Building New Pc

[uonlyliveonce]

I am about to start building a new PC based on the Intel Pentium 4 2.8ghz.

1 gig 333 DDR mem.
2 120 gig hard drives.
sound card not as yet picked.


The main problem is that I can't decide on the graphics card.

I am looking at a choice of two at the moment, and they are the 128MB Matrox Parhelia and the GEforce 4 TI4600 128MB DDR AGP .

Please can anyone help (oh and I dont play games if that makes a difference) I mainly work on design and graphics but would
Like to try some video editing later, if I can find the time. :D


Any contructive help would be great cuase they aint cheep and I dont want to get it wrong. ;)

[TheMan1891]

The Matrox is a worthless card unless you want multiple monitors. If I wasn't a gamer I would buy the GeForce Ti4200 but given the two I would pick the NVIDIA. ATI 9700 PRO would be a better pick for the money though as you can get one for $226 on pricewatch.com and it has the best performance by far of those two at a cheaper price.

[ShareDaddy]

Originally posted by uonlyliveonce@6 February 2003 - 11:48
I am about to start building a new PC based on the Intel Pentium 4 2.8ghz.

1 gig 333 DDR mem.
2 120 gig hard drives.
sound card not as yet picked.


The main problem is that I can't decide on the graphics card.

I am looking at a choice of two at the moment, and they are the 128MB Matrox Parhelia and the GEforce 4 TI4600 128MB DDR AGP .

Please can anyone help (oh and I dont play games if that makes a difference) I mainly work on design and graphics but would
Like to try some video editing later, if I can find the time. :D


Any contructive help would be great cuase they aint cheep and I dont want to get it wrong. ;)
I would say the TI4600 128 mb card is what you want, the next step up uses 2 PCI slots due to the venting fan. I currently have that card and do not do too much gaming, mainly use it for video, the TV out is perfect for connecting your PC to a TV. Just make sure you get a good sound card with plenty of options as far as OUT feed goes. I do however wish the 4600 had a built in TV tuner, if that would ever come in to play for your own use you may want to look at the All In Wonder cards, they are more versatile, however for strictly video out or editing use the 4600 is great.

Beyond that your system sounds great, I currently have a P4 2.26 with a 533 mhz front side bus so it is running at 2.4 with 512 mb's of DDR ram, 2 x 120 Gb hard drives, Turtle Beach sound card (which I prefer over soundblaster), the 4600 with TV out and DVI and DVD rom and CD-RW drives. I love it.

Good luck.

[TheMan1891]

Why do you prefer a Turtle Beach?

[Lamsey]

Why go P4?

AMD Athlons that perform as well as P4s are much cheaper.
So are the associated motherboards...

[uonlyliveonce]

Originally posted by Lamsey@6 February 2003 - 17:29
Why go P4?

AMD Athlons that perform as well as P4s are much cheaper.
So are the associated motherboards...
I can only go on information that I read or am told.

As far as I know the 2700XP is just the model number it is not the clock speed although I surpose I could clock it at up to 3 gig but if it burned who's faults that.
I think I will just stick with the P4 2.8 and not even think about trying to over clock it.

The difference that I am paying is only £37 so I'm happy with the P4.

Thanks anyway.

[ShareDaddy]

Originally posted by TheMan1891@6 February 2003 - 12:13
Why do you prefer a Turtle Beach?
More adjustments and more ways to connect it. I am not sure what soundblaster live card my friend has but he has only a few out sources and no real interface.

[Lamsey]

As far as I know the 2700XP is just the model number it is not the clock speed
Clock speed isn't the same as actual processing power.
A 2700XP operates at roughly the same rate as a P4 2.7GHz - the difference is so small it is negligible.
AMD processors are designed to be more efficient than Pentiums, that way they can achieve the same performance at slower clock speeds.
Look on the web at Tom's Hardware Guide or somewhere - you'll find that AMD chips are simply much better value for money.

Just trying to save you some cash...

[Nobody1234]

Forget the Matrox. Get the Geforce 4 TI4600 128MB or the Ati 9700Pro. I myself prefer the Geforce but it's only my preference. The Ati is said to outperform it. The Geforce 4 TI4200 is also a bit easier on the pocketbook with very good performance too.

You can also save yourself quite a bit of money with an AMD. Performance vs dollar the AMD is a better buy. Also save a lot if you don't get the fastest on the market right now. Look at Athlon XP 2100+ or 2200+ and save a bundle. Will you really see that big a difference in performance? Is it worth the difference in price? You can always get the faster processor later on when its cheaper.

[ProwL418]

Originally posted by Nobody1234@11 February 2003 - 19:49
Forget the Matrox. Get the Geforce 4 TI4600 128MB or the Ati 9700Pro. I myself prefer the Geforce but it's only my preference. The Ati is said to outperform it. The Geforce 4 TI4200 is also a bit easier on the pocketbook with very good performance too.

You can also save yourself quite a bit of money with an AMD. Performance vs dollar the AMD is a better buy. Also save a lot if you don't get the fastest on the market right now. Look at Athlon XP 2100+ or 2200+ and save a bundle. Will you really see that big a difference in performance? Is it worth the difference in price? You can always get the faster processor later on when its cheaper.
agreed

["The Avatar Man"]

Originally posted by Nobody1234@12 February 2003 - 01:49


You can also save yourself quite a bit of money with an AMD. Performance vs dollar the AMD is a better buy. Also save a lot if you don't get the fastest on the market right now. Look at Athlon XP 2100+ or 2200+ and save a bundle. Will you really see that big a difference in performance? Is it worth the difference in price? You can always get the faster processor later on when its cheaper.
I think he has already decided to go with the p4. ;)

[uonlyliveonce]

;) I knew this would happen, know you started to get me thinking about the Athlon's.

Lamsey.... Thanks for replyng and you have made me rethink, guess I will have anouther look at the specs.

As for the Graphics card looks like it could be the geforce ti4600 unless that is, someone knows better :)

Thanks to all that have replyed so far..

[Amarjit]

Earlier this month, nVidia released GeForce FX with 128Mb DDR RAM. It is capable of "shrek-like" graphics. So I would highly recommend this. Oh yeah, for your sound card, definitely chose SoundBlaster Audigy2 Platinum eX.

[RDanneskjold]

i have a turtle beach santa cruz card...and love it....although i have heard the Audigy2 stated above is the best sound card out there. And the best video card out there is the Nvidia Geforce FX card, although pretty expensive and takes 2 slots up (one for the fan)...the ATI9700 Pro used to be the previous best before the FX card. If you are going to get any Nvidia card always go with Gainward's cards....they continuely outperform any other nvidia card out there and offer the most with the card. www.gainward.com <-- look for the Golden Sample ;) also www.pricewatch.com you can find the best prices :) good luck with the build

[Amarjit]

nVidia and SoundBlaster are the two leading manufactures in sound and graphics. It's best not to turn to alternatives...

[WebCheF]

Hey Guys,

I also just spec'd a new rig, I have a intel 845glly with the 845g chipset that has onboard grfx tha are capable of 128 to 256 mgs of mem. And a 1.8 Celeron.

I also have a nvdia 64 card with sv out.

Should I keep the onboard extreme grfx or use the card?

I haven't had a prob yet with the res or image, but Like us all, we want the tweak'd sh..t. LOL

anyway, Oh yeah damn thing doesn't have a agp slot. but does have good vid.

Let me know some of your ideas.

[MagicNakor]

I'd see how the card compared to the onboard. Then decide from there.

[njs12345]

From what i've heard and experienced onboard graphics are sh*t. A friend of mine has a new pc, good in other respects P4 2.26 and 512 mb of RAM, but his PC runs Deus Ex at a slug rate if I set the settings at the exact same as I have on my PC, with a GeForce 256, P3 700, and also 512 mb RAM.

[neevakee]

wait a few months that is when the radeon 9900 will come out. The geforce price will drop and buy the geforce fx. If you want one now wait a few weeks and buy the geforce fx, superior to both the 9700 and the gf4. It you don't want to spend that much buy the raedeon 9700 great card, but the geforce fx is a lot better. :D

[seanster]

I agree with Amerjitsingh. Gateway, Dell, and HP use those brands and they are the computer Giants of America.

[WebCheF]

The only thing is that I don't have an agp slot,

But the good thing is I do have onboard 64 to 128 mg of shrd mem for the extreme grfx to use, I have 1 gig of ram onboard also.

It is a new board , and I didn't look to long to see I didn't have an agp slot.

Oh well.

I also checked a bench app, (anyone know a good one to use?) and had no probs with the video.

I love and hate new products. LOL

[3RA1N1AC]

Originally posted by uonlyliveonce@6 February 2003 - 08:48
I am looking at a choice* of two* at the moment, and they are the 128MB Matrox Parhelia and the GEforce 4 TI4600 128MB DDR AGP .

Please can anyone help* (oh and I dont play games if that makes a difference) I mainly work on design and graphics but would
Like to try some video editing later, if I can find the time. :D
ok, i think there's been some poor advice given in this thread. if you don't play games and you don't do any 3D modelling (CAD, openGL, maya, lightwave, etc), then you should just save yourself some money and get a card with good 2D quality, mpeg decoding, and nevermind its 3D performance. the high prices of newer cards are due almost EXCLUSIVELY to improved 3D rendering speed, not 2D features.

nvidia cards are fairly scattershot in regards to 2D image quality... depending on the brand (nvidia cards contain chips made by nvidia, but they are assembled by other companies), generation, etc, their 2D quality can range from poor to average to excellent.

matrox cards and ati radeon cards have excellent 2D quality across the board, and i would recommend either matrox or ati rather than nvidia, if you're just going to do 2D design and video editing. a first generation radeon can be had for as little as about $40, or a radeon all-in-wonder with built-in video-capture abilities would cost a bit more. assuming that you won't suddenly decide that you need to play all the latest games and design 3D architectural models, you will see no difference in 2D performance between a $50 card and a $200-$300 card and will be glad to have saved money in the end.

[uonlyliveonce]

Originally posted by 3RA1N1AC+6 March 2003 - 05:49--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (3RA1N1AC @ 6 March 2003 - 05:49)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--uonlyliveonce@6 February 2003 - 08:48
I am looking at a choice* of two* at the moment, and they are the 128MB Matrox Parhelia and the GEforce 4 TI4600 128MB DDR AGP .

Please can anyone help* (oh and I dont play games if that makes a difference) I mainly work on design and graphics but would
Like to try some video editing later, if I can find the time. :D
ok, i think there's been some poor advice given in this thread. if you don't play games and you don't do any 3D modelling (CAD, openGL, maya, lightwave, etc), then you should just save yourself some money and get a card with good 2D quality, mpeg decoding, and nevermind its 3D performance. the high prices of newer cards are due almost EXCLUSIVELY to improved 3D rendering speed, not 2D features.

nvidia cards are fairly scattershot in regards to 2D image quality... depending on the brand (nvidia cards contain chips made by nvidia, but they are assembled by other companies), generation, etc, their 2D quality can range from poor to average to excellent.

matrox cards and ati radeon cards have excellent 2D quality across the board, and i would recommend either matrox or ati rather than nvidia, if you're just going to do 2D design and video editing. a first generation radeon can be had for as little as about $40, or a radeon all-in-wonder with built-in video-capture abilities would cost a bit more. assuming that you won't suddenly decide that you need to play all the latest games and design 3D architectural models, you will see no difference in 2D performance between a $50 card and a $200-$300 card and will be glad to have saved money in the end. [/b][/quote]
Hi 3RA1N1AC

The only 3D work I do is on kitchen and fitted bedroom design but I dont do it all the time.

My old ati card only has 8MB of mem and although it takes a bit of time it gives quite good results but it's the walk around that some ppl ask for that I hate because they are not to clever, thats the only reason I looked at the 3D cards with the 128 MB of mem on board hopeing it might help speed things up.