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Lee Bartholomew
16th-March-2007, 08:37 AM
Commodore has just anounced a return to making computers. Of course they are'nt going to be Amigas :tears: but good to see them return. Think with a price tag of up to £5,000 it might take abit of saving.


BBC NEWS | Technology | Games icon gets modern makeover (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6453339.stm)

ducasi
16th-March-2007, 09:02 AM
Shame that this Commodore has exactly zero (beyond the name) to do with the company that brought us the Amiga... Or perhaps not – maybe this Commodore won't screw up and go bust...

erratic-eric
16th-March-2007, 09:46 AM
For that price tag I'll build my own and get my airbrush out:D

andystyle
16th-March-2007, 03:00 PM
Seems to be a big pile of poo to me.

My gaming rig cost me about 1,000 quid (no pound sign on Korean keyboards...) and it can handle anything I've thrown at it, on max settings. It also has a large degree of upgradability thanks to a decent motherboard. The case is a top-notch gaming case with good airflow. A bit cramped for liquid cooling but that's the next upgrade. OK, so I'm not dual-core (yet) but a lot of games don't support it.

For me, that equals about 3k for a paint-job. Woo...

Lee Bartholomew
16th-March-2007, 03:10 PM
Seems to be a big pile of poo to me.

My gaming rig cost me about 1,000 quid (no pound sign on Korean keyboards...) and it can handle anything I've thrown at it, on max settings. It also has a large degree of upgradability thanks to a decent motherboard. The case is a top-notch gaming case with good airflow. A bit cramped for liquid cooling but that's the next upgrade. OK, so I'm not dual-core (yet) but a lot of games don't support it.

For me, that equals about 3k for a paint-job. Woo...

I don't think I could spend a grand on a PC. Would like to though :grin:

Whats the spec?

Alien ware are prob their only competitors in this market. If people have the money, they will buy these overpriced things (use iPods as an example):devil:

StokeBloke
16th-March-2007, 03:13 PM
Seems to be a big pile of poo to me.

My gaming rig cost me about 1,000 quid (no pound sign on Korean keyboards...) and it can handle anything I've thrown at it, on max settings. It also has a large degree of upgradability thanks to a decent motherboard. The case is a top-notch gaming case with good airflow. A bit cramped for liquid cooling but that's the next upgrade. OK, so I'm not dual-core (yet) but a lot of games don't support it.

For me, that equals about 3k for a paint-job. Woo...
Geek it to the max (http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Global_University/Global%20University%20System/Beowulf%20Mini%20Super-Computer/1476313%5B2%5D.pdf)! This article is worth a look just for the pictures! :drool:

andystyle
16th-March-2007, 03:30 PM
I don't think I could spend a grand on a PC. Would like to though :grin:

Whats the spec?



I bought a lot of the stuff online and got a 9 month buy now, pay later deal - so it's not as bad as it sounds!

However, now that you ask... :wink:...

Athlon 3700+ Socket 939 Processor (switch to dual-core when there are more games supporting it)
3GB RAM (Corsair)
Asustek S939 nForce4 SLI X16 board
GeForce 7950GT PCIe card (this is getting replaced if/when I go to Vista)
19" widescreen TFT
Audigy 7.1 soundcard
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speakers
Tsunami case

I imagine there are more powerful rigs out there, but I've had no problems with the above so far. In about a year I may ramp up the RAM and processor/graphics, but so far so good.

Lee Bartholomew
16th-March-2007, 03:32 PM
I bought a lot of the stuff online and got a 9 month buy now, pay later deal - so it's not as bad as it sounds!

However, now that you ask... :wink:...

Athlon 3700+ Socket 939 Processor (switch to dual-core when there are more games supporting it)
3GB RAM (Corsair)
Asustek S939 nForce4 SLI X16 board
GeForce 7950GT PCIe card (this is getting replaced if/when I go to Vista)
19" widescreen TFT
Audigy 7.1 soundcard
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speakers
Tsunami case

I imagine there are more powerful rigs out there, but I've had no problems with the above so far. In about a year I may ramp up the RAM and processor/graphics, but so far so good.

Mines a PII 233mhz, 94mb ram, 15 gig hard drive, win 95 and a Voodoo 2mg graphics card. Plays mine sweeper great. :waycool: :rofl:

Beowulf
16th-March-2007, 03:47 PM
Geek it to the max (http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/Global_University/Global%20University%20System/Beowulf%20Mini%20Super-Computer/1476313%5B2%5D.pdf)! This article is worth a look just for the pictures! :drool:

I like this quote from that Article.


Above all, the Beowulf concept is an EMPOWERING FORCE.

I know.. I get told that all the time ;)

Here's irony for you..My nick is Beo.. AND I have a beowulf mini-cluster (well more of a huddle really).. never since Achilles discovered he also had an Achilles heel was there such a coincidence (thank you Mr Izzard!)

andystyle
16th-March-2007, 03:47 PM
Mines a PII 233mhz, 94mb ram, 15 gig hard drive, win 95 and a Voodoo 2mg graphics card. Plays mine sweeper great. :waycool: :rofl:

There are so many old games I miss...

Funnily enough, I sometimes play Solitaire more than I play ArmA or Quake 4. Makes me wonder why I bothered...

Dreadful Scathe
16th-March-2007, 03:55 PM
I bought a lot of the stuff online and got a 9 month buy now, pay later deal - so it's not as bad as it sounds!

However, now that you ask... :wink:...

Athlon 3700+ Socket 939 Processor (switch to dual-core when there are more games supporting it)
3GB RAM (Corsair)
Asustek S939 nForce4 SLI X16 board
GeForce 7950GT PCIe card (this is getting replaced if/when I go to Vista)
19" widescreen TFT
Audigy 7.1 soundcard
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 Speakers
Tsunami case

I imagine there are more powerful rigs out there, but I've had no problems with the above so far. In about a year I may ramp up the RAM and processor/graphics, but so far so good.

I just got a 22" Daewoo widescreen 5ms white mac-like monitor for £199 from scan.co.uk - well cool. I recently upgraded from a reasonable Ati x800 pro to dual crossfire X1900's. Got to admit Ive found no real need to get more than 1gb of RAM, do you find 3gb makes a difference? The biggest speed increase in games seem to be gained from : better gfx card, a sound card with onboard memory and a motherboard that supports raid which you utilise with fast hard drives (raptors are currently the best but are very, very pricey).

Got a coolermaster case from a friend, its massive but brilliant :) I'm also of the opinion that liquid cooling is too much hassle (and risk) with not enough of an advantage over air cooling. A good case and good fans should be everything you need.

andystyle
16th-March-2007, 04:20 PM
Got to admit Ive found no real need to get more than 1gb of RAM, do you find 3gb makes a difference?

I've found that my games run faster and my system is way more stable with more RAM. It depends on the type of application, however.


hard drives

An area I've neglected! I need to sort that out - but the bind of wiping and reinstalling is a pain. Hence, if I make a move to Vista I'll sort the mess that is my storage out!


Got a coolermaster case from a friend, its massive but brilliant :) I'm also of the opinion that liquid cooling is too much hassle (and risk) with not enough of an advantage over air cooling. A good case and good fans should be everything you need.

Yeah, you only need liquid cooling if you're overclocking. Looking to the future though, heat dissipation with air in gaming PCs is coming to a ceiling. Liquid-cooling is a lot more efficient, and if you use the correct type of coolant, leaks won't damage your machine (although I have problems with the concept of pumping liquid around a warm, electrical environment). However, it is expensive...I have my eye on the Kandalf LCS case. I was going to get that, but then had the crazy idea of proposing. Wedding takes precedence. The cheek. :rolleyes:

ducasi
16th-March-2007, 04:39 PM
Rather than liquid-cool an inefficient processor, isn't it better to buy a faster, cooler one, like one of those sexy new Core 2 Duos?

Dreadful Scathe
16th-March-2007, 05:13 PM
Rather than liquid-cool an inefficient processor, isn't it better to buy a faster, cooler one, like one of those sexy new Core 2 Duos?
its all about value for money, you could spend £600 on a cpu easily :)

the single most expensive piece of kit i've ever bought was a gfx card - £450 - this was quite a few years ago now though :)

Lee Bartholomew
16th-March-2007, 05:35 PM
its all about value for money, you could spend £600 on a cpu easily :)

the single most expensive piece of kit i've ever bought was a gfx card - £450 - this was quite a few years ago now though :)

Not spent That much but a few hundred netherless. Wonder what geforce 3's are worth now?

StokeBloke
16th-March-2007, 05:36 PM
Rather than liquid-cool an inefficient processor, isn't it better to buy a faster, cooler one, like one of those sexy new Core 2 Duos?
No. It's better to buy a faster processor and liquid cool that :whistle:

ducasi
16th-March-2007, 06:26 PM
I'm reminded of the guys who spend thousands making their cheap Ford Escorts look a bit flash, and go a bit faster, when for the money they spend, they could have bought a decent car to begin with!

Mostlysane
19th-March-2007, 10:13 AM
Seems to be a big pile of poo to me.
OK, so I'm not dual-core (yet) but a lot of games don't support it.



True, but windows does. The dual core will take over a lot of the processes windows insists on running all the time and stop interrupting the game. It makes a big difference.

andystyle
21st-March-2007, 01:59 PM
I'm reminded of the guys who spend thousands making their cheap Ford Escorts look a bit flash, and go a bit faster, when for the money they spend, they could have bought a decent car to begin with!

Liquid-cooling to a PC is a bit more central to a PC's performance (especially when over-clocking) than a body-kit is to a 5 year old Corsa. The only way you can make a PC look flash is with LEDs on fans etc, coupled with a clear side panel. Oh, and a useless case - there are some cool-looking cases on the market that, upon analysis, are anything but cool...


True, but windows does. The dual core will take over a lot of the processes windows insists on running all the time and stop interrupting the game. It makes a big difference.

I hear you. It annoys the life out of me when that happens. On the other side of the coin, though, if you have a game that doesn't support dual-core, your're limited to one of the two cores you have on your processor. This can seriously restrict performance, especially if you're playing a strategy game.

Dreadful Scathe
21st-March-2007, 02:09 PM
I'm reminded of the guys who spend thousands making their cheap Ford Escorts look a bit flash, and go a bit faster, when for the money they spend, they could have bought a decent car to begin with!
not even close to being a good analogy :)