Topic: PC Question

[Acidrain]

I was wondering any of you that have CPU's over 1.ghz do you see a big difference at a higher speed? If you had a 900mhz cpu or below do you see much of a change? I for one, and i have a 3.0 ghz cpu on althlon and i have 3 gig memory, i really dont see much of a big difference in my game play from my old 900mhz, i did see a big difference when i had a  400mhz!!! So what do you think? Iam going to build another and iam kinda stuck if you knwo what i mean!? thank you Later Acid      

[Acidrain]

Also i was wondering if i can use a hard drive that already as an OS on it from another pc, and was used from another pc can i some how use it in the new board? Or do i have to erase the HD to pu tit on that new pc? Later and Thank you Acid

[NCC2012]

Quote:
Also i was wondering if i can use a hard drive that already as an OS on it from another pc, and was used from another pc can i some how use it in the new board? Or do i have to erase the HD to pu tit on that new pc? Later and Thank you Acid  

I've always reformatted hard drives right after swapping.  That way I know I won't have drivers from the old system that may or may not wreak havok with the new machine. I just like starting out fresh.  

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

It depends on the game and what else you may be running at the same time.   Many games are limited more by the Video card than any other component.  Voice command software or communications software like Roger Wilco for example add to CPU load and a faster CPU will help.  

As to transferring a HD with OS preinstalled.  I don't recommend that.  It can be done but it is messy and difficult to make things work right.   Just not worth the effort in 99.99% of cases.  So plan on reformating the OS partition at least.

In general for Windows I partition the HD like below:

C: for the OS - 2GB for Win98, 4 for Win2000 (or XP though I don't use XP)
D: for a swap file - 1GB
E: for Utilities -  for myself 2 GB
F: for serious applications - 1/3 of whats left
G: for Games - 1/3 of whats left
H: for Data - 1/3 of whats left

Most fragmentation then occurs only on the C: and the game drive.  Defraging is much quicker and no program can mess easily with the swap file (aka virtual memory) which improves stability.  Also since you really only need to back up your data on a regular basis it is already segregated on its own partition.  

You of course would need to customize this to your own needs but I recommend segragating the OS and Swap file on their own partions away from other programs.    

[jualdeaux]

I"m running XP and I was wondering how you change the location of the swap file.

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I"m running XP and I was wondering how you change the location of the swap file.  

I don't use XP but I would expect this to work like Win2000 Pro which I do use.  So I will give the 2000 for Dummies version.

Step 1/ Click the  Start button

Step 2/ Point to Settings, choose Control Panel and click on it.

Step 3/  On the Control Panel window click on System

Step 4/ Click the Advanced Tab on the System Properties Window that you just opened.

Step 5/ Click Performance options.

Step 6/ There should be two subsections on the Performance Options window.  One is labeled Virtual Memory and has a button labeled change click the change button.

Step 7/ The Virtual memory window has a section at the top where you can choose your partion to place the Swap file on.  Choose the appropriate partition.  In my case that is D:

Step 8/ In the same window is a pair of boxes that you can type in.  The first is labeled Initial Size (MB):  The second is labeled Maximum Size (MB): .  Type your chosen amount of disk space in each (I use 1024 in both).

Step 9/  Click the Set button

Step 10/  Click the OK button in each of the windows as you go back through the series of open windows.

Step 11/ Reboot to activate your new settings.
 
Step 12/ Your done.  

[Acidrain]

Thank you Nemesis very much bro!! I thought it was a pain in the butt, but just wanted to make sure!!! Thank you again Acid  

What do you think about the CPU issue? Late

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
Thank you Nemesis very much bro!! I thought it was a pain in the butt, but just wanted to make sure!!! Thank you again Acid  

What do you think about the CPU issue? Late

No problem.  Always glad to help.

On the CPU.

Quote:
It depends on the game and what else you may be running at the same time. Many games are limited more by the Video card than any other component. Voice command software or communications software like Roger Wilco for example add to CPU load and a faster CPU will help.

In addition you may have other software such as virus scanners and firewalls.  Perhaps more.  Many people have task bars totally cluttered with stuff that should not be there and it slows them to a crawl.   I just sped up one of my nieces computer (a 650mhz that I gave her a couple of years ago) by resetting to keep MS Office off  the task bar.  She noticed the speed up immediately.  (I also gave her a CD/RW for Christmas along with a new keyboard and some blank RWs to play with).  For her the 650mhz is more than adequate.

So if you don't have your task bar loaded to the max and don't need or want to run more than just the game itself 1ghz is probably more than adequate for now.  But the future can change that (what is the requirement for Doom III for example?)   Of course if you have loaded your machine with software you want to run while gaming then you need more power.

My own #1 machine (of 3 maybe a 4th soon ) is a dual CPU Athlon 2400+ with 2 40 GB HD set up in a RAID array  running Win2000Pro.  So you can see I believe in overkill on my own machines.

   

[mathcubeguy]

I wish I had a cool computer like Nemesis, or anyone else with a PC less than 3 1/2 years old...

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I wish I had a cool computer like Nemesis, or anyone else with a PC less than 3 1/2 years old...  

I didn't even mention the 22" NEC Multisync FP1370 Monitor .  2048x1536 resolution.  I can edit a page in Word Perfect and see the entire page (with 120% zoom) in editing mode.  

I've given away 2 computers this year.  A 400mhz K6-2 with 192mb of ram,a 80GB HD and a Radeon 7200.  Also a 1.4ghz Athlon with 512mb of ram, 17GB HD and a Radeon 7000.  

The #4 computer that I am thinking of making would be used for SETI until May then I would use it to replace my mothers aging 350mhz machine(192mb and 30GB HD) (that I gave her when it was still considered moderately fast) which would then be given to a friend.  I may upgrade the 350mhz to 533 mhz in the next few weeks if things go well.      

[Acidrain]

It?s all about building your own machine, never store bought!!! What a rip off!!! Learn to build your own machine is the only way!! Thank you Nemesis, and you can see as my primary machine is over kill as well!!! I just wanted to ask something, which i always wondered about!!! Yeah your machine is over kill as mine is!! Hey mathcubguy you can build a good machine I think for $400 US dollars I think, buy using your old cdrom and other stuff that you can use in your other pc, but parts are so cheap now days its easier to just build from scratch!!! I remember when 128mb stick was like $150 bucks like two or three years ago!! I bought my 1 gig memory for $100 bucks so I mean it?s easy to go out and build on your own PC, and believe it doesn?t take a rocket science to do!! If you know someone that can you show once, you will have it down no biggy dude!! Later Acid
 

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
 i remeber when 128mb stick was like $150 bucks like two or three years ago!! I bought my 1 gig memory for $100 bucks so i

   

The K6-2 400 I mentioned earlier started as a Pentium 90mhz with 16mb of ram and a 1.2GB HD, a monster machine at the time as the 120mhz Pentium had just been released but was not yet available locally.  The 16mb cost me $1000 Cdn at the time.  Then 3 months later the price collapsed.  

Custom built either in a local store or by your own hand is the way to go.  It can be more expensive but if you are careful with your research the quality that you can assure will give you a more stable and faster machine with a better upgrade path down the road.

My machines tend to "evolve" my main machine didn't start as a Dual CPU machine.  It originally had a single CPU motherboard and an Athlon 1.4ghz (I used that motherboard and CPU to build the 1.4ghz machine that I gave away.)  That evolution is why I refuse to buy Windows XP.   Unless MS ditches stuff like activation Win2000Pro is my last Windows. My #2 machine (dual Athlon 2100+) is my Linux machine, eventually MS will drive me all the way into the Linux camp.  The #3 (single Athlon 2400+) machine uses Win98SE because of a peice of legacy hardware that does not have newer drivers.    

[Acidrain]

Linux is the way to go period, its amazing its a thirty year old program and its still more stable than windows wil ever be. I would transfer over to Linux full time if all my games would play on it!!! I do run right know my server on Linux, its funny how Linux is friendly to other OS but Windows is completey unfriendly to the other OS!!!!
I hear you on the cost! Doesnt it make sick you buy something and then a week or month later is cut in half of what you paid, its crazy, and reearch is the only way to go on building, i do alot of my shoping on pricewatch and i get others thier here thier you know. Later Acid and Thank you again bro!!! Acid

[ActiveX]

Play PlanetSide on both and you will see a huge difference...

[Dash Jones]

I can see some big differences in games that are graphics heavy between a 900 mhz and a 2gig or greater mhz machine.

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I can see some big differences in games that are graphics heavy between a 900 mhz and a 2gig or greater mhz machine.  

Often though the difference is not the CPU but the fact that the more powerful and up to date computer has a more powerful and up to date video card.  In many cases switching the video cards around will reverse the perception of speed.  

With SFC2 my K6-2 400 (since given away) had trouble with big battles, until I updated the video card.  After that I was in battles with up to 5 players (17 ships some AI) and it worked fine, even with fighters and drone ships in use.  Of course my current system just laughs at the load SFC2 puts on it.    

[Acidrain]

I was wondering any of you that have CPU's over 1.ghz do you see a big difference at a higher speed? If you had a 900mhz cpu or below do you see much of a change? I for one, and i have a 3.0 ghz cpu on althlon and i have 3 gig memory, i really dont see much of a big difference in my game play from my old 900mhz, i did see a big difference when i had a  400mhz!!! So what do you think? Iam going to build another and iam kinda stuck if you knwo what i mean!? thank you Later Acid      

[Acidrain]

Also i was wondering if i can use a hard drive that already as an OS on it from another pc, and was used from another pc can i some how use it in the new board? Or do i have to erase the HD to pu tit on that new pc? Later and Thank you Acid

[NCC2012]

Quote:
Also i was wondering if i can use a hard drive that already as an OS on it from another pc, and was used from another pc can i some how use it in the new board? Or do i have to erase the HD to pu tit on that new pc? Later and Thank you Acid  

I've always reformatted hard drives right after swapping.  That way I know I won't have drivers from the old system that may or may not wreak havok with the new machine. I just like starting out fresh.  

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

It depends on the game and what else you may be running at the same time.   Many games are limited more by the Video card than any other component.  Voice command software or communications software like Roger Wilco for example add to CPU load and a faster CPU will help.  

As to transferring a HD with OS preinstalled.  I don't recommend that.  It can be done but it is messy and difficult to make things work right.   Just not worth the effort in 99.99% of cases.  So plan on reformating the OS partition at least.

In general for Windows I partition the HD like below:

C: for the OS - 2GB for Win98, 4 for Win2000 (or XP though I don't use XP)
D: for a swap file - 1GB
E: for Utilities -  for myself 2 GB
F: for serious applications - 1/3 of whats left
G: for Games - 1/3 of whats left
H: for Data - 1/3 of whats left

Most fragmentation then occurs only on the C: and the game drive.  Defraging is much quicker and no program can mess easily with the swap file (aka virtual memory) which improves stability.  Also since you really only need to back up your data on a regular basis it is already segregated on its own partition.  

You of course would need to customize this to your own needs but I recommend segragating the OS and Swap file on their own partions away from other programs.    

[jualdeaux]

I"m running XP and I was wondering how you change the location of the swap file.

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I"m running XP and I was wondering how you change the location of the swap file.  

I don't use XP but I would expect this to work like Win2000 Pro which I do use.  So I will give the 2000 for Dummies version.

Step 1/ Click the  Start button

Step 2/ Point to Settings, choose Control Panel and click on it.

Step 3/  On the Control Panel window click on System

Step 4/ Click the Advanced Tab on the System Properties Window that you just opened.

Step 5/ Click Performance options.

Step 6/ There should be two subsections on the Performance Options window.  One is labeled Virtual Memory and has a button labeled change click the change button.

Step 7/ The Virtual memory window has a section at the top where you can choose your partion to place the Swap file on.  Choose the appropriate partition.  In my case that is D:

Step 8/ In the same window is a pair of boxes that you can type in.  The first is labeled Initial Size (MB):  The second is labeled Maximum Size (MB): .  Type your chosen amount of disk space in each (I use 1024 in both).

Step 9/  Click the Set button

Step 10/  Click the OK button in each of the windows as you go back through the series of open windows.

Step 11/ Reboot to activate your new settings.
 
Step 12/ Your done.  

[Acidrain]

Thank you Nemesis very much bro!! I thought it was a pain in the butt, but just wanted to make sure!!! Thank you again Acid  

What do you think about the CPU issue? Late

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
Thank you Nemesis very much bro!! I thought it was a pain in the butt, but just wanted to make sure!!! Thank you again Acid  

What do you think about the CPU issue? Late

No problem.  Always glad to help.

On the CPU.

Quote:
It depends on the game and what else you may be running at the same time. Many games are limited more by the Video card than any other component. Voice command software or communications software like Roger Wilco for example add to CPU load and a faster CPU will help.

In addition you may have other software such as virus scanners and firewalls.  Perhaps more.  Many people have task bars totally cluttered with stuff that should not be there and it slows them to a crawl.   I just sped up one of my nieces computer (a 650mhz that I gave her a couple of years ago) by resetting to keep MS Office off  the task bar.  She noticed the speed up immediately.  (I also gave her a CD/RW for Christmas along with a new keyboard and some blank RWs to play with).  For her the 650mhz is more than adequate.

So if you don't have your task bar loaded to the max and don't need or want to run more than just the game itself 1ghz is probably more than adequate for now.  But the future can change that (what is the requirement for Doom III for example?)   Of course if you have loaded your machine with software you want to run while gaming then you need more power.

My own #1 machine (of 3 maybe a 4th soon ) is a dual CPU Athlon 2400+ with 2 40 GB HD set up in a RAID array  running Win2000Pro.  So you can see I believe in overkill on my own machines.

   

[mathcubeguy]

I wish I had a cool computer like Nemesis, or anyone else with a PC less than 3 1/2 years old...

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I wish I had a cool computer like Nemesis, or anyone else with a PC less than 3 1/2 years old...  

I didn't even mention the 22" NEC Multisync FP1370 Monitor .  2048x1536 resolution.  I can edit a page in Word Perfect and see the entire page (with 120% zoom) in editing mode.  

I've given away 2 computers this year.  A 400mhz K6-2 with 192mb of ram,a 80GB HD and a Radeon 7200.  Also a 1.4ghz Athlon with 512mb of ram, 17GB HD and a Radeon 7000.  

The #4 computer that I am thinking of making would be used for SETI until May then I would use it to replace my mothers aging 350mhz machine(192mb and 30GB HD) (that I gave her when it was still considered moderately fast) which would then be given to a friend.  I may upgrade the 350mhz to 533 mhz in the next few weeks if things go well.      

[Acidrain]

It?s all about building your own machine, never store bought!!! What a rip off!!! Learn to build your own machine is the only way!! Thank you Nemesis, and you can see as my primary machine is over kill as well!!! I just wanted to ask something, which i always wondered about!!! Yeah your machine is over kill as mine is!! Hey mathcubguy you can build a good machine I think for $400 US dollars I think, buy using your old cdrom and other stuff that you can use in your other pc, but parts are so cheap now days its easier to just build from scratch!!! I remember when 128mb stick was like $150 bucks like two or three years ago!! I bought my 1 gig memory for $100 bucks so I mean it?s easy to go out and build on your own PC, and believe it doesn?t take a rocket science to do!! If you know someone that can you show once, you will have it down no biggy dude!! Later Acid
 

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
 i remeber when 128mb stick was like $150 bucks like two or three years ago!! I bought my 1 gig memory for $100 bucks so i

   

The K6-2 400 I mentioned earlier started as a Pentium 90mhz with 16mb of ram and a 1.2GB HD, a monster machine at the time as the 120mhz Pentium had just been released but was not yet available locally.  The 16mb cost me $1000 Cdn at the time.  Then 3 months later the price collapsed.  

Custom built either in a local store or by your own hand is the way to go.  It can be more expensive but if you are careful with your research the quality that you can assure will give you a more stable and faster machine with a better upgrade path down the road.

My machines tend to "evolve" my main machine didn't start as a Dual CPU machine.  It originally had a single CPU motherboard and an Athlon 1.4ghz (I used that motherboard and CPU to build the 1.4ghz machine that I gave away.)  That evolution is why I refuse to buy Windows XP.   Unless MS ditches stuff like activation Win2000Pro is my last Windows. My #2 machine (dual Athlon 2100+) is my Linux machine, eventually MS will drive me all the way into the Linux camp.  The #3 (single Athlon 2400+) machine uses Win98SE because of a peice of legacy hardware that does not have newer drivers.    

[Acidrain]

Linux is the way to go period, its amazing its a thirty year old program and its still more stable than windows wil ever be. I would transfer over to Linux full time if all my games would play on it!!! I do run right know my server on Linux, its funny how Linux is friendly to other OS but Windows is completey unfriendly to the other OS!!!!
I hear you on the cost! Doesnt it make sick you buy something and then a week or month later is cut in half of what you paid, its crazy, and reearch is the only way to go on building, i do alot of my shoping on pricewatch and i get others thier here thier you know. Later Acid and Thank you again bro!!! Acid

[ActiveX]

Play PlanetSide on both and you will see a huge difference...

[Dash Jones]

I can see some big differences in games that are graphics heavy between a 900 mhz and a 2gig or greater mhz machine.

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I can see some big differences in games that are graphics heavy between a 900 mhz and a 2gig or greater mhz machine.  

Often though the difference is not the CPU but the fact that the more powerful and up to date computer has a more powerful and up to date video card.  In many cases switching the video cards around will reverse the perception of speed.  

With SFC2 my K6-2 400 (since given away) had trouble with big battles, until I updated the video card.  After that I was in battles with up to 5 players (17 ships some AI) and it worked fine, even with fighters and drone ships in use.  Of course my current system just laughs at the load SFC2 puts on it.    

[Acidrain]

I was wondering any of you that have CPU's over 1.ghz do you see a big difference at a higher speed? If you had a 900mhz cpu or below do you see much of a change? I for one, and i have a 3.0 ghz cpu on althlon and i have 3 gig memory, i really dont see much of a big difference in my game play from my old 900mhz, i did see a big difference when i had a  400mhz!!! So what do you think? Iam going to build another and iam kinda stuck if you knwo what i mean!? thank you Later Acid      

[Acidrain]

Also i was wondering if i can use a hard drive that already as an OS on it from another pc, and was used from another pc can i some how use it in the new board? Or do i have to erase the HD to pu tit on that new pc? Later and Thank you Acid

[NCC2012]

Quote:
Also i was wondering if i can use a hard drive that already as an OS on it from another pc, and was used from another pc can i some how use it in the new board? Or do i have to erase the HD to pu tit on that new pc? Later and Thank you Acid  

I've always reformatted hard drives right after swapping.  That way I know I won't have drivers from the old system that may or may not wreak havok with the new machine. I just like starting out fresh.  

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

It depends on the game and what else you may be running at the same time.   Many games are limited more by the Video card than any other component.  Voice command software or communications software like Roger Wilco for example add to CPU load and a faster CPU will help.  

As to transferring a HD with OS preinstalled.  I don't recommend that.  It can be done but it is messy and difficult to make things work right.   Just not worth the effort in 99.99% of cases.  So plan on reformating the OS partition at least.

In general for Windows I partition the HD like below:

C: for the OS - 2GB for Win98, 4 for Win2000 (or XP though I don't use XP)
D: for a swap file - 1GB
E: for Utilities -  for myself 2 GB
F: for serious applications - 1/3 of whats left
G: for Games - 1/3 of whats left
H: for Data - 1/3 of whats left

Most fragmentation then occurs only on the C: and the game drive.  Defraging is much quicker and no program can mess easily with the swap file (aka virtual memory) which improves stability.  Also since you really only need to back up your data on a regular basis it is already segregated on its own partition.  

You of course would need to customize this to your own needs but I recommend segragating the OS and Swap file on their own partions away from other programs.    

[jualdeaux]

I"m running XP and I was wondering how you change the location of the swap file.

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I"m running XP and I was wondering how you change the location of the swap file.  

I don't use XP but I would expect this to work like Win2000 Pro which I do use.  So I will give the 2000 for Dummies version.

Step 1/ Click the  Start button

Step 2/ Point to Settings, choose Control Panel and click on it.

Step 3/  On the Control Panel window click on System

Step 4/ Click the Advanced Tab on the System Properties Window that you just opened.

Step 5/ Click Performance options.

Step 6/ There should be two subsections on the Performance Options window.  One is labeled Virtual Memory and has a button labeled change click the change button.

Step 7/ The Virtual memory window has a section at the top where you can choose your partion to place the Swap file on.  Choose the appropriate partition.  In my case that is D:

Step 8/ In the same window is a pair of boxes that you can type in.  The first is labeled Initial Size (MB):  The second is labeled Maximum Size (MB): .  Type your chosen amount of disk space in each (I use 1024 in both).

Step 9/  Click the Set button

Step 10/  Click the OK button in each of the windows as you go back through the series of open windows.

Step 11/ Reboot to activate your new settings.
 
Step 12/ Your done.  

[Acidrain]

Thank you Nemesis very much bro!! I thought it was a pain in the butt, but just wanted to make sure!!! Thank you again Acid  

What do you think about the CPU issue? Late

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
Thank you Nemesis very much bro!! I thought it was a pain in the butt, but just wanted to make sure!!! Thank you again Acid  

What do you think about the CPU issue? Late

No problem.  Always glad to help.

On the CPU.

Quote:
It depends on the game and what else you may be running at the same time. Many games are limited more by the Video card than any other component. Voice command software or communications software like Roger Wilco for example add to CPU load and a faster CPU will help.

In addition you may have other software such as virus scanners and firewalls.  Perhaps more.  Many people have task bars totally cluttered with stuff that should not be there and it slows them to a crawl.   I just sped up one of my nieces computer (a 650mhz that I gave her a couple of years ago) by resetting to keep MS Office off  the task bar.  She noticed the speed up immediately.  (I also gave her a CD/RW for Christmas along with a new keyboard and some blank RWs to play with).  For her the 650mhz is more than adequate.

So if you don't have your task bar loaded to the max and don't need or want to run more than just the game itself 1ghz is probably more than adequate for now.  But the future can change that (what is the requirement for Doom III for example?)   Of course if you have loaded your machine with software you want to run while gaming then you need more power.

My own #1 machine (of 3 maybe a 4th soon ) is a dual CPU Athlon 2400+ with 2 40 GB HD set up in a RAID array  running Win2000Pro.  So you can see I believe in overkill on my own machines.

   

[mathcubeguy]

I wish I had a cool computer like Nemesis, or anyone else with a PC less than 3 1/2 years old...

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I wish I had a cool computer like Nemesis, or anyone else with a PC less than 3 1/2 years old...  

I didn't even mention the 22" NEC Multisync FP1370 Monitor .  2048x1536 resolution.  I can edit a page in Word Perfect and see the entire page (with 120% zoom) in editing mode.  

I've given away 2 computers this year.  A 400mhz K6-2 with 192mb of ram,a 80GB HD and a Radeon 7200.  Also a 1.4ghz Athlon with 512mb of ram, 17GB HD and a Radeon 7000.  

The #4 computer that I am thinking of making would be used for SETI until May then I would use it to replace my mothers aging 350mhz machine(192mb and 30GB HD) (that I gave her when it was still considered moderately fast) which would then be given to a friend.  I may upgrade the 350mhz to 533 mhz in the next few weeks if things go well.      

[Acidrain]

It?s all about building your own machine, never store bought!!! What a rip off!!! Learn to build your own machine is the only way!! Thank you Nemesis, and you can see as my primary machine is over kill as well!!! I just wanted to ask something, which i always wondered about!!! Yeah your machine is over kill as mine is!! Hey mathcubguy you can build a good machine I think for $400 US dollars I think, buy using your old cdrom and other stuff that you can use in your other pc, but parts are so cheap now days its easier to just build from scratch!!! I remember when 128mb stick was like $150 bucks like two or three years ago!! I bought my 1 gig memory for $100 bucks so I mean it?s easy to go out and build on your own PC, and believe it doesn?t take a rocket science to do!! If you know someone that can you show once, you will have it down no biggy dude!! Later Acid
 

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
 i remeber when 128mb stick was like $150 bucks like two or three years ago!! I bought my 1 gig memory for $100 bucks so i

   

The K6-2 400 I mentioned earlier started as a Pentium 90mhz with 16mb of ram and a 1.2GB HD, a monster machine at the time as the 120mhz Pentium had just been released but was not yet available locally.  The 16mb cost me $1000 Cdn at the time.  Then 3 months later the price collapsed.  

Custom built either in a local store or by your own hand is the way to go.  It can be more expensive but if you are careful with your research the quality that you can assure will give you a more stable and faster machine with a better upgrade path down the road.

My machines tend to "evolve" my main machine didn't start as a Dual CPU machine.  It originally had a single CPU motherboard and an Athlon 1.4ghz (I used that motherboard and CPU to build the 1.4ghz machine that I gave away.)  That evolution is why I refuse to buy Windows XP.   Unless MS ditches stuff like activation Win2000Pro is my last Windows. My #2 machine (dual Athlon 2100+) is my Linux machine, eventually MS will drive me all the way into the Linux camp.  The #3 (single Athlon 2400+) machine uses Win98SE because of a peice of legacy hardware that does not have newer drivers.    

[Acidrain]

Linux is the way to go period, its amazing its a thirty year old program and its still more stable than windows wil ever be. I would transfer over to Linux full time if all my games would play on it!!! I do run right know my server on Linux, its funny how Linux is friendly to other OS but Windows is completey unfriendly to the other OS!!!!
I hear you on the cost! Doesnt it make sick you buy something and then a week or month later is cut in half of what you paid, its crazy, and reearch is the only way to go on building, i do alot of my shoping on pricewatch and i get others thier here thier you know. Later Acid and Thank you again bro!!! Acid

[ActiveX]

Play PlanetSide on both and you will see a huge difference...

[Dash Jones]

I can see some big differences in games that are graphics heavy between a 900 mhz and a 2gig or greater mhz machine.

[IKV Nemesis D7L]

Quote:
I can see some big differences in games that are graphics heavy between a 900 mhz and a 2gig or greater mhz machine.  

Often though the difference is not the CPU but the fact that the more powerful and up to date computer has a more powerful and up to date video card.  In many cases switching the video cards around will reverse the perception of speed.  

With SFC2 my K6-2 400 (since given away) had trouble with big battles, until I updated the video card.  After that I was in battles with up to 5 players (17 ships some AI) and it worked fine, even with fighters and drone ships in use.  Of course my current system just laughs at the load SFC2 puts on it.