Time for a new computer....

Ok it's time for me to get a new computer!

I'm not as knowledgable about hardware as I am in other areas of computing so am not sure where to start lol

Lets pretend there isn't a budget (which there will be later) for now so I can get an idea of whats out there.

Lets start with the CPU and build the rest around it

AMD or INTEL? 32bit or 64bit ? Advantages of HT, Dual Core and other new words I don't get right now.

DISCUSS!

 

ur best bet is to go with Intel now as their new Core 2 CPUs are kicking AMD CPUs to the kerb. All Core 2 CPUs have Dual-Core and are 64bit ready.

 

ok so what sort of price are they, (whats the socket number for them so I can start on looking for a mobo to match )

 

An inexpensive but outstanding setup would be:

Gigabyte GA-K8U-939 Socket 939 ULi M1689 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128307

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2000MHz HT 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

NEC ND-3550A DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058

Add 1 or 2 gigabytes of memory. I have 4 x 512mb and I would get 2 x 1gb sticks if I were to buy this setup again and I might just buy another one-- it is much cheaper now.

The downside is that there are fewer AGP cards to pick from now but that is not a deal breaker for me. Just be sure you get a card that is Vista compatible if you think you might go that route someday.

The DVD burner is OEM and doesn't come with software which is not a big deal. The last one I bought from TigerDirect did come with Nero Express and that works well for what I need.

Just my opinion from having this setup.

 

excellent pricing. better than AMDs! Core 2 uses the exsiting socket755 meaning intel users dont need to upgrade their motherboards...

 

Well I have a p4 2.4 right now with an ABIT IC7 so its not like I really need an upgrade lol, I just want more more more lol

I see I now have opinions on both AMD and INTEL so how is anybody supposed to choose lol

I already have an AGP radeon 9600 XT so a new Graphics Card isn't needed,

Other things like DVD drives etc I can worry about later.

FOr now I just need to choose a mobo, cpu psu and cooling system. (and probably ram although I have 2 gb of ddr but i'd like DDR2 with a mobo that supports upto 4gb)

My current motherboard supports dual channel ram, can someone explai nwhat this means and should I look for the same in the new one ?

 

ok since u wanna use ur current gfx card Core 2 is out. since Core 2 uses PCI-E. and ur mobo is socket478 not 775. what i suggest is upgrading ur CPU to the max ur mobo can support. in other words the max P4 speed ur mobo can support. add a little bit more RAM and volia. u just increased ur PC lifespan....

 

Well I don't mind getting a new GFX card. And the ABIT IC7 is a bit obsolete.

Anyone want to buy an agp gard ?

 

I am using a Sapphire Radeon ATI 9600 in the Gigabyte mb-- it works great.

I have a dual boot setup with XP on one partition and Vista on the other. The hard drive is a Maxtor SATA I. I also put a floppy in the Antec SLK 2650 case.

The mb supports up to 4 gb of ram in dual channel mode. I think that dual channel means two memory modules are written to at the same time and that effectively double the bandwidth of the memory bus. I am not too swift on all the technical details.

I just use the stock heatsink and fan that came with the boxed cpu. It works fine. I would try the Arctic Freezer 64 if I was going to buy another. I have read that it works very well and is very quiet. I would use that hsf with an Intel chip also.

I would like to have a Core Duo but the AMD setup is really pretty cheap.

 

ok matt serious question here - do u want a full new system or not?

 

I'd like one yes. but i'd like to build it myself, not for any reason but I like to know what goes into my computers.

 

in that case matt why not leave ur current system as it is (use it as a 2nd pc or something) and buy all new hardware for a new system?

 

Im not sure if I can afford a new system with the spec i'd like all in one go.

 

ok then how about new CPU + CPU fan, mobo and gfx card. then get the rest of the hardware from ur current system like HDD, DVD drive etc?

 

Thats probably about right I think. doesn't have to be a particualrily great gfx card right now since Im not gaming but it must support 2 monitors (vital for work)