Is this faster/better than my current comp???

valve90210

valve90210

valve90210

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17 Jan 2006
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Since I've been having a bit of trouble with an old computer I was hoping to use as a media centre, I was having a bit of a look at the full systems here, and noticed the Primo something or other mega cheap system.

Not having purchased a computer for quite somewhile, and not having really read uip on processorts etc etc, I was wondering if this system would be faster/better than my current one???

The primo spec

- AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail
- AMD Athlon 64 Approved CPU Cooler
- Asus Vintage V3-M2V890 Barebones System
- Crucial 512MB PC2-4200C4 Dual Channel Kit (2x256MB)
- Samsung SpinPoint P HD080HJ 80GB SATA-II 8MB Cache
- Sony DDU-1615 DVD-ROM (Black)
- On-Board VIA Graphics
- On-Board 5.1 Audio
- Integrated Gigabit LAN
- NO Operating System (XP Home & Professional can be purchased seperately from this online store at an extra cost)


My current spec:

P4 2.8GHZ (no HT)
Gigabyte something or other motherboard (no pci-e slot)
1gb RAM PC2300 (i think)
BFG 7800GS OC (AGP)
1 x 80gb IDE hdd
1 x 120gb IDE hdd
dvd rewriter
Tagan 480W PSU

Would the performance of the primo system be better than mine (I realise I would need a decent graphics card for gaming) but on the whole would it be better than my current one???

Also do thay come with any kind of warranty??

Valve
 
You have a decent GFX card for gaming.
Slot that in the new system, get a 2gig kit and it will play any game out there at a reasonable rate.
Fit the 64 Freezer to the chip and there is some clocking to be had aswell.
Also download coolbits and clock the card.
Will also need a Cheap souncard.
With the above added and done it should pull around 8k in 3D 05.
 
If you give it the same amount of memory it'll be a little faster in games no question (assuming you used the same or equivalent graphics card).

As it is though it'd be slower cos 512MB of RAM with a 7800 GS (or pretty much any decent graphics card for that matter) would cripple performance, even Windows might show some sluggishness depending on what you do with it.
 
Hmmm, might have to do a little saving here and there and get myself one of those, it's prime use would be as a media centre for the bedroom, so wouldn't need a graphics card to begin with, sound card I already have so could bung that in there. It's main function would be playing back music and the odd dvd, and maybe a tv card....


If in the future I wanted to use it for gaming, I could pick up a cheap PCI E graphics card and it should be fine for most things then, I'm not massively into gaming hence my P4 is still serving me very well indeed, playing HL2, Doom3 etc beautifully and even doing pretty well on Far Cry.

As I mentioned before, I don't really have much of an idea anymore about what processors are better than others these days.

I once saw a list of graphics cards starting with the most powerful at the top working right down to some really old ones, with big gaps in the list where there was a huge gulf between generations etc, any chance someone could whip up a processor list the same, or link me to something similar???

Ta muchly

Valve
 
That machine is not much better than your current rig in general but in games the A64 will shine. In your case here it should be a nice and cool media centre PC with good upgradability.

Like you said, if you want to game in the future u can easily pick up a 2Gb DDR2 kit and a decent PCI-E card then you're ready. CPU is also upgradable to X2 and future AM2+ CPUs too.
 
COol, thanks for the info. I'm qute pleased in 2 ways, one I can get a decent enough comp for what I want (ie a media centre) for not a lot of money, and second, I must have purchased fairly well when I got my current comp as it is coming up 3 years old now and isn't laughed at by people on here (or is everyone just being nice...)!!! :o)

Valve
 
Nope, for its age its not a bad system at all. I went from a similar machine with an AMD XP+ and a 9800Pro only earlier this year.
A lot of issue is, as systems get faster, people expect more, so even as games get more demanding, they STILL want and expect more, so they stress even systems that would have met thier needs, and demand more. As speed goes up, almost exponentially does some peoples demands and ideas on what they want, especially with the increase in high res monitors and tfts, with 1600x1200 becoming a lot more common than it used to be.
 
Yeah, you're probably right. On my current comp I can play things Like HL2 with good settings at my 19” screens native res and it’s lovely and smooth and plays nicely, and I’m perfectly happy with that, but I guess a lot of people want to be able to play on much much bigger screens and hence need a much higher res and more powerful computers. And they want to be able to turn on all the eye candy too!!!

Valve
 
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