Hello everyone
I am looking to build a new computer for general purpose useage as well as gaming...within a tight budget.
I shopped around a lot of places, including tiger direct, CWO, Factory Direct (Canadian, especially GTA retailers) and my choices are the following:
CPU
AMD Athlon 3500 64-bit OEM 939 socket ($195 CDN)
or
AMD Athlon 3000 64-bit 939 socket Venice Core ($152 CDN)
Motherboard
Asus A8N-E (PCI Express) ($112 CDN)
or
Asus A8V (AGP 8X) ($92 CDN)
RAM
Kingston 1GB (2 x 512) Dual Channel DDR2 ($120 CDN)
or
1GB (1 x 1024) PC-3200 DDR2 ($82 CDN)
Video Card
ATI Radeon X600PRO 256MB PCI Express (PCI Express) ($96 CDN)
or
ATI Radeon 9600XT 256MB DDR TV DVI (AGP 8x) ($100 CDN)
Those are the things that I have some questions about. I originally want to go for the first options (AMD 64 3500, A8N-E, Kingston Dual Channel DDR2, Radeon X600 Pro), but I think some expert opinions would greately help me.
I am looking to build a new computer for general purpose useage as well as gaming...within a tight budget.
I shopped around a lot of places, including tiger direct, CWO, Factory Direct (Canadian, especially GTA retailers) and my choices are the following:
CPU
AMD Athlon 3500 64-bit OEM 939 socket ($195 CDN)
or
AMD Athlon 3000 64-bit 939 socket Venice Core ($152 CDN)
Motherboard
Asus A8N-E (PCI Express) ($112 CDN)
or
Asus A8V (AGP 8X) ($92 CDN)
RAM
Kingston 1GB (2 x 512) Dual Channel DDR2 ($120 CDN)
or
1GB (1 x 1024) PC-3200 DDR2 ($82 CDN)
Video Card
ATI Radeon X600PRO 256MB PCI Express (PCI Express) ($96 CDN)
or
ATI Radeon 9600XT 256MB DDR TV DVI (AGP 8x) ($100 CDN)
Those are the things that I have some questions about. I originally want to go for the first options (AMD 64 3500, A8N-E, Kingston Dual Channel DDR2, Radeon X600 Pro), but I think some expert opinions would greately help me.
- Which processor should I get? If they are both good, which one has a better value for the price?
- Which motherboard should I get? I read some good reviews about both of them, and my only concern with the boards is the support for PCI Express or AGP 8X. If AGP 8X interface is better for graphics cards than PCI Express, I'll go with AGP...and vise virsa
- Which RAM should I go for? Is the dual channel really worth the extra 40 dollars? I think the PC-3200 RAM is just some unknown brand. Also, is DDR2 compatible with AMD 64s? Or do I have to go for DDR?
- Now...lol, which video card should I go for? They are both kind of old, but should let me play Call of Duty 2 with all the snow effects on.
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If you think none of the 2 graphics card are good, here is a list with prices, and be kind enough to suggest me one under or around $150
Your support would be greately appreciated.