<p>man, trying to get a new desktop soon
just can't make up my mind!!!!</p>
<p>ps: loooking for a desktop under 2500 thats capable of some nice gaming (oh yeah, and school work of course) :) no monitors needed</p>
<p>now, is AMD or Intel better? and evidence?
the previous tests (in 2005) all show AMD having an obvious advantage over intel, however, apparently Intels' core 2 duo has some new kind of technology that athlon FX x2 can't beat?
is this true?</p>
<p>Intel better. Get the new Intel 2 Core Duo, that is the best they have now.</p>
<p>but before the intel core duo 2, AMD was better right?
and do you have any links to websites / benchtest results?</p>
<p>The CPU is the least of your worries. Load it with fast drives, a killer video card and big hunks of memory. THAT will give you a payoff for your stress. The Core Duo 2 chips and the latest AMDs are all fast -- it just doesn't matter.</p>
<p>Edited to add: Computer industry professional since '83, and former Intel employee.</p>
<p>errr
so like
whats your expert opinion on graphics card?
if in the same price range, should i go for ATI or Nvidia?
and same goes for the processor?
is the 64 bit thing something i should worry about?
and about the vista compatability of both?</p>
<p>sorrrry, im a total computer noob, i TOTALLY lost track of CPUs when Pentium stopped naming their processors with consequtive numbers</p>
<p>and btw, a former intel employee would make your opinion skewed? hehe</p>
<p>oh yeah
and im looking at an alienware :S
im prepared to chip in for atleast 2gb of ram
hard drive has never been a problem
i was content with 30 GB
i duno why people needed 2.5 TBs :O!!</p>
<p>Heh. I have computers with both Intel and AMD processors around the house. I sold my Intel stock a long time ago.</p>
<p>Any $2,500 desktop you buy today should handle Vista. That's a lot for a desktop. Big drives are for video. I'm not sure you can easily find anything under 100gb anymore. The last computer I bought was a notebook with a mobile nVidia. My younger son plays lots of high-load games on this notebook, and he just finished editing a movie with it. The desktop nVidias are probably even faster. The hard thing about video cards is that they never seem to get the drivers debugged before the next on comes out. Sometimes nVidia is the "right" decision, at other times it's ATI, and at others it is ________. You might go to some site like newegg.com and look at the user comments. I find that unanimous evaluations are fairly reliable.</p>
<p>Your instinct to spend money on RAM is well-focused. Nothing makes Windows go faster than more RAM. If you are thinking Vista, make sure your video has lots of RAM, too.</p>
<p>If you are looking at Alienware computers, I have NO doubt that your system will scream. If I had a hard budget limit, I'd call them (you know, on the phone) and say, "I like to play games and I also use my computer for <whatever>. I want to run Vista someday and I hate to wait. What is the best possible configuration you can give me for $<mybudget>"</mybudget></whatever></p>
<p>Good luck! Not counting computers I've bought with other people's money (my first real notebook cost over $5,000 and had a 486 processor), I must have bought a dozen computers over the years. It's always a "kid in the candy shop" moment.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Any $2,500 desktop you buy today should handle Vista
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Any desktop period above $600 will handle vista.</p>
<p>Nvidia and ATI have the pros and cons. General conculsions has put Nvidia as the beast with power and ATI with the beauty in terms of scaling and AA that produces the best looking images. But does that really matter? No, both have their high end, mid and low and they will all be comparable with a couple fps here and there for certain games since games and gpu companies partner together for codevelopment. </p>
<p>Do not period, spend 2500 on a top of the line computer right now. That is idiocy. Vista is coming out soon along with directx 10, a new generation of physics engines, gpu, hybrid hard drives, then you have ddr3, etc. </p>
<p>And take this as a chance to get to know you computer better so you can build one on your own. Not only will it be cheaper, it will provide a greater knowledge base for future troubleshooting when problems occur.</p>
<p>take a look at anandtech.com</p>
<p>Why argue over a couple nano seconds and insignificant pixels?</p>
<p>a second equals a nano second these days? Who knew</p>
<p>When comparing, they compare Frames Per Second and insignificant is an opinionated statement expressing your view, which means nothing really since pixels arent the real question concerning the performance of the gpu</p>
<p>i have done some building of my own before, but the gay thing about that is the warranty, where i can only go to the store i bought it from for the warranty, i can't just be like "yo my comp is broked come fix it kthx" on the phone.
thanks though for the advice, i might just wait til vista comes out then
does that mean ddr3 and everything will be out the same time or i still have to wait longer?</p>
<p>all the new components wont be out when vista comes out, they will start rolling out afterwards though. Certainly, buy a computer now, but dont overspend especially with a lot of brand new technologies coming around in the next year or two.</p>
<p>its just that my current laptop is infected with every possible spyware out there, and like you said, i really dont want to waste money, so i want to get a new computer, transfer all my important files on there, then reinstall this computer again.
but if what you said is true about the whole new line of techonology coming out, i really want to wait for that, so any idea about when they would come out? and where i can find info on it?</p>
<p>Vista comes January07. Directx10 games come Spring/Summer07 I believe. But if you look into the future, you'll always be waiting:) Intel is better at the moment.
Core 2> Athlon 64 X2> Pentium D> Athlon 64>Pentium 4</p>
<p>I build computers and so do many of my friends. If you intend to run any programs or games that demand top quality graphics than you should pick AMD, hands down. You should purchase an Intel processor if you are solely going to run software applications, which is why many businesses and civic buildings have intel computers. A true gamer will never recommend Intel for specific reasons that I will only go into detail about if you request. Also, if you are planning on buying a video card, ensure that is Nvidia.</p>
<p>P.S. If you don't intend to multi task, then buy a single core AMD processor. There has been reductions in prices across the board lately because of the dual core. You can buy a 2.8ghz AMD processor for about $250 on Newegg.com</p>
<p>My computer (racked me up $2,000 last year, but could build it for a $1,000 this year)
7950gt XFX my 7800gtx is out of commission (bloody thing cost me $500)
AMD 4000 venice 2.4ghz
Raptor 10,000 rpm 40gb
Western Digital 7,000 rpm 150gb
2gb ram
Aspire X Navigator tower case
DFI Lanparty Motherboard</p>
<p>those misconceptions applied to the the P4 vs Athlon 64 debate, The X2 and Core Duo are equivalent in nearly all the tests including PCmark, 3Dmark, etc, with the exception being the business oriented tests and pi calculations. But for gaming, they are near dead even. And then entering into labtops, the athlon cant even come close to performance nor battery life. Intel is not stupid, they have improved on what they lacked before.</p>
<p>Soon the quad core chips will be out, something not extremely important, but needs to be noted otherwise. DirectX 10 will be worth waiting for. But the requirment of a new motherboard and gpu will be costly, that is why i am saying by mediocore parts now, sell and upgrade to better parts later. Seems better to me. You can spend your heart out on the sound card, speakers, case, upgraded fans, water cooling etc, but not the main components. That is how i see it however, just an opinion</p>
<p>And ensure it is Nvidia? Are you a fanboy?</p>
<p>what about just straight up core duo? not core 2 duo? where does that fit in that inequality?</p>
<p>"DirectX 10 will be worth waiting for."
does the coming of directx10 come with a bunch of new hardware?
whats the aprox time period?</p>
<p>Case: E-Machines T6528
Motherboard: MS-7207G/K8NGM2-L
CPU:AMD Athlon 64 Venice 3500+ @ 2.21 ghz
RAM: 768 Mb (1x512 1x256) PC 3200 Hynix Ram
Video Card: EVGA GeForce 6800 Ultra (GT oc'ed to 410/1100) 256mb (PCI-E)
Hard drives: Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 160 gig , Maxtor MaXLine Plus II 7200 RPM 250 gig
Power Supply: APEX SolyTech SL-400TF ATX12V 400 Watt
DVD-Rom: Lite On SHW-160P6S 16x DVD+-RW, Dbl. Layer
Monitor: FujiPLUS FP-989WDB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1
Soundcard/Speakers: RealTek HD/Logitech X-230 32 Watts RMS 2.1</p>