The choice

[Silverhaze]

Ok after looking through various websites it seems that the cost of getting a prebuilt system really isnt that much more than buying everything individually. Indeed, Ive found that in a lot of cases the individual parts come to a higher price than the system on its own, brebuilt. So....

Its come down to 2 systems. Now Im unsure about gfx cards so maybe somebody could clarify something for me. The faster of the 2 systems Im interested in has a Leadtek GeForce 6800 256MB DDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card. This seems like the bottom of the 6800 range but should be sweet enough.
The slower system has a XFX GeForce 6600 GT Extreme Gamer Edition 128MB DDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card. This seems to be towards the higher end of the 6600 range but Im unsure of how much real performance difference there is. As Im writing this Ive just noticed that one of the cards is a 256mb and the other is just 128mb. I'd guess the 256mb one would be quite a bit better in terms of performance.

So here is the choice. If you had the money, which if the following 2 systems would you go for. Assuming you did not want to build it yourself of course?


System 1

"Titan" AMD Athlon 64 3000+ System (FS-001-OK)

- AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice CPU
- AMD approved cooler
- Gigabyte K8NF-9 nForce4 PCI-Express Motherboard
- GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) DDR Value PC3200 CAS2.5 Dual Channel Kit
- 160GB Western Digital 8mb cache SATA-2 Hard Drive
- XFX GeForce 6600 GT Extreme Gamer Edition 128MB DDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- Sony Black 52x/52x/32x/16x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
- Onboard 6 Channel Audio
- Black Floppy Drive
- Antec SLK3700BQE Black Quiet Midi Tower Case
- Antec 350W SmartPower ATX Power Supply

£586.33 Including VAT at 17.5%

or

System 2

"Titan Vantage" AMD Athlon 64 3200+ System (FS-009-OK)

- AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice CPU
- AMD approved cooler
- Asus A8N-E nForce4 Ultra PCI-Express Motherboard
- GeIL 1GB Value (2x512MB) DDR PC3200 CAS2.5 Dual Channel Kit
- 160GB Western Digital Serial ATA-2 8mb Cache Hard Drive
- Leadtek GeForce 6800 256MB DDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- Pioneer DVR-110 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
- Onboard 6 Channel Audio
- Floppy Drive
- Arctic Cooling Silentium Silent Midi Tower Case
- Seasonic True 350W Silent ATX Power Supply

£645.08 Including VAT at 17.5%


Im leaning towards the more expensive system I have to say. It will be fine for quite a while. If I have to upgrade the PSU at some point I can but they wouldnt build a system that couldnt power itself.

I should be getting the money for this over the next couple of weeks I think so Im gonna seriously start thinking about which one to get. I cant really use my old P600 anymore and even the Missus' Athlon 2k is really showing its age!!

[Class316]

Get intels they're better.

[Damian]

Get intels they're better.

[Silverhaze]

Since when?? They do have 64bit Pentiums on there in equivalent systems but I was always of the understanding that Athlons had the edge.

[Silverhaze]

Well Im glad I got everyone's opinions on this. I'll go for the expensive one.

[RabidYak]

Better late then never, but the second is the one to go for if you can spend the extra. I'd lean towards it reguardless of the grunt difference anyway because of the ASUS mobo and the Leadtek video card.

AMD chips are still kicking the balls off of Intel chips in most areas, so don't worry about that.

I'd be suspect of powering either of those with a 350w PSU, but that can easily be changed later if it causes problems.

[were]

go for the one you dont need to upgrade "for a little awhile"

[Silverhaze]

Thanks! The expensive one it is then!!

[Silverhaze]

Just out of interest, does anybody know what the gfx card on the more expensive PC is like?

Ive looked at reviews and things but all that technical spec stuff doesnt mean a great deal to me.