The funny thing about money is that, when you save up for something, you get to that point where you no longer want to spend it, (or maybe thats just a wierd thing i got going for me). And hence i came to the conclusion that although there are no real restraints on how much i can spend (in the personal computer range, i'm not talking about some superconductive supercomputer), i'm guessing there will be a point where i have things i really won't need.
I have found myself becoming addicted to games such as CSS, BF2 and WOW. The games may not have the largest graphics requirment, but for some time i would be very happy to slide those graphic options to full and know that doing so wasn't going to create a fire hazard out of my computer.
Now, i know that Alienware is quite an expensive option, but i believe that it will be reliable and the customer support is something i see as quite essential (mainly because it allows me to be more lazy when it comes to fixes, drivers, etc..)
Whilst looking at Alienware computers i have come accross a few options, that i really don't understand. It would be great if i could understand exactly what i would be choosing and why i would wish to choose it.
1. The processor,
A. I personally have always been an AMD fan, and believe that the 64bit version would suit my needs, however should i be looking into the core duo range of intel cards?
B. If i still choose to go with the 64bit AMD card would it be worth paying an extra $75 to upgrade from an X2 5200+ processor to an X2 5600+ processor?
2. The ram,
A. I am considering going with the purchase of "2GB Low Latency DDR2 PC2-6400 SDRAM at 800MHz". Currently i have been running 640MB ram on my laptop (please don't ask how i have 640, my system just says thats what its running) the reason i went with 640MB was due to a fear that having more would cause my system to 'bottleneck' or so i was told. Therefore would there be a risk that 2GB will bottleneck my system and thus be a waste of money? would i be better of with 1GB?
3. The Hard drive,
A. I could either go with 250GB at 7,200RPM or would i see a large difference in performance if i added another +$250 for 150GB at 10,000RPM?
From my limited knowledge on computers, could a disk defragment and low % use of the 250GB drive do the same job as the 10,000RPM Disk?
4. The Graphics,
A. The 768MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GTX or the Duel 768MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GTX - SLI enabled for about another +$650. (Would the single GTX card still play WOW, CSS, and BF2 on full graphics is the main question)
I have never considered overclocking but if i was to overclock the single 768MB card, could i reach similar levels as the Duel cards? (please don't laugh if it really is a stupid question)
B. With the Ageia PhysX Processing Unit w/ 128MB GDDR3 is it worth investing into now, or will there be new technology soon in terms of physics processors that would see this particular card out of business? (considering its another $200)
Thanks for any responses in advance.
I have found myself becoming addicted to games such as CSS, BF2 and WOW. The games may not have the largest graphics requirment, but for some time i would be very happy to slide those graphic options to full and know that doing so wasn't going to create a fire hazard out of my computer.
Now, i know that Alienware is quite an expensive option, but i believe that it will be reliable and the customer support is something i see as quite essential (mainly because it allows me to be more lazy when it comes to fixes, drivers, etc..)
Whilst looking at Alienware computers i have come accross a few options, that i really don't understand. It would be great if i could understand exactly what i would be choosing and why i would wish to choose it.
1. The processor,
A. I personally have always been an AMD fan, and believe that the 64bit version would suit my needs, however should i be looking into the core duo range of intel cards?
B. If i still choose to go with the 64bit AMD card would it be worth paying an extra $75 to upgrade from an X2 5200+ processor to an X2 5600+ processor?
2. The ram,
A. I am considering going with the purchase of "2GB Low Latency DDR2 PC2-6400 SDRAM at 800MHz". Currently i have been running 640MB ram on my laptop (please don't ask how i have 640, my system just says thats what its running) the reason i went with 640MB was due to a fear that having more would cause my system to 'bottleneck' or so i was told. Therefore would there be a risk that 2GB will bottleneck my system and thus be a waste of money? would i be better of with 1GB?
3. The Hard drive,
A. I could either go with 250GB at 7,200RPM or would i see a large difference in performance if i added another +$250 for 150GB at 10,000RPM?
From my limited knowledge on computers, could a disk defragment and low % use of the 250GB drive do the same job as the 10,000RPM Disk?
4. The Graphics,
A. The 768MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GTX or the Duel 768MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GTX - SLI enabled for about another +$650. (Would the single GTX card still play WOW, CSS, and BF2 on full graphics is the main question)
I have never considered overclocking but if i was to overclock the single 768MB card, could i reach similar levels as the Duel cards? (please don't laugh if it really is a stupid question)
B. With the Ageia PhysX Processing Unit w/ 128MB GDDR3 is it worth investing into now, or will there be new technology soon in terms of physics processors that would see this particular card out of business? (considering its another $200)
Thanks for any responses in advance.
