Should I Go 64- or 32-bit for Gaming?

[pyro_xp2k]

My parents are considering to by a new computer (I'm sure someone here may already know why :)). There are two cheap ones I've found -- a Compaq Presario sr5110nx and a ZT Affinity 2001Qi. The Compaq computer has a... AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, 120GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD+/-RW Drive ...and a front-side bus speed of 2 GHz and an L2 cache size of 512 KB. ...while the ZT Affinity has... Intel Pentium 4 Processor 631, 3GHz, with Hyper-Threading Technology, 512MB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive, 18X DVD+/-RW Drive ...and a front-side bus speed of 800 MHz and an L2 cache size of 2 MB. Which would would be better suited for gaming?

[igknighted]

Those processors are relatively similar, I would go with the AMD due to better power consumption.

But really, both of those are obsolete. An AMD dual core is barely more than those, and would be a much much better investment. Especially if you build your own. Search craigslist too if in the US, you can get great deals on used desktop PCs there.

EDIT: I realize any computer is obsolete after a few months, but both of those are REALLY obsolete. Especially if you care about gaming. Those processors will barely run most new games. For both, likely they are an older socket with limited upgrade-ability, you will pay more for the AGP graphics cards and older ram dimms to upgrade, and the performance really just isn't there. The next generation of chips (c2d and athlon 64, even pentium D to some degree) is simply much, much better.

EDIT #2: What graphics cards do those PCs have? For gaming, that would make a huge difference.

[pyro_xp2k]

We went to CompUSA, but neither one of them were there (they were discontinued and CompUSA just haven't gotten rid of them on their site yet).

We're back to the waiting game, and the price limit is 300 dollars.

[igknighted]

We went to CompUSA, but neither one of them were there (they were discontinued and CompUSA just haven't gotten rid of them on their site yet).

We're back to the waiting game, and the price limit is 300 dollars.

Trust me, build your own. Its much much cheaper, and a lot more fun. Or go for a used one, PCs depreciate in price a ton.

Ok, i checked around a bit, see how this floats your boat:

$150 - AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+, Socket 939 mobo, case and 450 watt PSU (barebones kit) - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3296047&body=MAIN

$53 - 1gb pc3200 ram (dual channel) - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1071020&Sku=ULT31664

$13 - CPU fan - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2604150&CatId=1997

$30 - DVD Burner - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3110653&Sku=O451-1000

$30 - Nvidia GeForce 7300gt, 256mb ddr2 vram - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=28&name=Video-Cards

That should work out, if my math is correct, to just a shade under $300. Granted there would be shipping charges, and some if that pricing is after rebate. Also, no monitor is included. If you want a new screen, that would be more. If you want a reason to make your parents buy a new screen, show them some data on how LCD monitors will pay for themselves in the power you save (which is absolutely true).

Hope this helps.

[3rdalbum]

If you're going to be loading more than 3 gigabytes of RAM, go 64-bit. Otherwise, 32-bit.