JustAnotherFarang

The AMD Phenom II X4 955 (Black Edition) is an excellent choice, albeit somewhat pricey...

For a cheaper alternative, take a look at the AMD Athlon II X4 620.

Cheers SuperNova

I checked out the reviews and I am impressed but the X4 955 and the excellent graphics card Space Munk recommended seem worthy components in tandem together.

It seems the only problem with the X4 620 is that its not really suitable towards gaming but would it be suitable if I paired it up with a superior graphics card ?

JAF

IF you have $$ to spend, might as well get the X4 955. The X4 955BE is also on my wish-list, but I haven't gotten around to building a new rig yet...

The X4 955 is more powerful and better for gaming. Phenom II processors have an L3 cache whereas the Athlon II X4 doesn't. Having L3 cache makes all the difference - Athlon II X4 620 vs Phenom II X4 955. All I can say is, do your 'homework'. Read the reviews and draw up your own conclusions. This is the best advice I can give you.

Its great advice and thank you once again for your contribution............. I will go off and research the facts

JAF

The AMD Phenom II X4 955 (Black Edition) is an excellent choice, albeit somewhat pricey...

For a cheaper alternative, take a look at the AMD Athlon II X4 620.

Cheers SuperNova

I checked out the reviews and I am impressed but the X4 955 and the excellent graphics card Space Munk recommended seem worthy components in tandem together.

It seems the only problem with the X4 620 is that its not really suitable towards gaming but would it be suitable if I paired it up with a superior graphics card ?

JAF

Thanks Space Munk, You have come up trumps once again. I shall go and check out all the specs and reviews and come back to let you know what I decided on

Really do appreciate the advice

JAF

Hi guys

I previously posted a similiar thread about wanting to replace my old powerful 5yr old laptop with a desktop unit. I got some good leads to follow up on but I have decided not to bother with the intel chips this time around and will choose one from the AMD range. I will mostly use it for graphic design, a little video editing and gaming in my freetime.

So with an increased budget of 25,000 -30,000 bht, would someone suggest an AMD chip and mainboard setup that I can have put together by the nice guys at Thanni. I dont need to buy a monitor, keyboard or mouse etc etc but I will need pretty much everything else including a good graphics card, 1TB harddisk, dvd drive, UPS, psu etc etc included in the overall cost

What unit or components would you guys reckon I should buy ?

Many thanks once again for your time and sound advice guys

JAF

Hi.

I have built a system with an AMD Quad-Core 6000+, 4 GB of RAM, 1 GB graphics, 500 GB HDD, 2x DVD burner, memory card reader, Enermax PSU and Logitech keyboard+mouse (wired) for 35,000 Baht. Most "expensive" computer i have built to date. Oh, that price included a 26" wide screen Samsung LCD monitor, but no Windows (buyer had Vista Ultimate already).

I don't give a toss for benchmarks as all benchmarks favour certain processors and mostly Intel (Intel pays more and that's why their processors cost more, too). In every-day use it makes no difference if you run Intel or AMD - just that AMD costs WAY less, and so do mainboards for AMD processors vs. mainboards for Intel ones.

Best regards.....

Thanh

Hi Thanh

I am just looking to glean as much information as I can before I make an informed purchase. Its not so easy get the right blend of components and if I can save some money and not lose much in performance then I will be quite happy to try AMD chips and mainboard. So please do throw your hat in the ring and offer a comparison to the Intel chip and motherboard mentioned previously and I will be quite happy to go off and research and learn more about it

I really do appreciate all the information you and the rest of the guys have offered. It will help me pinpoint my purchase soon I am sure

JAF

Whilst trying to compare the intel and AMD chips, I came across this article from Techspot which talks specifically about the intel chip that Space Munk suggested........

"The cheapest quad-core processor that Intel currently has on offer is the Core 2 Quad Q8200. Priced at $150, it is considerably more expensive than the Athlon II X4 620. Although we did not include it in our benchmarks, the Q8200 can be considered slower than the Q6600 as it is clocked 70MHz lower and features half as much L2 cache. This plays out favorably for AMD's budget quad-core part, as the Athlon II X4 620 had no problem beating the Q6600 in the majority of our tests."

If this is true, then surely I would be paying over the odds for a chip that does not compare so favourably......any opinions please

JAF

whats the link to the article? I wanna see how they tested both chips.

I have sent you the link "mentioning" the comparison as I dont know how to insert the link here. Would be interested in your opinion on the article on the whole

JAF

Whilst trying to compare the intel and AMD chips, I came across this article from Techspot which talks specifically about the intel chip that Space Munk suggested........

"The cheapest quad-core processor that Intel currently has on offer is the Core 2 Quad Q8200. Priced at $150, it is considerably more expensive than the Athlon II X4 620. Although we did not include it in our benchmarks, the Q8200 can be considered slower than the Q6600 as it is clocked 70MHz lower and features half as much L2 cache. This plays out favorably for AMD's budget quad-core part, as the Athlon II X4 620 had no problem beating the Q6600 in the majority of our tests."

If this is true, then surely I would be paying over the odds for a chip that does not compare so favourably......any opinions please

JAF

Intel vs AMD debate... it all comes down to a matter of personal preference really. Both have plenty to offer in terms of features and performance.

Comparing Intel and AMD chips side by side, you'll see that Intel has the upper edge. Most benchmarks will confirm this, not that benchmarks are the telling the whole story, but it's a good indicator. For me, I prefer AMD -- always have, always will. Not only are they cheaper, but are also very good for overclocking. Personally, I think AMD does a better job of overclocking than Intel. I'm not talking about who can achieve the highest GHz, but taking into consideration value vs performance factor. If you're on a tight budget and are looking to get the best bang for your buck, go with AMD.

Whatever you decide to get, Intel or AMD, will be more than adequate for your computing needs.

Yes, I have seen on Anandtech comparison studies and gleaned quite a bit of information from there so far. I cant find a website which shows direct comparisons between all the chips, so I would be interested to hear what you think would be a contender from the AMD range in price and performance against these :-

CPU - Intel C2Q8200 - 5,740.00 บาท

Mainboard - Gigabyte GA-EP31-DS3L - 2,180.00 บาท

Many thanks

JAF

I disagree.

20K won't get you top of the line, but you can build yourself quite a powerhouse with this kind of cash (monitor not included).

yeah i spose one could cobble together something semi decent for "around" 20k

here's a quickie pricelist one from Thanni.com that i threw together, would be adequate i guess.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz - 6,140.00

ASUS "P5Q SE PLUS" motherboard - 3,340.00

Western digital 640gb HDD – 2160.00

Corsair DDR2 PC- 6400 3gb ram - 1800.00

Asus gts250 graphics card (512mb ddr3)- 4740.00

Coolermaster 500w power supply – 1800.00

Coolermaster elite case - 1200.00

total = 21180

Thats a pretty good setup although I am interested to hear what the comparisons are between the intel and the amd chip mentioned previously. I am not looking for top of the line as the premium is never really worth it to a home enthusiast but I would also want a far bigger (1 to 1.5 tb) hard disk and a minimum of 4gb ram but its plain sailing really as I can contact Thanni and ask them to put it together for me

Thank you for taking the time to put this together for me

JAF

AMD and intel chips are basically on par at stock.

Only when overclocked Intel blows AMD away. Im talking about AMD X4 940 and higher vs i7core chips.

CPU - Intel C2Q8200 - 5,740.00 บาท

Mainboard - Gigabyte GA-EP31-DS3L - 2,180.00 บาท

Rams - kingston valuerams 2gx2 ddr2 800mhz - 2,360 บาท

Graphic - Biostar ATi HD4890 1GB DDR5 - 6,440.00 บาท

HDD - Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache S-ATA II - 2,940.00 บาท

Casing - Coolermaster Elite series - 1,182 บาท

Power Supply - Scythe GouRiki 500w - 1,920.00 บาท

pretty decent set up for 22,762 บาท for both work and gaming.

pricing taken from Thanni

Thanks SpaceMunk, this is nearer to the specification that I want, with a dvd player and a sound card that should wrap up the price around 25,000 which seems reasonable indeed.

I was dithering about the AMD vs Intel chip but I shall stick with Intel unless anyone can give me a better reason not too

Thanks for all your advice so far guys

JAF

I disagree.

20K won't get you top of the line, but you can build yourself quite a powerhouse with this kind of cash (monitor not included).

yeah i spose one could cobble together something semi decent for "around" 20k

here's a quickie pricelist one from Thanni.com that i threw together, would be adequate i guess.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 2.66GHz - 6,140.00

ASUS "P5Q SE PLUS" motherboard - 3,340.00

Western digital 640gb HDD – 2160.00

Corsair DDR2 PC- 6400 3gb ram 1800.00

Asus gts250 graphics card (512mb ddr3) 4740.00

Coolermaster 500w power supply – 1800.00

Coolermaster elite case 1200.00

total = 21180

Thats a pretty good setup although I am interested to hear what the comparisons are between the intel and the amd chip mentioned previously. I am not looking for top of the line as the premium is never really worth it to a home enthusiast but I would also want a far bigger (1 to 1.5 tb) hard disk and a minimum of 4gb ram but its plain sailing really as I can contact Thanni and ask them to put it together for me

Thank you for taking the time to put this together for me

JAF

I'd steer clear of brand-name machines, if possible. They're overly expensive and use proprietary parts which could prove to be an obstacle should you decide to upgrade components at some point in the future. Buying the parts and building it on your own is the way to go, IMO. It really isn't that difficult. You are likely to save quite a bit of cash and end up with a more powerful machine.

For starters, take a look at THIS.

Yes, I agree with you totally, building it myself is the way to go and I am impressed with the chip and the price that you recommended , so it all going to start somewhere around that and I will glean whatever other recommendations that I can from the guys in the know here

Many thanks and keep the suggestions coming, I appreciate all comments and opinions

JAF

I want a new machine which will be more suitable for video work (my first sorties), graphic design (photoshop, coreldraw etc etc) and of course a little gaming here and there. I consider myself a power/pro user who pushes his machines to their limits with lots of multitasking between programs so with a provisional budget of 20,000 that could grow if deemed necessary..... What unit or components would you guys reckon I should buy ?

Many thanks for your advice

JAF

The 20.000 are for 1 graphic card or for the total system?

The 20,000 is for the base unit, I may well consider paying another 3-5000 bht for a card is necessary.

Guess that only makes me an avid home enthusiast

JAF

Hi guys

I want to replace my old but powerful 5yr old laptop with a desktop unit but the latest intel chips have me completely confused as to what is most suitable for my purposes. I dont need to buy a new monitor, keyboard or mouse etc etc, I just want a base unit which I can connect up to my own accessories. Looking at the machines on Tohome and Thanni .com (HP Pavillions and Acers) leaves me that they are a likely to have a weakness (like in built graphics card) so maybe its best to have a machine configured and sent to me from BKK.

I want a new machine which will be more suitable for video work (my first sorties), graphic design (photoshop, coreldraw etc etc) and of course a little gaming here and there. I consider myself a power/pro user who pushes his machines to their limits with lots of multitasking between programs so with a provisional budget of 20,000 that could grow if deemed necessary..... What unit or components would you guys reckon I should buy ?

Many thanks for your advice

JAF

Hi guys

I just picked up a "reduced in price"Sony DCR SR65 camcorder for 6,200 bht from the local Tesco Lotus, which to my mind was an absolute bargain but I have noticed that the battery is only 50 per cent charged at any one time so I want to buy a replacement battery upto around 3hrs recording. The sony battery number is "Sony NPFH70 H Series" but I would be happy to consider using a sandisk or comparable product if the prices where right

Can anyone point me in the right direction to purchase something like this online please

Many thanks

JAF

Many thanks to those that corresponded with me and forewarned me about buying one of those "cheap steel" turkeys......I learnt my lesson to ask questions after being stuck with a JRD bike whick was next to useless. Thanks to the advice from members here, I wont be fooled so quickly again

So now I am looking at dirt bikes and canoes............. what could possibly go wrong there hahahaha

Much appreciated guys

JAF

Hi guys

I am in my 40's and I still yearn for a little action and adventure so I have decided to buy an ATV to career around the rainforest and mountains in my province. My budget is around 35 - 50,000 (ish) bht and I started looking at the ATVs on offer in Amorn Electronics (ATV 110 inferno and ATV 150 Seahawk) and a few places online as well but to be perfectly honest, I cannot tell which one is the best suited for my budget as they all look good but looks can be most deceiving.............

So I am hoping that someone will be kind enough to explain the perils and pitfalls of buying an ATV and which particular models or company I should be looking for on Pantip.com etc etc

Really appreciate any advise or input as I am a complete novice to this sport

JAF

PS Whichever model I choose must be comfortable for me and the missus as she will occasionally ride pillion

Riding pillion on a quad isnt recomended, sooner or later someones going to get hurt when traversing uneven ground, nearly all quad bikes in thailand are imported from china, mocyc.com pantip etc you will want at least 150cc engine , the ones with 125 or 100cc honda c90 style engines are not recomended, but are easily fixed when they go wrong, as they are made in china it wont be long before something breaks on them, so be prepared for it.

Idid a search on mocyc.com and this link appears to be the current ATV being sold here.

ATV 150CC something like this would be suitable for a novice rider.

Having ridden mx bikes and quads since i was 16 i would advise you take out medical insurance, i paid 80,000 bht to ramkanghang hospital to sort my knee out after a accident here.

Take it easy

Si

Much appreciated for your advice and input. I realised shortly after writing that riding pillion would not be suitable unless it was smooth track so its no longer a consideration of mine. My only considerations now are to find something that fits in the back of my Vigo and does not fall apart in weeks or months and is good value for money

Just so happens I was looking at the ATV Panthers and came across these two which catch my eye

[url=http://www.weloveshopping.com/template/e1/showproduct1.php?pid=10008249&shopid=111568

Both of them come in at a reasonable 50,000 bht and if you check the links it is chockful of info about the bikes in Thai which to be honest I wouldnt understand even if it was in English

Any chance you guys could cast an observant eye and offer your honest opinions please

Thanks once again

JAF

reason for edit "cannot add the links properly so have posted them directly to the correspondants. Apologies for the intrusion "

Hi guys

I am in my 40's and I still yearn for a little action and adventure so I have decided to buy an ATV to career around the rainforest and mountains in my province. My budget is around 35 - 50,000 (ish) bht and I started looking at the ATVs on offer in Amorn Electronics (ATV 110 inferno and ATV 150 Seahawk) and a few places online as well but to be perfectly honest, I cannot tell which one is the best suited for my budget as they all look good but looks can be most deceiving.............

So I am hoping that someone will be kind enough to explain the perils and pitfalls of buying an ATV and which particular models or company I should be looking for on Pantip.com etc etc

Really appreciate any advise or input as I am a complete novice to this sport

JAF

PS Whichever model I choose must be comfortable for me and the missus as she will occasionally ride pillion

suppose i could use a streaming site for the live matches,and i do download the Championship matches because they are not live in Thailand/or most of them arent live.Not as good as watching it on true though

"You get what you paid for" springs to mind......... then quickly slips away when its True we are talking about as you get very little quality content to justify the price.

As an aside, you can watch live matches in a higher definition/resolution if your adsl is good enough........ and its as good a quality as UBCs reception.

Why pay for apples when you can take them from the trees :-)

JAF

I dumped UBC well over 12 months ago and have no regrets whatsoever. With websites like The Box and UK Nova I can download all my own UK entertainment and for movies I use BT Torrent and Pirate Bay. For Premiership football I can watch it live online through Justin TV or Sopcast or just download Matcvh of the Day for the highlights.

With the money I haved saved I bought a Nintendo Wii with 4 remotes and nunchuks, a Wii Fit board and a lovely 32 inch widescreen LCD to play it all on. Who needs UBC and its low quality programming that you have to pay for ad nauseum when you can have an adsl connection and a smorgasbord of choices instead

Just my tuppence worth

JAF

My understanding if it is a modded console it should not matter if it is the US / JAP / Korean version right since the mod will bypass all region protection.

Although you should have got the US version if thats what you ordered.

Sorry, but you are very wrong. There is a big problem with using games out of region with the korean wii........ many a wii has been bricked by using oput of region software irregardless od options chosen

But to add further insult to injury, I now suspect that there is no chip inside the machine.......... only homebrew and wii gator software to run backups............ this would make it a software mod and definately not the hardware D2E Pro chip that I asked and paid for. The original wii fit game will not run and no software will work unless I run it throught he Wiigator software.......... which mean slower loading times and even less compatibility

There really is nothing good to be said about this deal....... Hamotoconsoles service stinks and their reputation is worthless

JAF

Well we have just finished talking to this company on the telephone and I have to say that I have never encouintered such blatant lying. On their website it quite clearly states that the US Wii is 9,900 and the Jap/Korean Wii is 8900. We paid for the US version and received a korean version. We questioned them why they sent us the wrong machine and they said that they had sent us a korean model and had changed it into a US model using software !!!!! When we stated that we did not want nor order the korean version they told us that the US version is 13,900 and that we would have to pay the difference. I managed to barter the price down to the same as Nadz Project.............Oh boy, do I wish I had bought it from them instead. As it stands, we have to pay them another 2,500 bht to get the machine that they advertise at 9,900...I just hope it does not take another 7 days to get here

I might also add that the extra controllers that we bought do not look genuine but I am finding it very hard to prove this point right now. The original controllers cost 2,200 bht and copies cost 1,500 bht. We bought 3 additional controllers with nunchuks at 6,600 bht whereas if they are copies, it should cost us only 4,500. Right now I am trying to find photos of the original packaging to compare them.......dont suppose anyone can point me in the right direction ?

So to sum it all up. If you are thinking of buying any consoles or accessories, please take heed of my unpleasant experience and avoid Hamotoconsole at all costs.

JAF

Well as a follow on to my original posting................and a warning to others

I got my parcel today, 7 days after it was sent but quickly found that they had sent me a korean Wii instead of the US version I paid for, a korean wii fit with korean software which I cannot use and out of the other 20 games I ordered, they sent only 9 that I requested and they are a poor quality mixture of shovelware that is available but nobody wants. I definately did not get what I paid for and I am extremely unhappy with their service

My wife is on the phone with them now and they are making all sorts of excuses why the machine they sent to us is ok, but I have been on the thai and UK forums and know that the korean machine is not 100 per cent compatible..........

MY ADVICE IS STAY AWAY FROM HAMOTOCONSOLE........ a very very poor quality service

JAF

If you don't have the Thai Post Track&Trace link yet:

Here it is

opalhort

Thank you kindly Sir

Much appreciated

JAF

You should call the company and ask for the mail reference number (Parcel, registered or EMS), then go to the thai post track and trace and check there where the mail currently is.

If the company refuses to give you the reference number than I think there are reasons to worry.

opalhort

Cheers Opalhort, my wife will be on the phone first thing tomorrow to ask for the mail reference number as they are (in)conveniently closed today. From what I have gathered from the post office, they assume it has gone by snail mail due to its size (7.5kg) and that it will be here tomorrow or Friday.......... better I check its on its way with the reference number

Many thanks

JAF

Hi Guys

After much deliberation, I finally decided to purchase a Nintendo Wii and accessories totalling 21,000 bht from Hamotoconsole as they gave a better deal than Nadz Project..........I found the name of the company through the thai visa forum.

My wife transferred the cash into their account on Friday last week and they said they have sent it out on Saturday morning, but today is Wednesday and the post office says it has no deliveries for me today........ I am beginning to worry a little.

Has anyone had dealings with this company before, and if so could they tell me if they had any problems with delivery and service

Many many thanks for your input and advice

JAF