Future Purchase...

[Chapel]

So i'm looking to get a computer here sometime in the near future.
As Aces High II is probably one of the most frequently used programs, i'm looking to find out how to maximize my enjoyment and the awesomeness of the details, textures, while at the same time get a kick bellybutton Framerate.

My monitor only has a refresh of 60-75hz, not sure exactly. So despite that, what should I be looking to get?
What order of importance should I be considering?

Video cards, CPU speed, RAM, anything else?

[Getback]

I've read several times where Skuzzy has said CPU is most important in this game.

[Fulmar]

Well we need to get some more information from you first.  Are you building this computer or buying a pre-built one?  What is your budget?  If building, are you reusing some parts?  If not building, would you considering building a computer?

AH is more CPU dependent and a mid-level video card will do just fine.  If you're playing on XP is going to run faster in gaming than Vista, so if you are building this computer, you can still pick up XP from online retailers.

drdeath non-sense below
|
|
|
v

[BaldEagl]

^  What he said.

[Chapel]

I can go pre-built or build it myself. Or atleast have someone help me build it, but I do have a small amount of experience changing parts, and installing stuff.

Budget wise, I'd like to stick between $600-$1000 or there abouts.

As for parts: Right now I have...
AMD 64 Athlon 3200+
3 Gigs Ram
A Soundblaster X-Fi Something Sound card
ATI X1600 video card.

It's about 4-5 yrs old, and is an Emachine that i've upgraded myself.
I'd prefer windows XP, as I'm not intrested in switching to Vista unless I have to.

I CAN reuse parts, if I need to. I think the sound card is quite suitable for my needs.
It's the CPU, RAM, and Video card that really need the upgrading. But only if it's gonna really help me out

Currently I run AH at 512 textures, and don't really have the settings jacked up. I'd like to be able to jack em up. As well as be able to play some future video games for the next few years.

[Fulmar]

On the $1000, you may be able to do a New i7 Intel system, but its pretty new and there aren't too many motherboard choices yet.  But the C2D's and C2Q's are pretty cheap as we speak.

I'd look at an E8400-E8600 processor.  A nice motherboard.  4gb of DDR2 ram.  Maybe a new hard drive.  Probably $200 on a video card and a good quality PSU.  You're probably got an IDE hard drive.  When I do a new system build I like to get a new hard drive because they'll be faster than the old one I had and have less hours of use.  I think 500gb HD's are what $70 right now?

My 2 year old E6400 system with 4gb of ram, 8800GTS 640mb runs AH at 1650x1050, 1024 textures, 8X AA. and a constant 60 FPS.

[BaldEagl]

I'd go with an Intel E8400 or E8500 CPU.  The I7's are still a bit over-priced IMO.

Look at the Nvidia 700 series motherboards.  The 750 series boards are a nice value and will run 1066 RAM with PCIe X16 2.0 video slots but there are a number of good Intel boards as well (X45 chipset IIRC).

Get low latency RAM (4-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-16); 2 Gb should suffice but you might want to get 4 Gb.  If so then go with 2x 2 Gb.

I like eVGA and the 9800 video cards are a great value with solid performance.

You'll also likely need a new PSU.  I have a PC Power & Cooling 750W PSU but the 610W would be adequate.  Whatever you get make sure it's got a lot of amps on the 12V rail(s) (35-40+)

Get a Seagate SATA drive.  All the Seagate drives have a 5 year warranty.  Swap your old IDE drive(s) in as storage drive(s).

Also get a new case and an aftermarket CPU cooler.  A lot of people here have the Antec 900 case.  I have a (now discontinued) Cooler Master which I really like.  Cases are really a matter of personal preference but a mid-tower ATX should suffice.

A lot of people swear by Zantec CPU coolers.  I have an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro that works pretty well and was cheap for it's capability (15 degree C drop over the stock Intel cooler for under $30).

Swap your sound card and optical drives over from your old machine unless the optical drives are IDE, then just buy a new SATA drive (they're under $30).

Finally, get the builder's edition of XP Pro.

Not sure if you have a CRT or LCD monitor but if you're still using a CRT and have money left over look hard at getting a widescreen CRT with a 2-3 ms response time, 16+ million colors and 1000:1+ contrast ratio.  There is no comparison between the newer LCDs and a CRT.

If you do this you can stay under budget and run high res textures at full graphic settings locked to your monitor refresh rate in any and every situation in AH.

BTW, this is for a build which is really no harder than swapping out parts.

[Fulmar]

The hardest thing about building these days is perhaps putting the HSF on.  Though it is a lot easier than it used to be.  Those old retention clip designs always made me nervous.  Made me feel like I was going to break the CPU or bust the Motherboard in two.

[drdeathx]

Fulmar wise guy above^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Chapel get in touch with Tildeath. He will help you in pricing and I am sure he will getcha on the way with self build.  Baldeagle recommended pretty much an awesome system.

[TilDeath]

I suggest you wait on any purchases as far as parts go until next month, if your getting a prebuilt box from XYZ store makes not difference.  There will be some new releases (shush I didnt say anything) that will bring Video Card and Processor pricing down.

Get with me for pricing if you wish.

[Getback]

The hardest thing about building these days is perhaps putting the HSF on.  Though it is a lot easier than it used to be.  Those old retention clip designs always made me nervous.  Made me feel like I was going to break the CPU or bust the Motherboard in two.

Yeah, That's where I had a problem or at least it seemed a slower process than what I thought it would be.