Its that time to upgrade.........need a new PC

[Greatkiller]

Hi,
Looks like it now time to upgrade since I still have a pentium 4 2.2 ghz that is getting old. Im looking to build a new rig now that new games like unreal 3 and crysis are coming out. Im currently cant make a choice between intel and AMD. The thing that I do see is price difference which currently I'm on a budget. What do you guys think?

 

[smokehouse]

Well, here comes my standard answer....

Get an Mac...
















Any kind will be fine...

 

[SpamYouToDeath]

Intel seems to be faster on the very high end models. Otherwise go AMD.

 

[OrochiEddie]

What kind of budget are we talking here?

 

[BoriquaSNK]

I'd go with an Intel, their chips are simply the best right now.

Stay away from ATI if you're building your own rig. Try and invest in a case that incorporates hot swappable drives.

If your budget allows, seriously consider an iMac or Mac Pro.

 

[abasuto]

AMDX2-5600(dualcore)+motherboard+2gigs DDR2-800 memory = $400

(cheaper if you deal with an offbrand motherboard )

8800GTX = $550
8800GTS = $300
2900XT = $425

(the GTS will not let you run Crysis in DX10)
(the 2900XT benchmarks stronger than the GTS, but weaker than the GTX )

Also a safe bet to upgrade to a 600Watt power supply and a case with good cooling, especially if you go with the GTX or the 2900XT.

 

[Late]

Amd blows, intel all the way.

 

[abasuto]

Mac Pro.

A $2500 MacPro only comes with a 7300. He would be running Crysis on the lowest settings (not that Crysis or Unreal3 will probably ever see a Mac version ). Face it, Macs are not designed for gaming, something he mentioned he's out to do with a new set up.

 

[BoriquaSNK]

A $2500 MacPro only comes with a 7300. He would be running Crysis on the lowest settings (not that Crysis or Unreal3 will probably ever see a Mac version ). Face it, Macs are not designed for gaming, something he mentioned he's out to do with a new set up.

You're right, they weren't designed for gaming, but there are 4 PCI Express slots on the Mac Pro, if its within his budget (probably not), then it could make a great gaming machine.

He could throw XP Pro or Vista on a Bootcamp drive and go all the way. I know it's probably completely out of his budget, but hey, he didn't say he wanted the machine exclusively for gaming...and if he has more versatile computing needs the choice is clear.

If its within your budget, and you're currently looking at premade but upgradeable workstations like your XPS's, Mac Pros, Voodoos, and Alienware, then Mac Pro is the best choice among them.

Just a suggestion.

 

[kernow]

I built a 4GB quad core machine with 24" monitor for about half the price of a mac pro last week, two actually.

 

[abasuto]

I'd almost feel sorry for someone if they spent $3000 on a Mac set up that still only sported dual 7300's. Seriously, those cards can be had for 50 bucks now. They're bottom tier 7 series.

I've always wondered why Macs stay so far behind in the video card department. For $2500, they should atleast come with a 8800GTX. I was impressed (and shocked) to learn the new iMacs sport a ATI 2600.

 

[Nesagwa]

You're right, they weren't designed for gaming, but there are 4 PCI Express slots on the Mac Pro, if its within his budget (probably not), then it could make a great gaming machine.

He could throw XP Pro or Vista on a Bootcamp drive and go all the way. I know it's probably completely out of his budget, but hey, he didn't say he wanted the machine exclusively for gaming...and if he has more versatile computing needs the choice is clear.

If its within your budget, and you're currently looking at premade but upgradeable workstations like your XPS's, Mac Pros, Voodoos, and Alienware, then Mac Pro is the best choice among them.

Just a suggestion.

There arent any good video cards for the MacPro beyond the FX 4500 (which is very expensive, requires dual DVI, and not even top of the line.) Period.

If you want to play next years games (Crysis, which has really stupid high specs), just build a cheap generic rig and dont worry about it.

 

[ki_atsushi]

There's ways to flash the firmware on PC video cards to make them work on Macs. I have a Radeon X800 XT (a card that was never made for the Mac platform) in the G4 that I'm selling in the selling forums right now. There's people out there making custom BIOSes for the good cards, I'm sure.

 

[abasuto]

There's ways to flash the firmware on PC video cards to make them work on Macs. I have a Radeon X800 XT (a card that was never made for the Mac platform) in the G4 that I'm selling in the selling forums right now. There's people out there making custom BIOSes for the good cards, I'm sure.

I saw your selling thread and was wondering how you had that machine running a X800XT. Looks like a nice set up.

 

[ki_atsushi]

I saw your selling thread and was wondering how you had that machine running a X800XT. Looks like a nice set up.

There's a guy on eBay who flashes these cards with a Mac BIOS, it was kind of expensive ($230 after shipping iirc), but it gives over 10x the performance of the nVidia Ti 4200 128 MB card that was in it before. You can actually run Doom 3 well on a G4!

 

[Greatkiller]

Thanks for the response. I will keep looking and mabe go AMD. Ive always gone intel but something is telling me to go AMD. Mabe the $$ Im saving?

 

[BoriquaSNK]

There's a guy on eBay who flashes these cards with a Mac BIOS, it was kind of expensive ($230 after shipping iirc), but it gives over 10x the performance of the nVidia Ti 4200 128 MB card that was in it before. You can actually run Doom 3 well on a G4!

Wow, are you serious?

I need to start messing around with my Dad's powermac...

 

[DanAdamKOF]

Thanks for the response. I will keep looking and mabe go AMD. Ive always gone intel but something is telling me to go AMD. Mabe the $$ Im saving?

Honestly, I'd wait and save up to get a nice C2D. I have a X2 3800+ at 2.0ghz stock on my XP desktop, and a C2D in my laptop, running fucking VISTA, with half a gig less of ram, slower hard drive, and running at the same clock speed, and it smokes my X2.

This is coming from ME. DANADAMKOF SAYS TO SPEND MORE MONEY. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.

 

[Greatkiller]

The thing is though, if I save I was thinking of getting the intel quad Q6600 but not sure what you guys think

 

[abasuto]

There's a guy on eBay who flashes these cards with a Mac BIOS, it was kind of expensive ($230 after shipping iirc), but it gives over 10x the performance of the nVidia Ti 4200 128 MB card that was in it before. You can actually run Doom 3 well on a G4!

Can he flash any card..ie...if you sent it to him ?

I've got an older power mac that's still sapped with a 128Rage. If he could get a 7 series nVidia or a 9800 to work in it then it would be a quality backup machine.

The lack of affordable video cards available is why I gave up on using it.

 

[P00t]

Once you go Mac, you never go back.

 

[abasuto]

Once you go Mac, you never go back.

I actually went PC after 5 years of only Macs.

95% of this decision came down to gaming.

I still miss OSX

 

[ki_atsushi]

Can he flash any card..ie...if you sent it to him ?

I've got an older power mac that's still sapped with a 128Rage. If he could get a 7 series nVidia or a 9800 to work in it then it would be a quality backup machine.

The lack of affordable video cards available is why I gave up on using it.

I haven't asked if he would do custom jobs, but he probably would. And I have seen both Radeon 9800's and nVidia 7900s flashed for Mac on eBay. There's a few sellers on there doing it, I believe the seller I bought it from was named mac_genius or something like that. There's a guy from Hong Kong offering a lot of nVidia 7800/7900's, but... he's from Hong Kong. I didn't want to buy off of him.

BTW, I wouldn't bother with a Radeon 9800, the X800 smokes it. The X800 is more on par with the nVidia series 7.

 

[ki_atsushi]

Wow, are you serious?

I need to start messing around with my Dad's powermac...

I was exaggerating a bit about the 10x faster thing, but I really can run doom 3 on high settings at a decent resolution. My openmark score went from ~4000 to over 15,000. So about 3x more performance with the upgrade.

BTW, here's a link to a really good modded card: http://cgi.ebay.com/MAC-NVIDIA-GEFORCE-7800-XT-256MB-G4-G5-VIDEO-CARD-x800_W0QQitemZ250181444172QQihZ015QQcategoryZ25449QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem