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Zen · 12-08-2005, 04:44 PM

Hey all,

I'm a college student, and an infrequent gamer (but would like the capability to game). I'm looking for a long term machine. My budget is around $1500. I'm not sure whether or not I should go with dual core or not.

Could you guys help me put a partlist together?

rspassey · 12-08-2005, 05:03 PM

Tower only or with monitor and keyboard and mouse and speakers?

Zen · 12-08-2005, 05:14 PM

The 1500 is only for the tower.

Zen · 12-09-2005, 12:37 PM

Any help would be great. I'm really not sure if I should go dual core or not... more specifically, I'm not really sure on many things.

blue60007 · 12-09-2005, 12:39 PM

What all do you do with a computer? Anything intensive? If you don't game a whole lot, you won't need to spend $1500 on a computer.

MakeYourslf2012 · 12-09-2005, 12:41 PM

$1500 is a great budget for a PC. With that money, you could build a gaming rig that could handle just about anything right now.

Do you know if you want to go AMD or Intel?

Single Core or Dual Core?

Zen · 12-09-2005, 02:12 PM

Quote:

What all do you do with a computer? Anything intensive? If you don't game a whole lot, you won't need to spend $1500 on a computer.

Well, the thing is I'm a college student so I don't have all the time in the world to game. But, during the summer I will most likely game a good amount (so I'd like the capability to do so).

Quote:

Do you know if you want to go AMD or Intel?

Single Core or Dual Core?

These are questions I don't know the answers to. I've been out of the loop long enough to be ignorant of the benefits to each of these. I'd like to have this machine long-term; and what I've read is that down the line dual core will be better than single. Is this true?

rspassey · 12-09-2005, 02:15 PM

This might work

ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply
eVGA 256-P2-N525-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s
LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner
Microsoft Windows XP HOME
Floppy drive

blue60007 · 12-09-2005, 02:24 PM

I second that.

Zen · 12-09-2005, 02:29 PM

So, what about Dual Core? What are the cons?

MaxRat · 12-09-2005, 02:48 PM

None....It's only going to game on one core...unless the game support dual core...

MakeYourslf2012 · 12-09-2005, 02:50 PM

The choice between AMD and Intel is a personal prefrence. None show a large performance difference over another, each chip is build totally different and has a different way of getting things done but basically perform the same. AMD is traditionally chosen by gamers while Intel ships are chosen by multitaskers. Search the forums for "AMD vs. Intel" if you have some questions.

Dual core are lean mean multi-tasking machines. They have two execution cores which means it can process more applications at once or a software that is multithreaded (i.e. photoshop) will perform faster. Games now are not multithreaded and can't take advantage of dual cores

Pro:
Can multi-task like no other.

Con:
Each core has a slower clock speed than if it was a single core.

That being said, it would probably be wiser (only if you plan on making this a gaming rig) to get a single core hence a game will only run on ONE of the cores (which, as i stated, would generally run slower by itself than if you got a single core).

The list Ryan posted is absolutely perfect for what you want - it has stong graphics, a great CPU and 2 gigs of RAM.

If you still have questions, read Kram's Dual-Core Article on the PC Mech home page - theres alot of information in there.

rspassey · 12-09-2005, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blue60007

I second that.

LOL, well I actually mixed parts from a list you posted in another 1500$ thread lol with some of my own suggestions

spartan015 · 12-09-2005, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MakeYourslf2012

The choice between AMD and Intel is a personal prefrence. None show a large performance difference over another, each chip is build totally different and has a different way of getting things done but basically perform the same. AMD is traditionally chosen by gamers while Intel ships are chosen by multitaskers. Search the forums for "AMD vs. Intel" if you have some questions.

actually, its shown that AMD is doing better in gaming areas and mutitasking. sry... i dont know i just felt like stating that. ever since intel scrapped one of their new cpus theyve been kinda tagging behind AMD

anyways thats a good rig, i dont know what else to say lol

12-08-2005, 04:44 PM	#1
Zen Member (7 bit) Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 124	You have $1500! Hey all, I'm a college student, and an infrequent gamer (but would like the capability to game). I'm looking for a long term machine. My budget is around $1500. I'm not sure whether or not I should go with dual core or not. Could you guys help me put a partlist together? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

12-08-2005, 05:03 PM	#2
rspassey ~ Ryan ~ Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Jackson TN Posts: 3,516	Tower only or with monitor and keyboard and mouse and speakers? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ RiotCats.com, an internet domain specifically fabricated and visually erected for the appreciation of the feline kingdom!

12-08-2005, 05:14 PM	#3
Zen Member (7 bit) Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 124	The 1500 is only for the tower. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

12-09-2005, 12:37 PM	#4
Zen Member (7 bit) Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 124	Any help would be great. I'm really not sure if I should go dual core or not... more specifically, I'm not really sure on many things. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

12-09-2005, 12:39 PM	#5
blue60007 Wx geek Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 6,638	What all do you do with a computer? Anything intensive? If you don't game a whole lot, you won't need to spend $1500 on a computer. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ "It is the way of man to make monsters and it is the nature of monsters to destroy their makers."

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12-09-2005, 12:41 PM	#6
MakeYourslf2012 Member (10 bit) Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan Posts: 892	$1500 is a great budget for a PC. With that money, you could build a gaming rig that could handle just about anything right now. Do you know if you want to go AMD or Intel? Single Core or Dual Core? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

12-09-2005, 02:15 PM	#8
rspassey ~ Ryan ~ Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Jackson TN Posts: 3,516	This might work ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply eVGA 256-P2-N525-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Microsoft Windows XP HOME Floppy drive Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

12-09-2005, 02:24 PM	#9
blue60007 Wx geek Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 6,638	I second that. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

12-09-2005, 02:29 PM	#10
Zen Member (7 bit) Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 124	So, what about Dual Core? What are the cons? Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter

12-09-2005, 02:48 PM	#11
MaxRat Tweak Monster Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: indiana Posts: 2,959	None....It's only going to game on one core...unless the game support dual core... Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter __________________ MSI 890GXM-G65 mATX/1075t/G-Skill DDR3-1600 2x4gb /WD 640 aaks 95mb/s /XFX 5830/Zalman9700nt/ Thermaltake TP750w modular ECS P55 Black Edition/i7-860/Geil Black Dragon 2x2gb 12800-ddr3/Asus 5970X2 vid card/2x640 AALS-Raid-0/Corsair TX-850w

12-09-2005, 02:50 PM	#12
MakeYourslf2012 Member (10 bit) Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Sterling Heights, Michigan Posts: 892	The choice between AMD and Intel is a personal prefrence. None show a large performance difference over another, each chip is build totally different and has a different way of getting things done but basically perform the same. AMD is traditionally chosen by gamers while Intel ships are chosen by multitaskers. Search the forums for "AMD vs. Intel" if you have some questions. Dual core are lean mean multi-tasking machines. They have two execution cores which means it can process more applications at once or a software that is multithreaded (i.e. photoshop) will perform faster. Games now are not multithreaded and can't take advantage of dual cores Pro: Can multi-task like no other. Con: Each core has a slower clock speed than if it was a single core. That being said, it would probably be wiser (only if you plan on making this a gaming rig) to get a single core hence a game will only run on ONE of the cores (which, as i stated, would generally run slower by itself than if you got a single core). The list Ryan posted is absolutely perfect for what you want - it has stong graphics, a great CPU and 2 gigs of RAM. If you still have questions, read Kram's Dual-Core Article on the PC Mech home page - theres alot of information in there. Share Share this post on Digg Del.icio.us Technorati Twitter Last edited by MakeYourslf2012; 12-09-2005 at 03:01 PM.

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