OT: PC Gaming Hardware Thread

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JackB1
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OT: PC Gaming Hardware Thread

Post by JackB1 »

I am looking for some help for my next PC.
I have been doing business with PC USA over the years
with great success and want to get a new customized machine from
them at:
http://www.pcusa.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=32880_

Question is, what are your recommendations for CPU/Motherboard, Memory, Video Card, OS, etc. that will allow me to play current games at high detail level using widescreen resolutions. I recently picked up a widescreen 22" monitor and sadly found out that my current processor/graphics card doesn't have enough power for me to be able to use widescreen resolutions. I tried the demos for Forza2 and DIRT and they chugged at a snail's pace at 1680 x 1050.
Last edited by JackB1 on Wed Jul 11, 2007 5:50 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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Post by dbdynsty25 »

Pentium Core 2 Duo e6600
Gigabyte DS3 mobo
2gb of at least 800mhz ram
Nvidia 8800gts (320 or 640mb) video

That's what I did for about 800 bucks via Newegg. You'll likely need a new Power Supply depending on how old your old one is. 500+ watts is recommended. I used my current Lian-Li case, DVD burner and my 150gb 10,000 rpm Raptor HD, so that saved me about 350 bucks off the top.

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Post by wco81 »

You need games you want to play, especially sports games. Unless you really like EA games, assuming they are at feature-parity with the console versions, which hasn't always been the case.

Forza2 is a Windows game?

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Post by ScoopBrady »

Just get a Mac and you'll be ahead of the game: http://www.digitalsportspage.com/module ... ic&t=12127

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Post by JackB1 »

wco81 wrote: Forza2 is a Windows game?
yes it is. I tried the demo.

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Post by mixdj1 »

JackB1 wrote:
wco81 wrote: Forza2 is a Windows game?
yes it is. I tried the demo.
Link please? I hadn't heard anything about a Windows version (and I've read a ton of info on the game) and if such a thing exists I'd love to try it out.

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Post by pk500 »

mixdj1 wrote:
JackB1 wrote:
wco81 wrote: Forza2 is a Windows game?
yes it is. I tried the demo.
Link please? I hadn't heard anything about a Windows version (and I've read a ton of info on the game) and if such a thing exists I'd love to try it out.
Same here. Maybe someone will write a cockpit cam mod. :)

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Post by JackB1 »

mixdj1 wrote:
JackB1 wrote:
wco81 wrote: Forza2 is a Windows game?
yes it is. I tried the demo.
Link please? I hadn't heard anything about a Windows version (and I've read a ton of info on the game) and if such a thing exists I'd love to try it out.
sorry mix......I must have been thinking about DIRT. There is a PC demo for DIRT for sure.

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Post by Feanor »

Have you looked at the cyberpower website? The pictures are pretty, at least. Not sure how they compare for price, though.

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Post by mixdj1 »

JackB1 wrote:sorry mix......I must have been thinking about DIRT. There is a PC demo for DIRT for sure.
Yeah, I've downloaded that one already. I looks great but brings my video card to it's knees. But even running at 800x600 with medium settings it still looks awesome.

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Post by JackB1 »

mixdj1 wrote: Yeah, I've downloaded that one already. I looks great but brings my video card to it's knees.
Glad Im not the only one :D

So anyway, I've decided to try and save money and just upgrade the system I already have. Upgrade the motherboard/cpu, get more RAM and a better video card.

Here is my current setup:

-Windows XP Proffl
-1 Gig RAM (166 MHz, 184-pin DDR Dimm Sockets)
-ASUS K8V-MX Motherboard (1800 speed)
-AMD Sempron 3100+ Processor (1.8 GHz)
-Radeon x1600 AGP 512Mb Video Card
-80 Gig Hard Drive
-Soundmax (onboard) Digital Audio

I am guessing I need another Gig of RAM?

Since my motherboard only supports Socket 754 AMD Athlon 64 or Sempron 64 CPU's, there are no good CPU-only upgrade choices, so I have to get a new mobo/cpu combo. Question is, do I need to get a specific mobo/cpu to fit in my case, with my current setup and memory?

New Video Card and possibly new power supply. (how do I tell what I currently have without opening the case?)

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Post by JackB1 »

dbdynsty25 wrote:Pentium Core 2 Duo e6600
Gigabyte DS3 mobo
2gb of at least 800mhz ram
Nvidia 8800gts (320 or 640mb) video

That's what I did for about 800 bucks via Newegg. You'll likely need a new Power Supply depending on how old your old one is. 500+ watts is recommended. I used my current Lian-Li case, DVD burner and my 150gb 10,000 rpm Raptor HD, so that saved me about 350 bucks off the top.
I would like to keep my current case, so I need a micro ATX motherboard/cpu combo. Any ideas?

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Post by JackB1 »

What do u guys think of this rig for $500 shipped?

T-403: : AMD, Athlon 64 / Athlon 64 X2, PCI-E x16 VGA
- Qty. 1, AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+, Socket AM2, 2.2GHz, 64-Bit Dual-
Core, 2x512KB L2 Cache
- Qty. 1, ECS nForce4 4X, AM2 DualCore, RAID, w/Audio, w/LAN.
[NFORCE4M-A (V1.1) ]
- Qty. 1, DDR2: 1024MB 533MHz / PC4200
- Qty. 1, 250GB SATA-II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer
- Qty. 1, ROM:CD: 52x CD ROM, Ivory Color
- Qty. 1, PCI-E16: Geforce 8500GT: 256MB w/SLI.
- Qty. 1, Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE Audigy SE, 5.1 Channels 24-
bit, PCI
- Qty. 1, Onboard Network Port(s) [ If system board states w/LAN ]
- Qty. 1, aBX mTower ATX: [ CA-ST402B ], Black w/ 350W PSU
- Qty. 1, Use the Power Supply [ PSU ] comes with my PC Case
- Qty. 1, Fully Assembled w/ 1-Year Part & Labor Warranty &
Lifetime Tech Support.

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Post by dbdynsty25 »

Graphics card and ram are crap and the processor is marginal right now since the Dual Core Duos beat the crap out of the X2 AMDs.

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Post by DivotMaker »

dbdynsty25 wrote:Graphics card and ram are crap and the processor is marginal right now since the Dual Core Duos beat the crap out of the X2 AMDs.
Agreed. I also don't care for anything that ECS makes (motherboards) and if I were you, I would wait for Intel to slash prices on their Core2 Duo CPU's by upwards of 50%...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home

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Post by LAking »

DivotMaker wrote:
dbdynsty25 wrote:Graphics card and ram are crap and the processor is marginal right now since the Dual Core Duos beat the crap out of the X2 AMDs.
Agreed. I also don't care for anything that ECS makes (motherboards) and if I were you, I would wait for Intel to slash prices on their Core2 Duo CPU's by upwards of 50%...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home
ECS blows! That's the brand Fry's most often sells in their cpu/mobo combo deals. My coworker was talking about how he's had 5 of those boards go bad on him, yet he keeps buying them because he's a cheap ass :lol:
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Post by dbdynsty25 »

Yeah, I didn't even bring up the ECS mobo...lol. I'm a Gigabyte man myself...even more so now that they are part of Asus who makes damn good boards themselves.

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Post by JackB1 »

back to the drawing board i guess? I definitley was guessing on those choices. can someone configure a system for me for around $500 (or more to include a good graphics card) that will run most current games?
after you are done, hit "add to card" and copy and paste the results here.

http://www.pcusa.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=32880_

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Post by dbdynsty25 »

KIT-460: : Intel, Core 2 Duo / Pentium / Celeron, PCI-E x16 VGA w/SLI Support
- Qty. 1, Intel Core 2 Duo E4300, LGA 775, 1.8GHz, 64-Bit Dual-Core, 2MB L2 Cache
- Qty. 1, Asus nForce 570 SLI, LGA 775 DualCore, SLI, RAID, w/Audio, w/GbLAN. [ P5NSLI ]
- Qty. 1, DDR2: 1024MB 800MHz / PC6400: Kingston HyperX [ KHX6400D2/1G ]
- Qty. 1, 80GB SATA-II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer
- Qty. 1, ROM:CD: 52x CD ROM, Ivory Color
- Qty. 1, PCI-E16: Geforce 8600GTS: 256MB w/SLI.
- Qty. 1, 5.1 Channels 3D Surround Sound [ If system board states w/Audio ]
- Qty. 1, Onboard Network Port(s) [ If system board states w/LAN ]
- Qty. 1, aBX mTower ATX: [ CA-ST402W ], Ivory w/ 350W PSU
- Qty. 1, Use the Power Supply [ PSU ] comes with my PC Case [ If the PC Case states w/ PSU ]
- Qty. 1, Fully Assembled w/ 1-Year Part & Labor Warranty & Lifetime Tech Support.

$614.25

Would not go any worse than that right now...and the graphics card is just ok. Would definitely be better to spend another 125 to get the 8800gts 320gb, but if you have to save money, you have to save money. You can overclock the crap out of the processor too...one of the best values out there right now.[/b]

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Post by JackB1 »

dbdynsty25 wrote:KIT-460: : Intel, Core 2 Duo / Pentium / Celeron, PCI-E x16 VGA w/SLI Support
- Qty. 1, Intel Core 2 Duo E4300, LGA 775, 1.8GHz, 64-Bit Dual-Core, 2MB L2 Cache
- Qty. 1, Asus nForce 570 SLI, LGA 775 DualCore, SLI, RAID, w/Audio, w/GbLAN. [ P5NSLI ]
- Qty. 1, DDR2: 1024MB 800MHz / PC6400: Kingston HyperX [ KHX6400D2/1G ]
- Qty. 1, 80GB SATA-II 7200RPM w/8MB Buffer
- Qty. 1, ROM:CD: 52x CD ROM, Ivory Color
- Qty. 1, PCI-E16: Geforce 8600GTS: 256MB w/SLI.
- Qty. 1, 5.1 Channels 3D Surround Sound [ If system board states w/Audio ]
- Qty. 1, Onboard Network Port(s) [ If system board states w/LAN ]
- Qty. 1, aBX mTower ATX: [ CA-ST402W ], Ivory w/ 350W PSU
- Qty. 1, Use the Power Supply [ PSU ] comes with my PC Case [ If the PC Case states w/ PSU ]
- Qty. 1, Fully Assembled w/ 1-Year Part & Labor Warranty & Lifetime Tech Support.

$614.25

Would not go any worse than that right now...and the graphics card is just ok. Would definitely be better to spend another 125 to get the 8800gts 320gb, but if you have to save money, you have to save money. You can overclock the crap out of the processor too...one of the best values out there right now.[/b]
Looks good :D
So the Intel is faster even though it's 1.8 vs the AMD which was 2.2?
I dont need the CD player (I have an external), so maybe I can up the graphics card a bit. I also need a bit more than a 80 Gb HD, but the rest looks good.

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Post by wco81 »

nForce now supports Intel CPUs?

It has been a long time since I looked around.

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Post by dbdynsty25 »

wco81 wrote:nForce now supports Intel CPUs?

It has been a long time since I looked around.
Have for a while.

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Post by dbdynsty25 »

JackB1 wrote:Looks good :D
So the Intel is faster even though it's 1.8 vs the AMD which was 2.2?
I dont need the CD player (I have an external), so maybe I can up the graphics card a bit. I also need a bit more than a 80 Gb HD, but the rest looks good.
The processors would be equivalent, except that the Intels run cooler, more efficient and they can be overclocked like crazy. There is a reason they are destroying AMD in this round of processor wars. If you can squeeze another 125 bucks, get the Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS 320mb. It'll be a significant jump up from the 8600GTS. If you don't want to do that, just add another gig of ram.

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Post by DivotMaker »

dbdynsty25 wrote:
wco81 wrote:nForce now supports Intel CPUs?

It has been a long time since I looked around.
Have for a while.
For well over a year now...

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Post by DivotMaker »

dbdynsty25 wrote:
JackB1 wrote:Looks good :D
So the Intel is faster even though it's 1.8 vs the AMD which was 2.2?
I dont need the CD player (I have an external), so maybe I can up the graphics card a bit. I also need a bit more than a 80 Gb HD, but the rest looks good.
The processors would be equivalent, except that the Intels run cooler, more efficient and they can be overclocked like crazy. There is a reason they are destroying AMD in this round of processor wars. If you can squeeze another 125 bucks, get the Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS 320mb. It'll be a significant jump up from the 8600GTS. If you don't want to do that, just add another gig of ram.
Good recommendation....

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