can a pc be built/bought to run ah on full eye candy for around $800?

[Debrody]

Not all Phenomx2 processors are able to unlock to x4 quad. If a person buys a dual core Phenom and is able to unlock it to a a quad consider it a bonus (Do not buy a phenom x2 and think its a given that it will unlock). Also there is a feature or 2 which will not work, like core temp I think is one. It has been awhile since I have read up on unlocking and I do not remember off hand.

A 3.2 phenom x2 will handle Ah fine.

PhenomIIx2 Blck Editions are unlockable.
Just built two comps, one with the x2 555 and one with the x4 955 (both 3.2 GHz). Unlocked the 555 to B55 (works as a 955), and the two comps work just the same. It has some risks tho, not guaranteed that the other cores arent damaged.

[BaldEagl]

It wouldn't matter if you could unlock cores or not for AH since AH only uses two cores although it might be useful for other non-gaming applications.

Just want to make sure the OP doesn't think he's going to get some big bump in AH performance by buying a CPU with more than two cores.

[MaSonZ]

It wouldn't matter if you could unlock cores or not for AH since AH only uses two cores although it might be useful for other non-gaming applications.

Just want to make sure the OP doesn't think he's going to get some big bump in AH performance by buying a CPU with more than two cores.

this... i have an AMD Phenom II X6 (6 cores). will i ever need all 6? doubtful, but its useful or other non-gaming related tasks. i would be happy with 4 cores though, 6 is over kill.

[SilverZ06]

Do dual core is really i need then. This computer will be designated purely for AH. My current pc will be used for everything else as it is a decent pc for "everyday" computing. I kind of like the chalange of piecing together my own system as I have never done it and would love to learn. However it does seem almost cheaper to buy a premade system. I think i could skimp on a hd since really AH and an operating system will be all thats installed. decisions decisions..... 

[MaSonZ]

Do dual core is really i need then. This computer will be designated purely for AH. My current pc will be used for everything else as it is a decent pc for "everyday" computing. I kind of like the chalange of piecing together my own system as I have never done it and would love to learn. However it does seem almost cheaper to buy a premade system. I think i could skimp on a hd since really AH and an operating system will be all thats installed. decisions decisions..... 

if your only usin it for AH and the OS, you shouldnt need anymore then a 50GB    ive got AH, OS, Mozilla, Microsoft office, iTunes and many other things and i just barely broke the 50GB mark....

Personally, the issue with a premade system is (i feel) a lot of work needs to be done to run AH with full eye candy (I believe oyu said you would hope for this in the OP). new PSU, new vid card, theres 200 bucks there give or take a few, your gonna spend 5 or 600 on a new system to have to redo part of it anyway.

just my .02

[SilverZ06]

you are correct. my main goal is full eye candy with the high res pack.

[Debrody]

Then you can do it way under 800.
for example:
mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA78LMT-US2H   75 bucks in Hungary
cpu: phneomx2 555  100 bucks here
cooling: Cooler Master HyperTx3 25 bucks
ram: your choice, 4x1GB is under 50 bucks
hdd: many choices under 50 bucks
monitor: many choices around 21" and 150 bucks, you cant go wrong
optical drive: cheap dvd drive around 30 bucks
PSU: dont be cheap on this, many choices around 500W and 50 bucks, more than enough for AH
GPU: around 150 bucks: hd 5770, 6790 or 6850
case: any cheap case, many choices around 40-50 bucks
All around 650 dollars if the prices are the same in the states. Plus 20 on the keyboard, mouse, headset.

[gyrene81]

Personally, the issue with a premade system is (i feel) a lot of work needs to be done to run AH with full eye candy (I believe oyu said you would hope for this in the OP). new PSU, new vid card, theres 200 bucks there give or take a few, your gonna spend 5 or 600 on a new system to have to redo part of it anyway.

just my .02

very true. with a full pre-built or barebones unit you have no choice in certain hardware, specifically the mobo, ram, power supply just to start with. for me, the motherboard is pretty much the foundation of the system. the compatibility with different hardware, chipset combinations, reliability, etc... buy a factory build or a barebones unit and you don't get to choose the motherboard and the computer company has to make a profit so they will not use as high end a mobo as you would want. same goes for psu, ram and the hard drive.

as of right now, for amd cpu's that mobo i listed has the best chipset combination for performance and compatibility. almost any am3 cpu will work on it.

[guncrasher]

one thing i found out is when you build your own system, you can build one for really cheap that will play aces high nicely.  but if you want to do something else you will want to upgrade.  you can build a good system for under 700 bucks, or you can build a top of the line for 1k.  difference is you wont have to upgrade next year if you want to start doing something else.  you can play ah on a dual core sytem, but they are dated as now just about everything built is 4 core.  and that inexpensive mobo you bought may not be accommodate a second video card you got down the road and even if it did, you may now have to upgrade you ram.  I believe that if you are gonna spend the money, then get something that will meet your future needs.  not saying waste your money foolishly, but spend it wisely.  a better processor/ram/mobo may cost you about a third of the money you may spend next year because you want to upgrade for whatever reason.

skuzzy has said many times that most of the problems he sees are from amd based systems.  so it is fair to bring that out, but the choice is up to you.  good luck, building a system is lots of fun.  and once you do, you get addicted to trying to make it better  .

semp

[MaSonZ]

one thing i found out is when you build your own system, you can build one for really cheap that will play aces high nicely.  but if you want to do something else you will want to upgrade.  you can build a good system for under 700 bucks, or you can build a top of the line for 1k.  difference is you wont have to upgrade next year if you want to start doing something else.  you can play ah on a dual core sytem, but they are dated as now just about everything built is 4 core.  and that inexpensive mobo you bought may not be accommodate a second video card you got down the road and even if it did, you may now have to upgrade you ram.  I believe that if you are gonna spend the money, then get something that will meet your future needs.  not saying waste your money foolishly, but spend it wisely.  a better processor/ram/mobo may cost you about a third of the money you may spend next year because you want to upgrade for whatever reason.

skuzzy has said many times that most of the problems he sees are from amd based systems.  so it is fair to bring that out, but the choice is up to you.  good luck, building a system is lots of fun.  and once you do, you get addicted to trying to make it better  .

semp

all of that... why i wanna switch to Intel.. but i would need a new mobo, CPU and in the future vid card 

[Bino]

This article on Maximum PC details how they put a machine together - with a few chosen compromises, like the PSU and hard disk size - for just under US $600:

CPU Intel Core i3 2100
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-H67M-D2
Memory Corsair TW3X4G1333C9 DDR3-1333 Kit
Case and Power Supply Cooler Master 534 with 460W PSU
Graphics HIS Radeon HD 5750
Hard Drive Seagate 7200.12 160GB
Optical Drive LG GGH22NS50B DVD Burner
OS Windows 7 Home Premium x64 (OEM)

[Tac]

This is a computer build I have presented to a friend of mine who was looking to upgrade by buying a whole new, built from scratch system.

Monitor:
Hanns·G HZ201DPB Black 20" WideScreen LCD Monitor w/Speakers

RAM:
G.SKILL Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory

Hard Disk:
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s

Video Card:
ASUS GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) ENGTX550 TI DC/DI/1GD5 Video Card

Sound Card:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE Sound Card

Motherboard & CPU
MSI 870-G45 ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Disc Drives:
SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AB

Case:
Rosewill FUTURE Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply:
Rosewill RV2-700 700W Power Supply


Total : $567 dollars and there's about 15 dollars worth of shipping since almost all components have free shipping.

Only additional cost is the keyboard and mouse..which I always tell my friends to go buy it in best buy since there's so many shapes, sizes, etc.

Gotta love newegg

[MaSonZ]

Tac, I have the same moniter that you did for your buddy. Its a nice little moniter for the price. hell like it.


Newegg is where i shall always go unless TD can beat the price or match it.

[TequilaChaser]

Not all Phenomx2 processors are able to unlock to x4 quad. If a person buys a dual core Phenom and is able to unlock it to a a quad consider it a bonus (Do not buy a phenom x2 and think its a given that it will unlock). Also there is a feature or 2 which will not work, like core temp I think is one. It has been awhile since I have read up on unlocking and I do not remember off hand.

A 3.2 phenom x2 will handle Ah fine.

PhenomIIx2 Blck Editions are unlockable.
Just built two comps, one with the x2 555 and one with the x4 955 (both 3.2 GHz). Unlocked the 555 to B55 (works as a 955), and the two comps work just the same. It has some risks tho, not guaranteed that the other cores arent damaged.

Yes Black Edition AMD Phenom II x2's are unlockable provided that your Mother Board ( MB Bios ) supports it

also, the locked cores on a dual or triple core PC are locked for a reason by AMD..... that is because these locked cores did not past the Quality Control of AMD during testing at the factory......

I unlocked my  x2 555 on an ASUS M4A87TD/USB3 board and found that it sometimes would work with all 4 ores if I dropped all 4 processors out put down by 15 to 20 % less than the rated 3.2 Ghz ....... and using just 3 cores I could get by around 10 % reduced output...... but running them at the full rated 3.2 Ghz it would BSOD or crash etc.......

also note that anyone using AMD dual or multi core CPU's will not be able to have the benefit of using the extra cores in Aces High..... if your PC is AMD dual or Quad core etc.... Aces High only utilizies ONE core only!!!

hopefuly someday HTC/Aces High will find a way for Aces High to utilize 2 cores on AMD cpus like it does with Intel Cpus.....

hope this helps

TC

[TequilaChaser]

Also, just because Aces High only utilizes "1" core on AMD cpu's....... should not scare people away from using them

I have used AMD dual/multi core cpus for a long time and have had no problems with maxing out the game settings while being restricted to just a single core.....

hope this helps

TC