Is it really that much cheaper..

[Langers2k7]

I see...so if i wanted a pretty nice, smoothe computer I wouldn't really want to go with the 32 bit? I just keep seeing all these deals with motherboards saying that they come with windows vista ultimate 32 bit, and I'm just wondering if i'd really be getting a good deal...

In reality 32-bit is still perfectly ok for gaming right now. Especially when you are only really going to play The Sims 3 on it

In any case, if you find you want to upgrade in the future, it's as easy as purchasing 64-bit and installing it, since all your new components will be compatible.

Have you got any ideas as to what parts you are looking at? I'm sure one of the American guys here will write up a nice build for you with parts from www.newegg.com if you ask nicely.

 

[kookooshortman55]

If you have 4 GB of RAM I would go for 32-bit. 64-bit is definitely a go if you have more than 4GB of RAM, but 64-bit is known to have compatibility issues with some programs. Of course, as we transition to the 64-bit standard, more programs will become compatible with 64-bit.

Another advantage to building your own, no preloaded programs. Although you could always wipe the hard drive.

 

[sun_kissed_0]

If you have 4 GB of RAM I would go for 32-bit. 64-bit is definitely a go if you have more than 4GB of RAM, but 64-bit is known to have compatibility issues with some programs. Of course, as we transition to the 64-bit standard, more programs will become compatible with 64-bit.

Another advantage to building your own, no preloaded programs. Although you could always wipe the hard drive.

Oh that's very true!! I hate all the bs that comes on a prebuilt computer! I'm so excited. This is so much fun even though it's somewhat a long project. I think I'm going to purchase the Intel Core2 Quad Q6700 processor for 200 bucks and that'll be the start of my computer

I'll most likely go over my $500 budget from my previous post, but it's not only worth it in the long run, but I'll end up getting exactly what i want by having to sit on a few ideas while i come up with the money. fun fun

 

[kookooshortman55]

If you are trying to stay on a tight budget, go for the Q6600 and just overclock it.

 

[sun_kissed_0]

uhh what's overclock mean?

 

[2048Megabytes]

A 32-bit operating system can process up to 32 bits of data at a time.

A 64-bit operating system can process up to 64 bits of data at a time.

 

[2048Megabytes]

Running a motherboard or processor at a higher speed than what the manufacturer suggests is called overclocking. Overclocking a processor is not recommended by manufacturers because it can shorten a components life and result in an unstable system or damaged central processing unit.

Overclocking is not for newbies. I would recomend you run your processor at the speed recommended by manufacturers though I am sure many on this forum will have a different opinion.

 

[sun_kissed_0]

Thank you, your information really helped. I think I'm slowly, but surely, learning all the computer lingo

 

[TrainTrackHack]

A 32-bit operating system can process up to 32 bits of data at a time.

A 64-bit operating system can process up to 64 bits of data at a time.

Wrong.

 

[Dystopia]

Alright, cool. Thanks everyone. And elimin8tor you wrote that article?? that's pretty cool, and yeah it's pretty nifty

yep, I wrote it. btw, its elimin8or, no "t" lol

uhh what's overclock mean?

overclocking is when you change the speed of somthing and clock it higher. Example: Original speed of my processor is 2.7GHz. If I overclock it by 100MHz(.1GHz), Ill have 2.8Ghz. Also, you can do this with RAM(not recommended), video cards, video card memory(fine to do it, I have done it), and even, with the right firmware, mp3 player CPUs (not kidding).

 

[Vandy.soloman]

Yes , buiding up a computer is better and even cheaper than to buy a ready made pc
as you can configure your system , way you want to make . and component are cheaper .
But you must need knowledge of which is good and which is not .

 

[konsole]

I think I'm gonna have to go against the flow a little bit here. The hype surrounding building their own computer from scratch comes from people being proud of building something themselves. They don't like the idea of paying a little bit more for something that someone else put the time and effort into creating. When you build a computer from scratch everything about the computer feels like its yours, its like your own personal work of art. Buying a prebuilt makes people feel like the computer really isnt quite their own, instead it feels like a company is allowing them to use something that they still own. Everyone has their own things that they are proud of and around here its all about building their own computer. You will never convince people around here that buying prebuilt is a better option even if it is.

So is building your own better then prebuilt?
yes and no, you get the satisfaction of creating a work of art and making something that feels like your own while saving maybe 25% at most, if you spend a decent amount of time searching around. It is not better for people that know nothing or not a whole lot about computers and how to fix them, because while constructing the computer and getting it up and running isnt the most difficult thing in the world, it isnt that easy either, and when things go wrong with a prebuilt you have the warranty and the support of a company to back you up with.

Even for people that know a good amount about computers there are many things that can make the extra 20% price tag on a prebuilt more appealing, like warranty, support, not having the worry about accidentally returning the wrong component to newegg, not having to spend a while constructing the computer and getting it up and running, waiting for all the components to arrive in the mail, not having all compatible components etc. etc.

If you don't know alot about computers but you have patience, your willing to learn from your mistakes, your looking to save as much money as possible, and your somewhat hands-on, then trying to build your own is not a bad option.

 

[2048Megabytes]

A 32-bit operating system can process up to 32 bits of data at a time.

A 64-bit operating system can process up to 64 bits of data at a time.

Wrong.

How is the above information wrong? I got the above information out of a computer book.

Edit: I asked a computer technician and he stated the above information is correct.

 

[sun_kissed_0]

Wow, thank you Konsole. Great and valuable information. I understand what you're saying completely, and even though I will be taking a risk since I don't know a whole lot about computers, I'm looking forward to the learning experience, and it's becomming a hobby.

 

[bebopin64]

yes there are plenty of situations where buying a prebuilt makes more sense...


but then you miss out on the fun of building it. and the fun of figuring out why it doesnt post

 

[TrainTrackHack]

How is the above information wrong? I got the above information out of a computer book.

Edit: I asked a computer technician and he stated the above information is correct.

It's still not correct. A 64-bit OS can address 64-bit memory locations and use 64-bit instructions (as well as the widened/extra registers if we do a x86 vs x86-64) comparison. However, the "bittiness" has nothing to do with how much data the OS/CPU can handle at a time - mainstream CPUs and even some older 32-bit CPUs have instructions to process much more data than that at a time.

Some examples:
Phenom (64-bit) can perform 128-bits worth FP calcualtions at once (i.e. one 128-bit FPU calculation at once, or more lower-precision (64/32-bit) at once in parallel). That's just one example, many processors (Including current Intel's offerings, or Nehalem at least) have 128-bit or even 256-bit data paths, allowing that much data to be processed any one given moment.
Sandy Bridge (64-bit) is to have 256-bits wide data paths.
SSE2 (introduced with 32-bit P4) supports 64-bit FP calculations.

 

[Dystopia]

sun_kissed, what is your budget for a computer? I saw in another post you already bought the Q6600, so what is your remaining budget? Soon as we know, we can tell you about what you should try to get, if you want.

 

[sun_kissed_0]

I would like help, yes. One of the main reasons for building a computer is so that I can play Sims 3 (because my laptop destroys Sims 2 with a million glitches) seamlessly without any problems. I "asked" how much Sims 3 will take up and someone on yahoo said that it'll take up 1GB RAM and 5GB hard drive. Then he suggested video cards. I posted the link if you wanna check it out, see if it seems legit.

 

[pies]

Heres a good look at the requirements.
http://kotaku.com/5112216/here-are-your-sims-3-system-requirements
How much are you looking to spend again I might have asked before.

 

[sun_kissed_0]

Oh yeah sorry. Well because this is going to be a long process, I'm willing to spend whatever it takes without going too crazy. Before I said i'd spend 500 dollars, but now I don't care how much as long as i get the right parts and I'm not getting anything i don't need.