Buying New Comp -- Suggestions

Atokal · Post by **Atokal** » December 13, 2003, 2:00 am

My present system sucks ass.

I work with MAC's and understand those computers far better than a PC.
So having said that in laymans terms I want a comp that will run EQ with all the bells and whistles without paying tons of dough.

What should I look for including operating system, Vid card, sound Card, Hard Drive, etc.

Thanks in advance for the suggestions

Cheers

archeiron · Post by **archeiron** » December 13, 2003, 1:42 pm

Intel based :

Winnow wrote:I'll use egghead for pricing.
---------------------------------
126.00 ABIT IC7, Intel 875P chipset for Socket 478 P4 Canterwood ATX motherboard RETAIL
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212.00 GEIL 1GB (2x 512MB) PC-3500 (433MHz) DDR RAM, 6 Layer Lower Noise PCB Copper Heat Spreader, Dual Channel SPD Enhanced Model# GL5123500DC
---------------------------------
174.00 Intel Pentium 4 / 2.4CGHz 512k socket 478 Hyper Threading Technology 800 MHz FSB - RETAIL
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135.00 ATI OEM RADEON 9500 128MB DDR Black BULK
Specifications: New Black PCB Version
-----------------------------
117.00 Western Digital Raptor 36GB SATA WD360GD 10,000 RPM 8MB Hard Drive OEM

or

122.00 Western Digital 120GB SATA WD1200JD 7,200 RPM 8MB Hard Drive OEM

Note:
Raptor is hella fast but 36 GB...if speed is what you want, get Raptor, if need more storage, get the Special edition 120GB WD
-------------------------
199.00 Sony DVD-/+RW Recorder Drive Model DRU510A Retail
--------------------------

or AMD:

Denadeb wrote: Pioneer Dual Formate DVD Burner - $144.99
WD 40GB 7200 8Meg Buffer - $65.00
Kingston 3200 (400) DDR 512meg - $83.00
Asus A7N8X - $93.00
Atlon XP 2500+(333) (Barton Core) - $90.00
ATI 9500 128 meg - $135.00
Real World Inc. Real Case (black) Model#RW1000BG 400 watt PS - $45.00
Sony 3.5 Inch Internal FDD dive - $7.00
Logitec Black Elite Keyboard - $39.00
Logitec MX300 Optical Mouse - $25.00

Total 726.99 with out S&H

Same system with a Memorex 52x32x52 CD-RW Total - $651.99
Same system with CD Burner and Athlon XP 3200+ - $1019.99
Same with CD burner and Atlon XP 3000+ - $824.99
Same with DVD Burner and XP 3000+ - $899.99

XP Pro is the more serious way to go for the OS, but XP Home seems to satisfy many people's needs.

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » December 15, 2003, 12:28 pm

I would suggest a GeForce FX5700 or 5700 Ultra rather than the 9500. My old Ti4200 is faster than a 9500...

Marb

Adelrune Argenti · Post by **Adelrune Argenti** » December 16, 2003, 7:33 pm

Stick with ATI Radeons at this point. Nvidia is sucking of late. If you can swing it, pay the extra bucks for the Radeon 9800. I was able to pick up a Radeon Pro 9800 128MB for $199 a week ago. Shop around, the card is worth it.

archeiron · Post by **archeiron** » December 16, 2003, 9:03 pm

Adelrune Argenti wrote:Stick with ATI Radeons at this point. Nvidia is sucking of late. If you can swing it, pay the extra bucks for the Radeon 9800. I was able to pick up a Radeon Pro 9800 128MB for $199 a week ago. Shop around, the card is worth it.

See THIS thread for information about graphics cards.

The summary is do NOT buy a PRO card as you can soft mod (software modification) the card to be a pro. They also have a lot of good recommendations in there about different cards.

noel · Post by **noel** » December 16, 2003, 9:09 pm

To max out EQ's detail, realize that you're dealing more with a shitty engine than hardware limitations but...

Make sure you get at least a 1GB of RAM in the system
I highly recommend the ATI card(s) specifically the 9800Pro or whichever card you can flash to become a 9800Pro
Any soundcard SB Live! or newer from Creative should meet all of your sound needs.
I'd recommend a minimum of a P4-2.8 CPU
Serial harddrives/RAID is not really going to help you with EQ, or most games which are memory intensive rather than disk intensive. Get a decent large UltraDMA66 HD, and you'll be fine... A motherboard with a decent bus speed will be far more useful.

PS I have no idea why I'm giving you good advice!

archeiron · Post by **archeiron** » December 16, 2003, 9:53 pm

Aranuil wrote:PS I have no idea why I'm giving you good advice!

You are building good karma; it is a good habit to get in to! If I had some VVs I would give you some just for that

noel · Post by **noel** » December 16, 2003, 9:57 pm

I'm really a nice person. >< Sometimes this board makes me disappointed.

Edit: Proper wording.

Adelrune Argenti · Post by **Adelrune Argenti** » December 16, 2003, 9:58 pm

I would much rather have the Pro than do the mod but that is just me. I deal with Radeon Pro cards, and the new XT's, all day. Modding a non Pro one is just not worth the hassle when it doesn't work correctly.

Adelrune Argenti · Post by **Adelrune Argenti** » December 16, 2003, 10:00 pm

Aranuil wrote:I'm really a nice person. >< Sometimes this board makes me sad.

I guess I am part of the Aranuil fnord. I have always found him to be intelligent, engaging, and fun to talk to. And no, this isn't about liking teh menz. I just think he is a good guy and shouldn't get the shit that he does.