This past Thursday, my third computer system clocking in at just over 4 years and 1 month old died.
My father came home from work, turned the system on and loaded up Half-Life 2. He then started loading his saved game, and the system shut down on him akin to a power failure (the monitor and speakers stayed on). The system would no longer turn on, and once diagnosed, we found out the Mother Board and CPU were fried.
So, either Valve found a way to break my system for all my Valve bashing, or there was a power surge.
Anyway, I'm now working off my company laptop at home, however it seems I need to buy a new computer. I find it rather sad, though, as this is the first computer system to ever die on me; even my first system from 12 years ago is still running!
I started doing some shopping yesterday, and it looks like I can pick up an Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, 1 GB of DDRam, a nVidia GeForce 6600 with 256 MB of VRam, a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy, and Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition for only $775.00 plus tax, all pre-haggling! That's not a bad deal at all.
At present, I'm not going to bother getting a new monitor, speakers, or keyboard and mouse, just the tower.
I'll be able to download and try a bunch of new demos for games my previous system couldn't handle, and I'll also be able to try the PC version of Doom 3 and see how it looks in all its glory.
Question for you all though: What do you think of the above system specs? Should I go with one of the new Intel Core Duo's instead? Are there any issues with those right now being new tech? Should I also perhaps take a different video card? The GeForce 6600 is above mid-range right now, but that will change by end of year, I'm sure.
Oh, I might actually be able to pull my Ram out of my fried system and have it added to my new system. If so, I'll be at about 1.5 GB of DDRam! Now that would be something.
3 comments:
Well, those specs seem okay enough... The 3 gig from Intel really sux compared to the many AMD offerings though. But Intel HAS mentioned their new conroe will be coming out soon. But for now, AMD rulez! Their Athlon64's are cheaper AND perform better. Pair it with a good motherboard and your good to play anything for another year or so. Try getting a GeForce 7600 or Radeon X1600 for just a little more, and you should be good for at least two years.
1.5 Gb seems fine for RAM. Just the price - It seems a bit too high... Try eBay or NewEgg.
Try visiting hardwareanalysis.com, they're pretty good at answering questions
Gerald
(Stickfellow4u@yahoo.com)
mac, mac, mac, mac, mac mini, imac, macbookpro......i love mac. just heard they'll be liquid cooling the new ones.
I thought about going Mac, since I know them better than modern PC's now, however there are two issues with that:
1) Cost. Mac's are very pricey for there worth. You really pay for both the name and aesthetics.
2) Games. Many of my PC games are not Mac compatible, and thus would become coasters. Seeing as how I still play the odd PC game and I just got Half-Life 2 for my father, which is PC only...
At this point, I will be going with another PC.
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