DescentBB

(1. I need a powerful graphic design/gaming computer.
(2. I need it cheap 'cause I have very little income.
(3. I'm getting to the point where my computer dosn't cut it in editing anymore, and
(4. Dell's cost both arms and a leg to upgrade any thing.
I'm planning on getting a new case and motherboard for now, and get upgrades as I can afford them. Any tips or warnings?

Thanks in advance.

Hmm, well. Could you tell us a bit more? What budget do you have for the new machine? What are all the parts in your current PC(some may be reuseable)? Do you have any prefrences for anything?

Your question is about as generic as you can get. Try reading one of Anandtech's buying guides (that's for a low-cost entry level system) and modify as appropriate.

These are the parts I have.(don't laugh, I got it for free)
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Intel Pentium 4A, 2000 MHz (5 x 400)
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420
256 MB (RDRAM)
ST340016A (40 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)
WDC WD800BB-75FRA0
LITEON DVD-ROM LTD163 (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
LITE-ON LTR-24102M (24x/10x/40x CD-RW)

I would like to get the most powerful CPU I can, a friend recomended the AIDA 64

I have $350 for the case and Mobo, and I can wait for stuff if it costs more than what I have as I'm putting everything I have into the new Mobo and case till I get upgraded components.

Speaking of upgrades, I also need a very advanced video card, should I get one right after the case+mobo or should I wait for something new?

I also would like to end up with 2 or more gig RAM, preferably cheap.

Thanks, I'll post more if you need it.

Pentium-4A <-- ????

The P4s get letters after them depending on cache, core, or FSB speed. I honesly don't remeber what the A designation is though. 533FSB?

Most of that system can go, unless you have no need for faster optical drives.

Also, if you get an Athlon 64 its best not to skimp on the ram. The 64s are more sensitive to shitty latencies then the P4 due to it's on-board memory controller. Corsair has some nice 2-3-2-6 for reasonable prices, and 2-2-2-5 for noticably more jacked up prices.

Also, I'd wait for a Geforce 6 series or Radeon x800 series card. Personally I'm looking at the 6800 GT as my next card. From what I can tell it's the exact same core as the 6800 Ultra, just clocked a little lower and costing at least $100 less.

As far as the CPU and mobo go, look for a mobo with a Nforce 3 chipset. A 939pin part would be more upgradeable later, but you could still build a nice 754pin machine.

I believe the A is referring to the Willamette core. He already stated he has the 400MHz bus. To be honest, 2GHz isn't bad, especially overclocked, but the only problem with keeping your current CPU and mobo is the RDRAM part. They stopped really promoting the stuff a while ago, so it can be pricey. Two sticks (they must be run in parallel) of 256MB would up you to a good 768, but it might be almost more buying the RAM than a new processor and mobo. According to pricewatch, you can get some good 256MB 800MHz (400MHz (which is your FSB) doubled) RDRAM for 75.00, so * 2 sticks = $150 total for an upgrade to 768MB (not as pricey as I thought it would be). Then you can blow your savings on a video card.

2GB of RAM and "cheap" don't go together. 1GB now would work, add 1GB later in the future when it's cheaper.

As far as the DX9 video cards, the newest from nVidia and ATi are incredibly expensive and will set you back $400-$500. The 5950 Ultra and Radeon 9800XT are better options for your money.

And you didn't mention your sound hardware. For gaming you definitely want an Audigy 2 (either the original or ZS) and hi-fi speakers or headphones to go with it.

And this is just me but I'd ditch XP in favor of 2K for something like "graphic design." Granted I don't use XP a whole lot (it's on another partition), and I don't know what your "graphic design" involves, but I do know Win2K is a great environment for "computer" work, since it's what I've used the last 2 years for all my PC programming and other tasks that my computer science classes required. Again, it's just me.

As to sound cards, Doom 3 is set to run through the internal sound chip of the mobo. Comparison tests showed no difference in quality between running the sound native or going through a high end sound card. Anyone here the death knell of sound cards?

Yeah it's hard to justify putting a $100 into a sound card to save a few FPS when that money could be better served put towards a processor.

Ok, lets try this a different way.
I have $350 to spend on a case and mobo, or just mobo if I can use my existing Dell(yeck) case for now.

So what's the best Motherboard out there?
(not over $350 if possible)
thanks.

Athlon 64 mobo roundup. Pick your poisen.

If you keep the Dell case, make sure the mobo you pick will fit in it. Most new Dells are micro ATX, which means 4 expansion slots (like PCI or AGP cards) instead of the usual 6 or 7. Also, you'll need a new PSU. A lot of Dells have proprietary PSU specs that are incompatible with standard ATX mobos. Not to mention the fact that 250 watts wont be enough for an A64 system anyway.

For the Athlon 64 motherboard, I would definately pick up the MSI manufacturer. They have 2 boards, one with the via chipset and the other with the nvidia chipset. I reccomend the one with Nvidia.

Darkside Heartless wrote:Any tips or warnings?

Do not buy a Dell, Compaq, HP, Sony, Emachines ....

Either little or none when it comes to open architecture(aka upgradablity)
---------------------------------------------------

You want CHEAP??:

• Case that has at least a 400w PSU
• P4 (not cely) 533/800
• P4 Mobo that has SATA, USB 2.0, firewire, intergrated LAN and Intergrated audio (so as you upgrade you can disable some onboard features)
• PC2700 Ram (or 3200)
• WD ata hard drive (upgrade to a SATA later)
• Any Nvivia Card w/128 MB ram
• XP Professional (nothing better)
  ------------------------------------------
  reuse these parts in your new box until replaced
• NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420
• WDC WD800BB-75FRA0
• LITEON DVD-ROM LTD163 (16x/48x DVD-ROM)
• LITE-ON LTR-24102M (24x/10x/40x CD-RW)

Hello. I have a really crappy old PC. But I need a 3.6GHz super computer with the fastest graphics card available and 4 GB of RAM. I want to recycle most of my parts.

I only have $200 to spend - please help me buy the new computer.

Look - you need to understand that the words "New", "Fast" and "Lots" is just another way of saying "Very Expensive".

What we need to know is EXACTLY what you are going to be doing with this new machine - and WHY your current machine doesn't measure up.

We can then recommend some BUDGET PRICED PARTS WITH EXCELLENT PRICE/PERFORMANCE characteristics - that you *MIGHT* be able to afford.

You most certainly will NOT be buying at ATI X800 XT, nor will you be installing 2GB of DDR2 533, and you most certainly won't be buying AMD 64 3800+....

Asrale wrote:As far as the DX9 video cards, the newest from nVidia and ATi are incredibly expensive and will set you back $400-$500. The 5950 Ultra and Radeon 9800XT are better options for your money.

Wrong, get the lowend cards from the current generation, either ATI's offering or Nvidias 6800 option, they cost almost the same as the 5950 or 9800xt, but almost universally perform better and look better in current games.

My current machine can barely run Max3D and photoshop at the same time, anything more freezes it up really bad.
I am willing to put a fortune into this computer, just not all at once


BTW, I need the highest pixel shader compatability possible, as several good game graphics engines use it and I am going into game dev. as a career.

BUBBALOU wrote:

Darkside Heartless wrote:Any tips or warnings?

Do not buy a Dell, Compaq, HP, Sony, Emachines ....

Either little or none when it comes to open architecture(aka upgradablity)

Thanks Bubba, I am SO glad to see someone post this. I don't know how many people I've heard say to go and buy one of these boxes because of "customer service" or afforablity. ... yea.. its all fine and great till something REALLY goes wrong or your kid downloads a ton of spyware that nicely nestles itself deep in the registry or somecrapola like that.


...Emachines... *shudder* ....

Highest pixel shaders in a general purpose gamer card is 3.0 with the GeForce 6800 series. I dunno if there's anything special in workstation cards.

Duper wrote:Thanks Bubba, I am SO glad to see someone post this. I don't know how many people I've heard say to go and buy one of these boxes because of "customer service" or afforablity. ... yea.. its all fine and great till something REALLY goes wrong or your kid downloads a ton of spyware that nicely nestles itself deep in the registry or somecrapola like that.

Not to mention that its part of their procedure to use a restore disk to bump it back to factory condition (with or without your consent). So, if you have anything you want to keep still on the machine and you don't have any way of backing it up then you're SOL.