Help me make a bettter computer!

[Cybog]

Ok guys and gals, here's my situation.

I’ve been "out of the loop" as far as technology goes, and am doing my best to upgrade my system as soon as possible.

Due to my gaming habits, 3d and art needs, as well as overall sluggish system specs, its time to do some changes.

Here's the problem - I don't speak "techie" anymore and honestly need to be told in plain godamn English what needs upgrading, what is decent, etc.

Here's what I want:

1. A computer that can handle fairly intense graphics and gaming, with smoother frame rate.

2. A faster computer overall, to handle applications such as Maya, 3ds Max, Photoshop, Unreal Editor, etc. simultaneously, and not "chug" nearly as much as it does currently.

3. A good price for the above. I don't have hundreds and thousands of dollars to do this with, but I do have a pretty good budget. I would like to do this with less than $4-600 if possible.

Here is what I have currently:

Pentium 4, 1600 MHz
1 gig of RAM (most likely the cheapest kind, can't remember what kind exactly)

Radeon 9550 Video Card

37 gig HD


Obviously I need a faster processor. Obviously I need better/more RAM.

What I don't know is exactly what type of RAM I should get, how to know if it's going to work with my board...etc.

I also don't know how to check if a new processor is going to work with my current board as well, or if I will need to buy a new one of those while I am at it.

Remember, talk to me like I don't know what the hell I am talking about, because when it comes to compatibility and overall performance, I know nothing.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?

Fire away.

[Innova]

Where if I were you, I'd go the whole nine yard. Now all things I about to give you are from newegg, which is the best site on the internet..bar none! I gather you already have montior, keyboard, mouse, etc, etc.

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (We are entering the 64bit era, and this is a VERY fast cpu, much cheaper then Intel's 64 bit chip and just as fast..do not let the 2Ghz fool you, as it performs more like a P4 3ghz for desktop, and 3.4Ghz p4 EE for games) - $150

THERMALTAKE VENUS 12 (Gonna need to cool that cpu, and this one will do the job nicely 8-12c lower difference over stock coolers) - $38

GIGABYTE GA-K8NS PRO nForce 3 board (One of the best boards for the A64 for the money) - $89

XFX GeForce 6600GT PCI-E (Best card for the money, 6600GT is an absolut monster for the price, and has all the features of it's higher end brothers. 8 pixel pipelines/3 vertex shaders, 500mhz core with 1Ghz of GDDR3 memory..oh and shader model 3.0. Trust me, you need this kinda stuff and it will work over in to the Unreal Engine 3.) - $169

2x 512mb OCZ performance modules (1GB) - (VERY fast memory, with lots a bandwidth which will allow the A64 to breathe. These models are DDR400 with a cas length of 2. Now I see you have 1GB of memory, which sucks..but you need fast memory if you want to give these newer CPU's room. or else they will just be begging for it.) - $116

Rosewell RV500S - (Awesome power supply for the price. 500w with excellent rail stability, 3.3+, 5+, and 12+ current protectors with a 70% min. efficiency rating. You will undoubtly need a new power supply for this stuff.) - $40

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You will not find better for the price, totaling all would be around $600ish. This system will last you for quite a long while, and it is setup to get you into the 64bit era.

Let me know what ya think.

[Cybog]

Yeah I have heard some good things about that XFX Geforce 6600 card. I might buy everything else beforehand and then get the card a little later.

Some questions from a noob:

We are entering the 64bit era, and this is a VERY fast cpu, much cheaper then Intel's 64 bit chip and just as fast..do not let the 2Ghz fool you, as it performs more like a P4 3ghz for desktop, and 3.4Ghz p4 EE for games

I've also heard that the AMD's are faster than the P4 speeds, but what does "EE" mean.....? Also, what do you mean by 64 bit...what bit speed do the P4's use? 32? (Confused on the "bit" part)

Gonna need to cool that cpu, and this one will do the job nicely 8-12c lower difference over stock coolers

How do these cooling systems work? Are they like a heatsink you just stick em over the top of your CPU? Is the CPU encased or something? Ive never used anything other than the regular fans.

2x 512mb OCZ performance modules (1GB) - (VERY fast memory, with lots a bandwidth which will allow the A64 to breathe. These models are DDR400 with a cas length of 2

RAM question - I don't have a clue what all the acronyms mean in plain english. I dont know what the difference is between RAM at all. Also, what does a "cas length of 2" mean...?

Awesome power supply for the price. 500w with excellent rail stability

Rail Stability? What does this mean?

Remember, I've worked on and built Chevy Chevettes. All you damn kids these days are driving Dodge Vipers and Hummers....haha

[Cybog]

Oh, and also - Would my standard case work for this type of system, or would I need to buy a new case to house all this stuff?

[Only-virgins]

AMD64 3200+
1024 Dual DDR ram
160GB HD
9800 256mb ATI pro
Creative sound card


Works really well with this setup for me.

[tooxshort]

Yeah, I'd like to know if he'd need a new case ... is it still ATX?

I still have a Socket A board ... I haven't messed with my computer for over a year ...

but I'd listen to Innova ... he's our resident computer genius ...

[Innova]

Yeah I have heard some good things about that XFX Geforce 6600 card. I might buy everything else beforehand and then get the card a little later.

Some questions from a noob:



I've also heard that the AMD's are faster than the P4 speeds, but what does "EE" mean.....? Also, what do you mean by 64 bit...what bit speed do the P4's use? 32? (Confused on the "bit" part)



How do these cooling systems work? Are they like a heatsink you just stick em over the top of your CPU? Is the CPU encased or something? Ive never used anything other than the regular fans.



RAM question - I don't have a clue what all the acronyms mean in plain english. I dont know what the difference is between RAM at all. Also, what does a "cas length of 2" mean...?



Rail Stability? What does this mean?

Remember, I've worked on and built Chevy Chevettes. All you damn kids these days are driving Dodge Vipers and Hummers....haha

As long as the case is ATX, it should work. Being a p4 is in there, I don't see a problem.

1. EE is intel's P4 "Extreme Edition" usually representing the best of their chips. However until lately, the Athlon 64's for the most part have been faster, as they can send double the data per clock. Although Intel now has a similar performing 64bit chip out, it's much more expensive at this time.(it's a P4, but under the 6xx series only) As for the bit thing, bit is refered to data transfer. We have been using the 32bit x86 arch.
since the 486/Pentium 1 days. With this release of Longhorn soon (Next version of windows) all software will translate to 64bit code, to futher take advantage of increase processing from the newer chips. However, im sure it will have backward comp. with 32bit chips, just won't be as fast.

2. Yes, the cooling system in question is a heatsink/fan mix. The heatsink is based on copper (which we all know has the best thermal conductivity ratio), the fan then sits on the heatsink absorbing/drawing out the air to cool the heatsink, and thus cooling the cpu.

3. There are generally three types of ram. SD-RAM(Single Data), DDR(Dual Data), and Rambus. SDRAM is an older standard that was mainly used for Pentium 1-3. DDR is a much faster version of SD-RAM, and that it can loop recieve/sent data, thus theo. halfing the time, or doubling bandwidth. Although Rambus isn't used much anymore, it was a dual module setup. It wasn't very fast, but provided a lot of bandwidth. However with faster version of DDR (like the 400) provide all this bandwidth, but at faster speeds. Cas length is further measurement on how fast the ram can send/access data to/from the system. The lower, the better.

4. Rail stability is refered to how well the current within a voltage rail can stay within "safe" measurement. For example, if you have a 12+ rail, that says it can do 26amps..you have to make sure that under load, that 12 volt rail does not go say under 11.7V or higher then 12.5V..you want it to stay as close to 12 as possible for stability reasons. A crappy power supply will shorten the life span of a computer real quick, and also lower performance.

[Cybog]

Ok, thanks for the interpritation

I have been on the injured list lately and as such haven't been able to do as much work lately, so my income has been much shorter than usual. But I did find every one of those items on newegg, and will likely be making a purchase soon.

Thanks man!

[Innova]

Hey no problem, glad I could help

Sorry to hear about the injuries though, hope all is well soon.

[Cybog]

Quick Question:

For the RAM you listed, it is labled in the product as:

Brand OCZ
Series Performance
Model OCZ400512R3
Type 184-Pin DDR SDRAM
Tech Spec
Capacity 512MB
Speed DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Cas Latency 2
Timing 2-3-3-6
Voltage 2.6V
ECC No
Registered/Unbuffered Unbuffered


It says it is DDR SDRAM....? So, which is it...??

[Innova]

Yeah that's it, price is $58ish or so right? Yeah that's why I said 2x that way you'd have 1GB. DDR is a form of SD-RAM, but it is MUCH faster.

[Cybog]

[url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820146898#DetailSpecs[/url]

This one, right?

[Cybog]

And the reason I am asking is because you mentioned the 2 types of RAM, SDRAM and DDR, but it kinda looked like this was SDRAM, which you said was slower..../boggle

[Innova]

Yes indeed sir

[Innova]

And the reason I am asking is because you mentioned the 2 types of RAM, SDRAM and DDR, but it kinda looked like this was SDRAM, which you said was slower..../boggle

Yeah I know, some will say that...some won't. But I assure you if it says SD-RAM DDR, then it's DDR.

If it says just SD-RAM, STEER CLEAR!