Advice on buying new computer

[chief95]

I have decided to buy a new computer with simming in mind. This is what I think would fit my needs, but before I buy I would like some opinions. I am using fsk2 but may upgarde to 2004 later.
What I am looking at is a:
Dell Pent 4 2.80Hz
512md DDR SDRAM
128md ATI RADEON 98 pro
integraded 5.1 channel audio

Thanks,
Dave

[TheFlightMan]

Personally, I don't like any integrated component, if you can get a sound card like the audigy it would be much better. My next recommendation would be for you to built the system yourself and not use Dell. Don't get me wrong, Dell is a good PC vendor but by building it yourself you will be able to get a better MB. If you do go with the Dell, I would recommend getting a gig of Ram.

TheFlightMAn

[gary2]

Sounds great to me. I have the ASUS P4P800 Deluxe 'mobo which with built-in sound includes SoundMAX 4 XL software et al and supports 6-channel 5.1 surround sound output and doubt unless you apply sound engineering analysers the average person couldn't detect any difference from dedicated sound boards. It certainly is much better than my old SB gamer 5.1 board.
I am no expert just a longtime user :)
Gary

[chief95]

Thanks guys, you havent given me much food for thought !!

Dave

[gary2]

:) Oh... thought you were on a diet

[ant_1984]

Hi there Dave that computer sounds good. I bought something similar about 5 months ago.
If you have a budget you may want to steer clear of Dell as you can usually get the same thing elsewhere at a cheaper price (that's in my experience anyway.
My system is as follows:
P4 2.8Ghz
Gigabyte 8SG800 MB
Gigabyte Radeon 9600Pro
1GB Kingston Ram
SB Audigy 2ZS with Logitech Z-640 5.1 Speakers
60GB HDD
Xp PRO

I'm happy with the performance of my FS9 with most things maxed out (except for autogen 1 notch of maxed and mipmap at 5). You should experience better fps than me if you get a 9800Pro and other than that if you're using Windows XP I'd recommend you get 1GB of RAM. Before I had the SB Audigy ZS I had onboard 5.1 sound. It was fine when I just had stero speakers, but when I got my 5.1 speakers and configured it for 5.1 there was a drop in FPS of about 5fps because it was using more CPU resources. Otherwise I'd say that system is ##### fine!!

Happy Simming,
Anthony Young

[Qballbandit]

Buying pre-built from name brands can certainly limit upgrades in the future, if not investigated carefully. Building a system online or yourself can save lots of money, and you can often get way more than the magazine computers from Dell, or others, for way less! And still have room to upgrade substantially in the future!! Do your homework before sinking the cash to Dell. The system I built below, for me, was on a budget, and I included a viewsonic 19inch viewable flat panel monitor. It was about $300 bucks cheaper than buying the equivalent machines from the name brands, and I still have a 3 year warranty, 1 year onsite. :7

AMD Athlon XP3000+
ASUS A7N8X nvidia nForce2 Ultra 400 mobo
ATI Radeon 9600 pro, 128mb
512 PC3200 ddr
WINXP Pro

http://www.flightsim.com/dcforum/User_files/3f295fda5ad61e56.jpg

[Bigshot]

Buy the Dell. They work right out of the box. Avoid the night scenarios you read about on these forums everyday. With the deals you get from Dell now a days, you end up getting the case and motherboard for free anyway. Go ahead and price those components at newegg.com . Then add em' up and you'll see what I mean. I just ordered one for my son for xmas. The Dell components less the motherboard and case cost less than those components from newegg.com without a box and motherboard. Watch for the deals. Especially, the weekend deals. When it comes time to upgrade down the road, just buy a new box and motherboard, or give the Dell to a family member. All the other components in the Dell can be transferred to any new rig in the future.

PS: I would get an Audigy sound card with your rig. It'll help take some of that burden off the processor.

[TheFlightMan]

Last night I looked at Dell's ads and their systems are not as cheap as they used to be. For 1600 dollars, you are getting a so so machine. For that kind of money, you can put together a massive machine with better parts. Research the cost of doing it yourself versus buying a Dell, remember that their MB's are not upgradeable. So if you decide to change the processor tomorrow, it won't be possible. If you go with an Asus or Abit, they usually support different processor speeds and provide some room to grow. I know it is always nicer to receive everything in a box but the price does not reflect what you are purchasing when it comes to performance and quality.

TheFlightMan

[TJNut]

"By the Dell." This from a guy who bought an Alienware computer? HA HA HA HA HA, uh ahem. Excuse me.

TJNut

[Bigshot]

Yeah; I got three Dells and one Alienware. The Alienware is strickly for gaming. I bought a fourth Dell for my Son and his wife for Xmas. They're good machines and if for some reason they don't work right out of the box, you got thirty days to return em', no questions asked. G o d help you, if you get an Alienware that doesn't run right. You're on your own. Luckily, my Alienware is awesome. Never have had a single problem with it in fifteen months. Best machine I've ever owned for gaming. I doubt I'll have to buy another, cause this one can be upgraded as all the components are off the shelf. No proprietary parts.

[gater]

in my opinion, unless you know your way around a computer really well, go with a company. ive bought two from dell including one yesterday (3.0, 1gb ram 5200 card and a soundblaster card. on top of that i got a dvd and a dvd rw) all for $800. what i like is you can choose what you want in it and you know its coming from a reputable company. putting one together yourself, if you have problems you have to find the problem and you have no tech support to go to.