Questions

[sammyunltd]

Hi! I've been away of this industry for a while and I'm coming back, now that I want to upgrade my piece of sh*t that I can call computer. I am willing to wait until the beginning of August if it means having a

I've heard there are two new sockets : Core2 and AM2. I won't ask which one is the best because one of them isn't on the market yet. Instead, I want to know your feedbacks about the AM2, since I was, and still am, as of lately, an AMD fan (even though my current CPU is a poor Pentium 4 Willamette).

Also, I can say that I am a fan of the nVidia GeForce 7xxx. But, the last video cards I remember are the 7800 GT and GTX. What about 7900 GT, 7900 GTX, 7600..... I'm totally lost.

About the RAM, is it safe to say that DDR2 is better and ''more future-proof'' than DDR 1?

Finally, to give some juice to this monster, how many watts will I need? 500W or more?

Thank you!

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

AM2 is a decent platform offering very little performance advantage over s939, but allowing you to use faster/cheaper DDR2 ram. the 7900gtx would be the fastest single card from nvidia (unless you count the 7950gx2 which is really 2 GPUs, 2 PCBs, SLi'd). The x1900xtx is generally faster than the 7900gtx, however, for around the same price. The x1800xt is also a good buy right now with ATi selling it for under $300.

DDR2 is more future proof, as now both AMD and intel are on it.

The wattage on a powersupply isn't as important as the amps on the +12v rail. Also it's important to consider the manufacturer of the PSU too.

 

[sammyunltd]

Hi!

There's one thing I don't understand with the GX2 thing. If used in SLI, it means that there's 4 cards plugged to the motherboard. Right?

I'm looking for a good GPU, not a top notch one. It must run the games at good framerates and good resolution (not the 640*480 i'm playing right now), but by not being an hardcore gamer anymore, I don't need stellar performances but I'd like good results.

The GeForce 7900 GT looks nice. Anything good from ATi (in the same price/performance ranges)? Or anything better from nVidia?

PS: On Wiki, they say that the 7900 GT is very unstable (artifacting...). Is it true, as of now? Also, why is the 7900 GT so much cheaper than the others nVidia cards? Is there a catch (like 128-bit memory or half the pipelines of the others,...)?

 

[Blain]

I just ordered a Liberty 500W today.
Rock solid, clean, quiet power for $100 shipped... What's not to love? :laugh:

BTW, Difference between the 500W & 620W Liberty...
500W = +3.3v @ 28A, +5v @ 30A, +12v1 @ 22A, +12v2 @ 22A
620W = +3.3v @ 28A, +5v @ 32A, +12v1 @ 22A, +12v2 @ 22A

Oops, I forgot... 500W Liberty @ $100, 620W Liberty @ $170 😛

 

[sammyunltd]

Nice! Thank you!

So, 500W would be okay. What about the Antec Neos or the TruePowers? Overall, what are the best brands (but not too expensive) ?

I plan to buy a Antec P180 (case). Is it still a good choice nowadays?

A Big Thank You!

 

[Blain]

Let jonnyGURU tell you...
"the Liberty as a better value than a PC Power and Cooling or Zippy or Etasis. Better than PCP&C or a Zippy or an Etasis? Can?t say. Won?t say. But a better value for sure"

 

[SlitheryDee]

If you're definitely going with AMD then it might be wise to wait until the end of the month. I hear that there will be significant price cuts on the 24th.

 

[corkyg]

Hmmmm! According to Johnny Cash, the slithery dee came out of the sea. 🙂

No link needed - I have the record - circa 1964-65.

Thanks - goot tip!

 

[sammyunltd]

Thank you!

I'm looking for a good GPU, not a top notch one. It must run the games at good framerates and good resolution (not the 640*480 i'm playing right now), but by not being an hardcore gamer anymore, I don't need stellar performances but I'd like good results.

The GeForce 7900 GT looks nice. Anything good from ATi (in the same price/performance ranges)? Or anything better from nVidia?

PS: On Wiki, they say that the 7900 GT is very unstable (artifacting...). Is it true, as of now? Also, why is the 7900 GT so much cheaper than the others nVidia cards? Is there a catch (like 128-bit memory or half the pipelines of the others,...)?