Which computer?

making the right decision about a computer

[glenng]

Hope this is in the right forum - if not feel free to delete it.

I am looking at purchasing one of two different computers.

The processor, storage, and memory are the same on both computers. The difference is in the expansion and graphic card.

First option:
Expansion
Available PCI-E x1 slots 2
Available 3.5" bays 1
Available 5.25" bays 1
Available PCI-E x16 slots 0
Available PCI slots 0

DVI 2

Graphics/Video
Memory 256 MB Dedicated
Video card: ATI Radeon HD 2400XT

Second option:
Expansion
Available PCI-E x1 slots 2
Available 3.5" bays 1
Available 5.25" bays 1
Available PCI-E x16 slots 1
Available PCI slots 0

DVI 0
Graphics/Video
Memory 128 MB Shared
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE

The price difference is $120 between the 2 computers, but I want to purchase what should be the better one. I do not use the computer for games.

Thanks for any help or advise that the forum members can supply.

[Dabrowski]

It really depends what you want to use it for. By the look of the (limited) spec you have provided, I would say the 2 were identical except one has onboard video, and one has the ATI card in the PCI-E x16 slot.

If you don't use games the graphics performance won't matter to you, which is a good thing in either case. The Radeon 2400XT pales in comparison to my (now several years old X800 XT PE AGP).

[gpureview.com...]

I would say go for whichever is cheaper, but I reckon if you want a standard spec PC you'd do well to build it yourself I'm sure it would be cheaper.

[edited by: Dabrowski at 1:57 pm (utc) on Mar. 31, 2008]

[glenng]

I truly don't use games - do mostly the usual MS office things. But looking forward to doing some short videos and uploading them to youtube. I don't want to find out later that I should have gotten the onboard video card now rather than the integrated video. I was told that I could in the future add a video card in the PCI-E x16 slot. Do you know if that is true?

I did not post the other spec's since they were identical and did not think that would be an issue.

Don't mind paying the extra $120 if it is the best choice. The cheaper computer has the onboard video card.

[Dabrowski]

onboard video card now rather than the integrated video

Onboard and integrated are the same thing.

The usual way to run a video on a PC is with a video card that supports a 'video overlay'. This was invented because in the olden days PC's weren't fast enough to run DVD video on their own, so they passed the video data to the video card and it did the decoding.

That became commonplace along with DVD's themselves and now every video card supports this technology. Although now PC's are so fast it wouldn't matter if they didn't anyway.

So yes, for youtube videos the cheapest option is still the best. There are very few things you can use a PC for that require expensive hardware.

And yes it's also true that if you should become an avid gamer, you can buy a decent video card and stick it in your PCI-E x16 slot. But make sure you buy one for more than $120!

[glenng]

Oh gee - I thought onboard was like discrete not integrated. You can see my knowledge. The less expensive computer has the ATI card. You think the ATI card is in the PCI-Ex16 slot - so I could change it out one day for a better video card?

BTW - thank you for your answers it is most helpful to me, as I wait here for this computer's OS to go down the tubes.

[Dabrowski]

Onboard/integrated means it's built into the mainboard. You can't change it but you can add an additional card in the slot, not all mainboards have that slot you see.

I'm surprised the cheaper one is with the ATI card, I can only guess it's in the PCI-E x16 slot assuming the mainboards are identical, however now you've said that I'm not so sure.

Can you post the rest of the spec?

[glenng]

Processor
AMD
Phenom
Processor speed 2.20GHz
Bus speed 3600MHz
Level 2 cache 2MB
Level 3 cache 2MB
Memory
RAM 3GB
RAM expandable to: 4GB
Memory type (RAM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)

Storage/Drives
Hard drive size 500GB
Hard drive speed 7200RPM
Burns DVDs Yes
Lightscribe Yes

Ports
USB 2.0 6
Firewire 0

TV tuner No

Internet/networking
Ethernet Yes
Built-in wireless No
Dial-up modem Included

DVI (Digital Video Interface) 2

[Dabrowski]

I'm still surprised the ATI is the cheaper one, but it's worth going for it for the DVI connection if the rest of the spec is identical.

[glenng]

The spec's are identical - except for the graphic/video stuff. Guess the cheaper one has more value with a lower price.

[graeme_p]

If in doubt, go for the cheaper one. Why spend the money if you do not have a solid reason to.

I have a PC with a fairly limited spec by current standards (P4, 1Gb memory) and the only problem I have is that I cannot get a (Linux) 3D desktop to work with my on-board graphics: but that bottom end SiS video which is far inferior to the options you are looking at.

I prefer to be fairly cheap about most aspects of PCs and spend the money on memory (both amount and quality of - cheap memory does not go through QC) and peripherals (good monitor to save your eyes, good mouse and key board to keep your hands comfortable).

[glenng]

As it turns out the cheaper one is actually the better of the two - as a matter of fact I am using it now. :) So far it is working fine - just getting use to the Vista OS and finding drivers and patches for my existing programs.

[graeme_p]

just getting use to the Vista OS and finding drivers and patches for my existing programs.

and they say Windows is ready for the desktop...

sorry, just could not resist.

[Dabrowski]

Obviously you need the patches because the other programs aren't good enough!

;)