alan8187 Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 Since I'm on a budget..I don't have too much to spend especially on games. I don't know if I should buy a single core or dual core processor. 2 gb ram, 160 gb harddrive, decent sound card, and a really high end video card. So would I spend more money on the processor or should I spend it on my video card? im on a budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fr0stbound Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 if your only using it for games, i think you should opt for the video card since you won't be needing that much processing speed from a dual core. also i think for games,you already have a LOT of ram(2 GB). maybe you could decrease it to around 1 GB and if your budget is enough you could get dual core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan8187 Posted August 7, 2007 Author CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 hmm, my old computer has one gig ram and its barely keeping up with vista.. does only certain programs/games can take advantage of the dual core processors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fr0stbound Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 i think all programs benefit from dual core. but if a system is to be used solely for games then i think it's too much. if you think that 1 GB is not enough, then go ahead and buy more. its all a matter of preference anyway.and of course, your budget. if you can afford all that you listed, then go ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amc11890 Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 what is your budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blako Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 There are alot of cheap dual cores out there from Core 2 Duo E4500 2.2GHz for $150 to the Pentium D 805 2.66GHz for $50 Yes as mentioned by Alan, only programs coded with two or more threads can take full advantage of a dual core. In my personal opinion, anytime I have 4+ windows open I appreciate my hyperthreading and dual core computers. Heck, if one core is used by backround tasks there is another available for me. Example: Battlefield 2 + Fraps movie recorder. In order to make your best decision for a CPU I would highly suggest reading these charts and doing price checks simultaneously. CPU Charts of 2005 CPU Charts of 2006 ____________________________________________________________ Video Cards Hum... What kind of a budget are you thinking of for a video card? AGP or PCI-E? Best video cards for the money sounds like a perfect reading assignment for you. ____________________________________________________________ RAM Discussion on Article: 2GB of RAM: Do We Really Need That Much? If you want to compare memory performance do it as slow RAM vs fast RAM, not as more RAM vs less RAM Battlefield 2 is one app that definately benifits from more than a gig of ram. With everything on high it needs 1.2 gigs. Dell recommends 2 GB of memory for Vista Gee, a computer company recommending stuff that you don't need to sell more? They also recommend at least 512 Meg to send e-mails! Amc and I ask what is your budget Alan? Only took an hour to write this post lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommie gorman Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 Also what is your present system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan8187 Posted August 7, 2007 Author CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 well my budget is around $600-1000. I am thinking of getting a cheap system from HP for around $200-$300 or so and then pump it up with a kicka*s video card. Or should I build it from scratch? I currently have a AMD sempron 512 ram 60 gb harddrive geforce 4 ti4200 its old and can barely support the decent games that come out. how much can i get with my budget? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommie gorman Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 Also boost the ram extremely if you go the HP route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
granpa Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 well my budget is around $600-1000. I am thinking of getting a cheap system from HP for around $200-$300 or so and then pump it up with a kicka*s video card. Or should I build it from scratch? I currently have a AMD sempron 512 ram 60 GB harddrive geforce 4 ti4200 its old and can barely support the decent games that come out. how much can i get with my budget? http://shop3.outpost.com/product/5340988 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buntz Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 I do not think going with a cheap HP is a good ideal. The power supplies that they use are usually low power and will not have the power output that a good video card needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan8187 Posted August 7, 2007 Author CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 I do not think going with a cheap HP is a good ideal. The power supplies that they use are usually low power and will not have the power output that a good video card needs. yeah that could be a problem.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blako Posted August 7, 2007 CID Share Posted August 7, 2007 HP usually locks down on the motherboard features plus you get their programs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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