[aarono]

Hey folks, I'm getting tired with my current PC as it seems I'm constantly buying powersupplies, etc. and I believe it's time for an upgrade.

My current specs are:

AMD Athlon 2600+
Asus A7n8X
Ati Radeon 9700 Pro
1Gig DDR-SD Ram

What I'm looking to do is either buy a laptop or a new desktop mainly for mid-high end gaming and I may be going off to college. I'm looking to squeeze the most for my dollar, so I'm starting to believe laptop may not be the way to go for me.

Any recommendations for compatible parts that are strong performers that won't kill my bank?

 

[akbear78]

Personally, after owing laptops and desktops. You need to ask yourself, will you want to upgrade in a couple years? If so, a desktop may be the way to go for you. Where as a laptop, you'll have to buy a whole new one, unless you want to try and upgrade yourself. Although a desktop would be easier to upgrade. I currently own a desktop, which I built myself. It's mid level gaming, but I have a laptop, for business (with an option for a couple games....can't get too bored during business travels).
In my mind, if you're a gamer, it's best to have a desktop. That way you can upgrade in pieces if you want (i.e. new vid card, same MB). It'll help your pocket as well keep you playing.

 

[aarono]

I have come up with this wishlist:

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=7752008

First I'd like if someone could give me a ranking, pointers in what parts should be upgraded, or if some parts are not compatible. I'm somewhat satisfied with the price, but my mother said she'd cover most of the cost as a present, I still feel bad for her offering to pay that much.

I don't plan on buying Windows XP again, so I may just uninstall it from my computer and put Linux on the old one so my mother can use it for checking her online accounts, shop, etc. Is Vista worth the money?

 

[Rebellion88]

Gaming is really a no for laptops, although mid-end gaming is ok, unless you willing to spend a fortune on the latest notebook. Desktops are great better parts for cheaper money and can customize them the way you want. At the end of the day you need to decide on the following:
1- Will you be traveling a lot, such as on the move?
2- Do you plan to upgrade your computer?
3- What sort of games are we talking about?
4- What is your budget?

Laptops I would recommend Acer, HP, Asus as some good quality brands, and desktops if your confident you can build one yourself which will save you money and get the parts you want.

 

[Rebellion88]

Cant see the wish list, Vista looks nice has some nice features with media center and mobility center but uses alot more system resources such as CPU and memory. Personally I prefer Vista but thats just my opinion.

 

[blackduck30]

Have a look at this :wave:

I have chosen a basic case as well as an 8600GT video card, you can choose a 8600GTS if you require more video grunt but this will depend on your budget.
Cases are a personal thing so the choice is really yours


ASUS P5K SE LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $105

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131189


Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Processor - Retail $150

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115032


CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $38 ( after rebate )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590


Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $65

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261


Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TÜV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retail $65
( after rebate )


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371002


XFX PVT84JUDF3 GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $90 ( after rebate )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150230


Thermaltake WingRS VG1000BNS Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $40

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133048

Total $553

 

[aarono]

Maybe that link is only viewable to me, but here is what I've come up with.

Tower:
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811144151

Motherboard
(I want Gigabyte. I don't trust Asus quality anymore. I've had to RMA too many boards)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128056

GPU
(I went maybe a tad crazy here, suggestions are welcome especially here. I do like the fact I will not have to upgrade this for a good while. I also figure that it will be cheaper for me to buy a nice card now instead of buying a mid-range card now and a mid-range card later)
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814195048

Processor
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103773

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145034

Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

CD-DVD drive
(I may not even buy this and just take the one off my current PC. I can't see my mom installing software, all she does is shop and online banking)

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827135151

CPU HEATSINK/FAN
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835106061


Fans, two or three of these
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811999602
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I really want an opinion on the CPU and MOBO as well. One problem with my A7N8X was that I sort of bought it at the time that you couldn't really do much more to it to upgrade it, you'd have to buy a new MOBO then the new parts. So upgradability is a factor here.

I have not been following PC technology lately, I used to be a nut, keeping track of prices, etc. I'm not sure if these parts are the best bang for my buck or if competitors offer a better value (Intel vs AMD, etc.). I discussed this with my mom and she seemed fine with it, since I will take it with me and it will last a while.

 

[blackduck30]

Well my personal opinion is that AMD is not as good a buy as it used to be, they are struggling to keep heads with intel, even with there latest release.

I would look Core 2 Duo and if you don't want an asus board have a look at this from Gigabyte

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $178

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128064

You may well want to stay with AMD and thats OK, but If you want to look for the future I would go with a C2D and a P35 chipset mobo.

As for video the crowd pleaser at the moment is the 8800GTX or if budget minded the 8800GT

 

[ebackhus]

Intel may be beating AMD on paper, but in real-world use you won't see a difference.

Get a nice AMD rig.

Incidentally, are you planning on selling any of the old parts? :grin:

 

[blackduck30]

Intel may be beating AMD on paper, but in real-world use you won't see a difference.

Get a nice AMD rig.

Incidentally, are you planning on selling any of the old parts? :grin:

Hey EB,

Is it true that i heard that Intel was using the new AMD cores as there new fan controllers :1angel:

:grin: I just don't see AMD as a clear cut choice that it used to be were they did have the clear cut advantage especially with gamming. It used to be like use AMD if you want to do XXXX or use Intel if you are doing XXXXX.

Now i think it comes down to personal preference altho i still feel that Intel has there head out in front catching the cool breeze :wave:

 

[Rebellion88]

lol Black that really does make AMD sound bad, but to back up EB on this one. They are cheaper so counting cost/performance AMD are just as viable as a Intel. Although as we know on benchmark tests the Intel's do tend to out perform, so unless your a fan its really anyone choice.

 

[aarono]

I'm AMD/ATI but will be willing to change sides if the price is right. How did that rig look so far though?

I will check out those other suggestions later today. Loving the help guys!

Any idea how much I can get for my Ati Radeon 9700 Pro? I was thinking of stripping the nicer parts out of the old one and selling them to help cover costs.

 

[ebackhus]

I bought two 9700's last year for $79 each.

The rig looks good so far, just keep in mind that the FireGL card you chose is more tailored for CAD and design use as opposed to gaming. I hear your fear of ASUS. I went through 2 in a VERY short period of time. My room mate's PC has an ASUS A7N8X board that's performed flawlessly since 2003. It's a real trooper!

 

[rchase14]

I recently wrote an article about this topic....I mention Dell in the article only because I am more familar with them. But so far, everyone that has posted has given some great ideas!

http://chaseconsulting.blogspot.com/2008/04/laptop-vs-desktop.html