Help me choose my next pc!

[Gary V.]

My wife just gave the OK for a new pc. WOOHOO! I need your help on what to get, who to get it from, and if there is some great thing around the corner I should wait on.

I can spend between $2500 - $3000. I do not want to build it myself.

I definitely want to get ATI's X800 or Nvidia's 6800 video card. Any thoughts on which is best? Also, Pentium or AMD?

Thanks,

Gary

[0x64657200 0x6A61636B616C00]

Wait for PCI Express if you can (late summer, early winter).

I'm sure you'll hear boatloads about who to buy from, but with the funds you're talking about, you could get a pretty hefty system from just about anywhere (including Alienware).

[Gaim Mastr]

If you read this bit (http://forums.gamers.org/showthread.php?t=902), you'll see that the X800 probably isn't worth buying unless you've also got a P4 3+GHz CPU.

[DanTheManPR]

I definitely want to get ATI's X800 or Nvidia's 6800 video card. Any thoughts on which is best? Also, Pentium or AMD?
Both are good. I guess it depends on how much you want to spend - $500 for an X800XT or $400 for an X800pro, etc.

Basicaly, just go around and look a the major gaming PC makers (Alienware, Falcon northwest, VoodooPC), and fiddle around with their configuration thingies. You could also look at some of the bigger computer manufactures if the prices from the above sites make you choke.

[Drewby]

I would reccomend an Alienware. They are the cheapest of the so-called enthusiast PCs. Compared to FNW and Voodoo at least.

Play around with their configs and see what you come up with. If you have any questions on configurations, we can help you there.

I would go with an Athlon64 and a 6800 Ultra if I were you. The X800 cars are good, but don't support shader model 3.0. The 6800 will futureproof you a little more although it is slightly slower than its competitor. You definately want to go with at least 1GB of RAM as well.

[Drewby]

I just configured a Alienware from their site.

It is an 650W PSU, A64 3200+, 1GB DDR400, 120GB 7300RPOM HDD, GeForce 6800 Ultra 256MB, Audigy 2 ZS, 16x DVD-ROM, 52x32x52x CDRW.

It comes to a total of $2,654US. Sounds like a solid deal to me. You'll be playing games at the highest fideltiy for the next two years before you even think about upgrading.

[DanTheManPR]

Sounds like a good one, Dreby. No monitor, I assume?

[MasterChief]

Well Gary, I sure wish I was you right now. I'm building a computer on a budget of about 1.5k (funny how I started expressing money amounts like that after playing SWG for so long). The good news is I think it's gonna be real cool once I'm finished, the bad news is I'm poor and I probably won't have it finished till the end of summer. Waiting sucks. There's nothing quite like ordering an uber PC like that, and then seeing it show up on your doorstep 3 days later. Ahhhh

[Gary V.]

Thanks Drewby! Throw in a monitor and I'm looking at around $3k. It would be sweet to have an Alienware.

My wife just told me it's ok if my friend builds one for me. I'm sure I would save a few hundred bucks, but no support.

[MasterChief]

I've never owned an alienware but personally I think they are very cool looking. I would seriously consider finding an old alienware case on sale on ebay or something to use in building a PC. *drool*

[Terry Penrod]

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I love my new Alienware Area 51 Extreme and am happy to recommend the company regarding service. This is the first high-end, non-custom gaming rig I've bought in a long time and have had nothing but clear sailing (WinXP / MS Office intra conflicts aside). The system screams and everything in it is top notch. It is also highly upgradeable and yes, it looks VERY cool.

Cheers, Terry

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[Gary V.]

Wait for PCI Express if you can (late summer, early winter).

I'm sure you'll hear boatloads about who to buy from, but with the funds you're talking about, you could get a pretty hefty system from just about anywhere (including Alienware).

What advantages does PCI Express offer over AGP?

[0x64657200 0x6A61636B616C00]

What advantages does PCI Express offer over AGP?

Real short definition;

About 2.5x's increase in the bandwidth of AGP 8x, and since there won't be an AGP 16x, you're going to end up w/ a PCI Express based system sooner than later. ;)

[Drewby]

We likely won't see a big performance difference with PCI-Express. Current cards, including the X800 and 6800 cards don't even take full advantage of AGP 8x. PCI-Express will give you more room to upgrade in the future, but by the time it is time to upgrade your X800 or 6800 card, you will probably be needing a new mobo/CPU and all of that good stuff.

[Gary V.]

Right now I'm looking at going with AMD FX-53 and Nvidia 6800. A concern is I have heard motherboards for the FX-53 aren't real good yet. I'm sure I can find a good one ovet the next few weeks. 6800 cards aren't available yet anyway from what I've seen.

Definitely gonna go with a gig of ram and probably a good 19 inch monitor. Anything bigger seems like overkill; I'm only sitting 2 or 3 feet away.

As for the sound I'm not sure. Probably mid-range; I rarely get to crank up the sound since most of my gaming is done after everyone goes to bed.

If anyone can recommend a good motherboard for the FX-53 please let me know.

[Kalbrecht]

congrats, gary!!!

Why not get yerself a good LCD monitor?

The recent Samsung 172x series (17" viewable, which is comparable to a 19" CRT) are apparently excellent for all round usage, including gaming. it's lighter and uses less physical space than a CRT, and IMO easier on the eyes.

And if you're worried about the sound - save money by getting realtively cheap 2.1 speakers and instead get some good headphones (comfy ones like the good Bose or Sennheisers). No disturbing others, you block out more ambient noise (like the hum of the PC) and better immersion than a surround sound setup. Plus it's extra $$$ to dump into other areas.

And yes, the Alienwares are excellent from all I've heard.

[DanTheManPR]

Right now I'm looking at going with AMD FX-53 and Nvidia 6800.
The FX prossesors don't give you that much performance gain over an Athlon 64, and they cost a LOT more. Sort of like the P4 extreme edition - sure its fast, but it costs a thousand five hundred bucks!

[Logan]

The last two PCs I've owned have been Alienwares. I absolutely love them, as they come (relatively) purged of all the crap that usually comes installed on new PCs. My favorite thing is the boot time - it's at the desktop in about 15-20 seconds! Everything runs fast, its very stable, and just a good gaming PC.

The only con I can think of is the immense amount of fan noise it creates. Even then, as Kalbrecht suggested, a good pair of headphones get rid of that minor problem. If I didn't have my heart set on a Powerbook for my next computer, I would be getting Alienwares for my next computer, too.

[0x64657200 0x6A61636B616C00]

Gary, on the sound side, if you get a good surround sound card, you can buy a set of Zalman 5.1 surround headphones (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=36-501-001&depa=0).

As far as the PCI-X stuff goes, I had a response to Drewby's respones to my response and decided it wasn't necessary. You sound like you've got the system you want. :)

[Gary V.]

Headphones is a great idea. That will be perfect for late night gaming.

I'm gonna go all out on this system because it's gonna have to last me for at least three years, and my wife gets tired of me doing little upgrades. Her only requirement is for the system to be quiet. She hates how loud our system is now. Will a good case help alleviate some noise?

[0x64657200 0x6A61636B616C00]

Good case will get rid of a lot of noise, but fans, especially chipset, video card and CPU fans are generally the biggest culprits of system noise.

[Terry Penrod]

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Right now I'm looking at going with AMD FX-53 and Nvidia 6800. A concern is I have heard motherboards for the FX-53 aren't real good yet. I'm sure I can find a good one ovet the next few weeks. 6800 cards aren't available yet anyway from what I've seen.

Definitely gonna go with a gig of ram and probably a good 19 inch monitor. Anything bigger seems like overkill; I'm only sitting 2 or 3 feet away.

As for the sound I'm not sure. Probably mid-range; I rarely get to crank up the sound since most of my gaming is done after everyone goes to bed.

If anyone can recommend a good motherboard for the FX-53 please let me know.


Here is a new development from nVidia that you should investigate if you're serious about getting the AMD 64 FX 53 Gary - especially if you want a RAID and good security.

Cheers, Terry


NVIDIA Announces nForce3 Ultra MCP

NVIDIA has announced its nForce3 Ultra MCP. The new media and communications processor for PC motherboards is based on the AMD64 computing platform. The nForce3 Ultra MCP is a single-chip core-logic solution with a native Gigabit Ethernet interface and Firewall security for PCs running Athlon 64 FX 53 processors available in AMD's new 939-pin packaging. Today's launch also marks the introduction of a new feature for all nForce3 MCPs that automatically adjusts PC clock speeds without end-user intervention. The nForce3 Ultra's storage capabilities include native support for multiple disk RAID environments as well as integrated support for up to four Serial ATA and four Parallel ATA hard drives simultaneously.

READ MORE AT:

http://www.nvidia.com/page/nforce3.html

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[Terry Penrod]

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The last two PCs I've owned have been Alienwares. I absolutely love them, as they come (relatively) purged of all the crap that usually comes installed on new PCs. My favorite thing is the boot time - it's at the desktop in about 15-20 seconds! Everything runs fast, its very stable, and just a good gaming PC.

The only con I can think of is the immense amount of fan noise it creates. Even then, as Kalbrecht suggested, a good pair of headphones get rid of that minor problem. If I didn't have my heart set on a Powerbook for my next computer, I would be getting Alienwares for my next computer, too.


Just out of curiosity Logan and so that Gary has a more specific frame of reference about past and current Alienware PCs, what models did / do you own that generate so much fan noise? My new system is reasonably quiet, so perhaps they have made some recent changes to improve that aspect.

Cheers, Terry

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[RangerRick]

Hi Gary,

I would not get the FX53. Reason? Price/performance when compared to the +3400 AMD 64. Your only getting about a 10% improvement in some areas for twice the price. Put the savings into getting the 10k rpm disks for better speed

One other very important thing to be aware of: AMD is coming out with a new faster chip very soon. That should drop the price of the current chips.

Have fun deciding.

[Terry Penrod]

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Yes, I just read a ZDnet Anchor Desk blurb this morning about a set of four new AMD 64 CPUs that were just announced. So it would seem well worth a short wait to see what they are all about and to at least read the initial comparative tests results / reviews.

Cheers, Terry

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[DanTheManPR]

Put the savings into getting the 10k rpm disks for better speed

If you get fast SCSI disks, keep in mind that you will be getting alot fewer Gigs than you would normaly get, for a higher price. If you need the space, I would not recommend those fast drives. But if you find that you don't really use too many Gigs of HD space, then get those fast SCSI drives! They will make everything a lot faster (Unreal Tournament 2004 loads really fast on my amigo's SCSI HD).

[Ojnod]

He was probably referring to the WD 36 or 74 gig raptors. But either way, most people get those then run the OS along with vital apps on it and all storage is done on another drive.

[Drewby]

Gary, on the sound side, if you get a good surround sound card, you can buy a set of Zalman 5.1 surround headphones (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=36-501-001&depa=0).

As far as the PCI-X stuff goes, I had a response to Drewby's respones to my response and decided it wasn't necessary. You sound like you've got the system you want. :)

Gen, Gen, Gen....

PCI-X isn't the same as PCI-Express, just to clear that up.

PCI-X is the next generation PCI.

:wink:

[0x64657200 0x6A61636B616C00]

Gen, Gen, Gen....

PCI-X isn't the same as PCI-Express, just to clear that up.

PCI-X is the next generation PCI.

:wink:

Sorry for using internal shorthand. Sorry for the confusion. :)

[0x64657200 0x6A61636B616C00]

Weeell, look what's available today; Alienware ALX (http://www.alienware.com/ALX_pages/aurora_alx.aspx)

You should see if you can't squeeze a little bit more in to your budget ;)

[DanTheManPR]

http://www.alienware.com/Images/alx_pages/gallery_default.jpg

Cool!

But five grand is nothing to laugh at.

[Gary V.]

Weeell, look what's available today; Alienware ALX (http://www.alienware.com/ALX_pages/aurora_alx.aspx)

You should see if you can't squeeze a little bit more in to your budget ;)
I have priced most of those parts and can have my friend build almost the exact same system for around $3000.

I am starting to lean towards an Athlon 64 3500 socket 939. The $500 pricetag would save me a ton and with the savings of around $300 I'm looking at getting the Klipsch 5.1 speakers from Newegg. I'm also probably going to get the Raptor 72 gig hd.

I am leaning towards the 6800 ultra rather than the X800. The 6800 looks to have more longevity.

What's the best ram?

[Terry Penrod]

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I knew this would happen the minute I bought a top-end Alienware gaming rig. That thing makes my Area 51 Extreme look like a three-legged mongrel mutt with one bad eye. Yeesh, all it needs is a window in front and it could probably fly a manned mission to Mars.

Oh well, at least I didn't spend anywhere near five grand on mine, so it doesn't hurt quite so much. But still... egads is that PC cool or what?

Cheers, Terry

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[Terry Penrod]

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I have priced most of those parts and can have my friend build almost the exact same system for around $3000.

I am starting to lean towards an Athlon 64 3500 socket 939. The $500 pricetag would save me a ton and with the savings of around $300 I'm looking at getting the Klipsch 5.1 speakers from Newegg. I'm also probably going to get the Raptor 72 gig hd.

I am leaning towards the 6800 ultra rather than the X800. The 6800 looks to have more longevity.

What's the best ram?


Not to keep peppering you with personal endorsements but I also have those same Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 speakers and they are very good. You'll LOVE them!

Cheers, Terry

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[0x64657200 0x6A61636B616C00]

I have priced most of those parts and can have my friend build almost the exact same system for around $3000.

I am starting to lean towards an Athlon 64 3500 socket 939. The $500 pricetag would save me a ton and with the savings of around $300 I'm looking at getting the Klipsch 5.1 speakers from Newegg. I'm also probably going to get the Raptor 72 gig hd.

I am leaning towards the 6800 ultra rather than the X800. The 6800 looks to have more longevity.

What's the best ram?


RAM is a religious question honestly. I would say, stick with a fairly recognizable name brand, buy matched pairs and since you're brewing your own PC, check website for the manufacturer of your motherboard; some are starting to put up "approved" brands.

Me, I'm a Kingston man. Not because it's better or cheaper, I've just never had a problem w/ it.

[Logan]

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Just out of curiosity Logan and so that Gary has a more specific frame of reference about past and current Alienware PCs, what models did / do you own that generate so much fan noise? My new system is reasonably quiet, so perhaps they have made some recent changes to improve that aspect.

Cheers, Terry

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Sure Terry.

I got this Alienware around January this year. It's a P4 3.0 Ghz, honestly I don't remember much else off the top of my head. It has i think three fans installed, all of them running. Now that I think about it, it is significantly quieter than my last Alienware (which I purchased early 2001), but it's still noticeably loader than say a Dell. It's not terrible, but it's enough so that if I'm sitting at the computer, I would need to turn up the stereo above what it would be with the comp off such that I can hear it while on the computer. You're probably right, it wouldn't surprise me at all if they have been making improvements on their noisiness. My first experience with an Alienware was in 1998 or so, and that thing was LOUD. Maybe they're getting better with it. Regardless, if it's too loud for anyone, it's a simple task of installing new fans, or even simply disconnecting one.

[Logan]

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Not to keep peppering you with personal endorsements but I also have those same Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 speakers and they are very good. You'll LOVE them!

Cheers, Terry

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I have the same speakers, absolutely love them. In my (limited) experience, Klipsch has always been the best for me.

[Ojnod]

While we are at it, I will pimp the Klipsch's too, as I also have them.

[Kalbrecht]

Gary. More Klipsch loving over here. I have the 4.1s and they are incredible.

But honestly? For your needs I wouldn't get them. They are awesome speakers, but if you're thinking of headphone gaming, you won't need something too high end. Get the much cheaper Logitechs or Creatives (both of which still make excellent speaker sets), get awesome headphones, and put the extra $$$ to other hardware, or better yet, gaming.

On the RAM side - Kingston is good, reliable stuff. Corsair is good (I use it now) and GeIL is apparently very good too. Name brand stuff, naturally.

[Terry Penrod]

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If budget is a problem or if the money would simply be better spent elsewhere, I have also read some pretty darn good reviews on the latest Logitech surround sound systems like the Z-2200's and the Z-5300's that cost a LOT less than top-end Klipsch speakers.

Last time I saw a retail price on the first of the above models, they were under $150 and may even be cheaper by now.

Cheers, Terry

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[Ojnod]

Z-5300

I have these too, I would pimp them also. I hear the 2200 are great for 2.1 sound.

[Gary V.]

I figure I'm gonna get more than I probably need because I'm in a unique situation in which I will probably never again have this much money to spend on a computer. I'm pretty set on the FX-53 now; I'm just waiting on 939 motherboards to come out. Still torn between the 6800 and the x800. Definitely gonna get a 21 inch monitor.

What I'm liking is going with all this great stuff is still running well under 3K. This is how I think I can slip in those Klipsch speakers.

[Terry Penrod]

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For a real bargain on 19" and 21" CRT displays, look into the ViewSonic UltraBrites. I have one for the spare gaming PC and it's terrific for the small price I paid for it. They also consistently get solid user ratings, good quality / value reviews and can be bought online and off almost anywhere these days. A good friend who also does tons of high-end 2D PC graphics for me also uses a pair of them in tandem at his office and he has toiled away on those same two monitors for several years worth of extra long days now with nary a hitch. So evidently they last quite a while too.

Cheers, Terry

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