cordless Keyboard
Antec Chenming case - full tower all aluminum with clear side
panel and side panel fan
TopPower 470W power supply
Price: $1449 CND (~$1088USD)
It's a decent price here in Canada anyway, things are way more overpriced here than in USA 
Please lemme have your opinions hehe! Oh, and just another question... would the ATi 9800 Pro 128mb gfx card be able to handle doom3/hl2 at decent settings? I can get that for about 275$ canadian atm , (~206$usd)
Thx!
Posted by: Iny YASHA
Oh, forgot to mention ram will be either samsung or infineon brand..
Posted by: C-Money
 Quote:
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Originally Posted by Iny Yahsa
Oh, forgot to mention ram will be either samsung or infineon brand..
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I use Kingston.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Iny Yahsa
Please lemme have your opinions hehe! Oh, and just another question... would the ATi 9800 Pro 128mb gfx card be able to handle doom3/hl2 at decent settings?
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Yes.
[Edit] Messed up quotation.
Posted by: Iny YASHA
Oh really? So I don't HAVE to get a crazy 6800 or X800?
-Iny
Posted by: C-Money
I read somewhere that the GeForce 6800 was designed for Doom3.
Anyway, the ATi 9800 Pro will work nicely.
Posted by: SKYHN
The 6800, just like the X800 and every other card out there like it were designed for gaming. Theres no such thing as game specific hardware, unless your talking controllers. Both will run the game.
Posted by: Bix VT
The 6800 isn't NEEDED for Doom3, but it would be nice. The 9800Pro should run it decently. At the very least at 800x600 with max details it should still maintain over 30fps.
And as C-Money said, Kingston is good. Mushkin also makes very high quality ram.
Posted by: SKYHN
9800pro cant run max details, you need 512mb of VIDEO ram to run that. Probably get about 30fps on high settings, maybe normal. Not gonna be running it with AA or AF with anything but the newest cards though, thats for sure.
Posted by: Iny YASHA
So then, the ATi 9800 Pro 128mb is fair enough to use for next gen games (I dont really care about playing things on max, just normal to whatever is between normal and max hehe)
Or should I opt for the 9800 Pro 256mb? Is there a great leap in difference? (Although.. I can't get the 256mb at a decent price hehe..)
ATM, looks a lot like 9800 Pro 128mb ..
-Iny
Posted by: SKYHN
Theres really no reason to get a 256mb card. Just get the 128mb.
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