Alright guys, 2009 will be pretty hardcore gaming with one of my favorite games Dawn of War 2 coming out. It will require a extreme gaming rig so, i guess its time to buy a new computer. I am pretty much looking at a 900-600 range, 1.8 GHz+, 2GB Memory and maybe a decent video card. Any help would be much appreciated.
Computer Help
- Thread starter SweetKinG
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1.8 GHz? That's a bit weak don't you think? I'd recommend at LEAST 2.6 GHz quad core or a 3.2 GHz dual core. Also, look into the nVidia 9800 GTX+. I only know about nVidia cards...if anyone knows ATI, feel free to come in. Hmm...a 680i nForce motherboard would do you pretty well. How do you want your case to look?
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Ungh, GTX+. Hooray for an extra 30odd SPs unlocked...go Nvidia. That's not directed at anyone other than them
If you're just gaming, an E8400 will be fine for another year I predict. A quad would only be good for enlarging your...well...you know.
A 4870 would be good for another year I would assume. Unless you're benchmarking, it'll max out just about anything below a 22" res. Worst case, just nab another one in crossfire...provided that you got a crossfire motherboard.
~Gooda~
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Oh, how I want to suggest you wait for the series after the i7's.
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Those are god awesome expensive though. He wont be able to get the CPU/mobo/RAM even for under $1000.
~Gooda~
~Gooda~
If you're even a little tech savvy, I'd say go with a cheaper/lower powered Intel Core 2 Duo. They overclock like crazy. I went from 2.5 GHz to 3.6... ON AIR. Just a cheapo aftermarket cooling and I was in business.
As for the video card, I'd recommend an ATI card. I've worked with both nVidia and ATI, and I can say without a doubt that ATI dominates the graphics industry, as far as performance for price goes. Set yourself up with a Radeon 4850 or a 4870 and you'll be fairly set for a while.
You should be able to accomplish the above on your $900 budget, if you build it. For that money, you can build a fairly impressive gaming rig.
As for the video card, I'd recommend an ATI card. I've worked with both nVidia and ATI, and I can say without a doubt that ATI dominates the graphics industry, as far as performance for price goes. Set yourself up with a Radeon 4850 or a 4870 and you'll be fairly set for a while.
You should be able to accomplish the above on your $900 budget, if you build it. For that money, you can build a fairly impressive gaming rig.
Ok, go with a ~2.6-3.0 Ghz Intel Core 2 Dual Core CPU. For budget gaming, a quad simply isn't a good option at this point. 2.66Ghz can be had for $130.
Video cards... ATI has a slight lead now in higher end performace/$, but its more or less even in the budget area. Go with a 9600GT or if you really want an ATI, a 3870 or a 4670 (haven't heard much about this one though). About $80.
2Gb of DDR2-800 ram... about $50. (G.SKILL has worked for me well)
Socket 775 motherboard... ~$130-140. I agree that a 680i is a good choice (Make sure you get a good quality one)
Case: any good midtower ATX will do ~$75
PSU, get a good (Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, OCZ) PSU of about 500-600W. ~$70.
Hard drive: this one has served me well, 640Gb, $75,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
DVD drive $30.
Windows (*#$%$&@) ~$100
All that comes out to $745, so with any new monitor, speakers, keyboard etc (and anything I forgot to put on the list) you should come in around budget.
This all assumes you're into building computers. (Its the way to go man, you can do eet!)
This should run Orange Box at near max. And if you want to do better than that, you'll need more moneys.
Video cards... ATI has a slight lead now in higher end performace/$, but its more or less even in the budget area. Go with a 9600GT or if you really want an ATI, a 3870 or a 4670 (haven't heard much about this one though). About $80.
2Gb of DDR2-800 ram... about $50. (G.SKILL has worked for me well)
Socket 775 motherboard... ~$130-140. I agree that a 680i is a good choice (Make sure you get a good quality one)
Case: any good midtower ATX will do ~$75
PSU, get a good (Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, OCZ) PSU of about 500-600W. ~$70.
Hard drive: this one has served me well, 640Gb, $75,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218
DVD drive $30.
Windows (*#$%$&@) ~$100
All that comes out to $745, so with any new monitor, speakers, keyboard etc (and anything I forgot to put on the list) you should come in around budget.
This all assumes you're into building computers. (Its the way to go man, you can do eet!)
This should run Orange Box at near max. And if you want to do better than that, you'll need more moneys.
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Sounds good to me, except that he's using an Nvidia board with an ATi card...he'll be screwed if he wants to go Crossfire.
Intel boards also OC much better than Nvidia chipsets. Just FYI.
~Gooda~
Well, I was recommending the 9600GT so the 680i would work fine for that, but yes, go with a Crossfire board if you want the ATI card. X38 and P35 are good budgetesque chipsets.
Yes, my intel X38 overclocked much more easily, but my 780i, after hours of work, has OC'd higher than the X38.
If you do go dual cards, imho, performance is not terribly different between ATI and Nvidia, but ATI's CrossfireX drivers support dual monitors. SLI does not.
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Well, I was recommending the 9600GT so the 680i would work fine for that, but yes, go with a Crossfire board if you want the ATI card. X38 and P35 are good budgetesque chipsets.
Yes, my intel X38 overclocked much more easily, but my 780i, after hours of work, has OC'd higher than the X38.
If you do go dual cards, imho, performance is not terribly different between ATI and Nvidia, but ATI's CrossfireX drivers support dual monitors. SLI does not.
Yea, I was just adding that in. Not dissing your build/board
Crossfire scales better (apparently), and like Atten said, supports dual monitors in Crossfire mode. You need to disable SLI with Nvidia cards to use multiple monitors.
~Gooda~
Yea, I was just adding that in. Not dissing your build/board
Crossfire scales better (apparently), and like Atten said, supports dual monitors in Crossfire mode. You need to disable SLI with Nvidia cards to use multiple monitors.
~Gooda~
Moral of the story? Buy a single video card for twice the price of the card you'd be SLIing or Crossfiring, if there is such a card for sale
That way all this complicated stuff goes away. [Until you want to buy a second really expensive card 
]
