PC Gaming Thread

[ImBrotherCain]

Alright my nerdy brethren I need some advice.

I currently have an Asus Desktop that I have upgraded to 8gb of RAM, 800W Power Supply and a decent graphics card. The only issue I have with said computer is that its running an Intel Pentium Dual Core (2.7ghz)

I can upgrade the processor to a Intel Quad (3.0ghz) for about $330.

or

I can buy this guy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+E...&skuId=2276971

and replace the graphics card and the power supply with the ones I currently have but its just quite a bit more expensive at almost 3x of just the CPU.

Thoughts? All opinions would be greatly appreciated

[njx9]

the quad's not going to buy you much unless you're doing some heavy video editing and the like. the core i* series is so leaps and bounds ahead of the 2 duo/whatever series, that it would be almost silly to bother with just upgrading the processor at this point, unless all you need is a bandaid. further, the downside to going to the i-whatever series is that, iirc, it needs a new mobo, and would likely need (or rather, you'd want) to go to the ddr3 memory, over the ddr2 you likely now have. all in all, you'd probably be looking at a similar amount to upgrade your current box to 'modern' standards. i'd go to the new box and drop your VC in. i dunno that you'd need to bother with changing out the power supply unless your graphics card is especially thirsty.

all told, if you plan on playing games on your computer for the conceivable future, you want the i7. if you're mostly playing older games and dicking around on the internet, you could probably get a better core 2 duo to drop in.

[ImBrotherCain]

Originally Posted by njx9

the quad's not going to buy you much unless you're doing some heavy video editing and the like. the core i* series is so leaps and bounds ahead of the 2 duo/whatever series, that it would be almost silly to bother with just upgrading the processor at this point, unless all you need is a bandaid. further, the downside to going to the i-whatever series is that, iirc, it needs a new mobo, and would likely need (or rather, you'd want) to go to the ddr3 memory, over the ddr2 you likely now have. all in all, you'd probably be looking at a similar amount to upgrade your current box to 'modern' standards. i'd go to the new box and drop your VC in. i dunno that you'd need to bother with changing out the power supply unless your graphics card is especially thirsty.

all told, if you plan on playing games on your computer for the conceivable future, you want the i7. if you're mostly playing older games and dicking around on the internet, you could probably get a better core 2 duo to drop in.

Well I have 8gb of DDR3 which I recently upgraded. As for the Power Supply the one from BBY is only a 400w which really doesn't give me much wiggle room. The only thing I can think of is to get the i7 tower and sell the old guy but at the same time 900+ is a lot to drop at one time.

[njx9]

i can understand that. i'm still running an old athlon dual core that i've messed with to keep vaguely current, but i can't, for instance run civ5 at this point. for me, i've realized that i really don't play that many high-intensity games, so keeping the older system and part-upgrading isn't too bad (and is much cheaper). that said, if i really planned on playing some new games (like far cry or crysis), i'd be more likely to buy a pre-fab system and move over whatever decent parts i have left. i guess i'd look at weighing more what you want to do with it, vs what you currently can do. the quadcore won't give you much of a bump in performance (unless you're buying the $600+ version), imo.

[StripedWalrus]

can you possibly buy a new mobo and processor for cheaper? Still use the same ram, HD, Vid Card, case but just upgrade your mobo and CPU? You can get Quad core AMD processors for much cheaper than Intel. You can get a 3.2 ghz Phenom II for around 100 dollars.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103921

and get a corresponding Mobo for a good price too

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...eId=1&name=AM3

It just all depends on what ram you have and what vid card you have and you might be able to reuse them as well and save yourself some big dough.

If your aims are tog et an I7 though then expect to pay more. That particular computer you have posted you are primarily paying for the processor...that processor runs for $300+. In addition I only believe windows will recognize 4 gigs of ram. So another 4 will literally be wasted. But that total is about 100 bucks for RAM. A 1tb HD runs about $60. Plus a MOBO that is prolly valued at around $150. So that plus $100 value for case and Power makes it around $700 if you built it yourself from scratch. So they are charging about $300 for Windows 7 which you prolly already have a copy of.

You can seriously build your own, don't have to make some super beast and be able to play any game and do it for cheaper.

[nepg]

I wouldn't bother upgrading at this point. I have a slightly better spec'd PC that is still beasting. I have the e8400 core2 and a 260 nvidia card. I won't upgrade unless it struggles with ue4. And I play a lot of games at the highest settings.

[nepg]

I did order a new monitor. should arrive yoday. Samsung px2370. I am so pumped. I gave had my current monitor for 8 years... should be a huge difference.

[StripedWalrus]

Originally Posted by nepg

I did order a new monitor. should arrive yoday. Samsung px2370. I am so pumped. I gave had my current monitor for 8 years... should be a huge difference.

I have the Samsung P2350... you will be satisfied. The only monitors I will buy are Samsung.

[M.O.T.H.]

Took me forever to get used to my new monitor. 22" doesnt look too big on the store shelf, but once you get it in your house. Good lord. Plus it's wide screen...it's been an adjustment, but I love it.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by StripedWalrus

can you possibly buy a new mobo and processor for cheaper? Still use the same ram, HD, Vid Card, case but just upgrade your mobo and CPU? You can get Quad core AMD processors for much cheaper than Intel. You can get a 3.2 ghz Phenom II for around 100 dollars.

i don't think amd has made a chip yet that actually competes with core 2 duo's at similar price points, let alone the i* series.. though, to be fair, i haven't looked in a while.

If your aims are tog et an I7 though then expect to pay more. That particular computer you have posted you are primarily paying for the processor...that processor runs for $300+. In addition I only believe windows will recognize 4 gigs of ram.

fwiw, this isn't necessarily true. 32 bit ANYTHING will only recognize 4gb, because that's all it can address. a 64 bit OS can address more memory.

(http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...ts_wind ows_7)

[nepg]

Originally Posted by StripedWalrus

I have the Samsung P2350... you will be satisfied. The only monitors I will buy are Samsung.

I am the same way. The reasons I have waited so long are the price point, I'll only touch Samsung, and my old one is still working perfectly. My biggest thing with the new one is having dual monitors. I am too used to it at work, so it's frustrating only having one at home.

[vidae]

I really need a new monitor too. I just bought a top of the line machine but figured my monitor was good enough. I might actually go buy one today.. cuz I'm kinda bored..

[nepg]

I think I will end up with Witcher 2. It looks way too good to pass on.

[nepg]

Originally Posted by ImBrotherCain

Alright my nerdy brethren I need some advice.

I currently have an Asus Desktop that I have upgraded to 8gb of RAM, 800W Power Supply and a decent graphics card. The only issue I have with said computer is that its running an Intel Pentium Dual Core (2.7ghz)

I can upgrade the processor to a Intel Quad (3.0ghz) for about $330.

or

I can buy this guy http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+E...&skuId=2276971

and replace the graphics card and the power supply with the ones I currently have but its just quite a bit more expensive at almost 3x of just the CPU.

Thoughts? All opinions would be greatly appreciated

I always hated how ambiguous the descriptions of video cards in brand computers are. It's the most important piece of hardware after the CPU. I always build my own, which is why the quality of my equipment is so high and why everything always works beautifully.

[M.O.T.H.]

Originally Posted by nepg

I think I will end up with Witcher 2. It looks way too good to pass on.

I think I need a new graphics card first...I can certainly play it, but there will be some hitches, I'm sure.

I need to pick up the first game, whenever I get a chance. I wish I could use a 360 controller with it, however.

[nepg]

This chart is invaluable to understand quality in relation to price as far as CPUs go (updated April 2011):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ii,2926-5.html

You can get an i5 Sandy Bridge for $100 less than the i7 Sandy Bridge and they're in the same range of performance (obviously, the i7 is much better...but still... that's huge). And AMD isn't even close.

And just for a reference, I run an E8400. It runs everything at the highest settings without any hiccups or issues...and that's in the 4th tier of this chart. The gap just isn't there yet. The only reason to upgrade, imo, is if you can't run a 64-bit operating system with your current CPU (why my friend upgraded recently).

[nepg]

New screen is so vibrant. definitely a huge difference.

[j05son]

Originally Posted by nepg

This chart is invaluable to understand quality in relation to price as far as CPUs go (updated April 2011):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ii,2926-5.html

You can get an i5 Sandy Bridge for $100 less than the i7 Sandy Bridge and they're in the same range of performance (obviously, the i7 is much better...but still... that's huge). And AMD isn't even close.

And just for a reference, I run an E8400. It runs everything at the highest settings without any hiccups or issues...and that's in the 4th tier of this chart. The gap just isn't there yet. The only reason to upgrade, imo, is if you can't run a 64-bit operating system with your current CPU (why my friend upgraded recently).

I also run the E8400. I've had it since it came out. What a great processor.

[ImBrotherCain]

Originally Posted by nepg

This chart is invaluable to understand quality in relation to price as far as CPUs go (updated April 2011):
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ii,2926-5.html

You can get an i5 Sandy Bridge for $100 less than the i7 Sandy Bridge and they're in the same range of performance (obviously, the i7 is much better...but still... that's huge). And AMD isn't even close.

And just for a reference, I run an E8400. It runs everything at the highest settings without any hiccups or issues...and that's in the 4th tier of this chart. The gap just isn't there yet. The only reason to upgrade, imo, is if you can't run a 64-bit operating system with your current CPU (why my friend upgraded recently).

Well the CPU I was gonna get was the Core 2 Quad 9650 which is in the second tier down... This makes the decision that much more difficult.

[Vox Populi]

tw2 is alright. wouldn't pay for it though...

[ImBrotherCain]

Easily the most graphic cut scene i have ever seen.

http://kotaku.com/5804769/watch-a-wo...ing-only-magic

[fear the elf]

Originally Posted by StripedWalrus

I have the Samsung P2350... you will be satisfied. The only monitors I will buy are Samsung.

I built my own system for the first time a little over a year ago and finally got around to buying two monitors. Went with 2 Samsung bx2235. ******* beautiful.

There's only 2 problems:
1. you can't adjust them (tilt, twist, turn, etc.)
2. they are so big that they barely fit on my desk.

[49erNation85]

Hey guys i need a little xomputer help help here for those who might know if my six year old laptop is completely dead or just needs a new battery / power cord .
Here is what happen last night was. It was working just fine the whole week and all day etc. Well what happe was, after i used for about an hour i close my laptop ( but left it going i thought ) then just 90 minutes or it woule not turn on and all i got were a yellow flashing light 3 or 4 times on the battery area. The kind I have is Toshiba satellite . Any tips or suggestions would be cool. Just FYI i bought it in 2006.

[vidae]

http://live-event.ea.com/e3/chat/star-wars

Live stream of Star Wars: The Old Repubic starting in about 5 minutes if anyone is interested. It's the new MMO from Bioware and LucasArts.

[YAYareaRB]

Is there any good Gangster/Mafia/Mob/Prison games for the PC?