Official PC Gamers Topic V3

[mkey82]

Yeah, all in all, my previous post was a bit over the top bitchy, I have absolutely nothing against you DR9 (far from it) I just don't like to be corrected on some matters and especially when I make a substantiated statement.

 

Peace.

[anus]

OMFG. Guys don't make this topic a flamewar. This is the best place for us PC gamers.

 

As for the PSU, honestly, I don't give a f*ck about what the brand is as long as it does what it says on the box. And if DR9 is happy with his Xclio PSU and it does the job, it's all good.

[Democrab]

Sorry about starting that, I was simply commenting on his rig.

 

Drunk Russian 9: Still, as long as its working fine for now, be happy, if you're going to upgrade later I really suggest you get a better PSU too.

[Abel.]

MUHAHAHAAH!!! You got served!

 

Nice thread. Will be catching up on the reading since there are like 93 odd pages. WOOHOO

I've posted on a lot of them, please ignore my (now dead) PS3 fanboyism if you choose to read the first 20-30 pages.

 

Anyway, I recommend Thermaltake PSUs, mine has been great.

[Fnorg]

I totally need new games. BF:H bores me to death, Source games bore me ATM (I know I'll love them in two months again, though ). I said that L4D was fun, but not fun enough to buy. Now I'm beating myself for not buying it when it was €17.

 

What's Mass Effect like? I've been watching some videos and the graphics look pretty damn great, and I wanna test my new-ish machine. Is it super-heavy on the RPG side of things?

[Creed Bratton]

I totally need new games. BF:H bores me to death, Source games bore me ATM (I know I'll love them in two months again, though ). I said that L4D was fun, but not fun enough to buy. Now I'm beating myself for not buying it when it was €17.

 

What's Mass Effect like? I've been watching some videos and the graphics look pretty damn great, and I wanna test my new-ish machine. Is it super-heavy on the RPG side of things?

I just bought Mass Effect 3 days ago after so many delays and reasons not to buy it. It's amazing. Graphics are great, animations are great, and gameplay is perfect. Also, the whole game feels like a good sci-fi movie. If I were you, I'd buy it ASAP. And there is also free DLC for it.

[manofpeace]

As a couple of you might have seen, I posted in the Crysis topic about me recently getting the game in anticipation for my FX6800. I also got the Acceleration pack for FSX on that visit to Best Buy, and I really don't like how it has no room whatsoever for anything "below minimum requirements". I played FSX on pretty much Medium settings on this weak little laptop like a charm, rarely a problem unless in a big city. Then I install the expansion, which should really only be adding 3 planes and some more scenery to what's on screen, and it suddenly decides my computer isn't worthy! I mean, at least Crysis didn't just cancel itself out when I wanted to see how laughably bad it looked on this computer. I am disappointed in you, Microsoft.

 

/rant

[Drunk Russian 9]

but I wouldn't trust it with anything worth over $750.

I would and I am.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that setup is $550 tops.

 

@ joe: Newegg had plenty of 5 star reviews on it . . . and it has a 2 year warranty.

You are wrong (as it will turn out, very wrong) and I shell correct you.

 

At the time I bought it, on 28. August 2008, the total value was 8674,00 KN. The KN to $ ratio back then was about 4,9 so that means 8674,00/4,90 = 1770,20 $ US. This is with the monitor and taxes included. If we subtract the value of the monitor which was 1699,00 KN (346,73 $) we come to a grand total of 1423,47 $. Mind you, the original CPU I bought was a Q9300 which at the time went for 1670,00 KN (340,80 $) and that one was replaced by a more expensive Q9400 (I can't remember the exact price, it was done inside the guarantee, but it was something like 50 $).

 

So, not only that your are wrong, but you have also made a mistake of above 250%. Next time think BEFORE you post, K?

Hah prices are so different down there. I added your setup together (from actual prices and averages NOW) and it cost $720, without case, OS and monitor. My wrong guess was on he price of the CPU, everything else was practically spot on.

 

Now if you think that just because you paid more than what you could have values your system, forgive me. And please, oh please forgive me for thinking that your PC is a recent build that has proper pricing rather than inflated release pricing.

 

Also, the hostility is amazing. You enjoy spending fortunes on PCs, I'll bet . . . I chose not to. I see value in benchmarks, not price.

 

Sure, I'll try to think a little more the next time I post

[mkey82]

 

Also, the hostility is amazing.

 

 

Yeah, all in all, my previous post was a bit over the top bitchy, I have absolutely nothing against you DR9 (far from it) I just don't like to be corrected on some matters and especially when I make a substantiated statement.

 

Peace.

 

 

 

What's Mass Effect like? I've been watching some videos and the graphics look pretty damn great, and I wanna test my new-ish machine. Is it super-heavy on the RPG side of things?

It's 15£ on game and it's even on multibuy so you can get two titles for 25£.

Edited May 8, 2009 by mkey82

[Torcidas]

Hey guys, I recently built a nice new gaming PC, and was hoping to play on it, but I'm very limited with ideas for games.

 

Got any serious suggestions? I already have GTA4, Fallout 3, and FarCry 2. I'll play anything, except RTS.

 

Thanks a bunch.

[anus]

Mind posting the specs ?

 

Anyway, you can get Cryostasis, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Portal, Dead Space, all the Half Lifes, Left 4 Dead, COD4, COD5 (believe me, even if you played these on the 360, it will be an ENITIRELY new experience on the PC, especially multiplayer, you'll see the difference when you play), Spore, Test Drive Unlimited, GTR2 (hardcore racing sim), Assassin's Creed, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena, etc.

 

Those are just a few .

[Creed Bratton]

Hey guys, I recently built a nice new gaming PC, and was hoping to play on it, but I'm very limited with ideas for games.

 

Got any serious suggestions? I already have GTA4, Fallout 3, and FarCry 2. I'll play anything, except RTS.

 

Thanks a bunch.

Did you play Gears of War on PC? It's probably too awesome for you to handle

Seriously, get Gears of War, Mass Effect, Crysis, Crysis: Warhead, CoD4, CoD5, Half Life 2, Orange Box...

[Fnorg]

Mass Effect. Get it.

 

It's just as good as Vanja says.

[Torcidas]

Mind posting the specs ?

 

Anyway, you can get Cryostasis, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Portal, Dead Space, all the Half Lifes, Left 4 Dead, COD4, COD5 (believe me, even if you played these on the 360, it will be an ENITIRELY new experience on the PC, especially multiplayer, you'll see the difference when you play), Spore, Test Drive Unlimited, GTR2 (hardcore racing sim), Assassin's Creed, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena, etc.

 

Those are just a few .

AMD Phenom QuadCore 9500+ 2.2GHz

OCZ 4GB DDR2

NVidia 9800GT 512mb DDR3

Hitachi 1TB HDD

ASUS M3N78 Mobo

+other computer hardware necessities, got it all for just under 750.

 

So basically not the greatest PC.. but good enough for the money. (What more would I need anyway, I can run FC2/FO3/FSX maxxed )

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I've played most of them, but of those mentioned I'll probably look into Dead Space, Test Drive Unlimited and possibly the Riddick one.

 

GTAvanja, I have GoW1 for the 360 already. I also had Mass Effect for it, but I liked it so much that I'll have to find a PC copy soon enough. Thanks for your help.

[mkey82]

If you're into never ending space sims, get X3. Also, if you're looking for HalfLife2, Portal and such, get Orange Box. It's great value for the money. I also have to recommend the Witcher, an inspiring RPG that was (IMO) extremely underrated. Of course, look for the Enhanced edition, it sells for a laughably low price.

 

If you like to be scared, look for Penumbra series, Overture and Black Plague especially. Also, The Path might be among those sick little titles to get you going

 

Even if you're not into RTS, check out Galactic Universe. The latest release can be had for not so much money, but it includes all the of the expansions and whatnot. It's a very fun game while not being heavy on the RTS part.

[SaintJimmy]

Is upgrading a computer as easy as it sounds? I mean, all I really want to do is upgrade my processor (Buy a quad-core - I'm currently running an Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 @ 2.40GHz), Graphics Card (upgrading from a piece of sh*t 8500GT) and maybe just fill up my RAM from 2GB to 4GB.

 

 

I'm guessing it's not as easy as just buying a new processor, taking out the old one and sticking the new one in - or vice versa with a GPU.

Will I need to buy a new tower? Reroute any confusing wires? Or is it better that I have someone do it for me?

 

All in all, I just want to know if I can buy new parts for my computer and just stick them in.

[mkey82]

All in all, I just want to know if I can buy new parts for my computer and just stick them in.

Basically, yes.

 

Of course, you should know what brand of MOBO you have and check if the new hardware is supported. I'm assuming your current GPU is on PCI-E, so that shouldn't be a problem neither. Of course, these new GPU's can get guite large, but if you have a standard size tower, that shouldn't be a problem.

 

Also, don't forget about your PSU, it needs to have nough power to handle the new gear.

 

A few notes. Remove your GPU driver before removing the old card. Also, a fresh windows install is a good idea. Take note of your MBO BIOS version and see if there are any upgrades available. I had this little issue when changing my processor that got solved after flashing the BIOS. When replacing the CPU, clean the heatsink and make sure the new CPU is seated right, because otherwise you may get a tad too high temps.

 

See, simple as a pie

[Creed Bratton]

 

Is upgrading a computer as easy as it sounds? I mean, all I really want to do is upgrade my processor (Buy a quad-core - I'm currently running an Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 @ 2.40GHz), Graphics Card (upgrading from a piece of sh*t 8500GT) and maybe just fill up my RAM from 2GB to 4GB.

First you need to know if your motherboard supports the upgrades you wanna buy. Then you need to know if your PSU has enough power to run everything fine. You could always use 100W more to prevent the unnecessary heat. Having a PSU that just barely meats the requirements is not the way for a gaming rig.

 

All you need is a manual that comes with your motherboard and your CPU/VGA to install everything properly. It's really easy. Just take out the old stuff and put in the new stuff. Then connect the cables properly.

 

Before installing the new graphics card uninstall the old drivers for it.

 

 

And when you install your CPU you need to apply thermal compound on it first before you put your CPU cooler on it. There are some videos about it on YouTube. A 6 year old could do it

 

And about RAM. If you're running Xp 32bit don't bother with 4gb RAM. Xp 32bit can only recognize about 3Gb. I use one 2Gb stick of DDR2 800mhz.

 

And the guy above me said some stuff I forgot.

 

Tell me how much money do you have and your current config and I might figure out the new config for you.

Edited May 11, 2009 by GTAvanja

[Torcidas]

Is upgrading a computer as easy as it sounds?

All in all, if you haven't really had much experience or even "training" in dealing with computers, I wouldn't suggest poking your fingers around as you will probably damage something, or even risk electric shock.

 

I wouldn't say its overly difficult, but the CPU is considerably sensitive (those pins are very easy to bend, although ZIF [zero insertion force] solves that problem).

 

With a bit of research, you'll be able to do it.

[Abel.]

Is upgrading a computer as easy as it sounds? I mean, all I really want to do is upgrade my processor (Buy a quad-core - I'm currently running an Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 @ 2.40GHz), Graphics Card (upgrading from a piece of sh*t 8500GT) and maybe just fill up my RAM from 2GB to 4GB.

 

 

I'm guessing it's not as easy as just buying a new processor, taking out the old one and sticking the new one in - or vice versa with a GPU.

Will I need to buy a new tower? Reroute any confusing wires? Or is it better that I have someone do it for me?

 

All in all, I just want to know if I can buy new parts for my computer and just stick them in.

Installing RAM and a graphics card is piss easy, about a ten minute job to do both in one go. However, I have no experience in installing

PSUs, although that can't be too hard.

[anus]

It's extremely easy. Just check if your motherboard supports the CPU you want and also buy the exact same brand and model of RAM that the PC currently has to avoid any issues.

 

It's basically remove the old one and stick the new one in. It is as easy as it sounds .

[Abel.]

My dad I installed my new Arctic Freezer Extreme CPU fan today (he doesn't know a much about PCs at all, but he was a great help). My idle

temp is around 40 C with my Core 2 Quad running at 3.4 GhZ (overclocked it further). Great cooler and very quiet, too. I'll stress

the '6600 after some gaming.

[SaintJimmy]

That's great to know - thankyou for your replies. I might not even upgrade my CPU just yet, it hasn't given me any troubles. But would size be an issue? As in, the size of my tower case, in regards to GPU's and stuff.

[manofpeace]

That's great to know - thankyou for your replies. I might not even upgrade my CPU just yet, it hasn't given me any troubles. But would size be an issue? As in, the size of my tower case, in regards to GPU's and stuff.

Do you know what model your case is? If it's standard size (most likely), it should be fine.

[SaintJimmy]

 

That's great to know - thankyou for your replies. I might not even upgrade my CPU just yet, it hasn't given me any troubles. But would size be an issue? As in, the size of my tower case, in regards to GPU's and stuff.

Do you know what model your case is? If it's standard size (most likely), it should be fine.

I'm not sure what standard size is, but here's some general information on my case I scored from a website:

 

 

# Dimensions: 200mm(W) x 430mm(H) x 440mm(D) = 7.9" x 17.0" x 17.3".

# Max. Motherboard size 12" x 9.5".

# Side panel window with custom chromed XBlade design & a mesh guard, 4 open 5.25" drive bays,

# 2 open 3.5" drive bays,

# 5 hidden 3.5" drive bays,

# A total of 10 drive bays

 

Also, does anyone know of any less expensive alternatives to a GTX285?

[Democrab]

Does anyone know of any less expensive alternatives to a GTX285?

Overclocked GTX 275 or a HD4890.

[SaintJimmy]

Does anyone know of any less expensive alternatives to a GTX285?

Overclocked GTX 275 or a HD4890.

Thanks for the speedy response. Out of the two, what would you recommend?

[mkey82]

Even though I'm an ATI fanboy (sort of), probably the GTX275.

[SaintJimmy]

Even though I'm an ATI fanboy (sort of), probably the GTX275.

Kk, and I'm guessing that'd last me a while right? Sorry to ask so many questions. I just want to be 100% sure!

When I say last a while, I mean, through the next wave of games. How many years would a 275 last me if I were to get one?

[mkey82]

You can never be 100% sure

 

It depends on what "last a while" means to you. For instance, I bought this 4870 some 9 months ago and I could max every game I tried on it (except GTA4 and Crysis, of course). Gaming today is not moving that fast, nor is hardware development for that matter. So my guess is that all of the mentioned cards will last a while. That is if lowering settings in few years time is acceptable for you.