Militaris

The first one is 184 pin, the second 240. Wouldn't that pose a problem? And as for the second one, if I bought 2 512s, would I be able to keep my 512's in 2 slots, and then my 2 256's in the other 2 (thus having 1.5gb?) And Stuart G, the link you gave has many. Which were you refering to? If you only use the type of rams with their related pairs it would not cause a problem, but you should not use 184 pin with 240 pin. If you read what I wrote, for the 184 pin ram I suggested you get rid of the stuff you already have so it would not cause a problem. (Most motherboards can use DDR or DDR2 ram in them)

There are several options, but the one I would probably choose to do is to remove the 2 256mb chips you already own, and replace it with 2x512mb of DDR (PC 3200) or DDR2 ram. Something like this would be fine http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231030 A cheaper option, would be to just buy a 512mb stick and slot it into the 3rd slot, you would get slightly less preformance but it would cost about half the price. Something like the following should be fine http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820161633 It is important to try and match memory speed/type as close as possible to decrease the chance of any complications occuring. I do not think my above suggestions would cause any compatibility issues, but I might have missed something.

All wires, cables, plugs, adapters should be supplied.

I do not personally believe a sound card is necessary, there are people which swear by them, it would take a slight pressure off the CPU, and would give slightly better sound quality.... I have never brought one. The case should be fine, quite large, it should not give any problems. I would personally buy a CoolerMaster Centurion but case choice is really down to personal preference (There is a slight difference with regards to sound, cooling but nothing to worry about). Quick release, tool free set-up is nice, but unless you plan on playing around with your hardware on a regular basis it is not much of advantage. With regards to your set-up, everything should be compatible, I would do a few things differently but nothing overly significant. You might want to match the colours of your case, monitor, speaker, DVD drive and keyboards. (I have a black set-up and it shows the dust bad). From my understanding, a DVD writer would also be able to play and write CDs. I know that LiteOn is a popular choice. If you are really interested in the choice Here is a review which looks at a few of them http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/30/ ... ue_speeds/

I have been thinking, it would also be possible to build a system which could easily play the two games you wanted for considerably less then the ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã1000 limit. Below are a few savings you could make, the * are the ones which I consider are worth considering. ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã50 saved if you get only 1GB of memory.* ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã5-10 If you get a smaller hard-drive. ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã64 If you prepared to take a risk you could use a case supplied PSU ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã166 if you get a 7600GT instead of a 7900GT* ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã25 if you get a cheaper motherboard.* ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã15 or so can be saved by getting a non DVD writer.* ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã25 on the CPU if you get a Sempron instead of a Athlon 64. ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã20 if you get a cheap monitor.... ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã160 if you buy a a 2nd hand 17ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬ÃâÃ

The performance difference between a 3200+ and a 3700+ is pretty irrelevant. For future proofing a dual core is much more appropriate. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/di ... ames2.html 2GB is becoming more of a requirement, and peoples game playing habits change with the time. Modern games are already requiring 2GB to run in high detail. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/memory ... b-ram.html

AMD System from scan.co.uk CPU AMD Athlon 64 3200 + Socket939 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã110.83 MotherBoard Asus A8N-E S939 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã67.80 Memory 2GB (2X1GB) Corsair Value Select PC3200 (400) Twin Pack ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã106.40 Graphics Cards (Several options ) 256MB XFX 7900GT ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã257.33 (Cheapest) Hard Drives 200Gb SATA150 Western Digital WD2000JD Caviar SE ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã61. PSU 485W Enermax Noisetaker ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã64 Case ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã50 DVD Writers (Dual Layer) Samsung SH-W162C ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã26.54 (choose because of price) Monitor (Between ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã190-260 spare) 17ÃÆââââ¬Å¡Ã¬ÃâÃ

Intel System from scan.co.uk CPU Intel Pentium 4 650 Socket 775 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã187.22 or Intel Pentium D 820 Socket775 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã163.56 Compare the preformance of the CPU there http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html MotherBoard Gigabyte GA-8I945P Pro ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã86.59 (lots of features) or Abit AL8-V S775 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã73.43 (Great overclocker) Memory 2GB (2X1GB) Corsair Value Select PC3200 (400) Twin Pack ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã106.40 Graphics Cards 256MB XFX 7900GT XXX ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã323.07 Hard Drives 200Gb SATA150 Western Digital WD2000JD Caviar SE ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã61. PSU 485W Enermax Noisetaker ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã64 Case ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã40 DVD Writers (Dual Layer) ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã30 Total:ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã897 Notes: -Did not budget for O/S, or for a monitor. -Selected a 7900GT instead of a 7800GT. -Did not choose a Case, I do not know what you like. - Did not choose a DVD/CD writer because I know little about them. - With any spare money, might want to upgrade the CPU. - For the specs of this machine, a good PSU is highly recommended.

There has been interesting developments in the high end video card market recently. nvidia just launched the 7900GT, and it is price competitvely. Early indicators shows that it is priced only slightly higher then the 7800GT. The good thing is that the 7900GT out preforms (only slightly) the much more expensice 7800GTX. So to sum it up, it is a 7800GTX for the price of a 7800GT. The prices start (using aussie pricespy) start from $499 for a standard clocked card, The cheapest 7800GTX I can find retails for $635. The 7800GT prices start from $425.00, In my opinion it is differently a worthwhile purchase. I suspect they would be in stock shortly, although prices are certain to drop, as the release matures. The 7800GTX/GT might also decrease in price to move older items.

Just a upgrade on the video card, recently the 7900GT was launched, and early price indicators shows that it is priced only slightly higher then the 7800GT. The good thing is that the 7900GT out preforms (only slightly) the much more expensice 7800GTX. So to sum it up, it is a 7800GTX for the price of a 7800GT. The prices start (at scan) from ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã257 for a standard clocked card, factory overclocked cards retail for slightly more. The cheapest 7800GTX I can is ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã278.78. In my opinion it is differently a worthwhile purchase. I suspect they would be in stock shortly.

When drunk in moderation alochol can have beneficial health benefits, although I can not find my copy of the Scientific Papers.... from memory the benefits include a lowering of blood pressure, decrease the risk of heart attacks, and lower risks of developing some cancers. Of course these benefits only occur if it is drunk in moderation (1-2 standard glasses a night if I remember correctly, less for females). Wine offers additional benefits over that of pure alcohol. This is due to the chemical compounds present in the wine. Spirits is the worst form of alcohol to drink to get health benefits. Edit: Quite a few papers (atleast the abstracts) are online http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=hea ... i=scholart

Yeah this V-Card is better because its 256bit and 256Mb, Its a wise choise :D And its cheap! O.o Lol! ~komodo It is better not because of the extra memory, but because it is a much better designed (and potentially less crippled card). The amount of memory attached to a card, in most cases is irrelevant with regards to how the card would preform. For example a XpertVision GeForce 6600 512MB would be crap compared with a Radeon X800 GTO 128MB.

The build I did would also be fine with a Intel processor in it, but with slightly less preformance in game. I would probably suggest you get a Intel Pentium 650 (Skt775) or a Intel Pentium D 820 2.8GHz. This review (link below) shows what impact the CPU has on games, as you would see there is not much of a difference between them. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/di ... ames2.html With regards to the motherboard, the best choice with regards to preformance would be the Asus P5ND2-SLI Skt 775, although the cheaper skt755 boards should be alright. I do not know if there would be a real life preformance decrease. (only considering the boards Web-Systems have on their website). The case you selected does have a PSU, the 400W indicates the total wattage of the included power supply (the total wattage is not a very good guide). The quality of the included PSU would probably not be very good, there is a decent chance that it would not be able to power a new system. I reccomend you purchase a 'high' quality PSU, the stocked be-quiet ones are suppose to be of excellent quality and it seem to be quite competively priced. The guide below is a good summary of what to look for when buying a PSU, the first two posts should be of interest. (After the first 2 the content is targeted towards a new zealand market) http://forums.overclockers.co.nz/showthread.php?t=14881

are you sure? it does say in the req it needs pentium 99.99% sure it would be fine.... I also could not find any comments about it not supporting AMD processors online. My last post was quite rumbling. So I would include a more compact system suggestion this time. I used web-systems for the parts. CPU: AMD A64 939 3200 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã118.00 Motherboard: MSI K8N Diamond Nforce4 SLi (with intergrated SoundBlaster Live!) ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 115.00 Memory: Kingston 1024MB DDR PC 3200 x2 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã128.00 Video Card*: Sparkle GeForce 7800GT 256MB ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã239.00 Hard Drive: Maxtor 200 GB SATA II 7200 8MB cache ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã61.00 DVD-RW: Philips 16x Dual Layer Black (OEM) (or Liteon, or different colour) ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã28.00 Speakers: Creative Inspire T3030 2.1 Speakers ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã37.0 PSU: Be Quiet! 470W ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã63.00 Case: Something you like ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã30+- Total: ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã819 * I would be tempted to order a EVGA 7800GT CO or a XFX Extreme 7800GT from http://www.scan.co.uk, They are better cards (factory overclocked), and they costs less.

If I was you I would spend a few dollars more and purchase a XFX GeForce 7800GT 256Mb instead of the one from XpertVision. The XFX one is factory overclocked (so it is under warranty) and XFX generally has one of the better software bundles. In my opinion differently worth the extra $25 or so. I would pick http://www.vtechindustries.com.au , because arc does not appear to stock the XpertVision 7800GT (or the XFX one). Although, it can be worthwhile to purchase video cards from a seperate shop. Because I have nothing better to do, I decided to summarise the noteworthy different 7800GT options which I found using Aussie pricespy. The cheapest 7800GT in aus seems to be s Forsa ($425.00), I know little of that brand. I would suggest buying the 2nd cheapest cards which are from Microstar or Leadtek ($445). Both of these are good highly respected brands, and should include good bundles and warranty. All three cards are priced that at MSY Technology (dunno how trustworthy that store is). The lowest priced XpertVision 7800GT ($486) is from H B Outlet. It costs $504.70 from vtechindustries. The cheapest XFX 7800GT is priced at $495.00 and is available from two stores at that price. It sells for $529.00 at vtechindustries.

With regards to Galaxy branded video cards, they are generally excellent quality products. Although, they do not seem to over clock their products unlike XFX (also high quality). So high quality but standard performance sums up galaxy.

Your friend is mistaken, a AMD Athlon 64 would run fine with silkroad. It would also preform better then a comparabely priced intel processor for most games. Below I suggested a system around a intel Parts from Web-Systems Online CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.2Ghz 640 (Skt775) 2mb Cache Retail ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 148.00 Motherboard: Asus P5ND2-SLI Skt 775* ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã62.13 Ram: Kingston 1024MB DDR PC 3200 (X2_ ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã130 Case: ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã30 PSU: Be Quiet! 470W ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 63.00 Hard-Drive: Maxtor 160 GB 7200 RPM 8 MB Cache ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 42.55 Sparkle GeForce 7800GT 256MB (PCiEx) ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 242.00 Total: ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã717 Other Costs: (If not required upgrade the CPU) Microsoft Windows XP Pro: 102.00 Monitor: Suyama 19 inch TFT Monitor (Silver/Black) 179.00 *not up to date on Intel motherboards, it does look good but I did not check reviews, There might be a better alternative. AMD Alternative CPU: AMD A64 939 3800+ X2 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 187.00 or AMD A64 939 3200 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 100.43 Motherboard: MSI K8N SLI-FI Skt 939 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã 82.00 .......................................................................................... Thirdly for price comparison sakes I assembled a system from scan.co.uk AMD Athlon 64 Dual Core 3800 + Retail ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã215.47 Motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã66. or Asus A8N-E ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã67.80 Memory: 2GB (2X1GB) Corsair Value Select PC3200 ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã110.63 Video Card: EVGA Nvidia GF7800GT CO ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã225.59 Hard-Drive: 160Gb Western Digital ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã54.27 Power Supply: 500W Enermax Liberty ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã70.25 Case: ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã30+ Total ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã770 (Simalar, but slightly slower system would cost ÃÆââ¬Å¡Ãâã776 from Web-Systems Online, slower due to the fact that the evga video card has been overclocked, and that the memory is not dual channel, at the end of the day the prices from the two stores are comparable. I would personally split the order across two stores, but that can be extra hassle ( I like to buy my monitor, Video Card seperatly from the rest of the components )

VGA to DVI and DVI to VGA are different. The VGA to DVI, converts a VGA slot to a DVI slot . While a DVI to VGA converts a DVI to a VGA. So they are opposites. You would want to buy a 'DVI female to VGA female'. They only cost a few dollars, I brought one last week. Now that I think about it, you probably could also purchase a 'VGA male to a DVI male'... but I have not seen any around. I hope I did not confuse you anymore :)

Land Cruisers are expesnsive they are generally 2-3x more then the simalar year surf, sure I can afford one but I am cheap. The 60 series surf are capable enough with the right engine and mods. They also have a larger boot. Its main use would be to drive up gravelly river beds, so nothing to extreme.

Here is a rough plan of a system which can be built for under your budget. All parts selected from 'MSY Technology '. AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ 2.0GHz Socket 939 $435.00 OCZ PC3200 A grade Memory 2x 512MB $127.00 Forsa Nvidia GeForce GF 7800GT PCI-Express Graphics Card $425 Asustek A8N-E nForce4-Ultra Socket 939 ATX $142 Western Digital 160GB 7200rpm Serial ATA $115 Thermaltake Mambo Black Tower case w Thermaltake Silent 430Watt PSU $95.00 Total: $1339 * The purchase of a good brand PSU might be wise. ** A different video card could be worthwhile. (I might research more into this if I get the time)

The realistic car I want is not not a car at all but a Toyota Hilux Surf (60-series), of course it is going to be modified (eg 50mm raised springs and shocks, Snorkel, maybe seat covers). Would probably set me back around $4500 NZD, but they are tough, reliable and great off road. Then I would have to purchase the correct tires which would cost a bit. I have always dream about owning a Dodge Viper.... not the best car, but they have their charm and I have always liked them.

The laptop you are looking at does not really meet the minimal specs for todays game. It would be struggling the day you brought it. I say it is already obsolete for gaming. The specs for a basic gaming computer today roughly would be.. CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200 (or simalar) GPU: GeForce 6600 GT (or Better, I normally suggest a 6800 GS or 7800GT (the names, and corresponding preformance can be very confusing)) Memory: 2x 512MB Dual Channel With regards to the computer you chosen. The processor on that computer should be fine (games are rarely CPU limited). It does not have a video card, rather it uses a intergrated graphic solution, the preformance would be poor at best. It only has 256mb of memory, and that would be shared with the intergrated graphics.... It is simply not a gaming machine. If you want a laptop which would be a decent gaming machine it would cost into the thousands of dollars. The pre-made desktops are also generally not good at gaming, they generally have a good processor, but they completely cheap out on the video card. Like what others have already suggested the best option would be to select your own parts, and join them yourself, or get the store to do it for you. If you need any help on parts, feel free to ask. I included a example for a a cheap but decent desktop. CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103535 $166.00 GPU: eVGA Geforce 6800GS CO SE 256mb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130271 $154.00 (After rebate) Hard-Drive: Western Digital Caviar 160GB $77 Memory: CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) $69 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-K8NF-9 Socket 939 $76 PSU (power supply): ENERMAX Noisetaker 485W $76 Desk drives: $45 Case: 'Something' $75 Total: $745 Then it would need extra for Monitor, Speakers, Keyboard, windows ect

ummm newegg does not show the price across a range of stores, newegg is a shop which quite low prices.... A alternative site to compare prices, and with a format I prefer is pricespy. http://au.pricespy.biz/

[quote name="Chris" I hope you realise that the Radeon 9800xt is a AGP card so it would not be comptaible with that motherboard. I hope you know' date=' I know what I'm talking about. :wink: Been a computer engineer for at least 2 years, been playing with PCs since I was 8. The K8N Neo2 is AGP, the Neo4 is the PCI-E edition. :) No hard feelings though, it's kinda awkward to distinguish between the two with only a number. :o[/quote] True, my mistake.

When you buy a dSLR you really should budget for atleast one extra lens. The lens choice depends on what kind of photos you plan on taking.... the lenes would/should greatly out-live the body so that is where the investment should be made. From my reading the estimated life-span of a dSLR is around 5-10 years. To get a decent dSLR with good glass and other add-ons, the cost sky rockets quickly. A few other cameras worth looking at. The Nikon D50, like all dSLR it is a good camera. It is slightly cheaper then the digital rebel. The 18-55 kit lens is quite nice, the other lens is not. The D50 is slightly better for wide angle then the Rebel, the rebel also has lower photo noise at high ISO. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/control ... ype=search The Olympus EVOLT E-500 is a nice camera, with lots of toys. It also has a 2X focal length conversion ratio so would favor tele photos... From what I read the kit lens are quite nice. The olympus has more image noise then the other dSLR. The Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D, main claim to fame is the built in image stabilizer. So you do not have to buy expensive lenses with it built in. The Pentax dSLR is the cheapest, nice view finder.... Another option is not to buy a dSLR but to buy the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1. It has comprehensive manual controls, noise level is comparable to the Olympus E-500. It has a very nice lens.... Costs more then many of the entry level dSLR. http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/sony/ ... ndex.shtml