Metal Reviews

+1

Don't think I've ever used an Intel.

Even at cost price you wouldn't get that much of a rebate. stores make around 15% of profit on a computer. This sounds like a stolen goods thing.

definitely two Gigs cause Vista takes 500MB just for running IDLE....
by the way, vista brings no advantages over XP as of this moment.

I just ordered my new machine:

AMD 64 X2 6000+ 3Ghz
GF8800 GTS 640
2gb 800Mhz RAM
250Gb SATA II 7500rpm 8,9ms
ASUS AM2 NF4SLI
ACER AL2216WSD 22" WIDE/5MS/DVI
Antec Sonata III w/ 500w power

It wasn't cheap but it'll hopefully be enough for some time.

^^
Killer machine right there...

Was going to start a thread like this, but found this one. A few Q's for y'all:

1. Vista. Are the bugs solved since Microsoft has released the service packs? Are there more reasons to use it now it's been out a while? I know that MS are going to discontinue support for XP soon, which is bastardic of them to the extreme, so will have to make the jump eventually...
2. RAM. Obviously 2GB is minimum, but will getting more (4GB, eg)make a difference? From what I've researched, a lot of programs at the moment can't use more than that, and having more might even slow the system down!
3. Is there any difference whatsoever between nVidia's GeForce and Ati's Radeon graphic cards?
4. RAID. Worth it? Already got 80GB internal and 1TB external HDDs, can I connect them up or will I need new ones? And is it a good idea to reuse internal HDDs in new systems? Don't really want to format it first, but I suppose I will if I have to...

Cheers y'all.

I fucking hate vista
so.so.so
much.
Me and vista don't get along so well.

Must be your cheery personality. What's the difference between Geforces and Radeons, then?

Vista isn't that bad. I think the difference between Radeon and GeForces is preference but for exact models you can probably find comparisons online.

I never got the guy to build me the computer. I don't even talk to him anymore. He was like those chinese guys who own little stores at flea markets who are always trying to make you a deal.

I went out and got my own computer, brand new with warranty. It runs pretty damn good and I love my monitor. 32 inches of HD widescreen goodness. BUT, I hate Vista.

1. I'd say the major bugs have been corrected. The main beef with vista is it a RAM whore and it doesn't support all of the old hardware so people who upgrade to Vista might have some hardware upgrades to make. For people buying a new machine the later isn't much of a problem. Them main advantage of Vista for gamers is DirectX 10 which is exclusive and will eventually take over Direct X 9 which XP is limited to.

2. I suggest 3GB, Vista takes about 1GB just to run idle. The more RAM the better, it's not true that the system will slow down if you have too much.

3. I think Nvidia (GeForce GTX 280) has the upper edge in the high end products but ATI has the best mid-range (RADEON 4850) cards if your looking for the best bang for you money. Just Keep in mind that you'll have to choose a power supply with the appropriate Wattage for whatever card you choose.

4. Personnally I find RAID useless for home usage. Your hard drives are reusable especially if they are SATA. If they are not SATA make sure your new motherboard supports them. All you need to install an OS is a blank partition no need to format the whole drive. Just resize your disk with a tool like partition magic and create a new primary partition with the space just freed up to install an OS of your choice.

hope this helps

Cheers, it does a lot. Another Q: does RAM speed make much of a difference? There's some 1000Mhz+ stuff around... worth paying more for?

Edit: Quad-core processors? Not worth it at the moment, but is the 64-bit version of Vista worth shelling out for just to future-proof everything?

This is what I'm thinking of atm:

AMD Athlon 64 6000 Dualcore 3Ghz CPU
4GB DDR2 RAM (ideally on a motherboard upgradable to 8GB)
min 300GB HDD (x1) SATA-II
nVidia Geforce 9800GT 512MB graphics card
DVD-RW, on-board sound, keyboard/mouse, speakers, Vista Home and a 17’ monitor

Thoughts?

That looks pretty solid if you asked me.. What will you use it for? Games? Music as in recording? Work?

Everything, really... work, films, games, although I really have to keep a leash on my gaming because I'm quite capable of getting hooked on something and letting everything else go.

That's pretty high end there. You'll do whatever you want with it without any problems for a few years.

Considering Crysis as a benchmark, my computer almost played it smoothly with all options on high, which has much lower specs than that. That computer will work it without a cough.

Just got a quote back of £500-odd, which is WIN.

RAM speed is as important as a good FSB(front side bus) speed.
The faster the better. The MHZ indicate the speed the memory can cominicate information accross the board. So, the faster it is, the faster it can comminicate it's data which speeds up operations.

The most important part when building a CPU for pure speed is the motherboard as it communicates with everything it's the central piece. Memory (RAM) size and speed comes next. If you've got this covered average hardware will be able to pull through most situations ( there are obviously some exceptions though).

As for the Quad-core processors, I would suggest to go for it if the price difference isn't that huge. Being up to date with processors usually means you've need a more recent motherboard meaning your PC can last a lot longer with more upgrade options over the years.

Not too familiar with Vista 64 and what's it's advantages are, but out of curiosity i'll check it out.

How about a widscreen 22" or bigger LCD screen ?
gives you a lot of desktop space for work, you can watch movies in widescreen format and play games with awesome perspcetive.
I upgraded from a 19" CRT to 22" widescreen LCD this past winter and I'd never go back the advantages are too good and they are reasonably priced nowadays.

Cheer again - I've ordered a system based on the above spec. The RAM (4GB) is DDR2 667Mhz, which seemed an ok compromise, the 1Ghz stuff was very expensive, and alas the Quad-core processors were a bit much, but I'm happy with my 3Ghz Duo-core. Went for Vista 64 as well, as apparently it's backward compatible with the 32-bit apps.

Should be ready Sunday! £500 plus tax.



Sadly my desk at home is up against a wall and I think a bigger one'd take up too much space... been using a 15" since forever, and that's always done me fine so a 17" is going to be enough of a step up... I'll keep my eyes open for bigger ones, though, my little brother will be needing a new monitor soon so I can give him this one if necessary.