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A newbie when it comes to Computers.

Z

Zathroth

Member
I was refered to this site on people that arent as biased towards one company or another. And people who know thier stuff. Im 15 years old. My computer right now is getting old and not meeting up with todays demand in my opinion. So im searching for a new one. I usually only play MMORPG games Like Everquest. Im buying a new one for Starwars Galaxy. They say you need T/L tech in your graphics card. Onto my point. Most of the computers offered . Do not have what i want. So i searched to customize one at Alienware. My questions are. Whats the difference in AMD 2200 XP+ processor and a Intel 2.4? Can my old computer monitor work with my new cpu im buying? Should i spend the extra about 250-300 for 1 gig ram instead of 512? Is thier any cheaper way to get what i want? Ive never built a pc. The closest thing i have ever came to doing anything constructive is replace RAM, Network cards for Fiber dsl. and RAM. Im kinda on a budget. Any responses and/or helpful information is greatly appreciated

Casey

 
yes your monitor will work
AMD and Intel is like Ford and Daimler, same thing different name and always worth a discussion
1GB ram vs. 512MB ram is useless in your case

Find a customized system somewhere or if you feel able, buy parts and build yourself.

Hellblast
 
I suggest you find a friend that knows his stuff and pay him some money (maybe $50 or so) to build you a computer. This way it would be customized, cheap, and you can learn a thing or two. Stick with 512 ram for now, upgrade later for a cheaper price.
 
My questions are. Whats the difference in AMD 2200 XP+ processor and a Intel 2.4? Can my old computer monitor work with my new cpu im buying? Should i spend the extra about 250-300 for 1 gig ram instead of 512? Is thier any cheaper way to get what i want? Ive never built a pc. The closest thing i have ever came to doing anything constructive is replace RAM, Network cards for Fiber dsl. and RAM. Im kinda on a budget. Any responses and/or helpful information is greatly appreciated

1) Diff between 2200 XP / P4 2.4 : Pentium will be outperformed in this situation typically. They're both pretty much equal in real world performance. There will be a slight difference in frames when playing certain games but nothing noticeable. I'm not sure of the cost of the 2200 XP but the 2.4 just got a price drop. Either one will suit you fine.

2) Your old monitor would work fine. If you're not paying for it though, you might be able to convince your parents or whoever is buying it that monitor technologies have changed over the last couple of years and you would be benefited by taking advantage of these advancements 🙂

3) Personally, I wouldn't spend any money on RAM > 512. You will see probably < 1% performance increase in regular applications, if any unless you're doing some serious multi-tasking involving memory-dependent applications (which it sounds like you're not). Also, $250 for 512MB ram is a rip off. 512MB Corsair PC3200 = ~$185. Alienware is a rip-off IMHO. Maybe other users could recommend a more cost-effective solution.

Building a PC isn't really that hard. It will save you an arm and a leg off of Alienware. Good luck in whatever you choose!

-silver
 
"Whats the difference in AMD 2200 XP+ processor and a Intel 2.4?"

AMD 2200XP+ is cheaper on price and runs hotter which means you will need more cooling which could lead to a louder system
Intel P4 is twice the price but runs cooler which means you will have a nice and quiet system because you don't need real heavy cooling

Performance wise the P4 is most likely faster but not enough to justify twice the price. If your on a budget get the 2200+ and save the rest for a GF4 Ti4200 or better video card. As for the ram 512mb is plenty and will be for a while to come. Alienware although makes some of the nicest systems they are also the priciest. If I was you I would go with a Dell high end system or buy all the parts you need from Newegg and come here on how to build it. Its quite simple. You can find sites by doing searchs on google on how to build your own system. Do some research and see if it sounds like it would be easy enough for you to do.
 
Im just worried that i will mess it up. But im looking at pcmech.com and looking at the 27 page guide to building my own computer. It seems simple. But all the getting complying stuff for your motherboard seems kinda complicated. Ill do some mroe research and get back with you guys
 
I just came to a intersection. I got a list of the main components i need. Ill post them later but . Whats the difference in OEM and boxed processors? Im looknig at lowest prices on these as pcmech.com
 
OEM means only the CPU (no heatsink or fan), and retail (boxed) comes complete with those. Also, USUALLY the cpu for OEM is 10 days-1 year depending on the supplier, where retail is 3 years for both I think. Also obviously retail is a few more bucks, but I have been going that way because of 1) the warranty, and 2) the heatsink/fan(HSF for short) is nice and quite and works fine most of the time.

edit:retail=boxed
 
Originally posted by: Entropy007
FYI Prices for the 2 CPU's in question at Googlegear

retail prices
Athlon 2200+ is $161
P4 2.4B is $192

So it's a tossup
Here is a <a class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1635" target=blank>review of the 2200+</A>
Click to expand...

If you do decide to get a P4, be sure you are getting the 2.4 with the 533mhz fsb..as they are both nearly the same price at googlegear, but the better one is slightly cheaper..go figure
rolleye.gif


Just be sure it is the P4 2.4B for currently $192🙂
 
Ok. I found this list from Tech mech of Collecting/purchaseing computer parts. So i went searching. Everything that is blank im confused and mose of them i cant find. Maybe a mroe technical term. Im useing pcmech.pricegrabber.com for everything. Everything that was in the list after "-" before it. Everything i found is after. I added speakers and Power supply. Also the big question is. How do i see if everything is compadible? Also what type of ram do i need. I have all the Technical specs for everything i found and listed. For future reference. I vopy and pasted them onto seperate note pad docs. Also is this the ideal performance i need? Also i need a NIC card. I think i need a 10/100 for my Fiber optical connection for ADSL,. Thanks for any and all help prior and after this post. Here is the list. Please give me critism on my choices Im looking for the best performance i can get for my buck. Ill also give the prices. And.. I mostly only play internet games. Like everquest. Remeber PLEASE ask any questions and give your opinion/critism on my choices. Prices Tech specs. Compadible. Everything. Thanks again

Case-1080AMG Performance Plus ATX Tower(104.54$)
Motherboard-P4T533-C Pentium 4, Socket 478, ATX, 2GB RDRAM, 533MHz FSB($154.00)
Processor-Pentium 4 (2.53GHz 256KB, 533MHz, Socket 478) [$236.00 ]
Memory-
Vid card-Radeon 9700 Pro AGP 128MB DDR 2D/3D w/TV support ($328.00)
Removable storeage-
Hard drive-80GB EIDE ULTRA ATA 100 9.5MS 7200RPM BARRACUDA($102.00)
Sound card-SANTA CRUZ PCI SOUND CARD W/ DIGITAL SIGNAL PROCESSOR ($62.00 )
Cd rom/DVD-Artec ACD 56X CD-ROM(24.00$)
KEYBOARD and mouse-30$$
DRIVE CABLES-
AUDIO CABLES-
SCREWS-
SYSTEM DISK-
Power supply-TRUE POWER 550W POWER SUPPLY GOLD PLATED CONNECTORS ($93.93)
Speakers-JBL CREATURE - SILVER ($93.95)

 
On the Intel side:

Case: Antec SX830 - $69 + shipping @ emscomputing (includes 300W PSU)
Motherboard: Epox EP-4G4A+ - $136 shipped
Processor: Pentium 4 2A retail - $168 shipped (looking forward to overclocking)
Memory: 512MB (single dimm) PC2100 DDR SDRAM from Crucial - $126.89 shipped + tax, if applicable
Video: The ABIT Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES 64MB DVI/TV-out ($179) looks very interesting because of the innovative cooling system, but it's a little expensive. The ABIT SILURO GF4 TI4200 128MB DDR TV/DVI ($163) is a better deal, and there are plenty of similar-priced GF4 TI4200 cards.
HDD: WD1200JB - $159 shipped
CDRW: Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW Model: LTR40125S-Retail - $60 shipped
Floppy Drive: Any - $15 shipped

That should make well under $1000 for a very decent, and worry-free system.



 
Tangential inquisition ahead:

Does anyone here think the 2.4A would possibly be able to hit 3.2 (aka 133fsb) or would it be significantly lower???
 
Originally posted by: DeRusto
Tangential inquisition ahead:

Does anyone here think the 2.4A would possibly be able to hit 3.2 (aka 133fsb) or would it be significantly lower???
Click to expand...

It's unlikely it'll hit that high. Intel is only up to 2.8Ghz right now. What happen with those lower-end CPUs that overclock really well is that the manufacturers often have overstock of the high-end that's not selling at that time and they clock them lower and sell them as 1.6, 1.8 or 2.0 Ghz, for example. I think that this is why the 1.6A overclocks so well. I had one that did 2.4Ghz at all default with Crucial PC2100 SDRAM. I don't expect more than 2.66 (133FSB) from my new 2A, even with PC3200 Corsair SDRAM and tweaked out settings...On the same note, I strongly doubt that my 2.53 (coming tomorrow) will hit 3Ghz.
 
Ok about the Video cards. Whats the difference in a 64 mb and 124 mb? Ok maybe faster strong better. But what is all the add ons to the title. TV in out ETC. Is the extra MB to have those abilitys or does it actually help the faster better picture
 
Whats all this i hear about "Overclocking"? what does that term mean. Explain please. and Thank you sooo very much for all your guys help.
 
Ok about the Video cards. Whats the difference in a 64 mb and 124 mb? Ok maybe faster strong better. But what is all the add ons to the title. TV in out ETC. Is the extra MB to have those abilitys or does it actually help the faster better picture
Click to expand...

well... when you play any 3D game on your computer (Star wars galaxies included 🙂 ), it is essentially creating the world you see as a wireframe model (just a bunch of lines outlining each and every detail.. including that wookie beside you.... ) and then applying a texture ( an image file that contains the colors for each particular detail). For games to look better, the textures and the model itself has to be finer. As more detail goes into it, the amount of data about it increases. If this goes > 64MB, your graphics card will have to access the system memory, which is wayyyy slower than whats on the card itself. For future games, its gonna be a necessity to have 128MB on the card itself, as people keep wanting better looking stuff all the time.

From all that above, you should realise that the memory does not affect any other "add-ons" you might get on the video card.


 
On the Intel side:

Case: Antec SX830 - $69 + shipping @ emscomputing (includes 300W PSU)
Motherboard: Epox EP-4G4A+ - $136 shipped
Processor: Pentium 4 2A retail - $168 shipped (looking forward to overclocking)
Memory: 512MB (single dimm) PC2100 DDR SDRAM from Crucial - $126.89 shipped + tax, if applicable
Video: The ABIT Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES 64MB DVI/TV-out ($179) looks very interesting because of the innovative cooling system, but it's a little expensive. The ABIT SILURO GF4 TI4200 128MB DDR TV/DVI ($163) is a better deal, and there are plenty of similar-priced GF4 TI4200 cards.
HDD: WD1200JB - $159 shipped
CDRW: Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW Model: LTR40125S-Retail - $60 shipped
Floppy Drive: Any - $15 shipped

That should make well under $1000 for a very decent, and worry-free system.

He suggested this. Before i actually take it into serious question. Not that i think hes wrong. Just what are your opinion on this set up? Difficult? What about sound? i dont see any sound card
 
Originally posted by: Entropy007
Just be sure it is the P4 2.4<B>B</B> for currently $192🙂

It is. The 2.4A is 4 dollars more😉
Click to expand...


Hehe, I wasn't telling you that🙂 as I knew that you knew.. I was telling Zathroth..because I didn't think he would want to overclock, getting the rev B cpu is what he wants to make sure he gets😉
 
Originally posted by: Zathroth
On the Intel side:

Case: Antec SX830 - $69 + shipping @ emscomputing (includes 300W PSU)
Motherboard: Epox EP-4G4A+ - $136 shipped
Processor: Pentium 4 2A retail - $168 shipped (looking forward to overclocking)
Memory: 512MB (single dimm) PC2100 DDR SDRAM from Crucial - $126.89 shipped + tax, if applicable
Video: The ABIT Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES 64MB DVI/TV-out ($179) looks very interesting because of the innovative cooling system, but it's a little expensive. The ABIT SILURO GF4 TI4200 128MB DDR TV/DVI ($163) is a better deal, and there are plenty of similar-priced GF4 TI4200 cards.
HDD: WD1200JB - $159 shipped
CDRW: Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW Model: LTR40125S-Retail - $60 shipped
Floppy Drive: Any - $15 shipped

That should make well under $1000 for a very decent, and worry-free system.

He suggested this. Before i actually take it into serious question. Not that i think hes wrong. Just what are your opinion on this set up? Difficult? What about sound? i dont see any sound card
Click to expand...


That setup sounds like it will be a very very nice machine for you.. it also couldn't get much more simple to build..we can all help you if you have any troubles though🙂

There IS no sound card in that list, but that is because the motherboard has very nice built-in audio. It should suit you just fine, but if it doesn't, you can always get a sound card later.
 
Originally posted by: Zathroth
Also what about a OS? do i need to buy one or..?
Click to expand...
There are plenty of sites out there that allow you to download full operating systems for free. I think one of them is www.redhat.com 😉

However, if you want to go with a Windows operating system, you can use the one from your old PC if you completely wipe out the old HD. Otherwise, you have to go out and buy it like the rest of us.
 
What is your budget and will the system be used mainly for playing games?
If your monitor is old and small it probably makes sense to make room for a new one in your budget.
You might want to go for a step or two slower cpu and put the money saved towards a faster video card.
 
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