Computer Upgrade suggestions/recommendations...

[D*Ranged]

Hi. I have an old P3 600, 128 MB SDRAM, SB Live! Value, NVIDIA GeForce 64, IBM 20GB HDD, 4X/2X/24 Technics (Is that correct?) CD Writer.
3 years too old for my liking.

I wish to upgrade those parts, but I know little of PC parts in General.

Which CPU chip is better? Intel P4/Celeron 2/AMD Athlon XP/Barton?
(I wish to use new PC as uni work (Word Processing mainly but some graphics and other applications) but couple of games apart from BG saga )

I Know I'm getting DDR ram (512 MB, but preferably more if wanted)
(PC3200 400mhz that is.)

I wish to get an AGP Video card.
is GeForce4 Ti series/FX series(starting from 5200) better? Or could it be a good idea to try ATI Radeon as well?

I plan to have Seagate Barracuda 120 GB. Any other HDD that is good?
(IDE BTW.)

I'll keep 3.5" internal Floppy disk, and Mouse and Keyboard, for spares.

As for CD-ROMs...is plain ol' CD writers better, or is it better to use "combo" with DVD? Or DVD/CD-ROM combo?

As for new mouse/Keyboard...is cordless mouse/keyboard worth it? I'm currently thinking of Optical mouse/Office Keyboard. Is MS or LogiTech recommended?

I'll just think of Creative Speakers. Any recommended? Not too expensive, and I don't really need sub woofers or surround, maybe subs as option...

As for Monitors, flat screen 17". Philips or Viewsonic? Or any other companies?
(No LCD BTW)

Sound Card is SB Audigy 2, but do i REALLY need it? Or is there other sound Cards that you guys can recommend to me?

HP printers or Epson printers? Or any other deskjet? I don't want to waste my money on Laser...

I want 400+ Watt ATX power Supply.

Thanks.

P.S. I live in Wellington, NZ.

[True_Moose]

I can't tell you much about anything else, but I would go for the Athlon. They're cheaper, their motherboards are better, and they are more effective. Intel is more raw power, but they're over the top pricewise, for me.

For monitor, on two computers I have Samsung Syncmaster 955DF (flat screen 19") and they are wonderful. Good tech support, and I can smack them as much as I want while I'm playin' BG2, and they take it.

[Cataephract]

I have a Logitech optical mouse, and I am loving it. I use to go through the cheap radio shack mice about once every two months, but this one has really been tough. Plus, it's much, much smoother, in fact at first I found it a little too loose, but once you get used to it, you won't go back.

[Seraph]

As for Monitors, flat screen 17". Philips or Viewsonic? Or any other companies?

I have a 19" flat screen Philips monitor and its been great for viewing purposes. However, the one I have is a beast, very deep, and very heavy, which maks it a pain to move around, and would make it uncomfortable on a small desk. However, if your not planing to move your computer (I move it atleast twice a year) then I would say go for it.

[Albromor]

Thr very best information I can give you is to go to this following site and read the community forums: www.resellerratings.com They have everything that you'll need to educate yourself. As for Athelon vs. Pentium and Nvidia vs. ATI that debate will go on forever. Here is what I know. Get a Western Digital harddrive, there are TONS of great motherboards out there for Intel chips. i.e. ASUS, Gigabyte, Athelon CPUs put out considerably more heat, ATI's 9500, 9700, 9800, are great video cards, but the older GeForce Cards are still good. Nvidia is my choice but stay away from the 5200 and the 5600. However, the 5800 is a whole different story. Its an absolutely stunning video card. Two other sites that will help you: www.tomshardware.com (great information) and www.Anandtech.com Hope this helps.

[ 08-07-2003, 02:04 AM: Message edited by: Albromor ]

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

yeh go for an Asus motherboard, they rule!!!

[Mouse]

If you're upgrading to that extent, it's probably worth checking out the price of a completely new machine built to your own specs and keeping the second one as a server/MP3 jukebox etc., or donating it to charity.

I have had a few PCs. My upgrades have consisted mainly of adding memory and better graphics card. I've only ever once upgraded the processor and that was from a Cyrix to a Pentium 233MMX

[RoSs_bg2_rox]

totally [img]graemlins/offtopic.gif[/img] hail mouse the scottish moderator!! Is there anymore out there?

[Bozos of Bones]

OK, let's start.
CPU: AMD Athlon 2500+(Barton Core)
RAM: 512 @ 333(you don't need more because of the CPU)
GPU: Ati Radeon 9500, 128 MB RAM, use a bump software to beef it up to 9700
MTB: nForce 2 chipset is a must, i recommend MSI K7N2-L, it has AGP 8x, Dolby 5.1 support and a LAN card
HDD: Maxtor 120GB 8MB cache
CDD: Plextor 48x/24x/48x with PlexTools, full BurnProof, PoweRec and VariRec
DVD: MSI 16x/48x ATAPI
Monitor: any Samsung 17"
Sound System: you have nForce 2, which is better than any sound card short of an Audigy, you just need Cambridge Soundworks 5.1

With this kind of a beast, you will need some strong chains to control it, meaning at least 400 W power. I also recommend you take another 40GB disk and a drawer for that, and a couple more coolers(I have six total) so you can OC your Athlon 2500 to 3000+.

[ 08-07-2003, 05:51 AM: Message edited by: Bozos of Bones ]

[Harkoliar]

im thinking it will not be a upgrade but rather buying a whole new computer.. you can just save the HD, sound card, video card (if you just want work or basic games).. but the rest, you have to buy a new case, motherboard, ram and processor.. so its more of a buying a whole new comp.. and also you can just keep the mouse, keyboard and monitor.. unless you want to switch it as well.. my 2c [img]smile.gif[/img]
edit: oh yeah.. cdrom you can keep, as well as floppy but cdwriter.. get a new one !! its cheap.. or if you want.. a DVD writer

[ 08-07-2003, 07:57 AM: Message edited by: Harkoliar ]