[Wicked Sushi]

I'm planning on getting a new computer in a week, so I was looking at a bunch of computers that fit my budget and I came across a nice looking computer with these specs:

Processor brand - Intel
Processor type - Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading
Processor speed - 3.06GHz
Frontside bus speed - 533
Level 2 cache - 1MB

RAM- 512MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM
RAM expandable to: - 2GB

Hard drive size - 200GB 7200RPM Serial ATA

Total expansion slots 3 PCI, 1 PCI-Express
Available expansion slots 2 PCI, 1 PCI-Express

Network Interface Card (NIC) - Yes

Video memory - Up to 256MB (shared)
Graphics type - ATI Radeon® Xpress 200

The price would be around $500 (seems to be too good to be true), which is the maximum amount of cash I can spend on the computer itself. I would also buy about 1GB-2GB of RAM and either a "Radeon X800 256MB" or a "GeForce 6800 XTreme 256MB". I'm not sure which one of those cards I should get though.

What I want to do with this setup is play Half-Life 2, Serious Sam 2, Painkiller, Doom 3, Far Cry and basically the newest and best games out there. I would like to get at least a nice, fluid FPS (Over 60) with everything maxed out. Also I would be producing music on this system. My questions is basically, would this computer, with one of those video cards (and which one?), allow me to do all this?

Help would be greatly appreciated. :D

Edited by Wicked Sushi, 25 July 2006 - 02:47 AM.

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Considering what you want to do with your computer here is what I recommend upgrading.

-Increasing the RAM from 512MB to 1 Gig, which seems to suffice these days, but 2 Gigs will help in music/graphic producing.

-If you want to play the newest and best games with over 60FPS (which is a lofty goal, you should aim for like a constant 35 - 45 FPS) then you will need more than a X800. If you can, I would suggest waiting to up the graphics card until DirectX 10 comes out and get a new card then. Or if you have enough money, throw some money for a Radeon 9600 or higher just to play FarCry and Doom3 until DX10 is out.

-Soundcard: I would HIGHLY recommend buying at least a Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic. Since you are producing music, the X-Fi Platinum (or even Elite if your loaded) would be a better choice.

Also, where are you getting this computer for $500 from?

[BlackPandemic]

Considering what you want to do with your computer here is what I recommend upgrading.

-Increasing the RAM from 512MB to 1 Gig, which seems to suffice these days, but 2 Gigs will help in music/graphic producing.

-If you want to play the newest and best games with over 60FPS (which is a lofty goal, you should aim for like a constant 35 - 45 FPS) then you will need more than a X800. If you can, I would suggest waiting to up the graphics card until DirectX 10 comes out and get a new card then. Or if you have enough money, throw some money for a Radeon 9600 or higher just to play FarCry and Doom3 until DX10 is out.

-Soundcard: I would HIGHLY recommend buying at least a Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic. Since you are producing music, the X-Fi Platinum (or even Elite if your loaded) would be a better choice.

Also, where are you getting this computer for $500 from?

[Wicked Sushi]

-Increasing the RAM from 512MB to 1 Gig, which seems to suffice these days, but 2 Gigs will help in music/graphic producing.

-If you want to play the newest and best games with over 60FPS (which is a lofty goal, you should aim for like a constant 35 - 45 FPS) then you will need more than a X800. If you can, I would suggest waiting to up the graphics card until DirectX 10 comes out and get a new card then. Or if you have enough money, throw some money for a Radeon 9600 or higher just to play FarCry and Doom3 until DX10 is out.

-Soundcard: I would HIGHLY recommend buying at least a Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic. Since you are producing music, the X-Fi Platinum (or even Elite if your loaded) would be a better choice.

Yeah, I will definietly up the RAM up to at least 1GB. As for the graphics card, I will look into it. Seems to be rather cheap though; $50?

But yeah, so is that computer's processor speed good enough? Or to rephrase that question, is that really 3.06GHZ? Because I know that for example a 3.03GHZ Celeron D equals to like 2.6 P4. This whole hyper threading thing confuses me a bit.

Also, where are you getting this computer for $500 from?

Circuit City.

Edited by Wicked Sushi, 25 July 2006 - 12:55 PM.

[sarahw]

Processor type - Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading
Processor speed - 3.06GHz
Frontside bus speed - 533
Level 2 cache - 1MB

This processor is not a Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading. It is a celeron D.
Not the best processor, that is why the computer is so cheap.
Intel Celeron D
Intel Celeron D

Edited by sarahw, 25 July 2006 - 01:29 PM.

[Wicked Sushi]

Processor type - Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading
Processor speed - 3.06GHz
Frontside bus speed - 533
Level 2 cache - 1MB

This processor is not a Pentium 4 with Hyper-Threading. It is a celeron D.
Not the best processor, that is why the computer is so cheap.
Intel Celeron D
Intel Celeron D

Desktop performance: This capable desktop features the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 524 with Hyper Threading Technology, 512B of PC3200 DDR SDRAM and a 200GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive. This speedy PC also offers 3.06GHz of processing speed and a 1MB L2 cache.

Huh?

And I know Celeron D sucks, that's why I'm trying to avoid it, even though I could go and buy a 3.XX GHZ one for less than $200.

Edited by Wicked Sushi, 25 July 2006 - 02:44 PM.

[sarahw]

524 with Hyper Threading Technology,

The 524 is a P4 sorry.

Edited by sarahw, 25 July 2006 - 03:04 PM.

[Wicked Sushi]

Desktop performance: This capable desktop features the Intel® Pentium® 4 processor 524 with Hyper Threading Technology, 512B of PC3200 DDR SDRAM and a 200GB 7200RPM SATA hard drive. This speedy PC also offers 3.06GHz of processing speed and a 1MB L2 cache.

Sorry, where did you read this?

It's just the basic description for the same computer on many different sites.

[sarahw]

Yep my mistake I'm thinking of the 345 3.06, 346 3.06. They are the celeron. not the 524.