PlaneShift
Fan Area => The Hydlaa Plaza => Topic started by: WiseKran on September 29, 2005, 01:45:33 am
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Does anyone have any suggestions for an affordable PC that will pretty much keep up with the games of today (EQ2, CoD2, DnL, and all the newer games)
Right now i have 512 ram, 1.8 mhz processor, and a 32mb vid card.
My motherboard is out of date so i cant just get new components.
I was told that it would be best to buy or build a whole new machine
Anyone have any suggestions for an affordable gaming PC?
Id like to build my own, i know you can get the parts cheaper, and I have some friends with the knowledge.. but I just dont see it as a reality.
I do have a budget, perhaps $900 or so.. hopefully less
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This is my (homebuilt) system:
mobo: ASUS
GFX:ATI Raedon 9600 but you should get an NVidia
case: get an Antec
processor: p4 3.2ghz with HT
and I got all of this at Fry\'s Electronics (http://frysoutpost.com)
edit: oh yeah, if you have RAM I think you can get all this for $850
and I forgot any OS costs
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let\'s see. did mine for about 450$cdn post tax. i\'ll post up the specs when i get home. did comprimise a bit in terms of performance, according to some schools. basically i went with an onboard graphics card. but the mobo was on sale. so i went for it.
the specs are a p4 celeron 2.4 ghz on an asus p4s800 mx and 512 mb.
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How about getting a better gfx card? That seems to be the lowest on your list, and they are easy to replace.
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Yeah your video card needs to be changed first.
Other than that here is links to some good cheap parts.
System:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1567863&sku=M452-2432%20B&CMP=ILC-FPM08
Video card:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1118492&sku=C460-7022
Memory:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1283674
Use your same hard drive a case if its good. If you running one 512 ram chip then use it otherwise just sit it aside if its two 256 chips.
Afterwards you will have a nice machine,true its still celeron but still not bad.
Aranis
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I cant get a new gfx card.. my motherboard wont support anything higher than what i have
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You might want to browse through this (http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=108497&highlight=%24900+game+pc) thread on the PCmech forums. It might help... :)
I plan to build a new system myself in about a month or two, but with the parts I\'m itching to get my hands on, the total will come to about $1100, excluding things I already have such as the monitor, keyboard/mouse, speakers, etc. Utterly worth it, though ^^
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If your machine supports a 1.8 ghz processor I doubt that it doesn\'t support higher than a 32 meg 3d card. Even if it has only pci slots, you can still put in an nvidia geforceFX5 or 6 thousand seies. My friend has a PCI Nvidia GeForceFX 5600 Ultra 128 meg card. The only drawback on agp cards is the agp X rate, if its only a 2X slot the voltage could be different, but most really good cards require one of the molexes from inside your box anyways so its not an issue.
P.S. You might consider an AMD sytem instead of an Intel processor - they are usually cheaper for equivilant processors, the nforce boards are awsome, and they crunch numbers a bit better (that is to say that they process slightly more data per clock cycle). This allows them to lag in overall clock speed, and still perform to a higher clocked P4. Example - 1.7 ghz AMD Athlon = approximately same performance level as a 2.1 ghz P4.. They usually hint at their equivilant clocks in the P4 range with model numbers - AMD Athlon 2100 + is 1.7 ghz.
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My priocessor is AMD athlon XP 2400 ~2.0GHz
I thought it was 1.8.
..
and now that im in DXDIAG, my card is a 64meg =P
anyways I am able to get a 128mb video card.. but i was thinking more along the lines of 256.. and my motherboard cant handle that.
also I have 512mb ram. and im out of slots :-(
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If you are going to build a PC go ahead and take the time to make it a PC that will last a little longer. I\'d reccommend getting a motherboard with the following features:
Capible of supporting the Dual Core AMD 64 - most NForce3 boards should do this so select a motherboard with an NForce3 chipset.
Dual Channel DDR Ram capible - you don\'t have to use it now - just eventually it could be a good upgrade.
PCI Express card slots - this one is the must. PCI E is what the newest and best videocards will use and NVIDIA has something either recently realeased or soon to be called SLI - the short description is this - You buy one NVIDIA GeforceFX 7800 and then decide to purchase another - the cards can be linked with SLI and do many cool things - combine power, spread full hardware accelerated 3d over many screens - and endless other options.
Onboard SATA controller for hard drives. Serial ATA is the wave of the future - as it is basically an ATA interface capible of many of the advanced features found once only in SCSI drives, but without being prohibitively expensive.
So in concusion buy a base system with those things and you should be able to upgrade it for several years, keeping close enough to the technology edge that you don\'t aways feel outdated.
If you for some reason like intel, go ahead and go with them but remember each time they come out with a new processor, they completly change the chipset and socket style thus making you upgrade both mobo and processor. I.E. The pentium D, Intels dual core processor required a new motherboard, but AMD\'s dual core required only a bios update. Keep that in mind.
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What do you guys think of this list?
This was suggested by a friend of mine.
Im not a wizard about stuff like this. How upgradable is this build?
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ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16813131530
$109.50
SAPPHIRE 100107-BL Radeon X800 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM
http://plugindoc.mozdev.org/faqs/
$199.00
XCLIO XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16817189003
$52.50
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3200BPBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16819103535
$190.00
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16820145440
$89.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380817AS 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16822148040
$64.75
LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16827106988
$42.99
Total = $750
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Mmm... links don\'t quite point to the products. However, I\'d say it looks good. Are you going to reuse your case? Does it have an adequate amount of fans?
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grr. broekn links :-(
anyways.. im still looking for a case.
ill try to fix the links wen i get a spare time
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If I may throw out a suggestion, then:
COOLER MASTER Praetorian (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119035) - It\'s $109, but well worth it in my opinion. Removable mobo tray, 4 (included) 80mm fans, aluminum... :D Awesome reviews, too. You really want to make sure that the case you choose will do a good job of holding and cooling its innards ;)
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a good semi-affordable gaming rig ($1000-$1800)
amd 3500+
1gb ddr 400
dual 80gb hdd\'s
geforce fx 6800
midrange mobo with nvidia nforce 4+onboard 5.1 and lan
tool less case
lots of cooling supplies.
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WiseKran: I really like the setup - the power supply is a good one (I use one and love it). The only thing I questioned was the cideocard. I\'m an NVIDIA nut, for a couple reasons. One is their drivers - they are fantastic. I\'ve had compatibility problems in some games with ATI cards, often downloading \"ATI workarounds, or ATI bug patches\" but never had any trounle with nvidia. Also lately, performance revies have all outperformed the comparably priced ATI cards, and while some ATI cards get higher total FPS, they a larger chance of lagging behind in complex draws - the NVIDIA cards are more stabile as far as that goes. Its just my two cents worth, but you can find some really nice NVIDIA cards at way under cost on EBAY - I bought an NVIDIA GeForce FX 6600 Ultra 256 for 38 dollars plus 5 shipping and handling. Its all in where you look - new doesn\'t mean better necessarily :)
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Yes, I was told that nvidia was the way to go.. so Im looking into those now.
right now im figureing out where the money will come from =P
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Originally posted by WiseKran
My priocessor is AMD athlon XP 2400 ~2.0GHz
I thought it was 1.8.
..
and now that im in DXDIAG, my card is a 64meg =P
anyways I am able to get a 128mb video card.. but i was thinking more along the lines of 256.. and my motherboard cant handle that.
also I have 512mb ram. and im out of slots :-(
I\'ve never heard about the motherboard caring at all about how much ram is on your graphics card. The speed of the card (2x vs 4x AGP and higher), yes, but not the amount of RAM. I would guess that your motherboard handles at least 4x and probably 8x AGP cards, which means just about every new card out there - just not PCI-Express.
Your processor is fully up to date, the RAM should be enough for most things. If you need more RAM, you can just replace the modules with bigger ones, it probably takes at least two (but check before buying), so geting two 512 MB modules is going to give you a whopping 1 GB of RAM (Anyone having 2 GB today is a showoff :P)
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Im not a genius with this stuff.
But i was told by the man who built my machine that My motherboard cant support any better video card than what i currently have. (with the exeption of some sort of lesser quality 128mb card)
Games like the ones I mentioned in my original post need 256mb if you want decent quality.
I cant really explain any better than what i was told =P
Anyways.. on the good side. Ive been offered a job by an exterior design and advertising company to work for them for this year.
They hired me because i have alot of photoshop and adobe experience on my resume. for a 15 year old.. this is a dream. Ill be working 15 hours a week at $18 per hour :D
This is More than enough to finance my new computer :-)
Ill put together a new slightly modifified build with an Nvidia card, and better mobo. maybe some of you experts can check it out for me?
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its a shame to see that you have to get another pc when your memory your cpu and certainly every peripherals but the gpu are enough to play...
Why are you saying your motherboard is out of date ? even if its an AGP 4x why dont to try to buy an agp 8x for less than 100$ a compatibility issue wont occure... and your budget would be safe...
What i dont like in that case is the fact that your computer (the one you are using now) will be sent in the trashcan althrought it is still usable. Its a real pollution...
NB : I have 6 computers so I know what i am speaking about ! 8o Yeah I like nature but computer is my big problem... :rolleyes:
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actually, im 15, i still live in my parents house so this computer will be used for school for my sister and brother, as well as whatever they or my parents want it for.. and the new one will be MINE!
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here we are! it was the secret explanation !
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However, The truth still remains that my motherboard is out of date, its 4x agp, so I need a new one :(
Also It wont support any better soundcard than what i have, and Im trying to get a 5.1 surround sound
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oh really? I though i bought a live 5.1 with my T-bird 800Mhz / agp2x but ... maybe i was wrong :p
i have one advice : dont try to find excuse and buy your computer! but dont forget to think a lot about what you will buy : longer you think about it and better will be your configuration! Dont ask others advices: everyone have their own ideas but you are the only one who know exactly what youll do with your computer! For each peripheral compare their prices and their power. But dont forget one example: the shopkeeper who sold me my last computer said me that if i wanted to play with my computer i would require a 6600GT and one of the more expansive screen (i wanted a tft 19\") : I bought the simple 6600 and the lowest price 19\" tft... everything work perfectly : noo lag, no problem with all my games at 1280*1024 ... what would the 6600GT change ? hmmmmmmm ... 50? less in my pocket... what would the most expansive tft 19\" do ? simply makes me pay 300 or 400? more ... for nothing...
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1 gb RAM is more then enough and the graphics card speed is more important then 256mb.
I’ve only got 512mb RAM, 2.6ghz and 128mb 5200 Nvidia. I’ve had this for 20 months now and it’s been keeping up fine, even with the latest games like Battlefield 2.
Knowing my stingy parents I’m gona being having this for a long time to come :(
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Dont get the impression im lying to you, I really dont know anything about computer hardware, Im only saying what ive been told..
so with This system I can upgrade to a 5.1 surround sound card, as well as get a 256mb video card and 1gig of ram?
thats what im aiming for.
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try pc-booster 1.0 if you\'re really hopeless
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I was looking at Alienwares rather than build a comuter. and They didnt seem too overpriced.
I configured a system for about 1,400 .
Anyone wanna take a look and see how it is?
http://www.alienware.com/Configurator_Pages/aurora_5500_r2.aspx?SysCode=PC-AURORA-5500-R2&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT
click \"retrieve a saved configuration\" then put in \"MaesterMathias@gmail.com-780921\"
or
\"MaesterMathias@gmail.com-780963\"