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I'm trying to get my hands on a PC and have very little idea of what all the phrases like 1300 MHz CPU or 48 x 40 x 12 Cd writer.
So if you could give a me a some general computer terms with an explanation, then you would make me the happiest duck in town.
Thank you.
So if you could give a me a some general computer terms with an explanation, then you would make me the happiest duck in town.
Thank you.
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Hey, Thegerrid, you got MSN? If yes, add me at [email protected]!
I'm currently playing Grand Prix 4 (obviously). Hopefully, I can get Mafia before it is officially released...so I can laugh in all your faces :-)
I'm currently playing Grand Prix 4 (obviously). Hopefully, I can get Mafia before it is officially released...so I can laugh in all your faces :-)
I ordered it too. I can't wait neither, although I am currently absorbed in Operation Flashpoint: Resistance. Brilliance, pure brilliance.
Thegerrid wrote:
> hmmmmm. 30fps isn't that impressive. A high end machine can get over
> 100fps on Quake III. But maybe you were being sarcastic. I hope so.
:-D
I limit my fps...but, yeah, sarcasm dude. I dunno how much I get, but I'm going off to play now, so I'll see. I can't wait for Mafia to come out. I should get it on the release date, with it being my GAD. That will hopefully put my monster machine to the limits...:-D
> hmmmmm. 30fps isn't that impressive. A high end machine can get over
> 100fps on Quake III. But maybe you were being sarcastic. I hope so.
:-D
I limit my fps...but, yeah, sarcasm dude. I dunno how much I get, but I'm going off to play now, so I'll see. I can't wait for Mafia to come out. I should get it on the release date, with it being my GAD. That will hopefully put my monster machine to the limits...:-D
hmmmmm. 30fps isn't that impressive. A high end machine can get over 100fps on Quake III. But maybe you were being sarcastic. I hope so.
Thegerrid wrote:
> For Your Graphics card, you may want to go a little bit alternative,
> and get a Radeon. The 7500 is a decent budget card, and the 8500 is
> more highend, equaling a Geforce 3.
I have an ATI Radeon 8500, and I can safely say that if you download the correct drivers (www.ati.com), you PC will be top notch. My PC is a Pentium 4 1.7 Ghz with Radeon 8500...so, you can imagine the frame rate I get for leading titles such as Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4. 30 or so...amazing stuff.
> For Your Graphics card, you may want to go a little bit alternative,
> and get a Radeon. The 7500 is a decent budget card, and the 8500 is
> more highend, equaling a Geforce 3.
I have an ATI Radeon 8500, and I can safely say that if you download the correct drivers (www.ati.com), you PC will be top notch. My PC is a Pentium 4 1.7 Ghz with Radeon 8500...so, you can imagine the frame rate I get for leading titles such as Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 4. 30 or so...amazing stuff.
For Your Graphics card, you may want to go a little bit alternative, and get a Radeon. The 7500 is a decent budget card, and the 8500 is more highend, equaling a Geforce 3.
If you squeeze your budget (settle for 20GB HDD, cheap sound card, rubbish speakers0 you could probably get a Geforce Ti 4200, which is well worth it, and you will see the difference in your games, but make sure you get at least 256MB of RAM, because that is soon to be the recommended amount of RAM for most games.
On the motherboard front, whatever processor you choose, it will come with an appropriate motherboard, but make sure that you can get all of the RAM you want on there, and also that it is USB2 capable, because if it isn't then you will have to upgrade sooner or later if you want to use newer digital/video cameas etc.
A good option for your processor would be to go for the new Intel Celeron. By lowering the cache of a P4, they have created a cheaper version that goes up to 1.7Ghz. This is a fantastic budget option as you will be getting more power for less, unless you want to really push your PC, you wouldn't notice up to 1.4 anyway.
This new processor option will be coming out soon, so you might want to consider it.
If you squeeze your budget (settle for 20GB HDD, cheap sound card, rubbish speakers0 you could probably get a Geforce Ti 4200, which is well worth it, and you will see the difference in your games, but make sure you get at least 256MB of RAM, because that is soon to be the recommended amount of RAM for most games.
On the motherboard front, whatever processor you choose, it will come with an appropriate motherboard, but make sure that you can get all of the RAM you want on there, and also that it is USB2 capable, because if it isn't then you will have to upgrade sooner or later if you want to use newer digital/video cameas etc.
A good option for your processor would be to go for the new Intel Celeron. By lowering the cache of a P4, they have created a cheaper version that goes up to 1.7Ghz. This is a fantastic budget option as you will be getting more power for less, unless you want to really push your PC, you wouldn't notice up to 1.4 anyway.
This new processor option will be coming out soon, so you might want to consider it.
Jimmy Duck wrote:
> I'm trying to get my hands on a PC and have very little idea of what
> all the phrases like 1300 MHz CPU or c Cd writer.
>
>
> So if you could give a me a some general computer terms with an
> explanation, then you would make me the happiest duck in town.
>
>
>
>
> Thank you.
I'm not a computer buff, but I did buy a PC recently so I'll try and help. The foloowing may not be correct, so please put me right if I am wrong. Also where I have put recommendations, it is just my opinion.
Processeor (CPU)
This is what drives your PC and makes it work. A faster Processor will mean your computer runs faster. Usually made either by Intel or AMD. Intel processers tend to be more reliable while AMD processers are cheaper and often run faster for equivalent GHz. Top end processors these days are getting above 2GHz (2000MHz). I wouldn't go any less that 1GHz (1000MHz), but try and get the fastest processer you can for your budget. I recommend gettoing an AMD processer.
RAM:
RAM is random access memory. This is like the computers short term memory. It gives your PC room to juggle things around. Anything stored in the RAM is lost when you turn of your computer. My computer has 512 (I think) Mb DDR RAM. THe DDR bit means that the RAM is duel so you have twice as much (Kind of). Try and get at leat 260Mb of RAM as more RAM will make your computer run lots faster. RAM is fairly cheap at the moment so you can always upgrade after you buy.
Hard Disk Drive (HDD):
This is the computers Long Term Memory, where software and your data are stored. It works in the same way as floppy disks do, but it is actually a couple of disks spinning very fast. You probably want at least 40GB of HDD. I have 80 and have managed to fill 30GB of that in the first three months. You can always upgrade your HDD at a later date.
Graphics Card:
You need a graphics card to run your moniter. Al graphics card can display 2D graphics such as those used by windows and applications, but if you want to play any computer games on your PV then you are going to need a 3D graphics card. I recommend getting a GForce 2 Ti for a budget card or a GForce 4 Ti for a better card. I have a GForce 4 MX which is a budget card, but It still copes with everything I throw at it.
Sound Card:
You need one of these if you want your PC to make noises! the only alternative is an on-board sound chip(which is what have, which make prove to be a cheaper alternative. You probably don't need a really expensive sound card unless you are really into playing about with music. You also need some speakers to go with your sound card. For a good sound on a budget I recomment getting 2.1 speaker (2 speakers and 1 sub-woofer). You can go to 4.1 or even 5.1, but that is a bit excessive for a home PC.
Motherboard:
I don't know much about this and its something best left to the experts. If you are going to buy a package PC you probably don't need to worry about this to much. just make sure it has enough PCI slots and UCB and Firewire ports for you needs.
CD/DVD - ROM:
CD-ROM drives read CD-ROMS, DVD-ROM drives read DVD-ROMS simple really. CD-RW drives will read and write CD-Rs and CD -RW
numbers like 48 x 40 x 12 are the read-write-rewrite spped of your CD-R drive. higher numbers mean it will read and write faster.
Try and get a computer with a DVD-ROM drive and a CD-RW drive. Don't worry too much about how fast it writes, they all write fairly fast.
Sorry if I have forgotton anything
The best advice I can give you is to buy some magazines such as What PC and Computer Shopper so you can see what is on offer at the moment and what sort of price things are going for. They will give you advice on what PC is best for you, and you can learn loads from them.
Hope this Helps
Ros
> I'm trying to get my hands on a PC and have very little idea of what
> all the phrases like 1300 MHz CPU or c Cd writer.
>
>
> So if you could give a me a some general computer terms with an
> explanation, then you would make me the happiest duck in town.
>
>
>
>
> Thank you.
I'm not a computer buff, but I did buy a PC recently so I'll try and help. The foloowing may not be correct, so please put me right if I am wrong. Also where I have put recommendations, it is just my opinion.
Processeor (CPU)
This is what drives your PC and makes it work. A faster Processor will mean your computer runs faster. Usually made either by Intel or AMD. Intel processers tend to be more reliable while AMD processers are cheaper and often run faster for equivalent GHz. Top end processors these days are getting above 2GHz (2000MHz). I wouldn't go any less that 1GHz (1000MHz), but try and get the fastest processer you can for your budget. I recommend gettoing an AMD processer.
RAM:
RAM is random access memory. This is like the computers short term memory. It gives your PC room to juggle things around. Anything stored in the RAM is lost when you turn of your computer. My computer has 512 (I think) Mb DDR RAM. THe DDR bit means that the RAM is duel so you have twice as much (Kind of). Try and get at leat 260Mb of RAM as more RAM will make your computer run lots faster. RAM is fairly cheap at the moment so you can always upgrade after you buy.
Hard Disk Drive (HDD):
This is the computers Long Term Memory, where software and your data are stored. It works in the same way as floppy disks do, but it is actually a couple of disks spinning very fast. You probably want at least 40GB of HDD. I have 80 and have managed to fill 30GB of that in the first three months. You can always upgrade your HDD at a later date.
Graphics Card:
You need a graphics card to run your moniter. Al graphics card can display 2D graphics such as those used by windows and applications, but if you want to play any computer games on your PV then you are going to need a 3D graphics card. I recommend getting a GForce 2 Ti for a budget card or a GForce 4 Ti for a better card. I have a GForce 4 MX which is a budget card, but It still copes with everything I throw at it.
Sound Card:
You need one of these if you want your PC to make noises! the only alternative is an on-board sound chip(which is what have, which make prove to be a cheaper alternative. You probably don't need a really expensive sound card unless you are really into playing about with music. You also need some speakers to go with your sound card. For a good sound on a budget I recomment getting 2.1 speaker (2 speakers and 1 sub-woofer). You can go to 4.1 or even 5.1, but that is a bit excessive for a home PC.
Motherboard:
I don't know much about this and its something best left to the experts. If you are going to buy a package PC you probably don't need to worry about this to much. just make sure it has enough PCI slots and UCB and Firewire ports for you needs.
CD/DVD - ROM:
CD-ROM drives read CD-ROMS, DVD-ROM drives read DVD-ROMS simple really. CD-RW drives will read and write CD-Rs and CD -RW
numbers like 48 x 40 x 12 are the read-write-rewrite spped of your CD-R drive. higher numbers mean it will read and write faster.
Try and get a computer with a DVD-ROM drive and a CD-RW drive. Don't worry too much about how fast it writes, they all write fairly fast.
Sorry if I have forgotton anything
The best advice I can give you is to buy some magazines such as What PC and Computer Shopper so you can see what is on offer at the moment and what sort of price things are going for. They will give you advice on what PC is best for you, and you can learn loads from them.
Hope this Helps
Ros
omg then i have to change my tagline
omg i have to change my tagline then
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