More Awesome Than You!

Over the last few months with the Sims 2, I've determined from forums I've visited that CPU is as important or more so than RAM. They say the Sims 2 is a CPU driven game. Or uses a lot of "juice".

 I ran a DxDiag on my computer and do not see anything that resembles CPU in any way.  Don't know how to determine how much I have. Or, can I add more. Or can I throw this computer out the front door? It's Windows XP by the way.

I intend to be ready shortly to get a "gaming computer" and want to know how much CPU I need or will need for future expansions and is there a maximum of RAM available. I want it all.  I have 1024 RAM now and still can invite only 2 people. In a thread a while back, JM said anybody that could only invite 2 people didn't know what they were doing and he mentioned CPU as I remember. That means I'm lacking in CPU, and maybe other things, aside from the fact that I'm dumb and can't figure out even how to find things. My computer store guy doesn't play games so he is no help at all. He does make house calls so he has maxed my computer out in every way we can. I have 2 hard drives ( C drive has 72% free space, E drive has 58%)and I think updated graphics. Not sure there. In his last visit, he said there is nothing left to max out on this computer for whatever that means.  I have 2 Gigs and this computer is devoted only to the Sims 2 , Windows 20% for operating the system, and of course, the internet. Nothing else.

After reading hours of threads on Maty and other forums, I've completely determined that I don't know anything about computers at all. Started working with them in 1975 (really) but it would appear that all of my knowledge is antique now. I can just barely speak the language any more.

So, would one of you guys give me the specs that would be the best available for the Sims 2 for now, and the future. Money is not the problem here. I'm a retired old lady, and the Sims are my only vice. I do spend way too much time playing the game and downloading, etc. but it's a fun way to spend your retirement years. I'm just loving it.

You guys put together the main things I need to get and I'll have the list handy for my computer guy and he will be amazed I even know what to ask for.

Even though I don't post much at all, I feel that I know many of you personally and have some favorites. Zoltan's pictures just can't be beat. Always do enjoy them. BlueSoup is my idol and I admire her knowledge. Many of you are so much fun and I enjoy you all and visit on a daily basis.

I can give you some of my specs if that would be of any benefit. Be funny if I already had a couple of good parts and didn't even know it. Like maybe my CPU can be upgraded. That would be great right there.

I'm one of your newest and "oldest" Maty members. Maybe your first Senior Citizen. I am really old and really enjoying life. 'Course, I would die without my computer and the Sims.

Hope I have made sense here and really do appreciate any advice you can give me. Don't forget now, I don't know beans about computers any more. Think of this as CPU 101. Thanks guys.

I haven't a clue about CPU either, but I know you can get to see where it is on your PC by pressing alt-ctrl-delete (on windows XP anyway-don't know about anything else)
Welcome btw *waves* MATY is as addictive as the game  ;D

CPU = Central Processing Unit. The processor (Intel or AMD).

If you use a modern Windows OS, press winkey+break. On the bottom of the window it lists 'Computer'. The first entry is your CPU (as detected by Windoze), the second entry the RAM.

You cannot add more CPU without replacing the processor, which usually means also replacing the motherboard.


As for the Sims 2, RAM is far more important than CPU. TS2 runs faster on slow CPUs with more RAM than on fast CPUs and little RAM. The videocard is also very important.

Oh-and I can only invite 2 sims over too...I use this cheat to get over it:

intProp maxNumOfVisitingSims 8

 ;)

;DThanks for that Emma, I've been trying to find that cheat. 
P.S.  I went to have a look at Laverwinkle; what a friendly little Newsbox you have.  Nobody sux!

CPU = Central Processing Unit. The processor (Intel or AMD).

Okay, it says"

Processor:AMD Athlon(tm)XP2400+, MMX, 3dNow,~2.0GHz

So what does that tell you.  Okay amount, need more, What would be better?  Thanks for responding so quickly and I have to chuckle.....the letters have worn off my keyboard because I am a typist I don't need to see the letters....however, I don't know where a Winkey would be. Is it that symbol on one side of the shift key or is it Prt Scrn/Sys Req key maybe..

I got the information for you from my printout.

Winkey = Windows key, the one in between ctrl and alt.

You have an Athlon XP 2400 processor, which is more than good enough for TS2.
Check into your RAM: 512MB is the absolute minimum, anything over 1GB is okay.

Your most likely 'weak spot' is the videocard: you should have at least a Geforce4 (not MX!) or a comparable ATI card. (You need hardware-based T&L). 128MB RAM on the vidcard or more.

You don't really need to be able to invite more than 2 people to a party. If you want more people there, invite the others first, then throw the party. They'll all attend and go home when the timer runs out.

Setting up the number of people you can invite to parties in the user start-ups cheats will give you more people on community lots if you want more there tho. I left mine which means I don't have that many on Uni lots, but I rarely go to Uni's lots anyway. I'm satisfied with the amount on downtown lots and don't want to slow things down with more unnecessary sims.

You can adjust the rest of the game settings. If your videocard isn't very good, you probably want to leave reflections off, can't turn smoothing on and don't see bumpmaps, but you can set everything else up. I turn sim and graphic details to high and I have all the fingers and everything.

Is your game slowing down or giving you trouble? Or are you just looking to be able to invite more sims?

PS: Hi! I'm getting on towards retirement (tho I'm never going to be able to afford it) and don't understand Windows computers :)

Winkey = Windows key, the one in between ctrl and alt.

You have an Athlon XP 2400 processor, which is more than good enough for TS2.
Check into your RAM: 512MB is the absolute minimum, anything over 1GB is okay.

Your most likely 'weak spot' is the videocard: you should have at least a Geforce4 (not MX!) or a comparable ATI card. (You need hardware-based T&L). 128MB RAM on the vidcard or more.

I have 1024 RAM and 2 GB  The Videocard (chipcard?) GeForce FX 5200 or how about this:

Card name: ASUS V9520-X V62.11     are either of those the videocard?

Funny that Winkey isn't worn off. All I ever used that for in past years was to start the computer in safe mode hitting that key and F8...don't know if that still works that way or not.

Sure am appreciating your information.

You don't really need to be able to invite more than 2 people to a party. If you want more people there, invite the others first, then throw the party. They'll all attend and go home when the timer runs out.

Setting up the number of people you can invite to parties in the user start-ups cheats will give you more people on community lots if you want more there tho. I left mine which means I don't have that many on Uni lots, but I rarely go to Uni's lots anyway. I'm satisfied with the amount on downtown lots and don't want to slow things down with more unnecessary sims.

You can adjust the rest of the game settings. If your videocard isn't very good, you probably want to leave reflections off, can't turn smoothing on and don't see bumpmaps, but you can set everything else up. I turn sim and graphic details to high and I have all the fingers and everything.

Is your game slowing down or giving you trouble? Or are you just looking to be able to invite more sims?

PS: Hi! I'm getting on towards retirement (tho I'm never going to be able to afford it) and don't understand Windows computers :)

I appreciate the tips on inviting people and then having the party and I will do that, but the deal is, I'm not as concerned about having 8 people at a time. I just want that capability because other people have it and I want my computer to maximize its power in every way. Nothing runs slow in my game at all really.  I've got all the graphic details jacked up as high as they will go and everything works fine. I've got the fingers and all which I didn't have until I jacked up the settings.

PS:  I never thought I would be able to retire. Work was a way of life but it can happen and you can afford it. That old saying "if I can do it, you can do it"...Believe me, we are not rich but we are comfortable..and we are retired.  And, as you can see, I know nothing about Windows computers after 30 some odd years..But I'm learning more about computers every minute at Maty.

Heh, seniors never cease to amaze me...at least those not living in Greece! Ask any senior in Greece what s/he's doing and you'll get one of these answers:
men: going to the cafe to play some cards or backgammon
        tending the garden
        discussing politics with other retired friends
women: tending the house
            looking after their grandchildren
            knitting
Playing sims?! Eh? They don't even know what a computer looks like, let alone play games on it! Keep it going Verona, you sure made my day when I read your post, and I'll be more than happy to answer

First of all, the CPU is the processor, and it's got nothing to do with DxDiag, an application that checks the graphics card. What mainly determines speed on a computer is its processor and RAM. The faster the processor, the better. Also, the more RAM you've got.
Now, you don't specify if you're playing the core Sims 2 game or any expansion. As of Nightlife, computer specs have gone up, and I remember various threads that discussed this issue of people who'd be playing the game with lots of eye-candy and half a battalion invited to each party before Nightlife, after installing said expansion had their graphics settings reset (by the game) to low and could only invite two people. Since you're knowledge on computers is fairly inadequate (as you claim), I wouldn't recommend you tampering with any game files that alter these numbers, as some people did and got their batttalion of party-members back. If any of those could be kind enough to send you one such altered file it'd be nice indeed. Unfortunately, I haven't played the game for quite some time, and I don't have it installed on this computer (I'm at work right now, the game sits idly in my hard drive at my home computer which lacks internet connection), so I can't send you any such file.

Having said that, here's the "gaming computer" I'd buy if I could afford it (we PhD students aren't rolling in riches you see, even if it's a PhD on Veterinary Science  ;D):
For starters, your computer's heart, the CPU. Though I've been using exclusievly Intel processors until now, my next computer will definitely have an AMD processor. Way better for gaming, and much more efficient than the Intel "mini-barbeques". I'd go for an Athlon64 3700+ San Diego. For $233 (newegg price), you can't get anything better!
RAM: 1 GB is good, 2 GB is better! Computer games have a bad habit of demanding more and more, and though 1 GB is more than adequate today, 2 GB will have you prepared for tomorrow!
Graphics card (or graphics processor unit, GPU): hmm, tricky. Things are a bit cloudy right now, as new models spring up every day! I'll give you two options: 1) ATi Radeon X800GTO2 256MB (mind you, GTO2),costing around $190, or 2)GeForce 6600GT 256MB for maybe $10-$20 less. Both should be PCI-E cards, as the AGP interface is slowly fading away (yah, maybe this sounds like tech mumbo-jumbo, but it's essentially how your graphics card is connected to the motherboard. AGP used to be the norm up until recently, but it's being superceded by PCI-E, which to me is just the computing industry's "cough up your money for upgrades, sucker!" attitude...).
Hard drive: a Western Digital (never owned any other brand!) with 320GB capacity has more storage room than you'll ever need!
All these compotents (and others such as DVD-ROM and/or burner etc, parts which I'll not dwell on) need to be connected to each other in some way, yes? That's what the motherboard is doing. All these parts are connected to the motherboard and "communicate" with each other via this piece of hardware. So picking a good motherboard is crucial. My two favorite ones are the Asus A8N-SLI and the MSI K8N SLI. You might have noticed the SLI suffix on both boards. This means they can take two Geforce PCI-E graphics cards which work simultaneously! May be another trick of the computer industry, but running two graphic cards simultaneously seems to be the latest gimmick (read: trick to make us cough up more money). This SLI technology is utilized by only a few Geforce cards, and they have to be indentical to work like this (i.e. same manufacturer, same card model). The 6600GT I suggested is SLI capable, so if you're feeling really adventurous you could get two of those hooked up on any of the motherbards I mentioned!

This does not come cheap though. Add up the cost for the case, the power supply unit, and other paraphernalia (monitor, keyboard, DVD-ROM and/or burner), and the price for this system is close to $1400! But it's well worth it if you're REALLY into gaming!

Man, this must be the longest post I've ever written! It seems my 2-month absence from this forum has accumulated into one giant post! Hope this has been of help! Glad to have you here on MATY!

Edit: wow! 8 replies until I got the post written! I'm getting slow!  :P

Sorry for the double post, but I'm afraid this'll get lost in the mess of my first one. The graphics card you mentioned is the ASUS V9520-X, which carries the Geforce FX5200 chipset. This card is mediocre at best (used to have it on my computer, I rued the day I bought it!). A single switch to a better graphics card is all you need to enjoy the game. In other words, take my previous post and trash it! A GeForce 6600GT AGP is all you need! An 128MB model costs about $140-$150, a 256MB model is about $50 extra. I'd go for 256MB!

Yep, that's cos Reg is in luuurve *grins*

The following article might help:

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6133243/index.html?type=tech&page=1

I agree that Verona probably only need a better graphic card, but your post did not go to waste Dr Beast, as I am looking for a new computer at the moment.  Even though I'm a tech support person, I am just not geeky enough to keep abreast of the latest and shinest stuff.  Every time I ugprade (which isn't often) I need to go and re-learn all that stuff.  I was procrastinating doing that :)

Or Verona, this is a little nickpicky and out of topic, but when you want to reply to a comment someone made and you want that reply to be quoted, just click on the quote button above the post.  It will start a reply with the text all nicely quoted and formated.  You can also edit the text that is between the quote and the /quote to take out the irrelevant bits.  If you are replying to several posts, like you did above, you can highlight the relevant text and click on the little symbol that looks like a talk bubble,  it format the text into a quote. Makes everything easier to read :)  Oh and there are a lot of formatting options there to play with , bold, italics, underline,  color and lots more

Yah, it's getting annoying. I stay away from computer-related magazines for a couple of months, and next time I get one my head starts to hurt from all the changes that are upon us! SLI, Crossfire, dual-core CPUs, DVD successors...give us a break already! Then I read about the forthcoming Vista specs and that just adds insult to injury!

I'm also trying to determine the specs for the new system I plan to get Real Soon Now.  It will be designed around Sims 2, because everything else I do runs just fine on my 4 year old, 1.2GHz, 256MB Celeron.  I know about the GeForce 6600GT.  I know about the PCI-E interface.  I know I want at least 1GB RAM.


I'm confused about this.  There's a hardware review for Sims 2 at http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST--2558-x-x-x&body_pagenum=1 (http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST--2558-x-x-x&body_pagenum=1) that says (if I'm understanding it correctly) once you have 512MB, a faster processor makes more difference than more RAM.  On the other hand, their chart only lists perfomance for Pentium, and unless someone can give me a pretty convincing argument otherwise, I prefer Athlon.

Is there any chance that the advice that RAM matters more (as quoted above and also seen on a number of other forums) really relates to improving performance on an existing system?  Because adding RAM is a lot cheaper than upgrading a processor.  But when you're going for a complete new system, you're buying a motherboard and a processor anyway, so all you need to look at is the difference in price for the faster processor.  Or am I missing something?

2GHz is fine for a gaming PC, and more than you need for Sims 2.
Buy more RAM if your computer can take it.  You might have to take out the RAM you have and replace it with larger ones.  If you have two 256MB chips, get rid of them and buy one 1GB chip in stead (or two if you feel the need to spoil yourself). Motherboards only have so many RAM slots, espeically on the kind of pre-assembled PCs they sell in most electronics stores.

RAM is relatively cheap and easy to install, so it's a good first step.
If you still want more juce; get a good graphics card.

This thread couldn't have been posted at a more convenient time for me.  I have a year old computer with a Pentium 4 processor and am planning to upgrade my RAM in the next couple of weeks.  I know that currently I have 512 MB ram in 2 sticks(?) with 2 empty slots available for upgrade. 

A few months ago TwoJeffs posted a link to a site that would scan your system and tell you what you have, but I am going to need to find the site again so that I know the speed of my current RAM. 

My question after all of that is do those of you who are more knowledgeable about these things, think I will notice a difference in how my game runs if I upgrade to 1 or 2 GB of RAM?  (If I am remembering correctly my system will allow up to 4 GB of RAM).  Currently my game only lags slightly on large lots with a lot of stuff on them.

I know that when I upgraded from 256MB to 768MB, the difference was amazing.  Of course, it's no longer good enough, but that's because I am a download whore and the rest of my specs also suck.   :P  You will definitely notice a difference if you double your RAM.

Hmmmm.... Well I am not sure that upgrading from 1 GB to 2 GB you would notice that much of a difference. Can't be sure though.

I started with 1 GB RAM and I decided one day to add 2 more. Personally I did not notice much of a difference. I still use 3 GB of RAM and things run real smooth but I am not sure that I see a great big difference between then and now.

Of course in the past when I changed from 512 to 1 GB of RAM I noticed a much bigger difference. I think after a certain point, fast is fast?

How I put that was unclear.  I have a total of 512 MB RAM split between 2 sticks or cards.  There are a total of 4 RAM slots on my motherboard, and my understanding is that I need to use at least 2 of the 4 slots and the RAM will run at the speed of the slowest card so I need to be sure that I match the speed of the current RAM that I have.

I'm suspicious of that review, since they didn't actually play the game to test it, just moved around the house while it was running.  Maybe it's just me, but if I'm hunting through the entire house then I've probably got the game paused anyway because I've lost something/someone.  Playing a five-person family for six hours without saving and then the birth of twins, now that would be a test.  Or seeing what reduced the loading time, or how many people you could get onto an object-heavy lot before it started to really lag.  Framerate is not the be-all and end-all of gaming, for heaven's sake. ::)

Myself, I've only really played on my desktop which has a 3.0GHz P4 processor and handles Nightlife quite easily.  The computer next to mine also plays Uni for someone else without any apparent problems, and it's a 3 year-old Athlon.  Upgrading her graphics card made it prettier, but it always played fine as far as I could see and I never heard her swear about loading or lag.  What made a difference for me was when I blew part of my tax refund on upgrading the RAM from 512MB to 1GB.  Loading time halved or more, lag on lots with a lot of objects and/or people almost disappeared.  And I've never had a problem with restricted party guests or people on community lots.  (ATI Radeon 9600, 256MB graphics if you wondered.)

So, yeah, I think you can safely ignore the review since more than 512MB RAM makes a big difference to actual gameplay.  I may buy another stick this August, just to see if it still gets better and I can have even more things running in the background as I play than I do now.  (Not only do I not turn everything off, I queue up a bunch of downloads as well.)  The nice thing about RAM is it's easy to keep upgrading it, and as long as you have the right type for your motherboard it's pretty straightforward to put it in yourself whenever you can afford it.  I would suggest staying away from Celeron processors in future, though.  The shop where I bought my computer has stopped selling them completely, apparently they make the owner want to hurt people.  The hand gestures he made were very convincing.

Personally I think that you can have too much memory. Not that it would hurt performance, but it's just a waste of money, because it goes unused. 

If you go ctr-alt-del and click on the performance tab, you will see a little graphic that shows you how much memory you are using.  If you load up sims and your programs in a setup that is typical of your playing style and look at that number: if it's below your total memory then you are fine.  If it's above your total that means your system must use virtual memory on your disk. Your system starts doing something that is referred to as swapping. As it's running out of room in memory it caches some of that information on the drive and starts swapping chunk of info back and forth from memory to disk.  That process slooooooooooows down performances greatly.  That's why, if you ever had the experience of running a computer with less than an optimal amount of memory, adding extra ram is nothing short of a miracle.  But once you have plenty of ram, adding more will not really do much for you except make you poorer.  So if you are buying a new computer, by all means, buy all the memory you can afford.  You will "grown into it".  But if you are simply upgrading now, it's a little pointless to get a huge amount of ram, because by the time your system requires 2 GB of ram, it will be probably be hopelessly outdated and hardware will have changed again, so that you won't even be able to transfer your memory to your new system.

Don't forget that a computer system is just that... a system.  A series of interconnected parts that all work together.  You might buy a ton of ram for your older system, and that will improve performances up to a point, but only up to a point. Then if you buy a new video card  you might still be bottlenecked by a slow hard drive.   If you install a new hard drive, your CPU might be the bottleneck (Not you Verona you're fine :D).  But the time you finished upgrading all that, you have spent the money for a new system, without the pleasure of getting something shiny and new.  Not to mention you probably had to restrict yourself to hardware compatible to your old clunker, and so missed out on the newest and shiniest technology.

blah blah blah.  I am droning on and on aren't I.  Bottom line: 1 GB should be plenty for the sims. A modern video card is a must.  A hard drive slower than 7200 RPM will affect your performances, especially loading time. And last but not least a fast CPU.  If you need all of the above, give your computer to your little brother and buy something shiny and new. 


PS.  I agree with your assement of that review.   They wanted to keep the conditions of the test the same, so there was no risk of introducing a variance.  If you don't test exactly the same scenario each time how can you be sure that your results are due to a different video card.  But the method they used has little to do with real play.  Lots are far from static.  They grow with each addition you graft unto the house, each new object your purchase and each new sims that gets added to the family. That's without mentioning parties, neighbours and the rest.

But still it was interesting nevertheless, if for no other reason that it reminded me of the importance of defragmenting my drive and the impact of a fast disk drive on performance (it's really amazing).


 

Ok here is my little computer update story to fit Sims 2.

When I started to play my computer had those specs:
Pentium 4, 2.0mghz
Videocard:  NVidia GeForce4 MX440
DDR Ram:  512meg

My updated computer is like this now:
Pentium 4, 2.0mghz
Videocard:  ATI 9800 pro 128mb (very good card but you cannot find it anymore)
DDR Ram:  1.0gig
Power supply of 350watts

Now when I did my update it was prior having Nightlife.  With University when I added the new videocard I was able to have 8 guests and see cut scenes, I was really happy.  I added 512 meg of Ram later to make it a total of 1.0gig and it ran even smoother, I was in heaven
.
I install Nightlife and was drop to 2 guests!!! but I still have the cut scenes and can put the settings as high as I want (though I mostly set my game at medium settings).  I don't understand how the game calculates the capacity of visitors you can have but I wonder how come I was not set to 4 or 5, why drop from 8 to 2???  I use the intprop maxnumofivisitingsims 8 cheat and see no problem, the game runs smooths with no problem.  I use it mostly so I can have 8 Sims on community lots.  There is always a way around when you throw a party at home but you need to use the cheat if you want more sims on community lots.

Apparently the way the game determines the max no of visitor is really buggy.  I've seen a lot of people who say they have manually increased it and it caused them no problems whatsover.  So best thing is to just try it and you'll see pretty quickly if it lags you or not.

Hopefully I have these instructions right. I wondered how to  use a portion of someone's comments and didn't know how. Thanks so much Angelyne for those instructions. I'm printing out this entire thread and will review it several times. Probably a gazillion times.

At giftgiving time, family wants to know what I want. Gift certificates from EB Games. I own every Sims game and prima guide. Plus, every other game that caught my interest. I'm an easy grandma to buy gifts for. My college bound grandson thinks it's a "hoot" that I'm so hung up on the Sims. He calls me Game-ma.

Back on track, I have read where new more powerful cards sometimes make the fans overheat and things like that. That's why I wanted to ask your advice on what goes together.  It does sound like I'm in pretty good shape, but I am definitely going to buy a new computer for playing the Sims.

Appreciate so much you guys helping an old lady like me cross the street like this. It's wonderful. I did crochet, knit and garden for a while after retirement and it's boring as hell. 

Yeah, when I 1st tried it I started with 4, then tried 6 and finally 8.  So just try it step by step to see how the game will react.   Test it by going to community lots.  And it is important to write the intprop maxnum cheat in neighbordhood view.

 


Personally I needed to change my power supply in order to be able to use a better videocards.  If you go on online stores, make sure to read the specs of the videocard, it should mention what type of power supply you need.

Crucial.com? I'm not sure if it's the same one, but it sure saved my ass when I started upgrading.

Speaking of upgrades, when I first started playing I had a 1.5GHz processor, 368MB of RAM and a 16MB integraded graphics card. It ran - but just barely. To scroll around a lot took me around five minutes. Last month I upgraded to 768MB of RAM and a Radeon 9250 128MB video card and it was like a whole other world. The first thing I did was get happy with lot rotation and found that it flew so fast I got dizzy. To realize that carpets and counters had textures seriously rocked my world. I still have my same 1.5GHz processor, and I find that I have absolutely no need to upgrade it now. Had I been able to find a 256MB card, my game might've been perfect. Total cost was somewhere around $115, as I bought my RAM on eBay.

Ah, that's a good point.  They probably didn't have any downloads, either.



I'm definitely going with at least 1GB.  My question is whether to up it to 2GB, or spend a little more on a faster processor.  This will be a completely new system--I have to buy a processor anyway, so I'm comparing the cost of RAM to the added cost to move up a notch or two on the processor, and questioning which will help more.


No, no.  The Celeron is my current elderly machine that is destined for the junkheap.  For the new system, I'm looking at Athlons (which I prefer in general), but wondering whether I should also look at P4s.

Does anyone know if there is a chart somewhere that will compare CPUs and video cards?  I mean compare Intel to AMD and NVidia to AtI? I want to upgrade and change to AMD and ATI, but also don't want to end up with less than what I've got now.

Actually, the CPU seems to make some difference. I had a AMD Athlon 64 3.0 GHz and upgraded to 3.5, after which almost all the default settings got a little higher. The max number of visitors also went up from 2 to 6 I think. I don't remember for sure since I use the cheat to up them.

There also is less lagging when I stubbornly continue playing large lots with loads of objects and many sims...

As for memory, I later upgraded from 1GB to 2 and didn't notice much difference. Up to 1GB the difference is really big though.

It's funny because I bought a brand new video card for Christmas and then discovered it required a power supply of 350W.  So now I was faced with buying and installating that.  And I thought, well, while I'm at it, I might as well buy a new quiet case. Then thought some more and realize that I would be better off with a brand new computer.  So I returned my AGP video card, exchanged it for a PCI-E card and well....not exactly voila cause it's sitting there on my desk.  But I'll get around to buying a new computer soon...soon ...soon as I stop playing the sims and start researching the damn thing damnit.  My boyfriend is mad at me because he gave me the money for the card and I still haven't installed it


I'd go for the bigger CPU.  Memory can always be added later if needed, but a CPU needs to be replaced and it's pretty expensive.  Beside memory follows the law of diminishing returns.  You need enough memory to avoid excessive swapping to the disk, but after that it doesn't increase performance much.

Certain websites, ie www.tomshardware.com/ (http://www.tomshardware.com/), do offer reviews and comparisons but they are often difficult for people unfamiliar with computer hardware terminology to understand. At best, it's frustrating. At worst, your head might explode.

The simple comparison?

PC magazines usually rate AMD as faster than Intel but more expensive. In practicallity, these tests are done with overclocked chips. Most casual users don't, and shouldn't, overclock so the advantage lies more with consumer bias. I like AMD.

nVidia and ATI is really a bias call. I was raised to believe that ATI users were losers with cards that constantly overheated and failed. I don't know any ATI fans so this has never actually been tested, but being American, I go by instinct rather than logic or statistics. Meanwhile, the Simi Valley, California chapter of nVidia Legions is holding a session to mock ATI Crossfire this weekend and I will be in attendance.

Apologies for offending any ATI users. I know you can't help it.

All I can add is what I am getting ready to build this box over the spring to summer:
ASPIRE ATXA2XPW-BK/420 Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case ATX 420W dual fan power supply
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard (184 Pin)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400
POWERCOLOR R43A-ND3 Radeon X800 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
SONY White 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner
SONY Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM
Creative Sound Blaster Live! 24bit 8 (7.1) Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
3COM US ROBOTIC PCI V.92 WINMODEM
Build-in USB 2.0 Ports
1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE
FujiPlus FP568 15" TFT LCD Monitor (2TONE - BLK/SIL)
INTERNAL 6in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer
OPTI-UPS ES1000C 1000VA/700W UNINTERRUPT POWER SUPPLY

I have all that stuff priced out and in a nifty little document with all the places where I will get it from, most of it comes from Newegg though.

On the graphics card note, I just bought an agp xfx 6600 256mb 256bit and it made a huge difference, it would be even better if I had the proper power supply. I went from a nvidia geforce mx400 to the above, it was like night and day.

I've been doing a lot of reading and research on this subject, and found that AMD is being consistently rated higher than Intel cpus.  I've got a 3.0 ghz P4 now, and have no idea which AMD will be about equal.  And is the "dual core" or "64" similar to Intel's "hyperthreading"?  I ended up disabling the hyperthreading, since it slowed everything down substantially.  Must have missed something there...
Off to check out tomshardware, thanks, Stitches!

Wow, nectere, that looks like a great system you'll have!!  I want to end up with something similar, incorporating a lot of the parts I already have.    I went from a geforce MX400 also, but only up to a 5200 with 256, and that was also pretty amazing.  I got a different one, I can't remember if it was a 6200 or 6600, but it was incompatible with the motherboard and now everything is kind of wonky even with it removed.  That serves me right for not doing the proper amount of research!

Instead of using 3.0 ghz, AMD refers to it as "3000"
3.2 ghz = 3200. Snazzy, huh?
You'd have to really stress your computer out to notice a speed difference between AMD and Intel. I like AMD's customer service and longevity. As processors age and overheat, they lose much of their capability. Most research shows that AMD chips last longer.

X2 refers to being dual core. This means that you actually have TWO processors. Unfortunately, most programs currently don't take advantage of that. 64 refers to it being a 64 bit chip, rather than the standard 32. They are not the same as hyperthreading or hypertransport, which have to do with how information is transported.

If you wanted to do some good research on comparing gaming Intel and AMD pcs, I'd practice configuring them at a site like www.alienware.com (http://www.alienware.com) and reading the "more info" tabs. Th

Once again, thanks Stitches.  I should have realized that 3.0 and 3000 were the same, guess I wasn't thinking that simplistically.
My pc now has considerable heating issues.  I've got a hard drive cooler on it, as well as a fan blowing thru the case.  Sometimes it just stops, and everything is frozen.  I think it might be from the CPU, since the harddrive no longer gets that hot.  Since one of the AMD strong points is less heat, I want to try that.  I'm sure that part of my problem is the small form factor case, it might be great for a casual user, but I spend waaaay too much time on this thing...

I didn't see a noticeable difference, and I went from 4 256MB sticks of generic RAM Alienware put in my case to 2 1GB sticks of Corsair XMS. *shrug*


I'm curious about the dual-core thing too; my husband and I have been hashing about ripping apart our "old" Alienware and building an Athlon with SLI capability. Think it is worthwhile for us to upgrade sooner, or should we wait for the technology to improve a little more?  Right now we're running a P4 3.0 Ghz with 2 GB of the XMS, an nVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra, and an ancient SB Audigy. We've thrown about 4 turbo fans in there too, since we've been battling the overheating monster for about 6 months now. It's really pissing me off--the damn thing is LOUD now.


Edit: Oh, look, my question about equivalency was answered before I posted.  :D

Sli won't help you much for TS2, except to improve the 3d rendering because TS2 wasn't written with Sli in mind. Works fabulously for Doom III, however. It's most stable when you buy the two cards TOGETHER, from the same batch, though it's supposed to work between any cards of the same make. There are theories why this was done, most of them having to do with nVidia trying to get extra money by forcing people to buy more cards.

Crossfire for ATI has not yet been extensively tested.

Keep in mind that you need a special motherboard both Dual Core and SLi if you decide to go that way. I have an ABIT AN8 Sli Fatal1ty. It handles both.

www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com)
www.zipzoomfly.com (http://www.zipzoomfly.com)

Both sites are great for purchasing hardware, btw.

(It hurts me whenever someone mentions gutting an Alienware. I love mine to death, though it is just a poor inferior laptop.)

Good point.   Adding RAM later will be easier and cheaper.

I just did some digging at Newegg.  Kingston Value DDR400 memory -- 1GB(2x512MB) for $79.99 and 2GB(2x1GB) for $163.50.  That's a difference of $83.51.  So then I looked for how much processor upgrade that would buy me.

I found the Athlon 64 3500+ for $201, which is about the price point I had in mind.  But they have the Athlon 64 X2 3800+ for $300.  A difference of $99.  Close enough (Will it add cost anywhere else? I'm already looking at an Abit KN8 motherboard.).  I found a review of the X2 3800+ at http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q3/athlon64-x2-3800/index.x?pg=1 (http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q3/athlon64-x2-3800/index.x?pg=1).  Of course, they didn't test it with Sims 2 (that would be too much to hope for), but they did use a wide variety of software.  They said things like "The X2 3800+ rips through this POV-Ray scene faster than a Pentium Extreme Edition 840, and it trounces any single-core would-be competition. When tasks are easily parallelizable like rendering, dual-core processors reign supreme."  Does that apply to Sims 2?  If so, the X2 3800+ sounds like a really good choice for me.

It is a very good choice as long as you have an X2 compatible motherboard. By virtue of being a 3.8 ghz chip, it's already very fast on it's own. From discussions with fellow PC builders, they believe that even if a game isn't written to take advantage of the dual core feature, it should be able to handle your background tasks which would free up game power.

As mentioned above, the problem with updating your CPU is that usually you have to just start building a computer from scratch. You can't just pop the case open and stick a new chip in. Also, it's one of the easiest things to install incorrectly. In which case, it becomes far MORE expensive than simply upgrading ram.

Please, never buy Kingston RAM. It's like the Audi of the RAM world. It frequently explodes. Crucial or Corsair.

one of my friends tried to explain the dual core thing to me, and it seems really impressive- apparently it has something to do with having two different paths for the data to take, instead of just one...like each core is handling fewer packets of information, and the belt is shorter... or something. I can see a little picture of the concept in my head, sorry if I completely failed to explain it very well.

My boyfriend just purchased his gaming computer for Battlefield 2, which is an extrememly graphic intensive game.

For $800 (including shipping) he purchased from HP a computer with:

A1350N with a AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual core 4200 2.2 GHZ CPU
1 GB RAM (capable of 2 GB)
250 Harddrive
integrated card

He added on once he got the pc in:

430 watt power supply unit - $70
NVIDIA 7800GTX 256 MB PCI-E - $350

So for $1220 his game now runs max settings at 80 frames per sec, which is low for a game like the Sims but better than the average Battlefield user who only gets 40-50 fps because of the intense graphics of the game.

The HP was on sale 2-3 weeks ago on their site.  And he went from a bitch fest everytime he played his game to joyful and excited clapping.  ;)

You can always break a pc down even more and build things cheaper, but if you do not want the hassle of doing so then I would recommend something like what he did.

Sorry for butting in, but I really don't recomment the 256mb version in a GeForce 6600GT, because the memory on it version is slower than on the 128mb version. A 128mb card is enough for the Sims2, it relies more on the CPU than any other game I know :-\

Thanks Ashleigh, that was it.  I remembered Crucial, but wasn't sure if there was more to the name or not.

Thanks, that's good to know.


Hmm, OK, I hadn't really looked at that yet, just going by what someone suggested elsewhere.


I've been thinking about the 6600GT, too.  This is the first I've heard about the 256MB being slower. 

You think 128MB is enough for Sims 2?  Most people I've seen say 256MB is worth it, but don't go any higher that that.

I have these specs:

Processor: AMD Athlon Processor, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.1GHz
Video: GeForce 6600 GT 128MB
Memory: 768MB

My game runs pretty great. It can bog down at times (especially on my Legacy lot), but this can be attributed to the 20 zillion downloads I have). Thanks to my new video card, I can put all my settings at highest and see cutscenes.

I could have gotten a better graphics card, but I'm a poor college student and had to pay for it all by myself, so this was all I could afford.

This is a very interesting and helpful thread. 

I have a four-year-old system with a P4 1.7 processor.  It shipped with 256 MB RAM and a 32 MB nVidia GeForce -- I'm not sure which one now.  The original game ran poorly; so much so that I stopped playing.

Last spring I replaced the video card with a GeForce 5500 256MB, and increased my RAM to 1 GB (which also meant a new 400 watt power source).  This made a huge difference, and I started playing again.  However, my CPU remains the last bottleneck, as I cannot invite more than 2 sims (using the cheat has no effect), and on large lots with lots o' stuff or lots with more than six sims the game can chug along.  The next step for me is a new motherboard, with the fastest processor I can afford.

All this for a game :: laughs insanely and fails to put money into savings once again ::  Every other program I've got on this bucket of bolts runs at lightning speed.

Wow am I glad this thread popped up. I'm getting ready to buy a new system myself.
This one to be exact

Alienware Area51 5500
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 650 w/ HT Technology 3.4GHz 800MHz FSB 2MB
Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Alienware® Full-Tower Chassis   Conspiracy Blue 
Alienware® AlienIce™ 2.0 Video Cooling   Astral Blue
Alienware® nForce™4 SLI™ Intel Edition Chipset Motherboard PCI Express SLI
256MB PCI-Express x16 NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7800 GT
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
High Performance   80GB Serial ATA 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache 
16x DVD-ROM Drive with Software DVD Decoder
52x32x52x CD-RW Drive
Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround Firewire
3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
No Monitor
No Keyboard
No Mouse

Total: $1,889.00

-------------

So now I have some curiousities. I went with the Area51 Pentium instead of the Aurora AMD Athlon because of the processor speed comparisons:

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 650 w/ HT Technology 3.4GHz 800MHz FSB 2MB
Processor Speed 3.4 GHz
System Bus Speed 800 MHz
Level 2 Cache 2 MB

compared to

AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ with HyperTransport Technology
Frequency 2.2 GHz
Bus Frequency 2000 MHz
Level 1 Cache 128 KB
Level 2 Cache 512 KB Advanced Transfer
 
or

AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-55 with HyperTransport Technology
Frequency 2.6 GHz 
Bus Frequency 2000 MHz 
Level 1 Cache 128 KB
Level 2 Cache 1 MB Advanced Transfer


So since most here seem to prefer the Athlon... does that mean it's the Bus Frequency that actually makes the difference in performance?
I'm not really up on my comp knowledge here either but I would like to get the best I can for my money, and the Aurora w/ AMD is not much more than the Area51 w/ Pentium4 when configured with the other things I would want on it.

specs for my  Alienware baby (bought last June)

Aurora 5500
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Chassis: Alienware Full-Tower Case - Space Black
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 510 Deluxe Upgrade
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 4000+ Processor with HyperTransport Technology
Motherboard: ABIT AV8 - VIA K8T800 Pro Motherboard
Memory: 2GB Alienware Dual Channel Low-Latency DDR PC-3200 at 333MHz - 4 x 512MB
Graphics Processor: ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB DDR3 w/Digital and TV Out
Chassis Upgrades: AlienIce 2.0 Video Cooling System with Acoustic Dampening - Terra Green
System Drive: High Performance - Serial ATA - 160GB Serial ATA 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache
Optical Drive One: NEC ND-3520 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Optical Drive Two: NEC ND-3520 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround Firewire (IEEE 1394)
Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Modem: US Robotics 56K V.92 Performance Pro
Display One: Alienware 20.1" LCD Display
Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 Speakers

went with a basic mouse and keyboard at the time because the cost of my baby was already close to going over what I had set aside to spend, figured I'd buy better when I got around to it/had the money (my new gaming mouse and keyboard just came in this afternoon  ;D my brother bought them for me as a late x-mas gift)

heh, being disabled has it's good points, I rarely go anywhere so my needs and wants are few so when I had back SSI money to spend - I could blow it on a kick ass computer and be happy *laughs* I did buy another (cheaper) computer with my first back check but couldn't stand sharing it with my daughter so now she gets to use that one and I get this one.

Not the card itself, but the memory on it. It may have more, but slower, and the idea is for a game to run faster, so it's generally not recommended.

Actually much depends on the overall performance of the computer. A 128mb card is sufficient most of the time if paired with a fast CPU and fast memory. For example, I can have a 128mb graphics card, but if I have 256mb slower memory and a 1gb or so CPU, then it won't really do much. And there isn't much higher than a 256mb card, only if you want really high-end (both in performance and price) cards  ;) And Sims2 is more of a strain on the bare strenght of the CPU than the videocard itself.

Front Side Bus frequency means basically how fast will be the data transfer between the CPU and the memory. The bigger, the faster computer. 2000Mhz seems huge, maybe someone can confirm what this HyperTransport means to you (I'm don't really now much about AMDs, I'm more for the Intel). If it really runs on 2000Mhz, then it may be worthwhile to consider the trade of FSB for the raw CPU strenght.

I've always heard the model number of the Athlon tells its effective speed.  So an Athlon 64 3500+ is comparable to a 3.5 GHz P4.  (3500=3.5)Looks like their newest stuff is getting away from that numbering scheme, though.  I'm not sure how to compare the FX-55.

Just wanted to note that adding more than 1 GB of memory may not improve your performance if the only thing you're going to be running at any given time is The Sims 2, but if you tend to have other programs open at the same time, it may make a BIG difference.  I frequently wind up with Firefox, AOL, ZoneAlarm, Photoshop and the Sims 2 running all at the same time, occasionally with iTunes thrown in if I'm feeling reckless, and I was literally running out of memory before I boosted my system to 1.5 GB.  Even now I sometimes see slowdowns if I have a lot of things running at once.

Then again, all I've got is an overclocked Athlon 2800 1.8 GHz and a GeForce FX 5200 (128 MB,) so this might not hold true for bigger, snazzier systems.

Angelynne... /drool

So what I think I get from all this is an AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ with HyperTransport Technology would be faster than Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 650 w/ HT Technology 3.4GHz because 3500 basically = 3.5Ghz and would be better because of the longer life expectancy and better customer support and service.

I just went through and configured the Aurora 500. It ends up actually being $48 less than the Area 51.  :D

In reality, that's not quite accurate.  I've done a lot of looking into this trying to find the differences between AMD and Intel chips and this is what I've been told by several computer guys and read on the internet.

I'll use my processor as an example because I remember more accurately the specs:  it's an AMD 2400+.  That doesn't mean it's actually a 2.4-gig processor.  What it means is that it's roughly a 1.8-gig processor, but because AMDs are AMDs, it's supposed to perform as well as an Intel 2.4-gig processor.

I didn't bookmark it, but somewhere on the web is a comparison of the speeds at which AMDs and Intels meet.  I also read a few weeks back that the newer Intel processors are catching up with AMD speed-wise.

As for video cards, I've used both ATI and GeForce cards and I think both are great.

I think a really good resource for info on power supply cases is Newegg's site.  If you read the reviews on the various cases w/power supplies you can easily see how many people pull out and replace which wattage with higher-watt supplies.  If you're into serious gaming I'd really recommend nothing less than 400 watts.

Also, in a thread I had going a while back on PC info, Pescado said that if your computer doesn't sound like an airplane getting ready to take off, you simply don't have enough cooling fans in it and need more.  ;)  I don't know about anyone else, but normally my PC doesn't have problems with over-heating.  But just let me start doing heavy-duty file managing on it for a few hours and Windows Explorer starts locking up like crazy.  The only thing I can figure that's causing that is over-heating because otherwise this computer fairly well, even if it is a bit slow for a couple of my games.

You're right about that, to a point. These "slower" 256MB cards use DDR2 memory instead of GDDR3 utilized in the 128MB version, but I've seen GDDR3 versions of 256MB as well. Not that sure if they have any here in Greece, but in the States you'll sure find some. Check out www.newegg.com. That's the site I used when I was piling up the specs in my first post, and they do have 6600GT 256MB GDDR3 cards. Here's the link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+70000652+70000748+70003248&Subcategory=48&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice= (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+70000652+70000748+70003248&Subcategory=48&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=)

Regarding other topics discussed:
RAM upgrading: I sure saw a difference when I added another 512MB module to accompany my single 512 I used up till then. Load times decreased, game felt less laggier...but there was still lag when too many sims were around (large parties, community lots).
CPU: My P4 Northwood has been overclocked to 2.7GHz from its original 2.4GHz since I first laid my hands on it. Never reset it to its original speed to see if it goes slower. Northwoods were probably the last GREAT Intels released. Only during summer when the room temperature is close to 30 C does it reach 48 C under full load. As for the Intel-AMD debate, AMD run at much lower frequencies than Intel's "mini-barbeques" but still perform better. Lower frequencies=less stress=longevity. Hear that, Intel?
Graphics card: shortly before pulling the plug on TS2 (haven't played for months) I replaced my Radeon 9200 256MB with a Radeon 9600 Pro 256MB. I overclocked it (went from 400 MHz core to 470 and 200 MHz memory to 235) and played the game for a while. More eye-candy, smoother performance. I'm pleased! And being a (quite old) Radeon I have no overheating issues whatsoever! I have 2 8mm fans in the case (one front intake, one back outtake) and the added noise of the CPU and power supply unit fans are minimal! Ah yes, I changed the PSU as well, just in case. Not an expensive, "brand" name, but it works great on my computer. I'd definitely get a better one if I ever upgraded again though.
Regarding the ATi-NVidia debate: it's a fact, some game perform better with an ATI, others with an NVidia. A few years ago, I was an avid NVidia supporter (and user). Then I got an FX5200. I still rue the day. At that time my girlfriend got her computer. It had similar specs with mine but the aforementioned Radeon 9200. A couple of weeks later I settled at her place and sold my computer to a friend. I still feel bad I dumped him that blasted FX5200! Now I don't know what I'd choose if I'd get a new machine, although NVidia seems to be getting back on track (or maybe ATI falling a bit behind?).

In that case, I stand corrected. Now I wish they had these cards in Europe as well... :)

And some of the games just prefer one of the brands, mostly nVidia from what I've seen. ATI, by specs, is often better than an nVidia in the same range, but since many of the games favor nVidias they can close up their small disadvantage. If I want to use the cliche, then ATI has a better picture, better FSAA, but is generally a little clumsier, while nVidia is fast, but the picture is not as good. I had always had nVidia cards (with an exception of an S3 in the beginnings), and my now late 64MB GeForce4Ti-4200 always did better than a friends computer that was basically the same as mine, but AMD instead of Intel, ATI instead of nVidia. Then came the screeching halt when I got Black&White 2 that supported ATI... nice glitchfest ensued and took a while to make it playable without polygons flickering about every seconds  ::)

It's funny that everyone who has a 5200 video card says they suck.  That's what I have (with 256 mb ram) and it is so much better than the 440 MX GeForce I had before.  My daughter has a 5700, and other than not having to change the graphics rules file for bump maps, I really can't see much difference.  Perhaps because the video is the best component in her system and the worst in mine?  Not sure, but I am looking forward to upgrading, and seeing how much better it can be.

Thanks to everyone for the wealth of information in this thread!!!

Looking at your (read- everyones) specs makes me itch to upgrade my computer. At the moment i play on my mums laptop (which isnt too bad-only lags on large lots with 8 sims after ive been playing a while or at the day - night change), and by the time i get back to England, ill probably be better off just buying a new pc- mine is almost 5 years old, and wasnt great then.

So does anyone know of any sites like newegg that are in the uk? Cos the shipping from america would probably be more than the pc.

Ah, hardware gurus.  Back when I was young I was used to keep up, now I've realized that between the time you order and receive your system becomes outdated.

I've come to just rely on Dell, never had a problem. But I'd never heard of Alienware, so I just went out to configure a couple of comparable systems, a Dell and an Alienware.  Substantial cost difference.  What's the skinny on this Alienware outfit?  They skimping on the bus or anything?

I've seen that before, places putting together fast processors and loads of memory on weak chipsets.  Never satisfies...

BTW, ATI all the way.  Loved them since I got my first PSA ATI 2D card with a whopping 1M of VRAM.  An unheard of extravagance.  Running a 9700 now.

If referring to Alienware's high price tags there are a few major differences.
1. Customer Service: Dell relies on outsourcing, Alienware's customer service is all handled in country by their employees who are very highly trained. They still have accents usually but that leads us to point two:
2. Minority Employer: Alienware is a minority employer located in Florida. The vast number of their employees are Hispanic, mainly Puerto Rican and Cuban. However, unlike minorities employed in assembly lines like Dell, these people receive training to build high quality goods and are well paid.
3. Quality: Alienware PCs have only the highest quality components whereas Dell tends to put cheaper RAM, motherboards, and harddrives in. Alienware also has an intense quality control system, they delete all the useless extra programs that plague PCs, and they provide you with much more indepth documentation on your system.

Note that I don't recommend Alienware laptops. You put so much high power stuff in a laptop and it overheats in a dramatic fashion. I know this because I have one and it's basically a 3 grand space heater.

I have never regretted my Alienware. Their tech support is fantastic. The problem with it is that we bought it in 2004. At the time it was friggin awesome, and now even after replacing lots of components--like the GeForce FX 5600 we replaced with the 6800 Ultra--it still feels old and clunky. Of course we replaced the damn (expensive) AGP card right before the PCI-E first got big, or I'd have waited and replaced the motherboard THEN.  It's also got a heat problem we have managed to stave off so far by replacing the fans with (extremely loud) turbo ones.


I used to feel like I knew what I wanted in my computer, and now the technology has advanced until I am waaay out of my league. Which is why I ask for advice here, 'cause I know no one here will tell me I can download a new video card if I just Google it.  ;)

You mean....you can't just google and download a new video card?

What the hell?  >:( ;)

LOL, I remember reading that post on the BBS! That was before I discovered the forum that is Most Awesome.

You know I was originally looking into an alienware box, but I can build my own box way better for less. What is the big deal about alienware?

Theres a few things that I MUST have on my next box, but for starters and most important to me is a processor with at least 1ghz FSB and 1mb caching, and then a hard drive that is a 10krpm drive, with around 80gb or better. I couldnt find an alienware that had those two things and didnt break the bank, infact I couldnt find any of the alienwares that had a faster than a 7200rpm hardrive, whats up with that? And the one computer that kinda came close to the specs I am building (next week infact woot!) was 1000 more than what I will pay to build it myself and still didnt have the hard drive, the cdrw/dvd drives or any of the other little goodies I want. To reconfigure their box it would cost me around 2500 or more as opposed to around 1500? not.

Am I missing something obvious here?

If you are missing something, I am too. I think people want Alienware for the pretty box :). Though I realize not everyone can just build their own computer.

Tech support. Custom computers aren't just a matter of plugging components together. Unless you are a computer whiz, you're going to have problems. Many custome computers become expensive paperweights when something goes wrong that the builder can't fix.

Also, as previously mentioned, the box is pretty and looks wayy cute next to my iPod and JBL saucer speakers.  ;)

COOL!!  Do you have a link? Sounds like an interesting site... ;D ;D ;D ;D

It was just on that most unawesome site, the official sims bbs! I was searching for a solution to the blue glowy pillows (before I found out on MTS2 that it was a driver issue) and ran across a thread that I skimmed through where someone actually said something about downloading a new video card. I thought about replying, but seriously, when something is that messed up, what do you say? I just shook my head, and kept on skimming.

Hey, I went there (BBS) and stirred up some shit today, it was most awesome, I haven't been kicked out yet.  Poor Coolone. HAHAHA

What do you guys think of this PC ?  Keep in mind the price is in Canadian $$$

http://configure.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=ca&CS=CADHS1&l=en&OC=OCDIM5150_FEAT_CH51WP3

My head is frigging swimming.  Should I go the easy route with the system described above or should I build my own system.  Of course it means I have to learn all this hardware gibberish.  <groan> I CAN understand it if I want, I am just not sure I am interested enough to do so. 

It doesn't work like that, I still can't figure out how exactly it does work but I do know that the 2200 = 1.6/1.7ghz.  3200 = 2.2Ghz.  Don't confuse the numbers in the name with what the AMD processor actually puts out. 

Yes, but... 

In theory, (I won't guarantee it's not partially AMD marketing hype) because the AMD chip works completely differently than the Intel chip does, a slower AMD chip gives the same performance as a faster Intel chip.  So they used the model numbers to point out what to compare.  In other words, even though the AMD 2200 is "only" 1.6 GHz, it should perform the same as an Intel 2.2 GHz.