help, which pc to build?

[hater]

option1: $1100
- Intel Core 2 quad Q9550 2.84Ghz
- Radeon 4870 1GB
- 4GB RAM

or

option 2: $1400
- Intel i7 2.66Ghz
- Radeon 4870 1GB
- 6GB RAM

is $300+ worth the upgrade??

also I would be forced to use Vista on the #2 option

[hater]

BTW useful link to calculate your power supply:
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

[Viva Las Espuelas]

i wouldn't say you're forced to use Vista. just buy an xp disc and install that one. i know the extra cost will suck, but................

[LnGrrrR]

Go number 1. The way technology jumps, both will be obsolete in 6 mos anyways Besides, I like the quad core. And 4 Gb Ram should be enough, unless you're running some intensive graphics processing or crunching mad numbers.

[hater]

i wouldn't say you're forced to use Vista. just buy an xp disc and install that one. i know the extra cost will suck, but................

yeah but XP doesn't support 6GB RAM

[Viva Las Espuelas]

yeah but XP doesn't support 6GB RAM

ah. that's right. xp does 4gb. what the are you going to use 6gb for? are games that demanding these days?

[DannyT]

I think you need the 64 bit version for it to see 4 gigs in xp not sure...I got 4 gigs in my joint right now and it only sees 3 of them and I have tried all the little tweeks but to no avail....I have been using pinnacles studio editor as of late and its a beast on my cpu but memory wise its holds up...I just have issues with my vga and hardware acceleration....but I would say....



go with option 1
even more so stay off of vista!!!

[Rockhound]

64bit xp supports 4GB.

32bit is ~3.25GB

I've no experience with Vitsa so I am not sure 4 to 6GB upgrade would net you huge performance gains. Probably not in gaming.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

i'm afraid to ask but what is the benefit of 64bit xp? i've never bothered looking in to 64bit.

[bobbybob0]

64bit xp supports 4GB.

32bit is ~3.25GB

And it has to include the RAM allocated to the graphic card as well if I'm not mistaken.

I've no experience with Vitsa so I am not sure 4 to 6GB upgrade would net you huge performance gains. Probably not in gaming.

Vista 32bit has the same limitations as any 32bits systems.

@OP: Core i7 are really performing well in the first benchmarks I've seen.
In addition it can handles the triple-channel RAM, hence the 6Gig (3x2Gig)

[Mog]

i'm afraid to ask but what is the benefit of 64bit xp? i've never bothered looking in to 64bit.

You will notice a few problems like your printer not working and certain drivers are not made for 64bit, but if you can find all the drivers you need to support the 64bit, you may notice a difference when you open and close a progarm it's much faster.

[TDMVPDPOY]

option 1 = if ur on a budget and dont care about futureproof technology which will be inferior in 6months...

option 2 = new technology, future proof for a couple of months bragging rights...

ps. vista64 u need it for option 2 if you want it to utilize all 6gb ram or anything x>4gb ram. Vista32 will only show max of 3.5gb ram only, so ur missing out on 500mb....drivers for 64bit are easy to find, you can always get hackd drivers which still works...

you will not notice the difference in performance, depending on what your using the comp for.

ps. you should check the video card ur investing into.......sometimes it wont work with certain le of games......like screen stuttering....

a fast video card, needs a fast cpu, so it doesnt bottleneck the cpu.....but option 2 sounds reasonable man DDR3 ram is expensive....

[leemajors]

yeah but XP doesn't support 6GB RAM

64 bit xp does

[leemajors]

I think you need the 64 bit version for it to see 4 gigs in xp not sure...I got 4 gigs in my joint right now and it only sees 3 of them and I have tried all the little tweeks but to no avail....I have been using pinnacles studio editor as of late and its a beast on my cpu but memory wise its holds up...I just have issues with my vga and hardware acceleration....but I would say....



go with option 1
even more so stay off of vista!!!

there is a bios option that will enable the bios to recognize more, but it causes 32 bit XP to only see 2GB. I would just leave it where it is unless you are installing a 64 bit copy of windows, be it XP or vista.

[Dryer baby]

I have a board with 478 socket it's 1.2 ghz I put in a 2.6 ghz processor and it still reads 1.2 what did I do wrong?

[TDMVPDPOY]

I have a board with 478 socket it's 1.2 ghz I put in a 2.6 ghz processor and it still reads 1.2 what did I do wrong?

update bios or put in the manual settings urself....

[I. Hustle]

11111000011000001111000101000111110001111100110000 111111000001111111111111-0000111011111000

[hater]

option 1 = if ur on a budget and dont care about futureproof technology which will be inferior in 6months...

option 2 = new technology, future proof for a couple of months bragging rights...

ps. vista64 u need it for option 2 if you want it to utilize all 6gb ram or anything x>4gb ram. Vista32 will only show max of 3.5gb ram only, so ur missing out on 500mb....drivers for 64bit are easy to find, you can always get hackd drivers which still works...

you will not notice the difference in performance, depending on what your using the comp for.

ps. you should check the video card ur investing into.......sometimes it wont work with certain le of games......like screen stuttering....

a fast video card, needs a fast cpu, so it doesnt bottleneck the cpu.....but option 2 sounds reasonable man DDR3 ram is expensive....

I went with option 1 because I was able to build it for $1,000 a great ing deal. Microcenter price matched the CPU, Board AND Video card($100 off)

well I got everything but the HDD. I am looking for a cheap WD Velociraptor

[hater]

BTW, the video card is a BEAST. Probably as much computing power as the rest of my pc

[Smackie Chan]

Any photos of the finished product?