Update to M2TW...

[edyzmedieval]

Help on my update please?

Thanks for hijacking my thread Gawain.

[Lemur]

Here's my final list.

ASUS P5NSLI nForce 570 SLI Intel Edition
INTEL CORE2 DUO E6600
2xCorsair DDR2 PC5400 2x512MB (couldn't find 1GB sticks... I found one, but I don't know how reliable it is)
ASUS EN7900GTX 512MB

Any comments?

Looks like a pretty kickin' rig. Only two quibbles:

1. Is it worth it to sink serious $$$ in a 7900GTX when the 8800s are available? I would either buy a cheaper DX9 card and wait to upgrade, or just go ahead and get one of those big, beautiful 8800s.
2. 1 gig of ram doesn't sound like an extreme gaming rig to this lemur. 2 gigs leaves you with breathing room on the newer, more memory-hungry games.

P.S.: As Gawain knows, thread hijacking is one of those Senior Member privileges.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Thanks for hijacking my thread Gawain

Your welcome

Seeing as how I was going to ask the same question I figured it would be better for anyone who is interested in whats needed to play MTW2

Now Im looking at this system and would like to know if it can run MTW2 at full tilt on mp?

Processor Brand: Intel
Processor Class: Core 2 Duo Processor
Processor Number: E6400 with Viiv Technology
Processor Speed: 2.13 GHz
Bus Speed: 1066 MHz
L2 Cache Size: 2 MB
System Chipset: Intel P965 Express
Memory Speed: PC2-4200 (533MHz)
Memory Technology: DDR2-SDRAM
Installed Memory: 2 GB
Maximum Memory: 8 GB
Sound Support: High Definition Audio, 8 speaker configurable
Video Chipset Brand: NVIDIA
Video Chipset: GeForce 7600GS
Video Bus: PCI Express x16
Video Integration: Card
Installed Video Memory: 256 MB


Comes with a 19" lcd flatpanel for 1129 but if I get it Ill upgrade to the 22" for 150? So whats your opinion on this?

[Lemur]

The big question mark is, as always, the video card. I'm not super-duper knowledgeable about the Nvidia lineup, but here's a review of the 7600GS from Firing Squad.

I can certainly see the logic of going with a cheaper video card right now, and waiting to see what the bold new world of DX10 brings.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I can certainly see the logic of going with a cheaper video card right now, and waiting to see what the bold new world of DX10 brings.

Well this is a standard package. Its the best I could find premade that seemed to fit my budget and needs. I could have gone with an Alienware area 51 or a nice custom one that I posted before. But ic an get this one tommorow and it comes with that nice big monito. Also its from comp USA so I have a place to take it if anything is wrong. I wonder if I can ask them what an upgrade would cost or could they do it?

[Lemur]

Well, I wouldn't settle on the 7600GS as the place to hang my hat ... especially not if I intended to drive a big monitor from it ...

You know what's best for you. Personally, I would have a custom rig built, but you knew that already. Alienware is a great company, but I'm willing to suffer some headaches to have my comp built exactly the way I want it, and for less moulah. I have zero experience with buying from CompUSA, so I've got nothing to contribute on that front.

[edit]

Hey, thinking about it, if they're willing to talk about a beefier video card, and if they're willing to warranty it, the CompUSA might be a great route. Warranties from people you can grab and yell at are nice.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

If you're planning on using a 22" monitor at a decent resolution, a 7600GS isn't going to be adequate to run things at max with AA and AF. I'd spring for the 7800GT at least.

[Lemur]

Gawain, Edyz, if it's not too much bother, please keep us posted as you move along your decision-making process. The drama of "what configuration should I go with?" is far more riveting than prime-time TV.

[edyzmedieval]

Looks like a pretty kickin' rig. Only two quibbles:

1. Is it worth it to sink serious $$$ in a 7900GTX when the 8800s are available? I would either buy a cheaper DX9 card and wait to upgrade, or just go ahead and get one of those big, beautiful 8800s.
2. 1 gig of ram doesn't sound like an extreme gaming rig to this lemur. 2 gigs leaves you with breathing room on the newer, more memory-hungry games.

P.S.: As Gawain knows, thread hijacking is one of those Senior Member privileges.

1. 8800s aren't available in Romania.
2. 2GB of RAM. 2x2x512 sticks.

Any articles on the 8800s? They are nVidia or ATI?

[Lemur]

The 8800s are from Nvidia. They came out a few weeks ago, and there are tons of reviews floating around.

If I were holding out, I would go with a 7900GS, which is supposed to be a fantastic $200 card, or see if I could find a ~$200 1900XT (although I've been told those are hard to find). I would hesitate to go much higher than $200 on the dollar scale, what with DX10 around the corner, and with the glowing reviews the 8800s have been getting for their performance in DX9 (several people have reported playable framerates in Oblivion at 1600x1200 with every option cranked up -- madness!).

Given the current high price of the 7900GTX, I would either fork over the dough for an 8800, or step back to a 7900GS and wait to see what the new year brings. Naturally, that's just one lemur's opinion.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Gawain, Edyz, if it's not too much bother, please keep us posted as you move along your decision-making process.

Well I just called gateway and they offered me an E64000 with 1GB of ram but they say theirs is faster than what you get retail. It also has a 7950gt and a 500 watt power supply and comes with a 19" HD monitor for the same price. The guy said everything in it is the newest tech and that its far better than the one from compusa. Whats the deal here?

Im waiting for them to e mail me the specs. Should I go with a lower priced graphics card like the 7900 gs?

[Husar]

Whats the deal here?

They always say that...

The 7950GT is a very fine card and runs my Medieval 2 on almost highest settings(including 2xAA), but it's hard to tell for me since it runs only on PCIe x4 here, on x16 it should be at least slightly faster. It's not newest tech though, that's the 8800.
But it all depends on budget of course, IMO and with my budget, the 7950GT gives great visible quality at a good speed for the money, besides using some 70 Watts or so less than the 8800GTX(think about energy costs, if you have 5$ less every month, after two years, you will miss 120$ for a new card ).
The E6400 sounds nice, but try to get 2GB of RAM with it.

500Watt power supply says nothing, the brand is important, I have the E6600 and a 7950GT running on a 420Watt power supply...
And concerning the 7900GS, I wouldn't get that since it's slower than the 7950GT which is a very nice card for the money.

So in conclusion, the system might be very nice given your budget but you may want to ask for an additional 1GB RAM for 2 GB total, the downside is that this may likely cost an additional 100$.

[Spino]

The 8800s are from Nvidia. They came out a few weeks ago, and there are tons of reviews floating around.

If I were holding out, I would go with a 7900GS, which is supposed to be a fantastic $200 card, or see if I could find a ~$200 1900XT (although I've been told those are hard to find). I would hesitate to go much higher than $200 on the dollar scale, what with DX10 around the corner, and with the glowing reviews the 8800s have been getting for their performance in DX9 (several people have reported playable framerates in Oblivion at 1600x1200 with every option cranked up -- madness!).

Given the current high price of the 7900GTX, I would either fork over the dough for an 8800, or step back to a 7900GS and wait to see what the new year brings. Naturally, that's just one lemur's opinion.

So long as $200 is your price point I'd strongly recommend a X1950 Pro over the 7900GS anyday. The X1950 Pro is faster (especially in DX games) and possesses superior quality anti-aliasing & anti-anisotropic filtering. Up until the GF 8800 series Nvidia really couldn't match ATI in the image quality category.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

So long as $200 is your price point I'd strongly recommend a X1950 Pro over the 7900GS anyday

Isnt the x1950 300 bucks? And I was getting a 7950gt. Or should i go with the 7900gt or gs and wait for the new x10s to come out before getting a better card?

And which is the better of these two?

Geforce 7950 Gt Ko 512MB

Price: $274.99

ATI Radeon X1900GT 256MB Pcie

$299.99 $279.99

[edyzmedieval]

The 8800s are from Nvidia. They came out a few weeks ago, and there are tons of reviews floating around.

Given the current high price of the 7900GTX, I would either fork over the dough for an 8800, or step back to a 7900GS and wait to see what the new year brings. Naturally, that's just one lemur's opinion.

For the moment, I want a nice and clean update for my nice computer. So, I guess I'll be looking for a 7900GS and X1900XT. If not, I'll spend some serious dough on the 7900GTX, since it's the most powerful available.

[Geezer57]

Isnt the x1950 300 bucks?

NewEgg is listing the x1950 Pro at $199.00 + shipping (see here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102061).

And which is the better of these two?
Geforce 7950 Gt Ko 512MB - Price: $274.99
ATI Radeon X1900GT 256MB - Price: $299.99 $279.99

Stay away from the x1900GT - they're end-of-life and being replaced by the x1950 Pro. At better ATI alternative for the 7950GT would be the 256 meg version of the x1950XT (they're about $20 apart, with the x1950XT just slightly faster in most benchmarks). See the VGA charts over at Tom's Hardware (http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html) for a comparison.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

OK will this thing play games?

if your looking you probably know a little about computers .this also is great for upconverting regular dvd's thats 1 reason why 1 terabyte hd space . some people might think all you have to do is install a blu-ray drive in any system and start playing movies and games. not true most systems only allows you to record and play your homemade hd videos on computer .the system has very specific hardware and software . we have taken the time and patience configuring hardware and software for your entertainment.also made an image backup on dvd for easy system restore in case of emergency . this system has been carefully engineered to exceed the requirements to play high definition blu-ray movies . designed for people who enjoy the latest in technology .not sold in stores be the first to experience the quality of 1080p high definition movies now! we use all brand name parts with manufacture warranties every part is tested using 72hrs stress test software and will not use unless 100% perfect test results. recordable Blu-ray Disc drive that can record up to 50GB of HD content to a single disc.and play movies up to 1080p . System Configuration: Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (Dual Core) 1066FSB CPU Fan:Intel Heavy Duty Cooling Fan With Heat Sink Motherboard: ASRock ConRoe XFire Memory:2GB 667DDR2 memory) PCI-E:two 16x PCI Express Slots with one geforce 7950gx2 1gb ram , SATA:with 4x250gb SATA2 wd se16 drives= 1 terabyte Case:alienware workstation Black Mid Tower Power Supply: ocz700W ATX power supply mirosoft 3000 keyboard and mouse with cyberacoustic speakers and black 19" widescreen compatiable to play 1920x1080 highdef video or games Everything has been configured and ready to plug to play blu-ray high definition movies or hd games with microsofts xp media center edition OS and blu-ray player software also included 10 blu-ray movies of your choice from my list of movies .please email with any questions .

[Husar]

It will, but it's a weird system, the mainboard is an AsRock which is comparatively cheap and not necessarily the best choice if you have enough money for the rest of those components.

If that is an ebay offer as I guess, I would not buy it. It may be a great system, but if you have limited money and it is not, then you may end up with no money and a malfunctioning system. I'd rather pay more than take the risk to end up with nothing.

On a sidenote, aren't those bluray disc players/burners insanely expensive?
I cannot imagine that fitting into the budget you mentioned Gawain.

Then again, maybe I'm too careful, but I have to be since buying something wrong would mean no new part for some time in my case.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

If that is an ebay offer as I guess, I would not buy it. It may be a great system, but if you have limited money and it is not, then you may end up with no money and a malfunctioning system. I'd rather pay more than take the risk to end up with nothing.

On a sidenote, aren't those bluray disc players/burners insanely expensive?
I cannot imagine that fitting into the budget you mentioned Gawain.

Yes it is on ebay and Im high bidder at 1025. I figured at that price even if its not perfect the pieces should be worth more than that and I could configure a pretty good pc out of it.

Man look at this sucker

So, what's special about this monster? 3.0 GHz Core 2 Duo. That's pretty special. Price yourself out a Core 2 Extreme X6800 from Intel for over $1000 for just the CPU! Those run at less then 3.0 GHz, have the same amount of cache and cost more then twice as much as our E6600 overclocked to 3.0GHz! Incredible! What else? How about 512MB of Graphics Memory supporting ATI's extreme Radeon X1900XT! Churn through games like butter with this beast! Not to mention the whole system is backed by screaming PC6400 2GB DDR2 memory and a 500GB 16MB Cache SATA II Hard Disk Drive! This machine is a beast, make no mistake! Not enough? Contact us about upgrading any component!

CORE SYSTEM FEATURES

Chassis / Case: Antec P180 - Silver (black available upon request no charge!) ATX Case, 3x 120MM Cooling, Front Audio/USB/FireWire, SILENT
Power Supply Unit (PSU): 550W Antec Neo HE ATX 24-PIN Power Supply Unit - Silent Cooling, Quad +12v Line
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 Motherboard - Intel 965P, 8 Chan. Audio, Gigabit LAN
CPU / Processor: Handpicked Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo - 2.4 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, Conroe, Socket 775 Overclocked @ 3.0 GHz
CPU Cooling Device: Artic Cooling Freezer Pro - Silent, 92MM High End cooling to keep things chilled!
RAM / System Memory: 2x1GB (2GB) PC6400 (DDR2 800 MHz) System Memory / RAM

VIDEO CARD / GRAPHICS SYSTEM

Video Card: ATI Radeon X1900XT 512MB Gaming Graphics Card PCI-Express X16 - NVIDIA 8800 GTS/GTX Available NOW! Contact us!

I/O SYSTEM DRIVES

Hard Disk (1): 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA II HDD - 7,200 RPM, 16MB Cache, Perpendicular Recording
Optical Drive (1): 18x DVD+/-RW DVD Burner w/ Dual Layer and DVD-RAM Support (Burn Music, Videos, and more!)
Sound Card: 8-Channel High Definition Audio
LAN / Ethernet Card: 10/100/1000 LAN / Ethernet

Gah . Its 200 bucks over budget and doesnt have a monitor.

Is it worth it? Should I save a bit more?

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Well I bought the game today. Now all I need is a PC to play it on :o

Well I think Ive decided on one. This one goes on sale tommorow at compusa.

Intel Viiv Technology, Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400, 2.13GHz, 2GB RAM, 500GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD+/-RW and 16X DVD Drives, Windows XP Media Center 2005

Also which is better or this game a widescreen or regular monitor?

The sale is for 1199 and includes a 19" LCD widescreen monitor. I hope this can handle the game at max. My only worry is the GeForce 7300LE . They say it will work fine. But they have a 7900gt overclocked to 600mz for 199 and I might add that if I can talk them into giving to me :D Well a freind of mine used to work there and she says she can get one of the salesman to give up some of his commision and save me a hundred or two or throw in the the vid card. What do you think of this?

[Pindar]

Hmmm, seems there are people to speak to about new gaming computers.

I went to a local Best Buy and a fellow was recomending the following:

Hewlet-Packard AMD Athoon 64 X2 Dual core processor 3800

1024MB DDR2 memeory
200GB serial ATA Hard Drive
DVD CD lightscribe tehcnology (I don't know what this is)
Microsoft windows XP media center edition (2005 software)
Micorsoft Vista ready

The fellow then recommended either a

7900 series PCI-E or
X1900 series video card

Do those in the know think this is a good gaming computer? Good would mean properly powerful and duly upgradable.

[doc_bean]

Hmmm, seems there are people to speak to about new gaming computers.

I went to a local Best Buy and a fellow was recomending the following:

Hewlet-Packard AMD Athoon 64 X2 Dual core processor 3800

1024MB DDR2 memeory
200GB serial ATA Hard Drive
DVD CD lightscribe tehcnology (I don't know what this is)
Microsoft windows XP media center edition (2005 software)
Micorsoft Vista ready

The fellow then recommended either a

7900 series PCI-E or
X1900 series video card

Do those in the know think this is a good gaming computer? Good would mean properly powerful and duly upgradable.

It's a "mid-range" machine I'd say. I don't know what they're asking for it so it might still be a decent deal (should be under $1000). Some comments though:

-Intel Core Duo processors are (far ?) better than the current AMD ones
-1GB ram is sufficient, but expect to upgrade in the near future, make sure the motherboard allows more RAM to be fitted in.
-XP media center is incompatible with some games, try to exchange it for the Home edition (or Pro, but that's more expensive)
-video cards are nice, but as you may have noticed from reading the thread, there's a lot of performance difference even within a series
-Check how powerful the PSU is, 450W is the minimum you should except.

[Lemur]

My only worry is the GeForce 7300LE . They say it will work fine. But they have a 7900gt overclocked to 600mz for 199 and I might add that if I can talk them into giving to me :D Well a freind of mine used to work there and she says she can get one of the salesman to give up some of his commision and save me a hundred or two or throw in the the vid card. What do you think of this?

You are 100% right to be worried about the 7300LE. It might run the game, but it's not going to let you turn on all of the eye candy, that's for sure.

I really don't think anyone should be putting together a rig right now with anything less than a 7900-class or 1900-class video card. Remember, most games are limited by the video card, not the processor.

Gawain, do what you have to do, kill whomever you have to, but avoid going with a gimped video card.

Do those in the know think this is a good gaming computer? Good would mean properly powerful and duly upgradable.

The fellow is correct about the class of video card. And Doc_Bean is right about both memory and CPU; the ones you were shown at Best Buy were fine, but for not a lot of money you can have better gaming-goodness protection. One gig of RAM is the new minimum wage; 2 gigs is likely to be helpful for a number of games. AMD64 is a very good CPU, but the Core2Duo is more for less.

[Pindar]

Thanks doc-bean and Lemur. Your insights are very helpful.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

I really don't think anyone should be putting together a rig right now with anything less than a 7900-class or 1900-class video card. Remember, most games are limited by the video card, not the processor.

Like I said I plan on going with the 7900gt overclocked. But again is this game better with a widescreen or a regular monitor?

[Lemur]

If we've been helpful, then it's our pleasure to serve, Pindar.

Gawain, M2TW supports widescreen, and everybody who I know who's gone with widescreen loves it. Furthermore, any game that sports the "Games for Windows" logo will have to support widescreen. So it sure looks as though the time for widescreen gaming has finally come.

So yeah, go wide if you can. I'm going to replace my CRT monitor this year, and I just may go for a widebody myself.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Thanks for all the help people. Ill see you all soon who play mp. Im still high bidder on that Blu Ray system. My high bid is 1300. I pmd the guy and asked if it would play MTW2 at max. He said easy as it has twin 7950gts but he expects to get over 2500 for it. 5 hrs to go.

[Husar]

I agree with the Lemur and the doc and with a 7900GT or 7950GT Gawain's system could serve as a role model for a decent, capable gaming system that does not cost too much.
Just my opinion of course.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Well Ive changed my mind again I bought my pc today at a local pc place Ive been dealing with for about 10 years. Now all I have to do is wait for them to build it. They said I should have it by thursday.

I wound up getting a core 2 duo 6400 with azusus motherboard, 2 gb of ram, 250 gb sata2 hd, 500 watt power supply, azusus GeForce 7950gt512mb vid card, 19" acer lcd widescreen monitor with 1440x900 resolution and 5 fms , keyboard and mouse etc for 1450 tax included. I think this baby should do the trick. I just hope I made the right choice.

[Husar]

Well Ive changed my mind again I bought my pc today at a local pc place Ive been dealing with for about 10 years. Now all I have to do is wait for them to build it. They said I should have it by thursday.

I wound up getting a core 2 duo 6400 with azusus motherboard, 2 gb of ram, 250 gb sata2 hd, 500 watt power supply, azusus GeForce 7950gt512mb vid card, 19" acer lcd widescreen monitor with 1440x900 resolution and 5 fms , keyboard and mouse etc for 1450 tax included. I think this baby should do the trick. I just hope I made the right choice.

Well, the system is most likely a good choice and while I thought at first that it was a bit overpriced, I now see you also got a monitor so it actually sounds rather cheap.