Dose AMD 64 make up for GPU

[dagreek]

I am trying to decide how to configure a computer system, I can get an AMD 64 3400+ with a GeForce 64MB 4 440 with 1Gz RAM
or...
Pentium 4 3.2 Radeon 64MB 9600 with 512RAM
please let me know what you think, I know the AMD chip is better for gaming, but the GPU is not as good with the AMD so in the end I'm looking for the best performance

 

[sparky853]

For best performance, get the AMD with the Radeon 9600!!!

If thats not possible, go with the P4 3.2. The performance difference CPU wise isn't huge, and you'll be much happier with the graphics performance..

Spec:
Intel P4 2.4B
MSI 645E Max-U Mobo
1GB DDR333
R9600XT 128MB
SB Live 5.1
WD 60GB
Maxtor 120GB
LG DVD+-R/RW
WIN2K PRO SP4

 

[scottchen]

Why are your options so limited?

Get an Athlon64 2800+, with a 9800pro, and 1G of ram, you'll end up with 4x gaming performance than the Athlon64 3400+, and at least 2x gaming performance of ur P4 option.


If those are your only options, then i'd go with the Athlon64, and toss out the video card and buy a new one!! The performance difference between the 9600 and the Geforce4 MX440 isn't big, well unless you're lucky and get a 9600 with 128bit memory bus, because most of them are 64bit.

<A HREF="http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/myrig.php?do=view&id=17301" target="_new">My PC</A>

 

[P4Man]

> The performance difference between the 9600 and the
>Geforce4 MX440 isn't big

No, its not big, its HUUGE ! Honestly, the GF4 MX is a *terrible* card, its barely faster than a Geforce2 MX. Not too mention its a DX7 part. Toss it away, its close to useless nowadays for (3D) gaming.

Agreed with the rest though..

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[scottchen]

the 9600 with 64bit memory bus are you kidding me?! it's a piece of sh*t!!

<A HREF="http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/myrig.php?do=view&id=17301" target="_new">My PC</A>

 

[scottchen]

I agree with the 128bit version of the 9600, then it'll beat the crap out of the mx440, but 64bit...

<A HREF="http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/myrig.php?do=view&id=17301" target="_new">My PC</A>

 

[dagreek]

I geuss I didn't give enough information I'm sorry for that, this is a notebook computer I'm getting that is why my options are so limited. If I get the AMD then I only have the GeForce as my choice and if I get the Pentium the Radeon is the only choice

 

[scottchen]

OOOOHHH!!!

lol, man thought this' PC

Well then, i'd go with the P4 with mobile 9600.

<A HREF="http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/myrig.php?do=view&id=17301" target="_new">My PC</A>

 

[P4Man]

Ah.. that explains a lot already. Still, if gaming is your concern, I would look for alternatives with faster videocards. none of these systems is going to be very satisfying as a gaming platform, and you will be "wasting" quite a bit of money on some powerfull cpu's that get held back severly by slow videocards.

If those *really* are the only options somehow, I would also opt for the P4+radeon, but I can't say I would recommend either config for games. The same budget would let you buy a much better gaming rig elsewhere.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[P4Man]

I wasnt aware some 9600's had a 64 bit bus (guess what, I'm not infallible . You may be right.. though I would still be somewhat surprised. Is a 64 bit 9600 slower than say a FX5200 ? I know a GF4 MX is ..

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[dagreek]

the 64 is the video cards memory, again I should have explained that.

When I say those are the only options I mean it, unless I was go get the GeForce 32MB 4 420 or the Redeon 64MB 9200
Both systems are compaqs, between 1,600-1,700$ if you have suggestions for better notebooks I'm open to listen! I've just spent a lot of time looking and those seem to be the best deals for me they are already a little about what I was willing to spend, so I can't pay more....I want an all around good PC that will last me about 3 years, I'd use it for school (programming) movies and some games, like Doom 3 I hope

 

[Atolsammeek]

My laptop ProStar 8794 ACCELERATOR P43.4ee has ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 8X AGP 3D with 256MB. Price range $2600 to $5,000 But I see a 4774 P4 3.2 that has ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9600 8X AGP 3D with 128MB Integrated DDR. 2,000 to 4,000

http://www.xtremenotebooks.com
Or
http://www.pro-star.com

 

[trooper11]

another great idea would be the Acer Ferrari 3200 , here is one shop that has it:

http://www.cakepc.com/product_info.php/products_id/22

this one is equipped with an ahtlon 64 2800+ and an ati mobility 9700 128. check it out, it would be a nice one although it will cost you about $2000.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by trooper11 on 05/21/04 06:36 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[P4Man]

>I want an all around good PC that will last me about 3
>years, I'd use it for school (programming) movies

Either laptop should be more than adequate for that.. but..

>and some
>games, like Doom 3 I hope

I wouldnt bet on it. In fact, I think you can pretty much forget about running Doom3 at all on such a videocard. The geforce4 MX problably would not run it all (doesnt support shaders !!), and afaik, minimum spec for doom3 is a GF3 class card (DX8). The Radeon should let you run it I think, but its probably going to be more of a slide show than a game.

Either check out some of the other posters' suggestions, or consider buying a used laptop for your "work" (school, etc). I think a 1 GHz class laptop costing ~$700 (?) ought to be more than good enough, and use the rest of the money to buy an upgradeable desktop (later?) that will run those games.

I fear you will be sorely dissapointed otherwise by spending >$1700 on a system that will just not let you do what you bought it for (Doom3, HL2, Stalker,...).

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[trooper11]

i agree, laptops arent quite there for high end gaming yet on any level. unless you want to spend 3000 on something from alienware, then you might be able to, but even then your talking about heavy and not great on battery life.

 

[dagreek]

Thanks for all the advice, Right now I have a notebook that is a 1.2 GHz AMD athon moblie with 512 ram and 32MB shared video, I'm just ready for a new system, I know notebooks aren't good for gaming and I understand the reasons why, I was just hoping that a decently powerful notebook might be able to play some of the games at some of the lower graphics settings. This computer ran some mods off the quake 3 area engine pretty well I think. there were much higher frame rate than the original game and had higher resolutions and detail.

When you say its bad for games do you mean that they won't work at all, or that the games won't be playble or the games will run but at lower settings and not as smoothly?

 

[rocketpack]

Okay, I know you're all going to vomit on me when I say it but....
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/inspn_9100?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

The Dell Inspiron 9100 has what you want at the right price:
P4 2.8ghz w/HT
15.4" display
2x256mb DDR400 (512mb total)
60 hard drive
64MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 AGP 8X Graphics

$1,799 before taxes... yes it will cost a little bit more, but I think that's about the best you can do.

For $129 you can also upgrade the video to:
128MB DDR ATI's MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 AGP 8X Graphics

Still not going to give eye-popping frame rates in WarCry, but it'll definately beat the other solutions.

In fact, I just priced one out (not all the best, but actually slightly improved where it counts over the one above) for only $1,652.

Sorry have to bring it up, but it IS a pretty good price.

 

[P4Man]

>When you say its bad for games do you mean that they won't
>work at all

Quite possible yes, especially with Geforce4 MX cards. AFAIK, even Far Cry simply does not run on such videocards, and requires DX8 hardware. I would be surprised if Doom3 or HL2 would have lower system requirements. A radeon would probably run each game, but really, what good is that if you will not achieve 10FPS even on the lowest settings..

Anyway, you may want to check out the Dell posted above here, seems like a better bet, but if you're on a budget, I still think you'd better hang on to your current notebook for mobile use, and invest in a desktop for gaming -unless you really want to play in the classroom

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

 

[trooper11]

well see if you got the Acer Ferrari 3200 , youd be able to play games, just maybe not doom3 or hl2. its possible but i tend to think it wont work. you will however be able to play games like unreal 2k4 or even halo, so youll be able to play games, just nto at super quality, but playable.

 

[dagreek]

That's good to know, I do want to play games while I'm at school, sometimes I have 2-4 hours breaks were I'm there and have no work to do so I want a game. Unreal is great Halo would be too. Now that I'm leaning toward the Pentium (only for the radeon 9600) I'm worried about its battery performance, I'd like to use it sometimes without a plug and the battery will last a couple hours


Also if I can't play games like Far Cry anyway, is the Geforce 4 going to work for Halo, or Unreal? I only ask because I would perfer the AMD 64 the only bad thing is that its only coupled with the geforce 4, the AMD system also runs a little cheaper....
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by dagreek on 05/22/04 03:45 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[trooper11]

so are you saying the Acer Ferarri 3200 is out of your price range? since it boasts a better video card then your p4 notebook, an ati 9700 128. ill check around and see if there is anything cheaper. but the one you talked about for amd wouldnt be that great for gaming. if you can put the extra money into the Acer notebook, youd be happy with gaming on it.

 

[rocketpack]

To be honest, I don't know if you will really find much of a better deal than the Dell I mentioned above...

I took the base Inspiron 9100, upgraded the hard drive to a 60gb/7200rpm, the video to the highest (radeon 9700/128mb) and the memory to 512mb. All of that for less than $1,700 - it's possible you could get it, with tax and all, for less than $1,800 at your door - depending on where you live.

At least give it a consideration, from what I've heard Dell has great warranties and warranty service too.

I'm surprised I've not been flamed yet for saying a word like 'Dell' on a site like this

 

[dagreek]

I'm sorry I did check out your suggestion about the Dell 9100 it is a great computer but from my original price max of 1,500 I keep creeping up and I need to stop somewhere. I did like that computer very much and was very close to buying it off the Dell outlet site last night. I was up to putting in my credit card and stoped, I read some reviews and more info on it. It's about 2 pounds more but worst of all it has only a 2 hour battery life! The one I bought will go 4+ hours If it was just for games it would be no contest in favor of Dell but I also want it to be semi-portable.

I also checked out the Acer computer, I've heard of the company but didn't know them for their computers. I did read some reviews saying they get hot fast and I didn't here anyone talking quality. Sense I'm a student I can't afford to get burned on a computer, I need a sure thing that will last me 3+ years. Thank you for the idea's though! They all made sense and I did look them all up and check there reviews I just had to pick what was best for my needs and travel. I have to carry it everyday at school but also want some horse power, its a tough thing to find.

 

[trooper11]

ok well then there is another option, now i know what everyone will say, but bare with me.

<A HREF="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?j=1&CategoryID=cat01174&id=1069301995506&skuId=6249703&type=product&cmp=KAC-071603INCEPTOR&ref=06&loc=01" target="_new">http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?j=1&CategoryID=cat01174&id=1069301995506&skuId=6249703&type=product&cmp=KAC-071603INCEPTOR&ref=06&loc=01</A>

That is the Emachines M6805 with an ahtlon 64 3000+ and an ati 9600 64mb card. or for a bit more you can get the M6809 (1650 (comes with 100 mail in rebate to make it 1550) instead of 1500).

here you can look at the specs for both:

<A HREF="http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M6809" target="_new">http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M6809</A>

anyway, either would make a great laptop that balances gaming. the only weak point is that the hd is slow (4200rpm) but the good thing is you can easily buy a faster drive and install it easily. look here for some cool tips for doing that and other things like ocing the video card:

<A HREF="http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=51&threadid=1228136&enterthread=y" target="_new">http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=51&threadid=1228136&enterthread=y</A>

so thats another option for you. and it maybe emachines but this is definitely a good buy for once.

 

[P4Man]

>I'm surprised I've not been flamed yet for saying a word
>like 'Dell' on a site like this

Why ? their notebook lineup is actually rather nice IMHO, and priced competitively. As long as building your own notebook is not an option, I have no problem recommending a dell notebook if its a well priced, and properly configured machine (ie not Celerons and the like). Now don't push your luck by beginning to recommend Dell desktops though

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =