Aggamemnon Posted January 24, 2001 Share Posted January 24, 2001 I'm shopping for a new computer and have been looking at an Athlon 900 but wonder if I should go with a PIII. I keep reading the term Tbird and wondered if that's a kind of AMD chip? Also, any suggestions about video cards to go in the system would be appreciated. Thanks. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Smurf Posted January 24, 2001 Share Posted January 24, 2001 Athlon TBird is the way to go. No question. Neil ------------------ I don't sing. I don't dance. I ain't blue. Anything else you need to know? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schrullenhaft Posted January 24, 2001 Share Posted January 24, 2001 The "T-Bird" is the latest incarnation of AMD's Athlon CPUs. They're usually Socket A CPUs with on-die cache (which can run faster than the previous Athlon caches - though there is less of it). You'll find the T-Birds cost less than the equivalent Intel Pentium IIIs (though the motherboards that support them may cost a bit more - but the T-Bird price still ends up being more economical). They do run hotter and require more electrical current than an equivalent Pentium. Price-wise it's hard to beat the AMD T-Bird, but make sure you get a very good power supply; at least 300 Watts. A number of users on this forum have complained about problems with the T-Bird and CM. This may just be a coincedence since a number of gamers are opting for this CPU and it's operational requirements are a bit more than the Pentiums (making them a bit more finicky in terms of power and motherboard quality, etc.). As for a video card. If you want cheap the 3dfx Voodoo 5 series can be had for less than US$200, however since 3dfx is out of business you're not going to see any driver updates, which can be a bit of a problem. The ATI Radeon would be a good purchase except it lacks in fog-table support. Otherwise the last remaining contender is the NVidia GeForce family. The MX is the least expensive (usually less than US$120), while the Ultra 64Mb can often clock in around US$450-530. There are models in between these two. If you want the fastest video card you can get you may want to hold out for 3-4 months since NVidia is going to release a new GPU (graphics chip) pretty soon. ATI will also be releasing new variations on the Radeon, but the lack of fog-table support on the PC is a real downside for CM. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggamemnon Posted January 25, 2001 Author Share Posted January 25, 2001 Thanks for all the good info. You've given me plenty to think about. I definitely want something that will run CM well. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrapGame Posted January 25, 2001 Share Posted January 25, 2001 Aggamemnon, Listen well to Schrullenhaft's words. Then heed them. He is the oracle of the tech support forum, and has helped many people here. Good luck with your PC. ------------------ CrapGame Buying CM for yourself is like giving lingerie to your significant other. It's the gift that keeps on giving back! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lmandrake Posted January 26, 2001 Share Posted January 26, 2001 A site that has excellent reviews of hardware and lots of good technical info can be found here: www.anandtech.com 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JediJobu Posted January 26, 2001 Share Posted January 26, 2001 ahah....Tbird....don't forget, you get what U pay for 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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