I wonder if anyone could give me some advice on a new computer I have ordered. I have not been in the computer game for a while now and I am a bit rusty on what is the latest and best hardware to get. I want a computer which is a good starting point for gaming, video editing, internet, etc. The specification below is as follows: Athlon 3000XP Processor 512Mb DDR333 Memory Jetway N2PAP Ultra Micro ATX Motherboard (Has nVIDIA nForce2 SPP Chipset ,AS97 onboard audio, 10/100Mb network) 128Mb GeForce FX5200 (Not sure whether this is any good?) 80Gb 7200RPM Hard Drive DVD Drive 52 speed CDROM, 52x CD write Midi Tower ATX[/B] 1. Could anyone tell me whether this is a good setup or not? 2. What could I do to make this better? 3. Will it play most new games? 4. Will I be able to do video editing on it?
Except for the GF FX5200 card (it's total crap if you'll be gaming at anything higher than 640x480 and no eye candy turned on at all), it's a pretty good setup. I'm not sure how good Jetway is, but they don't seem to be anything special. I don't know what brand and size (300W, 350W, etc) your power supply is, but based on the system using a Jetway motherboard and the FX5200, I'm inclined to believe you don't have something that great. If the PSU is something like an Antec, Sparkle/Fortron, or possibly Enermax of at least 350W, I wouldn't worry. If you buy a video card now, the best card you can get is the GeForce 6800 Ultra. However, that's gonna run you around $500, so in the more reasonable category, the Radeon 9800Pro is your best bet, and most can be had for around $200 online. If you're willing to wait some, the GeForce 6600 and 6600GT cards seem like they might be a real mainstream card. But, if you want something now, you're best bet (unless you're loaded) is the Radeon 9800 Pro.
