intel or the rest?

[gravytrain]

Hi everyone,

just after a bit of advice for someone with limited tech knowledge...

i'm looking at buying a system under US$1000, wanting to play some mid-range games/rps's etc.

can anyone please advise whether it's worth paying the extra for a pentium 4 chip or would one of the others be enough for my modest needs?

what (in plain terms) does the pentium have over the competition?

also, I want a 128MB video card but don't know what any of the other no's mean...any hints at good, reasonably priced cards/brands?

thanks everyone, great site!

[classicsoftware]

We'll wait for Sapahalline to weigh in on this:

1) Intel VS AMD: It really doesn't matter. Whatever is the best value when you purchase. There used to be a heat issue with AMD, but since the release of the Prescott line Intel runs pretty hot as well.

2) Where to buy:

A) Dell/Gateway/HP: or other mass producer. This would be the least favorite of the people on this site.

B) Local Custom Build: If there is a local computer store that would custome design a system for you to meet your needs.

C) Build your own: This will be the most popular here and you can get great advice on what components to buy and where to buy them.

[pentachris]

what (in plain terms) does the pentium have over the competition?
AMD actually has a slight edge in gaming performance.

And welcome to the forums. :)

[bassman]

If you are certain you will NEVER be pushing this machine with current games, you could probably get away with an Intel Celeron or an AMD Sempron. The real trick in this is, what ever you save in the cost of your processor, you should spend on your vid card (or at least close to).
Not knowing the titles you are talking about, I am assuming you are talking about games that are either older or not in the reallm of pushing a CPU to it's burning point.

I think you will find that most custom shops are moving away from any mobos using AGP. This means you will most likely need to look into a PCIe video card. My only recommendation here is to stay away from any in the 300 model range. I have talked to several people who have been seriously disappointed with their performance.

My next suggestion is, if you go IBuiltIt, find a local shop that is reputable, rather then online ordering. If you have problems with hardware, your turnaround time is only as long as it takes you to get back to the shop. Getting your parts online can have its benifits in selection, reviews, and cost, but time lag can be enough to make you throw it all away :eek:

Good luck

[i an not a nerd]

Go with the AMD 64 3000+, Socket 939. Amazing performance for the price.

[jlreich]

Since your a gamer, if you go out and buy a system, make sure that it has a graphics slot whether it is AGP or PCI-EX, preferably PCI-EX. Many Dell systems do not have a graphics slot, leaving you standing there holding your new video card, confused. :(

As already mentioned by Pentachris, AMD does have the advantage when it comes to games, at least for now. But, for games, the most important thing will be the video card, followed by as much ram as your can afford. For moderate gaming, if you have a good video card and plenty of ram, just about any decent modern CPU will do, whether it is Intel or AMD. If you had said you are big time into gaming, the CPU would be more important, taking second place in the line up.

For video cards higher numbers are better. Look for core speeds, memory speeds, and pixel pipelines. The higher the better. There are some chipsets that are better than others, but I am not up to speed on that right now. I will say to stay away from any video cards with SE or LE at the end. As these are watered down versions. Just look at the core and memory speeds compared to the regular and GT or XL versions and you can tell the difference. ;)

Probably the best thing to do right now is shop around, pick out a couple systems in your price range, and post a link here. Then we can better steer you in the right direction. Or if you are wanting to build it your self, well just say so, and you will most likely get more advice than you could shake a stick of ram at. :p :D

[gravytrain]

thanks for tips all :)

it's great getting tips from someone not trying to sell you a system!

(I think i'm gonna go with amd)

just one more thing, is it true an amd processor isn't really as fast
as it's number denotes? (eg a 2600 sp chip runs more at 2400?)

thanks again

[i an not a nerd]

well, the number doesn't say how fast the cpu's clock speed is. For example, the AMD 64 3000+ runs around 1.8 ghz and the AMD 64 4000+ runs around 2.8 ghz. But don't think that lower clock speed matters here, AMD cpus have a much faster FSB than the Intel cpus. Like i said earlier, my lowest system has a AMD 3000+ (socket 939) and its running smooth.

[joea64]

AMD CPU's, such as my own Sempron and two Athlon XP's on other boxes, do have slower absolute speeds than the equivalent Intel CPU's. However, their performance is quite comparable to Intel CPU's because they make very efficient use of their other resources such as FSB and onboard cache. Also, the performance of a CPU will be very much helped in any case by combining it with good equipment of other sorts such as RAM, graphics cards and motherboards. A weak graphics card or insufficient RAM will hold even the fastest CPU back, while plenty of RAM and a powerful video card will combine with even a relatively slow CPU to give your system a big boost.