go to pricewatch and check out a GF4 etc.. quite cheap for a Ti4200.

It will run fine. Turn the resolution down to 640x480 and keep turning it up till you find the highest resolution with the smoothest gameplay. For an integrated keep the color depth on 16bit.

Alright sorry about this guys but were back in business my parents have agreed to return the computer (15 day warranty) so here we go again please stick with me here what im looking at right now is a dell custom built computer:
Hows this one:
Dimension 4550 w/ Integrated Audio & NIC
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz w/ 533MHz FSB
Unit Price: $1,694.00 (Price is in Canadian dollars)

Dimension 4550 w/ Integrated Audio & NIC Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz w/ 533MHz FSB

Memory 512MB DDR ****M at 266MHz

Keyboard Dell QuietKey Keyboard - English

Monitor Dell E772 17" (16.0"v.i.s.) Monitor

Video Card 128MB DDR ATI RadeonT 9700 TX Video Card w/DVI and TV-Out

Hard Drive 60GB Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive (7200 rpm)

Floppy Drive 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Mouse Logitech Optical USB 2-Button Mouse

Network Interface Card Integrated Intel Pro 100 M PCI

Modem V.90 Data/Fax Modem

Primary ROM Drive Free Upgrade from 48X CD-ROM to 16X DVD ROM Drive

Sound SBLive! Value Digital Sound Card w/ 1024 Voices

O and whats better 512 MB of DDRRAM or 256MB PC1066 RDRAM (2X128 modules)

Next question:
Installation

No On-Site Installation
Basic Installation [add $99.00]
Complete Installation (Includes Disconnecting Old System & Data Transfer) [add $149.00]

Whats that exactly mean if i choose no onsite installation does that mean i get all my parts seperate and have to build it myself? Whats the best one to get for a person who doesn't know that much about pcs?

Papa

Or this one:

Dimension 8250 with Premium Audio & Integrated NIC
Intel ®Pentium® 4 processor at 2.40 GHz w/ 533MHz FSB & 512K L2 Cache

Unit Price: $1,654.00

Dimension 8250 with Premium Audio & Integrated NIC Intel ®Pentium® 4 processor at 2.40 GHz w/ 533MHz FSB & 512K L2 Cache

Memory 256MB PC1066 RDRAM (2X128 modules)

Keyboard Dell Quietkey Keyboard - English

Monitor Dell M782 17" Flat screen CRT Monitor (16.0'' v.i.s.)

Video Card 128MB DDR ATI RadeonT 9700 TX Video Card w/DVI and TV-Out

Hard Drive 60GB Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive (7200 rpm)


Hows the video card is the 128mb ATI Radeon 9700 a good card ive heard some bad about ATI?

video is the fastest currently on the market.
Looks a good system for the money, the difference between RDRAM and DDR is not much, and to most people will hardly be noticable. I'd get either one.

no-installation means you get the pc built and you have to plug it in yourself. Even my parents could handle that
I'd get the DDRram for the same money.

I think the ATi Radeon 9700 Pro ( don't know if your is Pro or not) is currently the fasted card on the market today... That doesnt mean it will be tommorow. there is web site called tomshardware.com and look at the graphics card section. They Tested all the latest cards and the Radeon 9700 Pro 128 DDR ram was the fastest of them all. I bought one to use w/ RF G2 and CFS3. I will get my system this week. 2.4 mhz P-4, 256/or 512 DDR ram.
Good Luck
David

Look closely at the graphics card its tx not pro. I dont really know the difference but it seems good. Just wondering is the dell brand a quality computer?
Also the 1654 one is a dell 8250 dimesion and the 1694 one is the 4550 dimesion is there a difference?

How much better do you think the DDR RAM one is because if i get the other one i get about another $100 off. Would you still get the DDR or does the 512 not make that big a difference?

512 will not make any difference to what you will be using it for.
I had 512mb for a while, but noticed no difference except when working on 100mb image files in photoshop, where it was a bit quicker. In general email/game playing you'll never spot the difference.
save $100

Last time I checked, DDR RAM was much less expensive than RD RAM. Rambus or RD RAM must be installed in pairs, as well. It's more geared toward server hardware. You won't notice a difference between 256 MB and 512 MB unless you are using multiple applications simultaneously or using software that utilizes a lot of scratch disk or virtual memory.

The Radeon 9700 is currently the best gaming card in the consumer market. The biggest gain in flight simulator software is going to be seen in the video card. Avoid the GeForce MX series for best performance.

What about the Processor if i have a P4 2.0 instead of a 2.4 will that make a big difference and how important is a good sound card im tryin to trim as much as i can in order to afford the v card. Would having a integrated sound card make the computer alot slower or would it be find i could upgrade to the premium sound card?

2gig - 2.4gig won't make as much difference as the video card.
Go for the 2Gig if you want to save money.
Over at Tomshardware.com is a comparison of CPU speed compared to Video Cards and the 9700 Radeon is faster on slower processors than the GF4 series.
Sound cards aren't too picky, some use more CPU than others. Just get a reasonable one, SBLive's are cheap and work well enough, get the 5.1 DE if you want to use it for outputing to a stereo/home theater setup.
Onboard sound will be fine for just about everything, only thing a SBLive etc is used for is 3D sound in First Person Shooter games.

SimJen i really appreciate all the great advice your giving me thanks alot,

Papa

Internet Modem? Which one should i get if im using bell sympatico high speed? I think i might have the enthernet modem that was given in the sympacitco package but if i cant find it do i need the DSL Modem?

No Modem [subtract $40.00] V.90 PCI DataFax WinModem
Conexant V.90/56K Telephony Modem for Windows [add $40.00]
Bell Canada Interal DSL Modem [add $50.00]

And it comes with this
NIC Card

Integrated Intel Pro 100 M PCI Ethernet Network Card

And for an extra $50 its better to get the 60GB hard drive rather than the 30GB one right?

Sorry for all these questions but i dont want to get a bad buy,

Papa

ill tell you know if u are gonna get a 2.0 gig go ahead and get the 2.8 you want be sorry and also get at least a 60 mb HD go for a 80 though . 512 mb ram is good but try to go for 1 gig if you have the money.

so overall what u should get it

2.8 gigz 512 ram and 60 gig HD at least. and also a 64mb grafics card.

That system will last you a long time but get a lot if you can afford it .


}{unter

No problem man, you need the Nic card to connect to your ADSL modem. Be good if you could find the one that came with the package.
Are you going to use the extra space? if so then get the 60gb, in my opinion if you have a CD Writer then you don't need it (i am an avid backerupper).
Hard drive technology is changing shortly with the mainstream introduction of Serial ATA. Some Serial ATA drives are around at the moment, but not many. Worth it for graphics/video editing but not much else.
I'd save myself $50 and get the modem if I needed it.

SimJen

As a general rule of thumb with all computer hardware, buy the most computer you can afford because it won't be worth squat once you unpack it from the box. Unless you are sitting around all day doing benchmark testing, you aren't going to notice any difference between the hardware you are referring to. Get a good graphics card and whatever other hardware you need to connect your existing peripherals, and the rest is moot for gaming. You can add more RAM and bigger hard drives later if you come up short. RAM and hard drives are cheap.

Check hardware reviews at http://www.tomshardware.com

So i need a DSL Modem im sorry i dont really understand you said to save $50 and get the DSL Modem? Without any modem i subract $40 meaning that i save $90 is a modem nessasary for DSL Internet if u have a NIC Card i dont need the dial up slots?
Also i can definitly not get a 2.8Ghz processer as it is an extra $500 for the RAM im going to stick with 256 PC1066 RDRAM (2X256 modules). And the video card im either going to go with the ATI 128MB DDR ATI RadeonT 9700 TX Video Card w/DVI and TV-Out or the 64MB nVidia GeForce 4 MX 420 Graphics Card w/ TV-Out. (The ATI is $200 more). Ill probably just get the 60GB hard 7200rpm.
The question i have is the sound card:
For the SBLive! Value Digital Sound Card w/ 1024 Voices compared to the Integrated Audio is $50 is this worth it. Im not so much looking for quality sound but so the computer wont be slowed because the sound is hogging all the memory?

Papa

I meant save $50 by getting a smaller Hard drive. I'm not sure how the systems work in Canada with your DSL etc, I've only ever used Satellite as a high speed Internet connection.
You generally use the Nic plugged into the DSL modem.
The GF4 MX420 is lacking in speed, get the 9700 and you'll have the fastest card currently available.
Standard integrated audio should be fine for your needs. If you start to play new generation games (which you probably will with the 9700 Vid Card) then the SBLive will bring a new level of immersion with 3d sound.
Easy enough to pop a different sound card in later though.
I'd put the 9700 in, save $50 by getting the 30gb drive, and stick with the integrated sound.

SimJen

Thanks alot SimJen,
The difference between the drives is the 60GB is ATA-100 and the 30GB is ATA does this mean anything?

Papa

theres only 2 modems a 56k modem and a ethernet card modem.


}{unter

The 30gb should be ATA100, I'd contact them and confirm.
Sometimes they don't bother listing stuff like that, strange they did on one drive and not the other.

SimJen

Alright i just ordered the computer and i got as follows:

Dimension 4550 w/ Integrated Audio & NIC Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz w/ 533MHz FSB

Memory 256MB DDR ****M at 266MHz (Can another 256mb be added easily?)

Keyboard Dell QuietKey Keyboard - English

Monitor Dell E772 17" (16.0"v.i.s.) Monitor

Video Card 128MB DDR ATI RadeonT 9700 TX Video Card w/DVI and TV-Out

Hard Drive 60GB Ultra ATA-100 Hard Drive (7200 rpm)

Floppy Drive 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive

Operating System Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

Mouse Dell® 2-Button Scroll Mouse

Network Interface Card Integrated Intel Pro 100 M PCI

Modem Conexant V.90/56K Telephony Modem for Windows

Primary ROM Drive 48X CD-ROM

Sound SBLive! Value Digital Sound Card w/ 1024 Voices


What i need to know is will this run G2 well?

And will this run CFS3 well?

Thanks for everyone who helped me pick out a computer,

Papa

how much did you pay for that??

First of all it has Intergraded sound = sucks

second you only have 256 mb of ram and no its not ez just to upgrade.

Third you have so little ram theres no damn reson why u would buy a 128 mb grafics when the ram want even run half the regular output of that grafics card.

Forth XP home = Sucks for Video games.

Fith you got a intergraded Network card = Sucks for your connection. Your connection is gonna run off some of your ram which u dont have hardly none.

Yes it will run it but good luck becuase i know you payed WAY to much for that system you got.


}{unter