upgrade advice

[Zopperoni]

Prices start at US$ 3,800: http://www.falcon-nw.com/fragbook2.asp

[Dracon II]

Hmm... too much

[ajbera]

1) Patch is coming next week, so wait until then to see how it improves performance.
2) Increase your RAM, RAM is always a good investment. At least double it, and 1 Gig ain't a bad idea.
3) New graphics card. An excellent, cheap (but old) card is the GeForce 4 Ti 4600 128 MB, you can get it on eBay for ~ $50. It's a surprisingly capable card (I don't know how well it'll run Civ4, but probably pretty well). If you can afford more, though, go for it.
4) If you're going to upgrade your processor, you'll likely have to get a new motherboard too, possibly a new case, and you should probably reinstall your OS.

[Nostromo]

I have a Radeon 9550 and the damn thing doesn't work. Since it was making my PC crash all the time, I had to remove it. I'm thinking of selling it and getting a GeForce 6600 GT instead. Its about the same price as the Radeon 9550 (around 200$ cdn), but it outperforms the Radeon 9800 PRO in most tests.

Dracon, buy a new video card and some extra ram and you should be OK. Buying a new CPU would be an overkill.

[Urban Ranger]

As I said, it depends on how much Dracon is willing to spend.

[Dracon II]

How's this for a PC deal:

- Pentium D830 w/ dual core tech. 3.0GHz

- Inkjet printer

- 2Gb RAM

- Optical USB mouse

- 250 Gb HD

- Dual drives 16X DVD rom & a 16X speed DVD RW

- 256 Mb Radeon video card (forget the exact model, but it's up there)

- 19" Ultrasharp Flat panel LCD monitor.

For 2,500 australian dollars.

[Nostromo]

Dracon, it depends of components. Is that a Dell system?

2 GB RAM is overkill, IMO

Why do you need two DVD drives, btw?

If you print mostly black and white text, get a laser printer instead: they're cheaper in the long run.

Does it come with Windows? If so, why don't you wait for Longhorn? That way, you'll also get a brand spanking new OS!

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Dracon II
- Pentium D830 w/ dual core tech. 3.0GHz

- Inkjet printer

- 2Gb RAM

- Optical USB mouse

- 250 Gb HD

- Dual drives 16X DVD rom & a 16X speed DVD RW

- 256 Mb Radeon video card (forget the exact model, but it's up there)

- 19" Ultrasharp Flat panel LCD monitor.

For 2,500 australian dollars.

If you are paying for dual core you should get AMD instead. Much better performance.

Doesn't say anything about the power supply, which is in fact a vital component.

Doesn't have any specs on the LCD monitor.

An inkjet printer is usually a bad idea, because the cost per page is high.

If you can't build your own computer I recommend you go to a local shop to pick and choose your components. They can put the box together for you. You may not pay less, but you will get components of much higher quality.

[Dracon II]

It's a Dell Dimension 9100.

2 GB RAM is overkill, IMO

When Civ V is released, it'll have paid for itself

Why do you need two DVD drives, btw?

One is a DVD burner. So I can copy DVDs.

If you print mostly black and white text, get a laser printer instead: they're cheaper in the long run.

The printer comes free.

If you are paying for dual core you should get AMD instead. Much better performance.

They only offer Intels

[Zopperoni]

Originally posted by Dracon II
When Civ V is released, it'll have paid for itself

That's in four years time. Is it DDR or DDR2? If it's DDR, then just go with 1 GB, and upgrade to DDR2 in a few years.

One is a DVD burner. So I can copy DVDs.

You can go through the hard disk as well, which is better.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Dracon II
The printer comes free.

Nothing comes free. The cost is in there.

Originally posted by Dracon II
They only offer Intels

So buy something else instead.

[Nostromo]

The printer comes free.

Maybe, but the ink cartridges don't And since its a Dell printer, you'll probably have to buy Dell ink cartridges, at a premium price.

[Dracon II]

So buy something else instead.

Are intels really so bad?

Maybe, but the ink cartridges don't

True.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Dracon II

Are intels really so bad?

AMD's are much better for gaming

[SirOsis]

Originally posted by Odin


AMD's are much better for gamming

gam n.
1. A social visit or friendly interchange, especially between whalers or seafarers.
2. A herd of whales or a social congregation of whalers, especially at sea.

v. gammed, gam·ming, gams
v. intr.
To hold a visit, especially while at sea.

v. tr.
To visit with.
To spend (time) talking or visiting.







They are also better for gaming.