quote:
Originally posted by .Lou
I want an amd 64. I just don't know which one I'll need. The ones I can get are here.
Since you already know what type of CPU you want (Athlon 64), the main outstanding decision is what speed you can afford. If you have a fixed budget that you simply can not go over, then you can choose the other components first and see how much you have left.
The only other issue to consider is the type of socket. It obviously needs to match the motherboard you choose and if it doesn't make a huge difference, you should choose the newer AM2.
However, if it does end up a tough decision (either due to pricing or selection), I wouldn't have anything against the older socket 939 either. This is an upgradibility consideration and people very rarely upgrade just the processor chip. The platform will have changed again, before you will be ready for the next upgrade -- it's really not worth making that upgrade path a high priority.
quote:
Originally posted by .Lou
I'll need a motherboard to go with it
I've never regretted sticking with Asus products; every time I've tried something else, I usually have regretted it.
As somebody already mentioned, you will probably need new memory, too. Once again, the more the better. Less than 1GB shouldn't even be a consideration. The type of memory should match your motherboard's requirements. In most cases, you will want to buy your chosen amount as a matched set of two pieces (e.g. 2x512MB instead of one 1GB module), because most chipsets these days support dual channel operation -- or at least interleaving.
quote:
Originally posted by .Lou
it isn't a problem to buy sata drives (which would obviously be better)
If your parallel ATA drives are not too old and large enough for your present needs, you want to use them and not waste money on new drives. There is nothing "obviously better" about SATA drives just because they sport the SATA interface; in the end it comes down to the medium and drive mechanics.
There are some high performance (and usually tiny capacity for the price) drives that fully benefit from the SATA interface, such as WD Raptor series -- but there also are dozens of mediocre, "capacity, not speed" oriented drives, often designed around older parallel ATA electronics, with an added bridge chip. There is no benefit whatsoever from getting a SATA version of such a drive to replace a parallel ATA version.
quote:
Originally posted by .Lou
Sound card (5.1 is fine)
You will probably get sound onboard and, if you choose a nice motherboard, it may be quite good and all you need. I'd suggest at least trying it out before you spend more money on a card.
As for the cards, if you really want one, I think Creative is the only remaining serious option for gamers. There are others that would be of interest to musicians and people working with digital recording, but most everything else probably won't be much better than the onboard sound.
