Pre purchase advice

M

mapollo

New Member
Last Monday I new nothing about assembling the components for a new PC. Almost one week later I have learnt a little. It's mainly for Photoshop work and Internet use. I would be interested in help with RAM make and type plus any advice /opinion you can offer.

So heres what I have so far....

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (maybe 3200+) Winchester90nm (Socket 939) –Retail (Inc Fan & Heatsink)£97.81

Gigabyte : GA-K8NF-9 Socket 939 nForce 4-4X PCI-E ATX £67.55

Antec Case : SLK3700AMB UK 350W PSU ATX £51.87

Samsung SM959NF 19"CRT 1280x1024@85Hz £203.52

GeForce 6200 128MB PCI-E DVI-I VO £59.37

1 Gig of RAM (2 *512 sticks) Not sure what make or type.

I intend to use the Optical drives and hard drives I have already. I can upgrade these later. One question as well would the motherboard take the two standard (ie not SATA or RAID)Hard Drives I have in my PC already.

Thanks for reading... David..
 
Is is best to avoid the value lines like this

Corsair 1GB DDR Value Select PC3200 CAS3.0 Kit (2x512MB) (VS1GBKIT400C3) (MY-061-CS) £60.00 approx

I have a budget for memory of about £120.So I can go for better quality but is it worth twice the cash.
 
the valueram is definetly not as good as the other stuff but its okay if ur not into gaming, but i dont see how that is 60euro (~78usd), b/c for a gig of ram in the us it would cost you about 90euro, also you might want to get a better video card
 
Intels processors are better for Photoshop and illustrator and things like that, AMD is better for gaming, but Intel processers are more expensive, so you could get a Equivenent performing AMD for the same price as a Lower Intel, do you see what i mean

you could probley get a cheaper videocard if its just for internet and photoshop, they are not really video intensive, you want ram and processer power for those programs.

if the hard drives you have now are ide, the motherboard should have two ide slots, which you can have multipule channels, so your ok there,
 
ripken2004 said:
but i dont see how that is 60euro (~78usd), b/c for a gig of ram in the us it would cost you about 90euro, also you might want to get a better video card
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It's £60 GBP not Euro's.Which is about 90 Euros. We ain't on Euros in the UK yet :)

SpaceDude89,

The photoshop guys I've asked for advice go with AMD. It's also 64 bit which may (or may not) be useful to me later. I'll have a rethink on the video card. I'm thinking mid range (if that's what it is) just incase my six year old takes an interest in the "steadier" games .You know Thomas the tank stuff :) etc.
It's good news about the IDE drives I thought they would be OK but I appreciate the conformation.
I'd appreciate a little education on memory if possible. I'm not sure what the numbers mean ie DDR PC3200 & cas 3.0 and what I should be looking for for the Gigabyte mobo i've chosen.Any guidance would be usefull. Because Photoshop is memoery intensive I think I will skip the "Value" lines. If its like everything else you get what you pay for I guess.

So if anyone could help clear up DDR PC3200 Cas 3.0
etc.

Thanks...
 
im not an expert on memory stuff, but athlon 64 support dual channel memory, so i recommend 2x512 Corsair XMS ddr400, dual channel ram, i cant really explain what the speed and thing mean but the higher the speed, the faster the ram, the ram i reccomended above is what i have, but i think they have ddr440 now, so id take a look at that too.
 
cas 2 is the best but costs a whole lot(about 2-3x as much as cas3), 2.5 is good too but most ppl go cas3 b/c it is pretty cheap, and the cas2 is only rly needed for big time gamers or any program that requires a rly fast comp, otherwise ide go for 2.5 of 3
 
I would disagree that most people go cas3. I just bought a 512 ddr400 stick at cas 2.5 for roughly $45. You could get 1 gig (2x512) cas 2.5 of corsair value select ram for around $90 at ddr400. But Mapollo, I would seriously read RAM101 if you have not already done so. Link is in my last post ^
 
I would be interested in help with RAM make and type
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See the RAM101 :)

One question as well would the motherboard take the two standard (ie not SATA or RAID)Hard Drives I have in my PC already.
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Yes

Is is best to avoid the value lines like this
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Got a reason for that? (other than "its not XMS")

but Intel processers are more expensive
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Not so much anymore (not since the Prescott came out really)

It's also 64 bit which may (or may not) be useful to me later
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Intel chips support 64bit mode now too

Because Photoshop is memoery intensive I think I will skip the "Value" lines.
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Dont fall for that marketing crap. With Photoshop and real work yer concern is more about capacity than speed. As long as its PC3200 (or higher rated) than you're ok

So if anyone could help clear up DDR PC3200 Cas 3.0
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Read the RAM101

but athlon 64 support dual channel memory
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Not all A64s support ti

so I recommend 2x512 Corsair XMS ddr400
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For what point?

When looking for memory I believe you want to look for a Cas of at least 2.5, maybe a 2.0. I could be very wrong on this, so maybe someone else could verify this. Anyway, Here's a good guide you should deffinately read before you purchase any memory, it should clarify everything:
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CAS2 is better than CAS3 etc however its inconsequential here ... realistically its more of an issue [stereotypical] 12 year olds with lots more cash (or parents) than knowledge crow aboutt.

cas 2 is the best but costs a whole lot(about 2-3x as much as cas3),
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If its costing two to three times as much, you're getting ripped off.

I would seriously read RAM101 if you have not already done so
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hehe
 
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