Is this a fair gaming comp?

2006-05-27 15:24:25

#1

Gam Man: Member; +5|7019

Hey all, I have good old rusty for a comp right now, and it runs all of BF2 settings on low, so I thought I needed an upgrade.

I am a complete noob to computers so I wanted a lot of feedback, my goal is the best computer for under $1K.

Processor:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor
$186.99

Ram:
2x CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory
$41.99 x 2 = $83.98

Video:
2x 3D Fuzion Geforce 7600GT 3DFR76256GTE Video Card
$169.99 x 2 = $339.98

Case:
SI-1 ATX Mid-Tower Case, Silver, 400 Watt Power Supply
$24.99

Motherboard:
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
$158.99

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 120GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$71.99

Operating System:
Windows XP Home SP2
$200.00

Total: $1057.92

I have an X-Fi and WAN card im gonna stick in there.

Well?

Last edited by Gam Man (2006-05-27 15:25:55)

2006-05-27 15:27:44

#2

TriggerHappy998: just nothing; +387|7139|-

You might want to up your RAM to 2 GB and get a slightly larger power supply, maybe 450 Watts. Otherwise everything looks good

2006-05-27 15:31:05

#3

Gam Man: Member; +5|7019

Quick question:

About ram: Does the 512 mb in the video cards take away from what would be used for video in sys ram?

Do I really need two video cards, or can I get similar performance from a single, better, card?

2006-05-27 15:34:19

#4

TriggerHappy998: just nothing; +387|7139|-

I don't believe so, no.

And no you really don't need two video cards. I would actually suggest getting one 7800 GTX instead of two 7600 GT's. It probably costs the same if not less, and will give you better graphics and FPS.

2006-05-27 16:24:42

#5

Gam Man: Member; +5|7019

TriggerHappy998 wrote:
I don't believe so, no.

And no you really don't need two video cards. I would actually suggest getting one 7800 GTX instead of two 7600 GT's. It probably costs the same if not less, and will give you better graphics and FPS.

Thanks, that helps a lot, I haven't really be able to find any information about the possible performance gains.

2006-05-27 16:40:39

#6

Snipedya14: Dont tread on me; +77|6987|Mountains of West Virginia

Some cards do pull from system RAM, They often use the term Hypermemory or Turbo Cache (Ati/Nvidia Respectively)

But as trigger said, that card does not.

Overall that system looks good. But:

Please get a Decent Power Supply. Most PSUs that come with cases are shit. And you have relatively power hungry components.

2006-05-27 17:28:37

#7

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6859|NYC / Hamburg

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wi … tle=Morbid
this is what you get for roughly same price but: 2 gigs ram (must for BF2), dual core processor (future proof), 7900gt (better than 7600gt in SLI), great oc-ability (you'll want it later on - trust me)
and this would be what i would recommend any bf2 pc to have today
the list was put together by janus67 and me for another guy.

And yes: SLI only makes sort of sense if you are running insane resolutions (we are taking 50'' screen here)

EDIT: !!!!!!! the ASUS A8N-SLI seem to have many problems; stay away from them!!!!!!!

Last edited by max (2006-05-27 17:30:29)

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2006-05-27 17:33:30

#8

ilyandor: Member; +31|6980|Phoenix, AZ

get dual xeons processors. that way, no matter what happens, your

A
L
L

G
O
O
D
.
.
.

2006-05-27 17:37:02

#9

Static-nl: Member; +14|6848

the parts u picked arent that power hungry a decent 400 watt PSU form an A-brand should be more then enough for that PC.
Seeing that case costs 24 dollars i doubt the PSU is of good quality.

But as others said dont buy 2 7600Gts for SLI.
in alot fo games the performence boost form 2 7600GTs in SLi above a single one is very small.
That and the price of 2 of these dont justify the performence.

For that cash u should be able to buy a 7900GT wich will b a good bit faster.

maybe ud also want 2GB of ram cause with that CPu and a 7900 as grafix card that 1GB of ram will hold you back in performence in some games.

If 2Gb is outside ur budget get 1 1Gb stick and add a 2nd 1GB stick later on.

the mobo u slected is ok if u get the newest bios etc.
The mobo can be a pain tho when u want to overclock.
For stabability i usually prefer MSI.

Last edited by Static-nl (2006-05-27 17:39:16)

2006-05-27 17:40:54

#10

SargeJp: Member; +87|7041|Canada

Ram:
2x CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory
$41.99 x 2 = $83.98

Sounds cool, I would upgrade to 2 Gb for the future games. Also if you will do some virtual PC in the future.

Video:
2x 3D Fuzion Geforce 7600GT 3DFR76256GTE Video Card
$169.99 x 2 = $339.98

I would recommend to get a Geforce 7800 GTX too.

Case:
SI-1 ATX Mid-Tower Case, Silver, 400 Watt Power Supply
$24.99

400 watt I think it's enough.

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 120GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$71.99

Maybe get a bigger hard drive like 160- 200 Go and I don't recommend SATA because it doesn't worths it. IDE still do a great job but if you have a nice price for a SATA then go for it.

Operating System:
Windows XP Home SP2
$200.00

what the hell? this is really expensive. The home edition starts at 90 $ at some stores...

2006-05-27 17:41:19

#11

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6859|NYC / Hamburg

ilyandor wrote:
get dual xeons processors. that way, no matter what happens, your

A
L
L

G
O
O
D
.
.
.

what are you smoking??? I hope that was a joke

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2006-05-27 17:42:19

#12

SargeJp: Member; +87|7041|Canada

max wrote:
https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wi … tle=Morbid
this is what you get for roughly same price but: 2 gigs ram (must for BF2)

Most for Bf2? BF2 runs about 600-700 MB of RAM...

Last edited by SargeJp (2006-05-27 17:50:38)

2006-05-27 17:54:35

#13

ilyandor: Member; +31|6980|Phoenix, AZ

max wrote:
ilyandor wrote:
get dual xeons processors. that way, no matter what happens, your

A
L
L

G
O
O
D
.
.
.
what are you smoking??? I hope that was a joke

cigarettes, menthols.

and any benchmark test you wanna give me i'll be on the top 1-2 spots, just try.
you must be a deceived AMD-lover.
like the people who think MACs are still better for design. lol.

tell me the reason why i run everything HIGH setting, 1280 res AND ONLY HAVE A ATI FIREGL V1300 128Mb card...and 1 GIG RAM...its the xeons...running on 3's...

2006-05-27 18:07:00

#14

Gam Man: Member; +5|7019

Ok...i have completely redone the specs:

ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$108.99

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail
$99.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3808110AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$50.99

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2 - Retail
$188.00

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM
$89.99

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3500CGBOX - Retail
$185.99

eVGA 256-P2-N563-AX Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$274.99

-$20.00 for combos

I have an 80gb drive now, and im doing fine...

Last edited by Gam Man (2006-05-27 18:28:36)

2006-05-27 18:30:34

#15

SargeJp: Member; +87|7041|Canada

Everything looks awesome except one thing : get a bigger hard drive.. 80 is not enough

2006-05-27 18:35:36

#16

Gam Man: Member; +5|7019

SargeJp wrote:
Everything looks awesome except one thing : get a bigger hard drive.. 80 is not enough

Western Digital or Seagate?

What is a good CPU cooler?

2006-05-27 19:04:30

#17

Breadman: Member; +27|7025|Southern New Jersey

just buy 2 of those seagate 80 gig hd's. And set them up in Raid 0 array.I have 2 160 gig seagate barracuda sata HDs. Set them up in a raid 0 arry.

2006-05-27 19:11:19

#18

TriggerHappy998: just nothing; +387|7139|-

Gam Man wrote:
Ok...i have completely redone the specs:

ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$108.99

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail
$99.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3808110AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$50.99

CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model Twinx2048-3200c2 - Retail
$188.00

Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 - OEM
$89.99

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice 2000MHz HT Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3500CGBOX - Retail
$185.99

eVGA 256-P2-N563-AX Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
$274.99

-$20.00 for combos

I have an 80gb drive now, and im doing fine...

Very nice. I have an 80 GB hard drive myself, nothing wrong with it, have plenty of free space.

2006-05-27 23:45:53

#19

unnamednewbie13: Moderator; +2,058|7063|PNW

Drop the two 7600's for a single 7900GT, and get 2x1GB memory modules from Corsair or OCZ. Recommended latencies: 2-3-2-5 to 2-3-3-6. A 3700+ isn't much more expensive.

http://forums.bf2s.com/viewtopic.php?pid=305152#p305152

2006-05-28 00:50:37

#20

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|7008

TriggerHappy998 wrote:
I don't believe so, no.

And no you really don't need two video cards. I would actually suggest getting one 7800 GTX instead of two 7600 GT's. It probably costs the same if not less, and will give you better graphics and FPS.

7800gtx's arnt for sale anymore and are overpriced...

get a 7900gt, which is cheaper and better than the 7800gtx.

i wouldnt get value ram, get XMS series or OCZ platnum or sumthing, just not value, u will regret after a while

https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png

2006-05-28 01:34:25

#21

.ACB|_Cutthroat1: No place like 127.0.0.1; +76|6987|Gold Coast,QLD,Australia

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
TriggerHappy998 wrote:
I don't believe so, no.

And no you really don't need two video cards. I would actually suggest getting one 7800 GTX instead of two 7600 GT's. It probably costs the same if not less, and will give you better graphics and FPS.
7800gtx's arnt for sale anymore and are overpriced...

get a 7900gt, which is cheaper and better than the 7800gtx.

i wouldnt get value ram, get XMS series or OCZ platnum or sumthing, just not value, u will regret after a while

The corsair value ram is great, if your not looking to do some h412dc0123 0c'1n9

2006-05-28 01:37:47

#22

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|7008

.ACB|_Cutthroat1 wrote:
cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
TriggerHappy998 wrote:
I don't believe so, no.

And no you really don't need two video cards. I would actually suggest getting one 7800 GTX instead of two 7600 GT's. It probably costs the same if not less, and will give you better graphics and FPS.
7800gtx's arnt for sale anymore and are overpriced...

get a 7900gt, which is cheaper and better than the 7800gtx.

i wouldnt get value ram, get XMS series or OCZ platnum or sumthing, just not value, u will regret after a while
The corsair value ram is great, if your not looking to do some h412dc0123 0c'1n9

well yeah, only if dont do h4rdc0r3 0c1n9... but i would get AM2 rather than socket 939

2006-05-28 04:10:02

#23

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6859|NYC / Hamburg

ilyandor wrote:
max wrote:
ilyandor wrote:
get dual xeons processors. that way, no matter what happens, your

A
L
L

G
O
O
D
.
.
.
what are you smoking??? I hope that was a joke
cigarettes, menthols.

and any benchmark test you wanna give me i'll be on the top 1-2 spots, just try.
you must be a deceived AMD-lover.
like the people who think MACs are still better for design. lol.

tell me the reason why i run everything HIGH setting, 1280 res AND ONLY HAVE A ATI FIREGL V1300 128Mb card...and 1 GIG RAM...its the xeons...running on 3's...

Well Bf2 is single threaded so i can only utilize 1 of your xenons. Furthermore they communicate via an 800MHz bus which is really slow in comparison to 1000 x2 (back and fortch at 1000) the AMD have. With Conroe/woodcrest this may change. I'm not an AMD fanboy. I just stick with what is best.

Also: this is a server you have there. Its not meant for playing games (client).

About running on everything on high: i dont know about the V1300, but if they compare to roughly a 6600 or similar running on high is possible (but at bad fps).
About 2 gigs of ram. Sure you can run with just 1 gig but 2 gigs really help since you dont need to access the pagefile.

About Macs: i dont like them; design so what; i can make a stylish pc if i wanted. Also they are way underpowered.

Last edited by max (2006-05-28 04:15:16)

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2006-05-28 04:19:14

#24

max: Vela Incident; +1,652|6859|NYC / Hamburg

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
.ACB|_Cutthroat1 wrote:
cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
7800gtx's arnt for sale anymore and are overpriced...

get a 7900gt, which is cheaper and better than the 7800gtx.

i wouldnt get value ram, get XMS series or OCZ platnum or sumthing, just not value, u will regret after a while
The corsair value ram is great, if your not looking to do some h412dc0123 0c'1n9
well yeah, only if dont do h4rdc0r3 0c1n9... but i would get AM2 rather than socket 939

I would stick with 939. AM2 is still rev. 1 and therfore will have some bugs. Its always like that. Also furture upgradeability is no use. By the time you want to upgrade, there will be some sort of new frature that you defenetely want (SATA III; HTT 3, whatever), forcing you to buy a new mobo with a new CPU. Or if you upgrade the gfx, what difference does the socket make

Last edited by max (2006-05-28 04:19:39)

_{once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.}

2006-05-28 05:17:09

#25

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|7008

max wrote:
cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
.ACB|_Cutthroat1 wrote:

The corsair value ram is great, if your not looking to do some h412dc0123 0c'1n9
well yeah, only if dont do h4rdc0r3 0c1n9... but i would get AM2 rather than socket 939
I would stick with 939. AM2 is still rev. 1 and therfore will have some bugs. Its always like that. Also furture upgradeability is no use. By the time you want to upgrade, there will be some sort of new frature that you defenetely want (SATA III; HTT 3, whatever), forcing you to buy a new mobo with a new CPU. Or if you upgrade the gfx, what difference does the socket make

am2 is said to have future support for K8l.

there will be no such thing as sata 3, it will be called sumthing else. hell theres even no sata 2, its just sata 300mb thats all.

BF2S Forums Is this a fair gaming comp?

TriggerHappy998 wrote:

ilyandor wrote:

max wrote:

max wrote:

ilyandor wrote:

SargeJp wrote:

Gam Man wrote:

TriggerHappy998 wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

TriggerHappy998 wrote:

.ACB|_Cutthroat1 wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

TriggerHappy998 wrote:

ilyandor wrote:

max wrote:

ilyandor wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

.ACB|_Cutthroat1 wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

max wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

.ACB|_Cutthroat1 wrote:

Board footer