| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Tathen
Joined: 10 Sep 2007
|
 Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:26 pm Post subject: Gaming Computer Advice? |
 |
|
Hey guys, I finally got an account here. I've been lurking the board for about a year, and after seeing all the good computer advice being passed around these forums I finally decided to make a post.
I'm looking to buy a fairly decent gaming system. I'd prefer to spend around 1,000,000won, but could go up to 1,500,000won if it will make a huge difference. I already have a monitor (19inch LG LCD), keyboard, mouse, sound system (headphones).
So basically, I'm very out of date with my hardware knowledge upon moving to Korea around a year and a half ago. I bought a dell XPS a year ago, and it basically sucks despite paying for a few upgrades (not to mention my fan just died recently....argh...). Anyway, I've been really wanting to get back into gaming. BF 2142 in particular really catches my interest.
So, what CPU should I be looking at, along with how much ram (2gigs will do it, or would 4gigs make my life better?). As well, I've been advised by my fairly hardcore gaming friends back home that 512mb video cards are fairly standard now, so what card should I be look at in my price range?
I don't think I need a huge hard-drive, probably 300gigs would do the trick, though if the price difference isn't huge for more, I'd consider that too.
I plan on playing games like SPORE, 2worlds, the BF series, CS:S, and so on. Any advice on what system I should be looking at, as well as WHERE I can go about getting it would be great. Oh, and I'm assuming I should stay away from Windows VISTA, correct?
~Tathen
P.S. Anyone play any MMORPGs here in Korea? I use to play WoW on the North American servers quite a bit, but once I came to Korea the timezone difference cut me off from my friends. Not to mention I'm fairly picky when it comes to pings. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
chevro1et
Joined: 01 Feb 2007
Location: Busan, ROK
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2007 8:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I would be inclined to purchase an Intel Core 2 Duo (e6750 is a pretty decent processor) or an Intel quad core (q6600 is damn nice). As for motherboard, something with the P35 chipset (Asus p5k series/ Abit IP35 series/ Gigabyte p35 ds3 series). 2 gigs of ram (2x1 gig set) ddr2 6400 should be sufficient, might wanna consider 4 gigs of ram if you are gonna run Vista and the budget can handle it. As for video card, really tough to beat the bang-for-buck value of the nvidia 8800gts 320mb (no need for the 640mb version unless you are pushing high screen resolutions like 1900x1200). Fill in the blanks with whatever you can find. Try to find a 500W power supply with 30 amps on the 12v rail, or something close to that... the power supply is the heart of your system, don't skimp here.
Are you looking to overclock your system at all? I have no idea about availability of decent high-end air cooling here in Korea for overclocking... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tathen
Joined: 10 Sep 2007
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:53 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for the replies,
Not looking to overclock at all. Just need a high end gaming system capable of playing all the current games at the highest settings (and than some)
As for VISTA, I've been advised not to go near it due to software compatability issues. However, I imagine all new games are outfitted for it, and isn't the newest directx only available on it which has a lot of perks for games on new video cards? It's a temptation, I just wonder how many negative side-effects I'll suffer due to it. Obviously they would diminish in time, so I guess I'll check to see compatibility on all the specific games I know I'll be playing right off the bat, and won't have to worry about newer games (correct?).
Anyway, I won't be buying for another month, but I'll be sure to post the specs of any systems I am considering on here before I go ahead and make the purchase.
~Tathen |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 5:41 am Post subject: |
|
|
The system that spliff mentioned above is the one I just built. I have an Nvida GT7600 video card and paid 1 mil for the whole shooting match.
You can trim a few bucks off by going to an E6750 and NOT see any difference in performance. Put the money into an upgraded video card.
If you are NOT going with a 64bit system (vista 64 or XP64) then you only need 2 gigs of RAM. 32 bit windows won't see and can't use more than about 3 gigs and the systems like RAM in pairs so... 2 gigs... |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tathen
Joined: 10 Sep 2007
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:04 am Post subject: |
|
|
How much are each of those 500gig hard-drives? I don't need 4 that's for sure. Just trying to get my head around the prices here. I'd rather invest my money into a highend video card as opposed to hard drive space that I can't imagine needing.
None of you guys have really out-right told me to stay away from VISTA. Any gamers here on that OS and finding it good/bad?
~Tathen |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:13 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Tathen wrote: |
How much are each of those 500gig hard-drives? I don't need 4 that's for sure. Just trying to get my head around the prices here. I'd rather invest my money into a highend video card as opposed to hard drive space that I can't imagine needing.
None of you guys have really out-right told me to stay away from VISTA. Any gamers here on that OS and finding it good/bad?
~Tathen |
500 gig HDDs are about 100k each. New games chew through a ton of HDD space and a game machine will last a while so I wouldn't go much lower than 500.
Vista doesn't work well with some games (it's not as backward compatable as people think it should be) AND it has problems with older hardware and assorted peripheral devices - like printers, scanners, web-cams, etc. (no drivers for them)
I loaded it for a short time and then switched back to XP. I got tired of fighting with it. I'll wait for SP1 or SP2 to come out before I switch back to Vista.
It's not like the CD will go bad in the meantime. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tathen
Joined: 10 Sep 2007
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 7:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
Thanks for the solid advice.
As for hard-drives. Like I said I've been out of the serious hard-drive game for a while now, and I was wondering about RPM speeds. Those hard-drives mentioned are what RPM? What RPM should I aim for, or are things quite standardized in that field now, that it isn't really anything to be concerned over?
I'm pretty set on getting my dream-system here, just making sure I check out every avenue 
~Tathen |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 1:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| 7200 |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
kprrok
Joined: 06 Apr 2004
Location: KC
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 2:52 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I'm building a new computer in about 4 months and my plan is to get a 150GB Raptor (10,000 RPM) SATA drive for my OS and my programs. Then I'll have dual 500s for data storage.
Most desktop hard drives are 7200 RPM. Make sure you get SATA and not PATA.
KPRROK |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Tathen
Joined: 10 Sep 2007
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Isn't that video card only a 256mb card? Also I'd probably want 4gigs of ram considering the price.
139$ for WinXP? *cough*.... I'd rather invest that cost into more ram +video card speed |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
spliff
Joined: 19 Jan 2004
Location: Khon Kaen, Thailand
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:06 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Typo on the HDD...CL? 
Go w/ the 150GB Raptor (10,000 RPM) SATA drive as mentioned above, as well |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mrsquirrel
Joined: 13 Dec 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:13 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| When are you going to build your gaming rig Spliff? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
cubanlord
Joined: 08 Jul 2005
Location: In Japan!
|
| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2007 6:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Tathen wrote: |
Isn't that video card only a 256mb card? Also I'd probably want 4gigs of ram considering the price.
139$ for WinXP? *cough*.... I'd rather invest that cost into more ram +video card speed |
the ram is 512 (let me check) But yes, you want no less than 512 on that bideo card. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
