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[SleazyC]

What do you guys think about this comp in the ~$800 range? I have to add a dvd drive still. I'm probably gonna get a super cheap one since my laptop already has a dvd burner.

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio...asp?WishListNumber=7082432&WishListTitle=comp

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail -- $259

* EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GT 600MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card -- $228.34 (although its back-ordered but you can find many 8800GT's for about $230-$240 right now).

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail -- $189.99

* Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.00GHz LGA 775 -- $209.99
(Can you wait a couple weeks? 45nm chips are coming out and they are faster and cheaper. $209.99 is a price from just one retailer taking pre-orders right now but the OEM x 1000 is $186 so it should be around $200 hopefully. Output little power and overclock great as well.)

Those are the only parts I would say you could play around with. Although I don't like cases that have power supplies already in 'em because most of the time you don't know much about them. I would recommend getting them separately so you can do some research and buy a quality PSU. One part you really don't want to skimp on is the PSU.

 

[MickeyKnox]

Guess I should post this here as well since it's a budget box and Crysis is the most system intensive game out right now.

The Crysis Hardware Experiment

Recommendations from Crytek and New Videos!


Greetings Community,

The Experiment

Over Christmas we took the time for a little in-house experiment. With only a limited budget of around US $900 we wanted to set up a brand new machine that can handle Crysis on High settings. We should note that Very High settings are reserved to keep Crysis future-proofed, just like Ultra was in Far Cry.

Together with EA we looked in shops around the world and bought the hardware parts to put together our machine starting from scratch. While we had a budget in mind, we wanted to still make sure this machine would have top-notch hardware such as a multicore processor or a DirectX10 graphics card.

The Videos

As you’ll see from the 8 minutes of video we recorded, Crysis looks absolute fabulous on High settings with this configuration and runs very smoothly on a 1280x720 resolution. They show different locations from the Crysis Singleplayer Campaign with everything set to High.

- Download – Video 1 (inCrysis mirror)
- Download – Video 2 (inCrysis mirror)
- Download – Video 3 (inCrysis mirror)
- Download – Video 4 (inCrysis mirror)

The Configuration

Below you find a rough list of parts we purchased so you can see and check for yourself about the total costs of such a high-end computer. The prices may vary from country to country, but overall the costs should be within the same range (shipping included).

CPU Intel Core2Duo E6750
GPU GeForce 8800GT 512MB
Motherboard NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775
PSU 600W ATX12V
RAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
HDD SATA 250GB 7200RPM
DVD 20x DVD±R Burner
Case ATX Midi Tower Computer Case
OS Microsoft Windows XP Home with SP2

The Message

With this experiment we have shown that Crysis runs smoothly and provides and amazing, unparalleled performance on High settings and on an affordable machine that is readily available today.

We know most of you already have a great base to work with, so compare your current hardware with the setup mentioned above and consider an affordable upgrade – you do not have to purchase a new machine. Crysis is very scalable and looks great on Medium settings compared to current next-gen games.

Your Hardware?

Of course we would like to know what kind of hardware you are running the game on and how it is running. We encourage you to run a benchmark test in Crysis which you can share afterwards with the members of your favorite Crysis forum (which you can do by starting here).


Regards,

-Crysis Dev Team

 

[Rimshot]

Ir works alright because they run it on XP with DX9. The game takes a huge performance plunge as soon as you switch on DX10.

 

[MickeyKnox]

Ir works alright because they run it on XP with DX9. The game takes a huge performance plunge as soon as you switch on DX10.

:lol

 

[mike23]

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail -- $259

* EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GT 600MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card -- $228.34 (although its back-ordered but you can find many 8800GT's for about $230-$240 right now).

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail -- $189.99

* Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.00GHz LGA 775 -- $209.99
(Can you wait a couple weeks? 45nm chips are coming out and they are faster and cheaper. $209.99 is a price from just one retailer taking pre-orders right now but the OEM x 1000 is $186 so it should be around $200 hopefully. Output little power and overclock great as well.)

Those are the only parts I would say you could play around with. Although I don't like cases that have power supplies already in 'em because most of the time you don't know much about them. I would recommend getting them separately so you can do some research and buy a quality PSU. One part you really don't want to skimp on is the PSU.

Thanks, I'll wait for the new processors, I'm not in a hurry. I was also thinking about waiting for the 9000 series Nvidia cards and seeing how they perform and what they cost, but I'm not sure when they're set to come out. I'll also check into getting a different power supply, but I like that case a lot.

Maybe I'll go with a HTPC case since it'll be hooked up to my tv

 

[zoku88]

Initially, I was waiting for the next batch of Intel processors, but it seems as though they've been delayed yet again due to an erratum . Given that, I decided the processors available now are good enough and that I might as well build a PC now.

I just want to check to see if everything is ok.

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N - OEM

APEVIA X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-AL Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Hitachi Desktar 7K1000 750GB

EVGA 8800GT 512MB

Thermaltake Purepower 500W PSU

OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800


GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

If anyone has any suggestions (especially a better see-through case,) feel free to tell me. And one more thing: EVGA is the company with the step up program, right?

 

[Cdammen]

This is what I'm planning to buy in a couple of weeks. Any comments? Is the 400W PSU enough?

http://www.komplett.se/k/shoplist.a...88999&su=70A78AA3-F60B-4F54-AA4F-2718A189C1D5

(EDIT) I can't see anything wrong with your set-up zoku88. I would go with this case, it's far less tacky:

 

[urk]

Ir works alright because they run it on XP with DX9. The game takes a huge performance plunge as soon as you switch on DX10.

Rimshot.

 

[Sanjay]

get a Corsair PSU550W runs my Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4ghz oced to 3.4ghz, 1 dvd drive, 5 harddrives, 8800 gt, basically same set up as yours.

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.aspx?sku=339898

 

[Nerevar]

Ir works alright because they run it on XP with DX9. The game takes a huge performance plunge as soon as you switch on DX10.

I'm confused by this (and why everyone is laughing) - does this mean the game takes a huge performance hit simply for having DX10 installed, or does enabling DX10 features cause the game to perform much worse?

 

[Mrbob]

Been out of the loop for awhile.

Do the 45nm intel chips work on all P35 boards?

 

[Cdammen]

get a Corsair PSU550W runs my Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4ghz oced to 3.4ghz, 1 dvd drive, 5 harddrives, 8800 gt, basically same set up as yours.

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.aspx?sku=339898

Seems like an overkill for me, I only have one HDD and I won't be over-clocking my CPU. Isn't 400W enough for my set-up? My card uses 280W loaded.

(EDIT) Can't wait to get my rig together. I've missed out on much in the last three years.

I'll be playing Company of Heroes, Titan Quest, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Crysis, Team Fortress 2, The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2, World In Conflict, Supreme Commander, Lord of the Rings Online, Quake Wars and many, many more

 

[zoku88]

Been out of the loop for awhile.

Do the 45nm intel chips work on all P35 boards?

The ones that are coming out soon should all work on P35 boards (and all boards with LGA 775, maybe requiring a BIOS update.)

The chips coming later in the year will use a new socket, though.

 

[Ilchymis]

This is a really great post! I'm looking to upgrade my box sometime soon (once I hit the lottery or get a real job), so this will come in mighty handy in a few months. Of course by then half of this will be obsolete, but the thought still counts!

Great idea!

 

[whitehawk]

K, so I BADLY need a new PC (my PC lags when I use the calculator..), so I think the PC that the Crysis team suggested would be good. Is this good?:

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750
GPU - GeForce 8800GT 512MB
Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775
PSU - 600W ATX12V
RAM - 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
HDD - SATA 250GB 7200RPM
DVD - 20x DVD±R Burner
Case - ATX Midi Tower Computer Case
OS - Microsoft Windows XP Home with SP2

Also, If I order all these parts from newegg.com or something, when they are delivered, do I basically just put them together like leggo pieces? I've never built a PC so I'm kind of lost.

And would this PC have DVI/HDMI output? I don't know how to tell.

 

[BigGreenMat]

K, so I BADLY need a new PC (my PC lags when I use the calculator..), so I think the PC that the Crysis team suggested would be good. Is this good?:

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750
GPU - GeForce 8800GT 512MB
Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 650i Socket 775
PSU - 600W ATX12V
RAM - 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
HDD - SATA 250GB 7200RPM
DVD - 20x DVD±R Burner
Case - ATX Midi Tower Computer Case
OS - Microsoft Windows XP Home with SP2

Also, If I order all these parts from newegg.com or something, when they are delivered, do I basically just put them together like leggo pieces? I've never built a PC so I'm kind of lost.

And would this PC have DVI/HDMI output? I don't know how to tell.

Just a few things to consider. You could save a little money and get a 9600GT with almost exactly the same performance as the 8800GT. Also look into the new e8000 series Intel CPUs

 

[larvi]

Just as a fyi, Microcenter is now selling the quad core Q6600 for $199 which is a pretty good deal:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0257938

But as others have mentioned the E8400 probably offers the best bang for the buck for gaming if you can find one.

 

[whitehawk]

Just a few things to consider. You could save a little money and get a 9600GT with almost exactly the same performance as the 8800GT. Also look into the new e8000 series Intel CPUs

I'll look into these. I basically want something that could run crysis fairly well, so that it will last me for years to come. Around $1000, less if possible, is my budget.

 

[whitehawk]

K so I saw this link: http://www.pcworld.ca/news/product-comparison/c199710b0a01040800ff22ed616bf4a7/pg1.htm

Is the first one listed good for its price? When I think about it, I'll mostly be using my 360 for games. It would be cool if the PC could run some new games fairly well at decent settings (call of duty 4, crysis, UTIII etc).

So should I get this PC, or is it complete crap.

 

[whitehawk]

Bump

I really need a PC soon. I'm playing music on my PC atm, and everytime I click a new thread, the music keeps skipping..

 

[Doytch]

K so I saw this link: http://www.pcworld.ca/news/product-comparison/c199710b0a01040800ff22ed616bf4a7/pg1.htm

Is the first one listed good for its price? When I think about it, I'll mostly be using my 360 for games. It would be cool if the PC could run some new games fairly well at decent settings (call of duty 4, crysis, UTIII etc).

So should I get this PC, or is it complete crap.

They're all crap. I'd just get what you specced out in a previous post and build it. It's really not that hard. What I did the first time I built a computer was just look up a howto guide that was relatively in depth and used that. Pieces pretty much only fit one way, so you can't screw it up that bad.

 

[whitehawk]

I looked up "PC bulding guide" in google, and found this page: http://www.daileyint.com/build/ibuild5.htm

That picture.. I'm confused. I don't think I could do something like that.

 

[radicalbunny]

Is this card decent if I'm planning on running just 1280x1024? Or should I go 9600GT?

I'm trying to build a budget box for Warhammer this fall and that's a pretty low price.

 

[Teknopathetic]

The 8800GT is a *superb* card, even if you were going for higher resolutions like 1920x1200. Its performance is only *marginally* bested by even the most expensive single GPU solutions.

 

[Bidermaier]

The Ati HD4850 is going to be released in three weeks. And it should be faster than the 8800GT. I might be a good idea to wait for it.

 

[Ashitaka]

So, what about a bare-bones kit like this? I know there's nothing taking advantage of quad-cores, so I'd be potentially better off just with a dual-core, but I'm not sure what the price/performance difference would actually look like. Obviously, I'd need a videocard, but I'm only working with a 19-inch monitor, so it doesn't need to be the top-of-line, even just the 8800GT Tekno recommended. Then just cooling, maybe an extra gig of RAM and a DVD-RW.

 

[radicalbunny]

This is what I've worked out so far, I've only used newegg because they're the only site I'm familiar with and I'm lazy. If anyone else has other good sites for buying parts I'll gladly take them.

With about $600 to play with, and KB-mouse-monitor-speakers already taken care of...

Rosewill R6A34-BK ATX Computer Case - Retail $44.99
Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 MB - Retail64.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail131.99
Gigabyte GV-NX88T256HV1 GeForce 8800 GT 256 MB 256-bit GDDR3 - Retail117.99
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX Power Supply - Retail 34.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - Retail 44.99
Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 44.99

Total w/ shipping= 553.63 - $30 rebate for vid card = $523.63

Are Gigabyte motherboards pretty good? Not thrilled about it only having 2 mem slots.

 

[MoxManiac]

So what's going to happen when 2GB main ram isn't sufficent? Are we going to be forced into 64bit OSes?

 

[Frankfurter]

So what's going to happen when 2GB main ram isn't sufficent? Are we going to be forced into 64bit OSes?

3GB run just fine with a 32bit OS, so no. But as soon as 3GB aren't sufficient anymore, you'll need a 64bit OS obviously.

 

[MoxManiac]

3GB run just fine with a 32bit OS, so no. But as soon as 3GB aren't sufficient anymore, you'll need a 64bit OS obviously.

Yeah, but video cards are starting to approach 1GB ram themselves. So if you have 2GB system ram, and a video card with 1GB video ram, there's your 3 already.

 

[urge26]

I just revamped my desktop for the first time in 7 years (almost all gaming is done on consoles).

ASUS M2A-VM - $49.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Brisbane - $58.99
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (PC2 6400) - $24.99
ECS N9600GT-512MX - $125.00
Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB - $44.99
Acer AL2216W - 22" LCD $210.00
Crysis - $19.99
Team Fortress 2 (Steam) - $19.99
Unreal Tournament 3 LE - $29.99

Total: $584.00

I'm really blown away with the 9600 GT, Crysis on medium setting still looks gorgeous, Unreal Tournament and TF maxed out. Don't let the haters on the AMD/9600 persuede you if you're looking at a budget system, I'm very pleased with my revamp.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Tiger Direct - XFX GeForce 8800GT 256MB RAM w/ CoD4 - 89.99 after MIR

I know it only has 256 mb, but if you game @ 1680x1050 or below it really doesn't affect performance.

 

[Zzoram]

I just bought this:

E8400 3.0GHz Core 2 Duo
Gigabyte DS3L Motherboard
4GB 2x2GB Mushkin HP2 DDR2 800MHz
Seagate 500GB HDD
Pioneer 18x DVD-RW
Antec 900 Gaming Case
Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU
Logitech Keyboard
Logitech Chat Headset

for $695 after tax

and I'm going to grab:

Samsung 2053BW LCD Monitor (~$200)
HD4850 512MB (~$200) whatever looks good for the price when it comes out in just over a week

In the mean time, I'm using an old X800XT 256MB

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

:lol Nevermind I responded to a really old post without realizing it at first.