2009-09-30, 02:32 | Link #21 |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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Personally, I'm thinking either an XFX Geforce 9800GT or Radeon HD4770, depending on whether the OP prefers ATI or Nvidia. They're $97 and $110 on Newegg respectively. Performance between the two chips seems pretty similar - sometimes one leads, sometimes the other.
The big question that needs to get resolved, however, is whether the OP's power supply can handle these sorts of boards. I suspect anything with a six pin PCI-E power connector can handle a 4770 since the power draw on those cards is quite low. The 9800GT's not exactly power hungry either but draws about 20 watts more under load according to an Anandtech review I read. Edit: also, I'm kind of assuming you're running at a resolution or 1680X1050 or lower... please specify if this is not the case. |
2009-09-30, 05:56 | Link #22 |
Asuki-tan Kairin ↓
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Fürth (GER)
Age: 43
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Of'course
1) read this: http://http.developer.nvidia.com/GPU...chapter07.html 2) the technology used in the paper is future. Current games do not use these techniques. However, film makers use it (e.g. Gollum in Lord of the Rings... everything Pixar does...) but they use so called render farms that calculate the single images that are combined to film sequences and finally made into a movie on hundreds of PCs using the CPU (not GPU). 3) Therefore the following conclusion: Since games today use techniques that are less important in the future, the game-FPS is not a good argument for future provedness. (at least the post itself is shorter )
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Last edited by Jinto; 2009-09-30 at 06:12. |
2009-10-01, 05:40 | Link #23 |
You could say.....
Join Date: Apr 2007
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x2 4400 is still ok but getting a bit on. Wouldn't buy anything more than a 4770/4830. There comes a point where a videocard is too fast and the CPU can't keep up. So no matter how good your videocard is it gets wasted because the cpu can't handle the data. I doubt you'll be able to overclock as it sounds like a pre assembled pc from somewhere like dell. And they cripple the BIOS so you won't be able to. Your best bet maybe splitting your budget and updating both your CPU and gfx card. If you can overclock look into it - I've had that processor before and have gotten it to 3ghz without too much fuss and on standard cooling. But do your research-understand the risks and understand what you need to do and how to test. But even then I wouldn't go any higher than a 4870. This isn't the place to go into too much detail but dedicated forums like tomshardware will be able to get you off to a good start. What I'd personally like to know is the rest of your system specs and what gfx is in there right now
GTAIV and Crysis suck as a benchmarks. GTAIV can barely crack 60fps avg on most overclocked quadcores with a high end single card config @1920x1200 (enthusiast level pc's), and Crysis is horrid compared to the newer Crysis Warhead which uses the same engine but is significantly better performing on the same hardware. Bad code is bad code. They simply can't be run without major graphical compromises. Also Dell/off the shelf PC pricing for videocards is BS so their $150 videocard is pretty much a $50 everywhere else. Also here, use this link http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...card,2362.html
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Last edited by hobbes_fan; 2009-10-01 at 07:08. |
2009-11-14, 03:45 | Link #24 |
Juanita/Kiteless
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: New England
Age: 40
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I want a new computer for a cheap price. Under $800 cheap, I'm talking about (including OS).
How is the Radeon 3870? It released in 2007, but I looked up specs and it is a little better than a Geforce 8800 GTS. Would it need a better PSU than standard? What kind of PSU would I need, if so? Does it run hot? This card costs less than $100 and has pretty solid performance. Should I go with a Radeon 4850 instead? Does that need a special PSU? Does that run hot? I'm gonna get 2 GB of RAM with it. I'll upgrade to 4 GB of RAM or 6 GB of RAM in the future. Will the newest games run good on 2 GB of RAM, or should I go with 4 GB of RAM? Should I just spend the extra money and go for a Radeon 4850, or just upgrade to a card that is much better down the road? How much better is a Radeon 4850 compared to a Radeon 3870, anyway?
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2009-11-14, 03:56 | Link #25 |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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Newegg actually sells a prebuilt desktop with a Core 2 Quad, 4GB of RAM, HD 4850, and Windows 7 for $700 US, so if you're building your own for $800 there should be no need to constrain yourself to 2GB of RAM or anything less than a 4850 unless you also want a new monitor included in the price.
(I will note that upgrading from a 17 inch CRT to my 22 inch LCD is one of my single favourite computer purchases...)
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2009-11-14, 08:48 | Link #26 |
ひきこもりアイドル
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 34
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Radeon 3870 is 2 generations old and will probably not handle all the newer games at full quality. I suggest going for a Radeon 4850, but it shouldn't require a special PSU unless the PSU doesn't provide enough wattage. With higher end cards, you need to hook a special cord to the graphics card to provide extra power to the card.
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2009-11-14, 13:37 | Link #27 |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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The 4850 actually does need a direct connection to the power supply, but so does pretty much any other card I'd consider recommending to a gamer. The high end stuff often requires two connections to the PSU rather than one. For a 4850 he'll need to make sure to get a decent power supply, but that's good practice when building a PC anyway.
The reason I'd say go with the 4850 or maybe even the new 5750 is because the 4850 is like $115 now anyway. It's not just a matter of not skimping on GPU for a gaming rig... it's that there's not much point to doing so anyway.
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2009-11-14, 18:07 | Link #28 |
blinded by blood
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n'thing 4850.
It's just a damn good GPU for a damn good price. Because game graphics are now determined by the current generation of game consoles as opposed to PCs, PC owners get the benefit of not having to constantly be on the bleeding edge anymore. It's a really refreshing feeling. Pricey gaming rigs actually last a lot longer now. I remember the bad old days when PCs drove the high end of gaming and you had to upgrade like mad. Nowadays, you only have to make really big expensive upgrades every time a new console generation comes out.
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2009-11-14, 22:16 | Link #29 |
ひきこもりアイドル
IT Support
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Pennsylvania , United States
Age: 34
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Dual Core processors pretty much retain their performance considering that most programs have yet take full advantage of dual core or even quad core CPUs yet... and most games won't run well with a quad core compared to a dual score since most games are only optimized for dual core unless you are playing games like Crysis. Quad Core processors are really designed for multitasking and encoding files... If you can get a quad core for cheaper, well go for it... but the only worthwhile quad core processors are the Intel i5 and i7, but they cost slightly more than the regular Core2 Quad, but is alot faster and will last a bit longer.
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2009-11-15, 03:44 | Link #30 | ||
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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Quote:
I'm actually getting kind of worried about what's going to drive new hardware sales in the future seeing as someone needs to pay R&D bills for ATI, nVidia, etc... I guess there still are a few PC exclusives or consoles with extra graphical features though. Quote:
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2009-11-16, 02:15 | Link #31 |
Juanita/Kiteless
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: New England
Age: 40
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I think I will get dual core processor. I can always upgrade to a quad core processor down the road. From the sounds of it, Quad core gaming isn't popular right now.
If I was to go quad core, though (still not totally decided on this as you can tell), are there any good AMD quad core processors? What is a good AMD quad core processor that is at a good price? I'm thinking about getting a PC from www.ibuypower.com. Unless some people here know that it has a bad reputation or something, I really think I'll go with them. I can find the kind of system I want with the parts I want, Window 7, and cheap productivity software (including Word) for $850, and I'm about to look at AMD systems, which should be cheaper than the Intel system I configured. So, what are some good quad core processors from AMD, and what are some good dual core processors from AMD? And on the matter of HD widescreen panels...what brand is recommended by those with such monitors and like them?
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2009-11-16, 03:04 | Link #34 |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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I know this is probably a bit of work, but it would be helpful if you could give us a part by part listing of what you're thinking of.
The HD4850 isn't a power guzzler but you'll probably want something better than the base model. The one issue here is that iBuypower seems to charge a fairly sizeable premium for name brand power supplies...
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2009-11-16, 19:57 | Link #35 | |
blinded by blood
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I'm hoping that this insane graphics arms-race dies out. I'm hoping the netbook revolution will make enough people realize that they don't need super-powerful computers to do everyday tasks. I'm hoping that this forces game developers to focus more on story, gameplay and writing than the newest 3D rendering fuckery. Planned obsolescence is no fun. Wouldn't it be nice to have a PC last a few years before it's obsolete? =P
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Last edited by synaesthetic; 2009-11-16 at 20:10. |
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2009-11-17, 01:01 | Link #36 | |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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Quote:
tl;dr: I prefer a steady (not breakneck pace) advance in graphics to console style generational leaps. (I'll also admit that I tend to prefer "designed for PC" games to "designed for console" ones, which perhaps makes me leery of too much cross platforming even if it is a necessary evil these days.) Edit: I would also argue that the graphics arms race has slowed signficantly the last few years... however, the boom in LCD monitor sales pushed the common resolutions from like 800X600/1024X768/1280X1024 to 1280X1024/1680X1050/1920X1200. That ate up quite a bit of graphics power, and I get the impression that even some of the system crushers of recent years wouldn't have pushed the envelope that far if not for the fact they were launched during this changeover. And one other point I'll grant you: I don't like the fact single player FPSes have gotten so much shorter over the years, which I often attribute to rising production costs. Five years ago even some of the technically impressive FPSes like Far Cry gave meaty campaigns, nowadays not so much.
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Last edited by 0utf0xZer0; 2009-11-17 at 13:01. |
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2009-11-17, 14:50 | Link #37 | ||||
blinded by blood
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Mostly I avoided this by being more an RPG gamer, which means I avoid the bleeding-edge titles (they tend to be FPS games). My last gaming computer was over 3 years old when it died, and it did most everything I wanted it to do, at least right up until the end when the video card fried. Quote:
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2009-11-17, 18:27 | Link #38 | |||
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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As to RPGs... I guess Oblivion's ability to crush systems was a bit unusual. Although I do hear that it's become quite difficult to make big RPGs these days due to people having high standards for production values - compare the number of voiced lines in old Bioware games to the current ones. Quote:
(Interestingly, I believe the next Stalker is supposed to have separate code paths for Direct X 8 through 11... will be interesting to see how that scales.) Quote:
I would actual classify the original Far Cry as one of the great FPSes as well, but I guess that predates Half Life 2 by a few months. I will admit I'm having trouble thinking of a more recent game that really had the same "generational leap forward" feel that those two did. I take it we're talking great in the sense that it felt like a generational leap over prior games? I guess there's some merit to that position. I will say, however
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2009-11-17, 23:30 | Link #39 | |
Juanita/Kiteless
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: New England
Age: 40
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When I figure out what processor I want, I'll post what parts I want in my PC.
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2009-11-19, 03:22 | Link #40 | |
Pretentious moe scholar
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 37
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Quote:
If you leave your computer on a lot, the i5 might earn back it's cost in the long run since it draws about 35 watts less at idle than a Phenom II 955/790GX combo according to Anandtech. Although it's possible 790GX mainboards draw more power than 770 based ones too. On the low end, there's the Athlon X4 620 for $100. Tends to get some flak around here since only a few games take advantage of quads and it's a bit light on the MHZs and L2 cache compared to similar priced dual cores. I personally think it's the more future resistant (never say "future proof" when it comes to PCs...) bet though.
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