My awful computer needs an update. Bad.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I have an incredibly awful computer. It can't even run WoW at anything but low graphics. It can't render 3d shadows either.

 

This is why I don't play on the PC (and miss all the good smart stuff), but I've gotten sick of dropping framerates and I actually have money to spend for once. The problem is I have no idea where to start. I would REALLY appreciate help or suggestions... heck, anything might help.

 

My current specs (if they actually change anything) are:

512 Mb RAM

Intel 960 video card

516 Intel Pentium 4 processor

 

I'm trying to keep it below 1000$... Preferrably much lower. So what would make for a good rig, able to run all the latest games but not necessarily Crysis at max settings, while still relatively cheap. Maybe I'm asking for a miracle, but you guys know more than I do.

 

I'm also wondering whether I should just give up and buy a whole new computer.

 

So please Obsidian, Pimp my Comp!

[Bokishi]

I didn't put this combo together myself, but it's actually something Crytek recommended back in January to run Crysis on high

 

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750

GPU - GeForce 8800GT 512MB

Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775

PSU - 600W ATX12V

RAM - 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

HDD - SATA 250GB 7200RPM

DVD - 20x DVD

[Magister Lajciak]

"Buy a new computer," would be my recommendation

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I didn't put this combo together myself, but it's actually something Crytek recommended back in January to run Crysis on high

 

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750

GPU - GeForce 8800GT 512MB

Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775

PSU - 600W ATX12V

RAM - 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

HDD - SATA 250GB 7200RPM

DVD - 20x DVD

[samm]

If you go by Bokishi's advice, make sure you get the correct 8800GT, see here Furthermore, the HD4850 doesn't cost much more (15$ where I live) and delivers significantly more speed.

[Deraldin]

I didn't put this combo together myself, but it's actually something Crytek recommended back in January to run Crysis on high

 

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750

GPU - GeForce 8800GT 512MB

Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775

PSU - 600W ATX12V

RAM - 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

HDD - SATA 250GB 7200RPM

DVD - 20x DVD

[Magister Lajciak]

I didn't put this combo together myself, but it's actually something Crytek recommended back in January to run Crysis on high

 

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750

GPU - GeForce 8800GT 512MB

Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775

PSU - 600W ATX12V

RAM - 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

HDD - SATA 250GB 7200RPM

DVD - 20x DVD

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

I didn't put this combo together myself, but it's actually something Crytek recommended back in January to run Crysis on high

 

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750

GPU - GeForce 8800GT 512MB

Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775

PSU - 600W ATX12V

RAM - 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit

HDD - SATA 250GB 7200RPM

DVD - 20x DVD

[taks]

I'm guessing RAM isn't exactly high priced?

depends. the price for RAM is extremely volatile, more so than any other PC component. as such, it also has the distinction of yielding the most performance increase for the least cost, even when it is expensive. going from 1 GB to 2 GB makes a very noticeable difference in performance (or even up to 3 GB). much more than that, however, and i'm not sure how much you'll see.

 

taks

[Deraldin]

I'm guessing RAM isn't exactly high priced?

 

Now I just have to find out where to get those and how to install them... I'm pretty much replacing everything in my comp anyway. Though I'd prefer not getting any closer to the 1000$ limit, I think a new comp with that kind of setup wouldn't cost me my whole summer's worth of salary.

 

DDR2 ram is pretty damn cheap although some of it seems to be going up in price lately. Even so, 2GB can be had for as little as $35US and 4GB kits for as low as $65US. Both require mail in rebates to get that low. Even without the rebates, 4GB would probably still be one of the cheaper things in your system.

[Bokishi]

More RAM the better

[Deadly_Nightshade]

My current specs are:

512 Mb RAM

Intel 960 video card

516 Intel Pentium 4 processor

 

And I thought my PCs were bad...

Anyways, I would recommend you do what I am planning to do whenever I get enough to cover the expenses - buy or build an entirely new system.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Things are looking better. I went shopping basically. I got back with some questions answered and a good look at price/quality of what FuturShop has to offer.

 

I'm looking at two rigs.

 

First: 550$CA

AMD Triple Core 2.10 Gjz

DDR2 3G RAM

500 Go of space

Windows Vista SP1

And some sort of Nvidia card. Don't remember which. It was decent though.

 

Second: 800$CA

Intel Quad Core

4G of Ram

640G of space

Windows Vista SP1

Nvidia 9600SE (something like that. Supposedly very recent).

 

I would prefer not spending 800$, but then again I wouldn't have to upgrade it in a long while. On the other side, the first rig would only need a simple upgrade or two after a regular amount of time.

 

What do you think? :S

[Deadly_Nightshade]

You can get the second setup for only $800?! Or did I misunderstand your post? If not, I'll also be upgrading (I was planning to wait until I had a bit more disposable income to put into the project, but I might do it early if systems can be built, or bought, that cheap).

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

It comes without a computer screen, and this isn't including taxes. However, for 1000$ (taxes not included) you get a really really really good screen.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Ok, that makes slightly more sense;I'm looking at spending about that amount -preferably no more than $1,500- including the screen.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Found them on Futureshop's website.

 

Setting 1

 

Setting 2

 

Here for a comparison between the two.

 

I would go for Setting 1, if only for the price. But (to my newb eyes), the second one sounds very high end. The second one also has twice the video memory. From 256 to 512 MB. Not sure how huge an advantage that is.

Edited August 19, 2008 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Thanks for the links, although I would not recommend a HP.

Edited August 19, 2008 by Deadly_Nightshade

[Gorgon]

Core 7 is comming out probably late fall, if you can wait that long the older mobos and processors will be dirt cheap. Great opportunity for getting the most out of your money.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Core 7 is comming out probably late fall, if you can wait that long the older mobos and processors will be dirt cheap. Great opportunity for getting the most out of your money.

 

 

I'm not sure the price drop in everything else will be all that drastic. It'll probably not be all that immediate either. But I'll probably wait for Fall anyway, considering the time it'll take me to decide. >.<

 

Thanks for the links, although I would not recommend a HP. ermm.gif

 

Hey, that's what I have right now. That pretty muc does it for me. If I'm getting any of these I'm getting the compaq. Quick question though, how good is the NVIDIA GeForce 9300 GE? Because I'm not good with this stuff and I have no idea hwo to tell the difference.

 

 

Thanks for the replies everyone.

[mkreku]

Unfortunately the 9300 GE sucks. It's one step up from Intel's integrated graphics but ten steps behind even the 9600. I'd recommend the 9800 GTX or the Radeon 4870 if you want serious gaming performance.

[samm]

The 9300 GE is a very, very slow graphics card at the lowest end of nVidia's offerings. Definitely not recommended for anything but Office work. The 9500GS of the other configuration isn't fast at all either, but you should be able to play older games with medium settings. The Ram of the card doesn't make a difference in this case, because you won't be able to play at settings where it would make any sense. Go for a Geforce 9600 or an ATI HD3850 or better if you want to play newer games.

The configuration of the second seems rather stupid, because instead of the Core2Quad they could have used a Core2Duo and a better graphics card.

Edited August 19, 2008 by samm

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

The 9300 GE is a very, very slow graphics card at the lowest end of nVidia's offerings. Definitely not recommended for anything but Office work.

 

Well that kinda screws up my plans.

 

The 9500GS of the other configuration isn't fast at all either, but you should be able to play older games with medium settings. The Ram of the card doesn't make a difference in this case, because you won't be able to play at settings where it would make any sense. Go for a Geforce 9600 or an ATI HD3850 or better if you want to play newer games.

The configuration of the second seems rather stupid, because instead of the Core2Quad they could have used a Core2Duo and a better graphics card.

 

I think I might have mixed it with another one. I'm pretty sure it was a 9600SE and not 9500GS. ATI HD3850? I'll keep that in mind. i've seen some not so costy rigs with something that resembled that.

 

Well, ****. Graphics cards always wind up screwing my plans.

 

 

EDIT: Back to shopping... this is going to cost more then I hoped. I don't suppose an "Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100" is any good? >.<

 

I've searched a bit and supposedly the 4 digit number (9600 GS for example) represents generation (1st) and speed (2n 3rd and 4th number) and that a card with higher last numbers is more effective than a card with highger first number. Not sure how much I trust that. Apparently a 8800 GT is ideal, as in, everyone suggests it or has it, but none of the pre-built rigs have that.

Edited August 19, 2008 by WILL THE ALMIGHTY

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Well, I'm currently looking at something like this:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz 6MB Cache 1333MHz FSB

750 Watt Multi-GPU Power Supply

Dual 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT

2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 x 1024MB or 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 x 1024MB

NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard

Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Sounds good, I guess. Unfortunatly, I have to look at costs a lot because of my reasonable, if not slightly low, budget. 1000$ or more without any screen is not for me.

 

 

I'm starting to think I should just get a low-end rig, and upgrade it where it lacks. Some pre-built have enough RAM and the rest is all good, but the graphic card winds up awful. I'll probably give up on the idea, though. it might end up being even less cost-effective.

 

Should I even be buying pre-built? How hard is it to build your own computer?