Some noob question...

chaabk · 01-22-2006, 04:10 PM

Hello everyone,
I am about to buy a desktop computer. I need more information about CPUs. Here are the questions :

-What does the bus speed change in performance if it's higher ( for ex: 2000Mhx instead of 800 Mhz )
-Is a 512 KB cache better then a 2 MB cache (L2)?
-If a 2 MB chache better, what does it improove in ?
-What should a motherboard have to be considered a good one ?

Thank You

TheChef · 01-22-2006, 04:18 PM

Read CPU101, should answer every one of the CPU questions:

Cpu 101

Motherboards should have a good chipset (nForce 4 Ultra or SLI for nVidia, ATI XPress 200 Crossfire) and nice features that will generally come on reputable brands of motherboards (Asus, MSI, DFI plus some others). Have you been looking at any one? What's your price range for the computer or jsut the motherboard?

chaabk · 01-22-2006, 04:26 PM

Well, about 1800 $ CA

[-0MEGA-] · 01-22-2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chaabk

Well, about 1800 $ CA

for $1800 you can buy a very nice gaming computer. If this is for general purpose (internet, word, ect), then you can get a very nice one for around $800.

chaabk · 01-22-2006, 04:44 PM

I need it for heavy gaming, like Half Life 2 and Doom 3, BFME 2

TheChef · 01-22-2006, 04:47 PM

Look at this suggestion of parts:

would this be a good gamin pc for 1500

krimson_king · 01-22-2006, 05:37 PM

my suggestion: read every one of the 101s pertaining to essential parts (RAM, CPU, MoBo, and HDD) decide what you need things for (ex. good OCing CPU, timings on RAM, speed/size of HDD) then visit some of the bigger websites like newegg or tigerdirect, then post some of the things you may have been looking at. then somebody can go through and refine your list. my suggestion would be to go with an amd cpu, asus or dfi mobo, raptor hdd, and corsair or OCZ memory.

as for a good mobo, make sure there are plenty of expansion slots (something with pci-e) its atx compatible (duh) the type of ram it supports, how MUCH ram it supports, and the socket (939 is the first that comes to mind).

**Praetor** · 01-23-2006, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Well, about 1800 $ CA

AMD Athlon64 X2 4200 [Manchester(BH-E4), S939, ADA4200DAA5BV] ($512.00)
DFI Lanparty NF4Utra-D ($153.99)
Maxtor DiamondMax10 250GB 16MB SATA3.0 ($128.99)
Enermax Liberty 500W [12V@44A] ($136.00)
ASUS Extreme N7800GTX ($619.99)
Pioneer 110D ($48.99)
OCZ Premier 2x512 CL2.5 ($118.00)
Subtotal: $1717.96

And a randomly chosen case

chaabk · 01-24-2006, 12:42 AM

I live in Canada and the nearest store to me is Future Shop. I am interested in those two computers :
1. http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0070825&catid=
2. http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0070827&catid=

The first one :
-Intel Pentium D 920 With Viiv 2.8GHz
-2GB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM
-250GB 7200RPM SATA
-800MHz Front Side
-Sound Card: Intel High Definition Audio, 7.1 Surround Sound Capable
-Graphics Card: NVIDIA FX6200SE Graphics Card With Up To 256MB
-Dual Layer 16X DVD+/-RW With Lightscribe
-DVD-ROM
-----------------1300 $ CA---------------------------

The second one :
-AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core 2.2GHz
-1GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM
-250GB 7200RPM SATA
- System Bus Up To 1066MHz
-Integrated Audio, 6 Speaker Conifgurable
-Graphics Card: ATI Radeon Xpress 200 Graphics With 128MB Shared Video Memory
-Dual Layer 16X DVD+/-RW With Lightscribe
-DVD-ROM
-----------------1100 $ CA---------------------------

I see very well that the first one is better, but i don't know if an Intel processor is good for gaming, especially this one.

I am planning also to get a BFG GeForce 7800 GT, from the store.
They are selling it at 600 $ CA, but I've found it at tigerdirect.ca at 472 $ CA.
The store has a politic of the lowest price guarantee, and they will refund 110 % of the difference. So I can get this video card for 460 $ CA.

The hp computers has a weakness in power supplies. I need to know if I can add a 500 watt power supply (x-connect, ect.). Does it fit in theese computers ?

One last thing, the store offers product service plans. If I want to buy the first PC ( the 1300 $ CA), they offer a 3 years product service plan for 240 $ CA. For the video card, for 3 years, it will cost 45 $ CA. Do you think I will really need to buy a service product plan for the video card, seing that this combo (system) is powerful and can play games for at least the next two years ?

Recap :
Intel PC:
Computer Price 1300 $ CA
Computer warranty 240 $ CA
Video Card Price 460 $ CA
Video Card warranty 45 $ CA
_____________________________
Total before Tax 2045 $ CA
_____________________________
Total after Tax 2341 $ CA

Amd PC:
Computer Price 1100 $ CA
Computer warranty 240 $ CA
Video Card Price 460 $ CA
Video Card warranty 45 $ CA
_____________________________
Total before Tax 1845 $ CA
_____________________________
Total after Tax 2112 $ CA

The reason I can pay this amout of money is because this store permit me to pay in 12 month (open and no monthly payments).

This is the situation. Thank You

**Praetor** · 01-30-2006, 10:44 PM

Quote:

I live in Canada and the nearest store to me is Future Shop.

I live in Canada too. Hence I gave u links to Canada COmputers (which does online ordering)

Quote:

I see very well that the first one is better, but i don't know if an Intel processor is good for gaming, especially this one.

The second one is better and significantly so

01-22-2006, 04:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
chaabk New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 9	Some noob question... Hello everyone, I am about to buy a desktop computer. I need more information about CPUs. Here are the questions : -What does the bus speed change in performance if it's higher ( for ex: 2000Mhx instead of 800 Mhz ) -Is a 512 KB cache better then a 2 MB cache (L2)? -If a 2 MB chache better, what does it improove in ? -What should a motherboard have to be considered a good one ? Thank You

01-22-2006, 04:18 PM	#2 (permalink)
TheChef Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York Age: 17 Posts: 1,383	Read CPU101, should answer every one of the CPU questions: Cpu 101 Motherboards should have a good chipset (nForce 4 Ultra or SLI for nVidia, ATI XPress 200 Crossfire) and nice features that will generally come on reputable brands of motherboards (Asus, MSI, DFI plus some others). Have you been looking at any one? What's your price range for the computer or jsut the motherboard? __________________ Athlon 64 3000+ Venice -- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Asus nVidia GeForce 6600 -- Corsair ValueSelect 1024mb Seagate 120GB Barracuda -- Xoxide X-Clear Case FOR SALE http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=47630 http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=mzvideos Last edited by TheChef; 01-22-2006 at 04:22 PM.

01-22-2006, 04:47 PM	#6 (permalink)
TheChef Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New York Age: 17 Posts: 1,383	Look at this suggestion of parts: would this be a good gamin pc for 1500 __________________ Athlon 64 3000+ Venice -- MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Asus nVidia GeForce 6600 -- Corsair ValueSelect 1024mb Seagate 120GB Barracuda -- Xoxide X-Clear Case FOR SALE http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=47630 http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=mzvideos

01-22-2006, 05:37 PM	#7 (permalink)
krimson_king Gold Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: connecticut Age: 21 Posts: 466	my suggestion: read every one of the 101s pertaining to essential parts (RAM, CPU, MoBo, and HDD) decide what you need things for (ex. good OCing CPU, timings on RAM, speed/size of HDD) then visit some of the bigger websites like newegg or tigerdirect, then post some of the things you may have been looking at. then somebody can go through and refine your list. my suggestion would be to go with an amd cpu, asus or dfi mobo, raptor hdd, and corsair or OCZ memory. as for a good mobo, make sure there are plenty of expansion slots (something with pci-e) its atx compatible (duh) the type of ram it supports, how MUCH ram it supports, and the socket (939 is the first that comes to mind). __________________ sí, señor.

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01-22-2006, 04:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
chaabk New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 9	Well, about 1800 $ CA

01-22-2006, 04:44 PM	#5 (permalink)
chaabk New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 9	I need it for heavy gaming, like Half Life 2 and Doom 3, BFME 2

01-24-2006, 12:42 AM	#9 (permalink)
chaabk New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 9	I live in Canada and the nearest store to me is Future Shop. I am interested in those two computers : 1. http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0070825&catid= 2. http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pro...0070827&catid= The first one : -Intel Pentium D 920 With Viiv 2.8GHz -2GB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM -250GB 7200RPM SATA -800MHz Front Side -Sound Card: Intel High Definition Audio, 7.1 Surround Sound Capable -Graphics Card: NVIDIA FX6200SE Graphics Card With Up To 256MB -Dual Layer 16X DVD+/-RW With Lightscribe -DVD-ROM -----------------1300 $ CA--------------------------- The second one : -AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core 2.2GHz -1GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM -250GB 7200RPM SATA - System Bus Up To 1066MHz -Integrated Audio, 6 Speaker Conifgurable -Graphics Card: ATI Radeon Xpress 200 Graphics With 128MB Shared Video Memory -Dual Layer 16X DVD+/-RW With Lightscribe -DVD-ROM -----------------1100 $ CA--------------------------- I see very well that the first one is better, but i don't know if an Intel processor is good for gaming, especially this one. I am planning also to get a BFG GeForce 7800 GT, from the store. They are selling it at 600 $ CA, but I've found it at tigerdirect.ca at 472 $ CA. The store has a politic of the lowest price guarantee, and they will refund 110 % of the difference. So I can get this video card for 460 $ CA. The hp computers has a weakness in power supplies. I need to know if I can add a 500 watt power supply (x-connect, ect.). Does it fit in theese computers ? One last thing, the store offers product service plans. If I want to buy the first PC ( the 1300 $ CA), they offer a 3 years product service plan for 240 $ CA. For the video card, for 3 years, it will cost 45 $ CA. Do you think I will really need to buy a service product plan for the video card, seing that this combo (system) is powerful and can play games for at least the next two years ? Recap : Intel PC: Computer Price 1300 $ CA Computer warranty 240 $ CA Video Card Price 460 $ CA Video Card warranty 45 $ CA _____________________________ Total before Tax 2045 $ CA _____________________________ Total after Tax 2341 $ CA Amd PC: Computer Price 1100 $ CA Computer warranty 240 $ CA Video Card Price 460 $ CA Video Card warranty 45 $ CA _____________________________ Total before Tax 1845 $ CA _____________________________ Total after Tax 2112 $ CA The reason I can pay this amout of money is because this store permit me to pay in 12 month (open and no monthly payments). This is the situation. Thank You