PC Hardware Buyers Guide.

[Incinerate_IV]

Lee which P5B board you getting? P5B-E Plus, P5B-V, P5B-VM, P5B Deluxe, P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP, P5B, P5B-E, etc ? :hmmm:

Normal P5B is the best way to go. The other versions just add a better northbridge cooler, more SATA ports, and support for RAID.

Just updated the guide a little. Removed some added some....

[Lee1026]

normal p5b. I hope you did not expect me of all people to pay for the deluxe.

[Freak_General]

well, that sounds a bit silly. You can upgrade every 2 years with mid-range parts and still come out much cheaper then every 4 year with the top of the line.

Silly and lazy, lazy being the deciding factor when i'm faced with getting out my screwdriver set. :tooth:

FG.

[Lee1026]

Well, you can get a mid-ranged dell every 2 years and generally still come ahead of a top of line upgrade every 4 years.

[PSYCHO V]

normal p5b. I hope you did not expect me of all people to pay for the deluxe.

Incinerate / Lee ..very much indebted guys. You've been a tremendous help to one who previously had absolutely no idea.

Thanks

[Incinerate_IV]

Well, you can get a mid-ranged dell every 2 years and generally still come ahead of a top of line upgrade every 4 years.

I agree, Hardware prices come down so quick and new stuff come out so fast, before you know it all your components are outdated.

[Muizer]

Some feedback: having considered the advice in this thread, of the people at the store and my own budget of course, I've bought a system with the following specs:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
MotherboardASUS P5B, Sk775, PCIe
Graphix: Sapphire ATI X1900XT 256MB
RAM: 1024MB DDR2 (PC6400 TwinX, 5-5-5-12,64MX8)
Power supply: Cooler Master PSU ATX 450W

Playing BI on the un-tweaked system, at a resolution of 1600x1200x32bit with all other in game settings maxed out and all special effects turned on I am getting frame rates in the range of 20-40 in battle. Considering 25 is smooth to the human eye that's quite good enough. It was only when going to huge unit size in combination with doubling the grass distance that some smoothness was lost (Fps 10-25), but it never got choppy or anything.

And a question: the people at the store told me it is better to get two smaller banks of memory rather than one big one. Makes sense?

[WILHELM_II]

Right, I am in desperate need of help.

I am planning on buying a new Video Card, but I have no idea which way to go, how to install, even whether or not my comp can cope with it. If anyone is willing to help?

I have an AMD duron 1.3GHz Processor, 768 MB Ram, GeForce 5500 FX Video Card. I am planning on buying a new one that will enable me to play games at a better rate, but I have no idea what it's effects will be, what the impacts are, I just know I need something better than I have now, but I cannot buy a whole new computer. My money limit is 150 euros (190$)

What does a better Video Card do? Are there certain types that improved performance at the same quality than others, or that offer better quality than other but no improved performance, or is it a mix between the two, can someone explain me? What Is the difference between a 256MB and a 512MB video card, what difference does more Megabytes make in a video card?

Can my computer handle it? I read something about agp slots and direct connection to motherboard or something, could I plug a new one in if my FX 5500 is connected to AGP1 slot? Where can I check whether or not my computer has enough power for the video card? What video card do you recommend for a max of 150 euros (190$)? How do I check whether or not I can connect it properly, which details of those video cards should I read and check with my computer?

Thanks in advance

Someone guide me through the dark please

[Shaun]

Right, I am in desperate need of help.

I am planning on buying a new Video Card, but I have no idea which way to go, how to install, even whether or not my comp can cope with it. If anyone is willing to help?

I have an AMD duron 1.3GHz Processor, 768 MB Ram, GeForce 5500 FX Video Card. I am planning on buying a new one that will enable me to play games at a better rate, but I have no idea what it's effects will be, what the impacts are, I just know I need something better than I have now, but I cannot buy a whole new computer. My money limit is 150 euros (190$)

What does a better Video Card do? Are there certain types that improved performance at the same quality than others, or that offer better quality than other but no improved performance, or is it a mix between the two, can someone explain me? What Is the difference between a 256MB and a 512MB video card, what difference does more Megabytes make in a video card?

Can my computer handle it? I read something about agp slots and direct connection to motherboard or something, could I plug a new one in if my FX 5500 is connected to AGP1 slot? Where can I check whether or not my computer has enough power for the video card? What video card do you recommend for a max of 150 euros (190$)? How do I check whether or not I can connect it properly, which details of those video cards should I read and check with my computer?

Thanks in advance

Someone guide me through the dark please

Well, a 1.3 GHz processor certianly wont get the best out of a new graphic's card, so I suggest you upgrade that as well. Since its extremely rare to come across a 1.3 nowadays, your motherboard is probably out of date and not compatable with a new processor or graphics card. $150 wont get you much im afraid, I suggest you up it to at least $500.

[Incinerate_IV]

And a question: the people at the store told me it is better to get two smaller banks of memory rather than one big one. Makes sense?

Nice FPS, that's about what I'm getting with BI. I noticed the high quality shadows uses a lot of resources.

And yes, 2 sticks of memory of the same size is better than one 1gig stick. 2 stick allows your memory to run in dual channel, doubling the bandwidth.

[Lee1026]

Well, a 1.3 GHz processor certianly wont get the best out of a new graphic's card, so I suggest you upgrade that as well. Since its extremely rare to come across a 1.3 nowadays, your motherboard is probably out of date and not compatable with a new processor or graphics card. $150 wont get you much im afraid, I suggest you up it to at least $500.

I would say 300 instead.

[Shaun]

I would say 300 instead.

300 wont get you much either.

[Incinerate_IV]

Duron processor? Isn't that socket A? Maby it's a better choice to just get a whole new computer, socket A is too outdated.

[Lee1026]

Alright, I got my new P5B, I have no clue how far I can push the thing, because my ram gave out at 370FSB. Ah well. That won't make the top overclocker's list, but it is more then fast enough for oblivion, which this upgrade is for, anyhow.

[Incinerate_IV]

That's the bad thing about all the 965 boards, the RAM multiplier needs some work.

370FSB is still a really high clock, maby you should post it in the OC thread.
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...8&page=1&pp=20

[Lee1026]

cmon, everyone else got 400FSB.

[schminkypinky]

Ok I realise the MTW2 demo was not a final build but it still ran pretty slow on my comp...and F.E.A.R didn't even want to show up. So with a budget of 125 pounds/250 dollars how can I best improve this rig?

(I'm no techie but I thought probably best spending my limited budget on the best video card available)

The rig:

P4 3.o ghz
1028 mb ram
120gig hard drive 7200rpm
ATi Radeon 9800XT 128mb

Any help gratefully received

[Arakorn]

The GPU.

[Shaun]

Yes, for £125 you can get this, the X850XT, at that price you would be a fool not to get it.

[Arakorn]

Is it that high? Wasn't that card a bit better than 7600GT? I'd get the GT instead, since it's got Shader 3.0, and you can avoid upgrading for a while more.