Militaris

Aren't the x800's a generation behind x1600s? x800's are a older series. Both cards were released in the last few months, without checking the x1600xt is newer then the x800gto. The x800gto is based on older 'high end' technology. In general the x800gto is a better preforming card, the x1600xt has a few more toys ( HDR, SM3). The x800gto is often cheaper. For a few dollars more a "SAPPHIRE Radeon X800GTO2" can have the extra pipes unlocked... turning it into a excellent card.(possible to reach speeds simalar to a X850 XT PE)

With regards to your build, everything looks fine. Although, as I already pointed out I do not consider that video card very good value for money. I would personally spend the $10-20 extra and get a 6800GS, which currently easily out preforms the x1600xt card. This one here is currently good value. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130265 A alternative motherboards worth considering is the ASUS 945P P5LD2 (775). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131538 If money is tight, there is the store http://www.zipzoomfly.com , They are often cheaper then Newegg, and they often include the cost of purchase in the price. They seem to have good ratings according to these two sites, Newegg seems slightly better... http://www.bizrate.com/ratings_guide/cu ... rd--1.html http://www.resellerratings.com/seller_i ... er_id=1991

I would suggest to build a computer yourself, that way you can determine which parts you get. Many of the pre-built system throw in cheap parts...

I also forgot to include the cost of a Operating system into my builds... For $500 you would be pushing it.... That might be possible with a 2nd hand CRT.... I suspect a prebuilt system with 17" LCD monitor would be approaching $1000. Although I did not look very hard this is the cheapest pre-built system I could find. http://www.skycomp.com.au/product_info. ... ccfea580f3

Blocking of ads is wrong, if you do not want to view advertisments, do not visit the website. It can not be any more simple. Advertisements help fund the content of the websites which in most cases you do not pay anything to view. (I do not use any form of adblocking (pop ups are quite rare now, atleast on the sites I view), but I do have a habit of blocking everything which is not text or formatting)

All prices from MSY.... Motherboard: Asus A8N-E Nforce 4 Ultra $145 CPU: AMD 3200+ $241 Memory: 1G(2x512M) Corsair Value $130 (Save $15 if you buy generic) Hard Drive: Maxtor 200GB 8MB Cache SATA ATA133 7200rpm Hard Drive Hard Drive $118.00 or Western Digital WD 80GB 8MB Cache SATA ATA100 7200rpm Hard Drive $74.00 Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce 6800GS DVI PCI-Express $315.00 (reccomended) or Sapphire ATI Radeon X800GT $218 or Forsa GeForce 6600GT DVI PCI-Express $170 PSU AcBel 450Watt Pure-Intelligent Power $95.00 (Would prefer Antec or Enermax but MSY does not stock them at a reasonable price, although AcBel is still a good brand) Case: Cooler Master Centurion $69 (or what you like the look of) Monitor: ChiMei CMV CT-712A 17" LCD $295.00 Optical Drive: Pioneer 110 OEM Beige DL 16x DVD RW with DVD-RAM $63 Keyboard: Logitech Keyboard + Optical Mouse: $40.00 or Gigabyte Keyboard + Optical Mouse: $20.00 (Cheap keyboards still operate fine....) Speaker: Altec Lansing 120I Speaker $25 (Dunno about sound quality but they are cheap) Total: 1536 Cheap option: $1312

Id have to disagree with you there, all the 256MB 6600GT's on newegg are clocked slower than the x1600. The only one close to the x1600 is the Leadtek 6600GT. The only thing it beats the x1600 is in the memory interface which is 256mb while the x1600 is only 128mb. The x1600 beats it in core and memory clock, its running more pixel pipelines, the 6600GT is only openGL 1.5 whilst the x1600 is openGL 2.0. Not only that, but the leadtek 6600GT is $100 more expensive than the x1600. So unless ive misunderstood something here, at first glance, the x1600 beats out all of the 256mb 6600GT's. I do not really look at specs, just benchmarks. Just to make sure we are discussing the same cards, I am comparing the 6600GT with the X1600XT. (The 6600gt does not benefit much from having 256mb of memory, so I ignore them) The 6600gt prices are around $120 The X1600XT are price around $170 I must admit I could not find many benchmarks of the 1600xt... but this here http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/308/1/ shows that they both preform similarly. With a slight edge to the x1600xt.... "Although performance is reasonably good for a mid-range card, this performance level was introduced by NVIDIA two years ago. This is the newest X1000 Mid-range product yet it has an awfully hard time keeping up with a two year old GeForce 6600 GT. Both win and lose to each other here and there. "

When building a computer in Aussie, I suggest hitting aussie pricespy first. This is a good guide for prices of most computer parts from a wide range of stores, and presents it in a simple but brillant format. http://au.pricespy.biz/ To be honest, I have never found a aussie store with a good product range.... So I can not list exact prices. I would probably just pick them from pricespy. $1500 AUD buys a lot less then $1500 USD. So forget the above :) CPU AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz Socket 939 $229.00+ Hard Drive Maxtor 200GB 7200rpm Serial ATA $118.00+ Memory 2x 512MB of Corsair, OCZ, GeIL, Kingston.... Take your pick. $130.00+ Video Card GeForce 6800 GS 256MB PCI Express $315 Motherboard ASUS A8N-E $145.00 or DFI NF4 SLI Infinity nForce4 Sli $195.00 PSU Antec SmartPower 2.0 450W $102 Case Cooler Master Centurion $69 (or what you like the look of) Keyboard + mouse Logitech something: $30.00 Speaker Logitech something: $35.00+ CD Drive Dual Layer DVD Writer $65 Monitor ChiMei CMV CT-712A 17" LCD $295 Total: $1533 (not including postage)... maybe slightly to expensive, but savings can be made. If need be I would take a longer look tomorow. Most of the above parts can be brought for a low price from http://www.msy.com.au , I suggest taking a look there. (Site has terrible layout)

For runescape and school work you do not need to spend $1500, probably could get away with around $900 (Assuming you require a new monitor). I would also assume that you are from the US. I would assume that you do not plan to Overclock. Motherboard DFI nForce4 Ultra Infinity http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813136163 $95.99 CPU AMD currently makes the best and cheapest processor for gaming, and most other tasks. AMD Athlon 64 3200+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103535 $160.00 Memory Unless you plan on overclocking, there is little point in getting more expensive ram. CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145440 $81.00 Hard Drive Lots of difference sizes, brands, prices to choose from. Might want to buy two so you can back up onto one.... Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822144415 $85.00 Video Card The most important part for good game preformance. Currently the 7800GT is a excellent card, and at a excellent price. eVGA Geforce 7800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130247 ($275.00 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) PSU Although 500W is overkill, it is only a few dollars more. A good quality PSU can result in a much more stable system. Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 500W Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103937 $68.99 Case Lots of options, I would not suggest spending more then $75. I like the Cooler Master Centurion or Cavalier cases. $45-60. Mouse/keyboard I like Logitech, Same people like expensive ones but I never have had a problem with my cheapie. $13 Speakers I like simple speakers (less cords to get tangled), and have never been able to notice "Poor sound quality".... I like Logitech, and these speakers are a good price. Logitech S-100 BLK 2.0 Speaker - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6836121125 $7 Price: $836 (Excluding Monitor) I would allow someone else to suggest monitors, because I do not find them very interesting. Suggested alternatives: Motherboards: Chaintech VNF4 Foxconn NF4UK8AA-8EKRS Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra Memory: Patriot Signature 2GB (2 x 1GB) $159.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220079 G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) $$169.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231047 CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ $321.50 (Dual Core) AMD Athlon 64 3700+ $223 Note: A few of the prices are a couple of days old so could be out of date now.

There is nothing wrong with Foxconn, they make good quality parts. All motherboard brands have a odd dud board (Tried and fine a board with 5 out 5 stars on Newegg, quite difficult*). They were OEM for apple for a long time. There is a general theme of distrust towards them but that is due to the fact that they are a fairly recent arrival into the retail market. At this time i would rank foxconn before ASUS for a rig which is not going to be overclocked. If it was going to be overclocked then I would suggest Epox or DFI. * I do not take much notice of user reviews, such things are often biased, and written by idiots who do not know what they are doing, who ordered the wrong part in the 1st place, or they are complaining about the retailers service or the postage service.... That card is barely faster then the 6600GT.... Another card which is simalar and also made by ATI and could be worth considering is the x800GTO... preformance is simalar (probably slightly slower), but can be brought for a bit cheaper. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102602 Although in that price range, ATI is not really the best option considering you can get a 6800GS for less then $200. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ategory=48

A few changes I would make. Motherboard People already commented on your chosen motherboard, here is a good reliable motherboard. Foxconn NF4UK8AA-8EKRS ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813186037 $93.00 CPU AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103535 $160.00 Memory Unless you plan on overclocking, there is little point in getting more expensive ram. CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820145440 $81.00 Hard Drive. The money spent to get a 'raptor' hard-drive would be better spent elsewhere. It would only speed up loading times slightly. Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822144415 $85.00 Video Card The most important part for good game preformance. eVGA Geforce 7800G http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130247 ($275.00 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) Tv tuner I prefer seperate cards, that way you do not have to replace it when you purchase a new video card. Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 MCE 1042 Tuner Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6815116620 $62 PSU Thermaltake PSU focus on frills and aesthetic features over actual performance. They are fairly reliable but underpowered and overpriced. Unless you like the looks of the thermaltake, I would suggest going for a Antec, Enermax, Seasonic or OCZ power supply. Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 500W Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103937 $68.99 Case $54.99 Mouse/keyboard $13 Monitor NEC Display Solutions LCD1770GX-BK Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824002284 $350 Speaker There are cheaper alternatives, I personally can not tell the difference between 'good speakers' and 'crappy speakers'. I just purchase on looks and price mostly. My cheap 2.0 speakers sound fine and go fine. $49.99 Total: $1293 + postage. I do not think I forgot anything....

But then you sell the built in PSU via a online auction and because there are so many idiots out there you would make much of the money back. Cases with PSU often work out cheaper then ones without (if you get around to selling the PSU, which I don,t).

I agree with wahoo, if it is fine no need to upgrade. Anyway. If you do decide to upgrade. The CPU is fine. Would suggest a extra 512mb, or 1GB of ram. A decent video card would be nice, I suggest the following PCI-E cards Radeon X800GT/GTO $139 (Lowest $99 with mail in rebate) GeForce 6800 GS $184.00 GeForce 7800 GT $299 ($275.00 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate) (Prices from newegg, slightly out of date) A few specific brands. SAPPHIRE 100126L-BL Radeon X800GT 256MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102636 $119.00 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate. XFX PVT42GUAD7 Geforce 6800GS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... etailSpecs $119* eVGA 256-P2-N391-AX Geforce 6800GS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130265 $119* eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130247 $275.00 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate *Both cards are very simalar, eVGA has slightly faster Core clock (490 vs 485) speeds, Both offer lifetime warranty, but XFX would continue to honour the warranty if the card is on-sold.

A few alternatives to Stuart_G suggestions. Motherboards The following are good quality boards, with good preformance, good feature sets, good overclockers, ect...t. Probably slightly cheaper then the Asus A8N-E and personally I feel they are better. Epox EP-9NPA+ Ultra DFI NF4 SLI INFINITY For cheap alternatives the Chaintech VNF4 is worth a look. Foxconn boards are currently good value. From what I have read about them, they have good build quality, reliable and stable, with their fair share of features. They are well worth a look if you do not plan to overclock. I was put off the ASUS board because they seem to be having a few hardware, and maybe bios difficulties at the start of the product line. Although, I heard they have been fixed on newer boards. Memory Unless you plan on overclocking there is little preformance benefit in getting Low latency ram (plenty of good value stuff around), although it is only a few dollars ($19) more. Case I agree that the Trinty is a nice case, a alternative would be the Cooler Master Centurion or Cavalier cases ($45-60). Pretty much agree with, or indifferent towards everything else he suggested.

With 'brain' do you mean the 'processor/cpu'? A Dual core CPU has two independent processors on a single chip. It means having 2 processors inside your computer. Currently the main advantage for the average user is improved preformance in multi-tasking. The cheapest AMD Athlon 64 dual core option is the Athlon 64 X2 3800+, it sells for around $322.00 at newegg. A Alternative is the AMD Opteron 165, which sells for $345.00 The cheapest Intel Pentium dual core option is the D 820, it sells for $243.00

For $1300 it is possible to buy a good computer which would be able to play all current games in good quality, and a notebook which can easily handle office tasks and most uni work. Apart from the build quality of the laptop casing, there is not much of a difference between cheap parts and expensive parts. In 6 months the expensive parts would be the cheap parts. If you spend $1300 on a laptop, you can get something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6834224040 So a good CPU, 2.5 hours of battery life, Its video card preforms slightly better then the desktop Radeon 9600 XT. So it is like a entry level gaming desktop. The $645 example computer would easily thrash it in everything. (Possible exception being CPU intensive tasks) The main point of a laptop is for convenience, they are not suppose to be powerful gaming machines. The best option I beleive is to purchase a cheap one and slot in 512mb extra memory. (I find Acer and Asus notebooks to be good value)

Getting a laptop with the plan on using it during lectures is not a good idea. It annoys other people with clicking, fans ect... and it would prove to be a distraction because many lectures are boring. Pen and paper is the best way to take notes. The main advantages of a laptop is to study on while in a library. I would suggest the possibility of purchaseing a PC for around the $750 mark, and spending the remaining $500 rest on a cheap notebook. That way you have the preformance of a decent computer, and the convience of a laptop. Although if you need to purchas windows it could prove to expensive. A quick example: PC AMD Athlon 64 3200+ $160 S939 Motherboard: $74 Radeon X800GT $139 1GB Memory: $74 250GB Hard-drive: $108 Case: $50 Cheap mouse/keyboards/speakers: $15 Moniyor: 2nd hand 17" CRT: $25 (Estimate) Total: $645 (prob more around $675 with postage) Laptop ($625) Acer AS3003LCi $610 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... etailSpecs (Cheap notebooks benefit greatly from extra memory, and has short battery life, and normally poor build quality, although they do office tasks fine) Dell also have cheap laptops.

You can get the following upgrade for less then $200 CHAINTECH MBAV-MK8T890 Socket 754 VIA K8T890 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $39.00 (Might require Bios flashing) AMD Sempron 64 2600+ Palermo 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor Model SDA2600BXBOX - Retail $65 BUFFALO Select 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) $37.74 connect3D 3032 Radeon X550 128MB $54.99

Becuase of the age of your hardware, it is difficult to answer, and I do not want to guess. You might be able to upgrade your current motherboard, and put a faster CPU, more meomory and a decent graphics card onto it. This should cost less then $300*, and would likely make wow playable at a reasonable quality. This is the more difficult path. (I can not find much info on your motherboard so I have to guess which parts it is capable of supporting. I would advise against doing this) The other option would be to upgrade to current technology, which would cost around $730. This would make wow playable at good quality. The final option would be to upgrade to entry level technology. A new motherboard can be brought for around $65, 1gb memory for $75, Sempron CPU for $75, and a new video card for between $65-$130 (9600 pro or 6600GT). Total: $290, Because of the price of a new motherboard I would suggest against upgrading around it. This upgrade would play wow at a decent quality.

Purchasing the $730 system (although does not include postage), above from newegg would easily run WoW. It is pretty much a new PC. Although, in the low end market the Dell Primum saving spotlight deals are hard to bet, espically if you want a new monitor. http://www1.us.dell.com/content/product ... dhs&~ck=mn

Although it might be possible to upgrade, I would recommend against it, and I am not confident that my knowledge of compatibility with old hardware is not up to the task. The price to replace the case would range from around $500 to several thousand. The $500 Gaming Machine from Tomshardware provides a interesting read, and would provide a significant performance increase over your current machine. http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/10/14/the_/ Although such a machine I consider almost inaccurate for most current games. Better to spend around the $750-$1250 mark. CPU The AMD Athlon 64 3200+ provides nice preformance at a decent price. For gaming (and most tasks) AMD Athlon 64 are the best. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103535 $160.00 Motherboard The Foxconn NF4K8MC-ERS* Socket 939 board is reliable and well built, and at a good price for what it offers. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813186052 $73.50 The video card is one of the most important parts for overall gaming preformance. I would suggest the XFX PVT42GUAD7 Geforce 6800GS 256MB. This card is shipped overclocked, and is one of the cheapest. The 6800GS is not the best video card, but it is a good match for the above CPU. $199.00 Memory 1GB of memory is often reccomended, although there are advantages in choosing 2GB. OCZ Value Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227039 $73.44 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231047 $169.00 Hard-Drive Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148065 $108.00 Case There are heaps of cases around, nice cases can be found for around the $50 mark. Personal preference plays a large part in this. Although something like the RAIDMAX X1 ATX-909WB is a nice case for the price (Although rather ugly in my opinion). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156179 $50 Power Supply A good quality power supply is more efficint, and would make the computer more stable. Enermax is a proven brand. Enermax 420w power supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817103459 $64.99 Total: $730 Possible Alternatives AMD Athlon 64 3800+ $282.00 AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ $322 (Dual core) eVGA 256-P2-N515-AX Geforce 7800GT $275 Motherboards: Chaintech VNF4 $64.00 DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity $96 Epox EP-9NPA+Ultra $105.00 Even the cheapest system above should be able to run wow without any problems. One side note, depending on your internet connection the lag could be caused by that instead of your hardware.

Yes... I was suppose to paste the link :) Sorry about that. (Because it is now unsupported it is getting harder to locate) http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html (There is a good alternative which I must locate one day)

My computer was also showing simalar signs, although it has stopped. Although I can not honestly say what fixed the probolem. I did two things which could have been responsible. 1) I did a clean install of windows XP. 2) I upgraded from a 300w hyena PSU (very bad brand) which was not sufficient to power my new video card, and upgraded to a 485w Enermax (Good stable brand) which was easily sufficient.

You did not really tell him what he should get, you pretty much suggested the two main CPU companies, and the two main video card companies, and a few basic specs....

Download everest, this program would provide a summary and more comprehensive information on your hardware and software. Like apinagez has already said your current computer is only suitable for basic tasks and older games. There is a slight chance that a upgrade can be done, but I would require more info. I think duron run on socket A motherboards (but not certain). If that is the case you could upgrade to the following parts. AMD Sempron CPU for socket A, I would suggest the 2800+, or the fastest you can find.... Increase your ram buy purchasing 512MB of PC3200 SDRAM. Last a new graphics card, I suspect your system would operate on AGP. So I would suggest the 6600 GT video card, or the 9600 pro if money is tight. Assuming the parts are compatible, a upgrade would cost less then $300 USD. It would give a nice increase of preformance. The alternative would be to replace the entire system. Without more information, like the amount you are willing to spend, it is difficult to suggest which parts you should purchase. Although it is possible to purchase quite a nice system for around $500 USD that really should be the minimum. Maybe something like the following. AMD 64 3200+ (Socket 939) $160 (or 3500+, 3700+, X2 ect) DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 $96 Gefore 6800 GS PCI-E $199 (Or $299 for 7800GT) 2x512mb PC3200 SDram $78 250GB 3.5" 7200rpm Serial ATA150 Hard Drive $105 Case: $75 PSU: ENERMAX 420w $65 Total: $778 (A little more then my $500 which I thought but that is a good system) Edit: I just checked and the semp 3000+ does not come in socket A, the fastest seems to be the 2800+.