Question

[Cobra6]

I'm looking to buy a new computer. I want to know what is the best processor for gaming, and which is the best Vid Card?

I was thinking an AMD Athlon XP2200 1.80 GHZ with a 128MB DDR nVidia Geforce4 TI4600. Any suggestions?

[WardenMac]

IMO bro, thats the ticket right there, throw in 80 gb hd, and at least 512 ram, your set. Ive got the GF4, you wouldnt believe the difference. I had a TNT2, no comparison!

[Cobra6]

Anything beats what I have right now...500MHZ P111 with a VooDoo graphis 16mb card and a 6 gig hard drive

[Cobra6]

Here is the system I am looking at. Although I don't care for Compaq to much they do have the best price
AMD Athlon? XP 2200+ w/ Quantispeed Architecture? - 1.80GHz
512MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM (2 DIMMS) PROMO
40.0GB UDMA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
48X CD-ROM Drive
17" - Compaq CV7500 CRT Monitor (16.0" VIA)
Microsoft Home Suite
Microsoft XP Home
32X CDRW Drive
Standard 2 Front USB Ports
JBL Platinum Speakers w/ Digital Audio Port
56K ITU v.90 Modem
Sound Blaster Live! Value 5.1
128MB DDR nVidia GeForce4 Ti 4600 w/ TV-Out
Compaq Internet Keyboard
Compaq Optical Scroll Mouse
Integrated 10/100 NIC
3.5" 1.44 MB diskette drive

[WardenMac]

I just bought my wife HP 1.60 ghz, 512 ram, 80 gb hd. Came with POS video card though. My son went online and I could have got the same system, not HP namebrand,  with new GF4 card for $300 less. My wife would not purchase it that way because she likes the warranty of HP. I suggest buying offline, most dont though.

[masiro]

That PIII is OK, but the video card is crap.
Get a better one and a good monitor.

[Suicide_Commando]

That list you have will be perfect for gaming. Currently I'm running a P3 800 with 256M ram and a Geforce3 Ti200 and I can run every game I own with high graphics settings and get little or no slowdown. It's all about the video card I guess.     I've got a P4 1.9Ghz processor and 512megs ram and a MB sittin in my room. All I need to do is get a case and then cannabalize this system then I'll be good to go for a long time too.  

[Cobra6]

Since I am under my $2,000 budget, is Windows XP Professional better than the Home edition...what is the difference?

[Raven2367]

i heard XP isnt safe.. that the makers can see whats on the computer and stuff like that..(i heard it dont know if its true)

[Suicide_Commando]

No clue. I'm runnin Win2K myself and I'm perfectly happy with it.  

[dave-s]

Cant comment on the system as Im on a AMD K6II 400, with a TNT2 and desperately need to upgrade.

BUt Id say forget XP and go for 2000, although saying that a frien of mine is runing under XP and hasnt had many problems

[ViX]

cobra that system sounds great, but why not get the 80gig hd since you have everything else at its best. and definitely stick with amd (make sure you get plenty of fans tho) and im not positive, but when i went to buy mine they said the pro was if you wanted to run ur own server. the home was for regular use. people say xp is buggy.. whatever... ive not had any problems at all.
i love my system.

oh, and i would never buy anything by compaq. cheaper, but you get what you pay for. build your own. or have the computer store build it for u. just bring in ur list.

[dave-s]

Dont know when they come out but Intel are going to be bringing out P4 based Celerons thnk they start at 1.7 gig?

[masiro]

Again your PIII 500 is OK, it is damn good processor. Buy a cool video card and a good monitor.
Forget about big drives they are hard to control. Those are for video editing and nothing else.
Use the rest of the bucks to take your wife out for diner.

[Cobra6]

Well, if the US Army game is any indication of the spec needed to run Raven Shield, I am going to need more than just a video card. I agree with what you said about the big hard drives. I am running a 6gb hard drive and its a lot easier to manage, especially with a CDRW.

[Cocobolo]

I'd go with a P4 over the Athlon from experience, it's more reliable and it runs cooler. The rest of what you listed should be smooth. We have a bunch of these newer compaqs in here now, I don't much care for em either but the newer ones have Intel motherboards. If it's an EVO, that's slightly better than a Presario but they have Intel boards now as well. XP is cool, but played RS like shit compared to 98 on a machine I set up for a friend, it may be smoother for the newer games. Happy Hunting!

[WardenMac]

Yeah, I still run 98 and probably will until something new comes out. I know 98 had some problems but all are worked out now and my system runs very smooth.

Cobra, you only had 6 gb hd?

BTW SC, just for your info, the G3 Ti200 runs better than the cheap GF4 I have. Sad part is, they are the same price here at best buy. Damn salesman lied to me, he better hope he never goes to prison  

[Suicide_Commando]

Yeah I know WM. My best friend told me the same thing when I was deciding which card to buy. I must say I LOVE this thing, well worth the $180 I paid for it at the time. It's such a leap in graphics quality over my old Matrox G400.

[WardenMac]

I was really amazed at the fps his GF3 had over my GF4. Its a really good card though, just doesnt out perform the GF3 Ti like I thought it would, or should I say like I was told it would. I can still run everything on high detail with no lag and only a 550 PIII, except for the refinery map in GR, it lags a little not much though.

Oh and one important thing to mention, it sounds like a damn weedeater. Ya know, I get on a map, especially in UO on CSL2 and it sounds like a weedeater at idle. I zoom in or move certain ways and the sound speeds up, drives me crazy. The sound is no where near as loud in GR but I can still hear it slightly in some areas of some maps. Ive asked around and all they say is its the fan, however, the cheaper GF4 doesnt come with a fan. I couldnt believe it. Maybe the damn thing will burn up and I can get top of the line GF4  

[kazan]

I just got a new PC
INTEL PENTIUM 4 22OO MHZ
256MB PC800 RDRAM
60GB UDMA 100 HARD DRIVE
NVIDIA NV25 GEFORCE 4 TI4600 128MB DDR
21"VIEWSONIC E95 MONITOR
MICROSOFT MILLENIUM EDITION
and some other stuff cost me a shit load of money but it was worth it.and Cobra u must get the TI4600