Help Decide on New Machine!

hey fellow AOers

Basically, i will be buying a new system soon, of my own design (for once) :P and i was just wondering to get some suggestions,

i havent given it alot of thought, and as you dish your ideas out, remember that it will still be a few months down the track, but i will 'update' it myself.

p4 HT around 3Gb
more than 512 ram (deciding of which type)
160 or more Hdd
Ge4 (forget which model) [must have dual monitor support and tv in/out]
**would it be better to get a seperate tv card in qualilty wise*
possibly audigy 2 sound card
black aluminium casing

that is the basic system: naturally i will be getting burner, dvd-rom/cd-rom, zip drive, firewire etc etc yada yada..

Anyways, i just wanted some suggestions as i dont have the time to think TOO hard ;)

and Thanks to those who welcomed me back :)

[edit] Also, i dont want to go over the 2500$AU limit[/edit]

what will be your primary use for your future box? i think this is one of the few questions to consider when purchasing your box. AMD and intel based proc have very little difference when it comes to performance, what set's them apart is the amount of ventilation/cooling system you have to induce on them and of course the price difference, AMD cheaper than intel :)

anyway, the decision is still yours to make, maybe you can check out www.tomshardware.com to help ya out of comparing benchmarks :) i hope this helps

Yes, i am an AMD loyal, but someone told me Intel out beat AMD on benchmarking, i havent looked into it.. and im aware that AMD runs hotter, but hey, thats just means i dont need a heater duing winter :P (and of course its cheaper ;) which is added bonus)

hehe. as i said, its all screwing in the works.

Here are my hint.

Processor : Check the prices.. Differente between 2.6, 2.8 and 3.0 GHz can be so high that a 2.6 GHz can do the trick since you rarely use 100% of CPU power. Also, buy a 800 MHZ FSB. It worth the money.
Memory : I have 1 GO of Ram at home and every time I check, I don't recall having Windows use more that 512 for now but I shall do a start relogging session for game sessions :)
Video Card : With Longhorn GUI coming who will be realy hardcore on graphic card, you might want to go with the new Radeon 9600 All-In-Wonder.

Thanks SDK. will keep all that in mind :)

Quote:

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Originally posted here by High2Risk
Yes, i am an AMD loyal, but someone told me Intel out beat AMD on benchmarking, i havent looked into it.. and im aware that AMD runs hotter, but hey, thats just means i dont need a heater duing winter :P (and of course its cheaper ;) which is added bonus)

hehe. as i said, its all screwing in the works.

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A good review of both the processors speed: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20030623/index.html

Quote:

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Summary:
In the final stage of development, Intel launches the 3.2-GHz version of the P4, which competes with the AMD Athlon XP 3200+ in its product name only. In our benchmark tests, however, the P4 is always in the lead.

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Hmmm, i still remain AMD loyal. this might have had something to do with hardware compatability. majority of mainboards are designed for Intel. and in theory should run the cpu the best, if an AMD was used on the same board, the support would not be there, and hence a drop in performance?

just a guess, as the article does not show the specs on what system was used to test each cpu

Quote:

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Originally posted here by High2Risk


Hmmm, i still remain AMD loyal. this might have had something to do with hardware compatability. majority of mainboards are designed for Intel. and in theory should run the cpu the best, if an AMD was used on the same board, the support would not be there, and hence a drop in performance?

just a guess, as the article does not show the specs on what system was used to test each cpu

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Test Setup :)
http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/2003...4_3200-05.html

Also, I am a loyal AMD fan too. I have never had any problem with their processors. (Only had one small problem a little while ago with a coolermaster fan on the processor not working)

Thanks CXGJarrod :) i have had zero problems with AMD personally. and very few at work, however, most problems are because of stupid users so i cant blame the cpu :(

heh.

Ps, i think AMD running hotter is a bonus, low cost heating all year round :P

Hi,

IMHO the AMD is better value for money.......the P4 will protect itself againt frying better...So.........if you know how to design and build a system........go AMD? If not...go P4?

Just my £0.02

Cheers

I think P4's are the best cpu's for things like, Servers, Video editing machines etc, basicaly any machine that is going to be resource heavy.

The chances of frying your cpu on a normal PC if very very remote unless there is something wrong with your setup or you have "over"overclocked it.

For a normal home computer AMD's are more than good enough in every department and the cheaper price is an added bonus.

Why pay 100's of £'s for say a 3+ Ghz cpu when for a lot less you could get a 2+ Ghz cpu which will suffice just the same as a 3 Ghz, you will not notice the difference on a normal home computer used for every day things.( what do you need to do with a 3 Ghz cpu that you cant do with a 2+ Ghz cpu??)

I say save your money and buy AMD but there is no need to go, top of the range!

i have to aggre with nokia and the other guys that point out that there is a big diference in prices from a p4 2.7 or 2.8 to a p4 3.0 ghrz, that money that youre going to save in the processor use it to buy more memory ;) and cooling fans for the case

just my 2 cents

Yea, i must agree. hehe, down inside i kinda figured that i would go AMD regardless. just kinda my thing :P

i just like to get feedback.

Cheers anyways :)

CPU Horserpower is overrate! I'll take you a while before you noticed the different between a P4 2.6 GHz and a P4 3.0 GHZ. Save the money and get yourself some fun stuff like a cool case or another monitor for dual-monitor that will impress everyone! ;)

I got a 1.8 Ghz AMD processor, and I have never had any problems with it whatsoever. As for the difference in speed between my processor and the 3.0 Ghz ones that I have used, I don't really see the difference. I agree, save your money and just buy more memory!

Save the money........ & GET RAM..... that is real Speeder.. in PC's..... or just get urself some good Software. :D

Ok, well dual monitor setup i was getting anyways. a kewl case, more than likely aluminium (maybe see-through)

but its whats on the inside that counts. so far, my thought process goes along 2800 Athlon, 512 DDR (maybe more) Asus M/board, Ge4 (latest) audigy 2. and i nice lil speaker set (i have the jacks for it to fit into my stereo system anyways ;)

um, but as time goes i will keep you all posted :) still wont be for a lil while yet :)