Decisions, Decisions...

Shicky

Shicky

Shicky

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Joined
13 Jan 2007
Posts
2,424
Location
Belfast,Northern Ireland
Hey all, basically im VERY confused as to where to spend my money. I've been working full time all year so have saved up a decent wee bit but im moving in to a house with 3 mates for uni so dont want to be going overboard on spending.

Anyway currently my setup is.. cpu - athlon 64 3500+, ram -2Gb corsair (cost me a good whack at the time), mobo - Abit KN8 SLI, gfx - 6800GT, all in an antec 900 (First revision, got ******) - Im guessing the overclocking ability of these items is pretty poor? Considering maybe testing my abilities on it first anyway.

Im not much of a gamer anymore but will mess around on Total war 2/FM 2007/CSS and i like the look of Bioshock. But im trying to escape my gaming for more of a social life and all that. So i dont need a BEAST of a machine but spent about a grand on my last build for a mid-high spec at the time. I've also been considering a laptop as i work for a GSP and would be handy for dealing as support while watching the footy downstairs with mates at the same time.

Now basically i've had a wee look into overclocking and i do intend to do it at some stage when i've put enough time into reading up on it all. So heres my options the way i see it.

Option 1 - Do cheapish upgrades to my system where necessary, good overclocking board, new gfx (100ish), new cpu (100ish), new mobo (?). Maybe get a half decent laptop as well.

Option 2 - Build a pretty awesome rig by todays standards, live in Northern ireland though so i HATE delivery charges, why did i have to get the first antec case batch :( . Maybe get a low-med spec laptop too or not at all.

Option 3 - Buy a high spec laptop, maybe a G2 or a high spec vostro. Though im not keen on my 'gaming laptops' i reckon after a while the limits of a mid-spec laptop would annoy me, especially if i couldnt play the new footy manager games at least. Maybe do a small upgrade to my current rig depending on money.

I intend to buy a Samsung syncmaster 226BW as well, finally getting rid of the CRT! As space will be an issue in the new student house and i like pretty colours :)

So basically what would you guys do in my position? Spending more than 1500 on any of these options scares me a little (incl monitor)

Thanks all

EDIT* On my case problem has anyone that got the first revision had it replaced? If so i assume they made u pay courier charges and didnt cover it themselves?
 
I don't have a lot of knowledge on a technical stand point but I can tell you what I'd do.

Imo, splashing out on a high end laptop seems pointless when you can probably get the same spec pc for half the price. For me, a laptop is a completely functional piece of kit (internet, word processing, ease of transportation etc). Y'know, something to bring into lectures/do work in the library etc (thinking of it in terms of a uni environment).

A desktop on the other hand is something which can do all the menial(sp?) stuff well enough (obviously not as portable though :D ), but who's main purpose is entertainment. (an expensive on anyway).

It depends really. Do you want to be a recluse with an amazing machine? Or go out and get drunk from the money you save from buying a cheaper PC.

Me?

I'd get the amazing PC, since I've enough self control to not let it take over my life. But you know yourself better than I do.

:)
 
if it was me i;'d get a lappy then use you're 2gb of ram and 6800GT with a 2160 core2duo (£57) and Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard (£44).
 
Mutu said:
It depends really. Do you want to be a recluse with an amazing machine? Or go out and get drunk from the money you save from buying a cheaper PC.

I'd get the amazing PC, since I've enough self control to not let it take over my life. But you know yourself better than I do.
Click to expand...

Haha, I won't be getting fully hooked mate don't worry, those days are behind me. But I do think it would be cool to get good at overclocking and cooling. And of course being able to play the latest and greatest games. CSS etc are doing when im bored at the mo, but that could just be because i know it cant handle anything too impressive like stalker. Wouldn't mind the jump to vista too.

Mixed opionions already! :( I hate being indecisive and not knowing what to do!
 
mp260767 said:
if it was me i;'d get a lappy then use you're 2gb of ram and 6800GT with a 2160 core2duo (£57) and Asrock 4CoreDual-SATA (Socket 775) PCI-Express/AGP DDR2 Motherboard (£44).
Click to expand...

Do you mean like a high end laptop (1k+) med-high (700) or low (under 500) ?
 
Anyone have an opinion on this? Would really appreciate some help making my mind up.

Cheers all
 
I went for the Apple Macbook (mid, I suppose) and the recommended ASROCK board with a Core 2 Duo as suggested above.

The ASROCK, with a E4300, with even a 9800 Pro gives me very good performance in BF2 and CS:S. It also works ok for Enemy Territory Quake Wars. If I was buying today; the E2160 or 2140 would be my choice. Even with the stock cooler you are looking at a 3 GHz from 1.8GHz overclock.

The Macbook is a stunner and fulfills all the non workhorse duties (and some of them like DVD encoding with iDVD), music (i stream wirelessly to my speakers), photos, web browsing (without the Windows headaches), email, torrents, et cetera.
 
Thanks a lot for the comments guys, the cheapish upgrade is definately an option im considering. At this point im still pretty confused though, all i know is i want a laptop of some sort, i'll probably get a mid-range with a small screen.

Still not sure on the desktop point, tempted to build something quite nice for crysis/stalker/two worlds etc as i can imagine playing them, bioshock is pretty sweet looking too and i dont want it for my 360.

Anymore opinions greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
Well you're being quite vague still.

All you're telling us is that you might want to get a desktop that can play Crysis, and that you'll consider maybe getting a laptop.

Budget for desktop?

Budget for Laptop?

I'd imagine that would help narrow it down.
 
Well i did say I wouldnt fancy spending over 1500 and that includes the sammy 226bw monitor. I know thats still vague but thats the point, im not sure at all which way to go and am looking peoples opinions as in, if they had the money to blow on pc or laptop, what would they choose and why. Just so i can weigh up pros and cons i might not have thought of and cus i need a kick up the butt! (i can say that word right?)
 
when i was in uni* OP said you were moving in to a house with uni mates so im assuming* i bought a laptop because it was handy to take to lectures etc but when it got to taking it i didnt really use it as much as i should. my opinion is that laptops cost a lot for what they are. usually let down in one area e.g. good cpu but poor graphics. where as you can build a descent pc for the same price if not cheaper.

Dont think i would go for a laptop again unless my works pay for it :p
 
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