Processors

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A processor is not as important as some of the other components now (since with winXP, most of animations are run by the Vid Card) like the Vid card, ram and a big HD. If you're going to build your own system... for god's sake get the Processor already attached to the mobo! There's nothing worse than buying a $300 chip and hearing that heart-tearing, mind-blowing (steam coming out of your ears) CRACK!

 

UMM not to sound evil right now but NO processor is attached to the motherboard (well except for some Durons 1200 that secondary companies sodered to the zif socket... but that is an after market thing)

All motherboards right now use a zif socket which when the processor is installed allows the user to "lacth" it in to place.

Processor don't fall off, he has nothing to worry about if he is buying a dell product they know what they are doing.

 

I know. I was talking about applying the heatsink to the top of the chip. It's tricky business doing that. I just meant he should get a mobo with the processor already installed and the heatsink on and everything (you can get it like that from little computer stores).

 

Big B - I would not recommend the nVidia MX card since it really does not support any Direct X 8.0 features. If you want to play games over the next few years you may want to consider at least a GeForce 4 Ti card that will have full version 8 support, since many game designers are taking advantage of those features.

Also, consider RD RAM for the P4. The P4 is designed to take advantage of the extra memory bandwidth that RD has over DDR (at least until dual-channel DDR is offered by your OEM). 1066MHz RAM paired with the 533MHz bus will sync very well together, just as the 800/400 did in the previous generation.

 

Big B:

Seriously.

Go buy a $1200 Mitsubishi 23" monitor. I forget what their flatscreen technology is called, but that level of monitor is without any kind of comparison.

Then build yourself a $1700 computer. With a Radeon 9700pro and two 120gig raid0 drives, a dvd burner, and 512meg of some good DDR memory. And an Enermax 450w powersupply.

It'll still be cheaper than a dell that is even *remotely* configured the same, and it will most assuriedly be easier to upgrade. And if you spend a little for the case, and have the company laser drill you a 80mm side panel hole, and get two really quiet 80mm fans, you can significantly overclock that Radeon Pro.

And you will have cash leftover to pickup several games and a whole slew of DVD-R's, which will be put to really good use once you get in the dorms.

As long as you keep yourself grounded at all times, putting your own computer together is right next to risk free. And it really only takes a minimum of tools.

 

Small problem EJ the computer Big B is looking at is only 700 to 1000 dollars range. 4000+ dollars is a tad more than his price range.
Dell 4550

Big B they have a sale on the 4550 right now follow the above link to look at the deal (150 off more memory and some more junk)

 

You're all nuts! Why spend all that money on 2.5GHz processors, when you can go down to your local antique shop and buy an Intel 386 DX processor. It works great if you're playing pong!

But seriously...I would go with AMD if your main computer usage is on gamming, and Pentium for everything else. And as for vidio cards, I would go with a GeForce4 Ti 4600.

 

OK, a few points:

1st. Building my own system sounds nice, but as I said, I'm locked into getting a Dell, and that's fine with me as long as it's a good one.

2nd. I am looking at the 4550 series, but I'm looking mainly at the Mainstream Performance Dell Dimension 4550 - coming in somewhere at $1,200. I do not want to spend much, if any, more past that. I think it's a pretty reasonable price that coincides with my expectations. I could get a computer for half that, but it sure wouldn't meet my expectations. And I wouldn't have any right to complain if by this time next year it couldn't play the newest games.

3rd. Thorin, I've seen the deal. I'm just waiting for free shipping. They do it for a few days at least once a month. I've been watching them since January.

4th. "I would not recommend the nVidia MX card since it really does not support any Direct X 8.0 features. If you want to play games over the next few years you may want to consider at least a GeForce 4 Ti card that will have full version 8 support, since many game designers are taking advantage of those features."

OK what is the difference between 64MB DDR NVIDIA­ GeForce4 MX™ Graphics Card with TV-Out and a GeForce 4 Ti card? What does "Ti" stand for? Also, what do you mean by Direct X 8.0 features? What features and what is their purpose? My hunk of junk computer right now can and does use Direct X 8.0. Correct me if I'm wrong, but these features are just nice bonuses, not requirements to play, right?

That's what I'm getting at. I'm not going to have a heart attack if the games I buy don't run circles around me. I just want to meet the projected requirements for the next few years. You know the part of the game box that says: Min, Requirements? That's the part I want to clear for the next few years. I don't care by how much I clear it, just that I do and that I do it for the next few years. I want to get my money's worth.

 

The geforce 4 MX cards has been considered the biggest step BACK in video cards as it does not support directx 8 (making it comparable to a geforce 2 card ). Most current games require either directx 8 support. With directx 9 out, getting a video card with directx 8 support will be needed to run games for the next 3 years (since there is no video card that has true directx 9 support).

to see a comparison of the MX and the ti series go here (basically says if you can afford a geforce 4 ti get it)

 

Big B -- The features in Direct X 8.0 are different kinds of shaders (pixel and vertex)that allow game designers to create better looking environments in games. Your old card may be able to run these games, but it will not be able to render all of the graphics that are written into them.

 

Oh My God.

Big B.

The Geforce4 MX is TWO Geforce2 GTS chips, working in parallel. The Geforce4 Ti 4200 is an actual Geforce4 chip.

In Unreal Tournament 2003 and the other "new" games, there is absolutely no comparison between the two, in terms of performance. Like how a voodoo2 would compare to a Geforce2 Ultra. Over triple if not quadruple the frame rates, with the difference becomming even more apparent at 1024x768 and above.

If you're planning on playing ToB and IwD2, then that MX will get you by. If you're planning on playing UT2k3 against all the other people in the dorms, then that Ti4200 will get you by.

 

Hey now ejsmith, excuse me for not living and breathing video graphics cards and processors. I play games to have fun and take a break, not memorize more silly acronyms or the ins and outs of things like clock cycles and framerate.

Thanks for the link Thorin, I followed what they were saying all the way to the part about comparing different video card performance with JK2:Outcast. The only other "better" choices I am seeing when I choose to customize the Dell 4550 series is New 128mb DDR ATI Radeon™ 9700 TX Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI (which adds another $110, which I can handle, but does possibly slow ship date and this might mess up free shipping, and right now, my grandparents all about free shipping) or New 128mb DDR ATI Radeon™ 9700 Pro Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI (which adds another $290 - which is totally unacceptable).

So how about the $110 more one, the first one? Does that meet the hardcore gamers' seal of approval or will I need to shell out $1,000 for the Super-DUper MegA-Fast RIp U Off Teh ROXOR VidChip THX-1138 USEDAFORCE Model Version 2.0 that's going to be obsolete next month?

Hey here's a part of what I had in January when I gave my grandparents my specs:

Pentium 4 2.53 GHz
256MB DDR SDRAM at 333 MHz OR 256MB PC 1066 RDRAM BTW, what is the difference between these two?
64MB DDR NVIDIA­ GeForce4 MX™ Graphics Card with TV-Out

Here's what they sent me back after they talked with a friend of theirs that used to work at Dell, these are his words and suggestions:

Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, claiming that "it's plenty fast for everything except running NASA."
Video Card: Integrated Intel Extreme 3D Graphics, O_o! Extreme!!!
Luckily, he left the memory where it was, but he did see fit to add 3 Year Lmtd. Warranty and 3 Year At Home Service, because it was "on special". AKA $50 Mail in Rebate.

Thank goodness I told my grandparents to hold on the order. After all, it's a graduation gift. Plus, I wanted this man's "recommendations" to fade away. See what I have to contend with?

But anyways, quick recap on what I'm asking here. How does the New 128mb DDR ATI Radeon™ 9700 TX Graphics Card with TV-Out and DVI measure up? And what's the difference between 256MB DDR SDRAM at 333 MHz And 256MB PC 1066 RDRAM?

Anybody have a complete guide to the acronymns and names of all these products? Yeesh.

 

"Hey now ejsmith, excuse me for not living and breathing video graphics cards and processors. I play games to have fun and take a break"

Rest assured that I do too.

But since you feel that I am not being helpful, I will be quiet for a while. In the end, you can always swap out parts that you are not happy with.

I will tell you this one last thing, though. Dell uses proprietary mainboard and power supplies.

 

I think it's just how quickly the memory functions. At a guess, you could have loads of memory but if it's slow, it would act as a bottle neck, and all your fast components would be useless. I'm no expert though, so don't necessarily take my word for it.

Just for the record, if you didn't find out from any of the links, Ti in GeForce 4Ti stands for Titanium.

I would have to say, rather than going for Dell just because that's what your parents want to get, seriously, take your choosen specification to as many places as you can to get a quote. AND, the other places might be able to give you further advice as well. You might even get a better price or better components for a good price.

I took my spec to loads of places as ended up going to a tiny little store as the guy gave me a much better deal and components than all the larger stores.

 

First and foremost: price. RDRAM is twice as expensive as DDR SDRAM and gives about 10% better performance (give or take a few) . So don't even think about it.

 

Hey, less than a week ago I got my dell, which is very similar to the one Big B describes:

Dell 4550

Pentium 4 2.53 ghz
512 DDR SDRAM
ATI Radeon 9700 TX Graphics Card
60 GB Hard Drive

I got the standard 17 inch monitor, floppy disk drive, CD/DVD drive, and CD burner as well. Very nice all in one package, and it came in around
$1100. Also came with a $150 mail-in rebate.

The games I bought from Amazon, Neverwinter Nights and Grand Theft Auto 3 both run perfectly on the highest resolution and video options, and loading times are very quick. It's also very stable, no frequent lock ups or any other problems. I wouldn't bother getting a processor upgrade to 3.06 ghz or whatever it is, within less than a month even the fastest processors are "outdated" by the newer ones, and you'll have wasted money on the something that doesn't even really make a difference. One thing, you might want to upgrade and I probably will later on, is the RAM.

 

I also got a Dell about 3 years ago and was very happy with it...until the state of game technology made everything in my system obsolete. So I dug around a bit and found the parts in various places and pretty much built a killer machine from scratch (my first build ever, too) for under $600. Here's what I found:

-GPU is an NVidia Ti4200
-CPU is an AMD Athlon 1.2 ghz w/heatsink (doesn't sound fast, but for a $50, it books)
-CD-ROM is a TDK VeloCD 40/24/10 (plus a rebate for a cheapo DVD-ROM)
-Asus A7 Motherboard
-1 512m DDR ramchip
-Generic tower w/ adequate power supply
-some other components I can't think of right now because I'm too tired

Kept my old monitor (19" Trinitron), modems, and soundcard. All in all with the new and recycled parts, I got a great new system that I haven't experienced even the slightest slowdowns with any game at the highest settings (so far anyway). And I'm no computer wiz by any stretch, so if I can do it anybody can.

So really, if you're patient enough, it's not that hard to find great hardware on a piece-by-piece basis and put it all together yourself. This was a necessity for me professionally as well (web/graphic artist), so I doubt I would dump in that cash just to play games (wait...who am I kiddin'...hell yeah I would...)

 

URGENT

I need to get a heads up on 64MB ATI All-in-Wonder® 9000 Pro within the next few hours.
This was just added to the options.


Today is the day. Free Shipping. $50 off if purchased online. And if purchased by 11 o'clock tonight (USA), another $200 off!

Lord Sarevok, when you purchased your Dell did it arrive late? I ask, because there is a disclaimer for the video card that you bought, (it may cause a delay in ship date).

I'm just wondering if my free shipping would be void if my pc ships at a later date due to a part potentially causing a delay.

In other words, does free shipping incur the date it was ordered, or the date is is delivered?

 

the ati 9000 pro is equal to a geforce 4 MX 460.
Better cards would be the ati 9700 series, ati 8500 series, and the geforce 4 ti series.

 

Here is an example of "modern" computer sold at the nearest supermarket:

1500 MHz!!! (...Celeron...)
128 MB RAM!!! (...SDR...)
20 GB Hard-disk!!! (...75000 RPM, Quantum Fireball...)
GeForce4 MX!!! (...Integrated, 64 RAM...)
Only 1099 €/$!!! (Includes WinXP + OfficeXP)

Expensive and very soon under-powered PC, that. Whatever the magazines and such tell, I would not buy a comp that is "good enough for this day" -what about tomorrow?