Buying a new computer

Dowly · 05-18-06, 06:30 AM

I finally got some extra money (not much, but some) and IÂ´m seeking for a new PC.

I have my eyes on one, that looks good for me. But I need your help, as I know almost nothing about computers and the components it has.

This is the one I was looking:

Shuttle SN25
nVIDIA nForce4 chipset
PCI-E
Firewire
Processor
AMD Athlon 64-bit 3500+ Boxed
RAM
1024MB (1GB) DDR 400MHz PC-3200
Hard disk
Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB SATA II 8.9ms 7200rpm
CD/DVD
LG GSA-4167RB 16X DVD+/-R/RW/Double Layer
Graphics
Connect3D Radeon X800GTO 256MB/DVI/ViVo PCI-e
Sound
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX USB

Total price: 1295.80â‚¬

Is it worth it? IÂ´m not seeking a 100000 fps on games. 30-50fps is fine for me.

bradclark1 · 05-18-06, 07:17 AM

I marked buy it. It's a decent system.

Gizzmoe · 05-18-06, 08:17 AM

ItÂ´s highly overpriced (at least compared to German prices) and some of the components suck.

The external Audigy 2 NX USB is not only more expensive than an internal Audigy 2 card, itÂ´s also much slower, means youÂ´ll see less FPS in games. Look here for a review of that USB sound card:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2003/11/..._2/page15.html

The X800GTO is an outdated card, it only has 12 pixel pipelines, but it can be overclocked very well.

If you donÂ´t actually need a Shuttle case (that barebone Shuttle alone costs about 400â‚¬) you could get a much more powerful PC for the same price, one with 2GB RAM and a faster sound and video card.

Konovalov · 05-18-06, 08:31 AM

I agree with Gizzmoe. That system does seem priced on the high side. For that sort of price I would have expected an Athlon X2 3800+ processor and better graphics card at least!

Dowly · 05-18-06, 09:17 AM

In Finland the prices are abit high. But what I need to know is, how good this will run the games. Cant be worse than what I got now. 10fps in SHIII.

I dont have to take the sound blaster. I can take the integraded too.

The Noob · 05-18-06, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

In Finland the prices are abit high. But what I need to know is, how good this will run the games. Cant be worse than what I got now. 10fps in SHIII.

I'm feeling with ya!

My system:
1,8ghz
512mb ram
NVIDIA GeForce FX5200

My PC Really suck!

Konovalov · 05-18-06, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

In Finland the prices are abit high. But what I need to know is, how good this will run the games. Cant be worse than what I got now. 10fps in SHIII.

I dont have to take the sound blaster. I can take the integraded too.

This would run SHIII perfectly fine. But on the very latest games it may be a problem depending on the actual game or game genere in question.

Gizzmoe · 05-18-06, 09:39 AM

Dowly, do you really, really want a Shuttle PC? Like I said, the case plus mainboard and PSU alone cost about 400â‚¬. A standard case+board+PSU would only cost about 150â‚¬, you could then invest the 250â‚¬ into a faster video card and more RAM!

Dowly · 05-18-06, 09:40 AM

Well, I dont play many games. The game has to be really good for me to buy it.

The games IÂ´ve found worth to buy:
SHIII
Freelancer
Obvilion (Any thoughts how it will run on that PC??)
Close Combat series

@Gizzmoe: I can take up to 1,5Gb of RAM off my current PC

Gizzmoe · 05-18-06, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dowly

Obvilion (Any thoughts how it will run on that PC??)

Not very good. Oblivion is a resource-hog and likes to have a powerful video card.

Quote:

@Gizzmoe: I can take up to 1,5Gb of RAM off my current PC

What kind of RAM is it? DDR333? DDR400?

tycho102 · 05-18-06, 09:50 AM

The boxed AMD coolers are loud and aluminium. You are far better off getting an OEM and using one of the larger copper heatsinks. The Hyper48 is nearly silent, and cools well enough for a highly stable small overclock. For SH3, you want as much processing power as you can stuff in there, without question.

Think about getting PC3500 or PC3700. The chips these days are higher quality since the PC3200 plant lines (in Taiwan) have been stripped down to the most basic OEM specs. The failure rates are higher for PC3200 chips.

I'm partial to Seagate drives, and Raptors. Both come with a 5-year waranty.

Consider a BenQ 1655 burner. It's a lightscribe burner, and the burn quality is excellent.

I hate Creative Labs. I'd tell you to go with a Turtle Beach sound card (Catalina).

Dowly · 05-18-06, 09:50 AM

The RAM is DDR400

The thing is, like I said above. I know nothing about the components, thatÂ´s why I cant assemble my own PC.

You guys can give me suggestions on PCÂ´s worth up to 1200â‚¬, no more than that.

Dowly · 05-18-06, 10:03 AM

What would be a good motherboard for a 64-bit Athlon socket 939 processor?

What RAM should I buy? DDR, DDR EEC or DDR2???

This is hard! I would get a PC much cheaper, if IÂ´d just knew more about PCÂ´s.

Also I dont have a clue on which hard disk should I buy.

Gizzmoe · 05-18-06, 10:08 AM

IÂ´m just writing components list, should be ready in 10 minutes.

Dowly · 05-18-06, 10:09 AM

Hey, thanks! IÂ´ll take a look at it when I get back home.

This is the reason, I love SubSim.

Edit: LetÂ´s just hope that I can find the parts from Finland, as I dont have an credit card so cant order from other countries.

View Poll Results: What should I do?
Buy it!	5	50.00%
ItÂ´s not worth the money. DonÂ´t buy it!	5	50.00%
Voters: 10. You may not vote on this poll

05-18-06, 06:30 AM	#1
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Buying a new computer I finally got some extra money (not much, but some) and IÂ´m seeking for a new PC. I have my eyes on one, that looks good for me. But I need your help, as I know almost nothing about computers and the components it has. This is the one I was looking: Shuttle SN25 nVIDIA nForce4 chipset PCI-E Firewire Processor AMD Athlon 64-bit 3500+ Boxed RAM 1024MB (1GB) DDR 400MHz PC-3200 Hard disk Western Digital Caviar SE 200GB SATA II 8.9ms 7200rpm CD/DVD LG GSA-4167RB 16X DVD+/-R/RW/Double Layer Graphics Connect3D Radeon X800GTO 256MB/DVI/ViVo PCI-e Sound Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX USB Total price: 1295.80â‚¬ Is it worth it? IÂ´m not seeking a 100000 fps on games. 30-50fps is fine for me.

05-18-06, 08:31 AM	#4
Konovalov Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks, UK Posts: 2,811 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	I agree with Gizzmoe. That system does seem priced on the high side. For that sort of price I would have expected an Athlon X2 3800+ processor and better graphics card at least! __________________ "In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think, that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist." Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

05-18-06, 09:50 AM	#11
tycho102 Ace of the Deep Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,100 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	The boxed AMD coolers are loud and aluminium. You are far better off getting an OEM and using one of the larger copper heatsinks. The Hyper48 is nearly silent, and cools well enough for a highly stable small overclock. For SH3, you want as much processing power as you can stuff in there, without question. Think about getting PC3500 or PC3700. The chips these days are higher quality since the PC3200 plant lines (in Taiwan) have been stripped down to the most basic OEM specs. The failure rates are higher for PC3200 chips. I'm partial to Seagate drives, and Raptors. Both come with a 5-year waranty. Consider a BenQ 1655 burner. It's a lightscribe burner, and the burn quality is excellent. I hate Creative Labs. I'd tell you to go with a Turtle Beach sound card (Catalina). __________________ My little Silent Hunter 4 repository

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05-18-06, 07:17 AM	#2
bradclark1 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Connecticut, USA. Posts: 2,794 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 0	I marked buy it. It's a decent system.

05-18-06, 08:17 AM	#3
Gizzmoe Silent Hunter Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 3,668 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	ItÂ´s highly overpriced (at least compared to German prices) and some of the components suck. The external Audigy 2 NX USB is not only more expensive than an internal Audigy 2 card, itÂ´s also much slower, means youÂ´ll see less FPS in games. Look here for a review of that USB sound card: http://www.tomshardware.com/2003/11/..._2/page15.html The X800GTO is an outdated card, it only has 12 pixel pipelines, but it can be overclocked very well. If you donÂ´t actually need a Shuttle case (that barebone Shuttle alone costs about 400â‚¬) you could get a much more powerful PC for the same price, one with 2GB RAM and a faster sound and video card.

05-18-06, 09:17 AM	#5
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	In Finland the prices are abit high. But what I need to know is, how good this will run the games. Cant be worse than what I got now. 10fps in SHIII. I dont have to take the sound blaster. I can take the integraded too.

05-18-06, 09:39 AM	#8
Gizzmoe Silent Hunter Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 3,668 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	Dowly, do you really, really want a Shuttle PC? Like I said, the case plus mainboard and PSU alone cost about 400â‚¬. A standard case+board+PSU would only cost about 150â‚¬, you could then invest the 250â‚¬ into a faster video card and more RAM!

05-18-06, 09:40 AM	#9
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Well, I dont play many games. The game has to be really good for me to buy it. The games IÂ´ve found worth to buy: SHIII Freelancer Obvilion (Any thoughts how it will run on that PC??) Close Combat series @Gizzmoe: I can take up to 1,5Gb of RAM off my current PC

05-18-06, 10:03 AM	#13
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	What would be a good motherboard for a 64-bit Athlon socket 939 processor? What RAM should I buy? DDR, DDR EEC or DDR2??? This is hard! I would get a PC much cheaper, if IÂ´d just knew more about PCÂ´s. Also I dont have a clue on which hard disk should I buy.

05-18-06, 10:08 AM	#14
Gizzmoe Silent Hunter Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Germany Posts: 3,668 Downloads: 4 Uploads: 0	IÂ´m just writing components list, should be ready in 10 minutes.

05-18-06, 10:09 AM	#15
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Hey, thanks! IÂ´ll take a look at it when I get back home. This is the reason, I love SubSim. Edit: LetÂ´s just hope that I can find the parts from Finland, as I dont have an credit card so cant order from other countries.