Megadude

Hello all, I think this is the correct place for this post, let me know if it should be somewhere else. I am thinking about getting back into SC after not playing for almost two years. I quit playing when I had played too much and was tired of my slow computer preventing me from having large cities. I am looking at building a new computer, but I am trying to figure out what works and what does not. I have a target price of about $1200. I would like to be under that, but am also willing to go over if there is a big increase in performance for a small increase in price. I am trying to decide between AMD and Intel, Duel or Single core, and just about everything else. I do not plan on overclocking, and am planning on useing Windows XP. As there are many people here who have more computer experience than I do, I would appreciate any help sorting all of this out. I dont want to spend a lot of money to find out that I cannot play the older games that I like (like SC4) or am not set up to use the new stuff. Thanks

Ok, with everyones help, I have narrowed it down to two general choices: Option 1: Go with an AMD Athlon 3700 (or similar) 1GB of ram, Solid but lower cost video card (or onboard, not sure which one) This set up would have a target total price of about $800 with the idea that it would get me through about 2 years untill more programs that use duel core and 64bit stuff is released. Option 2: Go with an AMD Athlon 4200 X2 (or similar) 1 or 2 GB of RAM, 7900GT video This set up would be around $1200 based on above advice and I would hope would work for about another 4+ years or so (about as long as my current one has) These prices do not include monitor, keyborad, or mouse but do include everything else, including Windows XP Pro with a CD so I can reinstall as required (unless the extra cost is not worth it, not sure what the other versions do). I would like to avoid most of the other software that retail computers come with as I generaly never use it and it is a pain to get rid of most of the time, but can deal with it if the cost is good. I suppose if I have the windows CD, I could just wipe the hard drive and reinstall only what I want. Also, I currently do not play any of the games that require high end video cars, so I am wondering if I can play SC and CIV4 using onboard video without slowing it down too much. I would assume that if I was going to buy a game that required it I would by the video card at that time. I also do not have a problem with onboard sound as I cannot hear the difference a sound card would make as long as the onboard sound is not bad or causes conflicts or system problems or something. I also do not generaly listen to much on my computer, the most I use the sound is to chat with my friends online via AOL or something. Does anyone know of a company that builds good retail boxes that only have windows (and updated drivers) installed at a good price?

Thanks for all of the help. I was not able to look at computer stuff today as I had been planning to as we had snow here (Phoenix area) so I had to take a 5 hour drive up into the mountains to see it (most snow I have seen this low in Arizona in my 13 years here). I think just about everyone else did too as the road was lined with stopped cars and peope having snowball fights for miles. I am going to look into some of these suggestions.

Thanks for the help, I am looking at AMD more than I was before. Screwball, your second link for the motherboard did not work and I am not able to figure out what it should be. I am not sure I need 2xdual cores, but it is interesting. $1200 is a maximum target, if I could build something good for less I will (I was expecting to be restricted in my choices at $1200, not on the verge of a power gaming machine). Also, I dont like to have to mess with my comp to keep it working or adjusting stuff for different programs, so I would prefer a stable setup. I occasionaly get a urge to play an old game (civ2 and others equaly old), but I also dont want to have to build a new comp in a year or two because this one is too old by then. EDIT: Doh, you updated while I was responding, thanks

I am currently planning on building it myself, but I am open to a retail one if the cost/quality/performance is similar. I am also more familier with Intel chips, so if AMD is better I could use some help on exactly which one would be best. I am not planning on overclocking unless it is a huge benifit and fairly easy. Thanks