Comments on this sytem for gaming

I am very strongly considering going out today to replace my IBM Aptiva P75. I am looking at a Compaq from the local Best Buy with the following- 380MHz K6-2 64 MB 100MHz SynchDRAM memory 8 Gig hard drive 32x max CD ROM 120 MB SuperDisk drive 56K V.90 modem 512K pipeline burst cache ATI Rage Pro 2XAGP graphics 4MB 100MHz SyncGraaphics memory Digital flat-panel port 14" .28 Monitor Lexmark 5220 color printer I currently run with most graphics off on my current system. Is this a reasonable system for *** needs.

Toss in a Voodoo II and upgrade to a 17" monitor and you should be ok. You didn't mention the asking price. Doug.........Lifelong die hard Boston Bruins fan....Driving Sim racer....avid Sam Adams drinker....3 Stooges fan....Proud American !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The asking price is $1000. I was told to either go up to a K6-2 400, or drop down to a or down to the 350 as they both use the 100mhz bus and can put that 100mhz memory to better use. The price to go up is an extra $300, with an extra 2 gig in the hard drive, and a 40x cdrom. I don't know if they (BestBuy) carry the 350. Any feedback is appreciated - so I can spend my money wisely.

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> > am very strongly considering going out today to replace my IBM Aptiva > >P75. > >I am looking at a Compaq from the local Best Buy with the following- > >380MHz K6-2 > >64 MB 100MHz SynchDRAM memory > >8 Gig hard drive > >32x max CD ROM > >120 MB SuperDisk drive > >56K V.90 modem > >512K pipeline burst cache > >ATI Rage Pro 2XAGP graphics > >4MB 100MHz SyncGraaphics memory > >Digital flat-panel port > >14" .28 Monitor > >Lexmark 5220 color printer > >I currently run with most graphics off on my current system. Is this a > >reasonable system for *** needs. > Toss in a Voodoo II and upgrade to a 17" monitor and you should be ok. You > didn't mention the asking price. > Doug.........Lifelong die hard Boston Bruins fan....Driving Sim racer....avid > Sam Adams drinker....3 Stooges fan....Proud American !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

>I am very strongly considering going out today to replace my IBM Aptiva >P75. >I am looking at a Compaq from the local Best Buy with the following- >380MHz K6-2 Get an intel processor. You don't need to screww with potential incompatability You need at least 128 MEG too small, if not now, then very soon. What kind is it? no-name drives are often prone to failure. waste of money. get a regular floppy. find out what kind. a 33,6 USR/3com modem is a better buy than a sh*t-brand 56K. Also find out if you can even get 56K where you live. Pentium2 computers dont have off-chip cache memory. Sounds like a proprietary motherboard design, which means roadblocks to future upgrades. For *** you will need a better D3D card or a VooDoo 2 4 meg on the ATI card? not enough. Onboard video? YUCK. you can't afford one, doesn't much matter. this is a joke. 17" is the minimum. a printer isn't part of a computer. Unless it is an incredible deal, don't take bundled printers or scanners. We don't know what your needs are, so that's pretty hard to say :o) I probably run most of the games you will want to run and it sounds totally inadequate to me. The best place to buy a computer is generally NOT in a retail store unless you like being screwed by commisioned salespeople and need to have your hand held after the sale. Try pricing a system online with the same specs or better from any of the dozens of companies that do mail order, something like www.tccomputers.com daxe -----------== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News ==---------- http://www.newsfeeds.com The Largest Usenet Servers in the World! -----------== Over 66,000 Groups, Plus a Dedicated Binaries Server ==----------

1. The fastest Pentium 2 you can afford. 2. As much PC100 ram that you can afford. 3. A 3DFX Voodoo 2 for widest compatability. These 3 items will effect *** performance more than anything else. If that 14" digital flat panel display is LCD - forget it! They don't work well for games. Get as large a standard monitor as possible. Celerons are also a good choice since they're cheaper than Pentium 2's by a whole bunch and almost as fast at the same clock rate. For more info visit www.tomshardware.com and checkout the vast CPU, mobo, and graphics review areas. Doug >The asking price is $1000. >I was told to either go up to a K6-2 400, or drop down to a or down to the 350 >as they both use the 100mhz bus and can put that 100mhz memory to better >use. >The price to go up is an extra $300, with an extra 2 gig in the hard drive, and a

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>40x cdrom. I don't know if they (BestBuy) carry the 350. Any feedback is >appreciated - so I can spend my money wisely. >> > am very strongly considering going out today to replace my IBM Aptiva >> >P75. >> >I am looking at a Compaq from the local Best Buy with the following- >> >380MHz K6-2 >> >64 MB 100MHz SynchDRAM memory >> >8 Gig hard drive >> >32x max CD ROM >> >120 MB SuperDisk drive >> >56K V.90 modem >> >512K pipeline burst cache >> >ATI Rage Pro 2XAGP graphics >> >4MB 100MHz SyncGraaphics memory >> >Digital flat-panel port >> >14" .28 Monitor >> >Lexmark 5220 color printer >> >I currently run with most graphics off on my current system. Is this a >> >reasonable system for *** needs. >> Toss in a Voodoo II and upgrade to a 17" monitor and you should be ok.

You >> didn't mention the asking price. >> Doug.........Lifelong die hard Boston Bruins fan....Driving Sim racer....avid >> Sam Adams drinker....3 Stooges fan....Proud American !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No doubt you'll get heaps of replies, but my 2 cents worth is to steer clear of AMD or Cyrix for games. If possible, get a Celeron 300A and an Abit BH6 BX motherboard. With like you'll have a good chance to run it at 450mhz, perhaps by upping the voltage to 2.1 or 2.2 if necessary. (Only possible with the BH6). If you dont want to overclock, then an equivalent clock speed celeron to the AMD ie 366 or 400 will beat the AMD at games. If you want to spend more - then get a PII 350 - 450 depending on budget. Dont forget, with a BX board, you can start with a cheap celeron and throw in a PIII in 12 months when theyre affordable. I'm not sure about the rage pro - but I suggest a voodoo2, banshee for performance and compatibility with most games - or a TNT card. I've always felt the name brands (Compaq, IBM etc are overpriced and underpowered - get a clone and save some money) Also - at least get a 15 inch monitor - nobody should still be selling 14inch monitors nowadays

I HIGHLY disagree with JULIAN..........checkout the PCGUIDE on the net and read up for yourself.For the bang for the BUCK,you cant beat an AMD system right now.It has run everything i have thrown at it so far and is very very stable in terms of over-clocking.There isnt a better cpu on the market today right now and that includes the new P-III pentiums(which are only in fact high speed Pentium II's with KNI instruction set(just what the hell is that anyways?...like MMX?..which turned out to be a fat joke)...the system you are looking at seems to be just fine but I would dump that video card el pronto amigo.Also with an AMD cpu that has 3dNOW you'll find the software that enables it will outperform an Intel in a NY minute,and the library of 3dNOW software is growing all the time.And by the way...why not just build your own system and get what you want for it.Then you know you aint getting stuck later with a system specific computer that you cant upgrade.

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> No doubt you'll get heaps of replies, but my 2 cents worth is to steer clear > of AMD or Cyrix for games. > If possible, get a Celeron 300A and an Abit BH6 BX motherboard. With like > you'll have a good chance to run it at 450mhz, perhaps by upping the voltage > to 2.1 or 2.2 if necessary. (Only possible with the BH6). > If you dont want to overclock, then an equivalent clock speed celeron to the > AMD ie 366 or 400 will beat the AMD at games. If you want to spend more - > then get a PII 350 - 450 depending on budget. Dont forget, with a BX board, > you can start with a cheap celeron and throw in a PIII in 12 months when > theyre affordable. > I'm not sure about the rage pro - but I suggest a voodoo2, banshee for > performance and compatibility with most games - or a TNT card. > I've always felt the name brands (Compaq, IBM etc are overpriced and > underpowered - get a clone and save some money) > Also - at least get a 15 inch monitor - nobody should still be selling > 14inch monitors nowadays

Hi Gary, Heh, I see you don't mention the performance of the AMD K-2 FPU. Too bad, now I've trouble to believe you. It looks like you made such a selection of CPU feature's, so that AMD comes out best. Tsk tsk tsk. Remco

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>I HIGHLY disagree with JULIAN..........checkout the PCGUIDE on the net and read >up for yourself.For the bang for the BUCK,you cant beat an AMD system right >now.It has run everything i have thrown at it so far and is very very stable in >terms of over-clocking.There isnt a better cpu on the market today right now and >that includes the new P-III pentiums(which are only in fact high speed Pentium >II's with KNI instruction set(just what the hell is that anyways?...like >MMX?..which turned out to be a fat joke)...the system you are looking at seems >to be just fine but I would dump that video card el pronto amigo.Also with an >AMD cpu that has 3dNOW you'll find the software that enables it will outperform >an Intel in a NY minute,and the library of 3dNOW software is growing all the >time.And by the way...why not just build your own system and get what you want >for it.Then you know you aint getting stuck later with a system specific >computer that you cant upgrade. >> No doubt you'll get heaps of replies, but my 2 cents worth is to steer clear >> of AMD or Cyrix for games. >> If possible, get a Celeron 300A and an Abit BH6 BX motherboard. With like >> you'll have a good chance to run it at 450mhz, perhaps by upping the voltage >> to 2.1 or 2.2 if necessary. (Only possible with the BH6). >> If you dont want to overclock, then an equivalent clock speed celeron to the >> AMD ie 366 or 400 will beat the AMD at games. If you want to spend more - >> then get a PII 350 - 450 depending on budget. Dont forget, with a BX board, >> you can start with a cheap celeron and throw in a PIII in 12 months when >> theyre affordable. >> I'm not sure about the rage pro - but I suggest a voodoo2, banshee for >> performance and compatibility with most games - or a TNT card. >> I've always felt the name brands (Compaq, IBM etc are overpriced and >> underpowered - get a clone and save some money) >> Also - at least get a 15 inch monitor - nobody should still be selling >> 14inch monitors nowadays

If I may be so bold... IMHO, Compaq computers are far too proprietary to suit me. Also, I can almost guarantee you that modem is a Winmodem, which you find performs horribly. I personally prefer to build my own systems using the best of the available industry standard componenets. I fully understand this is not an option for everyone. I recommend either Dell or Gateway. They are fairly standard in their use of componenents, and you can upgrade them to your hearts content. Watch the modems. Even these folks will sneak a Winmodem in on you if you aren't carefull. Winmodems are software based modems. The card is nothing but a DSP that runs software to _emulate_ a modem. The REALLY suck. They use them because they are cheap. They also won't work in DOS, if that's an issue. If you can build your own, here is what I recommend: 1. ASUS P2B Main Board. 2. Diamond Viper 550. 3. Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 7200 RPM Drive. 4. SoundBlaster Live card. 5. 128MB of PC100 Ram. Use Quality stuff only! 6. Add a VooDoo 2 board if your needs warrant. 7. USR Courier V.90 Modem. 8. Pentium II or III processor. I don't like Celerons. NOTE - Yes, I know about the Overclocking of 300A's, etc... but that's not my style :) 9. A good, solid, LARGE well ventilated case with a 250 watt or larger Power Supply and at least 2 fans. This is a high-end system. However, you would be suprised how inexpensively it can be built. The biggest stumbling block is Intels greed and the overpriced Pentium II/III chips. FWIW Building your own is not that hard, and I bet you have a friend that has experience and can help you if you need it. It also brings a certain level of satisfaction, and you will also have a system that you can upgrade piecemeal in the future should the need arise, instead of buying a whole new system. If you get the Compaq, you can count on having to replace the entire machine at some point due to it's difficulties with uprades. -Larry

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> I am very strongly considering going out today to replace my IBM Aptiva > P75. > I am looking at a Compaq from the local Best Buy with the following- > 380MHz K6-2 > 64 MB 100MHz SynchDRAM memory > 8 Gig hard drive > 32x max CD ROM > 120 MB SuperDisk drive > 56K V.90 modem > 512K pipeline burst cache > ATI Rage Pro 2XAGP graphics > 4MB 100MHz SyncGraaphics memory > Digital flat-panel port > 14" .28 Monitor > Lexmark 5220 color printer > I currently run with most graphics off on my current system. Is this a > reasonable system for *** needs.