just don't buy a POS and make sure it can handle whatever hardware you're going to plug into it. Personally I stick to Antec and 450watt+.

And if you are someone who can get annoyed by a constant buzzing during work buy one with a silent cooling or something. Shouldn't cost much more than your average one.

Ok, on my computer, would you recomend getting a 2ish ghz 64 bit CPU or a 3ish ghz 32 bit cpu?

EDIT: been looking on the web. Here's what I've gathered.

An athlon CPU by the name of 3500 is apparently the equivalent of an intel running at 3.5 ghz, even though the althlon is only 2.2ghz.

Is this correct?

Because if so, then I'll by a 64bit 3000-3500ish athlon, because it's a no brainer if it apparently runs at 3ghz-3.5ghz...

Someone clear me up here?

huh? You're asking 2 questions.

1: Should I get a 32bit or 64bit CPU?
If you're not going to upgrade for awhile, I'd say 64bit. 64bit WinXP is kinda out already, and 64bit applications should hopefully be coming soon. If you're gonna upgrade again within the next year or two, go with 32bit since it's generally cheaper. 64bit AMD cpus do seem to perform better than their 32bit counterparts, though, due to better design, so maybe go with 64bit anyway. Personally, I'm not buying any more 32bit cpus.

2. Should you go AMD or Intel?
That's up to you. If you're looking at dual-core processors, currently AMD is kicking Intel's ass. If you're looking for pure performance on a single core and don't care about price, go with Intel. They have faster performance on high-end processors. If you're looking for more bang for your buck, imo you're best off going with AMD.

Yes, they are clocked slower. Yes, due to better design / different design decisions, their processors are as fast as Intel chips that are clocked alot faster. Is a XP 3500+ and an Intel 3.5ghz chip the same? Not really...look up reviews. You'll find AMD is better at some things than Intel and vice versa. In the end, AMD seems to be getting a bit aggressive with their naming convention....it might be more aptly named an XP 3300+ instead of 3500+ for instance.

I went amd since my mobo and gpus are all asus products and asus mobo didnt support intel but really for a casual gamer it really doesnt matter, in the end they are both powerful enough to run any game you can think of, well maybe not the old ones (classics).


Want silent psu, go zalman, but be prepared to cough up extra dough.

Talking about coolers, I was looking around and wondered: those super-duper zinc cooler-types that cost a hell of a lot more, are they really that much better? they're about 4 times as expensive as 'regular' ones, for one.

Lol, i didn't ask the second question, i'm definatly going AMD.

Lets put the question this way.

Is, for example, the AMD 3500, so named, because AMD reckon (even if benchmarks say otherwise) it is as good as an intel at 3.5ghz? (Even if they are being agressive)

quick answer to mole: YES

quick answer to Ox: DEPENDS. Some of those expensive ass coolers really are just badass. Most of crap. Some don't even cool as good as stock coolers. You need to do some research, basically.

The best coolers are phase change coolers. *drool* Only like $600. *cough*. But it's basically a CPU cooler built around the same concept as a refridgerator. Except all the coldness is concentrated onto the CPU. Which == extreme 1337 coldness.

thanks, i really should have said I was after a quick answer i guess. Because I understand that things are not always the same as what you get told. Thanks for the help, I'll be getting probably the AMD Athlon 64 3500 then. Because _in theory_ it runs at 3.5 ghz

It's not my cash, but anyway: isn't a 3500+ overdoing it a bit? They cost a good bit more than a 3200+ and aren't all that faster. Are twice as expensive as the 3000+ even.


I've started looking around for my own new thing btw. I'm focusing on a good case that comes with some fans to start with. Never realized those things were so expensive. So basically, the basic cases (like the one I have now) aren't really made for gaming? Just for average everyday users.


For a short while I was tempted to get this baby

http://www.geckocomputers.be/promoties.htm

(scroll down the whole page, the 'ultimate gamer' thing)


But that would have pretty much cost me everything I earned.

a decent case runs (in my experience) between $60-$120. Obviously there are much better out there. What you really want is good airflow. I'd say at least two front fans, one side panel fan, and one back fan would be all you really need. All of mine have 2 front and two back, but only my main box has a side one. Plus I love antec

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetails.php?ProdID=61088

The reason I'm going for a 3500, is because the clock speed is 2.2 ghz, compared to mine currently, which is 2ghz (it's a 2600) plus the new one is 64bit.

So, I figure i'll get the extra bit of clock speed (is that the right term?) plus the 64 bit

yea, the clock speed doesn't mean all that much any more, really. What you're really doing is upgrading to a much better architecture that can crunch numbers more efficiently. Of course, clock speed matters some too...I can understand your desire to get a machine that's clocked faster. I made the same choice when I bought a thunderbird core over a barton core way back when.

Just gotta save up some more. I have nearly £100 in loose change saved up

How does this PSU Sound? Are all PSU the same size?

One of thems antecs satis likes