<!--QuoteBegin--Wheeee+Jun 27 2003, 05:32 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Wheeee @ Jun 27 2003, 05:32 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> If you don't want to go top-of-the-line on vid cards, the answer is definitely radeon 9700 pro. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> If you know what you are doing, you can buy a Radeon 9700 Non-Pro and easily overclock it to a Pro and save yourself 50 bucks or so.
<!--QuoteBegin--Sandrocky+Jun 27 2003, 06:34 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Sandrocky @ Jun 27 2003, 06:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--Wheeee+Jun 27 2003, 05:32 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Wheeee @ Jun 27 2003, 05:32 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> If you don't want to go top-of-the-line on vid cards, the answer is definitely radeon 9700 pro. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> If you know what you are doing, you can buy a Radeon 9700 Non-Pro and easily overclock it to a Pro and save yourself 50 bucks or so. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> True, but then you might get artifacts...and the 9700 pro uses higher quality components. The guy sounded kinda new to this kind of stuff, so I just used the least-hassle thing.
Thanks for all the suggestions I'll probably build one. Anyone know a site that gives step by step instructions to build a PC? I'm going to check Google right now. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
for your purchases, try <a href='http://www.googlegear.com' target='_blank'>googlegear</a> or <a href='http://www.newegg.com' target='_blank'>newegg.</a>
*edit* and feel free to get more second opinions at other places...dedicated to computer hardware *edit*
<!--QuoteBegin--Wheeee+Jun 27 2003, 06:19 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Wheeee @ Jun 27 2003, 06:19 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--404NotFound+Jun 27 2003, 06:17 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (404NotFound @ Jun 27 2003, 06:17 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Leadtek just came out with a GFFX 5900 that goes for 380, not too bad.. and no dustbuster. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> The 5900 never was a dustbuster, it's a very good card. the 5800/Ultra is what you're thinking of. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> <a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=48&manufactory=1280&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1' target='_blank'>scroll to the bottom</a>
<!--QuoteBegin--dr.d+Jun 27 2003, 05:53 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (dr.d @ Jun 27 2003, 05:53 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--Diablus+Jun 27 2003, 04:42 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Diablus @ Jun 27 2003, 04:42 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> alienware <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> how about no? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> WOW ISNT THAT FUNNY HOW THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR GAMEING? from now on dont post any threads aganst me
Yes, alienware makes computers designed specifically for gamers. Yes, they do make really good machines. Yes, they are horribly overpriced for what you get. Thats why lots of people have gripes against alienware. For the most part, you could build what they give you for 1/2 to 2/3 the price.
im going to build a new pc soon, the gainward 5900 looks sharp- <a href='http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDg5' target='_blank'>clickeh?<-- review on hardocp.com</a> im going to get everything through newegg
2800 + barton dual 512 pc 3200 -- most likely corsair xms nforce 2 board of some sort fx 5900 lian li case
this is my first new pc in three years so im happy to be getting this
techtv has a book or a video on building a new computer you should check it out, building a new computer isnt hard ill tell you that i think i can put one together in 30 min at most
Uhm... yea.. I'm not really a n00b but its liek 2AM. teh benchmarks oh my the benchmarks... 103FPS in UT2K3 @ 1600x1200 4xFSAA 8xAF? I get 30FPS at lowest res :O... And it only costs about 2000. my comp aint that bad, either i got a geforce 4 ti 4600 512MB of RAM but everything else sucks, unfortunately 1.2Ghz Athalon, 200Mhz FSB...
i want that processor from the PS2 <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin--Diablus+Jun 27 2003, 09:18 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Diablus @ Jun 27 2003, 09:18 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--dr.d+Jun 27 2003, 05:53 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (dr.d @ Jun 27 2003, 05:53 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> <!--QuoteBegin--Diablus+Jun 27 2003, 04:42 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Diablus @ Jun 27 2003, 04:42 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> alienware <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> how about no? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd--> WOW ISNT THAT FUNNY HOW THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR GAMEING? from now on dont post any threads aganst me <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> calm down, calm down
just becasue someone happens not to agree with you is no reason to flame him
I recommend building your own...If not that, purchase an Alien Ware computer (Very pricey), or a computer from ABS Computers...One of their 1,000 dollar comps beat out a Falcon North West which is 3,000...
Build. www.pricewatch.com www.resellerratings.com All you need. I usually buy from www.newegg.com AMD/NVidia for me <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
If you want low price there is also www.ibuypower.com You can get über-low price machineZ with über-high performance components. Of course, they arent as tweaked as AlienWares but for the price, its all good.
Whats wrong with Alienware guys? Build a pc with the same components as one of theirs and they'll still beat you by at least 10% better performance. They tweak everything and overclock their video cards (in case cable management anyone?), and even though its possible to do it alone, not everyone can overclock a gf4 4200 to a gf4 4600.
You might wanna wait to see what the new AMD 64 does.
Anandtech did some tests on a 1.8GHz Opteron ( a server chip) with a GF4MX and the results were that in games the 1.8 <a href='http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1818&p=6' target='_blank'>did better than</a> the P4 3.0
Electric Sheep, you're in luck! GameSpy just finished up their "how to build a PC" article. It's extremely simplistic, and should be good for a first time builder:
<!--QuoteBegin--Flying-Bastard+Jun 28 2003, 07:54 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Flying-Bastard @ Jun 28 2003, 07:54 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Whats wrong with Alienware guys? Build a pc with the same components as one of theirs and they'll still beat you by at least 10% better performance. They tweak everything and overclock their video cards (in case cable management anyone?), and even though its possible to do it alone, not everyone can overclock a gf4 4200 to a gf4 4600. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> So not only are they overpriced and overpretentious computers, they are unprofessional in the way they produce them, geegee.
www.ebuyer.com
Dunno how well they work in the US as I've only ever had to to use the british side of it, but cheap, reliable parts with next day delivery that actually delivers next day not "sometime when we can be arsed to mail it to you"
Following the gamespy article is you best bet for building a machine yourself.
PS using ebuyer I just priced myself the base of a new system (2.6 athlon, 512DDR RAM, motherboard, heatsink+fan, new case and 300watt PSU and a new 80 gig hard drive which I dont actually _need_) for £277 and 11 pence, which is about $300-$350(?) The only things you would need on top of that are graphics card (+£100) a network card possibly (+£10) a 56k modem if you really feel you need it (+£10) and if you don't want to to use the motherboard sound..which is probably a good idea (laff) you'll need a new soundcard (£10-£100 depending on how much cash you got left and how important sound is to you)
Once you've got the system built I highly recommend you read MonsEs ReadyRoom article on how to effectiely set up and tweak your OS install (although its designed for 2000/XP which I strongly recommend you use on a system of this spec some of the options can be used on any MSOS) *ok readyrooms down at the moment but it'll come back*
Then a quick google can tell you what you need to know about tweaking various video games, hardware and software settings and more windows tweakage to get the maximum performance out of your machine.
Theres no need to buy brandname computers anymore, Packard Bell, Dell, Compaq and Alienware or all the same, nothing but overpriced flashy goods. And in my opinion Alienwares the worst..it's a bunch of geeks like you and me, ripping off other geeks like you and me...Bill Gates syndrome anyone?
Comments
If you know what you are doing, you can buy a Radeon 9700 Non-Pro and easily overclock it to a Pro and save yourself 50 bucks or so.
If you know what you are doing, you can buy a Radeon 9700 Non-Pro and easily overclock it to a Pro and save yourself 50 bucks or so. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
True, but then you might get artifacts...and the 9700 pro uses higher quality components. The guy sounded kinda new to this kind of stuff, so I just used the least-hassle thing.
D.D.P.S.D.T
Maybe Ill start a trend <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
<a href='http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?threadid=83663' target='_blank'>advanced clickeh</a>
<a href='http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=118690' target='_blank'>even more advanced clickeh</a>
for your purchases, try <a href='http://www.googlegear.com' target='_blank'>googlegear</a> or <a href='http://www.newegg.com' target='_blank'>newegg.</a>
*edit* and feel free to get more second opinions at other places...dedicated to computer hardware *edit*
The 5900 never was a dustbuster, it's a very good card. the 5800/Ultra is what you're thinking of. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=48&manufactory=1280&DEPA=1&sortby=14&order=1' target='_blank'>scroll to the bottom</a>
.
how about no? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
WOW ISNT THAT FUNNY HOW THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR GAMEING? from now on dont post any threads aganst me
2800 + barton
dual 512 pc 3200 -- most likely corsair xms
nforce 2 board of some sort
fx 5900
lian li case
this is my first new pc in three years so im happy to be getting this
techtv has a book or a video on building a new computer you should check it out, building a new computer isnt hard ill tell you that
i think i can put one together in 30 min at most
GeForce FX 5900 256MB
P4 3.2Ghz
Mobo 800Mhz FSB 8xAGP
Audigy 2
Uhm... yea.. I'm not really a n00b but its liek 2AM. teh benchmarks oh my the benchmarks... 103FPS in UT2K3 @ 1600x1200 4xFSAA 8xAF? I get 30FPS at lowest res :O... And it only costs about 2000. my comp aint that bad, either i got a geforce 4 ti 4600 512MB of RAM but everything else sucks, unfortunately 1.2Ghz Athalon, 200Mhz FSB...
i want that processor from the PS2 <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
how about no? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
WOW ISNT THAT FUNNY HOW THEY ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR GAMEING? from now on dont post any threads aganst me <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
calm down, calm down
just becasue someone happens not to agree with you is no reason to flame him
<a href='http://www.gamespy.com/hardware/june03/ugm/' target='_blank'>link</a>
www.pricewatch.com
www.resellerratings.com
All you need.
I usually buy from www.newegg.com
AMD/NVidia for me <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
You can get über-low price machineZ with über-high performance components. Of course, they arent as tweaked as AlienWares but for the price, its all good.
Whats wrong with Alienware guys? Build a pc with the same components as one of theirs and they'll still beat you by at least 10% better performance. They tweak everything and overclock their video cards (in case cable management anyone?), and even though its possible to do it alone, not everyone can overclock a gf4 4200 to a gf4 4600.
Anandtech did some tests on a 1.8GHz Opteron ( a server chip) with a GF4MX and the results were that in games the 1.8 <a href='http://www.anandtech.com/cpu/showdoc.html?i=1818&p=6' target='_blank'>did better than</a> the P4 3.0
You may wanna look into that.
<a href='http://www.gamespy.com/hardware/june03/ugm/part2/' target='_blank'>http://www.gamespy.com/hardware/june03/ugm/part2/</a>
If you have any problems though, you'll want a more in-depth guide.
So not only are they overpriced and overpretentious computers, they are unprofessional in the way they produce them, geegee.
www.ebuyer.com
Dunno how well they work in the US as I've only ever had to to use the british side of it, but cheap, reliable parts with next day delivery that actually delivers next day not "sometime when we can be arsed to mail it to you"
Following the gamespy article is you best bet for building a machine yourself.
PS using ebuyer I just priced myself the base of a new system (2.6 athlon, 512DDR RAM, motherboard, heatsink+fan, new case and 300watt PSU and a new 80 gig hard drive which I dont actually _need_) for £277 and 11 pence, which is about $300-$350(?) The only things you would need on top of that are graphics card (+£100) a network card possibly (+£10) a 56k modem if you really feel you need it (+£10) and if you don't want to to use the motherboard sound..which is probably a good idea (laff) you'll need a new soundcard (£10-£100 depending on how much cash you got left and how important sound is to you)
Once you've got the system built I highly recommend you read MonsEs ReadyRoom article on how to effectiely set up and tweak your OS install (although its designed for 2000/XP which I strongly recommend you use on a system of this spec some of the options can be used on any MSOS)
*ok readyrooms down at the moment but it'll come back*
Then a quick google can tell you what you need to know about tweaking various video games, hardware and software settings and more windows tweakage to get the maximum performance out of your machine.
Theres no need to buy brandname computers anymore, Packard Bell, Dell, Compaq and Alienware or all the same, nothing but overpriced flashy goods. And in my opinion Alienwares the worst..it's a bunch of geeks like you and me, ripping off other geeks like you and me...Bill Gates syndrome anyone?