[url]I don't know anything about overclocking so any help you could give me there would be awesome (pros/cons, whether it's even necessary)[/url]
i have an Intel Q6600, my friend has one, we have almost the same systems (only other mainboard, cooling, drives and case) Mine is overclocked on 4x3Ghz (standard is 4x2,4Ghz), gta4 works better on my comp than on his. desktop and multimedia, no, no difference... but its better to know how to overclock, saves money... we dont know what games will come out, or what programs, maybe in 5 years, you need something more powerful as processor, than you buy now... but mainly, if you dont want to overclock, you save money in mainboard, cooling (fans, heatsink, case).
taken together:
Pro: saving money
Contra: you need skills (inform yourself etc.); more expensive heatsinks, fans, case, mainboard; you could destroy anything (i doubt that, cuz todays mainboards are safe, but i dont know what people do physically with their computer parts
)
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I'd prefer not to go over $1500, but tell me if there's a reallly good reason why I should
pretty much money for a multimedia pc, you could get a very high end pc for it... sphinx bought a pc, with intel core i7, Gtx260, 6 gigs of ram and an expensive mainboard (all mainboards for this new standard socket, like the i7 has, are expensive)
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Sound system is really more an afterthought, because I've never heard much of a difference, but let me know if there's something I'm missing.
if you are a person, who really wants to enjoy movies and music, thing is, are you interessted in 5.1? or is the normal 2.1, as known as "stereo", enough for you?, for 2.1, i would recommend the Logitech X-230 system, about 50 bucks, 2 friends have it, and they like it, and they are right, its pretty good, especially for this price. If you would be an enthusiast, logitech wouldnt be enough, you should get a "Teufel" Concept, about 200€ for this piece of gold
or a homecinema system for 400€
... but youre no interessted i guess, if yes, your would have your own cinema in your room, teufel is one of the best sound manufacturer on the world, and these systems are payable, next issue
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I mainly play TF2, HL2, and probly L4D2 when it comes out, so nothing too processor-heavy in that regard
i dont know much about l4d2, isnt it just an upgraded source engine? if yes, a 50€ videocard would be enough, but we dont know what the future brings, i gonne search a mid-high card for you, like the gtx260 or higher.
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However, I do a lot of music/media creation on my own and my processor right now just can't keep up (lags when I dub too much in, etc)
i bet you have a typically repcom computer, about 10 years, eh? ^^
a quad(intel, cuz amd is crap) and 4 gigs of ram should do it.
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Also, Windows 7 or Vista?
Win7, i already knew it, and read tons about it, that its just vista, like it should be. The nice thing on it, you can get the release candidate for free, until the real Win7 comes out. saving money, and after it, you can get it pirated or just buy it, your decision...
but dont get vista, not in your life. better getting XP than vista, but for future win7, and its pretty fast though ( sphinx just told me today, how faster and better it is)
some questions:
How many space do you want? 500gigs? 1 terrabyte (recommend) or maybe 2 Terrabyte?. Forget the external, get 1 Terrabyte internal, and maybe if you want a 500GB external ( i got on my own 250GB intern + 1TB intern + 500GB extern)
its just faster, and i dont know anything, what is over 500GB big, what you want to transport...
Optical drives, What exactly?
DVD burner? DVD burner with Lightscrible? Blueray? Anything to it? maybe another DVD-Drive, or cardreader? Floppy?
another question, do you know how to build a pc? or do you have friends, or maybe a shop, who will build from the parts you bough a pc?
and do you maybe know another american internetshop for hardware?
edit:
Core i7;
what is it? its the new generation of cpu's of intel, 45nm, quadcore, 8.192 KiByte L3 cache, 4 Physical , and 4 virtual cores, so there are 8 cores.
Q: For what the hell do i need 8 cores?
A: Nothing, not now. GTA IV is the first game, which supports 4 cores, and uses is correctly, i dont know what games will follow this, but there wont be any games, who will support 100% of 8 Cores for the next 2 years.
Q: i actually dont play so much games on my computer, i use it more for working and movies, will the Corei7 make my computer faster?
A: Nope, Windows XP and Vista use only 2 cores, not more.
Q: Why the hell should i get a 4 Core CPU, if Win Vista and XP are too retarded to support that?
A: The final version of Win7 supports up to 256 Cores
Q: Why not an i7 then?
A: Well, actually your choice, If you want an i7, you need a special mainboard, special ram (DDR3) and that costs more, than the normal things, but if you are willed to spend about 300 more, congratualations sir, you have a machine from hell.
-Thank you Virus, that was an interessting interview, you helped a lot!
-No problem sir, im happy to help.