gaming computer

antonygil · 10-01-2006, 04:49 PM

I would like to know if you guys would help me. I want to be able to play these games on the PC with the max settings for the games:BFME2, Star Wars Empire at War, Age of Empires 3, WOW. Right now my PC isnt good enough for any games really, I just watch alot of anime on it. I would like to buy a PC that will be capable of playing these games or if it isn't to hard to build a PC I would like to ask you guys what I would need to build one. I want to build one since it is cheaper but I would have to have someone build it for me unless it isn't as hard as I think it is. I want a PC that I can play all of those games listed on there max settings and I would like a good video card so I can operate more than one monitor at once. Any advice would be helpful.

***Paul*** · 10-01-2006, 05:28 PM

Well, the only thing that requires good hardware for is BF2. I myself is an Nvidia fan, but I do have an ATI x800 Pro right now, which was made for all the latest games to play at high settings (besides FEAR, which is totally insane)

But anything made this year graphics wise, will play your games at full settings. Throw about a gig of RAM inside and an AMD 3800+ CPU chip in there and you have yourself a very sick gaming rig.

HioMrSan · 10-01-2006, 05:36 PM

Socket 939 is dead, but its still a good solution since the prices are dropping.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
2GB of memory
SATA drive of whatever size you want
The new 7950GT is a nice balance between power and cost. Its not the THE BEST EVAR! but its still very nice. I can run F.E.A.R. with max settings with this card.

Rough Estimate is around 1000 dollars, give or take.

Thats around what I'd aim for to balance power and cost right now. If you're looking for detailed instructions on how to build one from scratch you'll probably need to do some research. There's a lot more to it than that, PSU, motherboard etc... but browse around for something close to those specs and it doesn't hurt to ask friends if they would help you build one.

***Paul*** · 10-01-2006, 05:43 PM

To play games for many years to come, use MrSan's post as an aid to help you. Use mine for cheap affordable, gaming for the games that are out now.

I can aid you through on building a computer no problem, there are tips and walkthroughs out there on the internet you can try searching first.

antonygil · 10-02-2006, 01:02 AM

Thanks for the help guys. Is there a certain website that will tell me everything I need to buy in order to build my own computer? Is there a store website I could look up all of these parts and read reviews for them? I have Windows XP Pro I got for free from Microsoft so I could use that for my OS. I am wondering though since I want a game PC if I should get Windows Media Center instead? Again thanks for the help.

What are the BIOS and how do I get to them? I want to know if I overclock without knowing what I am doing if I won't be able to change it back to the previous settings.

*dat shit cray* · 10-02-2006, 10:01 AM

Website: http://www.newegg.com for buying the stuff. They're amazing for buying shit for your computer. It also has reviews by users, so you can tell whether or not you'd be making a good purchase. Just read the reviews.

As for what you need to buy to build a computer, you need
-A case
-A power supply (has to have the same form factor as the case- also make sure that you don't buy a power supply that isn't powerful enough to support your hardware, check with someone to make sure it is if you're unsure)
-A motherboard compatible with the power supply (number of pins) and the case (form factor)
-A processor compatible with the motherboard (socket type, company)
-A graphics card (your motherboard needs the appropriate type of slot but you probably won't need to worry about it. If you're not sure just check with someone)
-Sound card if the motherboard doesn't have an intergrated one/you strive for quality.
-Any type of network cards you might need (I assume wireless or ethernet)
-RAM (there are different types of RAM, so make sure to check with someone before buying your RAM. You might accidentally buy some really ass-slow RAM)
-Hard drive(s) (again, there are different types. Like MrSan said, try and get a SATA hard drive)
-CD/DVD-ROM or RW drives
-Any additional cooling that you want, fans, heatsinks etc. If you're going to try and overclock, you'll definitely need this.

For OS: Keep XP Pro. Windows Media Center does nothing for gaming. Actually, if you wait a little longer you could get Vista and a DirectX 10 card and be on the forefront of gaming.

A BIOS is the motherboard's firmware- the BIOS is accessed during the bootup of a computer. The BIOS' primary function is to make sure all the hardware is functioning before the computer actually loads the OS. For most BIOSes, you press f12 before the OS boots to get to the BIOS interface. In the BIOS, you can increase the clock speed of your processor and some other hardware but DON'T DO IT UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. You can cause serious damage to your hardware by just going into the BIOS and jacking up the clock speed on your processor. You need to have adequate cooling (water cooling works well these days, but you could also use a better heatsink), and you need to know how much you can feasibly overclock your processor. If you happen to be an idiot and do overclock without knowing what was going on, you should get back into the BIOS as fast as you can and revert to the original clock rate.

antonygil · 10-05-2006, 03:49 AM

I have another question. I might be moving to Japan and I know that don't have as much power there and that I would need to get a convertor. Is there anything else I would need to make my PC run well there? Oh I have another question. Should I have more than one hard drive? Have the main one where it runs my OS and the other one that has all my stuff incase I need to reformat my PC or what ever you call it.

Rhunex · 10-07-2006, 07:39 PM

As far as a power converter goes, just make sure you have the right cables from the wall outlets to your monitor/tower, because they are slightely different, and make sure your power supply can switch to the different voltage in Japan, if it can't, it's fairly easy to find one that can on the internet.

You won't need to reformat your computer, or have multiple HDDS, as long as you remember to be using the right voltage on your power supply, otherwise, you may send harmful electric currents into sensitive pc parts which could screw up more than your HDD.

tier2geek · 10-20-2006, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HioMrSan

Socket 939 is dead, but its still a good solution since the prices are dropping.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
2GB of memory
SATA drive of whatever size you want
The new 7950GT is a nice balance between power and cost. Its not the THE BEST EVAR! but its still very nice. I can run F.E.A.R. with max settings with this card.

Rough Estimate is around 1000 dollars, give or take.

Thats around what I'd aim for to balance power and cost right now. If you're looking for detailed instructions on how to build one from scratch you'll probably need to do some research. There's a lot more to it than that, PSU, motherboard etc... but browse around for something close to those specs and it doesn't hurt to ask friends if they would help you build one.

Whoah... only a 1000 for that??? I'm not too sure about that. I just built a computer a month ago and $950 only got me a Athlon 64 3800+, a gig of ram, and a 7900 GT. I have no idea where you got your prices from but $1000 is a awful understatement. I would say more around $1500 for the parts you listed.

And of course, NewEgg does kick ass!

HioMrSan · 10-21-2006, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tier2geek

Whoah... only a 1000 for that??? I'm not too sure about that. I just built a computer a month ago and $950 only got me a Athlon 64 3800+, a gig of ram, and a 7900 GT. I have no idea where you got your prices from but $1000 is a awful understatement. I would say more around $1500 for the parts you listed.

And of course, NewEgg does kick ass!

Rough estimate <- Keyword :P, I built this ....oh back in july. I used a athlon 64 4000+ 2gigs of ram, and a 7600gt. It believe it was about 900 dollars then. The video card died, I got 200 credit, bought the 7950gt (that old 7600 wasn't giving me what I wanted) and paid about 150 more for it. So ya I paid .... 1050ish? New egg doesn't even offer my processor anymore, so we'll just say it cost 100 bucks. 1050 - 100 = 950. Newegg has the x2 4800+ for 299. so 950+299 = $1249.