Computer Purchase Query

[ULC]

I'm looking to buy a new computer, as the one I have now is basically for MTW/STW. I have little experience in being able to select the right parts, but this is what I have "put together". I haven't bought it yet, and was wondering what I could do to improve upon it. I would like to be able to play M2TW on High or better settings, and would also like room to upgrade for future parts. I am also trying to keep it under $1500 (Think of it as a challenge) because my budget isn't that big.

The Computer (Or more precisely, its parts)

GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 79.99+6.33

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail 159.99

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail 89.99+5.84

Rosewill RP500-2 ATX12V v2.01 500W Power Supply 115/230 V CSA, UL, TUV, FCC - Retail 49.99

G.SKILL 4GB(4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5Q-4GBNQ - Retail 134.99+4.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 79.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black - Retail 37.99

Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergonomics Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM 21.99+6.33

Rosewill R5601-BK 0.8mm SECC Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail 59.99+17.44

Hanns·G HW-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail 169.99+13.67

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM 89.99+4.99

[The Foolish Horseman]

good choices, but instead of the 7600 gt a 8600gt for maround the same price, and an oem copy of vista home premium for future proofing. 4gb of ram also seems a bit of a pointless thing to do IMO as 2gb is adequate for anything.

[ULC]

Good input, but the 8600 needs 22 amps at 12V1. I'm having a hard time finding a budget power supply that meets that criteria. Can you show me one?

[Charge]

wowwowwow...You should think twicely before spend money.
There are two ways: XP and Vista.
First mean no vista and dx10, second will cost a lot more.

So can you confirm that you REALLY need XP?

[Whacker]

I'd only suggest the following; consider getting a C2D instead of the AMD. Reason is you will get far better bang for your buck by doing so, due to overclocking potential and that the Intel C2D's are pound for pound generally faster than their AMD counterparts even at stock speeds. with little cost difference.

Suggested:

Processor

Motherboard

Again it's not that I think AMD is a poor product at all, it's just that they have fallen behind a bit in the CPU arm's race, and for a little bit more cash one can get a better current gen product. I know there are others who disagree with this and can offer reasons why. Best of luck whichever way you go.

[sapi]

I'd only suggest the following; consider getting a C2D instead of the AMD. Reason is you will get far better bang for your buck by doing so, due to overclocking potential and that the Intel C2D's are pound for pound generally faster than their AMD counterparts even at stock speeds. with little cost difference.

Suggested:

Processor

Motherboard

Again it's not that I think AMD is a poor product at all, it's just that they have fallen behind a bit in the CPU arm's race, and for a little bit more cash one can get a better current gen product. I know there are others who disagree with this and can offer reasons why. Best of luck whichever way you go.

QFT, there's very little reason not to go for a Core 2, at the moment.

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

The 8 Series seems to be incompatible with M:TW/S:TW, so, should you want to play these games, selecting it is probably inadvisable.

If I'm correct, the money spent on the 4GB of RAM may be a little unnecessary - particularly should you be using a 32bit version of Windows. I've read multiple complaints that 32bit Vista at least, can't take advantage of anything over 3GB. I think that if you want to use more than 3GB, Windows XP Professional 64bit or any edition of 64bit Windows Vista is required.

[ULC]

I'd only suggest the following; consider getting a C2D instead of the AMD. Reason is you will get far better bang for your buck by doing so, due to overclocking potential and that the Intel C2D's are pound for pound generally faster than their AMD counterparts even at stock speeds. with little cost difference.

Suggested:

Processor

Motherboard

Again it's not that I think AMD is a poor product at all, it's just that they have fallen behind a bit in the CPU arm's race, and for a little bit more cash one can get a better current gen product. I know there are others who disagree with this and can offer reasons why. Best of luck whichever way you go.

Nothing against Asus, but I've heard reports that their support rather is rather... . I having nothing against Intel either, but I've heard some one say that their is only a 5% overall difference between the two, and second, I don't know how to overclock even if I tried . Still, does the C2D run cooler, and is thier another motherboard (I prefer retail)?

[Whacker]

Nothing against Asus, but I've heard reports that their support rather is rather... . I having nothing against Intel either, but I've heard some one say that their is only a 5% overall difference between the two, and second, I don't know how to overclock even if I tried . Still, does the C2D run cooler, and is thier another motherboard (I prefer retail)?

Support from most hardware manufacturers is going to have a checkered history. Asus right now is one of the stronger companies in terms of tech and soft/firmware support for their products. eVGA is another that has been getting good marks and reviews, and was a determining factor in my decision to purchase their products. Apparently Gigabyte, who have generally been strong players in the mobo market, have been getting some hard raps for bad tech support over the past months. I don't really stay on top of things like this, but in the reading I did several months ago up until the purchase of my current PC indicated what I just stated. Current research from verifiable/reputable sources will go a long way to providing you with good information to base you decisions on.

In terms of performance difference, it really depends on what the application is. In general, when comparing "apples to apples" Intel to AMD products, 90% of the time the Intel CPU is going to do better on the benchmarks. The amount that it "wins" by is going to again vary by software application and version. Be warned, many of the shoddier review sites (such as Tom's Hardware) will skew tests and reviews to favor whatever product it is they are testing, it can take a trained/experienced eye to spot it sometimes, which is why I don't like commenting on "performance numbers or percentages" because it depends and can often change quickly.

In terms of overclocking, if you have the hardware that will support it, you can easily overclock any C2D cpu up to 10-25% on stock cooling, provided the rest of your system components will bear the load. There are a large number of sites and forums that outline how to do this so one just need google. Even if you aren't comfortable with this, a stock speed C2D such as the one I suggested will last you a very long time and provide good performance.

Lastly, in terms of running cooler, not only do the C2D's run significantly cooler than their AMD counterparts, but they also suck a good deal less power both idle and under load. As I said it's not that AMD is an inferior product, they've just fallen behind this round. Look at the last gen, P4's vs the XP/64's, AMD had Intel blown away by a long shot.

[ULC]

Thanks for the intel (sorry for the pun, couldn't help it )! I've decided on that, but can the board I have selected now also support Intel? If not, then I'll just look for another one. Cheers!

[Whacker]

You're channeling Gregoshi here, be careful!

No, motherboards only support one or the other, Intel or AMD, because they use different physical socket types. For example, the current AMD desktop cpus use the AM2 socket type, while Intel desktops still use LGA775 (Socket T). If you are looking for a decent quality mobo for relatively cheap, check out the Nvidia 650i chipset-based motherboards on Newegg. Here's another one you might want to consider.

[ULC]

Thanks Whacker, it's a tad more expensive, but from what I hear, it should run perfectly. I use Newegg too, mostly becuase it's cheap and thier return policy is a lot better then others. And who's Gregoshi (sorry, joined last year around october, so I don't know all you sages yet)?

[Meldarion]

Motherboard ~ Nice selection, plenty of room for upgrading ram and probably the best AMD chipset available. It has good onboard audio and overall is hard to fault, but will never match the bus speed of an Intel board. I have never seen the point of micro ATX either.

Processors ~ As previously mentioned Intel dominate this market at the moment, the AMD 6000+ is good value for money in a budget build I would recommend it, but in a power build I would go for an Intel. You should certainly check out these benchmarks before making an informed decision. If your an overclocker I would recommend Intels E2160, which is an overclock beast.

GFX cards ~ If you refer to the previous benchmark processor link, there is also a GFX card chart that is up to date, again its worth checking out.

PSU ~ Not much to say here other than don't try to cut costs by buying a budget one, its ill advised.

Ram ~ 2 gig is probably sufficient in particular for those on a budget. If you change your mind and plan to use Vista go for 4 gig and buy the Vista 64 bit edition, last I checked it was the same price as the 32 bit edition, perhaps a strategy by Microsoft to combat the criticisms?

DVD ~ Generally the only factor here for me is noise. Lite on are a very budget make but they do their job just fine.

Case ~ Again I will only mention the noise factor here, its well worth finding out how loud those fans are unless you don't really mind noise.

Monitors ~ I would look for reviews on any monitor I purchase some don't handle games too well. They may look fantastic on paper but lack performance.

XP vs Vista ~ At the moment XP pro is the gamers OS of choice. DX10 looks stunning but at the cost of FPS, you also need an 8 series card to take advantage of it, this in itself is quite a big deal as you will lose the ability to play many older games. Ram I have already covered.