|
|
|
Comment |
Sorted by
Date Written |
Re: Comments (Reply to this comment)
by Action_Snark
Thanks for clearing up the RAM price issue, I was going from memory with that, and I'm only human. I'm actually quite glad to hear what you have to say, as I'm going to a DDR based system soon.
As far as the hard drive issue goes, I was envisioning a 10.0 gb drive for a 'mom and pop' system that was used for mostly word processing/web surfing/email duties, not a powerhouse gaming system. I completely agree that a 10 gb drive is woefully inadequate for a powerhouse gaming system. I did not have a gaming system in mind when I specified a 10 gig drive, and apologize if I gave you that impression.
As far as video cards go, I will admit that I am a bit behind the curve on that. When I suggested a Radeon, I was referring to the high end radeons packing DDR and TIVO capabilities, as opposed to the low grade Geforce 2 MX card I had mentioned earlier in the epinion.
I was kind of shooting from the hip as I wrote the epinion, drawing mainly from memory and a few select data sources throughout the web. I apologize thoroughly for the inaccuracies in my opinion, and will rectify them as soon as I can get around to it... Oh, and thanks for some much needed feedback.
--- Snark
|
Jul 12 '01
5:19 pm PDT
|
|
Comments (Reply to this comment)
by vicwang
Great job with this article overall, since it has lots of very useful information. Unfortunately, a few inaccuracies make it hard to highly recommend:
"DDR, or Double Data Rate, can dump twice as much information into a processor as SD RAM can. DDR is far more powerful, but far more expensive."
If you check Crucial.com (subsidiary of Micron which sells high-quality, name-brand RAM online) you'll find the following prices for SDRAM and DDR RAM:
(note "CL" specifies latency, with lower being better)
128MB 133 mhz CL3 SDRAM: $31.49
256MB 133 mhz CL3 SDRAM: $59.39
128MB 133 mhz CL2 SDRAM: $34.19
256MB 133 mhz CL2 SDRAM: $62.99
128MB 266 mhz CL2.5 DDR: $34.99
256MB 266 mhz CL2.5 DDR: $59.39
As you can see, 128 megs of the fastest DDR available is only pennies more than comparable SDRAM, while it's exactly the same price (or even cheaper) when you compare them at 256 megs.
Incidentally, with these ridiculously low prices (we're in the middle of the biggest RAM glut in history, which means RAM is the cheapest it's ever been) I find it hard to recommend 128 megs when 256 or even 512 megs can be had for an extra $30-50.
"A respectable sized hard disk would be about 10.0 gigabytes. This will give you more than enough room for the Operating System... and any other programs or files you may load"
While not technically inaccurate, I'd strongly recommend tripling or even quadrupling that 10 gigabyte recommendation. Some PC games can exceed an entire gigabyte by themselves, and anyone with high-speed internet access could easily fill 10 gigabytes in a matter of weeks.
Plus, it may even be hard to find 10 gigabyte drives right now. The cheapest listed on Pricewatch.com are 20 gigs, while 40 gig drives cost only $20 more ($80 vs. $60).
"If you are looking for massive performance, then you may want to look into an ATI Radeon or a Geforce 3 card."
This is a bit confusing, since ATI Radeon's are not particular high-end model like the Geforce 3 is, but an entire line of cards from low-end (SDR Radeons) to mid-range (32 MB DDR Radeons) to higher-end (64 MB DDR with TIVO, video capture, etc).
Now that the Geforce 3 has been released it pretty much stands alone as the top-of-the-line card, since the fastest Radeons are roughly as fast as Geforce 2's.
-vicwang
|
Jun 23 '01
6:39 am PDT
|
|
|
|
