The CPU and motherboard are good choices. I'd recommend 4GB (2x2GB sticks) DDR2 800MHz PC2-6400 as RAM is quite cheap. I'd also recommend a WD6400AAKS hard disk (better cost/gigaybte and performance).
I don't know BenQ optical drives so I'd recommend a Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7203S (decide on price).
You didn't say what screen resolution you play at so I'll say that the HD3850 is a mainstream choice (I'd pick a 9600GT for about the same price).
Any quality 450W power supply would be enough. 500-650W would allow room for future upgrades. If you need further info read this thread http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/foru [...] wer-supply or you can show me available choices and tell me how much you want to spend.
Message edited by Andrius on 04-27-2008 at 01:03:35 AM
If I change the mother board and graphic card to:
GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3 P35 M/B AND
HIS HD3650 PCI-E 512MB DDR3 IceQ Turbo
will it be better?
Basically, my friend is not going to play any high end games.... she use her computer to play Sims2, watch video, flash making and using the 3D Max (by autodesk)
I heard that ATI will give a better graphic quality (in terms of colour, contrast) and nVidia will give a better gaming speed (smoothness), is that true?
I agree, 4GB would be fairly cheap, and would be a good choice. Also 500-600watt would be good too. The 3850 is a good choice, if you don't plan on using high resolutions (> 1280x1042), though I'm sure it could do 1600x1200 or better.
@chluk2425
For basic (not frame sensitive) 3D games both graphics cards are a very good choice. Programs aren't that sensitive to graphics card performance. The ICEQ version has a better cooler and more RAM I think.
ATI has better image quality and video enhancement features in general. NVIDIA offers more performance in the top range (in mainstream they are evenly matched).
Gigabyte P35 boards are good but I don't know the specific model.
I've had great experiances with DS3L and DS3P. That MSI you first had also won some awards I think. So it's a safe bet.
I agree, 4GB would be fairly cheap, and would be a good choice. Also 500-600watt would be good too. The 3850 is a good choice, if you don't plan on using high resolutions (> 1280x1042), though I'm sure it could do 1600x1200 or better.
but isn't XP only support 4GB RAM? so.. there will be some portion of RAM will be wasted since shared by graphics, am I right?
@chluk2425 For basic (not frame sensitive) 3D games both graphics cards are a very good choice. Programs aren't that sensitive to graphics card performance. The ICEQ version has a better cooler and more RAM I think. ATI has better image quality and video enhancement features in general. NVIDIA offers more performance in the top range (in mainstream they are evenly matched).
Gigabyte P35 boards are good but I don't know the specific model. I've had great experiances with DS3L and DS3P. That MSI you first had also won some awards I think. So it's a safe bet.
I see... but why does it like that? I thought the performance should be the same with the same spec, but it turns out nVidia bettter...
Message edited by chluk2425 on 04-27-2008 at 10:12:01 AM
Different architectures mean different performance (like Intel Core2Duo is better than AMD Athlon X2). HD 3870 is about the same performance as GF 9600GT. HD 3850 has less performance. If you will not be gaming at high resolutions and with highly framerate sensitive games (FPS) you can stay with the HD3850. It is good enough for 2 24" screens desktop duty and moderate gaming use.
With Windows XP 32bit about and HD 3850 512MB you will see about 3.3GB of the 4GB system memory. 2x2GB RAM is fairly cheap. If you later decide to move to VISTA 64bit and/or decide to upgrade to 8GB RAM you won't have to buy all new 8GB memory.
Message edited by Andrius on 04-27-2008 at 03:37:51 PM
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