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[Deleted member 1235]

brain_stew you are AWESOME

I've just looked at all this stuff and I might just outright take your components and buy them. I've wanted a really decent PC with the option of playing games on it for a while now and something powerful enough to run things like Virtual machine and so on.

I priced your options up in Holland using www.kieskeurig.nl and got the following.

Standard without native 1080p gaming price including screen - 636 euro
1080p native gaming including screen - 753.50 euro

keeping in mind that I ordered every component delivered to my house. If people were willing to go to stores to grab this stuff they could probably knock money off the final price however, kieskeurig.nl is a price comparison site, so I was looking for the cheapest delivered component for every item.

 

[MWS Natural]

why do you keep recommending 1920x1080 monitors over 1920x1200?

also everyone should just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. i'm not saying everyone has to have uber $2000+ but a lot of the stuff the op is saying is disingenuous or outright false.

this system will run most of todays games at medium to lower high settings but it will not run crysis on high settings at acceptable framerates. also at a low res like 1680x1050 most games will be a jaggy mess as this card doesn't have the grunt to push high aa+af settings. his pots that are likening it to a console are the most truthful of the entire thread.

1920x1080 is becoming the new standard, I think it's a great sweet spot, you are losing some pixels but gaming about 10% performance over 1920x1200 while remaining in full HD. They are much better if you plan to use your monitor for console and PC gaming since there will be no scaling needed. Also you can find much better deals on the newer 1080 monitors, I got a 1080p 23inch Samsung for $135 just last month.

I think brain stew is very enthusiastic about PC gaming but I wouldn't go as far to call him disingenuous.

 

[LAUGHTREY]

Regarding upgrades to already built custom PCs, would it be ok to ask here?


This is my PC.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8


What would be the first thing to update, and to what to get the most out of games?

 

[Vitani]

I just wanted to say thank-you, I've been trying to do this myself on-and-off for about a month now, but without knowing the value of components, it's been difficult to know what's a good and what's a bad deal.

So thank-you again, £375 PC here I come!

 

[TheSonicRetard]

I have my PC hooked up to my 50" HDTV in my front room, on the same rack that holds my PS3, 360, and wii. It is, for all intent and purposes, my 4th console. I have a wired 360 controller which is basically it's joypad, and I have it set up with HTPC software which has essentially replaced vista as the front end for my PC.

If you guys would like, I could run down how I have my HTPC software setup. Combined with pinnacle profiler, and my gyroscopic remote (and especially eventghost, which lets me create tons of custom macros which makes the experience of controlling multiple programs with a gyroscopic remote invisible), it's essentially the best console I own. The best equipment for watching movies, the best equipment for playing games. And the HTPC software I have makes for a great games front end:

it's literally as easy to use as any of the consoles I own. The only downside is that it takes a bit more technical know how to set up, and you got to really enjoy working with it. Setting up a game in that front end isn't tough, but it's a multistep process, where i have to create a bat file and it's own icon.

EDIT: And I built this roughly a year ago, using a guide someone made on here to "build a $500 crysis rig"

My rig, including the $100 gryoscopic remote and a license for remote joy, actually cost me around $750, but it could most certainly be had for sub-$500 today.

It can run Crysis at a around 30 fps on high settings.

EDIT AGAIN: And I saw someone mention a few pages back about how some people have their PCs hooked up permanently to their TV. I am one of those guys. My HTPC is just that - a home theater PC. I have a completely separate desktop (and laptop) for work and such. My HTPC is ALWAYS hooked up to my TV, and it's ONLY purpose is video and games. Every single game I have works with my 360 controller, either naively or using Pinnacle Profiler.

Streaming videos from the internet on the thing is THE GREATEST SHIT EVER. It has completely replaced TV for me. I followed the college world series on the thing with ESPN360, in full screen. Sites like Hulu are especially godly, because it's a ton of free TV, on my HDTV. Shit like Gametrailers is extra awesome because I can stream HD content to my TV, in full screen. It has basically turned the internet into a video medium for me.

EDIT THE THIRD: Actually, if you don't mind brain_stew, I'm just gonna make my own thread for the software side of things. Your thread is an awesome hardware thread and I don't want to gunk it up. It'll be a companion thread, for people who want to use a PC as essentially a 4th console. I'll work on it in the morning.

 

[Vormund]

Yeah I'd like to see how you set the software up.

I'd love an interface like that. I'd also include emulators as well.

 

[TheSonicRetard]

Yeah I'd like to see how you set the software up.

I'd love an interface like that. I'd also include emulators as well.

You say that as though I didn't. The day I boxed up all my classic consoles was a sad, sad day, but having every single game I own at the push of a button is too fucking awesome. Throw in a USB NES, SNES, and Saturn controller, and holy shit it all just works so damn well.

 

[Vormund]

I wouldn't be surprised you be running Gens or something....just looking at your avatar.

I meant it more in the personal sense. That would be my main use.

 

[Aaron]

I'd also like to hear the software side of things. I recently hooked up my PC to my TV, and while the hardware is going great, things are a little awkward on the software side of things. I second your Hulu praise though. I've been watching Late Night with Conan on there through the TV, and it's just so good without having to pay for ripoff cable.

 

[TheSonicRetard]

I'd also like to hear the software side of things. I recently hooked up my PC to my TV, and while the hardware is going great, things are a little awkward on the software side of things. I second your Hulu praise though. I've been watching Late Night with Conan on there through the TV, and it's just so good without having to pay for ripoff cable.

A good front end can seriously change your HTPC experience. It turns it into something else entirely.

But while we're still on the subject of hardware, I cannot recommend a gyroscopic remote enough.

I have a gyration gyroscopic remote:

It's very pricey for an HTPC remote - it goes for around $100. But it is ESSENTIAL. As essential as a video card or a sound card, IMO. It really, REALLY changes the experience. Being able to navigate the internet from your couch WITHOUT A MOUSE, simply by waving your remote around like a wiimote... it's amazing.

Plus it makes playing RTS games from your couch completely possible. I hold a custom mapped 360 controller in my left hand like a wiimote nunchuck, and then use the remote in my right hand. I played through world in conflict this way, and it was so much fun.

That is a really, REALLY good universal remote, too. It's the only remote I have, yet it controls my HTPC, my cablebox, my TV, and my stereo. Every button on it can be programmed individually, and it has 4 modes for controlling different devices.

 

[vazel]

I remember GameEX as a frontend for emulators.

 

[dark_preacher]

"Most of todays games" are built primarily for systems with 1/9th the memory, and maybe 1/10th of the graphics performance of the rig in the OP. It will easily be able to run them at high settings, at higher resolution, image quality and framerate than any console counterpart.

so you're telling me 'most of todays games' are being optimized to fit in 455mb of ram along with an os?

4gb is the minimum that anyone would want to put in a 'gaming rig' right now. most games have 2gb requirement on vista these days. and that's minimum requirements.

as for the cpu, i'd reckon 'most of todays games' are coded with consoles in mind, ie. 360, ps3. considering the 360 has a 3.2ghz three core pseudo hyperthreading architecture, this budget level amd chip isn't exactly blowing the doors off anything.

but that's comparing oranges to apples.

please rejoin the discussion when you get a clue.

 

[TheSonicRetard]

I remember GameEX as a frontend for emulators.

Yeah, I used GameEX as well. I really did my homework when I built my Media PC. I wanted everything to be perfect. I've tried just about every HTPC software, commercial and free, out there, in search for the one that fit every one of my needs. I've tried them all... mythTV, Meedio, myHTPC, etc. I even had built a very robust HTPC software of my own back in the day to suit my needs. I currently use MediaPortal, and I truly believe it's the best HTPC software there is.

 

[No45]

Wow, this is amazing. I'll soon be on the lookout for a new PC, and while I don't want it for games, the option would be great for that price.

One question (On the UK spec), does anyone have any experience of how noisy those two Coolermaster cases are?

 

[TheSonicRetard]

Wow, this is amazing. I'll soon be on the lookout for a new PC, and while I don't want it for games, the option would be great for that price.

One question (On the UK spec), does anyone have any experience of how noisy those two Coolermaster cases are?

I have this case:

It's very cheap, and pretty freaking quiet. I can't hear it when it's on from across the room or anything. Excellent barebones case.

 

[DieH@rd]

On friday im getting myself Phenom II x2 550. With a lots of luck i will unlock third and fourth core.

[cpu batch 0920, i recon that i have 10% chances of success]

 

[Cheeto]

Is 30fps really sufficient for the game, though? The linked benchmarks show the framerate drops to 18fps in areas of high action. That seems unacceptable to me.

Mainly, I feel like saying 'this 4850 will play everything including Crysis at high/max settings' is unnecessary hyperbole, and if a gamer actually wants to play Crysis they need to step up to at least a 4870 or GTX260 and a budget of $700 (including an OS).

This post reeks of shit. I play Crysis on high settings with a 4850 rig and a 4830 rig. 30fps at 1650x1050 is perfectly acceptable with dips every now and then...if it isn't acceptable, go ahead and turn the resolution down to 720p...now your running well above 30fps with the dips only bottoming out at 30 fps. What you need to understand is that you can customise the experience to fit your preferences. If you want higher resolution and don't care about a drop to 18fps every once in awhile, you can do that. If you don't care so much how a game looks, you just want it to run at 60fps, you can do that too. It's not hyberbole if you don't understand.

 

[Minsc]

why do you keep recommending 1920x1080 monitors over 1920x1200?

also everyone should just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. i'm not saying everyone has to have uber $2000+ but a lot of the stuff the op is saying is disingenuous or outright false.

this system will run most of todays games at medium to lower high settings but it will not run crysis on high settings at acceptable framerates. also at a low res like 1680x1050 most games will be a jaggy mess as this card doesn't have the grunt to push high aa+af settings. his pots that are likening it to a console are the most truthful of the entire thread.

From the benches I linked to earlier @ 1680x1050 w/ 4xAA:

CoD4: 75 fps
Call of Juarez: 42 fps
Company Of Heroes: 95 fps
Crysis: 17 fps
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars: 77 fps
Far Cry: 158 fps
Far Cry 2: 28 fps
FEAR: 95 fps
Prey: 109 fps
Quake 4: 120 fps
Splinter Cell 3: 114 fps
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: 62 fps
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - Clear Sky: 18 fps
Team Fortress 2 - 83 fps
Unreal Tournament 3 - 97 fps
World In Conflict - 37 fps

So basically everything runs perfect at 1680x1050, even with 4xAA on. The only exceptions are Crysis & Clear Sky, both of which you can tweak the config to get near-identical quality at playable framerates.

And every last console port for the rest of the generation will run 30-60+ fps w/ 4xAA, more often than not 60+.

 

[Binabik15]

For Germany (mostly the same components):

CPU: Phenom ii X2 550 3.1ghz black edition - 86€
Motherboard: Gigabyte UD3 770 - 68€
GPU: HIS Radeon HD 4850 Dual-Slot - 80€
HDD: WD Black 640GB 32MB Cache - 58€
DVDRW: LG Electronics GH22NS30 - 23€
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX case - 47€
PSU: Antec Basiq 500w - 58€
RAM: A-DATA Value DIMM Kit 4GB 800 - 38€

Gives you 458€ (including sales tax of course). Might be a few Euros to save here or there though.

Shipping = free (everything from mindfactory.de where you can use nightshopping, minus the PSU which is from amazon.de = free shipping).

The HD4890 upgrade would cost ~80€ more.



Just btw. great thread and a great way to get that OMG PC gaming is so expensive myth go away

Here, have the virtual cookie I promised

What would be that added cost to use a wireless 360 pad instead of a wired one? Do pcs still Have sound cards? What´d be needed to connect it to a Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system?

Because even if the pc is for my brother and his tiny 23" 1050p screen, NOT brining it over to play on my 1080p 42" tv, 5.1 system and couch every now and then would be criminal, if the additional costs are reasonable

 

[Dina]

It'll be a companion thread, for people who want to use a PC as essentially a 4th console. I'll work on it in the morning.

Good, let me know when it's up. I'm pondering a HTPC or a PopcornHour-like device at the moment, but evidently it could be so much more.

 

[Ikuu]

XBMC is the best HTPC software out there IMO, and from what I've seen

also. With the application launcher plugin you can add all your PC game .exe, and it says it has support for emulators (I don't have any to check with) and you might need to toggle wait state on, but from my testing everything worked fine and I was able to launch games, and then go back into XBMC without any issue.

 

[Fredescu]

also everyone should just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. i'm not saying everyone has to have uber $2000+ but a lot of the stuff the op is saying is disingenuous or outright false.

The phrase "you get what you pay for" has implications that I don't think apply to PC hardware. Someone applying that principle might see the i7 965 and think it's worth three times the 920. You can just as easily waste money as you can underspec. PC hardware is all about sweet spots and bang for buck.

 

[K.Jack]

why do you keep recommending 1920x1080 monitors over 1920x1200?

also everyone should just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. i'm not saying everyone has to have uber $2000+ but a lot of the stuff the op is saying is disingenuous or outright false.

this system will run most of todays games at medium to lower high settings but it will not run crysis on high settings at acceptable framerates. also at a low res like 1680x1050 most games will be a jaggy mess as this card doesn't have the grunt to push high aa+af settings. his pots that are likening it to a console are the most truthful of the entire thread.

You are off. In what games will the 4850 struggle to maintain 30fps? Leave Crysis out of the argument plz, because that's not the representative of the average PC game's requirements.

You consider 1680x1050 "a low res"? I hardly notice jaggies at WSXGA+.

If my notebook can handle every game (again, except Crysis) at this res, I know the Phenom + 4850 will, with less effort.

 

[lowlylowlycook]

also everyone should just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. i'm not saying everyone has to have uber $2000+ but a lot of the stuff the op is saying is disingenuous or outright false.

What would you even spend $2000 on for a gaming PC on? You could get an i7, 2x 4890s and a SSD boot drive for $1500.

 

[nubbe]

so you're telling me 'most of todays games' are being optimized to fit in 455mb of ram along with an os?

4gb is the minimum that anyone would want to put in a 'gaming rig' right now. most games have 2gb requirement on vista these days. and that's minimum requirements.

You have no use for more than 4GB of ram in a gaming cmputer.
99% of all games only have 32bit executables and thus can not use more than 2GB ram. Vista & Win7 uses about 2GB on their own so more than 4GB is a waste of money.

 

[kbear]

when installing these games, do you have to put the disc in to play or can you just play from the hard drive and switch seamlessly etc?

 

[Askia47]

I know this will sound silly, but are these parts supported in Windows XP? I'm not 100% sure I’m ready to switch to windows 7 quite yet (even though it’s free) I’ll probably create a second partition for it. I really like these parts, I'm probably going to build a new PC this summer, and this guide has made it easier.

Also I know AMD has started to lag behind Intel, will this processor still hold up a year or two from now?

 

[dionysus]

Disingenuous? The OP is not being disingenuous. This PC will pretty much everything but one or two games at the highest settings (not counting AA), above 30fps, at 1680x1020 resolutions. From that point, you trade off the amount of AA for framerate. And games a year old or older, you will be getting framerates in the 100s at the absolute max settings.

Especially when you compare this to consoles, it is no contest. The big name console games aren't even 720P, struggle to make 30FPS, and most have poor AA.

And for the few games that struggle at 1680x1020, drop down to 720P and it will destroy any game on the market probably for the next 2 years.

Edit. This PC is alot better than mine, and my q6600 and 8800GT at 1680x1050 is still doing well on most games.

 

[brain_stew]

The X3 710 will easily overclock to 3.0GHz+ unlike the original Phenom processors and as games become more CPU intensive that extra core will become more noticeable.

The 550 is based upon the Phenom ii architecture as well and since its a black edition it is catered to OCing with its unlocked multiplier and cherry picked speed binning. Plus, these rigs are catered to performance at stock, and the extra 500mhz clock speed leap can make a big difference in games. Its simply a better gaming CPU, and heck you've every chance of unlocking an extra core or two as well.

You say that as though I didn't. The day I boxed up all my classic consoles was a sad, sad day, but having every single game I own at the push of a button is too fucking awesome. Throw in a USB NES, SNES, and Saturn controller, and holy shit it all just works so damn well.

Damn, that is one awesome setup you've got there, it really is a "super console." Go ahead and create a thread on the topic, I'll link it from here, I'm interested to see the results myself.

 

[Daante]

I have my PC hooked up to my 50" HDTV in my front room, on the same rack that holds my PS3, 360


EDIT AGAIN: And I saw someone mention a few pages back about how some people have their PCs hooked up permanently to their TV. I am one of those guys. My HTPC is just that - a home theater PC. I have a completely separate desktop for work and such. My HTPC is ALWAYS hooked up to my TV, and it's ONLY purpose is video.

This is exactly what my setup kinda looks like. However i am now gonna turn my htpc to a powerful "console" aswell. I double checked in a thread some days ago witch version of Mass Effect that was best (PC or 360) and checked if my htpc would be able to run it well.

I got some very positive aswers that the PC version was the superior one and that my htpc would eat that game for lunch with high settings on etc.


So from now on im pretty much gonna stick to PC versions of mulitplatform games that im intrested in if they are superior to the console vers ones and run well on my rig.

I downloaded the free DMC4 demo benchmark and i was really sceptical that it would look and run better than the PS3 version that i own. Guess what the result was?
Around 100 in FPS constantly with very high settings on, (cant remeber if AA was on or not) , this is on a rig that is 1 YEAR OLD!



Side note is that im using a FREE program called "Mediaportal" togheter with plugins such as "my- tv series" and "my movies" plugins togheter with "Streamed MP" as skin for my htcp solution. It is really nice and good interface, basically i can do everything i want except "Launch/play" games from it.

 

[Interfectum]

this is the best thread ever created on gaf... bravo my friend. I'll be using this soon, keep your PM box ready for new PMs. :lol

 

[Cheeto]

Side note is that im using a FREE program called "Mediaportal" togheter with plugins such as "my- tv series" and "my movies" plugins togheter with "Streamed MP" as skin for my htcp solution. It is really nice and good interface, basically i can do everything i want except "Launch/play" games from it.

Try XBMC. I guarantee you'll like it better.

 

[brain_stew]

when installing these games, do you have to put the disc in to play or can you just play from the hard drive and switch seamlessly etc?

If a game requires a disc then type "[Nome of game] no dvd" into google and it'll bring up one of two very useful and trustworthy sites. You won't have to deal with discs anymore. I only ever use discs to install games on my PC, having around 100 PC games plus all my emulators ready and waiting on my HDD is a beautiful thing. Couple that functionality with a setup like TheSonicRetard's and you're in gaming heaven as far as I'm concerned, you've got the breadth of gaming ready and waiting a push of a button away.

 

[Dina]

This is exactly what my setup kinda looks like. However i am now gonna turn my htpc to a powerful "console" aswell. I double checked in a thread some days ago witch version of Mass Effect that was best (PC or 360) and checked if my htpc would be able to run it well.

Mind posting your specs?

 

[brain_stew]

Wow, this is amazing. I'll soon be on the lookout for a new PC, and while I don't want it for games, the option would be great for that price.

One question (On the UK spec), does anyone have any experience of how noisy those two Coolermaster cases are?

Its the case I use! Its got tremendous airflow and is really great for such a low price. I replaced my fans with LED Yate Loons for maximum airflow and silence:

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/

or

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/cat...41_68&osCsid=4752f67b15ffe973f4033569cad266c0

I also fit a cheap fan controller (Akasa Junior though the brand is unimportant) so I could choose on the fly how noisy they were

 

[Daante]

Mind posting your specs?

1x INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.0GHZ 6MB 1333MHZ S-775
1x SAPPHIRE RADEON HD4850 512MB DDR3 DVI HDTV PCI-E
1x Zalman's CNPS9500 LED CPU cooler
1x Antec Sonata III
1x 550w power supply (cant remeber name)
1x MSI P35 NEO2-FR S-775 DDR2 SATA2 GBLAN ATX
3x NEXUS 120X120 MM REAL SILENT

Keyboard and mouse i have Logitech Dinovo Edge bluetooth.
4 gig ram
Windows XP

 

[brain_stew]

so you're telling me 'most of todays games' are being optimized to fit in 455mb of ram along with an os?

4gb is the minimum that anyone would want to put in a 'gaming rig' right now. most games have 2gb requirement on vista these days. and that's minimum requirements.

as for the cpu, i'd reckon 'most of todays games' are coded with consoles in mind, ie. 360, ps3. considering the 360 has a 3.2ghz three core pseudo hyperthreading architecture, this budget level amd chip isn't exactly blowing the doors off anything.

but that's comparing oranges to apples.

please rejoin the discussion when you get a clue.

:lol :lol :lol :lol

You compare a stripped down IO processor with a meagre 1MB cache and the complexity of the original Pentium processer to a modern OoO Phenom ii processor with 7MB of cache and you're telling someone else to get a clue?

:lol :lol :lol

Yes it is "blowing the doors" off Xenon, seriously you're seemingly only here to troll and with false information at that, so please take your rants elsewhere.

 

[rohlfinator]

Awesome thread. It's crazy to see how capable the hardware in this price range is these days.

Interestingly enough, Tech Report posted their system guide today and their Econobox is remarkably similar to these specs.

I know this will sound silly, but are these parts supported in Windows XP?

Yeah, absolutely. You'd be sacrificing DX10 support, but that's not a big deal, games will still look great.

 

[DieH@rd]

I downloaded the free DMC4 demo benchmark and i was really sceptical that it would look and run better than the PS3 version that i own. Guess what the result was?
Around 100 in FPS constantly with very high settings on, (cant remeber if AA was on or not) , this is on a rig that is 1 YEAR OLD!

Capcom's MT Framework engine is a beast, its pefectly ported to PC. I cant wait to play Resident Evil 5 in 1080p when they release it for PC.

Lost Planet 2 is the frst game that will use "MT Framework 2.0" engine.

 

[Dina]

1x INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.0GHZ 6MB 1333MHZ S-775
1x SAPPHIRE RADEON HD4850 512MB DDR3 DVI HDTV PCI-E
4 gig ram
Windows XP

Passively cooled I suppose? Mobo/PSU/Case? How did you solve keyboard and mouse issues?

 

[brain_stew]

Here, have the virtual cookie I promised

What would be that added cost to use a wireless 360 pad instead of a wired one? Do pcs still Have sound cards? What´d be needed to connect it to a Logitech Z-5500 5.1 system?

Because even if the pc is for my brother and his tiny 23" 1050p screen, NOT brining it over to play on my 1080p 42" tv, 5.1 system and couch every now and then would be criminal, if the additional costs are reasonable

Just use the onboard HD sound and the provided analog outs for 5.1 PCM with your Logitech speakers.

 

[dionysus]

Passively cooled I suppose? Mobo/PSU/Case? How did you solve keyboard and mouse issues?

Bluetooth PCIe card + bluetooth keyboard and mouse/wand.

 

[Deleted member 1235]

brain_stew you are AWESOME

I've just looked at all this stuff and I might just outright take your components and buy them. I've wanted a really decent PC with the option of playing games on it for a while now and something powerful enough to run things like Virtual machine and so on.

I priced your options up in Holland using www.kieskeurig.nl and got the following.

Standard without native 1080p gaming price including screen - 636 euro
1080p native gaming including screen - 753.50 euro

keeping in mind that I ordered every component delivered to my house. If people were willing to go to stores to grab this stuff they could probably knock money off the final price however, kieskeurig.nl is a price comparison site, so I was looking for the cheapest delivered component for every item.

Sorry to quote myself All, but can any savvy dutch dudes do better than the prices I posted?

I'm in IT but I stayed away from PC gaming and custom PCs for too many years to pretend I have any kind of clue when it comes to "x could do y better for same/less money" etc.

I'm probably going to jump at what the OP posted or something similar with maybe some more RAM as I wanna run VM as well for some work stuff.

 

[Cheeto]

Passively cooled I suppose? Mobo/PSU/Case? How did you solve keyboard and mouse issues?

Keyboard and mouse issues?

 

[Daante]

Passively cooled I suppose? Mobo/PSU/Case? How did you solve keyboard and mouse issues?

Sorry for forgetting some stuffs, i have:

1x Zalman's CNPS9500 LED CPU cooler
1x Antec Sonata III
1x 550w power supply (cant remeber name)
1x MSI P35 NEO2-FR S-775 DDR2 SATA2 GBLAN ATX
3x NEXUS 120X120 MM REAL SILENT

Keyboard and mouse i have Logitech Dinovo Edge bluetooth.

And yes im gonna buy myself a PC 360 controller soon aswell

 

[Dina]

Cheers Daante.

Keyboard and mouse issues?

Well not really issues, I meant where are the keyboard and mouse if you're on the couch.

 

[TheHeretic]

why do you keep recommending 1920x1080 monitors over 1920x1200?

also everyone should just keep in mind that you get what you pay for. i'm not saying everyone has to have uber $2000+ but a lot of the stuff the op is saying is disingenuous or outright false.

this system will run most of todays games at medium to lower high settings but it will not run crysis on high settings at acceptable framerates. also at a low res like 1680x1050 most games will be a jaggy mess as this card doesn't have the grunt to push high aa+af settings. his pots that are likening it to a console are the most truthful of the entire thread.

How is 1680x1050 a "low res", and why would games be a jagged mess on them? You realise consoles render at or frequently below 720 right? Crysis isn't the only fucking PC game out there, it lasts for about 8 hours. A 4850 can do plenty of AA and AF depending on the game, and even then what the hell is the point of comparison? Consoles with barely any of either, or more expensive PC's?

so you're telling me 'most of todays games' are being optimized to fit in 455mb of ram along with an os?

4gb is the minimum that anyone would want to put in a 'gaming rig' right now. most games have 2gb requirement on vista these days. and that's minimum requirements.

as for the cpu, i'd reckon 'most of todays games' are coded with consoles in mind, ie. 360, ps3. considering the 360 has a 3.2ghz three core pseudo hyperthreading architecture, this budget level amd chip isn't exactly blowing the doors off anything.

but that's comparing oranges to apples.

please rejoin the discussion when you get a clue.

An AMD Penom II 550 kicks the shit out of the Cell and the Xenon, you don't know what the fuck you are on about. Crysis itself only uses 1GB on my setup, few games go past that and many go under it. Just leave this thread, you are embarrassing yourself.

 

[Cheeto]

Cheers Daante.



Well not really issues, I meant where are the keyboard and mouse if you're on the couch.

Keyboard on your lap mouse to side. Its awesome in a recliner.

 

[Daante]

Cheers Daante.
Well not really issues, I meant where are the keyboard and mouse if you're on the couch.

You should be able to get the INTEL CORE 2 DUO E8400 3.0GHZ 6MB 1333MHZ S-775, for a very affordable price these days i think. Though i havent touched it or thinked of overclock it i have seen people who easily have it up over 3,5GHZ and running smooth

Basically it has eaten everything i have trown at it so far, gonna do some more tests this weekend

 

[Binabik15]

Aaah, I´m looking over the parts for my brother and that´s what I hated about building my first (and last) pc 7 years ago:

You read about what you should get, go to the store and there are at least a dozen things with the same name your search turns up or extremly similiar.

How to you guys keep up with the difference between cards, I can´t even really wrap my head around the models in the same series from the same manufatcurer :lol

How big is the difference between a Sapphire Radeon HD 4850, a HIS Radeon 4850 and a XFX card? *head explodes*