Gaming Rig

[Martlet]

I was told to post this here.

I need a new gaming rig.  I haven't upgraded my home built in a few years, so I probably should upgrade everything.  Someone suggested this bare bones  that I could pick up a HD and new monitor for.

Does anyone have any links/suggestions?

[The Fugitive]

I'd go with a good 600 watt power supply, and the 8400 card is a pretty low end card. Even my old X850 places higher than it on the "Toms Hardware" charts.

as for suggestions....well that depends on how "handy" you are, and what kind of money you want to spend.

[Martlet]

I'm leaning towards:

Acer AL2216WBD 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Ultra-fast 5ms
Altec Lansing VS3251 6-Piece Gaming 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers
AMD A64 X2 5400+ 2.80GHz OEM
MSI K9N4 SLI-F Motherboard
OCZ Platinum 2048MB PC6400
(2) XFX GeForce 8400 GS 512MB
Ultra 400-Watt XVS PSU
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 400GB Hard Drive - 7200
Thermaltake / Ruby Orb

$870 shipped

Opinions? What would you change

[Skuzzy]

I would go with an Intel Core 2 CPU rather than an AMD dual-core CPU.  Bang for the buck and all that rot.

[Fulmar]

Originally posted by Martlet

(2) XFX GeForce 8400 GS 512MB
Ultra 400-Watt XVS PSU


Opinions? What would you change

As Skuzzy said, stick with a C2D.  Upcoming price cuts are on the way as well with Intel.

2 low end graphics cards in SLI DO NOT = 1 high end graphics card.  So, do not expect wonders out of the 8400, which is really really low end out of the 8xxx series.  Read this article and figure out what you want to spend $ on a graphics card.  It will give you the best card for the money.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/03/the_best_gaming_graphics/

For the PSU, I would get a larger PSU.  Spend at least $100 on a quality brand.  The wattage/amperage you need will mainly be determined on the video card you select.  Let us know what video card you select and we'll be able to tell you what you need power wise.  400 watts is skimpy and do not skimp on quality.  Remember, a PSU is supplying power to all the components in your computer.  Too many times I've seen the $20-30 varities fry high end equipment after only a few months.

[Martlet]

Thanks.  Most of that was a bare bones system that came as a package.  I suppose I'll have to piece it out, then, rather than save a few bucks.

[Fulmar]

Originally posted by Martlet
Thanks.  Most of that was a bare bones system that came as a package.  I suppose I'll have to piece it out, then, rather than save a few bucks.

That barebones system had 2 x 8400's eh?  Anyways, barebones system almost always have cheap cheap cheap PSUs.

[Martlet]

Originally posted by Fulmar
That barebones system had 2 x 8400's eh?  Anyways, barebones system almost always have cheap cheap cheap PSUs.

Yep.  This was what was included in the bare bones system, plus a case.  The rest I added.

AMD A64 X2 5400+ 2.80GHz OEM
MSI K9N4 SLI-F Motherboard
OCZ Platinum 2048MB PC6400
(2) XFX GeForce 8400 GS 512MB
Ultra 400-Watt XVS PSU


However, since much of that has been nixed by the collective hive mind, it looks like I'll be better off finding a place to price it out individually.

[JB73]

told ya they'd help

I'd agree with most everything said, but even pricing it out separately you should be in decent shape $800-$1000 for a "high end" rig to play AH.

just remember stay away from Vi$ta

[eagl]

Take a look at Toad's recent thread on the same subject.

[Martlet]

Originally posted by Skuzzy
I would go with an Intel Core 2 CPU rather than an AMD dual-core CPU.  Bang for the buck and all that rot.

How about an intel 2 quad core?

Intel® Core™2 Quad desktop processor Q6600 with 4 processing cores, 2MB L2 cache and 2.4GHz processor speed per core

[Fulmar]

Originally posted by Martlet
How about an intel 2 quad core?

Aces High is not coded to use all 4 cores.  Few games are coded to use 4 cores.  Some applications in graphics, rendering, modeling etc. etc. are encoded for 4 cores since they are very CPU intensive.

If AH is your main game of play, stick with a Core 2 Duo.  For $280 (what a Q6600 quad core costs) you can get the E6850 Core 2 Duo which will be faster than the Q6600 in games coded for only 2 cores.  Quad cores may be more 'future-proof', but their need is not immediate right now.  Since the current quad cores and dual cores use the same socket 775, you can buy a dual core now and upgrade to a quad core later w/o need a new motherboard.  However, I'd picked a motherboard that supports a 1333mhz Front Side Bus.  The newest Intel's processor are using that speed, while older ones use 1066mhz.  So a motherboard that has a 1333mhz FSB will again give you a little more future proof expansion to a faster processor.

[Martlet]

Sometimes it's a foreign language to me.  We used to have a shop by my house where they kept track of everything I'd purchased.  It was a wholesale shop, and I could walk in and they'd make suggestions.  I loved that place.

It looks like I won't be able to build on a bare bones system.  There is too much that needs to by changed.  I'll have to just start from scratch, unless I find a pre-built system.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Stay away from SLI. You cannot imagine a more sure way to waste your money.

For the price of two cheap cards you can get a single card that will perform way better than the two cards in SLI.

[Martlet]

Originally posted by MrRiplEy[H]
Stay away from SLI. You cannot imagine a more sure way to waste your money.

For the price of two cheap cards you can get a single card that will perform way better than the two cards in SLI.

Someone needs to make a website that actually plays games, and says "this is what you need to buy.  Click here".