What kind of computer should I get?

[idynkydnk]

well not really a whole computer, but I'm gonna get a new motherboard, processor, and video card. I don't really know what's good.

Keep in mind that I will be getting Linux so I want things that will work well with it.

[jabaman42]

If you're goin for top of the line stuff, Get a ATI Radeon 9700. That thing smokes, its even better than the Geforce 4 ti4600. either are good cards, but the Radeon is absolutely amazing. As for processor, get an AMD Athlon xp version. I forget what the latest one is, but its just as fast as a p4 and loads cheaper. Im not big on mobo's, so i wouldnt' know what to tell you about that.

[n_ick2000]

Whatever you do, don't go Pentium. AMD is so much better. Right now, I'd reccomend the Athlon XP 2000+ Processor($96 at newegg.com).

The Asus A7V333 ($140 at newegg.com)
or the MSI KT3 Ultra2 ($82 at newegg.com)
with maybe 512mb ddr ram or so

And for a video card, you can get a Geforce 4 Ti4200 ($165 at newegg.com) (and if you are not on a budget, the best card currently is the Radeon 9700 which is $358 at newegg.com)

That's really kind of a top of the line system though. Now really sure if you are some sort of budget. But defidently get your stuff from http://www.newegg.com if you are going over the internet. They have great prices, and are very trusted.

[idynkydnk]

So I should definatly get AMD over intel? I already planned on gettign the Geforce 4 so I guess that's definate now. What about motherboard?

Also, why is AMD better than Intel?

RAM! I forgot about RAM. What kind of RAM should I get?

[n_ick2000]

Originally posted by idynkydnk
So I should definatly get AMD over intel?

Yes.

What about motherboard?

I already listed some good ones. I can go find some more though.

Also, why is AMD better than Intel?

Athlons are cheaper AND faster than Pentiums. Trust me on this one.

RAM! I forgot about RAM. What kind of RAM should I get?

DDR ram if you are going with an Athlon. Probably pc 2700 if you want top of the line.

[I am Jesus]

Pentium runs cooler and is a better overclocker (but you can't mess with the multiplier). Get a Northwood Pentium, they're good. But I would still say AMD is better.

[idynkydnk]

Sorry, I didn't even realize those were motherboards you listed. I'm going to get 256mb DDR RAM. Are there any good brands I should get?

[I am Jesus]

Originally posted by idynkydnk
Sorry, I didn't even realize those were motherboards you listed. I'm going to get 256mb DDR RAM. Are there any good brands I should get?

Get Corsair DDR.

[n_ick2000]

I think Curcial ram is still the best followed by Corsair.

[idynkydnk]

Originally posted by n_ick2000
The Asus A7V333 ($140 at newegg.com)
or the MSI KT3 Ultra2 ($82 at newegg.com)

That's a big difference in price? Is the Asus a lot better?

[n_ick2000]

Originally posted by idynkydnk


That's a big difference in price? Is the Asus a lot better?

Not really. Some people like Asus better. Personally I have an MSI board (k7t266 pro2-ru) and it runs fine. Asus is just more of a recognized brand than MSI.

[I am Jesus]

MSI is good, I've had the KT3 Ultra since the first day it came out and haven't had any problems.

[idynkydnk]

alright guys, here's what I got so far. Tell me what you think. I guess I'm kind of on a budget. I really shouldn't be spending any of this, but I don't really care. If there's something that you think is too much and you think I could get something just as good for cheaper, then let me know.

All the prices are from newegg.com

RAM - CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2100 DDR RAM - OEM $68.00

Motherboard - MSI Motherboard for AMD Processors Model KT3 Ultra2(6380E-050) Retail $82.00

Processor - AMD ATHLON XP 2000+/266 FSB PROCESSOR CPU - OEM $96.00

Video Card - VGA EVGA|GF4 TI4200 128M with VIVO/TV out RETAIL BOX. $165.00

[Curi0us_George]

Originally posted by n_ick2000 Athlons are cheaper AND faster than Pentiums.[/B]

Bull. They are certainly cheaper, but they are definitely not faster.

If you want the fastest desktop processor you can get right now, you should get a P4 2.8 Ghz. It's definitely not cheap, but it's the fastest. Now, if you are normal, and have a budget, then you should either get a lower speed P4 or an AthlonXP. Either will work fine.

Got to www.tomshardware.com and read some of the motherboard, processor, memory, and video card reviews. Don't just take someone else's advice. Do some research.

[I am Jesus]

Do you like to overclock your video card? If so then I would skip the eVGA and get a Leadtek or Gainward instead.

[I am Jesus]

oopsss

[edit] wront button damnit [/edit]

[jabaman42]

true, a p4 has a faster clock speed than the fastest amd right now, but the fastest amd can do just as much work as the p4 at the same speed for much cheaper. An athlon is still the better buy right now. the latest p4 is so freakin expensive.

[Bop]

Originally posted by idynkydnk
What kind of computer should I get?

If I were you I'd get one that works.

[LAVAB84615]

i just got an EPOX EP-8k5A2+ motherboard and an AMD athlon xp 2000+ processor. overclocks like none other and is the most stable mainboard i have ever used

[n_ick2000]

Originally posted by Curi0us_George

Bull. They are certainly cheaper, but they are definitely not faster.

If you want the fastest desktop processor you can get right now, you should get a P4 2.8 Ghz. It's definitely not cheap, but it's the fastest. Now, if you are normal, and have a budget, then you should either get a lower speed P4 or an AthlonXP. Either will work fine.

Got to www.tomshardware.com and read some of the motherboard, processor, memory, and video card reviews. Don't just take someone else's advice. Do some research.

I agree about doing your own research. It's always a good idea. But I don't think tomshardware is that good anymore. I've heard that they recently started selling out by giving good reviews to whoever can afford lots of money.

The p4 northwoods are better than the 2000+ because of the dieshrink. AMD came out with the thurobred (sp?) which I believe is better. But that is the 2200 and above. So technically you are right, curious, a p4 northwood would outperform the 2000+, but the Athlons do a damn good job for the amount that they cost, and very few of the p4's outperform the Athlons. If that isn't true anymore, please tell me.

And yes, if you can, do your own research. It's always better than other people's reccomendations.

[Curi0us_George]

Originally posted by n_ick2000
I agree about doing your own research. It's always a good idea. But I don't think tomshardware is that good anymore. I've heard that they recently started selling out by giving good reviews to whoever can afford lots of money.

The p4 northwoods are better than the 2000+ because of the dieshrink. AMD came out with the thurobred (sp?) which I believe is better. But that is the 2200 and above. So technically you are right, curious, a p4 northwood would outperform the 2000+, but the Athlons do a damn good job for the amount that they cost, and very few of the p4's outperform the Athlons. If that isn't true anymore, please tell me.

And yes, if you can, do your own research. It's always better than other people's reccomendations.

I don't believe that about Tomshardware. I'd bet money that rumor was started by some AMD fanboy. The fact is, the P4s are just faster than the AthlonXPs, but a lot of AMD fanboys just refuse to believe it.

I don't think tomshardware is getting any money at all from any of the companies whose products they review. I think they make their money from the advertising, and possibly as consultants (I don't actualy know if they do any consulting, though).

If you compare tomshardware's benchmarks to those from, say, anandtech, you'll see that they match fairly closely. I trust tomshardware. I've never found a reason not to.

I won't argue that the cost/performance is better with the AthlonXP. That's definitely true. (And the AthlnXP 2000+ is an excellent buy.) I'm just saying that they are not the top performers.

[c2R]

I'd go for Intel every time.

The architecture of the P4 chip is far superior to the Athlon XP. Also the chip runs *much* cooler, and is far less power-hungry. The P4 also has a higher Mhz rating, whereas the Athlon numbers are just made up.

The other thing is that I've been stung too often by AMD and Cyrix chips before - they don't tend to support the same instruction sets as Intel chips - some older applications I've got refuse to run under non-Intel, and many are optimized for Intel support.

If anyone remembers there was all that hassle with windows 98 itself not running without various patches on AMD chips faster than 350Mhz.


I'd also go for a Gigabyte motherboard, and a GeForce4 TI graphics card (avoid the MX version, unless you're not really a games player)

[Xerxes]

Get a Macintosh.

[Curi0us_George]

Originally posted by c2R
I'd go for Intel every time.

The architecture of the P4 chip is far superior to the Athlon XP. Also the chip runs *much* cooler, and is far less power-hungry. The P4 also has a higher Mhz rating, whereas the Athlon numbers are just made up.

The architecture of the P4 does not matter. What matters is the ending speed. The Matrox Parahelia has a far better architecture than even the Radion 9700 pro, but the Parahelia is about on par with the 8500. So much for architecture. Buy for performance.

P4s are definitely not less power hungry. They are incapable of running on the power supplied by the standard ATX motherboard cable. They may run cooler, but honestly, what does that matter?

Mhz doesn't necessarily mean anything. A 1.2 Ghz P4 gets stomped terribly by a 1.2 Ghz PIII. A 1.2 Athlon will stomp it even harder. It takes a significatly higher speed in a P4 to reach the same performance as an Athlon.

The "made up" numbers that the AthlonXP uses are a comparison to the P4's performance. An AthlonXP 2000+ is supposed to be about on par with a 2 Ghz P4. The AthlonXP is actually significantly faster.

The other thing is that I've been stung too often by AMD and Cyrix chips before - they don't tend to support the same instruction sets as Intel chips - some older applications I've got refuse to run under non-Intel, and many are optimized for Intel support.

The Athlon fully supports the PIII instruction set (as did the K6, I believe). It doesn't fully support the SSE 2 extensions found in the P4, but then, unless you've got some special Flask MPEG software on your computer, you probably don't have anything that can take advantage of SSE 2. An Athlon will run any PC software you can buy.

If anyone remembers there was all that hassle with windows 98 itself not running without various patches on AMD chips faster than 350Mhz.

That's right, don't buy an Athlon if you plan to run Windows 98 . . .

(Actually, I ran Windows 98 on my 900 Mhz Athlon system for quite some time with zero problems. No patches, either. Straight off the CD.)

[n_ick2000]

Your right curious george. Some of the new P4's are in fact faster than the athlons, but they cost more than an arm and a leg. If money is no object, then go ahead and get the new p4's. But if you are on ANY sort of budget, an Athlon would be a much better choice.

[Schismx]

The Athlon 2600+ does better in most benchmarks than the P4 2.53GHz

[dashrike]

a good one.

[dashrike]

actually, a better idea. get a new computer, and then find some way to fix your old one. then you can send the new one to me. yay.

[idynkydnk]

Originally posted by dashrike
actually, a better idea. get a new computer, and then find some way to fix your old one. then you can send the new one to me. yay.

There's nothnig wrong with the one I have now. I just want a faster one.

[Vie]

Avoid Quantom Microcomponets at ANY cost there total crap.

I had one (the 98 that exploaded) and it was not nice, it seamed to fight against running programs, any programs, even the ones that came with it.

[Orgone_Man]

Be wary when buying amd b/c I had an athlon xp 2000+ and it overheated after 3 months of use. They run HOT. Buy the athlon from a retail place b/c then you get like a 3 year warranty from amd, if you buy it from an online store like i did, you might get screwed like I did. I had to either buy a new one, or replace the overheated 2000 with an 1800. To keep it cool, check out arctic silver III thermal compound.

[Xion(810)]

GET AN ALIENWARE!!!!!

[flatmatt]

Computers suck, don't buy one. Or at least that's what I threaten Microsoft with in my angry e-mails...

[BMWboy]

Originally posted by Orgone_Man
Be wary when buying amd b/c I had an athlon xp 2000+ and it overheated after 3 months of use. They run HOT. Buy the athlon from a retail place b/c then you get like a 3 year warranty from amd, if you buy it from an online store like i did, you might get screwed like I did. I had to either buy a new one, or replace the overheated 2000 with an 1800. To keep it cool, check out arctic silver III thermal compound.

if you are worried about overheating, you need two things. better case ventalation, and a better cooling fan(along with better thermal compound. you should look for a copper heatsink, and a high speed fan(7200RMP should do anything you want it to do). you should be able to get it for $30 to $40 USD. I had a brand new stock fan sieze on a brand new AMD CPU, but luckly, I managed to get my money back. it dosen't cost that much, and will give you some peace of mind on the whole overheating problem.

[n_ick2000]

If it overheated on you, it is probably because you used the stock heatsink and fan that came with it. ALWAYS buy a seperate heaksink and fan. My Athlon XP 1600+ doesn't even run very hot. And if you plan to do some overclocking, you might want to look into water cooling.

[ctn|chrisw]

Originally posted by Xerxes
Get a Macintosh.

we already talked bout macs...dont get dem

[Some1]

Seeing how you're building your system from scratch (which is definately the way to go) rather than buying a prebuilt computer from one of the major retailers, I'd recommend a motherboard made by MSI (the earlier mentioned pro2-ru is a decent one, though keep in mind that unless you have a lot of drives then you may not need the built in RAID and could save a little cash buying the non-RAID'ed version), along with a nice Athlon XP chip. When you look at cost of the chip and the performance the you get, the Athlon XP is a good choice. The newest P4's may outperform the Athlon, but they're damned expensive, and a 2100+ Athlon XP should still be able to outperform all but the newest P4's, despite it's much lower clock speed (according to what I've read, the Athlon can do this because its architecture allows it to somehow execute more than one operation per clock cycle). As already mentioned you'll need a quality heatsink and fan combo...and if you find the chip runs hotter than you like you can always underclock it a bit (or overclock it if it's running cool). Also, as a P4 user, I strongly recommend AVOIDING all but the newest versions of the chip...my friends all have AMD boxes, and whenever we're gaming at LAN parties and the like I'm ALWAYS the last one to finish loading (my 1.3 GHz P4 seems to be about on par with a 1.0 GHz duron...pretty lame considering the cost difference). The only really nice thing about having a P4 based system is that you get to use RDRAM (which is also pretty damn expensive)...although some of the high-end DDR RAM out there will perform almost as good. As far as video goes, a leadtek/visiontek GF4 based card (but NOT the MX one) should be more than sufficient, especially for linux.