First off what is the difference between intel and AMD processors?

Also, I'm planning on buying a new computer or making one. But I'm trying to figure out about IBuyPower.com. It seems to be a pretty good deal, I found one that was $407 base but went up to 548 to $613 with shipping. I had no idea what I was doing put I got this.
Case
• NZXT Adamas Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply Black
Case Lighting

Power Supply
• Standard Case Power Supply
Processor
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 (2x 3.0GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
Free Software/Game

Processor Cooling
• Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink
Motherboard
• Asus P5KPL-CM Intel G31 Chipset w/6-channels, Gb LAN, S-ATA 3Gb/s, USB 2.0, Single PCI-E MB
Memory
• 2 GB [1 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand
Video Card
• NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT 1GB w/DVI + TV Out Video
Video Card Brand
• === High Performance === eVGA Brand Video Card Powered by NVIDIA
Hard Drive
• 320 GB HARD DRIVE [Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]
2nd Hard Drive

External Hard Drives [USB 2.0/eSATA]

CD/DVD Drive

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive

Sound Card
• 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Speaker System
• 100W PMPO (RMS: 1W) 2 Pcs Stereo Speaker System
Network Card
• Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Floppy Drive

Monitor

2nd Monitor

Keyboard
• Microsoft Internet Keyboard Black
Mouse
• Logitech Optical Internet Mouse Black
USB 2.0 Accessories

Meter Display

Flash Media Reader/Writer
• 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black
Extras

Operation System
• None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only
Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner

I was wondering if it is better to get that or customize my existing crappy computer by buying a 350 gb drive, 2gb ram, a new video card, motherboard, and a new processor, which would probably total to like $300-400 estimate.

Are all computers able to interchange parts without having problems of not being able to fit? I know my video card slot isn't really big and I've seen these new ones that are huge with a lot of useless plastic on it.

Intel processors are generally more powerful, but tend to cost more and usually run with more energy. AMD hasn't had a processor that's held the performance crown in awhile, but they are a little cheaper and run cooler.

Computers aren't really just interchangeable slots. You have to have all compatable parts. For example, an AMD processor won't work on an Intel motherboard. I've got a 5 year old computer that would be hard to update. The socket is old, meaning I'd have to go with an expensive processor. The RAM is DDR, as opposed to DDR2, which is a lot more expensive. The expansion slot is AGP, not PCI x16, meaning I'd have to use an inferior video card.

How do I know if my computer is compatible?

Intel>AMD right now, in just about everything. Before you buy one, check the wattages. Most newer Intels use less power, since they work on smaller transistor sizes. There's only a few good things I can say about AMD right now. 1. Price. They're dirt cheap. 2. The heatsink is very easy to install. 3. The AM2 socket is planned to be backwards compatible with a lot of things (there's AM2+ out now, and soon to be more). Intel's 775 socket isn't always compatible, unless you only get "new" stuff (then you don't have to worry about it, it's just a minor thing anyway).

As for PSU/case, it's whatever you want. IMO, the epitome of cases is Lian-Li, but I'm using a $10 case+psu. As long as you don't do dual graphics/4+ HDDs, 400W should be fine. Check the amperage on the 12 V rail, to make sure it's powerful enough to run whatever graphics you have.

E8400 is a beast, and an excellent choice.

Intel's stock cooling is fine if you don't plan to overclock. It's only a 65 W processor.

As I've said before, the motherboard doesn't matter much (unless you know what you're doing). Go ahead and disregard this comment if you want.

8500GT is IMO a wimp of a graphics card, but I have little experience with nVidia, as all my nVidia cards have failed. Not to mention, you've got such an awesome processor, it'd be a shame to bottleneck it with the graphics. ATi's HD 4850/70 are "friggin sweet" apparently.

The HDD (no name?) doesn't matter much either. Unless you want performance, go for the best price/GB, or the most you'd ever use. You can always get another HDD later. Raid is pretty useless too (unless you know what you're doing). Note that SATA-2 and SATA-1 don't matter either. HDDs can't read/write data at 3 Gb/s or at 1.5 Gb/s, and only 15000 rpm drives are getting close to the 1.5 Gb/s mark. Expect 60+ MB/s read speed on typical cheap 7200 rpm drives.

If you're an audiophile, you'll want more bling on your sound card/system.

The best mouse I've ever had is the MX518. It's all about personal preferences here. Keyboard doesn't matter much either. If you want quality, DAS keyboard is awesome.

By all means, upgrade your computer. It's not too hard to do, and it's an awesome learning experience. You'll want to know a lot about your current computer, to see what you can salvage. CD drives are all the same. If you've got a REALLY old HDD, you'll want a new one. If the motherboard isn't compatible with newer CPUs, get a new motherboard.

[quote:name=Echo]How do I know if my computer is compatible? [/quote]
Find the make and model of the motherboard. Find data online for it, and find the socket size, or look up the CPU for the socket size. You can find the cpu name by pressing windows key + pause/break. For more advanced stuff, download cpu-z (google for it). It will tell you not only the socket size, but the core name, the transistor size, the clock speed, the motherboard data, and ram data. If it's not a socket 775 or AM2 (940) or even 939, you absolutely need a new motherboard. Most new motherboards use ddr2, so if you have ddr right now, you'll need brand new ram (it's $40 for 2 GB).

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Aug 26 2008, 11:04 pm by rockz.

Would it be decent if I just bought 2 GB Ram, a new mother board, and a video card? Or is there any other important main part for a gaming computer?

Because they're dirt cheap, AMD is a much better choice for a budget system.

There's only a few things you really need:
CPU - $50
Motherboard - $50-100
Video Card - $100+
RAM - $40
PSU - $0-50
HDD - $50 for 500 GB
Optical (optional, but you kinda want it) $20

The last 3 can be recycled easily. These are all bare minimums, IMO. You'll do much better with $500 on just the motherboard/cpu/graphics. Keep in mind what you want to do with the computer, though. If it's starcraft and source games, budget is fine. If it's crysis, spend the $500.

So that's 4 things. You can grab a cpu/mobo combo at global computer for ~$100-150. RAM is $40 everywhere, make sure you get a ddr2 mobo. A Video Card is ~100 for a budget gaming (believe me, you can get a comparatively awesome card for $100. check Tom's Hardware for more. Make sure your current PSU can handle the video card, or get a new one. It should tell you on the side somewhere the number of amps on the 12V rail. Digging up the power requirements, the 9500 ($60 on newegg, make sure you get the gddr3 version) requires 18 A, but in all honesty, I couldn't even find the plug on the pictures, which leads me to suspect you don't even need to power it more than the PCIe slot supplies.

If you need any help choosing one, someone will recommend you a good one, but it's better to do things yourself, or at least try to.

Intel's Allendales are pretty awesome. I'm partial to AMD's "fuck yeah" Windsor, but it's either or.

What about for a game like Archlord? or FFXI

Minimum

Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista
Pentium 800 MHz or equivalent
256 MB or more of RAM
3.6 GB free HD space
4x CD-ROM drive
DirectX v9.0c
56 kbit/s or faster Internet connection
Recommended

Pentium 1.0 GHz or equivalent
512 MB RAM
3.6 GB free HD space
4x CD-ROM drive
DirectX v9.0c



Pentium III 800 Mhz CPU, Windows 2000/XP, 128 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, DirectX 8.1, Nvidia GeForce or ATI Radeon 9000 or higher, 8.5 GB free hard drive space. Internet (TCP/IP) connection required.


I also want a computer ready for Starcraft II. I want to modify my computer for Archlord and SCII but at a budget of $200-$300. $400 if I had to.

Anything you can buy now can play sc2, as long as it actually has a graphics card, and isn't a really crappy one (8400 comes to mind, but even that might be able to run it).

Archlord and FFXI look to be incredibly easy to play, if that really is all that is needed. You'll have a hard time FINDING a processor with less than 1.2 GHz.

Blizzard has said they are trying to keep older hardware in the loop for SC2. They've stated that they are trying to support Radeon 9800 or better, and I think the Geforce 5800. That means that most new hardware should be able to play SC2 at some level.

Where is the best place to buy a pre-made gaming computer for a decent price?

http://www.dell.com/
Go buy the inspiron 530, then go buy an hd4850 from newegg and stick it in there. It requires no special knowledge of computers, other than how to match a shape. The one I looked at was $469 for everything but monitor (integrated video, which you'll replace with the hd 4850).

Why are you so scared of making it yourself? The only way you'll get a halfway decent gaming computer for under $400 is if you make it yourself. Ex has posted plenty of builds in the numerous threads around here. You really can't go wrong.

You really cant without getting stiffed in some area. Dell uses some of the shittiest motherboards known to man. I hold firm in the belief that if you can play with legos you can build a computer. If you want me to make you a parts read out for a price range, I will.

My brother got someone to build his computer, and the guy essentially charged him $120 to put it together. The PSU/case was free, the motherboard/ram/cpu was ~$80, and he paid the guy $200 to buy everything and assemble it.

Right, if you know a local tech that works out, I'm one myself, but it all depends on if you know someone. As I said, Dell skimps on mobos as well as RAM.

It is cause I am trying to get a laptop, which is a maybe. So Dell is a great laptop seller?

Are you blind or do you just not read my posts? DO NOT BUY DELL. And if you HAVE to go with a laptop, that's going to be tough. It's hard to find a good laptop for under 800$ IMO.

I should've posted this a while ago.
Thinkpads are excellent.

I don't remember mentioning anything about laptops under $800 in this topic. And so far from what I read Dell XPS is one of the best general laptops.

What are you talking about Excalibur. Dell's desktops suck but they make like the best Laptops (that is if you got money to blow) go find me another major brand that offers a light weight laptop that has 1680x1050 or higher resolution. With a laptop motherboard...they will always suck compared to a desktop (but like dell xps layout is like the best I have ever seen)
hmm i want to post pictures of my laptop