Walsh joins the 21st Century

[Walsingham]

OK you slugs, here's my new PC specs:

 

Intel Pentium D Dual Core 940 3.2ghz 1024MB DDR2 300Gb SATA Nvidia 7900GT 256Mb PCI-E DVDRW and 16x DVD rom

 

That better good, or I'm going to cry. As you know I've been patiently saving up to get a decent gaming machine for years.

[metadigital]

You can overclock that CPU easily ... but the 500 is much cheaper and is just as overclockable ...

[SteveThaiBinh]

Congratulations. I'm sure NWN2 will be very shiny on that.

 

I hope you managed to buy a desk to put it on, because it will be rather uncomfortable on the floor.

[Walsingham]

Congratulations.   I'm sure NWN2 will be very shiny on that.

 

I hope you managed to buy a desk to put it on, because it will be rather uncomfortable on the floor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Are you kidding? I had to SELL the floor to buy the PC.

 

Overclocking may or may not occur. My planned upgrades are:

 

1. A 24" monitor next month.

2. A water-colling thingy to make it quieter, in January.

[kirottu]

How about a gig more memory? You might need it once Vista comes.

[metadigital]

There is ZERO point in buying a water-cooling thinggie if you aren't going to overclock the system (they cost

[Walsingham]

Look, it's in my genetic memory. Water-cooled MG = good. Water-cooled PC must also = good. :D

 

BTW, I'm also accepting advice on good games to get.

[Judge Hades]

With that system you might want to get Oblivion a try, especially with the graphic texture mods.

Edited August 24, 2006 by Judge Hades

[Walsingham]

With that system you might want to get Oblivion a try, especially with the graphic texture mods.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Already planned! My colleague is bringing in his copy. Although when he sees how easily it runs on mine compared to his he may cry.

[SteveThaiBinh]

BTW, I'm also accepting advice on good games to get.

Well, not Gothic 3, as apparently:

Well.. just as a comparison: right now Gothic 3 stutters on a 7900GTX x2 SLI-system. And that's supposed to be released in two months! I'm going to spend $1200 on upgrading my computer when Gothic 3 arrives, but now I'm not even sure if that's enough.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You want something that showcases your new machine's capabilities and makes you feel good about your purchase, not some buggy new release that stutters because it's not properly finished.

 

I'd recommend Oblivion as well, and I hear Dreamfall is very good.

[Walsingham]

BTW, I'm also accepting advice on good games to get.

Well, not Gothic 3, as apparently:

Well.. just as a comparison: right now Gothic 3 stutters on a 7900GTX x2 SLI-system. And that's supposed to be released in two months! I'm going to spend $1200 on upgrading my computer when Gothic 3 arrives, but now I'm not even sure if that's enough.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You want something that showcases your new machine's capabilities and makes you feel good about your purchase, not some buggy new release that stutters because it's not properly finished.

 

I'd recommend Oblivion as well, and I hear Dreamfall is very good.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Thanks Steve! You're quite right that I'd throw my toys out of the pram if the game caused issues.

 

EDIT: btw my colleagues tried to convince me to go for a lower spec machine, 64 bit athlon and nvidia 7600s. My gut instinct said this was too low, and I'd still be frustrated. Was I right?

[Gfted1]

*is jealous*

[Pidesco]

Thanks Steve! You're quite right that I'd throw my toys out of the pram if the game caused issues.

 

EDIT: btw my colleagues tried to convince me to go for a lower spec machine, 64 bit athlon and nvidia 7600s. My gut instinct said this was too low, and I'd still be frustrated. Was I right?

 

If you are going to get a 24" screen, then the system your buddies recommended would never be good enough. However, I do not recommend you buy a monitor that big, especially if you are on a budget. With a such a big screen, your system will become obsolete a lot quicker.

[Bokishi]

You need another gig of RAM. Also, the GTX version of the card if you're planning to go 24" with high settings.

[GhostofAnakin]

*is jealous*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Darth Barth]

That better good, or I'm going to cry. As you know I've been patiently saving up to get a decent gaming machine for years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Then I wont say anything else. Enjoy your system. =)

[Daaave]

*is jealous*

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Fionavar]

Walsh and the 21st century meet the Tech Forum

[Fionavar]

You need another gig of RAM. Also, the GTX version of the card if you're planning to go 24" with high settings.

 

I'd echo this recommendation - especially with the larger display. more and more games are getting bottle-necked by the GPU and RAM - as most processors are just not being utilised to any great parity. the RAM and the GPU will offer you major future-proofing (with caveat that it's obsolete the moment you get it ).

[metadigital]

You need another gig of RAM. Also, the GTX version of the card if you're planning to go 24" with high settings.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Or another one in SLI. The RAM isn't a dealbreaker.

[Fionavar]

Yeah the SLI alterntaive also makes sense. As for RAM - I've always enjoyed lots of it and the price point on RAM is currently low enough in relationship to performance improvement it's worth considering. I'd agree with meta - the SLI would offer more bang if a choice was to be made.

[Bokishi]

2 G's of RAM is worth it, especially in FEAR and BF2. SLI is good too, however, SLI does not support triple buffering for vsync.

[mkreku]

The performance between the GT and the GTX isn't big enough to warrant the price of the GTX. I think he made the right decision in his choice of the 7900GT. Check out the hardware tests for those two cards. The GT gives around 80% of the performance for around 50% of the price of the GTX. Unless you crank up the resolutions very high that is, which is where the power of the GTX shines through. For a Pentium D system, I think he balanced it well.

 

"Despite that, Nvidia's 256 MB GeForce 7900 GT may be the price/performance leader among all graphics cards currently available, with an index score of 15.58 and an average price of $287.69."

 

Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/2006/08/24/closer_l...lead/page3.html

 

Of course, on a 24 inch monitor.. you'd need two GTX's in SLI to be able to play at the default resolution..

Edited August 25, 2006 by mkreku

[alanschu]

What is the default resolution of a 24" monitor?

 

 

In any case, I could see that being a monitor where I may value FSAA a bit more

[mkreku]

I think the common resolution for 24 inch is 1920 x 1200 or something. A bit higher than 1080i and 1080p that is..