Idiot Questions

All: <<< DISCLAIMER: The following post was written by a computer idiot. AND... it's a bit long. >>> At the risk of asking some things that you've had to answer over and over again... here goes: First off, it's been a LONG time since I've really been "into" sims. I used to do N1, N2, N99, GP2, etc, etc. However, somewhere around GPL, the games began to leave my aging computer behind. I doubt that I'll ever be a "serious" simmer, and only race solo. This won't change. I only "tinker" with racing sims. The only sim that survives on my hard drive at this time is GP2. Mainly, because I don't find an "uninstall" program! I'd still have N99 w/add ons installed if it weren't such a huge program. (I don't have much hard drive space left.) BTW, for chuckles, here's my current system (built by me through parts purchased at a now-defunct Inca Indian computer shop): P233MMX "Titanium" MB 32 Meg SDram 1.2 GB HD Virge S3(?) vid board Win95 (Say, do you think my ancient machine is "collectible" yet? <g> ) Anyway, I think the time is nearing (a Christmas present perhaps?) for a major upgrade. "Major Upgrade": As in replace all inward parts and replace the OS system. But my main questions: Seeing as this machine is built using the "open architecture" platform, would I still be better off (cost wise) to build my own spec machine using this case... or simply buy one of the reasonably priced feature-laden "disposable" machines such as Compac, etc... and do it over again in a few years? Oh yes, my monitor is a 17" Sony Trinitron "Multiscan 200ES", so will my monitor will be okay with a high speed machine? Or have things changed to where this will choke a new screamer machine? I don't really want to build/buy a game specific computer, for it serves mulitiple functions (word processing, some graphic work, internet), but would like to be able to run such games as N4, and maybe GP3 w/add on. (And Dirt Racer might be cool.) What in the world do I need? Computing has gone so far since I built this machine (with help from this board by the way), that I'm totally lost. Any suggestions? Thanks to any of you that will take your time to share some input. Andre Ming

If you want a cheap but good machine I'd suggest a Duron 900+, 256MB RAM (PC133) and a Geforce2MX vid card. The monitor is fine but you might want a wheel if you don't already have one. Of course if you planning on getting this around XMas it'll all be obsolete by then ;) I'd build it yourself. It will cost a little bit more but you get what you pay for. "Andre Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > All: > > Any suggestions? > Andre Ming

"Andre Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... : Virge S3(?) vid board Damn... I feel your pain. I had a S3 Virge... as far as 3D gaming went that chipset was out-of-date before it was released. -- Dale. ================================================== GPL Rank: +106.12 DSM: www.dsm.org CP990 Panorama Gallery: http://members.home.net/digitallattice/pano.html

Spot on choice there. Value for money balanced with performance. Just get a quality mobo, preferably based on the VIA KT133a chipset for reliable performance. Go to www.anandtech.com for reviews and the like. Rafe Mc On Tue, 21 Aug 2001 16:30:59 -0700, "Kirk House" <[email hidden]> wrote:

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>If you want a cheap but good machine I'd suggest a Duron 900+, 256MB RAM >(PC133) and a Geforce2MX vid card. The monitor is fine but you might want a >wheel if you don't already have one. Of course if you planning on getting >this around XMas it'll all be obsolete by then ;) I'd build it yourself. >It will cost a little bit more but you get what you pay for. > > >"Andre Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message >news:[email hidden]... >> All: >> >> Any suggestions? >> Andre Ming >

Dale Green wrote:

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> > "Andre Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > : Virge S3(?) vid board > > Damn... I feel your pain. I had a S3 Virge... as far as 3D gaming went that > chipset was out-of-date before it was released.

Yep. A classic graphic DEcelerator! -- Fester

I HATE those decellerators..... -- Biz "Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand alloys and compositions and,......things with molecular structures,....and the....." - Ash Uncle Fester <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > Dale Green wrote: > > > > "Andre Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:[email hidden]... > > : Virge S3(?) vid board > > > > Damn... I feel your pain. I had a S3 Virge... as far as 3D gaming went that > > chipset was out-of-date before it was released. > > > Yep. A classic graphic DEcelerator! > > -- > > Fester

Keep your monitor (it`s fine) and buy yourself a clone. I`d try to get a friend who knows a lot about current parts and prices to help you with finding the best shop to deal with and picking the best parts for your needs/budget. Then again, I guess you wouldn`t be posting here if you had that friend lol.. I`m sure some of the ras guys who are up to date on building a clone will be more than happy to help you out :) All the best. Lorne -------------- "Andre Ming" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> All: > > <<< DISCLAIMER: The following post was written by a computer idiot. > AND... it's a bit long. >>> > > At the risk of asking some things that you've had to answer over and > over again... here goes: > > First off, it's been a LONG time since I've really been "into" sims. I > used to do N1, N2, N99, GP2, etc, etc. However, somewhere around GPL, > the games began to leave my aging computer behind. I doubt that I'll > ever be a "serious" simmer, and only race solo. This won't change. I > only "tinker" with racing sims. The only sim that survives on my hard > drive at this time is GP2. Mainly, because I don't find an "uninstall" > program! I'd still have N99 w/add ons installed if it weren't such a > huge program. (I don't have much hard drive space left.) > > BTW, for chuckles, here's my current system (built by me through parts > purchased at a now-defunct Inca Indian computer shop): > > P233MMX > "Titanium" MB > 32 Meg SDram > 1.2 GB HD > Virge S3(?) vid board > Win95 > > (Say, do you think my ancient machine is "collectible" yet? <g> ) > > Anyway, I think the time is nearing (a Christmas present perhaps?) for a > major upgrade. "Major Upgrade": As in replace all inward parts and > replace the OS system. > > But my main questions: > > Seeing as this machine is built using the "open architecture" platform, > would I still be better off (cost wise) to build my own spec machine > using this case... or simply buy one of the reasonably priced > feature-laden "disposable" machines such as Compac, etc... and do it > over again in a few years? > > Oh yes, my monitor is a 17" Sony Trinitron "Multiscan 200ES", so will my > monitor will be okay with a high speed machine? Or have things changed > to where this will choke a new screamer machine? > > I don't really want to build/buy a game specific computer, for it serves > mulitiple functions (word processing, some graphic work, internet), but > would like to be able to run such games as N4, and maybe GP3 w/add on. > (And Dirt Racer might be cool.) > > What in the world do I need? Computing has gone so far since I built > this machine (with help from this board by the way), that I'm totally > lost. > > Any suggestions? > > Thanks to any of you that will take your time to share some input. > > Andre Ming

All: Thanks for taking the time to give input to my questions. I've been out of town the past week, and thus the reason for the slow response time on my part. > Laurence Wilmer and Rafe Mc wrote: <snip: good info> I have printed those out for future reference, thanks guys!

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> Dale, Fester, and Biz wrote (in this order): > Damn... I feel your pain. I had a S3 Virge... as far as 3D gaming went that > chipset was out-of-date before it was released. > Yep. A classic graphic DEcelerator! > I HATE those decellerators.....

Sad but true. This is the downside to me being a "bottom feeder" on the computer food chain. > Lorne wrote: > Keep your monitor (it`s fine) That's great news! > and buy yourself a clone. I`d try to get a friend who knows a lot about > current parts and prices to help you with finding the best shop to deal > with and picking the best parts for your needs/budget. Then again, I guess > you wouldn`t be posting here if you had that friend lol.. That's true. I live in Smalltown USA, with no known bonafide sim nuts. > I`m sure some of the ras guys who are up to date on building a clone > will be more than happy to help you out :) It may come to that! > All the best. Thank you Lorne. Some one else posted a reply (that my newsreader has flushed) wondering if I have a wheel/pedals. Yes, I've completely worn out one of the previous TM wheel/pedal offerings, and have been using a TM Nascar "Pro" for the past couple years which still performs fine. In the time between now and Upgrade Day, I hope to spend some time trying to understand a bit more about today's computers. But man, things have changed so much it's overwhelming. FWIW, I would hope my future system can readily accomodate the following sims on the upper end of the sim's performance abilities: GPL N3 or N4 GP3? Rally Trophy (or some other nice Rally sim) Andre Ming