[Flumpus]

Well, after alot of headaches caused by dumb tech support people, my computer is working (no thanks to them).

There was another thread about my motherboard a while back, and I did get a new one... Still didn't work so they told me to get a power supply, then they told me to get another processor... Anyway, I did end up getting another power supply (good I guess, it's better than the old one), but not a new proc, and it's magically working. I'm very excited

Although I think my video card is the bottleneck now (Radeon 7200...the original 64mb model), so I may be in the market for a new one soon

 

[acidtripwow]

I've been in the computer support field since 1986 and have come to one conclusion...computers suck!

 

[Flumpus]

I agree

I think with me playing computer games less and less (although that may change now that my new one works) I should probably just save up and get a mac or somethin'... I was lookin' at the new iMac the other day, and have to admit, its a very functional design. I really liked it. I'd just have to get used to Mac OSX and stuff... although probably wouldn't be any harder than gettin' used to Win XP, it's really different.

 

[Mumrik]

Quote:

Originally posted by acidtripwow I've been in the computer support field since 1986 and have come to one conclusion...computers suck!

I'd say, having to help other people with their computers can suck...



Quote:

Originally posted by Flumpus I agree I think with me playing computer games less and less (although that may change now that my new one works) I should probably just save up and get a mac or somethin'... I was lookin' at the new iMac the other day, and have to admit, its a very functional design. I really liked it. I'd just have to get used to Mac OSX and stuff... although probably wouldn't be any harder than gettin' used to Win XP, it's really different.

If you play games less and less, maybe you should think about trying out one of those new stylish bare bones solutions, like Shuttle's SV-24 (and their upcoming P4 and AXP solutions) or Soldam's Polo or Pandora...
It's a very very small aluminum case with a motherboard with integrated sound, graphics, NIC etc.... The newer models actually have desent sound and one or two PCI ports (this is the biggest handicap. Performance video cards for PCI are hard to find) and room for 1-2 harddrive and 1-2 5 1/4 drives..

If you need a pretty and small PC (doesn't nessesarily prevent it from being a powerhouse), this is an interesting option...

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Flumpus There was another thread about my motherboard a while back, and I did get a new one...

Flumpus, which motherboard did you finally get? Or did you get a replacement Asus P4B266?

 

[Flumpus]

I got another P4B266...and I really like it now that it's working. Nice mobo.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Flumpus I got another P4B266...and I really like it now that it's working. Nice mobo.

Like many other Asus motherboards, I think the P4B266 can operate in either "jumperless" or "jumpered" mode. Some other motherboards offer only "jumperless" mode, while a few have reverted to requiring jumper settings. And most are of a hybrid "jumperless/jumpered" setup; that is, they require jumper settings for FSB speed and BIOS setup for multiplier (multiplier setting is irrelevant with recent "legitimate" CPUs) - or vice versa.

As for performance, the Intel 845D chipset - which the P4B266 is based on - can vary quite widely; the P4B266 is one of the better performers (it performs about as fast as some of the slower-performing i850 chipset/RDRAM combos), while the Intel D845BG mobo is one of the crappiest performers in the i845D class (it - with DDR266 RAM - barely outperforms the same company's D845WN mobo with PC133 SDRAM).

 

[ai0tron]

I had a problem with my computer crashing whenever my video card had to work to hard, turns out it was my power supply pooping out, got a new supply, things are back to normal!!

Yippee!

The main reason pcs have so much trouble is that the parts are all made by different companies. Thats the beauty of it. Macs are crappy in that if there were as many macs as there are pcs only a handfull of companies would benefit. I can buy a mother board from like 10 different companies, and cpu from 3 different companies, (not that id even consider cyrix except to upgrade an old 486), hard drives from various companies, etc etc. When it comes to macs, you gotta contact apple for the big things, especially with imacs. Those things arent user upgradeable except for the small port underneath for memory.

Pcs are free enterprise at its best.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Flumpus Although I think my video card is the bottleneck now (Radeon 7200...the original 64mb model), so I may be in the market for a new one soon

I have the same video card, too (Radeon 7200 64MB DDR VIVO). But now, the GeForce4 series cards are out - well, some of them. If you do buy a GeForce4, don't get the MX### series; they don't fully support DirectX 8.# in hardware (DirectX 8.1 is the current release). And the GeForce4 Ti4600 - at $400 - is waaaaaay too expensive for most people. The retail price of the Radeon 8500 has dropped to about $200 (yep, that's at retail superstores). It's the best choice for most people right now, better than the GeForce3 Ti200 (which is only slightly less expensive). Better still, wait another month for the GeForce4 Ti4200, which will sell at retail for the same price as the Radeon 8500 currently sells for.

 

[Flumpus]

I was actually thinking about getting the Ti4600... I know it's alot of money, but if I buy the best now it might last me a while (probably not, who am I kidding)

 

[Eagle_Driver]

One more thing, Flumpus:

That original 64MB Radeon 7200 DDR still whoops many of the GeForce2 chips - especially the GeForce2 MX### series that comes with nearly all of the retail-superstore-bought Pentium 4 desktops.

 

[Flumpus]

Oh I know...and it wouldn't be a problem if I didn't have a 21" monitor. I need to play at high resolutions or it looks bad, and with current games, I think with all the details all the way up my video card is my bottleneck. Now, something like Medal of Honor is still very playable and georgeous at 1024x768, I just think I could get alot more out of it with a better video card... Plus I could slap the Radeon back in my old P3 500@560

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Flumpus I need to play at high resolutions or it looks bad, and with current games, I think with all the details all the way up my video card is my bottleneck.

Well, I'm in the market for a new graphics card... NOW. You see, Microsoft Train Simulator is barely playable on my Radeon 7200 64MB DDR VIVO card at 1024x768 resolution at 32-bit color (and that's with an AMD Athlon XP 1600+ processor-based system), and lowering the color depth to 16-bit color doesn't improve frame rates at all whatsoever. (Train Simulator allows me to display the frame rate during the simulation.) As a result, I had no choice but to lower the resolution to 800x600 - and then that lower resolution made my simulation look crappy!

Since I can't wait for a GeForce4 Ti4200, and I have $200 maximum to spend on a graphics card, which is the best choice?

1. Radeon 8500
2. GeForce3 Ti200
3. GeForce4 MX440 (but DirectX 8.# support in hardware is incomplete)

Feel free to give your opinion.

 

[ai0tron]

Alright heres the deal

ATI SUCKS

GE-Force MX is fast but really SUCKS at hi res.

GE force standard is always a better choice than the MX imo. Just spend extra if you have too.

my best buy award goes to the Geforce 3 ti 500 at this moment.

I have the plain jane geforce 3, it rocks quake 3 all the way up to 1600x1200.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by ai0tron my best buy award goes to the Geforce 3 ti 500 at this moment.

But not if I have to pay much more than $300 on a card based on that chip. Remember, I have only $200 to spend, and I need a card now. And based on my crappy-paying job, I couldn't get a better job (all of the higher-paying jobs require years of experience in the same field of employment, which I don't have anywhere near those requirements).