Alternative to Alien Ware?

[KosMos]

Okay I'm gonna try to make this short...

I have 5k to blow however I only want to spend around 2.5k or a little more 2.8k whatever is fine. I have been considering on buying a new desktop or notebook that can play FFXI. I really don't feel like building one on my own as I'm 17 and I'm a girl and I have no experience what so ever with building a PC. Although I think it would be kind of fun to spend winter break working on something. ^-^"

Anyways my questions are what's the difference between this:
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560 with HT Technology and an AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-55 Processor.

2nd: Are PCI or AGP graphic cards better? I currently have a ATI Radeon 9800 XT 256MB, not sure if I could reuse this in another computer or not. Is it good? I bought it for $310 USD last year >_<"

3rd: is 1 GB the max amount of memory for a PC?

4th: Are there any other companies that rival Alien Ware on notebooks?

Okay I'm done. Thx for answering or just giving me suggestions.

[Demon_of_Elru]

I have 5k to blow however I only want to spend around 2.5k or a little more 2.8k whatever is fine. I have been considering on buying a new desktop or notebook that can play FFXI. I really don't feel like building one on my own as I'm 17 and I'm a girl and I have no experience what so ever with building a PC. Although I think it would be kind of fun to spend winter break working on something. ^-^"

I'm no PC wizz by far lol. But I'll try and answer as best as possible.

I would always recommend building a PC, however you get no tech support or guarantees. So if you have no interest in learning how the things work and are put together then I wouldn't recommend.

And yeah it can be fun building yourself.... it really isn't that hard, especially if you enjoy doing it.

Anyways my questions are what's the difference between this: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560 with HT Technology and an AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-55 Processor.

The AMD 64 FX-55 is the best processor for gaming, I know that for sure. I "THINK" the Pentium 4 560 is the better processor when it comes to streaming and converting video, audio, graphics files or something along those lines.

Basically it depends on what you'd be using your desktop for. If its for gaming, which I suppose it is seeing as you posted on a gaming website, then AMD 64 FX-55 is the better choice.

Are PCI or AGP graphic cards better? I currently have a ATI Radeon 9800 XT 256MB, not sure if I could reuse this in another computer or not. Is it good? I bought it for $310 USD last year >_<"

Most people at the moment use AGP, however in the future its all gonna be PCI because its faster or something. At the moment PCI is still early in development and there isn't that much of a performance increase over AGP, but this will change in the near future.

So in my opinion I wouldn't worry about getting a PCI card. But if you want a future proof PC then you might want to go with PCI.

Radeon 9800 XT 256MB is a good card. Its AGP and will work on any motherboard you get that has a AGP slot (I think ALL motherboards do these days). There are better cards out now, but the radeon 9800 can still handle the new games pretty well...

is 1 GB the max amount of memory for a PC?

I assume you are talking about RAM. It depends on the motherboard you use. Some motherboard can take only 1gb while others upto 4gb.... I also think it depends what type of RAM used aswell. Generally the latest motherboards today take about 3-4gb of RAM memory.

Are there any other companies that rival Alien Ware on notebooks?

I dont really know about this one sorry. I'm not too familiar with notebooks. However I have always liked this sites products. Its a UK based company and has better desktops than Alienware.... well it did at a time, not sure now.

www.savrow.com

[Pai Pai Master]

I would also recommend building your own system. However, I would not recommend making it a "I'll learn as I go" experience. :sweat: Don't do what I did, make sure you've got someone there to guide you through it!

Also make sure that any expensive non-OEM parts you buy come with some kind of warranty. I've had my computer for a year, and just two weeks ago, my hard drive died off and damaged my video card, monitor, and other hard drive in the process. Thank God for warranties!

About the RAM, keep in mind that Windows XP systems aren't able to detect more than 2 Gigs of RAM. I can't see that you'd ever need more than a gig and a half on today's games though, unless you're like trying to run Doom 3 on max settings or something... :spin:

[GSDragoon]

DON'T get a PCI card. The new stuff just comming out is "PCI express". The difference now isn't too much from AGP.

[Shadeboxer]

I would suggest the Alienware ALX(i have this 1 and i love it), Alien Ware Aura AMD 64, the Voodoo HeXx, or the Falcon Northwest. These are the ultimate in gaming computers. But i would also reccomend buillding if u dont wanna buy 1 from them. Also get the Nvidia Geforce 6800 Ultra or the nvidia geforce 6800 GT. Those cards can get u the best of gaming. Those 2 will also be the best if u buy Unreal 3 when it comes out. Unreal 3 was tested with this card and it played best. Also for your monitor i would reccomend the Viewsonic 19" CRT G90fb. This is a great monitor for gaming or go with the 17-20" LCD HDTV monitors. You will get the best out of gaming. I know i went a little off topic but trust me u will be happy 2 see the graphics on that monitor and card

[Euphacent]

Anyways my questions are what's the difference between this:
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560 with HT Technology and an AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-55 Processor.

Athlon processors basically run more instructions per cycle than Pentiums do, this makes them faster for things like gaming. A Pentium processor with "HT Technology" means it has hyper threading built in. Hyper Threading allows the processor to essentially do two calculations at once as if you have two processors in your computer, BUT, it will only work for separate programs unless the program supports multiple processors. Since no games support multiple processors, you won't see a performance boost by going with the Pentium, but if you also plan on doing multiple things at once such as Photoshop, listening to music, ripping mp3s, playing a game in windowed mode, etc, all at the same time, you will see a performance increase with the Pentium.

So in a nutshell, for games and general pc use, go with the Athlon. If you're going to be doing a lot of multimedia stuff or have tons of programs running at the same time, go with the Pentium. This is not saying that the Athlon will not run fast with many programs running at the same time, just saying you will notice your system might not chug as often with the Pentium.

Honestly, though, either process will run great. Both processors have pros and cons.

2nd: Are PCI or AGP graphic cards better? I currently have a ATI Radeon 9800 XT 256MB, not sure if I could reuse this in another computer or not. Is it good? I bought it for $310 USD last year >_<"

AGP cards are MUCH faster than PCI. PCI is older technology.

The video card you have now, 9800 XT 256mb, is a very good card still. There are, of course, faster cards, but those will run you about $500-600 to get the absolute top of the line. Your card should still be good for another year or two at the very least, probably a little longer. I've been using a 9700 Pro 128mb for about two years now and probably won't be upgrading for another year or two.

3rd: is 1 GB the max amount of memory for a PC?

The amount of memory a PC can hold depends on the mother board. Most motherboards manufactured now will hold up to 2gb, but many will hold more than that, usually capping out at 4gb. 1gb is plenty of memory for playing any of today's games. Doom 3 is the most memory intensive PC game ever released and should run great on 1gb. I only have 512mb and it has stuttering problems occasionally. I've seen it run on 768mb ram and it was noticably better than mine. I've also seen it run on 1gb ram and it was silky smooth.

[TheMidg]

Originally posted by Shadeboxer
I would suggest the Alienware ALX(i have this 1 and i love it), Alien Ware Aura AMD 64, the Voodoo HeXx, or the Falcon Northwest. These are the ultimate in gaming computers. But i would also reccomend buillding if u dont wanna buy 1 from them. Also get the Nvidia Geforce 6800 Ultra or the nvidia geforce 6800 GT. Those cards can get u the best of gaming. Those 2 will also be the best if u buy Unreal 3 when it comes out. Unreal 3 was tested with this card and it played best. Also for your monitor i would reccomend the Viewsonic 19" CRT G90fb. This is a great monitor for gaming or go with the 17-20" LCD HDTV monitors. You will get the best out of gaming. I know i went a little off topic but trust me u will be happy 2 see the graphics on that monitor and card

KosMos was asking for an alternative to Alien Ware...

Just remember, the brand isn't as important as what's in the machine.