1/ You need to have a network card in each and two cat5 netwrok cables, and either a network hub OR a Cat5 crossover cable (and dump the two cat5 ordinary cables) Step by step instructions found on the web if you search for \"home networking\"
2/Good chip, not enough software around to exploit its features yet. If you are into gaming specify a fast video card - dont bother with 256mb on the video card it cant all be used so go for a 128mb
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dont bother with 256mb on the video card it cant all be used so go for a 128mb
That definitely used to be the case, but it's not quite so clear-cut now. The problem was that third party manufacturers based their boards on the reference one, but put substandard memory on with a relatively low access speed. This, in conjunction with older AGP buses, meant that you couldn't get the chips filled up before the lags became noticeable and so the extra memory was barely used. In some cases though you could cache the entire texture set for a level (for example), especially with S3 texturing, so you did see a noticeable difference in specific applications.
Now manufacturers are specifying much faster ram on the cards, and there are also the newer faster DDR standard and improved multi channel memory architectures to be taken into account. 256Mb on your video card is now an extremely useful thing to have, especially if you want to futureproof your purchase to some degree against Half-Life 2, Doom 3 and the next generation of hardware intensive game engines.
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Only true if you want to run games at resolutions greater that 1280 x 1024 (like 1600 x1200) - Its nothing to do with speed or anything else, purely down to the number of pixels that need to be addressed - ie screen size
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You have to draw a distinction between screenbuffer memory and texture/geometry storage though. You could technically store enough data to draw a 1600x1200x32 screen in under 10mb, but that's just pixel colour values rather than the data used to create them.
As an illustration, you could imagine that an FPS game level could use 50-80Mb of texture data alongside another 20Mb or so of model data, and then the space to process and shuffle stuff around - if you can cram as much stuff as possible into this space in advance then you're reducing the need for transfers between system and video memory and therefore helping to reduce display lag. This becomes even more important as you ramp the screen refresh rate to the level where you're drawing more screen data per second than you could possibly transfer into the video memory (which I think might be where you're coming from).
Bandwidth is always the killer rather than processor speed (which is why you can boost most memory cards far more by overclocking the memory than the core) so the extra local video memory helps to get the crunching out of the way in times of low demand.
Apologies if I've got the wrong end of the stick here - I've had a day off today, largely away from computers (for a change) so I'm not firing on all memory chips ;)
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If you are thinking of buying a third PC soon, go for the \'hub\' networking option rather than the crossover cable PC - PC) option. Hub has \'expandability\', crossover cable does not (easily).
My local B&Q Superstore has a \'Home Networking\' section, with \'how to do it\' and #what you need\' guides all around. Their prices are better than PC World too! :)
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Phoenicks - if you\'re the kind of person who upgrades your PC regularly, the Athlon64 is worth going for. I wouldn\'t pay much of a premium for it over an ordinary Athlon, but if it\'s available and you\'re spending the money anyway, it\'s well worth considering. Probably not worth more than £30-£50 more than an equivalent speed rating Athlon.
I also agree with what RF says about video cards. I have a Radeon 9600 Pro with 128MB in my two year old, 1.8GHz Compaq PC and it will probably outperform a 3GHz P4 with a slow card in most games. My 9600 Pro only cost me £80 including VAT.
If you can choose the exact specification you want from your supplier, then it\'s worth doing - or even consider building it yourself.
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If you do buy a regular athlon, dont think you can upgrade to a 64 later, you cant without changing the motherboard.
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In answer to no/2 if you get it it will make it future proof for a good time.As for gaming do get a good card more memory/faster processor the better.as games get more mem hungry at least the card will take the strain off your main mem.giving better graphics and seemless playing ie no freezing.even slightest amount of freezing is annoying slows the game down.
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Thanks for all your responses, and well, i didnt realise it would raise such aresponse!
I'm buying it because my old computers getting a little bit past it and cant handle the newest games. So i'll be getting rid of the old system.
I dont want to upgrade the existing system because: a) its an athlon 650 and i'd have to change literally everything & b) its nice to have a change!
I've had my old system for 4 years and i tend to keep PC's for a while and i'm not much of a 'continual upgrader' - i'd rather buy one that will be ok (future-proofed) for the coming 3-5 years - hence the Athlon 64 chip as i understand that they are bringing out software specifically for it over the coming years. I also want a graphics card/memory that will serve me well for the coming years and not have me wanting another one within a year.
Regards building one, I've looked at the cost of the chip, motherboard, memory, graphics card and more specifically the TFT screen and it seems the package deals by someone like Mesh, Evesham etc dont seem a whole lot more of a cost than building it myself - based on a £300 + monitor being included in the package. Also i have someone else to shout at if it goes wrong!
Is there much difference between the Athlon 64 and the Pentium 4 chip?
Any other tips gratefully received.
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Re the Athlon64 and the pentium. yes price. The nearest pentium that comes close to the athlon64 (pentium 3.4ee I think) is HUGELY expnsive in comparison. Now is not a good time to buy a Pentium they are changing the fabrication and the pin design as we speak ready for the next generation.
Personally I am waiting a bit befor my next upgrade, because I always stick with Intel, but for you I would not hesitate in saying buy an athlon 64 and you wont be disapointed, specify the best graphics card you can afford.
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Thanks RF - i wasnt sure but kinda confirmed my thoughts.
Anyone got any tips on grpahics cards? The ATI Radeon 9xxx series looks good, but anyone got any thoughts on the Geeforce 5XXX series cards?
I'll certainly post my prospective purchase on here when i decide to see what you guys think.
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Not a huge issue. I went for a Radeon because it offered more bang for my buck, but if you're not a gamer or into other 3D work, I can't see any huge benefit in going for one or the other. I play the occasional game, particularly racing - if I were building a general purpose system, I'd probably put in a Radeon 9600SE (about £50 for the card) but if you're comparing pre-built systems with different make cards, I wouldn't really be too concerned.
FX5200 cards are quite slow, the 9200SE isn't great either, but anything higher (except possibly an FX5600, which is expensive for what it is) will be fine for you. If you're just using standard Windows applications, almost anything will do though.
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Just had a leaflet stuffed through the door detailing an incredibly hi-spec system based on the AMD 64 3200 with 1gbRAM, 200gbHD, ATI 128mb 9800, TV card, DVD rw, and *lots* of etceteras.
It's £799 (w/o monitor) and only possible drawback is that it's made by Time, who, IIRC do not have a stunning reputation.
Website at www.thecomputershop.co.uk
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Just had a look at the website and that model is NOT listed yet - the leaflet says "offer starts 29th April for 3 days" so maybe it's not going to appear on the site until then.
The leaflet also says "broadband and network ready, 10/100 Abit"
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Hi DavidHM,
I am interested in buying a new PC and know a fair bit about computers from my IT background. I unfortunately dont know enough to be able to pick and choose the right components to build a PC. I would appreciate if you could help me put one together. If thats OK with you, I'll send you a mail with that I am looking for.
THanks
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>>know enough to be able to pick and choose the right components to build a PC. I would appreciate if you could help me put one together.
amol:
go to www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml
and search for articles by
Rick Maybury
Bootcamp 322: build your own PC, part two
(Filed: 21/04/2004)
Bootcamp 321: build your own PC - part one
Bootcamp 320: Linux - part three
Bootcamp 319: Linux - part two
Bootcamp 318: Linux - what's it all about?
Bootcamp 317: power perils
Bootcamp 316: spring clean and upgrade, part four
Bootcamp 315: spring clean and upgrade, part three
Bootcamp 314: spring clean and upgrade, part two
Bootcamp 313: spring clean and upgrade, part one
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Check out www.pcpro.co.uk they tell you about the new nVidia geforce 6800 ultra thats apparently coming out in may.looks good
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If you're into self building, take a look at:
www.hoojum.com/
Wow wow and thrice wow.
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Yes the gforce 6800 ultra is *the* latest and greatest video card and it really does zoooooooooom and beats any ATi
However, its very very power hungry (needs two power inputs), its going to be very expensive and very hard to get for a few months till the makers ramp up, and there are problems with the windows drivers at the moment. Best stick with a good radeon for the moment,
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Ok I didnt mention that RF but as its power is what it says I reckon it will do well with gamers.and apparently the article I read about it said it was a pre production model says it may be better.on release.As I recall most new graphics cards had driver problems before release.So I doubt in this case 6800 ultra will have any probs.And ps I dont dissagree with what you said.Time will tell.
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