Please help going mad

[barkingmaduk]

Im after a new pc for cod4 as mine is only 1.7ghz pentium 4
You have dual core,quad core ,dual quad core
i have seen a nice dual quad core 2.4ghz intel iviz
2048 ram ddr2
2x320gig hard drives raid 0 or 1 (what ever that is)
and a 768 grafix card nvidia 8800 i think it was
for £1179
http://www1.euro.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_9200?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=rs_bundlestab
the far right one
im looking to keep this for quite a few years thats why im looking at this
im worried that i'll go for a dual core and kick myself afterwards and wish i had spent more money but at the same time i dont want overkill
please help im literally going mad

[Macaroni]

that does not look bad at all

I just got (last year) one of the XPS models with the dual core.... I love it.

I need to add soem more RAM and I am set (have 1 GB but want to up it to 2 or 3).

I like the XPS 710 model on that site you sent too - the far right one..

[Crazy Ivan]

Wait a few weeks, AMD just released the Barcelona, their new Quad-core line and the performance is actually BETTER than they advertized.

You should be seeing PCs and Motherboards that support theis chip in a couple weeks if not already...

Dan

[Carper]

Firstly, how competent are you with PC's? Its not a stupid question as I have just priced up a very high spec pc for £400.00, (case, m'board, processor, graphics card, 2gb memory, psu and Vista premium o/s). The only part from my existing pc I will use is the dvd drive.

They are very easy to build and Im sure if Vista is similar to XP to install, this should be a breeze...

If you need more info or my shopping list for the spec I will be going for, just shout... Also, the company do interest free credit for 9mths for all purchases over £300.... if this helps!

Also, As you have put the thing together, you will then have the knowledge as to how and when to upgrade....

or....

If you want to buy off the shelf and spand £££'s, take a look at these, dedicated gaming machines... http://www.alienware.co.uk/Product_Pages/desktop_all_gaming.aspx

Alex

[barkingmaduk]

hi Alex i looked at the alienware and by the time i get it to the same spec it was £1300 and that was with a smaller hard drives and no monitor the upgrade to 768 grafix alone was over £500
and thats with the 2x dual core not 2x quad core
In computer knowledge i upgraded my grafix card, ram ,hard drive, cooling fan, power pack,monitor,pci cards ie fire wire usb2 card, sound card,and also from windows 98 to xp prof
i was looking for a system that would easily last me 4 years without needing too much upgrade
my old system i upgraded the mem from 256 to 768
my old hd was 6 gig lol put in 160 gig
my grafix were 32 now 256 but ultimately my processor is only 1.7 pentium and wont cut it with cod4
i have done all i can
I would like a pre built one there are too many complications now
is the power pack big enough memory the right type pci express cards mother boards gpu's
i have heard some good stuff about dell recently and just want to plug it in and play

[raydoger]

I Agree,wait A Few Weeks Thats What Im Going To Do

[Yourself]

I'm also with Dan and Ray....waiting a few weeks to a couple of months would be the best right now.

Of course, waiting means something is just around the corner, but we are in a hardware situation right now where it's really good advice to wait.

AMD is on the cusp of introducing competing chips to Intels current (and just about to be released) lineup.

Also, both major graphics houses (AMD and NVIDIA) are also on the cusp of releasing refreshes and new graphics hardware between now and the end of the year.

I don't consider ANY of the current graphics solutions to be good for DX10, and I would strongly suggest against buying anything today with the intention of running DX10 (or DX10.1, as Microsoft is introducing in Q1, 2008).

ALL of them are having serious performance issues in true DX10 - people who have the top end cards are still mainly gaming in DX9 (where both DX10 and DX9 are available in the same game).

I know this will change, but I wouldn't buy a graphics card now for DX10 performance.

HOWEVER, if you're looking for great DX9 performance, now is a great time to buy - prices are dropping the the 8800 GTS series by NVIDIA, and the high-end AMD (both the 2900XT and the X1950XT are great performers).

Did you know that Alienware is now a DELL company and has been for the last two years?

I'm COMPLETELY with Mac & Cheese (Tom) regarding the Dell machines - I currently game on two of them (my only two desktops at home), an older 4700 and an even older 4600.

They are both 3.0 ghz P4's, and I've upgraded the graphics cards, ram, and hard drives in both of them - they still run anything that I throw at them.

Supreme commander, however, does bring both of them to their knees - not bad for machines that are 3+ years old - they've served me extremely well.

One is AGP (running an X1950PRO), and the other is PCI-e (running an X800XL). I will probably upgrade the X800XL, as the X1950PRO runs circles around it, and the X800XL is not SM 3.0 capable.

In the bang for the buck territory, the multi-core Dells are a tough act to beat, especially if you add a graphics card (check to make sure you can to any specific model you're looking at) and up the memory.

Multi-core machines are the way to go - it is your option if you want to go with a dual core, or a quad core (or more, as they come available).

For most current uses, you won't exceed the capabilities of a dual-core processor. Exceptions are heavy graphics processing (Karl is very knowledgeable about this), video editing (you need much more than a decent processor), and huge games (Supreme Commander).

Within a processor family, you can directly compare using clock speed.

For example, a dual core Intel E6750 at 2.66 ghz is faster than a quad core Intel Q6600 at 2.4 ghz, and is also cheaper. That means, this dual core will run just about any single task (most games) faster than this quad core.

It will fall behind on programs that perform better with more than two cores. This quad core will run Supreme Commander, video editing, and heavy graphics processing faster than this dual core.

The same comparisons hold true for the AMD line.

It's pretty tough to beat the average pre-assembled PC that can be brought up to gaming specs (total price) by something you can purchase separately and piece together, especially when you factor in the cost of VISTA.

Unless, of course, you plan on extensively modifying the system (as in overclocking, adding RAID arrays, etc.).

Plus, you have the added benefit of technical support (however bad it is, it is still usually better than none, especially when parts have to be replaced).

Saying that, I personally don't go for any kind of extended warranty on desktop purchases. I always do on laptops, however.

Just my opinions.

Yourself (Dave)

[AladdinSane]

Dave,
Thanks once again for this novella... fascinating stuff. Keep it coming of master of the CPU:)

[Yourself]

:)

Yourself (Dave)

[Carper]

Ok m8. Ive just ordered the bits for my new pc. as follows:

AMD 64 X2 Dual core 6000 + 3.00 Gh2 (AM2)
ASUS m'board (AM2)
Corsair 2 gb PC-6400 XMS2 memory
Vista Home Premium (not oem)
Case & 500 watt psu
320 gb hard disk
8600GTS graphics card

all for £470.00

[barkingmaduk]

Thank you all
Alex looks like a nice system and a nice price
Dave what can i say an excellent display of your knowledge again, i did see that they were Dell as well thats why i couldn't understand the price diff
I think i will wait for a while (although im chomping at the bit as i have had so little for so long and just tried to upgrade as best i can)
Im still trying to convince she who must be obeyed that we need a new on,"whats wrong with it it works doesn't it"

[Yourself]

From Carper:

AMD 64 X2 Dual core 6000 + 3.00 Gh2 (AM2)
ASUS m'board (AM2)
Corsair 2 gb PC-6400 XMS2 memory
Vista Home Premium (not oem)
Case & 500 watt psu
320 gb hard disk
8600GTS graphics card

DUDE!

Excellent prices!

I usually buy (here in the States) from NewEgg - excellent prices, and excellent service.

When I price that out (including a decent power supply, cheap-o motherboard, cheap-o case, 320 meg GTS and full version of Vista), I come up with USD $965.93, and going with a higher-end motherboard and the 640 meg GTS, I come up with USD $1,270.93.

I don't know what the exchange rate is, but when I price out a similar deal from Dell (C2D instead of AMD 6000, 2 gig, 320 gig hd, dvd burner), I come up with a price of USD $699.00, and that includes a 22" flat panel LCD (that does include a typical Dell rebate, which is how I bought both of my systems).

Add the cost of the 320 meg 8800GTS to that, and you compare to the low end of the pieced system, but with a free 22" flat panel LCD.

Again, I say great prices, for a great system!

Yourself (Dave)

[Carper]

Dave,
Ive just returned my 8600GTS and ordered the 8800GTS instead (double performance for £60 more)... All other parts should also arrive tomorrow also. Im hoping to have the system up and running over the weekend...

[Yourself]

You'll probably see more than double the performance - you'll be able to crank the graphics settings up to max.

Are you getting the 320 or 640 meg 8800 GTS?

Depends upon what resolution you game at - I suggest the 640 meg one if you game much higher than 1280 x 1024. If not, the 320 is the best bang for the buck (in my opinion).

Good luck getting everything together - post back here as to your progress.

Yourself (Dave)

[bionic]

Dave, I'm going back to ATI. Don't like the FX5200. What's your take on the GeForse 7600 By Radeon? 512mb gddr2 agp 8x. Seen about 13 reviews and so far they're all positive.

[Yourself]

The GeForce 7600 is an NVIDIA card...not an ATI card (just so you know).

I did the same as you quite awhile ago...I bought a system, and "upgraded" the system to an FX5200......that card was worse than the base card that originally shipped with the system.

In my opinion, that's not a reason to switch to ATI.....however (for what it's worth), generally the ATI drivers are better supported, and tend to support their older hardware better.

What games do you run?

What resolution do you game at?

What price range are you looking at?

In the USD $70-$100 range, I would suggest the a higher clocked X1650PRO over a 7600GS....it is a bit faster in many games.

If you're looking in the USD $100-$200 range, I would suggest the NVIDIA 7900 series cards, or better yet (in my opinion), I would suggest the AMD based X1950PRO cards - better image quality, and much faster gaming.

I have one of the X1950PRO AGP cards, and I love it - it easily beats out my X800XL card on my PCI-e computer.

For raw speed, the older X850XTPE performs wonderfully well, but it doesn't support shader model 3.0, which is becoming more and more of a hinderance in gaming. Also, I don't think you can buy it new anymore.

That's my humble opinion.

Yourself (Dave)