A New Computer

[krayzeemunkee]

Hi,
I am currently looking for a system, possibly from sony or hp, for these guys at the Naval Research Lab. They do alot of experiements using the computer, such as gathering data etc. Currently they want to impliment data aquisition with USB 2.0. So my questions are this... :
* Which processor, in general, is better (Intel/AMD)
* Which company would you suggest (e.g. Sony)

thanks in advance

-Mac User-

 

[peteroy]

I recommend Intel, better integrity and stability.

Company? I rathar choose the parts by myself and build my own computer alone. But if you can't do that I would go for HP, IBM or even Sony.


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<A HREF="http://www.clan-chaos.com" target="_new">clan CHAOS</A>

 

[Guest]

Hp aint so bad if you have they dont mind the money go with HP XW4100 pretty solid workstation. Pretty good parts for twice the price it would cost me to build a similar system =).

Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-4-4-8, Leadtek FX5900 w/ FX5950U bios@500/1000, 2X30gig Raid0

 

[krayzeemunkee]

Yeah I'm an intern here and they came to me for help...I told them it would be better to build one but they don't have the time and if they need support they want it to be easy ( meaning goto one place for help ) anyway they are putting 2,200 on it of the governmenst money , so money isn't too much of an issue.

-Mac User-

 

[ChipDeath]

Virtually <i>everyone</i> here will suggest you build your own. I would suggest that myself, but if you're not happy with the idea of building one from scratch, then here's my opinions:

As for Intel/AMD - As long as you avoid Intel Celeron based rigs, you'll probably be perfectly happy with either. People like HP will gladly sell you a celeron. At the mid-low end of the price spectrum Athlon XP chips are by far the best value.

Top end, AMD's Athlon 64 chips beat the P4s (at similar price points) at most tasks, but the P4 chips tend to be better at encoding tasks (like compressing video/Audio). The A64s trounce the P4s for gaming tasks, but I assume Gaming performance is not important from the information you gave.

As for Sony/HP/Dell etc.... IMO, Sony stuff is very good quality, but they tend to be expensive. Pcs from the larger OEMs (Dell/HP) often have proprietary motherboards/cases, which can make upgrading them (or just adding more Drives for example) difficult, and hardly ever use real top-drawer stuff so are never performance leaders.

Of course the major advantage (for you) of buying an HP or something is that you wouldn't have to deal with any tech support stuff from the guys you're getting it for. The disadvantage(for them) is they have to talk to the trained monkey at the Dell Tech. support centre in bombay.... So they'll probably end up calling you anyway....

---
Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro @412/740

 

[ChipDeath]

I recommend Intel, better integrity and stability.

And I'm sure you recommend blood letting as a cure for madness too.

---
Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro @412/740

 

[peteroy]

And I'm sure you have a lot of experience with your madness.


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<A HREF="http://www.clan-chaos.com" target="_new">clan CHAOS</A>

 

[ChipDeath]

I have plenty of madness experience. Since I've actually built systems based around <i>both</i> AMD and Intel, and do not blindly cling to one manufacturer, I must be totally bonkers. Lost it completely - fancy that, basing all my judgement on personal experience and reading from many different sources. Truly a lost cause.

I just thought that the 'AMD is unstable' myth was dead a <i>long</i> time ago.

Yes, back when virtually the only AMD motherboard choices were VIA KT266 Chipsets, then most AMD systems suffered stability problems. Nvidia's AMD Chipsets are just as stable as the best that Intel have to offer.

---
Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro @412/740

 

[peteroy]

Anyway, as you are entitled to have your opinion, I have mine.

I replied him with my personal opinions, his choice who he listens to.


===========================
<A HREF="http://www.clan-chaos.com" target="_new">clan CHAOS</A>

 

[krayzeemunkee]

and I appreciate all of your help...unfortunatly the better of the HP and Sony have Pentiums...:-/ I went to newegg for fun to check out what I could build for that money and it is unbeleiveable...oh well, guess these guys wont use it to it's fullest extent anyway.

-Mac User-

 

[ChipDeath]

unfortunatly the better of the HP and Sony have Pentiums

Nothing 'unfortunate' about it. The currently available P4 chips are good chips. Even the earlier Prescott cores are fairly decent really, just run too hot for most overclocking enthusiasts, and even that seems to be being sorted out with the newer steppings (chip revisions).

Plus with the P4 chips you get Hyperthreading which is both interesting technology and useful if you want to run lots of apps at once. The PC I use here at work is a P4 2.8C and it's a joy to use.

As far as problems go, you'll find the smaller, cheaper manufacturers are where the majority of problems are. With something from the mid-high to high end from HP's lineup you should have a reliable machine. It just won't be either as fast, cheap & upgradable as it might be if you built it yourself, is all.

---
Epox 8RDA+ V1.1 w/ Custom NB HS
XP1700+ @200x10 (~2Ghz), 1.4 Vcore
2x256Mb Corsair PC3200LL/1x512Mb Corsair XMS PC4000 2.5-3-3-7
Sapphire 9800Pro @412/740

 

[trooper11]

ok first of all, what exactly wil they use these pcs for? and what kind of budget are you aiming for? i can give you a suggestion, but a bit more info would be helpful.

 

[Guest]

Im an Intern in a comapgny too. At first I wouldnt understand why they only bought Compaq(now Hp/compaq) but I must say its 10X easier for support...When you need drivers you go on hp site and in 10 sec you got exactly the right one. If something brake the next day we have spare part etc... With 250+ PC I wouldnt have like having so called clones...But for my machine I would never buy a Hp/dell/whatever because I can have 1.5X the performance for the same price.

Anyway I really like HP/Compaq way more solid than IBM IMO...

Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-4-4-8, Leadtek FX5900 w/ FX5950U bios@500/1000, 2X30gig Raid0

 

[Cybercraig]

Money no object? That's an easy one. A Sony VIAO Premier "R". A 3.0E water-cooled!

Abit IS7 - 2.8C @ 3.4 - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!

 

[krayzeemunkee]

Actually I am suggesting the Sony R watercooled beast...the only thing is that it comes with alot of worthless stuff for it's purpose

-Mac User-

 

[Guest]

who cares not your money ;-)
You need to have some fun setuping it!

Asus P4P800DX, P4C 2.6ghz@3.25ghz, 2X512 OCZ PC4000 3-4-4-8, Leadtek FX5900 w/ FX5950U bios@500/1000, 2X30gig Raid0

 

[DonnieDarko]

Anyway, as you are entitled to have your opinion, I have mine.

I replied him with my personal opinions, his choice who he listens to.

Yes you are entitled to your own opinion but state it as an opinion.

recommend Intel, better integrity and stability.

You stated this as a fact. In which is false. Please do some research before you say a statement like that. I understand that you like intel. But that is no reason to make up lies to get people to buy them because you like your p4. And unless you have built systems based around both chips then you would have room to talk. But stating something such as better stability just because your computer is stable is rediculous. And please don't say you read that somewhere.



AMD64 2800+
MSI Neo-Fis2r
512mb Kingmax ddr400
Sapphire 9800pro 128mb
10K WD Raptor

 

[Crashman]

HP's PC's scale the ladder from crap to bronze, but if you want to go for the silver with HP you'll really want a workstation, which is nothing more than a high quality PC.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Johanthegnarler]

People don't understand it. They see i as of right now use AMD and think i'm a fanboy. I have a 2.8c right now that i use as well.
Like you i have experience in building both Intel and AMD machines both being of good quality. I have never had a complaint nor have i ever had a problem with anything that wasn't software related.
The only problems with any of the machines are user-software to almost always virus problems.

<A HREF="http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=277124623" target="_new">http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=277124623</A>
46,510 , movin on up. 48k new goal. Maybe not.. :/

 

[Johanthegnarler]

I would advise a Sony over an HP. I have had bad luck with HP (family wise). All of them have had really generic crap in it. I've only worked on three sony vaio's, 1 old 550mhz intel cpu type and 2 newer ones. The newest one had all premium parts plus a nice case.. the only thing i can't comment on is the power supply. Those will run you around that price for a good one , and possibly a nice sony trinitron as well.

<A HREF="http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=277124623" target="_new">http://arc.aquamark3.com/arc/arc_view.php?run=277124623</A>
46,510 , movin on up. 48k new goal. Maybe not.. :/