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General discussion

Hypothetical Upgrade Situation

May 17, 2005 11:34PM PDT

I may have the opportunity to spend $700 on upgrades for my computer.

This is my current system:
2.4GHZ P4
1 GB ram
120GB hard drive
NVIDIA Geforce4 ti4600
19" XFLAT KDS Monitor
Logitech MX Laser Mouse
Creative Digital VCR TV tuner
LITE-ON LTR-401255 CD burner
matshita dvd-r/ram LF-D311
Boston 4.1 speakers
SoundBlaster Audigy Soundcard

Mainly what I like to do with my computer is edit digital video and play games like Sims 2, Half-Life 2, Doom 3, Far Cry.

I was thinking that more hard drive space would be helpful for video editing. I was also thinking about getting a better graphics card so those games would play better.

If you were in this situation, what would you buy? A bigger hard drive? better graphics card? An LCD monitor? Or something else?

Discussion is locked

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Well...
May 18, 2005 1:47AM PDT

You could go in any direction you want or feel after you get the video editing s/w what seems to be lacking. BUT, with all those goodies already present and possibility more comming or larger, then SERIOUSLY consider a larger wattage power supply from a decent namebrand. It is the foundation that all thos goodies get thier juice. FYI - You didn't provide what OS you have and possibly what type of pc you got, it makes a difference in any replies you may get.

tada -----Willy

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Hardware
May 18, 2005 2:01AM PDT

I am considering more hardware upgrades then software. I have Windows XP Home and I use Pinnacle Studio 9 for video editing. I didn't mention that I also already have a firewire port. My pc is a Gateway 700XL bought new 3 years ago.

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Power Supply
May 18, 2005 2:04AM PDT

Do I have to open up the towercase to find out what my power supply is?

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Visit Gateway support website
May 18, 2005 9:21AM PDT

You can visit Gateway's support website and type in your serial# and see what got shipped or at least your model# and see what the specs are. But, of course the quick way is to physically check your system p/s unit decal/sticker. Yours is "probably" an ATX12V type and getting a replacemnt should be a piece of cake. Wink But, it always makes sense to be sure what you have. Online websites provide pricing of all sorts, but *please* don't settle on cheap as that what you'll get and know it sooner or later.

adios -----Willy

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Soup it up for much less than $700
May 18, 2005 4:58AM PDT

IMO:
Your 2.8MHz processor, 1GB RAM is OK. A LCD monitor will not give a better response time than your current CRT, especially for gaming, unless you get a high dollar one, so don't expect any increase there. Your GeForce4 TI 4600 will play all the games you indicated (I have one and those games), however for improvement I would suggest you get a GeForce 6600GT AGP, cost $159 after rebate at NewEgg. It was originally designed for PCIe so for its extra power they usually furnish a molex cable connection to the mobo/internal power supply for the extra power. Yes, I would upgrade the power supply to at least 350W, perferrably to 400W+.

Increased hard drive space is always welcome for video editing. A couple weeks ago I purchased an external 80GB Western Digital, 7200RPM USB 2.0 hard drive from Circuit City, reduced from $120 to $69 after rebates. This week that same external hard drive is on sale for $50 after rebates. It plugs into regular 110V house current through a furnished converter. They also have a internal WD 160GB 7200RPM for $60 after rebates on sale this week.

Your PC may have the old slow USB 1.1. You can purchase a PCI USB 2.0 card for under $25.

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Spending all of $700
May 18, 2005 5:46AM PDT

Thanks, but I was wanting to know what kind of upgrades I can get for the total $700. What about the newer, more expensive graphics cards? How much is a 400W power supply?

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Re: ''Spending all of $700''
May 18, 2005 7:56AM PDT

Gee, that $700 must be burning a hole in your pocket. LOLWink Sounds like my grandson when he received money when graduation from high school. Course they didn't have computers when my kids went to college (they didn't waste their time playing PC games)...they wanted cars & wasted their time chasing girls/boys. Happy

OK, knock yourself out (at Newegg):
Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra = $419 - $489
Nvidia GeForce 6800GT = $294 - $392
Nvidia GeForce 6800 = $189 - $244 after rebates
Didn't show ATI cards as you currently have Nvidia..less problems by staying with Nvidia.

Check Tom's Hardware for how the cards perform.

Power Supply's:

Can get some cheap one's that may not be dependable, some powerful ones....real cheap:
Echo Star 450W for $12.95 or 580W for $18.50.
A-Power 500W for $17.95.

I favor Antec and/or Enermax. Some from Newegg:

Antec - 430W for $75
http://www.newegg.com/ProductSort/Category.asp?Category=32

Enermax EG 425W for $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103459

Can get higher priced one's, just do a search at Newegg for others.

Another that may be good:
Vantec - 400W Van -ION - 400B for around $53
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1180

Another place that people recommend:
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/index.htm

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Umm better idea here
May 21, 2005 9:04AM PDT

Not to diss nVidia (I love them), but currently the ati cards are more powerful. Use driver cleaner to get rid of the nvidia drivers and install omega drivers for ati (never go with stock drivers).
I would reccomend getting one of the Power supplies that John reccomended, but getting either an
Ati Radeon x800xl - 279 dollars vs a 6800GT
x850xt pe - around 450 dollars but about 10 percent faster than the 6800 ultra.

You should definitely upgrade you cpu since modern games are very cpu heavy about physics and sound and such.

I would reccomend an Athlon 64 (As they always beat a p4 in gaming)

Perhaps a new venice core Athlon 64 3000 - 4000+
Prices go from about 150 dollars to 500. I would reccomend buying an x800xl and overclocking it and buying an athlon 64 3500+ with the new venice core. Then of course you would have to get a new pci-express motherboard for socket 939. You'll be fine with any nforce 4 ulra motherboard from either Asus, MSI or Abit.

P.S. you will not have to buy new ram.

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Geforce4 ti4600
May 18, 2005 7:30AM PDT

This is off the topic, but you said you have a Geforce4 ti4600 and you play Doom 3 and Far Cry and Sims 2. What quality settings do you use in those games?

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Re: GeForce TI 4600
May 18, 2005 8:15AM PDT

Gee, I can't remember exactly how I put the setting when I first bought the card a couple years ago. Remember when the TI4600 came out it cost over $300. I purchased mine much later for around $175. Any way, the only thing I adjust is the Brightness and Gamma/Contrast on each new game I buy buy, which seems to hold for each game. Have had no problems with those games mentioned, however I'm sure the shading, smooth edges, and overall quality of color/contrast could be improved and I am thinking of getting the GeForce 6600GT AGP (within my current budget) until I next get a 'dual core' computer in the future.
Click on my name to see what computers I am currently '$ poor' in. Happy

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Ok...
May 18, 2005 8:43AM PDT

I would spend that money on
RAM (have 1 GB of PC3200 RAM)
Video Card (stick with Nvidia, atleast a 6600GT)
Sound Card (Creative SB Audigy 2)
Power Supply (400 Watt Antec or Enermax PS)
Harddrive (120 GB SATA HDD)

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Hypothetical Upgrade Situation
May 20, 2005 6:39AM PDT

Well for that amount and some carefull shopping you could get a complete computer that would be faster than you current one. John

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Fast vs. Powerful
May 21, 2005 12:32AM PDT

That's interesting. Can you give me an example of a faster $700 computer?

It seems to me that a computer can be fast at doing one thing or it can serve multiple purposes a little slower. For example, my current system is not completely optimized for gaming or video editing, but it serves both purposes pretty well.
Would you agree with that statement?

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Fast vs. Powerful
May 23, 2005 1:22AM PDT