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[Anticitizen One]

Ive been looking at the Dell and Alienware gaming PC's and I noticed that most of them use AMD chips. Are AMD processors better for PC gaming?

 

[avaya]

Ive been looking at the Dell and Alienware gaming PC's and I noticed that most of them use AMD chips. Are AMD processors better for PC gaming?

Do not buy Dell or Alienware.

Also, the fastest processors out there have been Intel's since ~2005/6. The Phenom II from AMD looks like a bit of a comeback which is great! Intel is still out front.

 

[Anticitizen One]

Do not buy Dell or Alienware.

Also, the fastest processors out there have been Intel's since ~2005/6. The Phenom II from AMD looks like a bit of a comeback which is great! Intel is still out front.

What is wrong with Dell/Alienware?

Also what about Falcon Northwest are they good?

 

[dionysus]

What is wrong with Dell/Alienware?

Also what about Falcon Northwest are they good?

The effort put in to build a PC pays off big in cost savings. If you buy an alienware, that is like a 100% markup. It is really not difficult, all the major components can only plug into the slots built for them, and the rest is as simple as reading picture directions simpler than IKEA furniture directions.

Don't mess with settings on your mobo, and put in a XP or Vista disc and voila, you just save a ton of money by switching to home built!

The most difficult thing you will encounter is front panel USB plugs, and you don't even have to use those if you don't want to.

 

[Anticitizen One]

The effort put in to build a PC pays off big in cost savings. If you buy an alienware, that is like a 100% markup. It is really not difficult, all the major components can only plug into the slots built for them, and the rest is as simple as reading picture directions simpler than IKEA furniture directions.

Don't mess with settings on your mobo, and put in a XP or Vista disc and voila, you just save a ton of money by switching to home built!

The most difficult thing you will encounter is front panel USB plugs, and you don't even have to use those if you don't want to.

I dunno man. Since i've never built a PC before it seems like it would be too time consuming and a real hassle to find the quality versions of every single part and physically construct it myself.

 

[Open Source]

I dunno man. Since i've never built a PC before it seems like it would be too time consuming and a real hassle to find the quality versions of every single part and physically construct it myself.

The only hard part is knowing what parts to buy, and you can find that out by asking. Plus you can get exactly what you want in your PC instead of being limited by the computer maker's options. A lot of times, the ideal motherboards, RAM, power supplies, etc. aren't available from them.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

I dunno man. Since i've never built a PC before it seems like it would be too time consuming and a real hassle to find the quality versions of every single part and physically construct it myself.

so you are saying you rather spend $1000 of your "hard earned money", assuming its your own money, to have a pre built computer than do it yourself.

No offense but in the most nerdiest sense, man up.

You can always just make a list and ask us for suggestions. You have nothing to lose by asking for help and you can always pay some local computer shop to put the parts together for you.

 

[Gully State]

Also, PC magazines like Maximum PC always release issues on how to build a PC (step by step guide with pictures).

I built my first PC 4 years ago and there are only 2 things that you'll find daunting

1) researching the parts- most time consuming

2) seating the heat sink and fan to your processor

Everything else is like legos. The wires from different components are usually color coordinated with your mobo. Once you figure this all out, you'll never go back to buying premade desktops.

 

[Anticitizen One]

im just concerned about incompatibility issues between components

 

[Gully State]

im just concerned about incompatibility issues between components

That's not going to be a problem as long as you do your research. If you're uncomfortable choosing your own parts, you could always just do the exact build from the DIY articles in PC magazines. They always list exactly which components they're integrating.

 

[dionysus]

im just concerned about incompatibility issues between components

Don't be. Post what you plan on buying in this thread and people will catch any problems or bottlenecks.

 

[Benedict]

Just bought a new computer after my old (just over 3-years old...) is starting to give up.

Upgrading from Abit K8N-Ultra with a X2-3800 to a Core2Duo E7500 2.93 and 7800GT to 9600GT Silent
Hopeful to get a more silent computer this time:

NZXT HUSH, Black Aluminum Front, 2X Blue LED Fans, Screwless design,(Without PSU)

Asus P5Q PRO, P45, Socket-775, DDR2, ATX, GbLAN, Firewire, 2xPCI-Ex(2.0)16

Intel® Core#2 Duo E7500 2,93GHz Socket LGA775, 1066MHz, 3MB, 45nm, Boxed w/fan

Asus GeForce 9600GT 512MB Silent PhysX

Samsung DVD±RW burner, SH-S223F, 22x, DVDRAM 12x, Black, Bulk

USB2 multi-card-reader 3.5" black for CF I/II,SM,MMC/SD/microSD,MS,xD (bulk)

Corsair Powersupply 550W Bulk, black, ATX/EPS, 120mm fan, 4xSATA, SLI

Kingston ValueR. DDR2 PC6400 4096MB CL5, Kit w/two matched ValueRAM 2048MB DDR2

Samsung SpinPoint T166 320GB, 16MB, 7200RPM, SATA 3.0 Gbps

MS Win Vista Home Premium Svensk SP1, DVD, 32bit

 

[Marcos_RB01]

Guys, given my current specs.... what can I do to max Crysis?

I intend to keep my processor and Ram. The board and Graphics card can change, the PSu will probably need to change too...

I was thinking Crossfire 2X 4870, 1000Watt+ PSU and advice on a board...or is this too little *gulp*?

 

[Zhuk]

Just bought a new computer after my old (just over 3-years old...) is starting to give up.

Upgrading from Abit K8N-Ultra with a X2-3800

Make sure you don't just throw away your dual core Socket 939, they sell for quite a bit

 

[YuriLowell]

Guys, given my current specs.... what can I do to max Crysis?

I intend to keep my processor and Ram. The board and Graphics card can change, the PSu will probably need to change too...

I was thinking Crossfire 2X 4870, 1000Watt+ PSU and advice on a board...or is this too little *gulp*?

295 SLI.
Thats about all that will max crysis with full AA and AF.

What res will you be playing at?

 

[brain_stew]

Which is why I'm coming to you guys for your recommendations. I put in the recommended specs because that's the baseline.


So what would you recommend?

I put together a couple of excellent $500 (US) budget configs the other week, that use the absolute best pricereformance components out there. They'd be ideal for your needs, you just need to find a local store to source the parts from, take a look:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=14541736&postcount=1555

They will run Bioshock at 720p with full IQ at 60fps, with no trouble at all. Excellent for the price you'll be paying.

 

[Benedict]

Make sure you don't just throw away your dual core Socket 939, they sell for quite a bit

Thanks for the info.
I'm planning to sell most of the parts.

It's the motherboard or the power supply that's probably the problem so they will be thrown away. The computer can be put on only if I have turned the power supply off and unplugged the computers power cord and let it rest for over 2 hours before turning it on again. Otherwise it is dead.

About how much can I expect to get for the processor?

The processor has a Zalman CNPS9500 fan equipped on it.

The 7800GT has a Zalman VGA-VF900-Cu fan equipped on it.
Have also an Asus 1950 Pro 256 mb card.

 

[Tideas]

Make sure you don't just throw away your dual core Socket 939, they sell for quite a bit

really? why?

 

[dk_]

Can someone rate this PC, please:

Link

How good is the video card with Crysis in mind (and compared to the 4870)?

 

[YuriLowell]

260 lacks compared to the 1gb 4870 but about equal to the 512.

What resolution will you play at?

 

[kodt]

Can someone rate this PC, please:

Link

How good is the video card with Crysis in mind (and compared to the 4870)?

Well I can't tell if it is a Core 216 GTX 260 or not. Either way it is pretty close to the same. If it is the Core 216 then it is slightly faster than a normal 4870, and pretty much on par with a 1GB 4870. If it is not the core 216 is is about on par with a vanilla 4870. Of course in some games the Nvidia card will be better and in some the ATI card will be better.

Nvidia cards can use PhysX now, but performance will take a hit. ATI might have a solutions for PhysX coming as well.

 

[dk_]

I guess 1280x1024 will suffice for me.

 

[Crazymoogle]

really? why?

Ditto...

rate this?

This is probably me not understanding the language, but why does it have two DVD drives listed?

Anyway,
+Love the cosmos case
+Quad 9550 is pretty good
-No idea at all about PC pricing right now with the euro
-Doesn't look like a core 216 GTX260

 

[Minsc]

I guess 1280x1024 will suffice for me.

Just to be sure, fyi, it is highly advisable to play at the native resolution of your display if you own a LCD as it sucks major ass at scaling. Playing at the native resolution WILL look massively sharper and clearer.

 

[Zhuk]

really? why?

939 dual core's are relatively harder to find, AMD switched to AM2 socket not long after they came out with athlon x2 and there are a lot of people out there with single core 939 setups who will buy these processors at a reasonably good price 2nd hand as an upgrade. They regularly go for AU$80 or more on the OCAU forums, and if you have something like an Opteron 185, you can get even more, some people out there buy them cheap 2nd hand from the forums then resell them on ebay for a massive premium.

 

[Caesar III]

Can someone rate this PC, please:

Link

How good is the video card with Crysis in mind (and compared to the 4870)?

"Crossfire capable - Yes" :lol

I would take this one with some small changes




@ All: I'm thinking about buying a new case and the new Silverstone Raven sounds good to me, what do you think about it?

 

[Cheeto]

What is yours? I have a 1000W, I've had the noise after the 2nd day it arrived.

I have the HX520

 

[Gyrfal]

So I'm thinking about assembling a gaming PC, nothing high end, but I want to be able to at least play TF2 smoothly again (on a laptop now that can't even run Audiosurf decently).

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4371706&CatId=333

What do you guys think about buying this barebone system and changing out a few parts?

 

[Cheeto]

So I'm thinking about assembling a gaming PC, nothing high end, but I want to be able to at least play TF2 smoothly again (on a laptop now that can't even run Audiosurf decently).

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4371706&CatId=333

What do you guys think about buying this barebone system and changing out a few parts?

That CPU won't do that well in TF2. TF2 right now, likes high clock speeds. Maybe that will change for dual cores when they get that patch out, but right now you need a higher end processor for TF2.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

That CPU won't do that well in TF2. TF2 right now, likes high clock speeds. Maybe that will change for dual cores when they get that patch out, but right now you need a higher end processor for TF2.

he should be fine playing on low settings at a low resolution.

I can play TF2 smoothly on medium details on my laptop with a 1.8 ghz Core2Duo T5xxx series and dedicated Geforce 8400M

 

[Median]

So I'm making a new PC for the first time and I've got most of my parts down (expect me to ask questions frequently in the next month or so) but I was wondering, what's a good, inexpensive case? Keep in mind that I'm in Canada.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

So I'm making a new PC for the first time and I've got most of my parts down (expect me to ask questions frequently in the next month or so) but I was wondering, what's a good, inexpensive case? Keep in mind that I'm in Canada.

what size?

I assume you got a regular ATX-sized motherboard.

So do you want a mid-tower or a full tower?

I'm using an Antec Three Hundred and I really like it, perfect size for me without compromising airflow and it only cost me $60 USD.

Other than Antec, take a look at Coolermaster. Newegg's Canada site should let you filter out cases by price too.

 

[Median]

what size?

I assume you got a regular ATX-sized motherboard.

So do you want a mid-tower or a full tower?

I'm using an Antec Three Hundred and I really like it, perfect size for me without compromising airflow and it only cost me $60 USD.

Other than Antec, take a look at Coolermaster. Newegg's Canada site should let you filter out cases by price too.

Whoops, sorry, yeah I'm looking at something in the mid-tower range, regular ATX motherboard. The Antec Three Hundred is pretty good? Do your components fit fairly well? I was under the assumption that the Three Hundred was a pretty compact case.

 

[Angry Grimace]

I dunno man. Since i've never built a PC before it seems like it would be too time consuming and a real hassle to find the quality versions of every single part and physically construct it myself.

Hence why Alienware is rich; because people believe that.

It's not even remotely hard by any stretch of the imagination. And the parts are much more durable than you think, unless you ESD zap them. And once, my girlfriend build a PC by setting the motherboard on the carpet and putting all the pieces in while it sat there, and it worked fine.

 

[Cheeto]

he should be fine playing on low settings at a low resolution.

I can play TF2 smoothly on medium details on my laptop with a 1.8 ghz Core2Duo T5xxx series and dedicated Geforce 8400M

Low settings, blah.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Whoops, sorry, yeah I'm looking at something in the mid-tower range, regular ATX motherboard. The Antec Three Hundred is pretty good? Do your components fit fairly well? I was under the assumption that the Three Hundred was a pretty compact case.

its basically like a min-Antec 900.

I really like it, my only problem was that my power supply was too big, I have a Seasonic M12 700w and it barely couldnt fit. So what I had to do was ben a little metal part that was sticking out back into the case.

The case is very easy to work with, I'd wish the hard drive cage pointed outward but its a $60 case so I can't really complain.

My only real con about the case is the wire management, though its much better than a regular no-brand case its a little tight to work with but thats if you really care about maximizing your airflow in the case.

I like the fact that I can install a 120mm on the side, or two on the front. I like that it comes with a rear 120 and top 140mm already.

It's not a perfect case but the pros outweight the cons by alot for me.

 

[Median]

its basically like a min-Antec 900.

I really like it, my only problem was that my power supply was too big, I have a Seasonic M12 700w and it barely couldnt fit. So what I had to do was ben a little metal part that was sticking out back into the case.

The case is very easy to work with, I'd wish the hard drive cage pointed outward but its a $60 case so I can't really complain.

My only real con about the case is the wire management, though its much better than a regular no-brand case its a little tight to work with but thats if you really care about maximizing your airflow in the case.

I like the fact that I can install a 120mm on the side, or two on the front. I like that it comes with a rear 120 and top 140mm already.

It's not a perfect case but the pros outweight the cons by alot for me.

Sounds good. I think I'll try and pick up the PSU and the case around the same time to see if it'll fit properly. From the research I've been doing on it, a 4870 seems to fit in well so that's perfect for me. Thanks!

 

[Clever Pun]

Sounds good. I think I'll try and pick up the PSU and the case around the same time to see if it'll fit properly. From the research I've been doing on it, a 4870 seems to fit in well so that's perfect for me. Thanks!

I'd also recommend the Antec Three Hundred. I just did a build 2 weeks ago, and it's been great so far. I purchased additional fans for the front and side, and the airflow is great. This is my first build, but I found the cable management to be sufficient, as it has a section next to the hard drive enclosure for tying back excess cables.

Also, I purchased a PC Power & Cooling 500W PSU and it fit no problem.

 

[Slavik81]

Any comments on the advantages/disadvantages of the Antec 300/900 II/1200? I'm trying to decide what case to use and I'm thinking of choosing one of those three.

I'm liking the 900 II in large part for the top-front eSATA port, but it's certainly significantly more expensive than the 300 (like, twice the price), and I'm totally unclear on what difference there is between the 900 II and the 1200.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

I put together a couple of excellent $500 (US) budget configs the other week, that use the absolute best pricereformance components out there. They'd be ideal for your needs, you just need to find a local store to source the parts from, take a look:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=14541736&postcount=1555

They will run Bioshock at 720p with full IQ at 60fps, with no trouble at all. Excellent for the price you'll be paying.

Oh man, that's fantastic! It's exactly what I needed!

Now all I need to do is source the parts. Does anyone know of any good Australian PC retailers that where I can source the components I can't find at Umart?

 

[Zhuk]

Oh man, that's fantastic! It's exactly what I needed!

Now all I need to do is source the parts. Does anyone know of any good Australian PC retailers that where I can source the components I can't find at Umart?

if you're looking for parts online in Australia use this:

http://www.staticice.com.au

or if you want a real store where you can pick up parts from:

http://www.msy.com.au

MSY have branches in a few states, I personally have found that they nearly always have some of the best pricing out there for a retail store.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

Any comments on the advantages/disadvantages of the Antec 300/900 II/1200? I'm trying to decide what case to use and I'm thinking of choosing one of those three.

I'm liking the 900 II in large part for the top-front eSATA port, but it's certainly significantly more expensive than the 300 (like, twice the price), and I'm totally unclear on what difference there is between the 900 II and the 1200.

The 1200 is a Full ATX tower so its big. Essentially a bigger version of the 900.

The 900 looks a bit spacier than the 300 and includes 2 front 120mm fans unlike the 300.

The top fan is also a 200mm as opposed to the 140mm on the 300 case.

For the premium I'd say if you can afford the 900 go for it but at that price range you should consider some of the Lian Li cases as well.

 

[viciouskillersquirrel]

if you're looking for parts online in Australia use this:

http://www.staticice.com.au

or if you want a real store where you can pick up parts from:

http://www.msy.com.au

MSY have branches in a few states, I personally have found that they nearly always have some of the best pricing out there for a retail store.

Thanks for that! Here's my first attempt at Umart:

I'm sure if I shop around I can cut that down considerably.

 

[The S-Word]

I am confused as heck as to which is the best to go with? AMD? Intel? Which type of mobo/cpu combo should i go for? Other than that i can putthe pc together myself

 

[brain_stew]

I am confused as heck as to which is the best to go with? AMD? Intel? Which type of mobo/cpu combo should i go for? Other than that i can putthe pc together myself

Budget?

If you've got the cash to spare then Core i7 is the way to go. On a budget, go E5200 + OC. Still want a quad core but can't stretch to a full Core i7 setup? Have a look at the Phenom 2s.

 

[Ysiadmihi]

I realize this is more of a hardware related thread but hopefully someone can answer this. Is there a way to force games to remaximize after switching back to them after alt-tabbing in Vista? I hate having to manually click the maximize button every time and some games simply refuse to remaximize and I have to restart them : /

 

[zoku88]

I realize this is more of a hardware related thread but hopefully someone can answer this. Is there a way to force games to remaximize after switching back to them after alt-tabbing in Vista? I hate having to manually click the maximize button every time and some games simply refuse to remaximize and I have to restart them : /

Are you playing in windowed mode or something?

Like, if you play in fullscreen mode, it should already be doing that...

 

[Labombadog]

I realize this is more of a hardware related thread but hopefully someone can answer this. Is there a way to force games to remaximize after switching back to them after alt-tabbing in Vista? I hate having to manually click the maximize button every time and some games simply refuse to remaximize and I have to restart them : /

ALT + Enter

 

[Ysiadmihi]

ALT + Enter

This is basically the same as clicking the maximize button though And some games, like Far Cry 2, just will not remaximize no matter what I do. Why can't it just work like XP

 

[godhandiscen]

Guys, given my current specs.... what can I do to max Crysis?

I intend to keep my processor and Ram. The board and Graphics card can change, the PSu will probably need to change too...

I was thinking Crossfire 2X 4870, 1000Watt+ PSU and advice on a board...or is this too little *gulp*?

GTX295 for graphics card. And Corsair 750TX for PSU. Those 2 components will allow you to max Crysis. 2x4870 1GB do not perform near as well as a 4870x2, and are much more below a GTX295.

This is basically the same as clicking the maximize button though And some games, like Far Cry 2, just will not remaximize no matter what I do. Why can't it just work like XP

Are you sure Alt+enter isn't working? Is this a common bug in FarCry 2?