Altkill Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 I'm going to buy a new Desktop or Laptop in the new year, but I need to know what would be the best GHz, RAM, Memory etc. Obviously higher is better but I mean what is best to use for a computer to run just above average, if you know what I mean. Alt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Militaris Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 I'm going to buy a new Desktop or Laptop in the new year, but I need to know what would be the best GHz, RAM, Memory etc. Obviously higher is better but I mean what is best to use for a computer to run just above average, if you know what I mean. Alt Well, most computers use Intergrated graphics so any low end graphics cards would be better then average. Although you would be better of purchasing a GeForce 6600 GT or a GeForce 6800 GS. With one of these cards I suspect your computer would run faster then the average video card powered machine. (Although the true average is almost impossible to know) With regards to the CPU, GHz is only one of many measures which determine preformance. I suspect that any AMD Athlon 64 CPU would be better then average. With regards to ram, most computers (atleast recent ones) would run on 256mb although 512mb is becoming more common. Just to be on the safe side 1GB of ram would be preferred. There are two main aspects when it comes to Hard-drives, one is the storage space, the other is how fast it operates. With regards to storage space 160GB or less seem to be qutie common (Although you would know how much storage you should required). So getting a 160GB-200GB drive would meet your requirements. for preformance 7200rpm with Serial ATA would be fine. Most brands are fairly reliable. PSU: The power supply is a tricky one, many people swear by the use of high end named brands, anything else according to them you run the risk of frying your new computer. Although others, myself included have just used cheap generic PSU with little problem. (Although for my next upgrade I am getting a decent PSU) Just for a breif summary. CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ (Socket 939) Motherboard: any nForce4 Ultra board. Hard Drive: 160GB 7200 rpm serial ATA Video Card: GeForce 6800 GS Memory: 1GB PC3200 (Could be 512x2 in dual channel) PSU: Enermax 485w noisetaker or simalar. Case: Something you like the look of. At a guess you should be able to purchase the above for less then $600 USD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jargon Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 If you are looking at getting a high end computer/Laptop consider: AMD Athlon 64, Pentiumn 4 ~ 2GHZ-3GHZ (I prefer AMD) RAM: minimum 1GB, preferbly 2GB Graphics: ATI Radeon X850 Or NVIDIA Geforce 7800 (min 256 Video Ram) Hard Drive: 100GB 17" LCD Display Windows XP Home/Media Center/Pro If you would like to consider a cheaper, lower end laptop/computer consider: AMD Sempron, Pentium III or Pentium 4 ~ 1GHZ RAM: Minimum 512MB, Preferbly, at least 1GB Graphics: Minimum ATI Radeon 9800 or NVIDIA Geforce 6800 (min 128mb Vido Ram) Hard Drive: 40GB 12"+ LCD Display Windows XP Home. Resigned From Runescape - Alpha_120 --> Level 69 -ArenaScape-Join Clan UCORB ~ Rank #5 ClanClan members, need something? PM ME!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altkill Posted December 10, 2005 Author Share Posted December 10, 2005 This has helped, seriously, thanks. I'm getting it from Alienware, so the case will definatly look cool, and I'm straying towards getting a Laptop. Alt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake16 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 If your a windows person like me i DEFINITELY suggest into looking into buying a 64-bit cpu such as the AMD 64 ( I think it's the only as of right now) As the new windows Vista, originally codename: LongHorn, is scheduled to be released in spring 2006 (originially summer 2005) is a 64-bit OS meaning the old 32-bit 98, ME, 2000, and XP comps will not be able to run it. It's supposed to be lightning fast (although that can vary computer to computer depending on your RAM memory, and type. HDD memory, and connections(IDE vs. Serial....the latter being more efficient). And things like the graphics card in video games and rich, high end multimedia content. And also getting viruses and worms will slow you down too. Security is supposed to be better but there is no invincible security system "if man built it, man can break it" - the same as with "locks are for honest people" But then again it mostly depends on where your using this, what it will be used for, internet, and remember to think ahead and not of just now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest andyizcool Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 You only need 512MB RAM to run Windows XP, use the Internet, use Instant Messengers, and maybe open a few MS Office Files. I know 512MB RAM is good because the PCs on 256MB RAM can do all that but start to lag a little so 512MB RAM solves this problem. You do not need 2GB RAM unless you're doing some intense graphics or gaming as in opening the game twice but who does that? If you want stick to 1GB RAM but 512MB RAM would be half the price and do normal PC tasks with no difference anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 ALIENWARE IS OVERPRICED. OWNED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weezcake Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 What're you using the computer for? I'd get a desktop if you're not going to use it for school or work. ==================================Retired tip.it moderator.Teaching and inspiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altkill Posted December 11, 2005 Author Share Posted December 11, 2005 School, work, and home, so will 2GHz, 2Gb RAM, 160Gb be OK for everything? Alt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Militaris Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 School, work, and home, so will 2GHz, 2Gb RAM, 160Gb be OK for everything? Alt It would be great for 99% of uses. Although AMD 64 2GHZ not intel 2GHZ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannibal Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 School, work, and home, so will 2GHz, 2Gb RAM, 160Gb be OK for everything? Alt It would be great for 99% of uses. Although AMD 64 2GHZ not intel 2GHZ... You wouldn't need 2GB of RAM at all. I agree with the AMD suggestion, but 2GB of RAM is over the top. You'd only need that if you were to do stupid things like running 30 programs, of which at least two are high-end games at once. Which you won't, from what you said. Seriously. I just ran MSN, Eclipse, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Publisher, Office Media gallery, Firefox w/ 12 tabs, Thunderbird (mail client), and MS Visual Studio 2003, just to see. It used less than 450MB of RAM altogether. (that includes the Firewall that sits in my system tray, my HP all-in-one controller that sits there, my virus scanner, a .iso mounter, logitech keyboard/mouse stuff and of course windows task manager itself). I ran that without any problems on a machine with 1GB of RAM. Now I'm asking you, will you *ever* open up that much, all at once? (note that MS Visual Studio and Eclipse are development programs that take up quite a lot of resources. Though not quite comparable to today's high-end games, they take their fair share of RAM) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daver Posted December 11, 2005 Share Posted December 11, 2005 512mb is enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucko4 Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 good information, cleared up a few of my questions--thanks guys ~Old School Scaper~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucko4 Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 edit: sorry double post ~Old School Scaper~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake16 Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 512mb ddr ram is enough use the money for an amd.....because you wont be able to install the new windows coming out next year with that intel unless you change the mobo and proccessor i'm having to upgrade and toss my 900$ mobo and cpu out the window...but my dad has money to pay for the new amd 64 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharper Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 If for some reason you buy an Intel processor I wouldn't buy anything under 3Ghz, just for future performance expectations. Also I agree with what most people are saying above that 2gb RAM is very overkill. Most businesses don't even run that much RAM on their server's, our MSSQL server at work only has 1.5gb RAM in it. From what I've read and been reccommended, 64bit AMD processors are they way to go at the moment, along with some nice fast RAM and a decent graphics card. Can pick all these up for decent prices. Don't have to go out and spend 2K+ for a decent desktop. And monitor, I would suggest at least a 19in LCD, they are well priced nowadays. Also if you suspect you might be watch movies on this new computer alot a widescreen 22-30in LCD wouldn't go astray if you have a little extra to pay. Widescreen monitors are AWESOME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Militaris Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 Tomhardware guide just recently did a series of benchmarks to try and determine what is the optimum amount of ram to use. http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/13/ ... ally_need/ They concluded, and from my readings I have to agree with them that 1GB of ram is enough for most users, while 512mb is enough if you do not plan to multi task or use memory intensive games. In a few cases 2GB is justified. In my option ram has been dirt cheap recently and there are other hardware purchases which are of much more importance (eg graphics card) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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