Iceman Buying A New Computer :d

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05-27-2003, 07:59 PM
o_ICEMAN_o

Hi Guys

Im Going To Buy a New Computer :D :D :D :D But I Whant The Opinion Of YOu Guys Tel Me What YOu Think About It :rolleyes:

Its a: Packard Bell
AMD Athlon XP 3000+ processor
512 Mb DDR
160 Gb HD, 7200 rpm
DVD+RW/DVD-RW multidrive
16x DVD-player
ATI Radeon 9200/8x AGP 128 Mb whit TV-out
10/100 Mbps network card
Intern 6 in 1 flash card reader
4x USB 2.0
Diamond loudmouse subwoofer
17 inch TFT monitor

And I have A quastion about the 3d card can i comper the ATI Radeon 9200/8x AGP 128 Mb whit TV-out
Whit a GeForce4 Ti 4200 or a GeForce4 Ti 4600 ???? because me play a lot of games :D

BTW it cost me about 1.400 EURO
05-27-2003, 09:09 PM
ilw

http://www.tomshardware.com Does excellent comparisons of video cards. Though they are fairly technical its definitely worth reading as they give u the most informed and impartial advice that I've found. Plus they#ve reviewed pretty much everything
Looks pretty sweet mate but I'm always sceptical of prebuilt things. Ask for some more details on the motherboard eg:
Max amount of ram (looking for about 3 gig here)
No. of PCI slots (looking for 4-5)
Make sure it can use AGP 8x
Check the max bus speed (can't remember bus speed of 3000 athlon but its probably 200Mhz so motherboard must support this speed)
Check speed of ram it should match the bus speed of the 3000 athlon (if they quote something like 3200 or 2700 divide this number by 16 to get the bus speed. therefore if bus speed of athlon is 200 then the ram should be DDR3200)
Max processor speed (though since it takes a 3000 this probably won't be a problem)

If u r looking for real speed ask about the latency of the ram it'll probably be CL2.5 whereas ideally it should be CL2 , but now we're getting a bit picky
I think this is accurate others may have to correct me tho :P

Enjoy
05-27-2003, 11:21 PM
dave computer

I didn't know packard bell was still in business :o . The last packard bell i remeber was a 33 mhz computer.
05-28-2003, 06:46 AM
o_ICEMAN_o

Quote:

Originally posted by ian_l_williams@27 May 2003 - 22:09
http://www.tomshardware.com Does excellent comparisons of video cards. Though they are fairly technical its definitely worth reading as they give u the most informed and impartial advice that I've found. Plus they#ve reviewed pretty much everything
Looks pretty sweet mate but I'm always sceptical of prebuilt things. Ask for some more details on the motherboard eg:
Max amount of ram (looking for about 3 gig here)
No. of PCI slots (looking for 4-5)
Make sure it can use AGP 8x
Check the max bus speed (can't remember bus speed of 3000 athlon but its probably 200Mhz so motherboard must support this speed)
Check speed of ram it should match the bus speed of the 3000 athlon (if they quote something like 3200 or 2700 divide this number by 16 to get the bus speed. therefore if bus speed of athlon is 200 then the ram should be DDR3200)
Max processor speed (though since it takes a 3000 this probably won't be a problem)

If u r looking for real speed ask about the latency of the ram it'll probably be CL2.5 whereas ideally it should be CL2 , but now we're getting a bit picky
I think this is accurate others may have to correct me tho :P

Enjoy

Thanks For the Info M8 :)
05-28-2003, 06:54 AM
thisiswhoweare

id avoid packard bells
05-28-2003, 07:13 AM
o_ICEMAN_o

Quote:

Originally posted by thisiswhoweare@28 May 2003 - 07:54
id avoid packard bells

Why????????????????? :ph34r:
05-28-2003, 07:18 AM
thisiswhoweare

they've never been the most reliable to me.
I originally had a packard bell, and my brother and sister has one (they wanted it, i told them not to), but when i changed computers I got a compaq instead. Its a lot better than packard bell, but i guess most people might disagree.
05-28-2003, 07:36 AM
ilw

Its just a thought, but do u really need/want a dvd writer? I know it would be cool to have one, but the technology is not that mature and so you have to look at how much you reckon u r gonna use it. Also bear in mind that I don't think it'll be too long before they bring in the next standard for optical disks and that one will (theoretically) be much better organised/standardised. Personally I think I'm gonna wait a bit until all the technology gets a bit better & cheaper before I buy one. Maybe someone who's already got one can give u a better answer tho, anyone want to comment on the usefulness of their dvd writer?
PS what did u decide on the graphics card side of things
05-28-2003, 07:44 AM
thisiswhoweare

i suggest you only get a dvd writer if you download a lot. I tend to download between 50-100Gb a month, so burning cds just wasnt cost effective or quick, so I bought a 4 speed dvd writer. Theres no mention of how fast the dvd writer is, so it can be from anything to an hour or 15 minutes for one dvd.
05-28-2003, 07:53 AM
Natsume Atsuko

That's a decent computer, I like Radeon and GeForce FX graphics cards myself.. can't afford one though :P
05-28-2003, 08:12 AM
o_ICEMAN_o

Quote:

Originally posted by ian_l_williams@28 May 2003 - 08:36
PS what did u decide on the graphics card side of things

I have look at http://www.tomshardware.com and i Decide To buy a Geforce 4 TI 4200 or Radeon 9500 pro dont know wich one yet :unsure:

But Thanks For the info m8 :D
05-28-2003, 08:13 AM
balamm

Duties are not performed for duty's sake, but because their neglect would make the man uncomfortable. A man performs but one duty - the duty of contenting his spirit, the duty of making himself agreeable to himself.
Mark Twain
05-28-2003, 08:14 AM
o_ICEMAN_o

Quote:

Originally posted by thisiswhoweare@28 May 2003 - 08:44
I tend to download between 50-100Gb a month, so burning cds just wasnt cost effective or quick,

Same Thing Hir M8 :D

Thanks For The Info :)
05-28-2003, 08:17 AM
o_ICEMAN_o

Quote:

Originally posted by balamm@28 May 2003 - 09:13
Packard Bell is just basically the Remnants of the company. They shut down in north america and canada and ended all web support a couple years ago. It's only active in venezuela or somewhere in south america, and in europe.

I liv in Europ M8 :rolleyes: so me think ther will be suport for it..

Thanks For the INfo :)
05-28-2003, 08:28 AM
monkeyhead

where u buying this pc from?
also i get either a computer litarte u no or ur self 2 build it part by part as it is cheaper.If ur buying this pc u theres just something i would like 2 point out notice wen ur try 2 find the specs of the pc it usally only states wat the product is but doesnt state the manufactur.so the 160gb hardisk might not be a make never even heard oif
05-28-2003, 08:38 AM
o_ICEMAN_o

Quote:

Originally posted by monkeyhead@28 May 2003 - 09:28
where u buying this pc from?
also i get either a computer litarte u no or ur self 2 build it part by part as it is cheaper.If ur buying this pc u theres just something i would like 2 point out notice wen ur try 2 find the specs of the pc it usally only states wat the product is but doesnt state the manufactur.so the 160gb hardisk might not be a make never even heard oif

Its A standard pc from a store but i can change anything of it if i would like to for exampel it has standard 160 gb HD i can chnage that to 180 gb HD but then must pay more :ph34r:

BTW the HD merk is maxtor and another thing i cant build a pc :( but i think this is easier :D
05-28-2003, 11:02 AM
Mad old tory

Seen as the manufacturers buy their components in bulk it wont b cheaper to build the system urself bit by bit. The advantage of selfbuild is that u can choose exactly wot components u have in ur pc so u dnt end up with any generic crap tht will screw evrything up like the ram in my old pc did <_<
05-28-2003, 11:08 AM
thisiswhoweare

Quote:

Originally posted by o_ICEMAN_o+28 May 2003 - 09:14--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (o_ICEMAN_o @ 28 May 2003 - 09:14)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--thisiswhoweare@28 May 2003 - 08:44
I tend to download between 50-100Gb a month, so burning cds just wasnt cost effective or quick,

Same Thing Hir M8 :D

Thanks For The Info :) [/b][/quote]
you need to be careful what media you use for it.

it may not work well with the dvd writer your getting. Like 2 speed media may only be burnt at one speed, even though you have a 2 speed writer. Things like that.

dvd-r's are cheaper than the + ones, and more compatible, so if you do decide to get it (the PC), you might be best trying these than the +dvds.
05-28-2003, 11:17 AM
3RA1N1AC

Quote:

Originally posted by o_ICEMAN_o+28 May 2003 - 00:12--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (o_ICEMAN_o @ 28 May 2003 - 00:12)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--ian_l_williams@28 May 2003 - 08:36
PS what did u decide on the graphics card side of things

I have look at http://www.tomshardware.com and i Decide To buy a Geforce 4 TI 4200 or Radeon 9500 pro dont know wich one yet :unsure:

But Thanks For the info m8 :D [/b][/quote]
yeh, the 9500 would be a better choice than 9200, if you need a cutting edge 3D card. 9200 is more comparable to Geforce 3 than to Geforce 4.
05-28-2003, 12:15 PM
ilw

If u've got the money go for the radeon 9500pro. It got a lot of computer magazines top ratings and I would have got it if practically every retailer in England hadn't sold out for like a month. It's quite a lot better than the 4200
05-28-2003, 02:48 PM
monkeyhead

Quote:

Seen as the manufacturers buy their components in bulk it wont b cheaper to build the system urself bit by bit. The advantage of selfbuild is that u can choose exactly wot components u have in ur pc so u dnt end up with any generic crap tht will screw evrything up like the ram in my old pc did

actally ur wron i saved £700 buy going 2 ebuyer
05-28-2003, 03:09 PM
thisiswhoweare

but the components for your machine can easily be the normal standard generic stuff. Like plain 2 channel speakers, built in sound memory etc.