Another new computer thread

T

Tonner Cyn

New Member
My first post here and it's one of these :). Anyway, I'm looking to upgrade from my Pentium III 1.0 ghz relic. My primary purpose for the machine is to play games, with some basic application/internet use as well. I've been shopping at cyberpowerpc.com and came up with the following:

Athlon 64 X2 3800+
1 gig PC3200 400mhz RAM
Geforce 6600 256 mb pci-e
80 gig 7200 rpm hdd
dual layer/dual format dvd burner
integrated 7.1 audio
Asus A8N-SLI nForce4 socket 939 mobo
COST: 688.00

Couple of questions:

1 - Video Card:
Upgrading to a 6800 XT is $51; this is within budget, but I'm not sure the performance difference warrants it.
Upgrading to a 7600 GT is $134; questionable as to whether I really want to spend that much money, but if it significantly improves the machine...
Thoughts?

2 - Audio:
Upgrades are $30 for an Audigy SE, $42 for an Audigy 4 SE, $117 for X-Fi ExtremeMusic. My nephew says the onboard sound will be fine, and especially if I am going to upgrade the video card it will have to be. Will the integrated be sufficient?

3 - RAM
Upgrading to 2 gigs would cost another $120 for 4 sticks, $135 for 2. I cannot do this and upgrade anything else. I figure I can find better deals down the road and make do with the 1 gig, but if I'm wrong let me know.

Lastly, I originally had this set up with an Athlon 64 3200+, but it was only $5 less. For that small amount, it makes sense to go with the dual-core, right?

Thanks for any advice you can give me!
 
First off, I would agree with going with the 64 X2 3800+ over the 64 3200+.

One of the most important items for gaming is the video card. You might want to really put some thought into which card to get.

Initially the audio will do; if you have nice upgraded speakers, then you may want to upgrade the sound later.

1GB RAM will do as a starter, and many find it to be enough.
 
I noticed the <$700 build. I'll have to check the benchmarks, but I tend to favor the nvidia cards. The only major difference there (that I see) is that the hard drive is twice as big.
 
I'm guessing you've seen the Computer Specs 101, it's got some good setups to consider and tweak, and as far as the video card, if you're going to be gaming I would HIGHLY suggest at least the 6800, you can double your hard drive space for not much more which I would consider a good idea, and 1gig should be fine for ram
 
kjkiller said:
it would be much cheeper if you built 1 at newegg.com rater than one at cyberpowerpc.com
Click to expand...

I dont know, I compared my setup from newegg to cyberpowerpc and it came up about even. A person needs to factor everything in, including all of the free software that cyberpower offers, as well as shipping and taxes. IMO, it comes out to be the same.

But I am new at computer stuff also so I am still learning about all of the technical jargon.
 
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on the cyberpowerpc site, if you choose one of their specials that offers free shipping, you can configure it to whatever you want, and still get the free shipping, that might give you some extra money to use towards the pc -
 
croaker68 said:
on the cyberpowerpc site, if you choose one of their specials that offers free shipping, you can configure it to whatever you want, and still get the free shipping, that might give you some extra money to use towards the pc -
Click to expand...

Actually, that will probably be one of the determining factors as to when I actually place my order. I believe their regular shipping is $65, so if I get free shipping I can use that to get a 500 watt power supply or something like that.

One more question: What is generally the more significant feature - dual-core processor or dual video cards in SLI mode?
 
Tonner Cyn said:
One more question: What is generally the more significant feature - dual-core processor or dual video cards in SLI mode?
Click to expand...
I would definitely get a dual core processor over dual video cards, it might not help as much in gaming, but for everything else it would be the better decision, and finally you might want to look at zipzoomfly.com for some components as well, most things have free 2 day shipping, but their selection seems smaller than other places like newegg
 
Okay, I think I have gotten to the point where I just need to decide between two machines. They are identical except for the processor. Here's the common items:

- 80 gig hard drive
- 1 gig RAM (probably bumping to 2 gigs on my own shortly after purchase)
- Geforce 7600 GS
- dual layer/dual format dvd burner
- integrated 7.1 audio
The choice of processor is either an Athlon 64 3800+ or an Athlon 64 X2 3800+. I am basically using the machine for gamin with some basic office application and internet usage. The funny thing is, the dual-core version is like $60 cheaper than the single-core. For what I am going to be doing, is there any reason not to go with the dual-core?

Thanks!
 
the x2 3800 right now isnt goin to be the best for gamin cause most games right now dont use dual core it only uses one cpu so the one x2 of the 3800 isnt very good the the 64 3800+ is better for gamin right now but the x2 is more future proof if u were to get dual core u would get the x2 4200 and that is good for gamin too
 
GAH!!!! This is what I get for looking at things too much :).

So it looks like my final decision isn't quite final. I configured a bunch of different systems at cyberpower and here's pretty much the contenders (all systems are coming with 1 gig of RAM, 80 gig hard drive, and Geforce 7600 GS):

$709 - Athlon 64 X2 3800+, wireless network, 12-in-1 media reader
$808 - Athlon 3800+ Newcastle (wireless and media would bump it to $818)
$842 - Athlon 4000+ Clawhammer (wireless and media would bump it to $854)

I looked at a bunch of benchmark comparisons at Tom's Hardware, and clearly for games either of the single-core options outperform the dual-core. The dual-core has the benefit of being a fair amount cheaper.

What should I do???
 
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