I wanted to buy a computer of the internet, but my dad felt it would be safer to buy one from the local Compu Pro. They have two computers that I'm interested in, and I want to know how they'd play Sims. (Price dosnt matter as for now)

The first isnt their gaming computer, but dosnt have bad specs.

Processor- AMD 5200+

Ram-2 GB

Hardrive-250

Card- ATI Radeon 2400 Pro/XT (I'm not sure which, but it's a 256 MB card)

This dosnt seem like overkill for what I would do (Sims and normal surfing) but I wasnt too sure about the graphics card, mostly ATI cards. If that was compared to an NVidia card, which one would be similar.

This one costs about 500$ more and has:

An AMD 5600+

4 GB Ram

320 HD

2600 512 MB Card

I know this is a good card, but I have the same comparing question from the last one. This computer, mostly with it's 4GB Ram seems like overkill, but it might be better to get something better so it dosnt get outdated to quickly.

The first computer costs about 1000$ and the second 1500$. I could find cheaper things online but these are pretty sturdy computers! So, which should I get?

Get the first computer, and if you feel like the graphics aren't enough then upgrade the graphics card yourself. $500 difference doesn't merit the performance increase, especially since yeah the 4gb is serious overkill. For TS2 purposes the 5200 to 5600 nah.. Plus, you could do ALL of those upgrades yourself for tons less. Just my opinion.

The only thing is that the 2400 is not a great card. I saw it compared to a 8400 GT, and the 8400 GT beat it hands down.. the 8400 GT of course being a budget non gamer's choice card in the first place. 7600GT beats the 8400 too so.. I dunno what to compare it to.. a 7300 GT maybe? Maybe I'm being a little too stingy but you get my point on the performance of that card. But for Ts2 purposes it will prob suite you ok. If not, it's an easy upgrade.

The 2600 is generally compared to the 8600 GT, but at least the test comparison I happened to come across had the 2600 beating beating the 8600 GT hands down. I say this but really I haven't done a lot of research and only saw the one review.

BTW not all processors AMD labels the same are created equal.. for example the 5200+ has three different processors: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...200%2b&name=AMD. Any idea which one they're offering?


eta: yeah this is a great site and they have the 2600 edging the 8600 GT out on some.. flipped on other games. http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/20...force_8600_gt/1 So basically you're looking at a 8600 Gt comparison which really is a great card. Again though the difference between the 2600 and the 2400 is like $20-$60 or something (number off the top of my head.. depending on if it's the PRO or XT), and TS2 doesn't need that much of a gpu anyway.

Thanks for all the help Callistra!
But, it seems they were giving me the wrong quotes yesterday, and apparently, their more expensieve computer is.

AMD Athalon 6000+ (sorry I didnt mentio it earlier)

2 GB Ram

512 MB 7600 (I know this isnt the newest card but it's able to play Sims properly is it not?)

400 GB HD

And the price got bumped down to 1415.00$

Now it's not as much of an overkill and it seems pretty good so I'm planning on getting this one. It's still a bit expensieve, but I was thinking it might work better because I wanted one with more Hardrive space.

The Aurora is still the same, but I'm pretty sure I wont be able to buy a new graphics card with it for a long while as my parents dont want to buy anything more. (especially of the internet, which is what I'll have to do as we live in a very small town with no electronics shop)

It's not worth the extra money.. The price difference between the increased specs does not merit the price increase. Plus, taking into account you only mentioned TS2 as a concern, the only upgrade you would end up feeling the performance difference in is the graphics card. Do you really think you're going to use a 400GB hard drive? Unless you plan on using the hard drive to store a bunch of movies then you won’t even begin to touch it.

That being said, if you don't think you'll be able to upgrade the lower system’s graphics on your own then yeah you better go with the more expensive one.. it's more future proof which I guess is more of a worry for you if your parents aren't into upgrading the computers they have. The overall specs look very very good. I don't know if you do any other gaming but that 6000+ is ready for it. The 7600 GT isn't ready for Crysis and the like but it's still a very decent card. Yes, it will play TS2 well. It still beats everything in the new 8000 series up to the 8600 GT. Good luck to you!

One thing to add. Check the PSU they will be installing. I would imagine you will be playing Sims 3 on this very same computer in the future. While I would expect the processor and memory to be sufficient, you may decide to upgrade the graphics cards at a later date because of Sims 3. Modern graphics cards, such as the nVidia 8800 needs extra power from the PSU so make sure the PSU you are getting can supply the required power otherwise you may end up needing a new PSU for the graphics card.

Thanks for all the advice!
I probably will use a lot of that space because I plan on downloading a lot of anime ^_^'
It's too late since my dad already placed the order for me to change (and they've started building it) to change, but, I'm hoping this will be good for a long time.
And thanks Kineer! I never thought of asking what PSU they were using so I'll make it a point to ask them soon!
Thanks both of you!