New computer

Procyon · June 13, 2003

I want to buy a new computer, but I need help finding which models of HD, memory card, etc. can I use.

This is what I want:

- 2 Ghrz or better

- 512 mb ram

- 128 Mb Ram Grafics card (maybe 64 mb )Btw: there are graf cards of 256 mb??

- 20 gb HD (i don`t need more)

- a decent good sound card

- and a moherboard, but I don`t know which to use

All these elements must be compatible eachother and specially compatible with Emperor.

slaphapy · June 13, 2003

graphics card-- yes there are 256 MB Geforce has 1 256 but it's not as good as the 2 newer ones that it has which are both 128's the newest one that is going to be a 128 isn't out yet i don't think. ATI has there newest card out as a 256 but doc said that the newest Geforce coming out is going to be a 128 and challenge the ATI 256

Hard drive-- you can get a 20 but i think you should get at least 40, maybe nyar will help you on how big you should get for hard drive.

mother board-- firstly depends on which kind of processor you are going to get,Intel pentium or AMD athlon... some people are hard core pentium lovers and others are hard core athlon lovers, which one are you? athlons are cheaper which is a fact, but there is a lot of arguing on which processor is faster...once you decide on which processor you want, you can pick other things to get on your mother board or to have available on your mother board such as network, sound card, firewire, etc.

Memory-- which ever is faster is better, it will probably say anywhere i think from 300-400Mhz speed on the different Memory cards you look at.

sound card-- well one of the best sound card companies i've seen is creative labs ( i am pretty sure that's the name, it's creative something) i think they are in most computers now... you can get a pretty nice sound card for around $40-60 and if you really want some sound i think you can go up to $250 +/- but that doesn't include the speakers ;)

Nyarlathotep · June 13, 2003

I don't know what kind of money you can/want to spend, but here are a few options to my choice:

Motherboard - Asus P4C800. An option would be to go for the DeLeuxe version, which offers a crash free BIOS. It means that when ever the BIOS get's corrupt, you still are able to recover it from the CD that's delivered with the motherboad.

Whatever you choose, try to stick with Asus. They are a bit more expensive, but have most excellent perfomance.

CPU - Intel 2.4 or 2.6Ghz, with 800FSB It's no secret I like Intel. Especially theri new 800FSB processors are excellent.

RAM - 2 256mb DIMMS of DDR400 memory - Make sure those dimms have a CL of 2 (or 2.5). This is improtant if you want to (auto) overclock your pc to have a stable machine. What usually is being sold is DDR memory with a CL of 3, which isn't that fast as cl 2 - 2.5 memory. The difference can be noticed (till a certain extend of course)!

Video card Ideal would be the GeForce FX 5900 (ultra), but it's going to be pricy. Still a good card is the GeForce Ti 4800. It's AGP 8x, and will hold it's own. It doesn't hold up against the higher ranged ATi cards, but you'll still have a good result. If then the GeForce FX has come to a reasonable price, you can always swap at that time.

Harddrive - 40Gig. You might not need more, but it's handy to have more. Partition the drive with a partition that you can use as backup. I've found it very usefull (you can also use your old drive for that. What you have to see is if you can get Serial drives if you go for the Ausus motherboard above. Excellent performance for just a little bit more in price.

Sound card Creative all the way for me. What you might want to look for is the Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (not the platinum version, unless you tend to do a lot with music and external audio equiment).

I hope the above helps :)

gryphon · June 13, 2003

If possible look for a Matrox, IBM or WB harddisk. They can be a bit more pricy but won't start showing errors any day soon.

Cyborg · June 13, 2003

If possible look for a Matrox, IBM or WB harddisk. They can be a bit more pricy but won't start showing errors any day soon.

I have very, very bad experience with IBM harddisks. They crash very often.

Seagate is, in my opinion, best at harddisks. Their harddisks are very silent, and of good quality.

Btw, Western Digital's harddisks make some noise, but is of excellent quality(not as good as Seagate, but a good number two).

Apollyon · June 13, 2003

Yeah, Seagate make good HDDs, just don't get a Fujitsu one... check the thread "Harddisc problems" to find out why...

Cyborg · June 13, 2003

Video card Ideal would be the GeForce FX 5900 (ultra), but it's going to be pricy. Still a good card is the GeForce Ti 4800. It's AGP 8x, and will hold it's own. It doesn't hold up against the higher ranged ATi cards, but you'll still have a good result. If then the GeForce FX has come to a reasonable price, you can always swap at that time.

If I was buying an intel CPU which uses a quite silent fan, I would go for a Radeon card(preferrably 9700 or better). The FX cards are rather noisy.

As an AMD user, I'm fed up with noise.(I ordered water cooling during easter this year, but it was broken when I got it, and the stupid online store hasn't sent a new one back to me yet after more than a month :()

I use a Radeon card(Radeon 9700 PRO), and it's very good and quiet(though the silence of it drowns in my current cpu fan's noise...).

Nyarlathotep · June 13, 2003

Cyborg, if you noticed, I only recommended the GeForce FX 5900 of all the FX cards. It's supposed to be much more quiet then the other cards :)

Cyborg · June 13, 2003

hehe.

Ok.

But the fan still blocks the pci card slot below the agp port, and still makes much noise.

As an Intel fan, maybe you like ATI too?

(ATI + Intel = friends, while Nvidia + AMD = friends)

Nyarlathotep · June 13, 2003

Nope Intel and Nvidia fan here, hardcore :)

Cyborg · June 13, 2003

I'm Intel and ATI fan, actually.

Though I have only bought amd processors(because my economy is restricting me to amd), I like Intel best.

(That may change when amd release some cool 64 bit processors)

gryphon · June 13, 2003

Weird, we can't seem to keep any Seagate harddisk running for more then about 6 months. IBM makes some parts for most of the other harddisks brands ;)

I have a few Quantums myslef, not that bad. Anyway, see for yourself which one you'd like to have. :)

Cyborg · June 13, 2003

Weird, we can't seem to keep any Seagate harddisk running for more then about 6 months. IBM makes some parts for most of the other harddisks brands ;)
I have a few Quantums myslef, not that bad. Anyway, see for yourself which one you'd like to have. :)

All our IBM harddisks have crashed within a year.

While Seagate and Western Digital harddisks haven't crashed yet...

Procyon · June 13, 2003

Why 2 of 256 mb ram instead 1 of 512mb??

There are Hd of 30 Gb or 25?

gryphon · June 13, 2003

I think they come in sizes near both 30 and 25.

Those types of RAM have to be installed in pairrs I believe.

Besides that, I think if it's not required it can give you a speed advantage ?

[ taken they are both the same in specs ]

Nyarlathotep · June 13, 2003

Gryphon is right, to get full advantage out of the system, they have to be in pairs.

And yes, 30gb harddrives exist (make sure it has 7200rpm).

Cyborg · June 14, 2003

Why 2 of 256 mb ram instead 1 of 512mb??
There are Hd of 30 Gb or 25?

However, the harddisks with 80 Gb is often quite close to the 40Gb when it comes to price.(about

Procyon · June 16, 2003

I think that a Hd of 20 GB is enough for me, because my new computer will not have internet.

Procyon · July 16, 2003

I have an ASUS V7700 video card(geforce2, 32mb).

Can I use this card with a 128 mb(or 64mb) chip??

number6 · July 16, 2003

Memory on video cards is usually soldered onto the board so you can't swap memory modules, if that's what you are asking.

gryphon · July 17, 2003

some grafic cards have the option to ad extra memory modules to it. The Matrox G200 is one of the. As shown below there is one with the memory on it an without the expansion option.

And one with the option to ad extra memory, note that the extra memory module is inserted. It's in the white little slot designed for it.

I didn't think the Asus version you mentioned had the option to ad memory directly to the crafics card. However, it there is one of those white slots it on it, it would be possible. The memory has to me smaller then the modules that go into your desktop PC's motherboard. They ae the same as memory modules for any type of laptop computer. Thought not all types of memory will fit. You should check the store you buy it from if they ones you buy are compatible with the card you have an if they in by any change shouldn't work if you are able to return them.

[edit, the grafics card can have a limitation on how much extra memory can be addet, you should check the manual then came with it for that :) ]

Nyarlathotep · July 18, 2003

I have an ASUS V7700 video card(geforce2, 32mb).
Can I use this card with a 128 mb(or 64mb) chip??

Nope.

Procyon · July 18, 2003

My motherboard is a "Gigabyte Technology CO.,Ltd i44OBX-8671". I have Intel Pentium III (667 Mhz).

Can I change my Pentium3 to Pentium 4 using the same motherboard??

gryphon · July 18, 2003

Nope

Procyon · August 9, 2003

I need to know which motherboard and RAM stick models are compatible with a Pentum 4 of 3Ghz or more.

I also need 128 Mb video card.

All these hardware must be compatible each other. And compatible with Windows 98 SE (and Emperor).

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