Author Topic: Back in the saddle (Read 312 times)

Bino · « **on:** December 27, 2003, 09:58:54 AM »

Greetings, all!

With the advent of the post-xmas computer prices, I have been authorized by the Ministry of Finance (AKA She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed) to refurb the four-year-old homebuilt box I previously used for... ahem... that other flight sim.

Where's the price/performance sweet spot these days?

I'm thinking that I'll need a mobo, RAM, and power supply at the very least. But here's what I'd prefer to retain :

Adaptec 2940U2W SCSI-2 controller card
Seagate "Cheetah" 18Gb 10K-RPM drive
Abit Siluro GF4 Ti 4400 128 Mb video card
Creative Soundblaster Live+ sound card

I've got a nice big ATX full tower cabinet that's well and truly festooned with fans, so I'll be keeping that, too.

Oh, and I'll be in the market for USB controllers, as well.

Any and all advice and opinion gratefully accepted.

mold · « **Reply #1 on:** December 27, 2003, 11:08:36 AM »

How much of a budget has been authorized?

In addition to MB/CPU/PS, I'd upgrade the video card. ATI 9800 if you can afford it.

DAVENRINO · « **Reply #2 on:** December 27, 2003, 01:25:37 PM »

The basic components in my sig are Great AMD bang for buck cause most are able to hit 3200+ speed even on air, though a lot noisier,as long as they don't scimp too much on RAM Quality. Intel 2.6 or 2.8 also oc well for a few dollars more than AMD.

ChasR · « **Reply #3 on:** December 29, 2003, 10:22:23 AM »

When I set out to build computers with the most bang for the buck, this is what I settled on:

Motherboard    Abit    NF7-S    $103.42
CPU   AMD   Athlon XP 2500+    $88.00
Memory 512MB   Corsair   twinx512 3200LL    $132.00
Graphics Card   ATI    9600 Pro    $149.41

It was a toss up on the mobo between the abit and the asus a7n8x-deluxe. Today I'd probably go with the asus board @ $110. The 2500+ will overclock to 200x10.5 with the stock cpu cooler and stay below 45 degrees (assumes good case airflow). You can save a lot with cheaper memory if you don't want to overclock. Be sure to buy two sticks to utilize DDR. Prices are a couple of months old but are still in the ballpark.

Wanker · « **Reply #4 on:** December 29, 2003, 10:34:49 AM »

Hey Bino! It's -baxl- from Warbirds. Glad to see you are trying AH again.

I just re-opened my Warbirds account, so we're both trying an old love, eh?

I would also recommend upgrading from the Siluro Ti-4400, especially since AH2 is just around the corner. Buy the biggest, baddest video card you can afford. AH2 will utilize every bit of video card you can throw at it. I have the 128MB Radeon 9800 Pro and even that is sucked up with glee by AH2 if I crank up the res to 1600x1200x32 with 6X FSAA and 16X AF.

Pfunk · « **Reply #5 on:** December 29, 2003, 11:38:08 AM »

Dump the GF4 and get a Radeon 9600Pro or 9600XT and like others said if you can afford the 9800Pro get that. Get an XP2500+ that will easily overclock to 2Ghz or higher, and ASUS AN78X deluxe mobo, some Corsair,Kingston HyperX,or Mushkin Memory and a case with good airflow.

Bino · « **Reply #6 on:** December 29, 2003, 10:10:00 PM »

Thanks very much, mold, davenrino, chasr, banana/baxl, and pfunk!

I had hoped to keep the Siluro, but I do hail from the "too much is not enough" school. I've a bit more research to do, but I'll keep y'all in the loop.

Later!