Buying a new computer... any suggestions?
By
Human_Being,
Posted on: 2010-01-07 11:39 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
Quote:
The nForce 7xx chipsets were supposed to have HD corruption issues of some sort. I don't know whether they ever fixed the issue in BIOS, but Nvidia no longer makes them. I don't see another motherboard option on their website either. I tried poking around to see if they had another motherboard option in one of their other lines, but the only one I found was an even older G41/ICH7 board in their dual core configurator. That makes me think they aren't buying Socket 775 boards anymore and are just offering what they have in stock that didn't sell before.|
Originally Posted by OmegaElementress
Motherboard [SLI] ASUS P5N-D -- Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB - EPU Technology
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| Power Supply 700 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready |
The ATI 5770 will give you full settings in CoX currently, and is likely to give you Ultra Mode in GR at *some* resolution. The 5770 is roughly equivalent to the (more expensive) GTX 260, which is in the middle of Positron's spectrum from the Ultra Mode Shopping Guide thread.
Piddling around on their site attempting to find a different motherboard, I found that you could get a $971 i5-750 based system with much the same components:
Case ( NZXT Lexa Blackline Gaming Tower Case - w/ Blue Light )
Processor ( Intel® Core i5 750 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Processor Cooling ( [Free Upgrade] Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 120mm Radiator [SOCKET-1156] )
Memory ( 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand )
Video Card ( ATI Radeon HD 5770 - 1GB - Single Card )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA )
Motherboard ( ASUS P7P55D LE -- Intel P55 Chipset CrossFire Supported w/7.1 Sound, Dual-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, Dual PCI-Ex16 MB )
Power Supply ( 550 Watt -- Power Supply )
Primary Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
Optical Drive ( 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
2nd Optical Drive ( None )
Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit )
Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
That's $83 over your stated budget, but the i5-750 is a noticeable upgrade from the older chips and would give you a current-design motherboard and RAM rather than one that uses a socket type that isn't developed-for any longer. You might try looking in that configurator to see if there's something you like better than what you have ordered now.
I was also concerned about the motherboard but couldn't seem to get what I wanted on any of the other configurators without going over my budget. But, I might just have to deal with it to avoid problems and get something a little more future handy....
As for the power supply, I went higher because it was the same price as the 550 and gave me wiggle room in case I wanted to add more down the line. Not that I'm really likely to, but I didn't want to have to mess with replacing a power supply again if I didn't need to!
I think I might shift over to the one you've suggested with a couple of changes to lessen the hit of my budget! If I did that, I would go down to 2G memory for now, and add more in a few months when I had some money, and probably take the 320GB HD.
If I went down to 2GB RAM on that, would I have an unwanted drop in performance? The only intense thing I do is play COH and watch movies online.
@The Omega Elementress
Currently playing Project Willow lvl 50 DB/WP Incarnate Shifted Scrapper
Quote:
Likely you're going to get the occasional hickup in framerate when available ram is full and the system has to use the HD swap file to move graphics textures around. You might be able to manage that some by using the /unloadgfx command to dump everything but the textures the game is immediately using. Just standing there looking at the game, you're not going to see any downgrade in appearance.|
Originally Posted by OmegaElementress
I was also concerned about the motherboard but couldn't seem to get what I wanted on any of the other configurators without going over my budget. But, I might just have to deal with it to avoid problems and get something a little more future handy....
As for the power supply, I went higher because it was the same price as the 550 and gave me wiggle room in case I wanted to add more down the line. Not that I'm really likely to, but I didn't want to have to mess with replacing a power supply again if I didn't need to! I think I might shift over to the one you've suggested with a couple of changes to lessen the hit of my budget! If I did that, I would go down to 2G memory for now, and add more in a few months when I had some money, and probably take the 320GB HD. If I went down to 2GB RAM on that, would I have an unwanted drop in performance? The only intense thing I do is play COH and watch movies online. |
Do remember to look through Bill Z Bubba's ATI issues sticky thread. You'll want to set AA to run through the driver menu rather than have CoX handle it and disable water effects. All of that will go away when GR hits though, and the 5770 will stand you in much better stead for the future than a current Nvidia card will.
Yeah, I currently have an ATI card on my Dell that I've learned how to mess around with after four years of playing CoH! heh
I think I could stomach the occasional hiccup for a little bit until I bought more RAM.... As long as I got more than 15 fps, it would still be a massive improvement over my current gameplay. lol
@The Omega Elementress
Currently playing Project Willow lvl 50 DB/WP Incarnate Shifted Scrapper
Quote:
You should see dramatically better than 15 fps.
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Originally Posted by OmegaElementress
Yeah, I currently have an ATI card on my Dell that I've learned how to mess around with after four years of playing CoH! heh
I think I could stomach the occasional hiccup for a little bit until I bought more RAM.... As long as I got more than 15 fps, it would still be a massive improvement over my current gameplay. lol |
That's what I'm hoping! Even though the Asus system died after a day, I was getting an average 80 fps all night playing... and the ATI Radeon hooked up through the HDMI on my TV made the game look like a Blu - Ray!
I already went ahead and cancelled the other order before it was too late... Thanks for the help HB! I was feeling unsure on my choice and I feel better now for changing it! I knew I loved these boards for a reason! 
@The Omega Elementress
Currently playing Project Willow lvl 50 DB/WP Incarnate Shifted Scrapper
So last week I randomly bought an ASUS computer from BestBuy. I also bought an ATI HD 4850 and a new power supply to support it and created a makeshift gaming rig on an impulse... while it worked and played fantastically at full settings, the computer refused to work by the next day...
So back to BestBuy it went, and I am instead looking at purchasing a computer from IBuyPower. I've specced out what I would like to have and have ordered it, but they are behind from Christmas so I've got time to change if something looks off... This is what I have selected for it.
Case NZXT Lexa Blackline Gaming Tower Case - Black w/ Red Light
Processor [=== Quad Core ===] Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q8400 (4x 2.66GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
Processor Cooling [Free Upgrade] INTEL Certified Liquid CPU Cooling System kit
Memory 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module - Corsair-Value or Major Brand
Video Card ATI Radeon HD 5770 - 1GB - Single Card
Video Card Brand Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA
Motherboard [SLI] ASUS P5N-D -- Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB - EPU Technology
Power Supply 700 Watt -- Power Supply - SLI Ready
Primary Hard Drive 750 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive
2nd Optical Drive 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black
Sound Card 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit
Warranty Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support
Rush Service Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days
Subtotal : $888.00
Tax : $0.00
Ground Shipping : $65.00
Total : $953.00
I went basic because I have a keyboard and mouse and I use my TV for a monitor. I'm upgrading to this after years of gaming on my Dell Dimension 3100... so pretty much anything is an improvement for me!
Can anyone give me feedback on my choices or anything you would change? I left price up there because that was my max budget to work with.... I wanted something that could play full settings now and possibly full on GR whenever it comes out.... I figure from what I've read up on the parts I've picked, that this should play pretty well as of now. But, I'm not a builder and not a massive tech head and would greatly appreciate any feedback available!
@The Omega Elementress
Currently playing Project Willow lvl 50 DB/WP Incarnate Shifted Scrapper