Could I have a little advice please... Firstly, apologies if I've put this in the wrong spot, this section seemed the most appropriate. Ok...I'm currently running TS2 on a computer that would have to be pretty close to minimum specs (can't remember exactly what they are off the top of my head & younger brother is currently glued to it so I can't check). It is running on the lowest graphics settings, but runs ok- painfully slow when it's loading, but the game runs at a reasonable speed once it actually starts. Because of TS2, and because my bro has his eye on a couple of other games which I think might kill the computer completely, we're looking at buying a new 'puter to be able to run our games on, as I have neither the time or the knowledge to put one together myself. Plus, the bloke who handles our office computer stuff is several hours drive away, and is not the most reliable when it comes to stuff he sees as trivial (i.e., computers used for game-playing rather than for serious work). ANYWAY, to finally get to the point, I spotted a computer ad (from fairly reputable place) and I was wondering if I could have some opinons as to a., whether it will be able to cope with the game on high graphics settings, and b., whether it is anything close to a good deal. (this is bearing in mind, as I said, that there's no way I could put one together myself.) The advertised specs for this computer are: *P4/3GHz *512Mb RAM *120Gb HDD *256Mb ATI 9600 Pro (is this just ATI radeon with the radeon bit left out?) + all the usual, CD/DVD, 17" monitor, KB, mouse, etc. This is being sold for AU$1000. What do people think? Thanks
the system looks great, but i have no idea what the price would be in USD. but if its close (like 900 or 1100ish USD), then its definitely a steal imho. especially for something pre-assembled.
Vchat, I have just checked on a currency converter- this would be equal to about US$760. I hope you mean a steal for me, rather than for them? Thanks for you opinion on the system, anyway
Mmyes. Looks very nice. I myself would recommend an Athlon64-based instead of a P4, as it gives a lot more bang for the buck (AMD is decimating Intel in the benchmarks), but it should run TS2 perfectly.
personally, ive never gotten why amd always marks there chips with numbers different from the clock rates. confusing imo.
This looks like such a good deal I'm wondering what the catch is. I believe that the ATI 9600 is really the ATI Radeon 9600, since ATI doesn't market one without a series line name. (And it sure as anything isn't a Rage or Xpert, which have all been discontinued in favor of the Radeon lines.) PS, Technology is definitely the right forum for computer questions.
Because Intel has set the industry standard for so long, Athlon's numbers mark their speed relative to a Pentium's. Athlon and Pentium use very different architectures, with an Athlon getting a lot more performance per clock cycle, and therefore more performance per dollar. Sort of like one of those G5 macs - the fastest runs on a wimpy-looking 2.5ghz, but runs much faster than a new P4.
Thanks Thanks for your input people. Definitely planning on buying now...I mightn't even have to pay the full amount- parents are hassling me with the old "what do you want for Christmas...", plus my brother and I both have our birthdays within a week of Christmas. Now just have to persuade them to give us both part of it for xmas/birthday and I'm set There doesn't seem to be a catch. Maybe it's just my inbuilt Aussie bargain-detector?
