New computer for $500-600?

[RCPilot]

The only reason I suggested the 3200 RAM is because of the XP3200 dropping in price. It's down to $217 for retail at newegg now. After the 2nd, I expect it to drop again. When it's cheap enough with the 3200 RAM on that board, you could just slap it in. That's what I'm planning on doing. I've ran my 2500 for a year now I believe & have been watching the 3200 come down. Granted, that's as far as you can go with that board though. Wouldn't be able to do that with 2700 RAM IMO



Dazzle them with Brilliance, or Baffle them with BS!

 

[Vapor]

You could just up your FSB to 200MHz and have a free 3200+ .

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[RCPilot]

I do that now, well 2800 with a 12.5 mutplier! I just haven't had the time to FSB OC yet!! I know I've had it a long time, but mutipalier OCing is so easy with the multiplier unlocked.



Dazzle them with Brilliance, or Baffle them with BS!

 

[Vapor]

I wish I could multiplier OC :frown: ...

Maxtor disgraces the six letters that make Matrox.

 

[ChipDeath]

Good grief. I was sure We'd seen the end of 'Intel is more expensive, therefore must be better' Arguments.

And besides, as others have pointed out, your spec is too expensive. For a ~$500 'puter AMD is the only logical choice, unless you want a crappy celeron system.

There is <i>no</i> 'reliability' argument between the two. Before the nforce2 chipset, perhaps, but not nowadays. (although I have no idea why I'm trying to convince you, I have the feeling that my attempts will be fruitless.)

<b>oolceeoo:</b>
RCPilot's spec was a good one for the money - you wouldn't be dissapointed with the performance.

If your buddy's old monitor can do 1024x768 at a half-decent refresh rate, then it won't be too bad... although even some cheaper 17" monitors today have decent picture quality for the money.

I had the same situation, building for a friend who 'already had a monitor'.. It's almost heartbreaking to see him running everything @ 800x600 as the monitor simply won't go any higher. He could always get a new one a few months down the line though.

---
<font color=red>Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do.</font color=red>

 

[RCPilot]

I'm locked after 12.5 though. Drops down to 9.5 or something if I try to take it higher. Nice feature of the early Bartons though.



Dazzle them with Brilliance, or Baffle them with BS!

 

[ChipDeath]

There's a mod you need to do to unlock the higher multis.. Can't remember what it is (never modded a CPU myself), but I think it's got something to do with the L5 bridges.. I would have a go, but I've hit the limits of my 1700+ now I think (~2250Mhz) and I only need 11x for that.

---
<font color=red>Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do.</font color=red>

 

[RCPilot]

I do know about that. I haven't modded a CPU yet either. It was nice selling a machine that I could tell people I'd get them 2800 speeds out of the box for $90 though. I wish they haden't locked them again myself. I jumped the gun on my 2500 soon after they came out & paid $135 for it!! I couldn't believe how fast it came down in price.





Dazzle them with Brilliance, or Baffle them with BS!

 

[ChipDeath]

funny how they've stuck at ~$90 for what seems like ages now though. I bought my 1700+ when it was nice and cheap (UK£35 which was something like US$50 at the time IIRC). and at the time I think an XP2800+ was something stupid like £400.. so suffice to say I'm very happy with that purchase!

on a completely unrelated topic, I'm jealous of all the snow you get to play in! Never really get any here, and never enough to do anything more than throw a couple of snowballs around :frown: .. Supposed to be getting a cold snap this week - went snowboarding last year & would like to have another go, but can't afford to travel somewhere snowy at the mo...

---
<font color=red>Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do.</font color=red>

 

[RCPilot]

Yes, it is funny how it's been at $90 for so long. I'm thinking it might just stay there until they go out of production.

I am lucky to have the snow to play in. I didn't always feel that way. I used to skate & sled when I was young, but for years I just stayed in the house & waited for spring. Then my son got me into sledding & I've never had so much fun in the snow in my life. It's been 5 years now & every year I can't wait for the snow to come so I can play. My goal is to stay in U. P. for the winter. Ride my sled out of the garage everyday & leave the truck parked until spring. One of these years!!!



Dazzle them with Brilliance, or Baffle them with BS!

 

[Zoron]

My friend wants me to build him a new computer that will run Everquest smoothly with maximum settings (but not high resolution, around 1024*768 to 1280*1024)on his computer(and *maybe* EQ2)

The only way to get EQ to run smoothly is to uninstall it from your computer and never play it again...



<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

 

[Johanthegnarler]

Lol. Where does this AMD is a generic alternative to intel come from? There must be a gnome out there that says AMD's are cheap and they wont last as long as intel.

Luckily for me i never was into David the Gnome.

<A HREF="http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=610166081" target="_new">http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=610166081</A>
Figured i'd do it too..reality my ass.

 

[Guest]

>I would rather have intel inside my respirator in the
>emergency room, not amd chip watching my vital signs.

Yeah, overclocked to remain within the hospital budget, and with unstable overclocked memory to boot.. and without case. I'm sure you'll live longer on your intel inside respirator.

>Why would you pay $50 for the most important part in your
>computer may I ask?!

Why would you pay three times as much, and not get anything better for it, if I may ask ? If you think high price means better quality/performance/whatever, then I'll gladly sell you some $100 Celerons with crappy motherboards and matching SDRAM (way more expensive than DDR these days, so it HAS to be better). Get a clue Kanavit, man I sure hope your dad gets another job soon...

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

 

[pat]

CPU speed doesnt matter that much in game. sure it helps, but a good video card is all it takes. so stick with the AMD 2500+ and nforce2 chipset. It will give you all the cpu power you need, dont worry. Get a good video card. That what drive the game. What you save on cpu, put it on the graphic card. anything above an ATI 9600 should be good, unless you want to play at very high resolution. 1024x768 is good for play, at high detail. 1280x1024 is plenty. anything above 30-40 fps at your prefered resolution and high detail is a waste of money for now if you cannot afford to spend more. so try to find the best combination price/perf. but remember that the video board is all the game

-Always put the blame on you first, then on the hardware !!!