That tears it. No new comp for me.

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dullard

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
26,042
4,689
126
Two courses to follow.

(1) $700 computer now. Gets 60 FPS* in a popular game benchmark. Wait a year or so. Buy another $700 computer and get 100 FPS in that game benchmark.

(2) $1500 computer now. Gets 80 FPS in that benchmark. Wait a year or so. Spend $400 on upgrades to get 100 FPS in that benchmark.

Both are perfectly playable now. Both have same performance in the future. Option (1) costs a total of $1400. Option (2) costs a total of $1900.

I choose option (1). No worries about "futureproofing". No worries about upgradability. Option (1) actually gives you two computers instead of one. Option (1) is cheaper. Etc.





* All benchmark numbers are just made up for a typical example that represents reality.
 
Pr0d1gy

Pr0d1gy

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2005
7,774
0
76
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
Here's a pair that beat a full house any day.

The floppy drive is a curse.
Click to expand...


LMAO @ pair, nice. Floppy drives are total BS & I refuse to use one myself, can we get past the 1980's please? Anyways, the only thing I did have an issue with was your SLI statement where you said it only gives minimal gains, which is totally untrue. SLI setups doubled the FPS for every game they were used on & blow away single ATi cards. Do you really need all this graphical prowess? Probably not. Good thread though & I totally agree that if a company wants you to pay $500-1000 for video cards they should make drivers that work, period.
 
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WdnUlik2no

Member
May 5, 2005
169
0
0
don't buy the greatest. When new things first come on the market they will be at a premium. The best thing to do is to get middle range stuff that will give you most bang for the buck. That way you'll always get the best price and at the same time won't have the "worse" system on the market. Advancement is unavoidable. I used to be the same way, but I got to the point where I didn't care about the every new thing that came out. Its too expensive to always try to stay ahead of the game.

As long as my PC does what I want it to do, then I am happy. In fact, for the past 5 years I have been running a 900Mhz Athlon and have been happy with it. It wasn't until last week that I built a new PC because I wanted to get back in to PC gaming.


MSI K8N NeoPlatinum socket 754
AMD Athlon 64 3000+
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
1GB PC3200 RAM
DVD+-RW
CD-RW
200GB Hard Drive
Sound Blaster Live Audigy2 ZS

Even still, my parts are not the absolute best on the market, but it can still run any game out there today including Doom 3. Also socket 754 is going away, but as long as I can find parts, I really didn't care. Also, since MSI charges lot more for their 939 mobo, I didn't see the need to spend the extra money.

I expect my new system to last me at least 3 - 4 years and on top of that my system is very upgradable, so it can last potentially much longer.

On a side note, I will NEVER buy another store bought or pre assembled computer again. This was my first PC build and it won't be my last.

Another tip that you may already know is you can save A TON of money buying online instead of retail stores. I saved over $315 on my PC build, and that includes shipping costs!! I could have saved a lot more had I bought ALL my parts online. Example: Microcenter charged $200 for the athlon 64 3000+ CPU, I got the exact same one online for $138. I also got the 9800 pro for $150 on Ebay brand new. This same card costs $250 in the retail stores.
 
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Chosonman

Golden Member
Jan 24, 2005
1,136
0
0
Nice rig WdnUlik2no looks like the one I have and the one I'm building for my mom. The absolute best bang for the buck IMO.



 
N

n0cmonkey

Elite Member
Jun 10, 2001
42,936
1
0
PS/2 is important for keyboards. I don't need a USB keyboard, I can't type fast enough to need it.
Serial is important for hooking up to other computers. Not all computers need video after all. ;)
 
D

DanDaMan315

Golden Member
Oct 25, 2004
1,366
0
0
Hehe, wimp. If having a good computer is not important to you then yes, you should save your money. And if you want value get a x800xl for about $299.

Funny you say you don't want a parellel port, I was pissed when my mobo didn't have one, lol. However serial is just useless as hell.
 
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CrispyFried

Golden Member
May 3, 2005
1,122
0
0
There are still plenty of old printers that use parallel ports out there still running strong. Serial ports are still nice too, external modems for example. So I still want them. I even use floppies on ocasionally for troubleshooting.

There are ways around all that, but it costs way more than just including them on a mobo.
 
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CheesePoofs

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2004
3,163
0
0
So your mad because new parts come out that won't work with your current setup? And your sollution is to buy a comp from an OEM featuring the same parts for more money? :cookie: for you.

PS: I'm typing this on a Mac, and this mac is perfectly new and did NOT cost 3x the price of an equivalent PC.
 
F

Fisher999

Golden Member
Nov 12, 1999
1,670
0
0
Originally posted by: X
Originally posted by: Aftermath
I have always had a much more enjoyable experience just upgrading from upper mid range systems to upper mid range systems once every other year or so.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

It is common for newbies to think they need the bleeding edge, both for bragging rights and for "future proofing" their investment. In reality, both of those reasons are naive, due to the rapid pace of progress in the computing world.

I fell into that trap myself when I built my first rig, and have decided to take a more common sense approach in the future. Instead of paying a ridiculous premium for a 10% performance increase, I go with a more reasonable solution that meets my needs at the time.

I don't upgrade unless I really need to, and am always glad afterwards that I took that approach. You can always get something faster, for less money, if you simply wait until you really need it instead of jumping on the hype wagon at every new release.
Click to expand...

I feel EXACTLY the SAME way x ! :thumbsup:

 
StrangerGuy

StrangerGuy

Diamond Member
May 9, 2004
8,443
124
106
Originally posted by: X
How do you update the bios on your motherboard without a floppy?
Click to expand...

Some manufacturers have BIOS flashers that works on Windows.


Anyway, my XP1700+ @ 1.8GHz is still serving me very well even though it's already 2.5 years old, and coupled with a 9800 Pro I can play all the games I want at good enough speeds with AA and AF.

Frankly, I don't really see much reason to buy a 6800GT/X800XL unless I'm running games @ 1600x1200 as games with DX9 eye candy generally blows in the gameplay sector, and I don't play games just to look at shinier water.

 
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dripgoss

Senior member
Mar 13, 2003
496
0
0
Originally posted by: dullard
Two courses to follow.
Click to expand...

Another route that I like to take is build a $700 to $900 PC using well researched deals, get good at selling your components every 2-3 months or so before they lose more than 80% of their value respectively and just get really good at reinstalling windows and backing up your data.

In some cases, I've actually made money or broken even after 3 months of owning a rig. Any money I might lose, I consider a "rental fee" or "hobby expense".

Just maybe another way for you guys to view your purchases...
 
G

gotsmack

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2001
5,768
0
71
Your system is fine and should last you another year when AMD moves over to a new socket.

The days of the 440BX are dead. (I still use it and upgraded it from 450 to 1ghz, will become obsolete when longhorn comes out, WOW 7 years!)
 
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wisdomtooth

Golden Member
Dec 21, 2004
1,155
0
0
Originally posted by: dripgoss
Another route that I like to take is build a $700 to $900 PC using well researched deals, get good at selling your components every 2-3 months or so before they lose more than 80% of their value respectively and just get really good at reinstalling windows and backing up your data.

In some cases, I've actually made money or broken even after 3 months of owning a rig. Any money I might lose, I consider a "rental fee" or "hobby expense".

Just maybe another way for you guys to view your purchases...
Click to expand...

...Except that's almost a full-time job in and of itself! :laugh:
 
Malak

Malak

Lifer
Dec 4, 2004
14,696
2
0
You should stop looking at the fact that new products come out every 5 minutes and look at how long what you buy will really last. All my machines have lasted 2+ years without more than a RAM upgrade. And the last time I got a RAM upgrade was on a machine that only had 16mb of RAM to begin with :p

My current machine is 5 months old. In the next 6 months I may get a single upgrade, and that's just to get a PPU when they hit the market. In 12-18 months I may get a new video card, trade out my old one to save money. It's not hard to keep up if you don't sweat the small stuff, like oh noes a new CPU is out, or a new mobo... big deal. You're right, it's not worth it to spend out the ass for 2% gain ever 2 days. So don't do it!
 
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wisdomtooth

Golden Member
Dec 21, 2004
1,155
0
0
ANNNND? Clothes on your back... Roof over your head... Bread on the table... feeding the Missus and the kids, maybe? :laugh: That's THE full-time job for many of us, you know.
 
The Boston Dangler

The Boston Dangler

Lifer
Mar 10, 2005
14,647
2
0
Originally posted by: CheesePoofs
So your mad because new parts come out that won't work with your current setup? And your sollution is to buy a comp from an OEM featuring the same parts for more money? :cookie: for you.

PS: I'm typing this on a Mac, and this mac is perfectly new and did NOT cost 3x the price of an equivalent PC.
Click to expand...



Take your Mac love elsewhere, like the Mac vs. PC thread. Lamer
 
F

Fisher999

Golden Member
Nov 12, 1999
1,670
0
0
Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler
...I just saw the X800XL 512 announced for $449. That's right, $449. For a mid-level card that gives absolutely minimal gains, if any. And you know you won't see it for less than five bills. If you ever see it at all. Nvidia is exactly the same. With all the money these two make, maybe they could put out some decent drivers. Here's a pair that beat a full house any day...
Click to expand...

TOO Funny ! :laugh:

 
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