Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: twosox on May 30, 2007, 08:45:16 AM

Title: advice on computer
Post by: twosox on May 30, 2007, 08:45:16 AM

I need some advice on building a computer for AH2.  Best motherboard, processor, videocard, moniter etc.  


I wont be building it havent got a clue, some tech guy will do it for me.  Thanks.

twosox

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Krusty on May 30, 2007, 09:17:42 AM

Intel E6420 or E6600 CPU, Ge 7950 vid card, at least 2GB of DDR2 800, an Audigy2 or better sound card, SATA 160+ GB HD, and whatever mobo you find that supports all of these but has the right features (ports, plugs, slots) that you might like.

Title: hey Krusty
Post by: twosox on May 30, 2007, 02:07:09 PM

Thanks Krusty as always your a gent.  Will go to work on this ASAP.

twosox:D

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Krusty on May 30, 2007, 02:28:17 PM

Mind you that's not perfect, that's just a good suggested starting place

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Schutt on May 31, 2007, 04:10:31 AM

Mainly depends on how much money you want to spend for the "box" as in
case, motherboard, cpu,vid card, memory, drives,  powersupply, soundcard.

Check how much money you want to spend in total, substract whatever you want/must spend on :

keyboard/ mouse / fancy stuff / speakers / display / printer / scanner

Then, tell us the remaining money for the box. That must be more than 600$ and is probably less than 3000$

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Vulcan on May 31, 2007, 05:16:12 AM

Yup gotta factor in $$$$ for things like:
 - HOTAS
 - Pedals
 - Simpit
 - VR Headset
 - TrackIR
 - Wall projection system
 - good divorce lawyer

Title: computer stuff.
Post by: twosox on May 31, 2007, 06:59:12 AM

Thanks Krusty, Shutt, Vulcan.  The cost of the box and stuff that goes in it will cost around 2,000 Euro this does not include keyboard, monitor etc or any of that NASA stuff vulcan was on about :confused:


twosox
:D :D

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Krusty on May 31, 2007, 09:31:12 AM

Quote

Originally posted by Vulcan
- good divorce lawyer

:rofl :rofl :rofl

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Schutt on June 01, 2007, 04:46:17 AM

Oh thats a lot, that is pretty hot if build from parts, of course if someone else build it he will take some money of that cake too.
Taken from http://www.anandtech.com , something like this could be the right direction. Of course, the builder will come up with diffrent parts and might eaven be right about it, since he probably know what works and what he can get. Sometimes specific parts, specially those recommended in reviews are hard to get and other parts are better and cheaper.

The biggest problems, like that motherboard works with the RAM, cooler fits onto the board, parts are impossible to obtain and the like are not your porblems if you have someone else to build the stuff.

Processor Core 2 Duo E6600 $223 €203
Cooler Zalman CNPS 9500AT €39
Motherboard EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR $159 €159
Memory OCZ Flex XLC 2GB Kit DDR2 PC2-6400 $179 €179
Video Card EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS 640MB $350 €339
Hard Drive Samsung SpinPoint HD501LJ 500GB $112 €92
2nd Hard Drive Samsung SpinPoint HD501LJ 500GB $112 €92
Optical Drive Pioneer DVR-212BK $42 €47
Case Apevia Aspire X-Cruiser $59 €79
Power Supply Corsair CMPSU-620HX $126 -??
Sound Card Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional $140 €119
Operating System Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2B (OEM) $110 €104

--------
Parts total:  €1582
Building, 24h break in, 24h service (for example): €300
System total: €1882

---------


Display Acer AL2216Wbd 22" 5ms 1680x1050 $250 €289

Alternative Motherboard: Asus Striker Extreme $305
Alternative Case: Antec Nine Hundred $110
Alternative Powersupply Zalman ZM600-HP (600W) $132 €111

Edit: I did not build this system, the parts are what anandtech suggested but i removed the second graphic card, added a second hard drive and the cpu cooler. 2 graphic boards in SLI does not make sense unless if you need it for work, to much heat and noise. On top of it it only makes sense if you get the fastest boards there is and then two of those, two mid range boards is not usefull.
The new intel chipset P35 seems pretty fast, might be an option to get a P35 DDR2 motherboard.

Title: Hey Shutt
Post by: twosox on June 02, 2007, 01:35:24 PM

Spoke to a chap in the Sony Centre, he suggested this set-up what do you think?

lg flatron 19" tft moniter

geil 2048mb ddr-11 800mh

asus p5n32-sli premium

leadtek 8800gtx 768mb pc

samsung18x dl dvd-rw

samsung400gb sata-11 8m

apevia x-cruiser pc case

sharkoon silentstorm 700

intel core 2 duo e6600 c

microsoft vista home

All for 2,026 euro they will build it free,what do you think? any suggestions i would be greatful

twosox:lol  this does not include keyboard of mouse.

Title: advice on computer
Post by: NHawk on June 03, 2007, 07:00:28 AM

Excellent except for the LCD monitor, I'd go CRT for higher refresh rates.

And I'd go with Windows XP. Vista doesn't have all of the bugs worked out yet and drivers are still scarce.

And the fact that you could probably save 1/2 of that building the system yourself. :)

That's about 2700 USD and for that you could build a monster computer.

Title: Hi Nhawk
Post by: twosox on June 03, 2007, 08:08:58 AM

What is CRT? I'd love to have the tech know how to build it my self but I dont.  many thanks for the advice, cya up there.:eek:

twosox

Title: Re: Hi Nhawk
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on June 04, 2007, 01:10:42 AM

Quote

Originally posted by twosox
What is CRT? I'd love to have the tech know how to build it my self but I dont.  many thanks for the advice, cya up there.:eek:

twosox

CRT is old tube display tech that's disappearing completely from market. New LCD's are superior in some aspects, inferior in others.

I wouldn't want to buy a new CRT because they always get problems during time. Convergence, uniformity, flickering etc. have troubled every single CRT I've owned. LCD does not flicker by design and has no convergence problems. That's why I prefer LCD over CRT - the color based problems are simply not an issue for me and the ghosting problems are getting less with every generation of LCD.

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Brooke on June 04, 2007, 03:31:07 AM

I've usually bought Dell Dimensions rather than building machines myself.  They won't likely be as nice as picking all the parts and building a machine, but it is much easier and seems like it would be cheaper, and for me it is much less hassle.

I recently bought a Dimension 9200 with a Core 2 Duo E6420 (no monitor, as I already had one of those) for US$624.  I then bought an nVidia 7950 GT video card for it from newegg.com for about US$180.  So, in total without a monitor, that's about 600 euros.

It seems plenty fast for Aces High (I'm running 1280x960 and max quality settings, including 8xS antialiasing) and getting about 50 fps in ndisles at A1 launed NW, sitting on the ground looking forward (my usual test for settings).  It maxes out the fps in Battlefield 1942 at 100 fps always with max quality settings and 1280x960 resolution.

I, too, would suggest Windows XP instead of Windows Vista.

Anyway, I mention the above only because I've been happy going this route, and it seems relatively inexpensive and hassle free.

Title: advice on computer
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on June 04, 2007, 05:26:09 AM

Quote

Originally posted by NHawk
Excellent except for the LCD monitor, I'd go CRT for higher refresh rates.

Monitor refresh rates are not a factor outside CRT world. And even then, high refresh is required in CRT only because low refresh will cause awful flickering, eye strain and headaches. Even epileptic seizures at wost if youre prone for that.

A high refresh will not make the game run any faster. The most important thing is that the framerate will stay above 30 at all times, otherwise it will affect the gameplay. You will not notice any difference between 60 or 200fps.

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Krusty on June 04, 2007, 06:47:43 AM

Some folks are reporting problems with the 8800 drivers. A couple say they have no problems. However the drivers for the card are reportedly some of the worst drivers of our generation. I like to suggest a 7900 or 7950 when folks ask if they should get the 8800 cards.

Perhaps not the best source (I don't have either, I've got a 7600GT), but food for thought.

P.S. LCD should be fine as long as the refresh rate is low.

Title: thanks guys
Post by: twosox on June 04, 2007, 07:15:12 AM

thanks mrRipley krusty Brooke:)

twosox

Title: advice on computer
Post by: Sloehand on June 04, 2007, 01:17:35 PM

One significant addition to what others have suggested.  If you want a very fast system for gaming, I very highly recommend for your hard drive, you buy 2 Western Digital Raptors in whatever size you can afford -- 36Gb ($100 +/- US each), 76Gb ($160 +/-US each) or 150Gb ($260 +/-US each) -- and put them in RAID 0 configuration.  Even without RAID, these are the fastest, super reliable, non-SCSI drives available (10,000rpm).  Use them to load your OS and all programs.  Eventually buy a cheaper, slower drive for data, photos, music, etc if you use intend to use your system for such as well as gaming.

Mine computer is first a business system, not a pure game box, but the Raptor hard drives certainly are part of what makes it very good for gaming.

Title: thanks
Post by: twosox on June 04, 2007, 03:29:15 PM

Thanks sloehand, seems like a good suggestion to me:D

twosox

Title: advice on computer
Post by: MrRiplEy[H] on June 04, 2007, 05:00:20 PM

I have a 8800GTS and while the drivers are buggy its more of an annoyance than a real problem. The performance makes up for it.