Looking for New CoH/CoV gaming computer
By
Airhammer,
Posted on: 2012-03-28 20:57 in Player Questions
I've been playing on a 'Mac Mini' (the basic model) for about a year and a half. Got this machine because it was very affordable on my tight budget. I've had no problems except I don't get all the benefits of Ultra-Mode graphics...other than that it works great and I'll never go back to a PC.
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PCs are more versatile and will cause you much fewer headaches with gaming compatibility, but require more understanding of computer maintenance to last for years. Macs are easier to use if you know nothing about computers, but are also more expensive for the performance you'll get from them. Based on the level of understanding you appear to have demonstrated already, I would think you would be fine with a PC (which is my personal preference, so yes, there is bias here; as a note, I'm a programmer).|
Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
First off Im leaning towards a PC desk top, but Im still tossing around the idea of a Mac, so thoughts on PC Vs. Mac?
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Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
What do you consider the best video card?
Something like the Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 or the Dual ATI Radeon HD 6870 CrossfireX or is there something else out there? |
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Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
How much RAM should I be looking at? It seems most gaming rigs come with between 8GB and 16GB with expansion slots.
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Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Processors and processor speeds? Should I be looking for a 4 core or a 6 core? Is 3.3GHz good or should I be shooting for a 4.0GHz over clocked liquid cooled processor?
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Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Lastly, price, Im looking to spend between $1,000 to $2,000 roughly.
If you can link some good sites or some rig specs that would be great. |
www.tigerdirect.com
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Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
One final question, looking at some specs out there Alien Wear seems to be top of the line, but coming in at $3,000 to $4,000 they seem a little pricy for a rig thats only a little better them the other rigs out there that run less than $2,000. Are they worth the price or are you just buying bright lights and a name brand?
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@Draeth Darkstar
Virtue [Heroes, Roleplay], Freedom [Villains], Exalted [All Sides, Roleplay]
Code:
I24 Proc Chance = (Enhanced Recharge + Activation Time) * (Current PPM * 1.25) / 60*(1 + .75*(.15*Radius - 0.011*Radius*(360-Arc)/30)) Single Target Radius = 0. AoE Non-Cone Arc = 360.
The only advice I can give is avoid AMD/ATI graphics cards. Their drivers very often don't work well with City of Heroes because both the game is coded poorly and AMD/ATI isn't making the best drivers lately.
Go with Nvidia if you want fewer problems.
I am not a fanboy. I would switch to suggesting AMD/ATI, especially considering they are usually cheaper, if they would just work better.
Edit:
Be wary of fan speed issues with Nvidia cards though. They tend to overheat, which has been caused by the fan speed of the card not ramping up enough to compensate.
This program allows you to manually set the fan speed, among other things, which will keep your card from overheating:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nvidia_...ools_6.06.html
Yes, use that version, the later version 6.08 seems to have dropped the fan speed controls along with overclocking controls.
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Go with Newegg. Avoid Tigerdirect.
Tigerdirect send me a smaller hard drive(2/3rds the size), completely wrong serial number and a completely dead monitor(can't remember the other problem I had) on my first complete self build.
It sure looks like somebody tried to cheat me, and they took way too long sending the "free return shipping" labels, hoping that I would wait and then have to keep the items while paying for new ones. I had to pay for shipping before the deadline and received the labels days after they received the items.
Tigerdirect sucks for customer service.
Thanks for the great info.
Multi-boxing has always been something that I've wanted to do but I never gave it much thought since I knew I couldn't do it on my rig and I never wanted to pay for two accounts. Now though I can start a F2P and take that account ViP only when I need it.
What can you tell me about liquid cooling, what maintenance is needed, do I have to change the "Oil" every 3 trillion MB's? 
Any modals out there that are getting some buzz that are in my price range or any go to manufactures along the lines of AlienWear without the cost overhead that they have.
Oh and another thing, what is the true definition of a “Gaming Computer” looking around all the web sites I see things like “Extreme Gaming Computer” and “PC Gamer Extreme” tossed around on almost every rig, and most of them list the new Intel i7 chip as well, but range in price from $599 to $5,000. Now I guess to some a $599 rig that plays Tetris would be considered a gaming rig but is there a minimum spec that would be considered a true gaming computer?
Dark Tower. SL50 Stone/Stone Tanker
Founder The Freedom Phalanx Reserve
An Infinity Top 25 Super Group
Founded January 4th 2006
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Alienware systems are definitely "polished", but they, like every other pre-built company, come with bloatware that will slow down your computer. They also tend to push the limits of hardware, thus running hot, and many times barely last past their longest warranty.|
Originally Posted by Draeth Darkstar
AlienWare make fine products, but yes, you do pay a hefty premium just for the label. That said, that label comes with excellent customer service and industry-best warranties and replacement policies. Their machines are not mechanically superior, though, if that's what you're asking.
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I just like building my own for much cheaper and avoiding all the useless programs.
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Most pre-built manufacturers will be very expensive. The only one I have went through is Alienware, though my family has went through Dell(they own Alienware now but Alienware still does their own thing mostly). The Dells they got did not impress me and have been royal pains in my butt(Vista has "quirks") to keep working right.
They're not bad, but Dell is not a "premier manufacturer" like Alienware, Voodoo or Hypersonic(I think they still exist).
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Whatever spec will run the games you want to play at the graphics settings you want to use.|
Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Now I guess to some a $599 rig that plays Tetris would be considered a gaming rig but is there a minimum spec that would be considered a true gaming computer?
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Seriously, computer configurations are not standardized in any way. There's just too much variation in the requirements between games to say "this is a gaming computer and this other one isn't." Hell, even within one game, the difference between running at max settings and min settings could save or cost you hundreds of dollars in better parts.
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Got enough position-related metaphors in there? |
Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Im looking for some down low on a new high end gaming computer for this and other games coming down the line.
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| How much RAM should I be looking at? It seems most gaming rigs come with between 8GB and 16GB with expansion slots. |
I have 8GB and I can run my browser with a dozen tabs open, Photoshop, Excel, Skype, 8 instances of SETI@home and two instances of CoH.
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| Processors and processor speeds? Should I be looking for a 4 core or a 6 core? Is 3.3GHz good or should I be shooting for a 4.0GHz over clocked liquid cooled processor? |
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| Lastly, price, Im looking to spend between $1,000 to $2,000 roughly. |
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| One final question, looking at some specs out there Alien Wear seems to be top of the line, but coming in at $3,000 to $4,000 they seem a little pricy |
Any chance you'll build this yourself? From what I've seen, at a given price point, you can go with an off-the-shelf system or build it yourself with comparable 'performance'. However, the self-built system will have top name brand, industry standard components rather than 'brand X' non-standard parts. Of course, you could build it yourself with cheap components and save a lot of money, but I obviously don't recommend that.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
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Way overkill. I can run two instances plus all kinds of other junk with 8GB. RAM usage never gets past 6GB.|
Originally Posted by Draeth Darkstar
4GB at absolute minimum for a modern gaming rig. 8 will do for most purposes, 16 if you'd ever consider doing things like multi-boxing.
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Originally Posted by T_Immortalus
I am not a fanboy. I would switch to suggesting AMD/ATI, especially considering they are usually cheaper, if they would just work better.
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| Go with Newegg. Avoid Tigerdirect. |
I have built MULTIPLE entire systems with parts from Newegg, plus purchased loads of peripherals and accessories. Newegg is fantastic.
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Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
What can you tell me about liquid cooling, what maintenance is needed, do I have to change the "Oil" every 3 trillion MB's?
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| Oh and another thing, what is the true definition of a Gaming Computer |
As far as I'm concerned, a serious 'gaming computer' is one where the video card is the most expensive component. The parts in my current system cost:
$320 video card
$290 CPU
$270 SSD
etc.
My previous build had the first two components reversed. For this one, I figured I spend enough time gaming that I should make it a 'gaming system'. At any given time, I would say a $200 video card will give a decent gaming experience. Get over $300 and you're getting into 'high end' territory. Buying the latest and greatest can cost you $500 or more but you're probably wasting your money. You never want to be buying the newest and most expensive of any product. You want to go a couple of steps down the product line to fine the best ratio of performance to cost (i.e. 'bang for the buck').
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
First off: 
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Unless you're moving around a lot and playing CoH from lots of locations, I recommend you stick with a desktop system. They're your most powerful option for gaming. They're also a better bang for the buck than "gaming laptops.|
Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Hello everyone:
Im looking for some down low on a new high end gaming computer for this and other games coming down the line. First off Im leaning towards a PC desk top, but Im still tossing around the idea of a Mac, so thoughts on PC Vs. Mac? |
Also, Macs are NOT gaming laptops. You can play some games on there, but your best option is a Wintendo setup.
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What do you consider the best video card? Something like the Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 or the Dual ATI Radeon HD 6870 CrossfireX or is there something else out there? |
You could drop $500 for a brand new GTX 680 or a Radeon 7970. But you want to make sure it makes sense for your budget.
Honestly, I recommend going with nVidia for your card. Currently it has fewer issues in CoH in general.
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| How much RAM should I be looking at? It seems most gaming rigs come with between 8GB and 16GB with expansion slots. |
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| Processors and processor speeds? Should I be looking for a 4 core or a 6 core? Is 3.3GHz good or should I be shooting for a 4.0GHz over clocked liquid cooled processor? |
Currently the most economical chip for gaming is the i5 2500K.
If you want something beefier multi-threaded, you could step up to the i7 2600K.
If you want the "latest and greatest", possibly the i7 3820.
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| Lastly, price, Im looking to spend between $1,000 to $2,000 roughly. |
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| If you can link some good sites or some rig specs that would be great. |
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| One final question, looking at some specs out there Alien Wear seems to be top of the line, but coming in at $3,000 to $4,000 they seem a little pricy for a rig thats only a little better them the other rigs out there that run less than $2,000. Are they worth the price or are you just buying bright lights and a name brand? |
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
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Well, every few years you want to renew your thermal interface material on the chip.|
Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
What can you tell me about liquid cooling, what maintenance is needed, do I have to change the "Oil" every 3 trillion MB's?
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But a lot of the self-contained cooling systems you pretty much never have to change anything with them.
If you're looking for sites that have "build it" matrixes, try iBuyPower.com and CyberPowerPC. Maybe Falcon Northwest (just be warned, Falcon is one of the "pricey" custom-builders).
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
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Actually, if you're going with one of the self-contained solutions (like the Corsair H line), I'd say "It's an option". Especially since it's generally quieter than stock HSFs and takes up less space around the CPU socket than decent air coolers.
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Originally Posted by Ironblade
A word about liquid cooling: don't. If you're going to overclock and/or you're an experienced builder, fine. Otherwise, you just don't need it.
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Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Again, thanks for the info; I have a lot to chew though now 
Originally I was planning on just going to Best Buy and getting one that was recommended, now Im thinking of building one myself.
Years ago I did build one myself but it was a pain and I still needed help from a friend to put all the pieces together, but building yourself still seems like the better way and you end up with a product you know and can modify later.
This will be a totally fresh start, right now Im playing on a Laptop that I will be keeping up to date for mobile use and for school as needed, and so Ill need to buy everything. Im looking to spend as I said about $1,500 to $1,700 not counting the monitor so the $2,000 is about max total that I want to spend, but that could change to if something really strikes my fancy an extra day or two of overtime will fix that.
Ill be looking around the web for a good detailed builders guide or if anyone can link one that would be great too.
Dark Tower. SL50 Stone/Stone Tanker
Founder The Freedom Phalanx Reserve
An Infinity Top 25 Super Group
Founded January 4th 2006
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... side note, last coffee talk, Z was shilling (|
Originally Posted by Ironblade
"Grossly overpriced" would be more accurate. You're paying for a name and a flashy case..
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) the Alienwares at one of their events - $600-$700, IIRC. Fairly small case. Does use some flavor of nVidia mobility chip. This one, I believe.
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Hmmm, if I was in the market for a new computer(and had the money |
Originally Posted by Memphis_Bill
... side note, last coffee talk, Z was shilling (
) the Alienwares at one of their events - $600-$700, IIRC. Fairly small case. Does use some flavor of nVidia mobility chip. This one, I believe. |
), I would seriously consider that sweet looking, nice priced, space-saving computer. It actually reminds me of the Playstation 3 in both price and form factor.
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hmm.... I've never looked for a build guide. First place I would look, offhand, is www.tomshardware.com. That site is just packed with useful information. Dunno if they have build guides, but you should check it out anyway.|
Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Ill be looking around the web for a good detailed builders guide or if anyone can link one that would be great too.
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The only step that I did want a guide for is applying the thermal compound to the CPU. For that, the manufacturer of the thermal compound should have guides on their site. This is the only part of the build where you can't just go by 'common sense'. When you install a hard drive, you know it needs a connection from the power supply and a connection to the motherboard. When you apply thermal compound, you need to know something about the internal architecture of the CPU (i.e. where it generates the heat). A guide will explain that. My preference is Arctic Silver.
Paragon City Search And Rescue
The Mentor Project
Build it yourself !!!!!
Seriously I was wigged out about it at first but the guys on here are very helpful and there are great sites like Toms Hardware and Anandtech.com. Also New Egg has a pretty good how to build your own PC videos.
You will save some money, get exactly what you want, and you will know YOUR pc..
I am in the process of buying parts to build my own PC and at first it seemed intimidating but I have done things on my home PC like replace a bad HD, a bad Video card and put in new Ram, and I am a pretty intelligent intuitive guy.
Dont do Alienware.. The system I am building will be much less than what they offered AND will be better..
The hard things I can do--- The impossible just take a little bit longer.
If numbers are so much more important than a teammate who is fun to play with, forget about the game altogether and go play with a calculator instead. -Claws and Effect-
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Pick up a copy of Maximum PC magazine. Every issue includes a step by step run through of a desktop build or upgrade.
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Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Ill be looking around the web for a good detailed builders guide or if anyone can link one that would be great too.
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Teams are the number one killer of soloists.
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They just (I really mean *just* - as in over the last few days) posted three builds ($650, $1250, and I think $2000) which they do with some regularity. |
Originally Posted by Ironblade
hmm.... I've never looked for a build guide. First place I would look, offhand, is www.tomshardware.com. That site is just packed with useful information. Dunno if they have build guides, but you should check it out anyway.
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As for step by step guides, yeah, look at MaximumPC (which also has builds themselves) - you can get past issues via PDF. Heck, they have a "build this, here's how" on the site right now. While the parts you want may be different, the process is pretty much the same, PC to PC.
wow, most of the suggestions in this thread are hugely overkill for CoH
CoH is pretty easy on resources, I regularly play 2 instances of Coh (one on each monitor) on my 3 year old machine with only 4G of RAM.
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Okay, if you want balls-to-the-wall right now. Maybe take a look at this setup:|
Originally Posted by Dark_Tower
Again, thanks for the info; I have a lot to chew though now
Originally I was planning on just going to Best Buy and getting one that was recommended, now Im thinking of building one myself. Years ago I did build one myself but it was a pain and I still needed help from a friend to put all the pieces together, but building yourself still seems like the better way and you end up with a product you know and can modify later. This will be a totally fresh start, right now Im playing on a Laptop that I will be keeping up to date for mobile use and for school as needed, and so Ill need to buy everything. Im looking to spend as I said about $1,500 to $1,700 not counting the monitor so the $2,000 is about max total that I want to spend, but that could change to if something really strikes my fancy an extra day or two of overtime will fix that. Ill be looking around the web for a good detailed builders guide or if anyone can link one that would be great too. |
- Case
- PSU
- Motherboard
- CPU
- CPU Cooler
- Memory
- System Drive
- Storage Drive
- Optical Drive (BluRay)
- Video Card (Pick one)
- OS
- Monitor
That brings you in at right around $1900 with shipping.
Leaving you about $100 for amenities like a mouse, keyboard, maybe a couple spare fans, etc.
You get a decent CPU on a good motherboard.
You get VERY dependable cooling that requires next-to no maintenance (basically once every 2-3 years pop the cooler off and refresh the thermal compound).
You get a case that's designed to work with the aforementioned cooling system.
You get a decent amount of starting memory.
You get a nice fast SSD as your boot devices and an "okay" hard drive for storage space.
You get THE most powerful card currently on the market.
Were I building right now, I'd probably go this route.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
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If you want crappy graphics, yes.|
Originally Posted by Papaschtroumpf
wow, most of the suggestions in this thread are hugely overkill for CoH
CoH is pretty easy on resources, I regularly play 2 instances of Coh (one on each monitor) on my 3 year old machine with only 4G of RAM. |
Also, maybe we're suggesting they buy something that will last a little longer than 1 year before support is gone.
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City of Heroes is also a lot more inefficient on resources than even more graphically awesome games of the same age or older. They did not code it well to start with and every patch since has just been "making the once mostly round tire lumpy with patches and leaky".
In regards to Hyperstrike's recommendations....
I recommend a PNY made Nvidia graphics card. I have nothing but praise for PNY's prices and reliability, though the MSI one listed on his linked page is interesting. I have an awesome MSI motherboard that works wonderful since bought a year and a half ago. If I had known they made Nvidia graphics cards then I would have seriously considered them.
Then we'll agree to disagree.
My old Radeon HD5700 series can run two instances of the game, one at 1600x1200 the other at 1920x1200,even with CoH being "inefficient" (it does slow down ehn I have both instances of the game in a hami raid, but still playable)
The title should be change to something like "looking for best gaming computer under $2000", but you guys make it sound like you *need* the balls-to-the-wall big iron. It's fun and cool to have the best computer you can afford. there's nothing wrong with that, and if you play more demanding games than CoH, then you're set. But almost *any* modern computer with a real graphic card (not the integrated crap) will run CoH well.
by the way all those $500 graphic cards in the link appear to be out of stock, and I'm not a fan of the caviar blue (for one thing, it runs poorly in raid configuration if you ever plan to upgrade) I'd get a caviar back instead, but otherwise those suggestions are a nice sub-$2000 killer gaming system. since the OP has very little experience building computers, he may want to stay with a more mainstream cooling solution (heck stock cooler is generally not half bad)
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I'll second this (aside from the hami raid. I don't multibox raids or trials... heck, TBH I don't think I've ever run Hami Raid 2.0.) |
Originally Posted by Papaschtroumpf
Then we'll agree to disagree.
My old Radeon HD5700 series can run two instances of the game, one at 1600x1200 the other at 1920x1200,even with CoH being "inefficient" (it does slow down ehn I have both instances of the game in a hami raid, but still playable) |
Leaving both full screen on my 22" 1680x1050 screen, running a 1G HD 5770 on Win7x64, I've had zero slowdown (on either account - the other one, if I have it playing buffbot, keeps right up with me. Older systems - say, 2-3 systems ago - I would notice definite lag.)
i7-860, formerly 4 now 8 Gb RAM (due mostly to needing multiple VMs open at once at times - could stand to bump that up again, honestly, but it worked the same on 4,) Radeon HD 5770, nothing fancy.
Of course, if I had a much higher resolution screen, I'd expect to take a hit. But I'm not gaming in a drive-in theater
Are you two playing on safe mode or with stick-figure characters and building block buildings?
There is no way a "4 year old computer", with that old a graphics card, could run the graphics that well let alone ultra mode, unless there is something seriously broken about city of Heroes that lets your computers run it much better than newer more powerful ones.
/boggle
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Oh, an i7 isn't that old, and it's obvious that City of Heroes uses the CPU for too much graphics processing instead of the GPU. I have tested this by changing my settings higher and watching my GPU load drop as the frame rate still drops.
Believe me, my computer should eb able to run this game full tilt if the game actually used my graphics card for all the graphics.
Hello everyone:
Im looking for some down low on a new high end gaming computer for this and other games coming down the line.
First off Im leaning towards a PC desk top, but Im still tossing around the idea of a Mac, so thoughts on PC Vs. Mac?
Also:
What do you consider the best video card?
Something like the Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 or the Dual ATI Radeon HD 6870 CrossfireX or is there something else out there?
How much RAM should I be looking at? It seems most gaming rigs come with between 8GB and 16GB with expansion slots.
Processors and processor speeds? Should I be looking for a 4 core or a 6 core? Is 3.3GHz good or should I be shooting for a 4.0GHz over clocked liquid cooled processor?
Lastly, price, Im looking to spend between $1,000 to $2,000 roughly.
If you can link some good sites or some rig specs that would be great.
One final question, looking at some specs out there Alien Wear seems to be top of the line, but coming in at $3,000 to $4,000 they seem a little pricy for a rig thats only a little better them the other rigs out there that run less than $2,000. Are they worth the price or are you just buying bright lights and a name brand?
Dark Tower. SL50 Stone/Stone Tanker
Founder The Freedom Phalanx Reserve
An Infinity Top 25 Super Group
Founded January 4th 2006