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Computer dying, need help finding a replacement

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by dmc, Oct 18, 2005.

  1. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Remove all ads!
    Well, my old AMD Athlon some-thing-or-other from 1999 appears to be about to give up the ghost (I'm still running Windows 98 and I get the blue screen of death every time I turn it on, and it resets my video to 16 colors, etc., etc., if I am lucky enough to get it to boot up at all). Clearly, I have no ideas about what is out there, what it costs, and what I even need. Thus, I turn to the community at large.

    So, this is what I do on my home computer:

    Basic word-processing, office type stuff
    Link (via Citrix) to my office computer
    Browse the internet
    Enforce the Rules in the Alleys ;)
    Maintain a music library for my MP3 player
    Dust off an old CRPG every now and again
    Watch my kids play games and educational type things (my son is 8 and is getting into some of those blast-em type games under my close scrutiny, my daughter is only 5 and isn't there yet)

    So I ask you all:

    What do I need in a new computer? What should it cost? Where should I get it? Do I want AMD/Intel? What video card should I be looking at and why (without too much technical detail -- i.e., get the whozadoozit because it will smoothly play all the new games your kid might want and will be able to support most stuff in the foreseeable future)

    As you can tell, I keep things a long time. This shouldn't be top of the line, but it shouldn't be bottom of the heap either. Most of all, I want something that will be stable and will last.

    Any recommendations on monitors would be good also, as I can't imagine that my old monitor is any good.

    Thanks in advance.
     
    dmc, Oct 18, 2005
    #1
  2. Alavin

    Alavin If I wanted your view, I'd read your entrails Veteran

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    I would suggest ensuring that the motherboard has PCI Express slots, since AGP is becoming outdated, and will probably save money in the long run. A Radeon X800 would be a good choice of graphics card, particularly for shooty games, and it's plummeted in price, to as little as £90.

    I personally prefer AMD processors, but for no reason other than I've not used Intel since my old Pentium 2.

    I couldn't really say where to get it, nor how much it would cost in $s, since I'm on another continent. But I wouldn't pay more than about £700 for a mid-range machine.
     
    Alavin, Oct 18, 2005
    #2
  3. Felinoid

    Felinoid Who did the what now?

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    Alienware; no question. My laptop has sustained a few bangs due to other people's clumsiness, and it's still working to spec and beyond. They've got desktops and workstations too, at a bargain (IMHO) for the quality they put out. And if you get it by an SP link, that's another bonus. Dell is another great company (I'm typing this on a Dell right now), but they cost about as much as an Alienware and aren't quite as good quality (IMO).

    Intel processors are usually a good idea, and I'd suggest a NVidia or Radeon graphics card, but only because they're the most common. If you want a better idea, you can always pick up the latest issue of a computer magazine. (I'm partial to PCGamer, myself.)
     
    Felinoid, Oct 18, 2005
    #3
  4. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    How about something like this:

    Computer

    Should I upgrade the video card?
     
    dmc, Oct 19, 2005
    #4
  5. Felinoid

    Felinoid Who did the what now?

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    Looks good, but I'd upgrade to XP Pro if I were you. I've got XP Home on my Alienware laptop and there are a couple programs I can't run because of it. :(
     
    Felinoid, Oct 19, 2005
    #5
  6. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Something like this:

    More expensive computer

    What's the difference, by the way, between a 5200 and a 6600 graphics card and which programs can't you run on home vs. pro?

    I appreciate the help.
     
    dmc, Oct 19, 2005
    #6
  7. Alavin

    Alavin If I wanted your view, I'd read your entrails Veteran

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    That would run all games produced up to a year ago, and quite a few since then. Only the more graphically intensive games wouldn't run. But if you were to upgrade anything, it should be the graphics card.
     
    Alavin, Oct 19, 2005
    #7
  8. Taluntain

    Taluntain Resident Alpha and Omega Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) BoM XenForo Migration Contributor [2015] (for helping support the migration to new forum software!)

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    Forget 5200, that's nearly 2 years old by now... if you're buying for the future, get the most recent graphics card you can sensibly afford.

    As for XP Home, don't even go there. Home is a "lite" version of Pro. You want Pro, trust me.
     
    Taluntain, Oct 20, 2005
    #8
  9. Disciple of The Watch

    Disciple of The Watch Preparing The Coming of The New Order Veteran

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    GeForce 6600 is a good choice, but personally I prefer ATI. I recently upgraded to a Radeon X800 Platinum and it kicks some serious butt.

    Processor-wise, definitively AMD. They run FAR cooler, FAR quieter and they support overclock better than Intel ever will. I use a Sempron 3.2Ghz, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Team up an Antec Sonata case with an AMD processor and it'll run so quiet you'll wonder if it's even running. Trust me, that's what I own.

    And for the OS, I use Win 2000 Pro. No complaints about it. Runs like a charm.
     
    Disciple of The Watch, Oct 20, 2005
    #9
  10. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I wasn't aware that solid state devices made any noise... ;)
     
    Blackthorne TA, Oct 20, 2005
    #10
  11. Chandos the Red

    Chandos the Red This Wheel's on Fire

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    :lol:

    That system actually looks pretty good. But I would not chose anything less than an AMD 3400 - that would be the starting point. As for the graphics: The nVidia 6600 will run everything out there, ATM. You may have to turn off a few shaders or enchanced graphic features on the most demanding games, but nevertheless it should provide pretty good service on current games. Still, it would be good if you can get a card with a 256 bit memory interface, if the price tag is not too heavy.

    The 200 GBHD is still a bit small by current standards. I'm in the process of filling a 250 GBHD, atm. And I'm still thinking that some kind of outboard device would be ideal for all of the home vidoes, digital photos and MP3s, which I am installing on the 100 GB partition I set aside on my system's HD for these files.

    As has been noted, AMD has the cards right now regarding performance. And this is what I would recommend. Intel continues to really shun the gaming market (which is quite small in the scheme of the total market anyway) and it continues to focus on improved performance regarding multi-media and entertainment apps. I just finished one of their recent training programs, and it appears that they are focused more than ever on the intergration of home entertaiment systems (home theater and audio) into a total package, which has an Intel box at its center. It seems to be all they talk about these days. But they are really hot into the notebook segment of the market as well, because that's where all the margin is, atm. They are still referring notebooks as "desktop replacements."
     
    Chandos the Red, Oct 20, 2005
    #11
  12. Disciple of The Watch

    Disciple of The Watch Preparing The Coming of The New Order Veteran

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    I once tried to overclock a Pentium IV 2.8 to 3.0 - the heat it would vent was plainly unbelievable and won't speak of it's instability. Nightmarish.
     
    Disciple of The Watch, Oct 21, 2005
    #12
  13. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Update (in case anyone is interested) -

    With many thanks to Chandos for links he gave me and sound advice as well, I went out and had one built for me over the weekend (I'm about 20 years past my prime when it comes to hands-on and was not going to build this thing myself).

    As it cost me only $120.00 over the parts for them to put it together, I think it was perfectly fine not to screw it up myself. (Plus, I got along well with the guy doing it, so he transferred my old hard drive for free and installed the Windows XP-Pro upgrade I got and the Norton Internet Security 2006 as well with no extra charge (just a time save for me, but still . . . ).

    I got the 3500+ AMB chip because it cost the same as the 3400+ model. I got an ASUS motherboard with some bells and whistles (I'm not a huge sound guy, so I felt that getting a motherboard with acceptable on-board sound capabilities was the way to go.

    For video cards, I wound up sticking with the 6600 rather than the 6800 because they had a PCIe 6600, but the 6800's were mostly AGP for some reason. However, the 6600 has 256Meg rather than 128 so I feel cool about that.

    There was a sale on the hard drive, so I got a 300Gig for around $120. I think the DVD drive cost too much (about $100), but the guy warned me against the noname brands and I trusted him.

    I'm cannibalizing my old monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers for the time being but will upgrade them if I am at all unhappy (so far, so good, the monitor still takes up a third of my desk, but the picture looks SWEET).

    So far, the system performs as well as could be expected, but I have yet to run it with any of those graphics intesive games, so I am just comparing it to my old machine and the one I use at work, so it's not much of a real comparison yet.

    Thanks again for everyone's contributions, and especially Chandos' help. :cool:
     
    dmc, Nov 14, 2005
    #13
  14. Blackthorne TA

    Blackthorne TA Master in his Own Mind Staff Member ★ SPS Account Holder Adored Veteran Pillars of Eternity SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!) New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!) Torment: Tides of Numenera SP Immortalizer (for helping immortalize Sorcerer's Place in the game!)

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    I'd have to agree with you on the DVD cost. I got a Sony dual-layer DVD that reads and writes all the formats for $100 about a year ago... I've seen the same model lately for around $60.
     
    Blackthorne TA, Nov 14, 2005
    #14

  15. Abdel - Bhaal Spawn Gems: 13/31
    Latest gem: Ziose

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    I order Liteon DVD burner for $45 on Tigerdirect and it is cheaper elsewhere. I would of had my order on time if the UPS driver went to the right street address. I have to say my DVD burner flies and I am loving my new computer right now.
     
    Abdel - Bhaal Spawn, Nov 25, 2005
    #15
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