Welcome to Omgili,
Omgili ( Oh My God I Love It ;) is a search engine for discussions. With Omgili you can find answers and solutions, debates, discussions, personal experiences, opinions and more... To learn more about Omgili click here.
This is a complete preview of the discussion as it was indexed by Omgili crawlers. Use this preview if the original discussion is unavailable.
Click here to view the original discussion.
[http://www.beastcomputers.co.uk/community/showthread.php?t=2...]
Click here to search for discussions with Omgili discussions search engine.
 |
Bit of a hardware newbie - New PC - BEAST Gaming PCs
I am thinking of upgrading my now slightly ageing Athlon 64 XP3200+ Its done well had 2gb, WInXP etc etc with a 7900GT.
Its however starting to hit peaks on some of the newer games, even on lower than top settings.
I'm not looking for a high end gaming machine - I simply cannot afford one.
Possibly one around 1500pounds(maximum - if something suitable can be got much less I would be happier).
I can also utilize bits on this machine such as Monitors/XiFi Fatality SOundcard, mouse, keyboard etc etc Even the 7900GT if I am not likely to get a substantial improvement with a new card.
One other thing to consider is I go to lans quite often - At least 3/4 times a year.
I am not adverse to a smaller Lan machine but Would like to know what pro's / cons there might be - other than the upgradability(obvious) and lack of space for addons.
I realise the standard Ram/OS is going to be Vista 32bit with 2gb ram.
I don't think I'll have a need for 64bit atm, and therefore no gains in extra ram.
Whilst i work in IT I am not an hardware expert by all means, I have mostly been based on support, so this an area I would appreciate any advice such as MB/Memory/Processor.
I guess I am looking at a low -midrange gaming pc.
Many thanks,
|
|
Welcome to the forums Blurred.
Well for lan etc the Beast guys do the Tauros:
http://www.beastcomputers.co.uk/beast-tauros.php
Thats a grands worth and is capable of kicking butt - obviously having a chat to the guys can come up with alternatives - or adjustments to the specs for it.
They will basically spec up a system for your needs & budget.
Personal view from me on Vista isn't good, and as some ppl know its basically a dead horse now, they already looking at the next OS.
But for DirX10 its a must, but if you don't really need DirX10, then stick with XP (i have).
Just a very fast play on customise section gets this, but remember its only a guide, the guys can use any case (within reason) & the specs can change - its just to give you an idea (yup i didn't use Vista the spec):
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO E8400 3.00GHz 6Mb Cache
Motherboard: MSI Intel P35 NEO2-FR (DDR2)
Memory: 2GB Corsair TwinX XMS2 DDR2 800MHz
Case: Antec Nine Hundred
Hard Drive One (OS): 500GB Samsung F1 SATAII 7200rpm 16mb cache
Hard Drive Two (DATA): 500GB Samsung F1 SATAII 7200rpm 16mb cache
Graphics Cards: 2 x ATi HD4850 512mb
Sound Card: On Board Sound
PhysX Card: None
Optical Drives: 20x Samsung Dual Layer DVD RW
Cooling + System Build: Standard Air Cooling
Operating System: Windows XP Home SP2
Overclocking (+3 Day Build Time): Moderate
Power Supply: 850W Akasa Powermax SLi xFire Ready
Cable Management: Premium (Maximise Airflow, System Cooling)
Warranty: 1 Yr Standard Return to Base Parts and Labour
Build Time: Standard (Up to 21 working days)
Delivery Options: UPS
Colour Modding (+1 Day Build Time): None
Case Colour: Black
£1,390.00
TBH the best thing to do is give the guys a ring and have a chat to them, get something specifically spec'd up for you & your budget.
T.
|
|
That's a really good system that Taynt has specced there.
Two 4850's would last you quite a while.
The only thing that I would change is the case, but then that's a personal thing and it's all down to what you like.
And as already noted by Taynt the Tauros has been designed with the Lan in mind.
If you are using your PC mainly for gaming then right now the E8400 would be the best 'bang for buck,' CPU available to you.
To utilise all of your budget I came up with this (still £50 under though.)
Extreme Custom PCs BEAST Intel Custom PC
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO E8400 3.00GHz 6Mb Cache
Motherboard: ASUS P5E Intel X38 (DDR2)
Memory: 2GB Corsair TwinX XMS2 DDR2 800MHz
Case: Akasa Eclipse 62
Hard Drive One (OS): 500GB Samsung F1 SATAII 7200rpm 16mb cache
Hard Drive Two (DATA): None
Graphics Cards: 2 x AMD
ATi HD4850 512mb
Sound Card: On Board Sound
PhysX Card: None
Optical Drives: 20x Samsung Dual Layer DVD
RW
Cooling + System Build: Standard Air Cooling
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit
Overclocking (+3 Day Build Time): None
Power Supply: 850W Akasa Powermax SLi
xFire Ready
Cable Management: Premium (Maximise Airflow, System Cooling)
Warranty: 1 Yr Standard Return to Base Parts and Labour
Build Time: Standard (Up to 21 working days)
Delivery Options: BEAST Delivery Service* (Zone 1)
Colour Modding (+1 Day Build Time): Red (Fans + Lighting Effects)
Case Colour: Black
I would suggest an X38 chipset motherboard as it has 2 full speed PCI-E slots so crossfire should perform slightly better with this motherboard despite the price.
While it adds £25 I also added color modding, you don't need it but once you've seen it, you will.
Especially if you get a case with a window.
I put the Akasa Eclipse which is a nice case, and isn't hugely tall making it reasonably portable if you wanted to go to LAN tournament with it.
But as Taynt suggested it would be a good idea to ring up beast and have them walk you through it if you are totally unsure.
|
|
Thanks or the advice has given me some options to think about.
Hard disk wise I have 2x500gb Samsung F1 drives so I an abuse those also in any new system.
Basically want something thats not likely to need major upgrades or a couple years.
(I usually upgrade bits).
|
|
An X38 / P45 board with an E8400 and some corsair ram will definitely last you a few years.
The main thing you'll have to worry about is upgrading graphics cards when you want to play more demanding games, which is easy.
Another thing to consider if you want a long term system is the RAM type, if you pick a DDR2 board your options for upgrading the memory in the future will be more limited (especially a few years down the line) with DDR3 taking off properly this year and prices not as insane as they used to be only a few months ago for a decent kit.
Can you tell us which resolution you like to play at, if any?
While multi-gpu setups can be great, if i was building a serious LAN machine myself i would most definitely go for a single gpu (or at least single card) solution, as it will be the most problem free one.
For that i'd recommend either a Radeon 4870, the just-released (but not actually available anywhere i can find) 4870X2, or an Nvidia card like the 9800GTX+ or GTX 260/280, whose prices have fallen recently to a more reasonable level than what they launched at.
Some of these are really high end components however with some tweaking you should be able to fit them into your budget.
We can provide you with options, but the choice is ultimately yours
P.S welcome to the forums.
|
|
I use a 22" Samsung 2232BW at its max - >
1650x ....(widescreen)
In games i atm reduce until the game is playable lol 1024x768 or 1280x1024 and i usually end up turning off AA
|
|
|
Something I noticed, when quoting - you've only assumed a 1 year warranty - not trying to diss the parts or anything, but having had a MB on an older machine just inside its 3 year warranty and also on a monitor having it go inside its 3 years - warranties can be useful - I guess its the risk of the item not going at all vs the item going just outside the warranty(expensive).
(none were beast of course).
|
|
Alot of people go with the 1 year warranty initially, then upgrade to 3 years within the first year.
The option is there
|
|
AH ok, I haven't decided fully yet what I want, so am still obviously looking around.
There is some extremely good offers on at cybergamer so will need to compare up what you get for your money as well (I am sure service is service is exceptional here but I have to weight it all up).
- I maybe not be buying anything for a few weeks just yet so I have some time to look things over properly.
Thanks for the help thought its given me food for thought, and i will certainly be reviewing the options at Beast.
|
|
Still maintain that you should give the guys themselves a quick call & have a chat to them.
The will be straight up with you and listen to your needs, then they can make suggestions etc and come up with a system & spec they think will suit you (and it prolly won't be the most expensive, they are not like that).
Read my sig...
T.
|
|
|
|