Whats a good CPU around these days?

[Lonkut]

Im thinkin to get a new CPU but newegg has all sorts of stuff so I was wondering: Whats the best CPU around?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

The best of the best is currently the AMD Athalon FX-60 but thats over a 1000 bucks a pop. If you want to you can get this one but if youre more on a budget id reccomend something like this one if you want high end or this one if you want something a little cheaper.

PS-if you have a large budget then you should go for the higher end PCu's but also make sure to grab a good video card if you need one since a for gaming, the video card is just as important as the CPU.
PS2-get ram as well, 2 gigs or so...

 

[Speedo]

FX-60 is king of the hill. Top of the line within a reasonable price range would be something from the AthlonX2 line- a 4800 or 4400.
Lowering the price even more you hit the highest priced single core, the Athlon64 4000 (if you get it, don't get that old Clawhammer core version, get the new Rev E San Diego core, which is 90nm, includes SSE3 and is cheaper. linky: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103529 ).

Below that, the current sweet spot for price vs performance seems to be the Athlon64 3700.

Any of these processors will have more than enough power to run any current game. Dualcores are the most future-proof though, since programming which takes full advantage of them is only going to become more common.

 

[CivFan91]

It really depends on the type of CPU. The two main types are Athlons and Intels. Athlons are better because they go slower but more efficiently. For example, I have an Athlon AMD 64 and it gets about 2.2 GHz, but it matches appx. 3.0 GHz with an Intel. It was $300 and it was a very good chip for the price. And I do heavy gaming. I'd recommend it, esp. since top-of-the-line isn't really necessary unless you work for NASA.

 

[Speedo]

FYI, Athlon is a product name for several lines of CPUs (Athlon, AthlonXP, Athlon64, AthlonX2, AthlonFX) produced by the company Advanced Micro Devices, aka AMD. I point this out, because the Athlon name may be changing when AMD releases their new line of processors this summer.

 

[CivFan91]

Thanks. It's an AMD Athlon64. Sorry for getting it a little wrong, but I don't usually think about my CPU.

 

[dragokatzov]

AMD is the best out there. I personaly think the Athlon 64 3700+ os the best bang for your buck.

 

[CivFan91]

AMD is the best out there. I personaly think the Athlon 64 3700+ os the best bang for your buck.

That's what I have, whaddya know. It was reccomended by the guys at Frys Electronics.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

That's what I have, whaddya know. It was reccomended by the guys at Frys Electronics.

Not bad...how bout the display screen?

 

[CivFan91]

How does this look? Heh heh heh...

I also feature a 7.1 surround sound system from Creative. All of the display info is for my 17" LCD monitor. I also have a $50 keyboard. The keys fold out, making cleaning VERY easy, and it features a seperate gaming keyset for those RPG/FPS games. Not so good for civ, though...

The total price for my machine came out to about $1200.

EDIT: I notice the DxDiag didn't show my 200 GB hard drive.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

The total price for my machine came out to about $1200.

Aww...i spent 1600 on my good comp and its about the same as yours.....
Oh, you should raise your refresh rate if u can...it helps for the long hours of civving

 

[CivFan91]

Set to 75 Hz.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

15Hz can make a difference of 2 extra hours of play ive found...
so i run in 1084x768 but at 110Hz

 

[Speedo]

Oh, you should raise your refresh rate if u can...it helps for the long hours of civving

Refresh rate is essentially irrelevant with LCDs. In fact most that I know of default to 60Hz, whereas a CRT will default to a lower res with higher refresh rate. Mine runs at 1600x1200x32@60Hz 24/7, no eyestrain.

 

[CivFan91]

Oh well. It isn't hurting anything.











*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!*

Uh-oh...

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Maybe its cus i have an older Lcd...after about 4-5 hours staring at it when its set to 60Hz my eyes start getting sore. But when its up to 110Hz i can keeps on going...and going....and going. Like the energiser bunny. Maybe its time to get a new LCD...? I mean mine is a whole 17" of goodness [/sarcasm].

 

[CivFan91]

How old is it? What problems do you have with it? My Norcent LCD I got for a total steal - $69. No fooling. DVD writer cost me all of $30. Works fast and reliably, too. My 200 GB drive was $20. Staples had some once-in-a-lifetime deals, as you can see. Now, those same hard drives are about $150+ at Frys, Staples, anywhere. Those deals were excellently exploited, as were the manufacturers.

The only old thing I have in my computer is my floppy drive. I hardly used it - Only to take crud to and from school, which can't write CDs. Only trouble is, that dumb old thing is dead. It won't recognize diskettes. It isn't the diskette that's the problem; none work in it and they all work on the other compys. So it's my drive. But that's what I get, I suppose, for being frugal.

You see, to save money, I went into my garage and whipped out this ancient system. It has never seen better than Windows ME and it was the second computer we got after the ol' Tandy. The specs on the old compy are weak; hard drives at 4 and 8 GB, 8 MB memory, CD-ROM only... crap. But I salvaged the floppy drive.

Of course, that means I can't complain when it suddenly dies. Which it did. But it resurrected itself enough to scare the crap out of me.

My mom and my sisters came in suddenly while I was Net-surfing and tickled me to the ground. (That's kinda emberassing at 15 y/o) I kicked my computer in a muscle spasm and suddenly I got a squeaking in my system. I narrowed it down to the drives and thought I had damaged my hard drive. I booted it, and took out the floppy out of habit (as if the compy would care; it doesn't see it!). The noise stopped.

I still can't use it, but I am planning on taking a sledgehammer to it for scaring me. I mean, I thought it was my hard drive, which would now be difficult to replace. Esp. since the only OS we have that isn't an upgrade is Windows XP OEM. And I think that only works once. =/

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Wow. I gotta find cheap stuff like that. $20 bucks for a 200 gig hd? Dude, thats a crazy low price. I have a $150 gig and i paid $80. But of course...the problems with my LCD. Sometimes it starts flickering or the whole screen gets a pinkish tint. Its really annoying when my sister walks in, and sees my pink google and starts laughing. But anyways, my B-day is in 4 days so i should be able to convince my parents to get me a 24 inch monitor. Something like this

 

[Speedo]

Esp. since the only OS we have that isn't an upgrade is Windows XP OEM. And I think that only works once.

OEM keys that come with an OEM computer (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc) will have one "free" activation because they've actually never been activated. After that you'll have to call MS. If you use the restore CD(s) that should come with your comp, you'll never have to activate, since one of the things that the restore CD does (along with installing drivers and other junk) is to activate windows.

If it's an OEM copy that you purchased yourself, then it has almost unlimited activations. My oldest XP key purchased in early '02 has been activated over a dozen times and I've never had to call MS.

The only old thing I have in my computer is my floppy drive. I hardly used it - Only to take crud to and from school, which can't write CDs. Only trouble is, that dumb old thing is dead. It won't recognize diskettes. It isn't the diskette that's the problem; none work in it and they all work on the other compys. So it's my drive. But that's what I get, I suppose, for being frugal.

A new drive will cost you about $10... but (when they're not kicked ) floppy drives last practically forever, especially now that they don't see heavy use. Since 1993 I've only had one fail.

My 200 GB drive was $20. Staples had some once-in-a-lifetime deals, as you can see. Now, those same hard drives are about $150+ at Frys, Staples, anywhere. Those deals were excellently exploited, as were the manufacturers.
------------------
$20 bucks for a 200 gig hd? Dude, thats a crazy low price.

If you pay attention to adds at Best Buy and places like that you can get some good deals. Hard drives prices that low, though, are almost always PATA. If they're normally asking $150 for them, it just goes to show how much those places rip you off. Six months ago I bought a pair of Maxtor 300GB PATA drives for my server from Newegg, at only $115 each.

Maybe its cus i have an older Lcd...after about 4-5 hours staring at it when its set to 60Hz my eyes start getting sore. But when its up to 110Hz i can keeps on going...and going....and going. Like the energiser bunny. Maybe its time to get a new LCD...?

*shrug* Depends on how old it is. Some of the earlier LCDs weren't all that great, but I don't know specifics. I didn't pay any attention to LCDs until last summer, before I bought my current one.

But anyways, my B-day is in 4 days so i should be able to convince my parents to get me a 24 inch monitor.

You'll have to pardon me while I try to refrain from rolling my eyes at the fact that your parents are so spineless that they'll blow $1400 on your birthday. Oops, too late

If you are going to get one, be sure before you blow the money that your PC can handle running games and everything at 1920x1200. That's a big step up from 1024x768, and you'll need a hefty machine if you want to run anything newer at that res.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

The hefty machine i have and my parents arent spineless. I seriously need a new LCD so theyre just taking this opportunity to buy me a new LCD. And my mom, sister and I use this computer, so its for the benefit of all of us.

And dont roll your eyes at me. I couldave easily bought the same LCD, just in 2 months. ( i have a job)