Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: SKJohn on April 11, 2005, 06:08:45 PM
-
I finally got the $$ to get a new system. This is one that I'm thinking about getting. Any ideas, forseeable problems, comments? I'm not too much into the geekiy side of things, just looking to get a system that will improve on my 17 - 30 FPS that I've been getting since the last patch. I don't know what all the numbers and Letters in the following info mean, but if it's older stuff or incompatiple w/AH, please let me know.
CPU: Intel pentium 4 530 800FSB 3.0 Ghz 1MB
RM: 1 GB (2x512MB) DDR400
Hard Drive: 80 GB Western Digital 7200 rpm w/ 8MB Buffer SATA
Video Card: eVGA NVIDIA 6800GT , 256 MB
Sound Card: Aound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
I think thats all the pertinent info. Should do better than my current P4 1.5 Ghz, 256 RAM, 64 Mb video card, right?
Can anybody tell me what to look for when shopping for the new, flat screen Monitors? I know I used to look for dot pitch size, the smaller the better seemed to make the Japanese characters I used to use for work seem crisper and clearer on the screen. Anything like that to look for on flat-screens? (LCDS?)
Thanks a lot!
SK John
-
Sounds like an OK rig. Im an AMD/Athlon guy myself. Check those out, you might even save a few bucks :)
Tomshardware.Com has had some good articles on LCD panels. Look for a fast refresh rate, lower the millisecond (ms) the better.
-
response time and native resolution.....
Sys looks good to me....
-
Do yourself a favor and swap that motherboard, CPU and RAM out for a 3Ghz P4 Northwood, and PC3200 ram. It will be faster and run significantly cooler than the Prescott core CPU you have chosen.
Might want to consider the ATIX800XL video card as well. It costs less than the 6800GT, is faster, does not need external power, and runs cooler, but if you are an NVidia fan, then you made a good choice.
-
Thanks for the help, guys. Lepaul, I enjoyed reading the articles at Tom's Hardware. They are easy to read, and gave me a lot of the ideas to think about.
Skuzzy - now you've gone and ruined my day! Just when I'd finally decided what to buy, now I've gotta go searching for new MB's, video cards, etc.!
A serious question (total nn-geek speaking here):
How do I tell the difference between a Norwood and Prescott motherboard? I didn't even see that listed as a choice on the website?
Thanks again!:aok
-
Northwood CPU's use the 'C' designator (i.e. 3.0C) and are all 478pin socket. Careful though. Some sites are marking 478pin Prescotts as 'C'.
Native Prescott's use the LGA-775 pin package.
-
Thank you, Skuzzy. I'm currently checking into seeing if the company will make those changes for me and what it would cost.
-
I got a spectre 19" gaming LCD from newegg....great flatscreen at a great price...
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-112-160&depa=1
Also had an 8mm for even less...
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=24-179-014&depa=1
Seems to be a lower "brightness" but has good reviews....
Were 4 or 5 others at newegg in the $375-450 range for 19" gaming lcd's....you need a 16mm or less response and lower is better...
Brightness is also important...measured in cd/m2...higher is better. 400 or more is generally topend...
-
When looking at the LCD's, they list the "Native resolution." Does that mean that it can only be used at that resolution, or can you still adjust it in windows if need be?
Thanks for the suggestions, Humble. I'm looking into getting a new monitor to go with the system, or just may use the old one for now. All depends on the $$$$ left after buying the system.
-
I prefer a large CRT monitor as opposed to an LCD. Most CRT"s allow for higher frame rates/resolution.
-
CRT over LCD anyday of the week.
Also, go with the Sapphire (Sapphire makes all ATI's cards in case you were not aware) ATI X800 XT its only like 20 bucks more than the XL at NewEgg and you gain 100mhz on your VPU Speed and 50or so MHZ on your ram speed.
Also, I would highly suggest AMD 64 CPUs over the Pentiums. But I am highly biased in this regard.
-
Skuzzy,
Is it just me, or is his quoted "DDR 400" the same thing as the "PC3200" you suggested?
As for LCDs, make sure you get one with DVI inputs. I've read review after review that emphasize this point.
-
PC3200 is DDR400, also when choosing a gaming LCD make sure its a 12ms monitor.
I play tons of graphic intensive games and I still get ghosting on a 12ms monitor as well as artifacts.
Although I would love to switch to LCD just for the looks alone, they have yet to reach the bar I set for my systems. Plus to get the size monitor and ms response necessary you gotta dump some serious dough.
I use a 19" LCD at work and occasional take "lunch breaks in game worlds" and its horrid compared to my CRT at home.
If you dont mind more ghosting and artifacts then you can get a bit cheaper by going with a 16ms panel.
Question I tell my clients is this: If your a gamer and spending $300+ on a video card why spend another 300 - 700 on an LCD that pretty much wipes out the 300 dollar video cards benefits?
Anyhow, just my nickels worth. Ultimately ya gotta get what makes your screws turn.
-
Thanks for all the help and suggestions. I'm thinking of sticking with the CRT's, just because it seems like you can get a smaller pixel size than with the LCD's, as well as getting a bigger (better, clearer?) screen for the $$.
Now, if I can just get my new system ordered and here......
-
Originally posted by eagl
Skuzzy,
Is it just me, or is his quoted "DDR 400" the same thing as the "PC3200" you suggested?
Yes, but his had to be an error as the Prescott family chipsets use DDRII ram, which is not normally quoted as PC3200 or DDR400.
-
Skuzzy,
Did you get the e-mail i sent to you thru the "support at HTC" address? I have another question - with your home system, what kind of frame rates do you get? Near bases, furballs, fires, altitude? I saw in another thread what you get on your office machine - just wondering how you do on your home system with that setup.
Or perhaps when you get home, you're too tired of looking at AH and spend your time doing something else? In that case, what would a person with a system similair to yours (wink, wink...) expect in the way of frame rates?
-
Originally posted by Cyan
[B
Also, go with the Sapphire (Sapphire makes all ATI's cards in case you were not aware) ATI X800 XT its only like 20 bucks more than the XL at NewEgg and you gain 100mhz on your VPU Speed and 50or so MHZ on your ram speed.
[/B]
just the same as Crucial, powercolour ,gigabit, and other manufaturers make the same card with an ati chipset , they dont all use the same ram or other coponnents ... just last year sappire was making some below standard ati cards, lm not shure if they still have that problem though. I recommend reading the intel / Amd hardware forums though first , along with test reviews.
-
Roscoroo not sure if ya missed my point or not, so if you didnt please ignore.
Sapphire is the mfg for the cards sold by ATI. They come off the same press.
Sapphire boards are identical to ATi, RAM is Identical down to the serial numbers. Gigabyte MFGs their own boards not sure about crucial or not...Powercooler also mfgs their own boards.
As for them being sub par, I have not seen one in the last 4 years that hasnt gotten rave reviews...with that said their was a 9800 series card that was great just ran hot. If users put a simple fan on the heatsink it solved the problem, and if I am not mistaken Sapphire corrected the problem with the later release of the board.
-
i was just saying check the tests /reviews and user feedback 1st .. as you should do with any major component .
some of there 9600 cards last yr was junk and they had problems with a few of the others if i remember correctly .
-
You have to be careful with Sapphire branded boards. They do not neccessarily use the same RAM as the ATI cards. It depends on the price point Sapphire wants to hit.
For example, the X800XT cards from Sapphire have two different speeds of rams. The value models use slower 3ns ram, versus the higher cost version 2.5ns rams. Unfortunately, Sapphire does not advertise nor mark these boards differently. They are just priced differently.
A friend of mine got burned by this. All excited about his $360 X800XT card until he found out it was slower than the X800XL card from ATI and did not overclock worth a darn on the memory bus.
Sapphire does build all ATI cards, but to ATI specifications. Sapphire does not have to use ATI specifications for its own cards.
-
you are 100% correct Skuzzy,
You can ensure your getting the higher end boards by getting your stuff from a reputable vendor.
Also, you can ask the vendor for the numbers on the Ram Modules to ensure your getting the good board.
Also, Sapphire now has a breakout in spreadsheet form on their website that shows all their models. Just make sure you specify what you want when you order and you should be fine.
I too have been burned in the past but once I learned the game ALL the aftermarket mfg's play its easy to get what you want.
One other cool point. Many of the sapphire boards are the higher end boards (research this to make sure yours is) and they only load lower end software in the bios to dumb down the board. They do this so they only have to make one printing of all their XXXX boards and then its minor software flashing that changes the quality of the board. A great example of this is the 9800 Pro boards. These are actually XT boards, just dummed down. You can check the serial numbers on the ram, vpu and other modules on the board and its a direct comparison to the ATI XT board. You just have to tweak it a bit and of course improve the fan and your done.
-
the x800xl is not faster in all games.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2299&p=3
However I would still probabbly go with it.
Originally posted by Skuzzy
Do yourself a favor and swap that motherboard, CPU and RAM out for a 3Ghz P4 Northwood, and PC3200 ram. It will be faster and run significantly cooler than the Prescott core CPU you have chosen.
Might want to consider the ATIX800XL video card as well. It costs less than the 6800GT, is faster, does not need external power, and runs cooler, but if you are an NVidia fan, then you made a good choice.
-
Cyan your general office tft is most likely not built for any kind of gaming or multimedia use. There are big differences between tft's even if the marked latency times are the same between products.
Samsung produces cheap 8ms screens at the moment. I prefer a bit of ghosting instead of convergence problems, flicker, radiation, bulky size, weight and all the other crt related problems.
-
Originally posted by Cyan
CRT over LCD anyday of the week.
Also, go with the Sapphire (Sapphire makes all ATI's cards in case you were not aware) ATI X800 XT its only like 20 bucks more than the XL at NewEgg and you gain 100mhz on your VPU Speed and 50or so MHZ on your ram speed.
Also, I would highly suggest AMD 64 CPUs over the Pentiums. But I am highly biased in this regard.
Totally disagree...my last 2 CRTs were both highend (sony and LLayma pro)....this LCD equals or exceeds both with regard to picture quality. It has two limitations...max refresh (75) and max res...both are lower then a good CRT...however picture quality is no longer an issue...
-
I agree office TFTs bite...but the one I use at my office is not a standard office TFT. The machine I use at work is a video editing and graphic design machine.
The monitor is Hyundai ImageQuest L72D+ with an 8ms response time. It plays some games like AH ok, but cannot push doom 3 very well.
A great summary of the differences between CRT and LCD can be found here http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=249 (http://www.d-silence.com/feature.php?id=249)
Please understand I am not trying to bash anyone using LCD's. Dell has come out with a new "Gaming LCD" that looks promising but the price is sure insane compared to what I can get in a CRT.
Still watching the LCD market as it is something I would love to have one day...they are ALOT easier on the eyes.
-
For that reason alone I'm willing to overlook the slight problems lcd's have. CRT's simply give me eyestrain and headache after being exposed to them for thousands of hours.
Started from gaming/coding on C64 when I was 12. I'm over sensitive to CRT problems like flicker or bad focus nowadays.
-
Siaf,
I totally hear ya. I used to sit all day long at a CRT coding and working on servers....now that I got an LCD at work it doesnt make it that bad for me to miss out on some of the performance gains.
Still want to switch to LCD one day.
Also, I got some new glasses from Dr. about a year ago that REALLY help eye strain.
-
Originally posted by Siaf__csf
I'm over sensitive to CRT problems like flicker or bad focus nowadays.
I'm very sensitive to it also. Some people apparently don't even see it. Causes Problems when I have to work on someones computer who's settings have been Admin Locked. I explain the problem and 9 times out of 10.. they think I'm nuts. :mad:
Woof