where to go? a short novel by randall.

superrandall64

superrandall64

New Member
i was hoping you could help me decide on where to go with my new pc.

i read ram 101, cpu 101, mobo 101, most everything really. somethings just aren't too clear to me.

i'm upgrading my current computer. i'm not happy with the fps and resolutions and graphics levels of my current pc when playing games. i'm not strictly a gamer though. i also use autoCAD daily. that's what i do... i'm an engineer.

do you think those would "qualify as CPU intensive tasks", of course there's the internet, burning cd's, dvd's that sort of thing. but those i don't really think about when part shopping.

i do plan to use xp 64bit once drivers become available for my gpu, soundcard, NIC etc.

i've decided graphically i will go with ATi. i've read hundreds of product reviews and unless it showed up dead, it was very positive. so i've ordered the x1900xtx:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814195003

i'll worry about crossfire when i think i'll take advantage of it.

currently i'm running a p4 3.2ghz prescott with HT - now... for games, i've always been told to go AMD, but it seems like intel is getting better. i'm really swaying towards a pentium D, in fact this one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116247

or possibly this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116238

unless i've convinced myself that the .6 ghz extra clock speed is worth the money, i'll go with choice 2.

is there something else i need to worry about? they're both the same socket size as my current processor. i plan to get a new motherboard eventually too, i like the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131025

i like that one because my wife's laptop has wifi, and i believe in theory - we could share the internet connection wirelessly without the router/usb device combo we've got going. plus it supports up to 8gigs of ram. 8!! and it's crossfire ready.

on the other hand... i wouldn't know if i was even missing the performance if you know what i mean. i upgraded from 512mb to 2gigs and wasn't too impressed. enough that i dont want to downgrade, but i dont want to be underwhelmed after a purchase like that again. so i thought maybe this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186058

this sure is a long thread huh?

as far as the case situation goes... you can give me advice if you feel like it - but i see that as purely a question of taste. i like things simple, don't care for external case lights or LEDs too much (but i have to admit, acrylic sides and some cathode's shining on all that crap i've been paying for would be kinda nice) i've had my eye on this one. (go ahead and start your yawn)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119077

really straight forward, no doors in the way of my disk drives... plus has good reviews.

PSU... i have no clue. i know i need at least 450 watt for my GPU, but when i researched more and more... it got confusing. in fact... so confusing i can't even come up with an example. something about the CPU idle vs. working and wattage or something. let's make this simple... show me a well made PSU with enough power to handle crossfire when applicable, and the rest of the computer. what do you think of this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817128001

mainly i like it because of the "use what you need" cable system. i dont really like the idea of shiny blue... but whatever.

RAM... again. no clue. cas latency is where i get lost. actually, i dont even know what kind of ram i have now. i know nothing about it. you can make the suggestions there, but base it on my motherboard choices from earlier please.

a short list of games for you to idealize the computer's usage:
-guild wars
-rollercoaster tycoon 3
-painkiller
-warcraft 3
-F.E.A.R.
-prey

factor in autoCAD 2005, ACID Pro 3.0, everything else kinda comes standard.

there you go... you've done it! the end of my thread.
 
Hmmm. Well, for starters this myth that AMD is better for games is merely that. A myth. It used to be that they did better in benchmarks than an equivalently clocked Intel.. But whatever. C2D now is simply cleaning up. It is the clear winner in almost every benchmark, so if you are doing AutoCAD, that is the way I would suggest you go.

The RAM? Basically the lower the numbers on the latency, the better. Also brand is very important. Stay away from the generic junk, or it will bite you in the butt in the end. G.Skill, Corsair and OCZ are a couple of examples of quality manufacturers.

PSU? Get a brand name PSU and do your research. Something from Enermax, Antec, PC P&C and OCZ are a few of the mainstream ones.

Case.. Just look for good cooling, rigid construction, rolled edges in the case and preferrably removable bays for ease of access. Also look for sufficient cooling in the front, side and back. Antec makes awesome cases. They aren't fancy looking most of the times, but they simply beat the hell out of most for construction. Lian Li is another good one. You don't necessarily have to have pretty.. Function is more important than looks.
 
addendum

looking at www.tigerdirect.com i've found another psu i like:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1273341&Tab=11&NoMapp=0

and i realized recently, that i didn't make my point very clear. i'm not sure i'll need all that. if i can be a single-thread user, i'll do it. i'll go AMD with a socket 939 if that means a world of difference while i'm gaming. 64 bit is a maybe to me. i have xp64, but dont use it because i can't find drivers for all my devices. i'll use it when/if i do, so i definitely want to be 64bit capable. basically...i could have summed this whole thread up by saying "i want to play next-gen games on max settings, and run autoCAD - tell me what i need." so there you have it.
 
to SirKenin

"C2D now is simply cleaning up. It is the clear winner in almost every benchmark, so if you are doing AutoCAD, that is the way I would suggest you go."

i was looking at the core 2 duo's actually. but i thought they were the same as the pentium d's that i suggested, just at a higher cost. well, that was based on the idea that they were both dual-core options. to further narrow your suggestion:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

or:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115003

would i notice the difference that the extra .27Ghz offers? more to the point would it be worth the extra hundred dollars?
 
I'll stand by what I said.. The C2D is the clear winner, hands down. It's a regular powerhouse. A64 won't even touch it. You can run 32 bit Windows on the C2D. No probs there.

Some Ultra PSUs aren't too bad. I noticed that one is getting great reviews from the buyers. That's always a good sign.
 
I dunno... They're pretty close in the benchmarks. I don't think you will "notice" the difference. At least not $100 worth of difference anyways.
 
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