[[DW]-Hunter]

Depends on your budget, If you got a lot of money to throw into a computer get an Intel, if not, get an AMD. Btw, Quadcore is not needed for todays games and such, I run an AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ with an Asus GeForce 8600GT, and I can play any game at max graphics and never have the FPS dip below 55 on vsync or 100fps with vsync disabled. So unless your running a server, quadcore is a waste of money IMO.

[Topgun]

quad core is great if your a render artist though.
and a note on Vista.
the only real problems with vista (not driver stuff...) has to do with the way it handles users. as long as you keep it a single-user setup, you should be fine.

[colecampbell666]

What happens with multiple users?

[Topgun]

stupid security rules don't allow some programs write to their own directory. it's supposed to pause the program and ask for admin password or some-such but sometimes it causes the program to crash or simply complain.
it also has a stupid virtual user system that can cause all sorts of problems with older programs.

[Ghostavo]

If you do a lot of compiling, quad core is a blessing. I wish I had one to supercharge Gentoo.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

I'm on an Athlon X2 5600+ with 4gb of DDR2 800mhz Crucial SDRAM and a Radeon HD 4870.  It runs perfectly for me, so beyond getting a quad-core processor I don't think you need anything more.

That, I think, would be excellent for running games.

[Dark RevenantX]

Weird.  When I use my 7600gs instead of the HD 4870, I can literally create a world record low 3dmark06 score.  2100 3dmarks for my system (with the 7600gs) is so far beyond abysmal that it makes me tear.  Statistically, I should be getting three times that much.  And this is on a new computer with good cooling and latest drivers, too!

[CP5670]

Weird.  When I use my 7600gs instead of the HD 4870, I can literally create a world record low 3dmark06 score.  2100 3dmarks for my system (with the 7600gs) is so far beyond abysmal that it makes me tear.  Statistically, I should be getting three times that much.  And this is on a new computer with good cooling and latest drivers, too!

Obviously. The 7600GS is three years old and was a slow card even for its time. What were you expecting?

[Dark RevenantX]

My CPU score was ****, too.

[colecampbell666]

I get like 300 3DMarks. 300 PCMarks too.

[thegreenmonk]

Hey all, firstly cheers for the help/advice from everyone.

Ive decided to go with a Core 2 Duo 3ghz and a p35/p45 motherboard.  Not sure about the graphics yet, but am probably going to wait till ,my student loan is in and go wild Im tempted by the 4870, but have had problems in the past with ATi, so am still unsure. 

[colecampbell666]

4870 is a good budget option, and the problems were probably old and an isolated incident.

[Dark RevenantX]

I've seen the 7600gs get 6000 3dmarks on a core 2 quad, oddly enough.  My pcmark score is 5600 but my 3dmark score is 2200, so this seems weird to me.

[Mars]

I get 6000 something 3Dmarks and I'm running
eVGA 8600GTS
AMD 4050e @ 2.00Ghz
2GB DDR2 @ 800Mhz

[Bob-san]

I'd say E7200, Q6600, or Q9450 for processor.
A P45 motherboard is very good--I'd say Biostar TP45HP.
2x2GB DDR2 800 or DDR2 1000/1066.
HD4850 would be my graphics card recommendation.
Look at Corsair TX650 for power supply.
I'd also say Vista HP 64-bit.
Whatever you really want on hard drives--it's up to you there.
Cases are the same--it's up to you (personal preference).

[colecampbell666]

Q6600 is way too old, the 9 series is way better. Faster clocks, more cache, faster FSB...

And the 7 series is budget, the 8 series is the top end dual cores. Remember, he's got 4000$

[Bob-san]

Q6600 is way too old, the 9 series is way better. Faster clocks, more cache, faster FSB...

And the 7 series is budget, the 8 series is the top end dual cores. Remember, he's got 4000$

WTH are you talking about?

1) I see no mention of a budget
2) The Q6600 is just fine, actually. Low price, 4 cores, 9x multiplier
3) Q9xx0 is a bit overpriced. Still 4 cores, but lower multipliers mean you're limited by RAM and motherboard for overclocking.
4) E7200 is very overclockable and very inexpensive--$120, making it a nice choice for dual-cores. E8x00 are fine too, but I wouldn't spend that much on a dual-core, personally

[colecampbell666]

Oops, wrong thread.

[Bob-san]

Oops, wrong thread.

Yeah.... thought so.

Hey all, firstly cheers for the help/advice from everyone.

Ive decided to go with a Core 2 Duo 3ghz and a p35/p45 motherboard.  Not sure about the graphics yet, but am probably going to wait till ,my student loan is in and go wild Im tempted by the 4870, but have had problems in the past with ATi, so am still unsure. 

P45 > P35 by far.
The new HD3000 and HD4000 series graphics cards are fantastic price/performance cards. I'd say HD4850 is VERY nice.
Core 2 Duo is nice--but do still consider Core 2 Quad for AutoCAD. You may want to go with nVidia just for your CAD's hardware acceleration--I've never used it but I want to. AutoCAD 2007 got very slow in 3D.