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Post by Arclight on May 30, 2008 23:26:02 GMT 8
Okay, so I was curious to know what people think a good set of specs for a gaming desktop PC should be now.
I can't afford one yet but hopefuly I'll be able to afford one sooner or later so I'm getting in some research and considering I know little, I wanna hear what you guys think. I plan to build it (with help) so I got a wide range of choice with specs.
So yeah, specs; proccesor, RAM, mem, cards, brands, speeds, etc.
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Post by malavern on May 30, 2008 23:49:37 GMT 8
what we tell you now will be obsolete by the time you've saved enough money to build yourself a gaming rig...
so, why not just save up first, around 20K, then we'll talk! not being mean, just realistic
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Post by milkkart on May 31, 2008 0:05:19 GMT 8
well there is some general advice that would still be useful, like not buying a pre-built box.
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Post by malavern on May 31, 2008 1:10:31 GMT 8
true that...
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Post by Fightingcock on May 31, 2008 12:29:11 GMT 8
20K... fk?? where you shopping ?? what a rip-off 5K for a desktop will get you a mint machine. i brought 4 desktops in 6 years... and they all been under 4k. video cards can be biggest waste... a standard one for $700 ish.. or splash out on a little better one for $1k ish... should be fine but why spend $3k + on a video card... who cares if your card has, Texture Fill Rate of 76800 MTexels/sec. your not going to notice any major difference... especially in the heat of battle... FC
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Post by yonathanho on May 31, 2008 13:57:43 GMT 8
if you want a good gaming desktop then 20k as about right.
4k will get you a low end office machine
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Post by malavern on May 31, 2008 14:00:17 GMT 8
if you want a good gaming desktop then 20k as about right. 4k will get you a low end office machine indeed. High-end Graphics card, RAM chips & high processor speeds are a must for desktop gaming rigs. And these things cost money!
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Chowiez
Gunnery Segeant
Butter Knife Specialist
Posts: 600
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Post by Chowiez on May 31, 2008 15:32:42 GMT 8
Sorry for going off topic. But lol. Malerven, you are spending big bucks on thoese pieces of metal. However, thats the reason why i cannot support BF2 and play in 3 second lag spikes =I
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Post by Arclight on May 31, 2008 17:19:37 GMT 8
Oh I know details will be outdated but I still need advice as a form of education as I know nothing. By the time I am ready, it would be nice not to be a pure noob when I'm ready.
And yes, I know okay machine can be built for 5k, better with 10k, best with 20+.
My plan at the momment is researching details. Start with the basics and work up. I need to have things explained like exactly what components do what and i.e. what makes one graphics card better then the other, and stuff like that.
I want to learn what details are good now so I can understand what is available now, so I can understand all the updates and developments over time so I have a good idea of what I want when I'm ready.
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Post by yonathanho on May 31, 2008 18:18:51 GMT 8
games on the source engine are very flexible, i managed to get TF2 running on my mate's old GeeForce4, 1.6Ghz, 256mb comp at around 15 fps. that's way below the min req i think. so if you want to play tf2 with us a 5k comp will just about work.
vegas2, battlefield 2 are cpu hogs, esp bf2 cos it hasnt been properly patched to run on dual cores.
I'd say the min graphics card rite now is an 8600gt or an 8800 gt. the 8800 costs around $1800HKD
CPU, the only way to go right now is the Pentium E6600 2.4Ghz core2duo not entirely sure of current CPU prices. DO NOT i repeat DO NOT resort to AMD processors, they are cheap right now but are waaay bellow the scale for performance since Intel went core2duo, even the dual core AMDs
1gig ram is a must for up and coming games, not less that 660Mhzif you intend to run vista (much better voice recognition support, DX10) 2-3 gigs a must. don't bother getting 4 because unless you're running a 64-bit version of windows your computer wont use that last gig.
i don't know too much about low-mid range motherboards but PCgamer recommends the ASUS P5N-E(express) SLI (all ASUS P5Ns are SLI) motherboard, and having that on my old (read: 21 months) gaming rig i can tell you it wont have any problems until you mess with third party BIOSes, and will set you back approx $1000HKD
you can use your old hard drive but if it's IDE (ribbon cable connection) then best get an SATA instead as your primary drive and use the IDE as slave or secondary (i'm not sure you can slave/master HDs of different type
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Post by malavern on May 31, 2008 19:27:50 GMT 8
hey... i'm using AMD duos... hey work perfectly fine for me! ofcourse, overclocked... and with a sufficiently effective cooling system, anything would work well!! Arclight: by the time you can afford a PC, you might as well go quad core, as technology by then should be able to support those systems.. I'd recommend quad-core anyways if you plan to go vista...
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Post by Arclight on May 31, 2008 22:43:44 GMT 8
Cool, cool.
And Yonnie, is the source engine really that flexible?
My laptop now is 1.6Ghz and 1GB RAM, does that mean I can squeeze on TF2?
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Post by malavern on May 31, 2008 23:17:45 GMT 8
Cool, cool. And Yonnie, is the source engine really that flexible? My laptop now is 1.6Ghz and 1GB RAM, does that mean I can squeeze on TF2? o yea, you can play TF2 on the lowest settign on your laptop as it is. wait.. what gfx card you got in there? or to be more specific, how much mem does it support?
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Post by milkkart on Jun 1, 2008 0:58:22 GMT 8
i used to play HL2 just fine on a laptop that would now be over 4years old, 2.4ghz P4m 512MB ram and a 64mb geforce fx go. the source engine is an amazing thing.
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Post by yonathanho on Jun 1, 2008 10:51:53 GMT 8
q6600 costs sufficently more and there arent many programs that actually make use of the 2 extra cores, even my gaming rig doesnt have it
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Post by malavern on Jun 1, 2008 14:26:05 GMT 8
Hey Arclight,
Just go to the alienwares website to see the latest most updated customizable machines on the market... i.e. fully customizable, from Peripheral stuffs like Monitor sizes, Desktop cases, Keyboards, Mice, Sound systems;
Internal systems, how many HDDs, what type of HDDs, What GFX cards, How many GFX cards, CPU? what type and how many, What motherboard you want to use, internal lights (^^), what cooling system you want, system settings;
Software wise, what programs do you want installed, what games would you like to buy, and have them installed in there for you as well, with optimum settings. Profile settings, etc...
Too bad they dont deliver to HK, and costs a bitch... for the best desktop available to man from Alienware, costs around 40K!! lol But damn is it worth it!
OMFG!!!
For the Area-51® ALX System (with the best selections) would put you down: 7,944.22 EUR or 96,347.90 HKD payable in increments, with the final account needed to be settled in 12 months time!!!
Thats over 8K HKD per month!! But damn does it look good!!
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play150
Staff Segeant
I like chocolate and chips.
Posts: 460
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Post by play150 on Jun 2, 2008 0:46:25 GMT 8
if you want a good gaming desktop then 20k as about right. 4k will get you a low end office machine I have to agree... My advice :) : Case: Get one with dust filters! You will love them! Don't make the mistake I did hehe... 2 hr session of dusting the computer..... :( CPU: What yonathan said. RAM: I reccomend 3-4 gB since won't be 'more than enough' soon. Also, I think you should get DDR3 RAM. It's got higher latency than DDR2 now, but tests show that the bandwidth makes up for it, and the latency will definately go down in the future. Like before when DDR was vsing DDR2. DDR3 also needs less cooling than DDR2. Video Card: 8800 GT, one of the best cards price/performance wise, it should last a long time. PSU (Power Supply Unit, the firebull lol): A 550w one should be able to support the system, but of course, getting one with more juice is better ;) Motherboard: Make sure it fits the components that you wanna use. E.g..... www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188025
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Post by Fightingcock on Jun 2, 2008 21:25:17 GMT 8
I have to dis-agree... 2.5 k for a low end office machine... 4 to 5k for a reasonable gaming desktop. any more than $1200 on a vid card is a waste. my last gutting upgrade cost me.. $3600... no case, no mouse, keyboard or monitor... is now coming up to 18 months old... and runs all games fine. ;D video card was under 1 k. mmm... geforce7600GT I think. computers.. cars.. then clothes have greatest depreciation. eg : the more you spend on higher priced items... the more you loose as soon as you walk out the door. not that you going to resell it.... but still. no need to throw $ away. 1gb of ram is enough, but its "cheap as chips" so go 2.250 ggb hard drive is plenty... but if want more... you wouldn't be the first O member to have a TB harddrive ;D mmm... wheres ironlords 2 cents? FC
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Post by ironlord on Jun 2, 2008 22:24:44 GMT 8
Ahh... FIIIINE, KARL! Seriously, these days you're crazy to spend more than 10k on a gaming rig. Primarily because currently, the PC is in a massive downward spiral for gaming (thanks to retarded system specs for some games, and massive piracy). Consoles are getting a lot of the good stuff, and don't need to be upgraded.. ever. With the exception of some strategy + rts's, I've pretty much switched over to console for all games now. Cost-effective, and way less hassle (no compatibility problems). At any rate, the key to buying a decent PC gaming rig is: (a) don't try to buy top of the line. After a year, the top of the line components almost always decrease by as much as 50%. I've bought a couple video cards over the years that cost around $2500HKD when new, and less than two years later were less than half the price I paid for them (and "low-mid spec"). Find where the gaming 'sweet spot' (bang for the buck) is, and run with it. It may only do you a couple years, but trying to get that 3rd year out of your hardware usually means buying consdierably more expensive stuff, and spending like 1.5 to 2x as much. (b) It also really depends on what resolution you want to play at. Assuming you'll play on a 22" 1680x1050 monitor (or above), you're gonna need some significant more juice to get good framerates. If you're just playing on a 1280x1024, 1024x768, 1366x768 LCD TV/monitor, you can definitely get away with lower specs. Playing at 1920x1080 is mostly bragging rights - games aren't designed to run at this level of detail and you'll find they don't look much diff than 1680x1050. At the end of the day, best results are when you play at your monitor's NATIVE resolution! Tom's hardware runs a great article every month evaluating "best graphics for the money". Read up on June: www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-cards,1942.html (c) Dual core barely makes any difference for games, let alone quad core. the most important bit is the ghz rating. A 3ghz cpu is gonna show more raw power in games than having a dual core at 2.2ghz. This *will* change, but seriously, they've been saying that over a year already and it really hasn't yet (Maybe for Crysis and Supreme Commander, but both aren't very good) A really good read is Tom's Hardware's "Low, Mid, and High" Cost system builds and comparisons. They compare the price per performance setup. Yes it's from March, but barely anything has changed since then, so it's still fairly relevant (though everything is now cheaper). www.tomshardware.com/reviews/system-builder-marathon,1799.html (d) Don't be fooled by RAM speeds. Most motherboards don't even really support the top-speed RAM unless you buy the top of the line motherboard. I'd go with 800mhz DDR2, or maybe 1066 if it's cheap enough. While RAM does make a diff, it won't make enough of a difference to experience in games. Also, XP doesn't support 4gb of RAM properly, and Vista is a waste of time to run (it'll suck up more resources and doesn't really benefit you at all). I'd go with 2-4gb, but it's just price depending. Compare prices and see what's the best deal. MY UPGRADING EXPERIENCE: I used to be keen to blow all kinds of money on a PC gaming rig, but nowadays I just don't see the payoff. PS3+X360 have great quality, but with way less cost and compatibility hassles. So there's isn't all that much I'd play on PC anymore. I've been stalling for over a year now on an upgrade, and I'll continue to stall until I can find something worth playing (PS: CRYSIS IS NOT WORTH PAYING $10K! It's not even worth 1k in upgrades!) Cheers, Al.
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Post by conspiracy on Jun 3, 2008 0:38:19 GMT 8
if u want my 2 cents. i got IL to help me through my upgrades and i did not pay more than 1.5K. my new system i didn't ask IL (but used his info) and i payed less than 7K. my rig can run crysis, world in conflict, cod4, HL2, etc. at full and no prob. i'm using: 3.2 ghz processor 3 gb ram 8800 GTS 512mb GFX card creative sound blaster x-fi X 500 gb internal hdd 22" LG mon i too have been playing console more as well; it is way cheaper. below 10K is enough and 20K... wtf?
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Post by yonathanho on Jun 3, 2008 11:46:55 GMT 8
totally agreed there
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Post by malavern on Jun 3, 2008 18:10:44 GMT 8
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play150
Staff Segeant
I like chocolate and chips.
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Post by play150 on Jun 11, 2008 0:44:21 GMT 8
PC going down o.O?
The statistics only include retail, not MMO subs, Online purchases etc.
Lots of people buy games like TF2 off steam for example.
...
Right?
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