edgewoodzgimp13
Baseband Member
- Messages
- 27
Hey guys! Just registered here and hope to learn a lot more about computers than I already know. A little bit about me: IÂ’m a 17-year old student at a vocational school in Rhode Island. IÂ’m in my 3rd year in the Computer Technology program, so as you can see I have some pretty good experience with computers. Recently my class has put together a rather decent computer and seeing as my current computer is old, out of date, slow, and annoying; IÂ’m looking into building one for myself. The real problem for me lately is I canÂ’t multitask worth of crap.
Now I know the kind of computer I build depends on my needs and what I will be doing but in all honesty, IÂ’m not even sure exactly what it will be used for. IÂ’m not an avid gamer, I do most of my time on the computer reading cell phone forums, (another hobby of mine) and downloading games and movies via torrents. Another thing I do mostly is burn DVD, whether it is a direct DVD to DVD copy or making my own off the video files I download. So basically I need something good and fast for video encoding. I want something decent for graphics and gaming because I might start playing World of Warcraft with a few friends of mine and maybe try a few other games; IÂ’m more of a console gamer if anything. Also, I want a good motherboard incase I upgrade either my CPU or RAM later on down the line.
Right now IÂ’m working on a Dell Dimension 4300. It has an Intel P4 1.8GHz 640MB of RAM, 40GB HD master, 250GB HD slave, 16x DVD Burner, 24x CD-RW Burner, and a nVidia GeForce 3 64MB video card.
IÂ’m really trying to keep the cost anything less than $700, $800 at most, but I know my demands might be a little high for such a low price. IÂ’ve done a little research and price checking around various sites such as newegg, tigerdirect, & eBay. But I still have a few questions on which CUP and video card will fit my needs.
As of now, IÂ’m looking into getting:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ / 512KB Cache / 2000 MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Processor with Fan
Biostar NF4ST-A9 NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA / RAID
Xmdia GeForce 6600 LE / 256MB DDR / PCI Express / SLI / DVI / VGA / TV-Out / Video Card
I have no idea what brand to get for memory, but I know that I want at least 1GB. Would it be cheaper to go with 2 512MB cards or get 1 1GB card? I'm going to be using the 250GB HD in my current computer in the one I build as well as the 16x DVD burner. The case, power supply, and others I will deal with at another time.
Here was my real question: AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium 4? Which would be better for my video encoding and minimal gaming? IÂ’m sure anything is an upgrade from my current computer but I donÂ’t want to spend the money on the AMD if the P4 is better. And is it true that the 3700+ of an AMD is about as fast a P4 3.4GHz? If so, why does it say 2.2GHz for the AMD processor? Also, how are the dual-core processors? Are they worth it for the video encoding or should I be fine with the regular processor? I know I could always upgrade to the dual-core with the BioStar motherboard if I wanted.
I know this is a really long post; I appreciate all the help I can get to build this computer and understand more about computers in general. Any information or personal experience with anything I mentioned would be great. Thanks a lot guys!
Now I know the kind of computer I build depends on my needs and what I will be doing but in all honesty, IÂ’m not even sure exactly what it will be used for. IÂ’m not an avid gamer, I do most of my time on the computer reading cell phone forums, (another hobby of mine) and downloading games and movies via torrents. Another thing I do mostly is burn DVD, whether it is a direct DVD to DVD copy or making my own off the video files I download. So basically I need something good and fast for video encoding. I want something decent for graphics and gaming because I might start playing World of Warcraft with a few friends of mine and maybe try a few other games; IÂ’m more of a console gamer if anything. Also, I want a good motherboard incase I upgrade either my CPU or RAM later on down the line.
Right now IÂ’m working on a Dell Dimension 4300. It has an Intel P4 1.8GHz 640MB of RAM, 40GB HD master, 250GB HD slave, 16x DVD Burner, 24x CD-RW Burner, and a nVidia GeForce 3 64MB video card.
IÂ’m really trying to keep the cost anything less than $700, $800 at most, but I know my demands might be a little high for such a low price. IÂ’ve done a little research and price checking around various sites such as newegg, tigerdirect, & eBay. But I still have a few questions on which CUP and video card will fit my needs.
As of now, IÂ’m looking into getting:
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ / 512KB Cache / 2000 MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Processor with Fan
Biostar NF4ST-A9 NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX Motherboard / Audio / PCI Express / Gigabit LAN / USB 2.0 / Serial ATA / RAID
Xmdia GeForce 6600 LE / 256MB DDR / PCI Express / SLI / DVI / VGA / TV-Out / Video Card
I have no idea what brand to get for memory, but I know that I want at least 1GB. Would it be cheaper to go with 2 512MB cards or get 1 1GB card? I'm going to be using the 250GB HD in my current computer in the one I build as well as the 16x DVD burner. The case, power supply, and others I will deal with at another time.
Here was my real question: AMD Athlon or Intel Pentium 4? Which would be better for my video encoding and minimal gaming? IÂ’m sure anything is an upgrade from my current computer but I donÂ’t want to spend the money on the AMD if the P4 is better. And is it true that the 3700+ of an AMD is about as fast a P4 3.4GHz? If so, why does it say 2.2GHz for the AMD processor? Also, how are the dual-core processors? Are they worth it for the video encoding or should I be fine with the regular processor? I know I could always upgrade to the dual-core with the BioStar motherboard if I wanted.
I know this is a really long post; I appreciate all the help I can get to build this computer and understand more about computers in general. Any information or personal experience with anything I mentioned would be great. Thanks a lot guys!