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[Spark]

sorry for posting a crap topic, but i wanted a quick answer and you guys seem to be the ones to ask...

Gigabyte Triton 180 Black
Corsair Powersupply 520W Black, ATX/EPS,
MSI K9AG NEO2-Digital, AMD 690G+SB600,
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz Socket AM2
Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 4096MB CL5,
Gainward GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3,
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2
NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM,

can anyone tell me if its a good pc for gaming? want it to be able to play all the latest games including crysis and also to be good enough for new games coming out in the next year or so... i need to order it in the next 3 hours!

your help is much appreciated...

 

[quetz67]

no machine can run crysis

 

[JoeMartin]

Well, aside from the processor, everything looks okay.

Intel is completely dominating AMD in terms of performance right now, and it looks like it's going to stay that way for the foreseeable future, so you're far better off with an Intel mobo/C2D.

And I'd recommend 2 8800GT's instead of a GTX if you're comfortable with SLI (dollar for dollar, GT performance >>> GTX performance, and 2 of them shouldn't run you too much more than a single GTX would), or I'd wait for the GTS refresh that due out not to long from now.

 

[Eiolon]

Get a Core 2 Duo if possible. Get 2 8800 GT's instead of the 8800GTX. Get a better power supply.

 

[Davidion]

sorry for posting a crap topic, but i wanted a quick answer and you guys seem to be the ones to ask...

Gigabyte Triton 180 Black
Corsair Powersupply 520W Black, ATX/EPS,
MSI K9AG NEO2-Digital, AMD 690G+SB600,
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz Socket AM2 (might want to go Intel if you want more horsepower)
Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 4096MB CL5,
Gainward GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3, (new 8800 GTs are almost as powerful but much cheaper)
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2 (if you can replace with a brand such as Seagate, Western Digital, etc...do it)
NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM,

can anyone tell me if its a good pc for gaming? want it to be able to play all the latest games including crysis and also to be good enough for new games coming out in the next year or so... i need to order it in the next 3 hours!

your help is much appreciated...

Looks ok, though you might want to make some changes if possible. Read notes.

 

[Spark]

intel is slightly more expensive... i'm making the changes now... and post them in a second... 2 graphics cards??!? (jesus!)

 

[Davidion]

intel is slightly more expensive... i'm making the changes now... and post them in a second... 2 graphics cards??!? (jesus!)

8800GT is at around $250 while the GTX is practically twice as expensive.

If you REALLY want the extra juice (and it's by no means necessary but nice to have if you're into the unadulterated power rig-building/buying philosophy) then get two of the GT's. If not, then just stick with one.

 

[quetz67]

what is your max resolution?

 

[Spark]

Gigabyte Triton 180 Black
Corsair Powersupply 520W Black, ATX/EPS,
ABIT IP35-E, P35, Socket-775, ATX,
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz
Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 4096MB CL5,
Gainward GeForce 8500GT 512MB DDR2,
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2
NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM,

is that better?

i'll probably be using my samsung 40" tv for gaming.... so...

edit / actually is even worse i'd say...

 

[JoeMartin]

You're gonna need a bigger PSU to push that hardware. Definitely look into SLI'ing two GT's for insane performance too.

 

[glaurung]

 

[Davidion]

8800 gt, not 8500

 

[Spark]

urgh...

i need to do ALOT more research into this...hmmmm... i'll look into SLI'ing 2 cards together.. cheers for your replies guys.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Unless you absolutely must play Crysis the minute it comes out, I would hold off to see what kind of driver improvements get released for the game when it comes out next week and what kind of performance impact they have before comitting to SLI. SLI frequently has some weird perf issues and to be honest there's no guarantee that you'll get scorcher performance with any kind of setup for that game when it comes out.

If you want to leave your options open, get a SLI-capable motherboard and stick a single 8800GT in there for now.

 

[hafdogg]

As stated above...the 8800GT is the best bang for the buck right now. I have an 8800GTX but I would have been all over the GT if it was available 6 months ago. I mean the 0-7 fps is not worth that much money and you will be sitting prettier than an GTX if you go the SLI route.

I would go with a Core2Duo or Quad...they are the best bang for the buck and have tons of room for over-clocking (something you will not get with the current AMD procs)

Also, I am not able to make threads yet...but would someone be kind and start one on Tabula Rasa? It is a great game in a time of too many great games that I think is really being over looked. If you are into MMO's, it is a game you should not miss.

 

[quetz67]

Also, I am not able to make threads yet...but would someone be kind and start one on Tabula Rasa? It is a great game in a time of too many great games that I think is really being over looked. If you are into MMO's, it is a game you should not miss.

there was a Tabula Rasa topic recently which didnt get much atttention, maybe just bring that back to life

 

[Spark]

Great advice here guys...

i'm going to hold off for a little while... get some more research, been out of the PC world for a while now due to sticking to consoles, and want to get back to it...

The Witcher recently caught my attention and also the whole PC/Xbox game price gap is starting to seriously piss me off... 25euro more for the xbox games in some cases is just not on.

 

[Kabouter]

Gigabyte Triton 180 Black
Corsair Powersupply 520W Black, ATX/EPS,
ABIT IP35-E, P35, Socket-775, ATX,
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.67GHz
Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 4096MB CL5,
Gainward GeForce 8500GT 512MB DDR2,
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2
NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM,

is that better?

i'll probably be using my samsung 40" tv for gaming.... so...

edit / actually is even worse i'd say...

Don't get an 8500GT, the 8800GT is what you want, possibly two if your TV is 1080p and you want Crysis at high settings. Other than that, blazing fast (and good) rig.

 

[Davidion]

Great advice here guys...

i'm going to hold off for a little while... get some more research, been out of the PC world for a while now due to sticking to consoles, and want to get back to it...

The Witcher recently caught my attention and also the whole PC/Xbox game price gap is starting to seriously piss me off... 25euro more for the xbox games in some cases is just not on.

Do that. Unless you ABSOLUTELY must have that rig now, it's worth it to study the market to note not only trends in specs and prices, but also the upgrade cycle of parts so that you don't buy a product at the end of its life cycle prime, like the 8800GTS when it's being outclassed entirely by the 8800GT, for instance (TEARS...SO...BITTER).

Also, the abit ip35 line (35-e, 35, and 35 pro) is a very, very solid line of mobos. If you want some more bells and whistles, you might want to spend some extra cash and invest in the regular 35 or 35 pro.

 

[Spark]

Do that. Unless you ABSOLUTELY must have that rig now, it's worth it to study the market to note not only trends in specs and prices, but also the upgrade cycle of parts so that you don't buy a product at the end of its life cycle prime, like the 8800GTS when it's being outclassed entirely by the 8800GT, for instance (TEARS...SO...BITTER).

Was hoping to get it up and running asap... but i can wait... COD 4 is going to keep me busy for a while...also... how do you people rate the Dell xps systems?

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q6600 processor (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB cache)
DUAL SLI 256MB nVidia™ GeForce 8600GTS graphics cards
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
320GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA/100 Hard Drive with 16MB DataBurst™ cache

that doesn't seem too bad...

 

[Kabouter]

Was hoping to get it up and running asap... but i can wait... COD 4 is going to keep me busy for a while...also... how do you people rate the Dell xps systems?

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q6600 processor (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB cache)
DUAL SLI 256MB nVidia™ GeForce 8600GTS graphics cards
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
320GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA/100 Hard Drive with 16MB DataBurst™ cache

that doesn't seem too bad...

Don't do it. DO NOT DO IT.
Have a PC custom built for you, or do it yourself. Don't go to a big company like Dell or HP. You get raped on price, your PC will be full of trash, you'll have a shitty custom motherboard and the components are never exactly what you want. Oh, and you definitely don't want 8600's in your desktop, 8800GT 512MB is the way to go right now.

 

[Davidion]

Was hoping to get it up and running asap... but i can wait... COD 4 is going to keep me busy for a while...also... how do you people rate the Dell xps systems?

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q6600 processor (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB cache)
DUAL SLI 256MB nVidia™ GeForce 8600GTS graphics cards
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
320GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA/100 Hard Drive with 16MB DataBurst™ cache

that doesn't seem too bad...

Slower ram compared to average, plus nvidia graphic cards should in every case be 8800 or above (when the new line hits) if you're looking for graphical horsepower.

Unless that thing's real cheap, I'd say it's not such a great deal.

Don't do it. DO NOT DO IT.
Have a PC custom built for you, or do it yourself. Don't go to a big company like Dell or HP. You get raped on price, your PC will be full of trash, you'll have a shitty custom motherboard and the components are never exactly what you want. Oh, and you definitely don't want 8600's in your desktop, 8800GT 512MB is the way to go right now.

co-sign

 

[mambadragon]

Was hoping to get it up and running asap... but i can wait... COD 4 is going to keep me busy for a while...also... how do you people rate the Dell xps systems?

Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core Q6600 processor (2.40GHz, 1066MHz, 8MB cache)
DUAL SLI 256MB nVidia™ GeForce 8600GTS graphics cards
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024]
320GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA/100 Hard Drive with 16MB DataBurst™ cache

that doesn't seem too bad...

Well the 8600GTS cards aren't very good, and I think two of them SLIed are still slower than an 8800GT.

FYI, though I think many of us are attempting to upgrade for Crysis and the 8800GTs look great, ATI is releasing their new cards mid month so it may be smart to wait.

 

[JoeMartin]

Listen, 8800GT is *THE* way to go right now. If you don't want to/can't afford to SLI right now, that's fine, just get one of them. You can always get another one in the future (assuming you're getting an SLI capable motherboard) when you want more performance. SLIing shitty cards is pointless and will net you far FAR less performance than what an 8800GT will provide.

 

[Spark]

wow... confusing....

basically i'm looking for a custom built machine with the following ...

2 x 8800GT 512MB cards
Intel® Core™ 2 Quad-Core
4GB of memory

the current build i have now is

Corsair Powersupply 620W Black, ATX/EPS,
Asus P5N32-E SLI, nForce-680i SLI, ATX,
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz
Corsair TWIN2X 6400C5DHX DDR2, 2048MB
Club3D GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3,
Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2
NEC DVD±RW burner AD-7170 IDE Black OEM,

this is just the one card, i'm assuming i can buy another and SLI it in the future.

 

[JoeMartin]

Optimally, yes, but that's a pretty expensive rig.

Quad-core I would only recommend to the absolute hardware enthusiast, since there are very very few select games that will take advantage of it, and 4gb of RAM is a little on the overkill side (I'd rather spend my money on 2gbs of *quality* OC friendly RAM than 4gb of decent RAM).

Definitely go for the two 8800GT's if you can afford it, if not, 1 will serve you just fine.

EDIT: To your edit, I would still go with the 8800GT's. Their performance is completely on-par with (and sometimes better than) the 640 GTS's, and they come in a whole lot cheaper. They use less power and they'll be much easier to fit in your case. I would also add the fact that they overclock like madmen, but you probably wouldn't want to mess with that on such premium hardware if you are inexperienced.

 

[Spark]

the rig above would set me back to 1200 euro. not too bad....

 

[brain_stew]

Get the Q6600 rather than the Q6700, much cheaper and you can always clock it up to the same performance quite easily. If you're not going quad core then the E6750 is your best bet, it'll save you some cash and offer better/similar performance in most games now but its not as *futureproof*.

4GB RAM isn't necessary but given the low cost of RAM at the moment, it won't hurt.

8800GT is the only answer for your graphics card. You can SLI it if you want but unless your playing at some insane resolution its not really necessary. Avoid the 8800GTS you've chosen, it gives worse performance for a higher price.

 

[Danj]

Don't we have a topic like this "is this PC spec any good/useful for Game X" like every week or something? Wouldn't it be better if we had an "Official Thread of Gaming PC Spec Enquiries"?

I mostly agree with other posters in this thread, except to point out that it might just be worth waiting a couple weeks to see what ATI come up with with their HD3850 and HD3870 cards. They're due out on November 19th or something like that. Other than that, nVidia 8800GT is definitely the way to go, with a minimum of 2Gb of system RAM and a minimum of a 6000-series Core 2 Duo. SATA for storage is also indicated, and obviously if you want DX10 you'll need Vista too. If you plan to get 4Gb or more of system RAM you may need the 64-bit version (you certainly will need it if you're sticking with XP, as there's no workaround for XP32 that will let you access the extra gig).

 

[Spark]

apologies for creating yet another topic about rig specs guys...

Your help is very very much appreciated, i've actually learnt much more in the last hour than i did doing research all morning...