finally decided to get new system

[TwwIX]

Well,i've finally decided to get myself a new system and scrap the old one.

Old System Specs:
HP Pavilion Pentium 4 2.26 GHZ
WinXP Home Edition
1 Gig of Corsair Ram
9800 Pro 128 Mb (downclocked XT)
80 Gb HD
350 Watt PSU
onboard sound card blah blah Blah...pretty crappy,i know.
I bought it around 2002.
I had to replace most of the stuff in the past couple of years.
Anyway,this is the last time i bought a preconfigured system from a shite manufacturer such as HP.


too lazy to type it all myself,so here's a copy of my receipt instead

New System Specs:
CAS: HOT NEW! Xplorer Mid-Tower Case 420W W/ WINDOW & LCD Temperature Display
(Black Case w/Green Face)
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 660 CPU w/HT Technology 3.6GHZ 800FSB 2MB Cache,64 Bit
CD:SONY 16X DVD-ROM
FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 3 EXTRA CASE FANS
HDD: 200GB Hard Drive [+36] (SATA150 - Maxtor 200GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Hard Drive)
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5ND2-SLI nForce4 Chipset LGA775 DDR2/667 SATA RAID Dual PCIE
w/7.1Audio,GbLAN,&USB2
MEMORY: 2GB (4x512MB) PC4200 DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair)
POWERSUPPLY: NZXT PF-500 500Watt Power Supply
SOUND: ESS 3D WAVETABLE SOUND PCI
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 6800 GS 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD

Since i haven't been playing much attention to the hardware scene lately, i wasn't sure which graphics card i should pick.So i went with the Geforce 6800 GS cause i hear it's practically as good as the 6800 GT.

All of it, cost me around 1.250 USD.And i got to pick all hardware meself.

Anyway,i am not showing off here,not at all.
I just want to see what you guys think of it and tell me how much of a performance increase i can expect to get out of it.

Since this is a 64 bit based system,will i have to get the 64 bit version of the OS?I already got a working copy of XP Professional on me and i don't really want to shell out more money if it's not neccessary.Thx in advance.

 

[Ennui]

Looks good, and you don't need to get a 64 bit OS. 64 bit processor just means it's capable of running 64 bit applications.

 

[TwwIX]

Looks good, and you don't need to get a 64 bit OS. 64 bit processor just means it's capable of running 64 bit applications.

Well,that's good to know.

Thx for replying so quickly by the way.

 

[Asus]

Looks good, and you don't need to get a 64 bit OS. 64 bit processor just means it's capable of running 64 bit applications.

...on a 64bit OS.

Looks good.

 

[giant384]

is that pci sound card u have really better than the onboard? i dont see how it is

 

[Garfield_]

Id really change that P4 to an AMD 64 instead :>

 

[TwwIX]

is that pci sound card u have really better than the onboard? i dont see how it is

Any card's better then a integrated one.
As long as it's replaceable.It's fine for now.

 

[Ennui]

...on a 64bit OS.

Looks good.

Well, yeah

 

[giant384]

Any card's better then a integrated one.
As long as it's replaceable.It's fine for now.

lol not any card is better than intigrated

 

[Cole]

I'd just change to an AMD processor and an Amd motherboard.
I built my computer for $1200, reusing some old cd-rom drives and my HD.
Amd Athlon 3500+ Veince core(Better than yours)
A8N-SLI
Nvidia 7800GTX(Factory Overclocked and came with BF2).
Antec Truepower II 550Watt(High quality SLI made Power Supply)
1Gig Memory
$70 case.

My computer is super silent, runs nice, and would be quite faster than yours for the same price. I really would suggest Building a computer. Really allows you to get the most out of your money. The only problem I had was with the motherboard. Fan breaks down after 3 months....I just regreased it and it's fine.

 

[CyberPitz]

Id really change that P4 to an AMD 64 instead :>

Matter of opinion. Maybe he prefers Intel over AMD...like me.

Anyway, nice computer..I built this thing almost 2 years ago. My p4 2.8 ghz is still doing well, but I've since upgraded my video card from a 9600XT to an X800 GTO *which is soon going to have to change to something better..I'll keep the better, give this GTO to my roomate. He'd have an orgasm.

 

[Top Secret]

Any card's better then a integrated one.
As long as it's replaceable.It's fine for now.

Whoa Tiger, not so fast. Ever heard of Soundstorm?

 

[3ssence]

Looks like a decent pc you've got there mate. Undoubtedly some people have already jumped on the "omg you should got teh amd64" bandwagon, but tbh, a new LGA775 3.6 Pentium will have no problems running games and applications whatsoever and will do you just fine. And the 6800GS is a good choice, very good value for the level of performance it provides. Enjoy

 

[DrDevin]

Looks like a decent pc you've got there mate. Undoubtedly some people have already jumped on the "omg you should got teh amd64" bandwagon, but tbh, a new LGA775 3.6 Pentium will have no problems running games and applications whatsoever and will do you just fine. And the 6800GS is a good choice, very good value for the level of performance it provides. Enjoy

Sure it is not a bad CPU but it is a lot worse then the equivalent AMD processor (which is also cheaper). You want to spend more money on a worse chip?

It is slower then a 3200+ in most gaming benchmarks.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2456&p=6

 

[3ssence]

Thank you for stating something i already know, it is common knowledge that amd64 processors are faster in games..... but tbh, P4's are faster in other areas, plus, coupled with a decent graphics card it is perfectly capable of playing games at high settings, therefore perfectly acceptable. No need to take away someones joy of getting a new pc just because you may be getting a few more fps in your game than he will....

 

[Ren.182]

3ssence ftw! ^_^

Nice computer though! Sure you'll enjoy it

 

[Shakermaker]

Nvidia 7800GTX(Factory Overclocked and came with BF2).

Err, BF2 came with the card, right? For a moment I thought it was the other way around .....

 

[giant384]

Err, BF2 came with the card, right? For a moment I thought it was the other way around .....

haha 6char

 

[Asus]

Thank you for stating something i already know, it is common knowledge that amd64 processors are faster in games..... but tbh, P4's are faster in other areas...

Like where? I'm just wondering what you will be using it for. =p

 

[Blackghost905]

Looks good.

 

[gweedodogg69]

If you go with a 64bit Operating System, I'd get as much RAM as I could. 2GB is could, but I'd still go with 4GB. The reason is because programs, services, instructions are using twice as much memory because it is being executed in 64-bit not 32-bit. And 32 x 2 = 64 which is double. I could be somewhat wrong but I had less available RAM after installing 64-bit on my AMD64 laptop. I'll jump to 64-bit when vista comes out. Oh and AMD-64 FTW!!!

 

[3ssence]

Like where? I'm just wondering what you will be using it for. =p

I'm sure someone as knowledgable about computers as yourself doesn't need me to find you the info. P4's still excel at video encoding and multi-tasking (mainly due to hyper-threading) when compared to single core amd64 counterparts. I'm fairly sure you are aware of the point i was trying to make (which leads me to believe you are just trying to trip me up ), as it was perfectly clear, but in case you missed it:

No need to take away someones joy of getting a new pc just because you may be getting a few more fps in your game than he will....

 

[Asus]

P4's still excel at video encoding and multi-tasking (mainly due to hyper-threading) when compared to single core amd64 counterparts.

Yes, Intel's do awesome with video encoding and in the same areas they used to.
Just saying you could have had your cake and eat it too with AMD. =p

And for the price of dual or single core CPUs it's similar price to yours.

Nothing out there today is going to do poorly though. It's all very fast and do what you want. Some people have preferences and that what you buy.

 

[3ssence]

Mmmmm, cake. Idd, i agree totally, and yes it is down to personal preference. The reason i have an intel however is because i bought that northwood core (ftw !!!) 3.0Ghz nearly 2 years ago when tbh it was the fastest chip around, and i have to say it has been an awesome chip !! My new pc (due construction in jan) will be amd64 powered. I have no preference over intel or amd, but seeing as i mainly use my pc for gaming, the amd64 would be the most sensible choice for me. Toyed with the idea of dual core, but i don't think i can justify the money at the moment, as i don't see myself gaining that much of an advantage from a dual core processor at present.