AtomicKitKat,Mar 30 2004, 06:25 AM Wrote:You know, if it turns out that you're using a dial-up or anything slower than cable/adsl/dsl, I'm gonna laugh at you, AND everyone else who posted a reply. ;)

Quote:RAMpage is a small Windows utility that displays the amount of available memory in an icon in the System Tray. When the icon is double-clicked, the program tries to free a predefined amount of memory.

RAMpage can also be configured to free memory automatically [while your playing CoH] when the amount of available memory drops below a predefined level, and it includes a utility for freeing memory after a program finishes executing.

RAMpage

• Try to choose a card with equal MEMORY and MEMORY / DATA BUS. Buying a card that has more memory than its bus can pass at any given point is generally a waste, since it creates what's known as a "memory bus bottleneck". The extra RAM does you virtually no good, most of the time (there ARE exceptions, but these are just general rules of thumb, and not strict guidelines), as the full amount of RAM can't be accessed at one time.
  Pay attention to the core clock and memory clock frequencies. Do this by comparing them between brands. Be wary of any cards that have lower clock speeds for the SAME card when choosing between brands, as this denotes cheaper parts and, obviously, decreased performance. Also, if the card runs at "less than stock" speeds out of the box, chances are the card's OCing ability will be minimal to non-existant. Also be wary of cards that have HIGHER clock speeds. Gainward in particular markets a special segment of their cards, called "Golden Sample". They claim that they use high-quality memory, and thus these cards are overclocked by default. They do provide a lifetime warranty, however, so they shouldn't be a problem. Only the "Golden Sample" cards are OCed by default; the rest of their cards are clocked normally.
  Keeping in tune with clock speeds, pay attention to the clock speeds between your old card and your new one. If the difference is small, or even negative, don't even waste your time. No matter what, the card will either perform barely any better, perform the same, or possibly even perform worse. If you're not getting a significant jump in clock speeds (50+ core, 100+ memory bare minimum), you're wasting your time.
  Pay attention to the warranty. It sounds logical, but a lot of people don't do this. Some card manufacturers guarantee their cards for life. Some for only a few months. You're better off going with a brand that warranties for life, particularly if you're going to be OCing (although some don't cover OCing in their warranty), although it should not be your primary objective. Short warranties generally denote cheaper parts, so be wary. Any GOOD manufacturer will warranty their product for a long time, if not lifetime.
  Pay special attention to what comes with the card. The card itself is all well and good, but what is the point of buying it if you have nothing to hook all your goodies up to it with? Many cards these days come with VIVO, S-Video, DVI, etc., and some even with dual-monitor support and remotes. Many cards don't come with adapters / cables for ANY of these though! Most only give you the bare minimum to get you started (i.e. the card, some drivers, and a manual). A good card manufacturer will provide you with just about everything you need, including adapters, cables, etc. Some come with complete software bundles, ranging from PC games to utilities, although these are more common than bundling cables and adapters. Oddly enough, you're much more likely to see a 7-game pack than a S-video / VGA adapter, or a S-video cable. And, worse, sometimes a more expensive card, that has EXACTLY the same features, has minimal "extras", while another manufacturer may provide you with everything but the kitchen sink for only a few dollars less! MSI in particular is VERY good at bundling extras, while PNY, Gainward, and Chaintech tend to go for the bare minimum (although they are all good card manufacturers, in terms of quality-of-product).
  Unless you REALLY want to stay on the bleeding edge, and can afford to blow HUGE wads of dough on a card that will come down rapidly in price within a year or two, don't ever buy the top-end card. If you can, research the performance of new-generation cards with those that are currently out, or slightly older generation models. Oftentimes, you'll find that the "latest and greatest" aren't so great after all. It USED to be that a new generation was ALWAYS better than the last. Those days are gone. With video cards being such a hot commodity, you'll often find a card that is equal to or worse than what you have for around the same price you probably payed for your current card.<>
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  As I said, I'd be glad to offer my advice on what to buy, and what NOT to buy. Most of my learning is from reading reviews, paying attention to performance charts, and by knowing the ins-and-outs of a video card. With time and practice, you can do it yourself just as easily. All you have to do is have the inspiration and the time. :)
  
  Good luck!

• Category Description Manufacturer Model # Item # Price
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• Case XaserV WinGo Full-Tower Thermaltake V8000A N82E16811133130 $116.00
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• Power Supply Purepower Butterfly 480W Silver Thermaltake W0020 N82E16817153013 $77.00
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• Motherboard I875P Neo-FIS2R MSI 875P NEO-FIS2R N82E16813130414 $178.00
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• Processor Pentium 4 2.8C Ghz Intel BX80532PG2800/D N82E16819116161 $186.00
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• Memory HyperX Dual Kits 1GB DDR PC-4000 Kingston KHX4000K2/1G N82E16820144137 $306.00
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• Video NVIDIA GeForce FX5900XT 256MB 256-bit Golden Sample Gainward ULTRA/1300XT GS N82E16814128184 $278.00
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• Audio SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS Creative Labs 70SB035000000 N82E16829102162 $88.00
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• Storage Caviar SE Serial ATA 200GB 7200RPM Western Digital WD2000JD N82E16822144153 $168.25
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• Monitor G90FB 19" Flat Screen CRT ViewSonic G90FB N82E16824116282 $219.00
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• Speakers MegaWorks THX 5.1 550 Creative Labs 51000000AA277 N82E16836116118 $202.00
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• Total Cost $1,818.25
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• Extra Case / CPU Fans for added cooling are recommended.<>
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  Low-End Gaming Platform
  • Category Description Manufacturer Model # Item # Price
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  • Case Centurion 2 Silver Mid-Tower Cooler Master CAC-T02 N82E16811119036 $52.00
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  • Power Supply Silent PurePower 420W Silver Thermaltake TT-420AD(DUAL FAN) N82E16817153006 $44.00
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  • Motherboard I865PE Neo2-PFS MSI MS6728-110 N82E168131304507 $80.00
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  • Processor Pentium 4 2.4C Ghz Intel BX80532PG2400D N82E16819116157 $165.00
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  • Memory Value Select Dual Pack 1G DDR PC-3200 Corsair VS1GBKIT400 N82E16820145440 $177.00
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  • Video NVIDIA GeForce FX5700 128MB 128-bit MSI FX5700-TD128 N82E16814127112 $141.00
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  • Audio SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS Creative Labs 70SB035000000 N82E16829102162 $88.00
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  • Storage Caviar SE Serial ATA 7200RPM SATA Western Digital WD800JD N82E16822135106 $86.00
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  • Speakers Inspire T5400 5.1 Creative Labs 51MF4025AA002 N82E16836116137 $86.00
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  • Total Cost $919.00<>
    [st]
    For the purpose of saving space and due to such widely varying brands / personal tastes, NIC cards, modems, network cables, and the like have all been left off. Depending on your needs, you can tack on an additional $25 - $100. Most of those, however, you can probably get from an older PC that you no longer need them for.
    
    As you can see, some of the components are the same, or are at least in the same brand / league as one another. The prices, however, differ greatly, as do the amount of features and overall performance (the low-end PC costing roughly half what the high-end PC costs). This is just a rough outline of two custom-built PCs, crossing the spectrum of low-end directly to high-end. Obviously, since we are talking custom PCs, you can mix and match any parts to your liking. You may even find parts not on either of these lists that you want instead. These are given just as a rough guideline for building a PC, to guage prices versus performance. In all cases, as is custom with me, I tried to choose the best components available for each group, waying price with features, extras, reputation, etc. Another thing to keep in mind is that some of the required parts for a full PC you may already have, and can pull from another computer, thus saving you money.
    
    I did this especially for you, Warlocke, as I know you mentioned you were looking for a graphics card to tide you over for your future new PC. I figured these guides will help you out a bit, in terms of price planning as well as parts planning.
    
    One special thing to note:
    The Intel Pentium 4 processor, combined with either of the listed motherboards (or any motherboard with an Intel 645 / 675 Northbridge chipset and built-in overclocking abilities) can be overclocked from a 800MHz FSB to a 1,000MHz (or 1 GHz) FSB, GREATLY boosting performance far beyond normal levels. While this is NOT recommended for a 3.0+ GHz processor, this CAN be achieved safely, with stock cooling (normal fans, etc.), on a 2.4 GHz - 2.6 GHz (2.8 GHz should be possible, but it hasn't been tested). The overal speed will increase from 2.4 GHz to 3.2 GHz, or 2.6 GHz to 3.25 GHz, but the overall performance will surpass a stock 3.2 GHz processer by about 10% (2.6 GHz OCed to 1 GHz FSB, resulting in 3.25 GHz). Of course, this IS with DDR PC-4000 (500 MHz) memory, which is a little harder to find at the moment (PC-3200, or 400 MHz, runs synchroniously with an 800 MHz FSB, and as such it is the new standard of memory, thusly it is MUCH more common; PC-4000 is available, however, and is becoming more common), so unless you have that type of RAM, the performance boost will probably be not quite as high. Still, it will probably result in roughly a 20% performance increase over a stock 2.6 GHz processor, if you overclock it to a 1 GHz FSB, regardless of RAM speed. Higher RAM speed, however, is ALWAYS a plus, provided your motherboard can handle it.
    
    It is for this reason that the 2.4 GHz / 2.8 GHz processors are listed, rather than shooting for the higher end 3.0 Ghz / 3.2 GHz for the high-end PC, because it will be far more cost-effective to get the 2.8 GHz and simply overclock the FSB, and/or the multiplier. Even if you don't choose to overclock, however, it makes more sense, cost / benefit ratio-wise, to opt for the slightly lower processor speed, as the 3.0 and 3.2 rise rather sharply in price ($240.00 & 290.00, respectively).
    
    FSB Overclocking Review (used for reference in this post):
    http://www6.tomshardware.com/motherboard/2.../ddr500-05.html
    
    Hope this helps!