Build me a (HL2) gaming machine!

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

I was looking on eBuyer.co.uk yesterday to cost up the components for building a new machine ready for HL2 in September/October. Then it occurred to me I hadn't the foggiest about what to buy for it, as I've been out of the PC tech loop for over a year.

Anyone got some idea how to build a new base unit (with hard drive, DVD burner, CPU, mobo and video card) which'll be close to or under the £1000 mark?

[Jagermeister]

Lose the DVD burner if you want a good HL2 gaming rig for under £1000

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

Heh good point... what core components would be good for it though? I honestly have no idea who's leading the hardware pack these days.

[TrueWeltall]

Well im getting a Dell 4600 with all the goodies and save 400$ but thats just me. Go with a Nforce 2 mobo and a bart chip :P

[Dave]

Well im upgrading in the Summer to this..

Intel Pentium 4 3.0CGhz

Abit IC7-G Max-2 Advance

OCZ 512mb PC3200

Processor speaks for itself, motherboard is pretty much top of the range. Memory is the best make available, and fast too. I totalled it at around £620, so you got just under £400 to share between a Vid card (most likely an ATI Radion 9800 Pro. which can be gotten for around £300) then you got the rest to spend on a speedy Hard Disk, bearing in mind it doesn't have to be huge, this is just to play HL on, right? :E

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

Well, buying such a thing (just) for HL2 wouldn't be very forward thinking of me. ;)

Hard drives aren't really a problem though. You can get a decent 120GB one for about £70, although I've been advised to stay away from IBM/Hitachi's 'Pixie Dust' models 'cos they wear out faster than their peers.

[Ridic]

theres a very slim difference of waht is the best and what is great. dont get a machine with 3.0 GHz, it would waste ur money. like i stated in a different thread. i could run aa 2.0 Ghz machine faster then someone could run a 3.0GHz machine. processor speed just dosnt matter like it used too. but my recomendations for a cpu is anywhere from 2.0-2.8GHz, what ever u can afford, get at least a gig of ddr ram. pc2100 or higher is good. im getting a new pc too and it comes out to almost $1,100>

Athlon XP 2400+ $98.00
Abit-Kd7 motherboard $87.50
Crucial Micron 2048mb PC2700 RAM $248.00 (for FOUR 512 sticks)
Antec 430W True Power Supply $82.99
Radeon 9800 pro 128 meg $395.00
Western Digital 120 gig special edition $121.00
Lite On 52x24x52 CDRW Drive $43.00
Sony DDU1621 DVD-Rom Drive Black $39.00
Hercules GameSurround Fortissimo III 7.1 $46.00
3.5" Floppy Drive $11.00
Vantec's Aeroflow CPU cooler $32.00

Total w/o case- $1079.49

no matter what speed u get, i recomend AMD, if this pc will be for gaming it be better to get amd considering they are faster then most pentiums at there match speed. for a video card....well depends. if the minimum req for hl2 is a tnt card....then u have plenty of options. im getting a 9800 pro cause i want things pretty. i dont know what HL2 will preform like on any system yet, but i bet you could get a good 50-70 fps on a medium style setting with a 9500 pro.

[Ridic]

its just so funny to see people wasting their money on things that they think is the best where no game needs, and when it dose, the price will be down. my system im getting can run faster then any brand name 3.0GHz computer. maybe if u got like money out the shizam, then go ahead and buy the most expensive shiznit u can find. whatever u do....dont buy a brand name pc, im sure u wont though.

[Dave]

Yeah, I was thinking that, may as well get a 2.8 AMD Set-up, much, much cheaper than the Intel method, and not much drop in performance, either. And the saved pennies can go towards a 9800 Pro. ;)

Also, Brand name pc's suck, yeah. But they are freakin' cheap sometimes. Cheaper than i've seen getting all the components seperatly, even if they're all OEM. :\

[Ridic]

Originally posted by Dave
Yeah, I was thinking that, may as well get a 2.8 AMD Set-up, much, much cheaper than the Intel method, and not much drop in performance, either. And the saved pennies can go towards a 9800 Pro. ;)

exactly dave....amd is cheaper and u definitly wouldnt see a decrease in performance at all. of course cpu speed matters but its mostly ur other stuff that makes or breaks a good pc....for instance-my brother has a 1.3GHz machine and his pc boots up twice as fast as my current one which is 1.7Ghz...but my computer is a brand name one that dosnt exactly own when u look inside

[Dave]

My computer was a brand Gateway, couldn't tell now though, looking at the oh so pretty Lian Li case ;)

[Ridic]

yea lian li are nice, i was thinking of buying one. im in the process of looking for cases now. its a bit harder since i need to find one without a power supply.

[Dave]

As far as I know, hardly any Lian Li or Coolermaster cases come with a power supply. Lian-Li are nice and cheaper alternative to Coolermaster.

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
no matter what speed u get, i recomend AMD, if this pc will be for gaming it be better to get amd considering they are faster then most pentiums at there match speed.

Yeah right, Intel = faster fsb + raw power + money
AMD = slow fsb + Moderate power + heat

If your spending atleast 1000+ go with intel.

[Ridic]

some antecs, and thermal takes come without psu's. i was going to buy the antec whatever because it was really nice with a metalic color and a side panal window....then i realized it had 10 drive bays....wtf am i going to need 10 disk drive bays.....what a waste of case.

[Ridic]

Originally posted by TrueWeltall
Yeah right, Intel = faster fsb + raw power + money
AMD = slow fsb + Moderate power + heat

If your spending atleast 1000+ go with intel.

fsb speed dosnt really matter....its not noticeable unless u got like 100 or lower....and yes, if u do get an AMD get a cpu fan in too.

[Jagermeister]

http://www.de.tomshardware.com/cpu/20011030/images/aufmacher.jpg

[Dave]

Uh, Hunter, why on earth do you need 2GB of Ram?

[Ridic]

cause i get ram for free so i might as well fill my mobo up as much as i can.

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

No way am I buying something branded hehe. The last time I bought a branded computer was eight years ago. :)

But I've noticed that the Athlon '2800+' and the 2.8GHz P4 are competitively priced (£163 vs. £218). Which one's the best to go for? Also, what's going to be the most upgradable in the future? I've got the impression that the Pentium is better in performance terms and the extra bus speed obviously makes other components run faster.

[Ridic]

well still amd is cheaper....um i dont know, but my buddies athlon xp 2200+ smoked his friends P4 2.2.................so i dont know, but id go with pentium ( and a cpu fan--$30)

[bonanzaguy]

BOOOOO!! AMD + ATI == t3h pwnz0r

[Jagermeister]

The best proc to get for you money would be an Athlon XP 2500 Barton. The cheapest I've seen'em for is $96. I got mine running at the speed of a 2800 just by increasing the mulitpliers alone. If I wanted to... I can easily overclock it to a 3000

You too, Ridic. Ditch the 2400 and get 2500. It'll still be within your budget.

[Ridic]

ill look into it....

[Dave]

Originally posted by Jager
The best proc to get for you money would be an Athlon XP 2500 Barton. The cheapest I've seen'em for is $96. I got mine running at the speed of a 2800 just by increasing the mulitpliers alone. If I wanted to... I can easily overclock it to a 3000

You too, Ridic. Ditch the 2400 and get 2500. It'll still be within your budget.

Surely it would be easier to up the FSB instead?

[Jagermeister]

Originally posted by Dave
Surely it would be easier to up the FSB instead?
Yea, of course, but I only have PC2700 RAM and if I rasied my FSB I'd also have to increase my memory timings and increase the memory voltage, which I don't want. When I upgrade to 3500 RAM I'll go over 400MHz FSB.

[Dave]

Ooh well. /me gets out Silver Paint.

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

CPU - P4 2.667GHz £162
512MB RAM - Crucial DDR3000 £70
Motherboard - Abit IC7 £111 (dabs.com)
Video Card - Radeon 9800 Pro £345
Hard disk - Maxtor DM9 Pro 120GB 8MB Cache £100
Floppy drive - £5
DVD ROM - £30
Case £20
(DVD Burner) - Panasonic dual format (£160)
Total - £845
(£1005)

What say you all? I can still fit a DVD burner in just over £1000. :)

[subs]

and dont forget the 24" trinitron monitor and Creative labs 6.1 megaworks to go with that uber fast pc.

[Jagermeister]

What kind of case did you get for £20?

[Dave]

A ridiculously cheap and horrid OEM one I imagine. Still, I assume the PSU is included within the £20 for the case? :E

[Murray_H]

£20? it better not be beige....

[Dave]

You might want to rethink the PSU actually.. Cheap 300w PSU - £20 minimum.

I'd hate to think of what you are getting with your £20 case, but I bet it won't be able to power a 2.6Ghz and ATI Radion 9800 Pro.

[Ridic]

ur machine wont run with a 300w machine, id bet ull get horrid restarts and random shut downs. thats why i orderd a 420W psu seperatly.

[Jagermeister]

True. You cannot go low-budget when it comes to picking out a power supply. It's one of the most important components in your PC. You have to look for a name brand a PSU and not generic.

Here's a list of good PSU mfg's. Just do a google search for them.
ANTEC
ENERMAX
PC POWER & COOLING

[Dave]

I have a 350w Enermax. Whats d'yu guys reckon the limit of what that can handle is?

[Ridic]

im seperatly buying an antec true power supply 420W. the only reason that i didnt want to buy one with a case is because only limited cases have that high of a psu. plus, i want to get anycase i want.

[TrueWeltall]

486 @ 50mhz with 16 megs of ram, any faster and it will sink :P

[Dave]

Hahaha :smoking:

[Ridic]

its funny how people react to things now a days. Its funny how many people are followers and how little leaders there are. Anything someone sees, they have to have it to brag...Anything people see or hear that is cool or funny, automaticly relate it to themselves when talking to people even if its a lie. They make up lies just so people that they have never met will think they are cool because something was funny. id bet u dont have a 486 and are just posting that because of what the guy said in the 22 min video. it was funny. people tkae it and lie about things and its not funny. maybe u do have a 486, i dont care but u wouldnt have posted that if that guy never made a comment about them. little things just piss me off like that, and know i have finally figured out why i am looking forward to HL2 single player more than multiplayer.....i dont think i like most people. maybe u were just joking, but i just want to kill someone. not just because of 1 stupid comment but because of how stupid people are. jesus everyone is stupid including myself and i hate it. mankind ****ing sucks, or at least america, now i know why ever other country practicly hate america.

[Dave]

Woah dude, it was just a joke. I asked what my PSU could handle and he joked about an answer? At least, thats what I got from it. :E

[Nostradamus]

havent read all the posts so may be said before :)
Get the Pentium 4 3.06 with Hyper-Threading.
This will make a hyge diffrence when multitasking, since it's theoretacly 2 proccesors :)
and the wait for either new ATI or Geforce.
get 1024 DDR RAM, and your loading speeds will be non existant.
Some good motherboard...im not sure about that...
and a maxtor HDD... i have only had good experiences with them :)

[Ridic]

i know.............................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................................. ..........................................................................but people just suck sometimes. its jut the way i think...i guess i look at things in a different prespective then other people.

[FireBall]

take a chill pill my man :cool: :farmer: :smoking: :dozey:

[Dave]

:eek:

You alright mate? You seem pretty down.

Tbh, everyone sees things in a different perspective, so don't worry about it. :)

[Ridic]

Originally posted by Nostradamus
havent read all the posts so may be said before :)
Get the Pentium 4 3.06 with Hyper-Threading.
This will make a hyge diffrence when multitasking, since it's theoretacly 2 proccesors :)
and the wait for either new ATI or Geforce.
get 1024 DDR RAM, and your loading speeds will be non existant.
Some good motherboard...im not sure about that...
and a maxtor HDD... i have only had good experiences with them :)

damn u know how to waste money dont you.

first thing....god all mighty u dont need a 3.06Ghz cpu.....they are like soo overpriced when u cant even tell the difference between a 2.8GHz AMD. 1024ddr is a good choice...buying a card that might come out in september is a waste of money....no game needs them yet...and when they do the price will have dropped. dont pay $500+ for a v-card that will get u the same preformance in a game as a 9800 pro or a top of the line fx. its jut not worth it and i cant stress it enough. people tend to think the most expensive is the best and that just isnt so.

[Dave]

Can you actually get a 2.8Ghz AMD? I'm thinking that would be like 3600+ or something.

Well i'm off t' bed. Night all!

:)

[Jagermeister]

Originally posted by TrueWeltall
486 @ 50mhz with 16 megs of ram, any faster and it will sink :P

Make sure you update your drivers before you play HL2 :cheese:

[Nostradamus]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
its funny how people react to things now a days. Its funny how many people are followers and how little leaders there are. Anything someone sees, they have to have it to brag...Anything people see or hear that is cool or funny, automaticly relate it to themselves when talking to people even if its a lie. They make up lies just so people that they have never met will think they are cool because something was funny. id bet u dont have a 486 and are just posting that because of what the guy said in the 22 min video. it was funny. people tkae it and lie about things and its not funny. maybe u do have a 486, i dont care but u wouldnt have posted that if that guy never made a comment about them. little things just piss me off like that, and know i have finally figured out why i am looking forward to HL2 single player more than multiplayer.....i dont think i like most people. maybe u were just joking, but i just want to kill someone. not just because of 1 stupid comment but because of how stupid people are. jesus everyone is stupid including myself and i hate it. mankind ****ing sucks, or at least america, now i know why ever other country practicly hate america.

haha sry that's just hilarious... maybe you just want to think everyone sucks, becaus you want to be different?...because you want to be in focus...gah.. anyways... relax..no one ever said anything to provoke you to freak out like that :)
Besides..if there were no mankind, you wouldn't be here...and THAT would suck right?
And what is that about America exactly? explain please.

[Jagermeister]

Originally posted by Dave
Can you actually get a 2.8Ghz AMD? I'm thinking that would be like 3600+ or something.

Well i'm off t' bed. Night all!

:)

I've seen peeps overclock a 2100 (1.7Ghz) to over 3Ghz on water though. Almost impossible on air cooling.

[Dave]

Almost, eh?

How about a case full of ridiculously fast Delta fans? :E

[Nostradamus]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
damn u know how to waste money dont you.

first thing....god all mighty u dont need a 3.06Ghz cpu.....they are like soo overpriced when u cant even tell the difference between a 2.8GHz AMD. 1024ddr is a good choice...buying a card that might come out in september is a waste of money....no game needs them yet...and when they do the price will have dropped. dont pay $500+ for a v-card that will get u the same preformance in a game as a 9800 pro or a top of the line fx. its jut not worth it and i cant stress it enough. people tend to think the most expensive is the best and that just isnt so.

Dunno...just something i learnt.. after 2 years, you will be happy that you bought it... i have my stupid 800 mhz... it was TOP when i got it..after a year i couldnt run half the games out... so im just thinking forward..thats all
and yes you WILL see a difference...of course not if it is a gaming only computer, but i doubt it... most people i know use a lot of multi tasking and, it really is effective with hyper threading... at leat i think(i don't have one...my brother does...)

[tokin]

hunter did mention earlier that the more he plays multiplayer fps games then the more he wants to kill someone (in real life)

[Ridic]

haha. back off, im dangerous.

[Argyll]

I've got a:

Athlon 2200+
512MB RAM
80GB Hard Drive
ATI Radeon 7000 32MB 3D Card

I think I am fine... except in terms of a shite 3d card. I am going to get an ATI 9800 Pro after the summer closer to the time of release.

To me, that's the ideal machine ;)

[TrueWeltall]

I do happen to have an IBM 486 @ 50mhz with 16 megs of ram and a 250meg HD, Its used for sewing machine software downstairs. Its my first computer when i was about 6 and played doom, then at 1998 i got a new one. Now your 420W psu will power just about all you could want in a normal computer fine with no oc'ing.
Just like Nostradamus im on a Dell L800R (p3 800mhz) and when i get a new computer im going all out except for the sound card. My aim is a Dell 4600 with 9800, I'll buy the rest from newegg (mem, sound, speaker, moniter maybe). Mainly because of the discounts you get with a small company.

[Ridic]

Originally posted by TrueWeltall
I do happen to have an IBM 486 @ 50mhz with 16 megs of ram and a 250meg HD, Its used for sewing machine software downstairs. Its my first computer when i was about 6 and played doom, then at 1998 i got a new one. Now your 420W psu will power just about all you could want in a normal computer fine with no oc'ing.
Just like Nostradamus im on a Dell L800R (p3 800mhz) and when i get a new computer im going all out except for the sound card. My aim is a Dell 4600 with 9800, I'll buy the rest from newegg (mem, sound, speaker, moniter maybe). Mainly because of the discounts you get with a small company.

420W normal, no not really.....its the second highest amound u can get besides 500...

[subs]

aite does radeon new ones come with DVI OUT

[Jagermeister]

Originally posted by subs
aite does radeon new ones come with DVI OUT

All new cards have DVI out.

[$pazmatazz]

For those who think AMD is so much faster than intel.., you haven't been keeping up with things.

1. Intel just cranked up the 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8GHz P4's with 800MHz FSB and Hyper-Threading. AMD chips at the same speed (or "+" speed) cannot compete preformance wise with these chips. Toms Hardware Guide (http://www.tomshardware.com/) see's AMD's CPU modeling number system as now completely innacurate. AMD's new 3200+ processor performed at about the same level as a 2.8GHz P4 with 800MHz Bus and HT. Moving over to another site, Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com/), shows the 3200+ doing a little better, but still being outperformed by the new 3.0GHz P4. There should be, according to the "+" numbering system of AMD's, the equivalent of a 200MHz difference between those two CPU's, thus resulting in definate better performance, but this is not the case.

2. A larger FSB is quite important *looks at [Hunter]Ridic*. Increasing the memory bandwith largely increases system performance, as it allows a larger throughput of data. Standard benchmarking tests clearly show the benefits of 800MHz FSB.

3. Hyper-Threading is a HUGE attractive feature. At most you can see benefits up to about 25-30%, and within an already high clocked processor, this is very good.

I recommend Intel for sure. Look at the 2.8C GHz P4's. If you're into overclocking, many have already taken that CPU and clocked it up to 3.2GHz with standard air cooling.

[infin|ty]

Hunter forgot his meds.

On the topic at hand: I would say get a P4 with the 800MHz FSB. Atleast 512MB of DUAL DDR ram, 1GHz is slowly becoming more accepted, simply because many new games (even older ones such as BF1942 can utilize that much easily) take advantage of it. If you want to be able to run HL2 w/ all goodies on, at high resolutions with good frames, R9800 or 5900FX are your choices.

If your only concern is running HL2, wait till September to build your system. You can get much faster components for less. However if you are intersted in playing Star Wars: Galaxies (SWG) or other games which are coming out this summer, by all means, upgrade now.

[Vertigo]

Hmmm...I'm wondering...which one would you guys go for? (and do you think 80 gigs of HD space and 512 megs of RAM is enough?)

1)
-Intel Pentium 4 Processor 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache w/Hyper-Threading
-Intel D875PBZ - Intel 875P Pentium 4 Motherboard

OR

2)
AMD Athlon XP Processor 3000+ - $140 Instant Rebate
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe - NVIDIA® nForce2 SPP Motherboard DDR

Which one's better? The second is almost $200 less, and the nForce2 mobo has always interested me...I would save more money because I wouldn't have to worry about a sound card...but I just don't know. Any help would be appreciated.

-Vert

[infin|ty]

I personally am a fan of Intel. So naturally I would go for the first system. I will be getting a new system soon, within a couple weeks, and the stats are:

P4 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB w/ HT
Intel D875PBZ Chipset
1GB DDR SDRAM PC-3200 (dual channel)
240GB Seagate Barracude 7200.7 SATA - RAID 0
Plextor 48/24/48 CDRW
16X CD-ROM
Radeon 9800Pro
SB Audigy 2
XP Pro

Now you may say this is a waste of money. I disagree. I currently have a P4 1.3GHz and a GeForce 3 and it's starting to fall behind. I personally prefer to pay more and upgrade less. I realize you can buy a middle of the road system for less, and upgrade more frequently and still run most games with good FPS. I however have a job, can afford to purchase a higher end PC, less frequently. I enjoy having the best technology out, then OC'ing/tweaking it further. It's part of the enjoyment for me. I wouldn't enjoy buying a 2.4GHz P4 and a Ti4600. That's boring for me. Overkill? Yah. Fun? Hell yah.

[Vertigo]

Hmmm...just out of curiosity, is that system you're getting parts you ordered, or is a company making it? Because if a company is making it, it looks an awful lot like a certain Alienware system...what with the Barracude and Plextor stuff....maybe it's just me though and my Alienware fanboyism (yes, I've finally come to accept it).

-Vert

[Killerlagger]

I'm buying a new rig in September when I go to UK for Uni (if i get the grades :P) basically:

P4 3.0 Ghz 800mhz FSB
1Gig of DDR ram (probably 3000+)
120 GB 7200 RPM Harddisk (Seagate prob)
Either Radeon 9800 pro or Geforce FX 5900 which ever is a better performer
48x/24x/48x CD-RW
16x DVD-Rom
Soundblaster Live! Audigy 2

Now about motherboards anyone have a recommendation I could look out for?

Oh and any UK peeps could tell where's the best place to buy online in the UK?

[skogum!]

I say...NEVER! Never buy a dell or anything prebuilt. Always build it yourself, otherwise it will suck! Anyone that thinks not please give me a reason why to buy a prebuilt! :bounce:

[skogum!]

Originally posted by Killerlagger
I'm buying a new rig in September when I go to UK for Uni (if i get the grades :P) basically:

P4 3.0 Ghz 800mhz FSB
1Gig of DDR ram (probably 3000+)
120 GB 7200 RPM Harddisk (Seagate prob)
Either Radeon 9800 pro or Geforce FX 5900 which ever is a better performer
48x/24x/48x CD-RW
16x DVD-Rom
Soundblaster Live! Audigy 2

Now about motherboards anyone have a recommendation I could look out for?

Oh and any UK peeps could tell where's the best place to buy online in the UK?



Abit is pretty stable and fast. Check it out at www.abit.com.tw!

:bounce:

[Bad^Hat]

What would you recommend is a good videocard for me to get? I'm running an AMD 2200+ so I don't wanna bottleneck... But from what I've seen this CPU's actually pretty good. Would a 9800 pro be realistic or am I being a bit silly? :o

[skogum!]

A 9800pro would be perfect but I have a geforce4 ti4200 64mb 8xAGP and i think it will run gr8 as everything else! :bounce:

[TrueWeltall]

I was going to build an intel system until i found out its cheaper to get a dell (but buying more ram or a bigger hd or an extra cd rom from them is a rip off). Radeon 9800 (non-pro) 110$ easy to oc to pro speeds.

[skogum!]

Originally posted by TrueWeltall
Radeon 9800 (non-pro) 110$ easy to oc to pro speeds.

True but if HL2 will use it alot it may burn....thats why its better to buy a stable card.....

:bounce: :bounce:

[TrueWeltall]

Its the same exact thing as a pro just underclocked, Go read the dell forums.

[skogum!]

So its the same cooler too? Thats just stupidity....

:bounce:

[TrueWeltall]

Buying new cards with new hsf seems like itd be more trouble for dell, they buy them in the millions i bet. Its not stupid, One guy oc'ed his to pro speeds just fine. Although not many people post about oc'ing on the dell forums :\

[skogum!]

So they make money on ppl that are to scared to Overclock?

:bounce:

[TrueWeltall]

Sure why not? Or the person doesnt know better, OC'ing will get you a better 3d mark score but you still beable to max it out in games.

[Dave]

Surely though, if you can overclock a non-pro to a pro, you can overclock a pro to something even more powerfull? :)

[skogum!]

Can I oc my geforce4ti4200 64mb 8xAGP to a ti4600?

[TrueWeltall]

skogum!-You dont understand anything do you?
Dave- Anything past 400mhz and it turns fugly, i suppose if you use better cooling you could but then youd need to crank up the memory too ;) It'd be too much trouble to go through all that imo.

[skogum!]

So in other words.....NO! YOU MORON!

:bounce:

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by skogum!
So in other words.....NO! YOU MORON!

:bounce:

No i didnt say that but if theres a will theres a way. Go look at the crappy 70 unti ps2 super computer.

[skogum!]

huh? I didint understand.....

:bounce:

[TrueWeltall]

If there is a will there is a way, Some geeks (not flaming) made a super computer with 70 playstation 2 game consoles. So i guess anything is possible.

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

You might want to rethink the PSU actually.. Cheap 300w PSU - £20 minimum.

I'd hate to think of what you are getting with your £20 case, but I bet it won't be able to power a 2.6Ghz and ATI Radion 9800 Pro.

Nope. It's advertised as coming with a 350W PSU - I made sure of that. As for cases, I couldn't give a damn about the fascia - it'll just get hidden away under my desk in any case.

This is the one (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=46801).

[Murray_H]

Now thats what i call value for money

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

If PSU does become a problem, I can always get one of these (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3Jldmlld3M=&product_uid=34825) (noise isn't really a problem for me). :)

[Dave]

I had a feeling either Ebuyer or Dabs would be in the equation somewhere ;)

http://www.ebuyerdotcon.co.uk/ - Hilarious :E

[[Re4lity]Jeff]

Never had a single problem with ebuyer in 2 years of buying from them (and have never tried dabs, but ebuyer doesn't have some things), aside from one delivery that was a day late. I'll visit some computer fairs before I buy anything mail-order though - there's usually a good 10% that can be saved if you go to the right places.

[Ridic]

Originally posted by infin|ty
Hunter forgot his meds.

On the topic at hand: I would say get a P4 with the 800MHz FSB. Atleast 512MB of DUAL DDR ram, 1GHz is slowly becoming more accepted, simply because many new games (even older ones such as BF1942 can utilize that much easily) take advantage of it. If you want to be able to run HL2 w/ all goodies on, at high resolutions with good frames, R9800 or 5900FX are your choices.

If your only concern is running HL2, wait till September to build your system. You can get much faster components for less. However if you are intersted in playing Star Wars: Galaxies (SWG) or other games which are coming out this summer, by all means, upgrade now.

I'm a really nice person really. I just act all tough on an internet message board because my daddy has a gun.

[Jagermeister]

Originally posted by skogum!
Can I oc my geforce4ti4200 64mb 8xAGP to a ti4600?

I got mine running @ 4600 right now. See my sig.

[Ridic]

Originally posted by Jager
I got mine running @ 4600 right now. See my sig.

u wanna tell us how u oc it to that? i currently have a ti4200 as well.

[Jagermeister]

You don't know?

I attached the latest one.

http://www.overclockers.com.au/techstuff/a_coolbits/

http://www.nvnews.net/files/graphics/screenshots/coolbits_1.gif

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
yea fag lets all go out and pay for a $200 overpriced P4 that my old system can beat the shit out of.

Stop dreaming and go chill out.

[Ridic]

sorry it seems ppl tend to think that the most expensive is the best and for this case that aint true.

[Ridic]

..anyway, jager i was able to get my ti 4200 up to 300MHz core speed and 600 for memory speed...much higher i would get snow and wang ching mouses etc...

[TrueWeltall]

Let them think what they will, its there money to spend.

[Jagermeister]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
..anyway, jager i was able to get my ti 4200 up to 300MHz core speed and 600 for memory speed...much higher i would get snow and wang ching mouses etc...

Good, once you start to notice artifacts/snow, it's recommended that you lower the memory setting 5Mhz at a time until artifacts are gone. If you notice freezing lower the core speed 5Mhz at a time until it's stable. you should be good a 300|600. Loop 3dmark for an hour or two to test stability.

[Ridic]

yea, im pretty much at 300|600 now. seems all good now, i improved 15-20 fps in dod alone...

[$pazmatazz]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
yea fag lets all go out and pay for a $200 overpriced P4 that my old system can beat the shit out of.

You've gotta love ignorance..

Even after we explain to him that P4's, albeit priced a bit higher, do perform better than Athlon's. Just go here (http://www.tomshardware.com/) or here (http://www.anandtech.com/) and read please.

[infin|ty]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
yea fag lets all go out and pay for a $200 overpriced P4 that my old system can beat the shit out of.

What is your 3Dmark01 score? 3DMark03? Don't resent people who can afford Intel chips.

[EVIL]

AMD's perform better on a mhz basis. they get more speed out of a mhz then the pentiums. 2.1 ghz AMD beats out a 2.8 ghz pentium. and the test of the Athlon 64 gave an even better result. a 1.7 ghz AMD Athlon 64 had managed to beat a 2.8 ghz Pentium. so eat on that pentium fanboys!

edit I changed the 3.2 ghz to 2.8. my mistake. but anyway. if i calculated it right then the AMD Athlon 64 have 70 % more speed per mhz then the pentiums

[TrueWeltall]

Id like to see some benchmarks because i saw some cpu benchmarks yesterday that killed AMD. at anandtech

[Bad^Hat]

AMD = \m/

Although I've heard they overate the Bench speeds on some of their later CPU's. The XP 3200+ runs at 2.2ghz... um...

[EVIL]

the 3200+ sucks. its to expencive and its equally fast as the 3000+ wich is 150 euro's cheaper.

[nerdcorerocks]

what was that about cheaper amd's whooping pentiums? sure that used to be the case but not any more.... http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030521/800fsb-09.html#opengl_benchmarks and http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030521/800fsb-10.html

[EVIL]

I was talking about the 64 bit AMD's but AMD still has way more performance per mhz, but pentium is king ATM

[bonanzaguy]

n3g. AMD == t3h pwnz0r

[simmo]

dang right

AMD = 0wnz

[Jagermeister]

0WN3D...

http://www.de.tomshardware.com/cpu/20011030/images/aufmacher.jpg

[infin|ty]

Originally posted by EVIL
AMD's perform better on a mhz basis. they get more speed out of a mhz then the pentiums. 2.1 ghz AMD beats out a 2.8 ghz pentium. and the test of the Athlon 64 gave an even better result. a 1.7 ghz AMD Athlon 64 had managed to beat a 2.8 ghz Pentium. so eat on that pentium fanboys!

edit I changed the 3.2 ghz to 2.8. my mistake. but anyway. if i calculated it right then the AMD Athlon 64 have 70 % more speed per mhz then the pentiums

That's like saying Hondas get more HP per liter. That's all well and good, but who cares when they put out 150HP. Cobra > efficient Honda. Athlon 64 won't change much. Unless you are running a 64-bit app, and moreover, a 64-bit OS, the performance gains are minimal. Another 2-3 years before there is any sizable amount of 64-bit software.

[nerdcorerocks]

well i'm just saying, at this point in time if you want a higher end processor pentiums are the better buy. you can get a cheaper intel processor that performs better than an amd which has a higher cost atm.

[Ridic]

wow, lets just refer to the most biased hardware guide out there and believe that its true for all u ppl that live and apparently die by it.. you know just because someone says something dosnt mean its true. Bill Gates could tell me that nvidia is better then ati(just an example) and id tell him to go suck a dick. i bet 3/4 of u bastard nubs havnt even used or experienced the shit u talk about so step the **** off. im not saying Pentiums are bad im saying some of u loosers are only think they dominate because its the most expensive thing and u know absolutly nothing about computers.

[TrueWeltall]

Ridic Intel is the best right now, accept the facts and FFS shutup.

[EVIL]

Intel isnt the best, AMD is. Intell is just the fastest ATM.
AMD 0wnz intel @ performance per mhz.

[Ridic]

Originally posted by TrueWeltall
Ridic Intel is the best right now, accept the facts and FFS shutup.

jesus christ true weltall u dont know jack shit go suck a cock

[Jagermeister]

Too much Proc Wars. You guys are going crazy :|

[nerdcorerocks]

haha you guys are crazy. why get so upset over processors...? either way, pentiums are definately the best moneywise and speedwise AT THIS POINT IN TIME. if amd comes out with something revolutionary soon (which i hope they do), then they will probably again be on top. simple as that.

[Ridic]

wow

[Ridic]

Originally posted by nerdcorerocks
either way, pentiums are definately the best moneywise

wow

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
jesus christ true weltall u dont know jack shit go suck a cock

Aww the little baby got mad. Shows how mature you are kiddie.


Begone!

[Ridic]

:( i need a rattle. u think i care what u say, boy?

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
:( i need a rattle. u think i care what u say, boy?

Yes you do care, if you didnt you would stop posting and act like a mature adult if you are one.

[Ridic]

man ur the one that told me to shut up in the first place cause of some shit u heard that u dont even know about, so u better watch what u say slut.

[$pazmatazz]

Geez Ridic..

First off all lets ditch clock speed for comparison. AMD themselves have made a point of not judging processors on clock speed alone with their "+" modeling system. Lets put your argument into perspective:

Say there was a 1.7GHz P4 for $150, and, lets say, a 1.5GHz (1700+) AMD for $150, and both CPU's performed EXACTLY the same (this is not true). Your argument would be that the AMD chip is better just because it's clocked lower. This is stupid. Why, if both are priced the same and perform the same, would one be better? It's just the way they're designed. "infin|ty" also made the point very clear with comparison to car engines.

If each company uses different units of measurement for each CPU, why compare them. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
no matter what speed u get, i recomend AMD, if this pc will be for gaming it be better to get amd considering they are faster then most pentiums at there match speed

Here we are again with the clock speed comparison. Clock for clock, yes, the AMD's are faster. But comparing them class for class, no, the P4's outperform in almost all areas.


well still amd is cheaper....um i dont know, but my buddies athlon xp 2200+ smoked his friends P4 2.2.................so i dont know, but id go with pentium ( and a cpu fan--$30)


Where are we here? What P4? Did it have a 400MHz FSB, or the newer 533MHz FSB? What operating systems were they both running? What background applications were running?

Yours isn't a relevant point.


first thing....god all mighty u dont need a 3.06Ghz cpu.....they are like soo overpriced when u cant even tell the difference between a 2.8GHz AMD.


This is quite far from the truth. The 3.06GHz P4 is the processor with the 533MHz FSB as opposed to the newer 800MHz bus, so the difference isn't as large. The 3.06 will however, outperform that 2800+ (which is what I'm assuming you meant by 2.8 AMD).

Now let me back that up. First off, here's benchmarking scores for gaming performance in UT2k3, shown at Anandtech (http://www.anandtech.com).

http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1810&p=8
Notice the 3.06 outperforming the 2800+, and also in this case, the 3000+.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1810&p=9
Here we are again in Quake III with the same thing.

Now at Toms Hardware Guide (http://www.tomshardware.com).

http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030521/800fsb-09.html
Keep looking through the benchmarks to see AMD to Intel comparisons, and the AMD's get smoked.


wow, lets just refer to the most biased hardware guide out there and believe that its true for all u ppl that live and apparently die by it..

I'm assuming you are talking about Toms Hardware guide, sinse you made this comment shortly after someone linked to their site.

First off, please tell me why you think they're biased. You do always see P4 chips outperforming AMD chips MUCH more at Toms then other places, which could be your reason for being biased, but there's a reason for this.

AMD is pushing reviewers to use custom software, undoubtedly optimized software, for the reviews. Not only that, but they're also pushing reviewers to use very specific hardware and firmware settings to bias the benchmarks even further. Toms harware pointed this out, and refused to do these things in their tests. As for other sites, I'm not sure.


i bet 3/4 of u bastard nubs havnt even used or experienced the shit u talk about so step the **** off. im not saying Pentiums are bad im saying some of u loosers are only think they dominate because its the most expensive thing and u know absolutly nothing about computers.

1. You need to settle down.

2. Where did any of us say or give the impression that we prefer Intel to AMD because we like to pay more? This is a stupid argument. We've consistantly given information and proof that, processor to processor, Intel is now the faster CPU.

Twice the FSB of the fastest AMD Chip, contains Hyper-Threading, definately cooler and has more optimizations for specific software than Athlons.

[Ridic]

dude wow so its faster...big deal...u can get the same quality out of a game with a 3.457 56745764578 Ghz P4 as a 2.4Ghz p4, or a 2400 amd.........................................................its pointless to pay for such a thing untill it is needed...see i dont make a gillion dollars, so im not going to buy the most expensive thing because its good. if i can get the same performance in a NEW game with something cheaper, lower, then whats the point? remember im trying to talk about HL2 and gaming here, not what preforms better in whatever other area...

[TrueWeltall]

Some people just dont get it.

[Ridic]

yeah, apparently, you.

[Insert]

girls stop fighting ;)

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
yeah, apparently, you.


Your a smart one.

[EVIL]

Lol.. Both your parents are now instructed to love you less

[Ridic]

Cause of parent's death...."Got in my way...."

[infin|ty]

Hi Ridic

http://members.cox.net/mechagrover/lumberg.jpg

[Ridic]

infinity....get a life

[TrueWeltall]

Originally posted by [Hunter]Ridic
infinity....get a life


Do you enjoy posting here? You need to chill out or leave. Your getting pretty annoying.

[SpuD]

Man, i just read EVERY SINGLE POST and I AM CONFUSED AS ****. Now, The two **** holes that are fighting, STFU! Your fighting eachother over companies that make processers. Now, remember, you two arent fighting, your like the pokemon guys and your poke ball dealies contain different companies and your having them fight it out. Yes, I did just make a reference to Pokemon, Yes I ****ing hate pokemon. So in other words... WHY CANT WE BE FRIENDS, WHY CAN WE BE FRIENDS.

[jinx]

someone said Dell... ha

[Ridic]

Originally posted by TrueWeltall
Do you enjoy posting here? You need to chill out or leave. Your getting pretty annoying.

yea sure...if u stop acting like im the only one doing it...

[Mr. Redundant]

hey now....
IM THE REDUNDANT ONE
and I feel so at home

[SpuD]

Alright, 10 pages of bitchin is enough.

[Blud Stane]

my HL2 rig:

AMD athlon 2.2 processor
radeon 9800 pro
1 gig ram
soundblaster 5.1

-i'd recommend ATI and AMD over pentium and nvidia any day. My dad's been building systems for 12 years, and I've been experimenting with every card I can get for 10. We've had pentium and amd side by side with equal processors and AMD is just faster loading, Intel P4 is good but you're paying for their cocky name. AMD doesn't overheat unless you're OCing :P

-as far as vid cards, it's a no brainer with ATI. They've leapfrogged Nvidia in the field with AMD 64 bit... but forget that, i'm basing my experience off the 2 geforce cards i have used that both overheated right out of the box. ATI has never given me a problem with the 4 cards i've tried. I'd strongly recommend AMD and ATI to anyone, they don't overheat, have frequent drivers that aren't hyped in benchmarks only :P

*i'm seriously amazed how people are defensive of their equipment, and just because they have a "X" piece of hardware they'll swear up and down it's the best. Try each piece yourself ;) Line up ATI = Nvidia and AMD = Pentium with equal specs and see yourself, if you had time keep them there and see which lasts longest without overheating during intense use