Advice on new pc

CocoMunkee

Member
Aug 10, 2004
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thinking of new sys @alienware. Pc is for surfing & games (Civ3,EQ,RPG'S)-Specs are:
AMD 64 3400+ CPU
ASUS K8V SE Deluxe Mobo
1GB Corsair XMS RAM
ATI Radeon X800 Platinum Vid Card
73.4GB West Dig Raptor SATA in Raid 0 (10,000rpm)
480 watt PS

is this overkill? should I wait for Socket939Mobo? any issues with Asus & ATI? is Raid reliable?
Thanks in advance to any replies.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Aug 23, 2003
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if you're going to buy it prebuilt, get a midlevel system. everquest 9 won't even need an x800plat.

check out dell too. how much for that alienware, btw?
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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That system will work great, but is overpriced.

A single 74 GB Raptor is about the same speed as 2 Raptors in RAID0 and is more reliable.

nVidia fx 6800 GT offers the same performance in Doom 3 for $100 less, but no one knows about Half-Life 2 perofrmance yet.
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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Guys, not everyone wants to pay half as much, get 90% of the performance, and have to build it themselves with parts from Newegg.com.

CocoMunkee you might compare prices with Dell XPS systems, but realize that the A64 is a bit faster than the P4 in gaming (3400+ beats P4 3.4 GHz).

For video cards, www.HardOCP.com has 2 recent Doom3 video card articles, plus other articles comparing the X800 line against the nVidia fx 6800 cards in other games. The main AnandTech site has more speed tests under both Video and Systems.
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
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Aug 23, 2003
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raptor is a waste of money period. opt for a newer 250gb sata drive instead. believe me, your life will still be the same if the level loads in 33 seconds instead of 31.2 seconds
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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Originally posted by: jpeyton
raptor is a waste of money period. opt for a newer 250gb sata drive instead. believe me, your life will still be the same if the level loads in 33 seconds instead of 31.2 seconds
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