Hi everyone, I'm a long time WoW player, switching to LOTRO. My computer recently has been dying. Crashing randomly, giving cryptic error messages, just generally sucking. I'm now looking into a good computer for playing games. I'm also a college student so need it to be good for writing papers, those kind of things also.
My price range is anywhere from about $1500 down. I'm just wondering what you guys think are some system requirements for running LOTRO on full settings. I played the beta on my current computer, and it lagged even on lowest settings.
I'm thinking something like:
~2.5 GHz dual core processor
~256-320 MB video card (NVidia GeForce 8800 GTS?)
~2 GB ram
~Window's Vista (?)
How does Window's Vista run LOTRO? Do these specs seem good to run LOTRO primarily and other games?
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Schmere wrote:
...
My price range is anywhere from about $1500 down. I'm just wondering what you guys think are some system requirements for running LOTRO on full settings. I played the beta on my current computer, and it lagged even on lowest settings.
I'm thinking something like:
~2.5 GHz dual core processor
~256-320 MB video card (NVidia GeForce 8800 GTS?)
~2 GB ram
~Window's Vista (?)
How does Window's Vista run LOTRO? Do these specs seem good to run LOTRO primarily and other games?
My price range is anywhere from about $1500 down. I'm just wondering what you guys think are some system requirements for running LOTRO on full settings. I played the beta on my current computer, and it lagged even on lowest settings.
I'm thinking something like:
~2.5 GHz dual core processor
~256-320 MB video card (NVidia GeForce 8800 GTS?)
~2 GB ram
~Window's Vista (?)
How does Window's Vista run LOTRO? Do these specs seem good to run LOTRO primarily and other games?
In regards to your price range, you can build a sweet rig for a lot less than that if you already have a monitor. For your OS, I would say for right now, stick with Windows XP. I have heard a lot of pros and cons to Vista and gaming. Give that OS until at least the first service pack before you think about online gaming.
For a decent rig, here's a quick and dirty sample just based on a $1200/$1500 price point and based off your original post. Granted you can modify to suit since it's a real basic setup but you get the idea:
Biostar K8M800MAM2 & AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (Dual Core) - $229.99
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800- $104.00
WD Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD - $94.99
GeForce 7600GS 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCIe x16 SLI Supported Video Card - $102.99
Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 - $29.99
LINKSYS 10/100/1000Mbps PCI Network Adapter - $24.99
Xoxide X-Odyssey Case (Black) - $31.99
Sunbeam/CaseGears Black Steel 580W Power Supply - $23.99
Ms Windows Xp Home Edition - $75.00
Total cost for this setup: $717.93
Now this doesn't take into account extra case fans, thermal paste, hard drive coolers, RAM heatsinks, rounded cabling and that kind of thing, which I highly recommend. But like I said, you can shop around and get cheaper parts and mix and match but if you are willing to do the work and build it yourself, you can save a ton of cash.
This is going to be a semi-lengthy post, so if you don't want to read all of it (though I'd suggest it 
) I'm going to include a summary of what to look for at the end, then you can build from that.
Personally, I'd change a couple things from Word, but it's more of a preference choices. Well except for one thing (2 technically) that is...
I'd HIGHLY recommend getting the Intel Core 2 Duo vs the AMD. The prices for their mid-range models (which blow AMDs out of the water) are about right in your price range. You'll also need a different mobo though since an AMD mobo wont support a Intel CPU. Although I actually don't see a mobo in Word's list...
The other thing is that I personally like ATI Graphic cards over nVidia, however i'd agree in getting a 512meg at least. You can probably find a decent higher end one (closer to the 8800 nVidia or 1900 series for Radeon) for under 200, and it'd definitely be worth it imo.
Whether you get the extra sound card and nic is totally up to you though... Some people swear up and down that letting your mobo handle them is absolutely terrible for gaming and performance, but you know it wont matter that much if you have a fairly powerful PC anyways. Plus, unless you have a surround sound system for your PC getting surround sound card/support is fairly worthless. Although I suppose you will get a little better sound/ping with not running it off you're mobo... but again I personally don't think it's that big a deal.
I'd agree with the 2gigs of ram, and high wattage PSU. I also fully agree with the xp over vista if you can find it. Vista just seems very hit or miss to me right now with online gaming and such. Plus, all of it's extra "security" is more of a way to frustrate users then protect them.
Also, I find the price for most of xoxide's stuff to be overpriced, so before you buy from them make sure you check other stores. I would also suggest, although this is by no means necessary and wont really help with LotRO, getting a PhysX card if you plan on playing other games on your PC. Not many games use it fully atm, but more and more games plan to use it and it (supposedly) really helps performance on games with it enabled. All it does is just handle the the physics in games basically, rather then your CPU/GPU. So explosions look better, more things move around, etc.
To summarize system specs...
At least 2gig CPU, with Intel Core 2 Duo being highly recommended personally
2gigs DDR2 ram (3 or 4 would be better, but 2 is fine)
512 meg PCI-E video card
SATA HD
Mobo that can handle all that
500+ Watt PSU
You'll probably also want a few extra/more powerful fans for things like your CPU and case, and something like Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound for the CPU to hsf.
) I'm going to include a summary of what to look for at the end, then you can build from that. Personally, I'd change a couple things from Word, but it's more of a preference choices. Well except for one thing (2 technically) that is...
I'd HIGHLY recommend getting the Intel Core 2 Duo vs the AMD. The prices for their mid-range models (which blow AMDs out of the water) are about right in your price range. You'll also need a different mobo though since an AMD mobo wont support a Intel CPU. Although I actually don't see a mobo in Word's list...
The other thing is that I personally like ATI Graphic cards over nVidia, however i'd agree in getting a 512meg at least. You can probably find a decent higher end one (closer to the 8800 nVidia or 1900 series for Radeon) for under 200, and it'd definitely be worth it imo.
Whether you get the extra sound card and nic is totally up to you though... Some people swear up and down that letting your mobo handle them is absolutely terrible for gaming and performance, but you know it wont matter that much if you have a fairly powerful PC anyways. Plus, unless you have a surround sound system for your PC getting surround sound card/support is fairly worthless. Although I suppose you will get a little better sound/ping with not running it off you're mobo... but again I personally don't think it's that big a deal.
I'd agree with the 2gigs of ram, and high wattage PSU. I also fully agree with the xp over vista if you can find it. Vista just seems very hit or miss to me right now with online gaming and such. Plus, all of it's extra "security" is more of a way to frustrate users then protect them.
Also, I find the price for most of xoxide's stuff to be overpriced, so before you buy from them make sure you check other stores. I would also suggest, although this is by no means necessary and wont really help with LotRO, getting a PhysX card if you plan on playing other games on your PC. Not many games use it fully atm, but more and more games plan to use it and it (supposedly) really helps performance on games with it enabled. All it does is just handle the the physics in games basically, rather then your CPU/GPU. So explosions look better, more things move around, etc.
To summarize system specs...
At least 2gig CPU, with Intel Core 2 Duo being highly recommended personally
2gigs DDR2 ram (3 or 4 would be better, but 2 is fine)
512 meg PCI-E video card
SATA HD
Mobo that can handle all that
500+ Watt PSU
You'll probably also want a few extra/more powerful fans for things like your CPU and case, and something like Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound for the CPU to hsf.
Vista runs LoTRo perfectly. No problems at all.
Except for surround sound 5.1. Stereo only, so far.
Hi RAM, and dual core and Hi wattage PSU are all good things.
PhysX is kak.
Edited, Sep 17th 2007 1:38am by paulsol
Except for surround sound 5.1. Stereo only, so far.
Hi RAM, and dual core and Hi wattage PSU are all good things.
PhysX is kak.
Edited, Sep 17th 2007 1:38am by paulsol
"If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're gonna get selfish, ignorant leaders". Carlin.
Thanks for the advice. Building my own computer seems like a very nice option, especially since one of my roomates is a computer engineer...
I looked around on the internet (Newegg.com) just to start getting a basic list of components for the computer. I know this list probably dosen't have components that are all going to work the best with each other, I'd like some advice on that, but for the most part this is how I'd like the computer to be.
Be warned I mostly just copied and pasted this from Newegg, so there will be a lot of product numbers and such that don't really mean anything.
Here's the setup:
Computer Case - LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $99.99
Motherboard - Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard $214.99
Power Supply - OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 $139.99 ($104.99 after $35 mail-in rebate)
CPU/Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor $199.99
Fan/Heatsink - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $19.99
Memory - OR - Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $244.99 ($219.99 after $25.00 mail-in rebate)
Hard Drive/CD-ROM - SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD403LJ 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $84.99
CD/DVD Burner - Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner $29.99
Video Card - GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $329.99
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card $27.99
This list is basically the components I want my computer to have. I realize that there probably are some compatability issues with this list as I said before. Any recommendations or things you think I should change are very, VERY welcome.
Thanks in advance for any more help you can give.
I looked around on the internet (Newegg.com) just to start getting a basic list of components for the computer. I know this list probably dosen't have components that are all going to work the best with each other, I'd like some advice on that, but for the most part this is how I'd like the computer to be.
Be warned I mostly just copied and pasted this from Newegg, so there will be a lot of product numbers and such that don't really mean anything.
Here's the setup:
Computer Case - LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $99.99
Motherboard - Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard $214.99
Power Supply - OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 $139.99 ($104.99 after $35 mail-in rebate)
CPU/Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor $199.99
Fan/Heatsink - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $19.99
Memory - OR - Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $244.99 ($219.99 after $25.00 mail-in rebate)
Hard Drive/CD-ROM - SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD403LJ 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $84.99
CD/DVD Burner - Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner $29.99
Video Card - GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $329.99
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card $27.99
This list is basically the components I want my computer to have. I realize that there probably are some compatability issues with this list as I said before. Any recommendations or things you think I should change are very, VERY welcome.
Thanks in advance for any more help you can give.
That looks good. A couple suggestions though if you can afford it...
I would really REALLY suggest getting a 512megs on your video card. With that mobo I think I would also go for an ATI card, since it uses the ATI Crossfire, so there is a SMALL possibility you'll run into compatibility issues. I've ran into some issues before with that type of thing... although it was a totally different mobo. However that could be easily solved by just going with a different mobo which uses an nVidia chipset, like a good ASUS.
Also, unless you're deadset on using an extra sound card, you can nix that as that mobo has 7.1 (8 channel) surround sound also. Some of the reviews for that mobo, and the fact it is apparently an agining one, do have me personally a bit concerned. But in the end that choice is obviously up to you, and even though it wouldn't be my first choice I'd be likely to buy it. (If we're looking at the same thing, which I think we are but can't be 100% sure unless you provide a link to the product page)
I would really REALLY suggest getting a 512megs on your video card. With that mobo I think I would also go for an ATI card, since it uses the ATI Crossfire, so there is a SMALL possibility you'll run into compatibility issues. I've ran into some issues before with that type of thing... although it was a totally different mobo. However that could be easily solved by just going with a different mobo which uses an nVidia chipset, like a good ASUS.
Also, unless you're deadset on using an extra sound card, you can nix that as that mobo has 7.1 (8 channel) surround sound also. Some of the reviews for that mobo, and the fact it is apparently an agining one, do have me personally a bit concerned. But in the end that choice is obviously up to you, and even though it wouldn't be my first choice I'd be likely to buy it. (If we're looking at the same thing, which I think we are but can't be 100% sure unless you provide a link to the product page)
Thanks a lot Tomec, your response was quite helpful.
Here's a link to the Intel motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121059
Were you thinking something more like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131095
or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131039 in terms of motherboards?
And something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195044 for the video card?
Is it important to have 215MB and 512-bit?
Also Tomec, I didn't completely understand what you were saying about the Intel motherboard. Were you saying if I got the intel motherboard I should get an ATI card? Or that I should change the motherboard and video card altogether?
Here's a link to the Intel motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121059
Were you thinking something more like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131095
or: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131039 in terms of motherboards?
And something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814195044 for the video card?
Is it important to have 215MB and 512-bit?
Also Tomec, I didn't completely understand what you were saying about the Intel motherboard. Were you saying if I got the intel motherboard I should get an ATI card? Or that I should change the motherboard and video card altogether?
Ok, first off, neither of those two motherboards will run with that CPU you selected. The CPU you selected (which is what I would have suggested lol) is a Socket LGA 775, so your motherboard needs to have the same socket. Neither of the two Asus you linked had that, they had an AMD socket.
As for the video card, if you can afford it go for it... but thats totally up to you, just so long as it has 512 megs of ram you'll be golden.
Now, let me try to explain some about the motherboard thing with a little story...
Awhile back I was building a new PC with an Asus mobo and ATI video card. One of the chipsets on the Asus was a nVidia chipset. Now, this shouldn't have caused any problems. However, that motherboard would not boot up with ATI card I had. I must have been back and forth to my local PC store 5+ times to return cards (because I thought they were bad) and even the mobo until we figured out it was the ATI cards just not working with the mobo.
Now, with the first setup you posted, it seems that you may have the same problem but in reverse with that particular mobo (not necessarily the brand). The mobo has (or seems to) an ATI chipset (Crossfire is ATI's version of nVidia's SLI) and you want to put a nVidia card in it. Chances are you wont run into any problems as my problem was most likely a fluke. However because there is a chance, all be it a small one, I always try to match chipsets to video cards when possible.
So in short, if you want to keep that mobo I'd suggest buying some ATI card. However you can easily switch to different one if you want to keep nVidia. Or just run the small risk that it wont work.
As for the video card, if you can afford it go for it... but thats totally up to you, just so long as it has 512 megs of ram you'll be golden.
Now, let me try to explain some about the motherboard thing with a little story...
Awhile back I was building a new PC with an Asus mobo and ATI video card. One of the chipsets on the Asus was a nVidia chipset. Now, this shouldn't have caused any problems. However, that motherboard would not boot up with ATI card I had. I must have been back and forth to my local PC store 5+ times to return cards (because I thought they were bad) and even the mobo until we figured out it was the ATI cards just not working with the mobo.
Now, with the first setup you posted, it seems that you may have the same problem but in reverse with that particular mobo (not necessarily the brand). The mobo has (or seems to) an ATI chipset (Crossfire is ATI's version of nVidia's SLI) and you want to put a nVidia card in it. Chances are you wont run into any problems as my problem was most likely a fluke. However because there is a chance, all be it a small one, I always try to match chipsets to video cards when possible.
So in short, if you want to keep that mobo I'd suggest buying some ATI card. However you can easily switch to different one if you want to keep nVidia. Or just run the small risk that it wont work.
Would you be willing to help out a technologically challenged person and give me an example of a "mobo" and graphics card you would personally use and that is compatable with the other components I listed?
Thanks a LOT!
Thanks a LOT!
I thought it might be easier to simply reply to the thread and insert my responses within your post so you can see the individual items. I went ahead and bolded mine so you can see them.
Computer Case - LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $99.99
Power Supply - OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 $139.99 ($104.99 after $35 mail-in rebate)
For a case and power supply, you can also opt for something like this that will work really nice for your setup:
Apevia X-Plorer Steel Case ($54.99) & Sunbeam 580W power supply ($23.99) (which is the PSU I use)
This will cost you a bit less and do the same thing as well, incidentally.
$54.99 case / $23.99 PSU - $78.98. Saves you over 60% of the cost of the other parts.
Motherboard - Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard $214.99
CPU/Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor $199.99
Well, I'm an AMD fan myself so here's a set I found that might also work for you:
Asus M2V-MX Mainboard $54.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz $159.00
Fan/Heatsink - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $19.99
For a CPU cooler, I would advice you make sure the heatsink is copper cored with a decent fan. Copper cored tend to funnel heat away a lot more efficiently. For the board combo I listed, you might want to look at this heatsink/fan. It costs a little more but it's well worth it when it comes to pulling that heat out.
Thermaltake Mini Typhoon $40.49
In addition, I would add the following in for additional cooling and whatnot:
Arctic Silver Thermal Paste $6.99
Thermaltake 80mm Case Fan $6.99 each (get at least 2 or 3 of these.)
Memory - OR - Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $244.99 ($219.99 after $25.00 mail-in rebate)
You can never have too much RAM. The board I listed supports 4Gb so I went ahead and checked for something that might cost a little less for you.
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $237.99
Hard Drive - SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD403LJ 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $84.99
For a hard drive, I haven't used Samsung myself so I am not sure how reliable they are compared to the others but the price looks decent for a 400Gb drive.
CD/DVD Burner - Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner $29.99
Again, same thing with your CD/DVD. I think I have one similar in one of my workshop machines.
Video Card - GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $329.99
Ok, for a video card, if you're going to spend that kind of coin on a video card, I would agree with Tomec here and spring for a 512Mb one. I personally prefer ATI over nVidia but I have heard similar issues with cards acting stupid with some boards. That being said, take a look at this one. It's considerably cheaper and has almost twice the onboard RAM:
Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 $134.99
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card $27.99
So, by changing a few things, to have a really nice, fast rig, you are looking at a total of $831.99, not counting OS and monitor.
Edited, Sep 17th 2007 6:29pm by Wordaen
Schmere wrote:
Computer Case - LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $99.99
Power Supply - OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply 100 $139.99 ($104.99 after $35 mail-in rebate)
For a case and power supply, you can also opt for something like this that will work really nice for your setup:
Apevia X-Plorer Steel Case ($54.99) & Sunbeam 580W power supply ($23.99) (which is the PSU I use)
This will cost you a bit less and do the same thing as well, incidentally.
$54.99 case / $23.99 PSU - $78.98. Saves you over 60% of the cost of the other parts.
Motherboard - Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard $214.99
CPU/Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor $199.99
Well, I'm an AMD fan myself so here's a set I found that might also work for you:
Asus M2V-MX Mainboard $54.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz $159.00
Fan/Heatsink - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $19.99
For a CPU cooler, I would advice you make sure the heatsink is copper cored with a decent fan. Copper cored tend to funnel heat away a lot more efficiently. For the board combo I listed, you might want to look at this heatsink/fan. It costs a little more but it's well worth it when it comes to pulling that heat out.
Thermaltake Mini Typhoon $40.49
In addition, I would add the following in for additional cooling and whatnot:
Arctic Silver Thermal Paste $6.99
Thermaltake 80mm Case Fan $6.99 each (get at least 2 or 3 of these.)
Memory - OR - Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $244.99 ($219.99 after $25.00 mail-in rebate)
You can never have too much RAM. The board I listed supports 4Gb so I went ahead and checked for something that might cost a little less for you.
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $237.99
Hard Drive - SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD403LJ 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $84.99
For a hard drive, I haven't used Samsung myself so I am not sure how reliable they are compared to the others but the price looks decent for a 400Gb drive.
CD/DVD Burner - Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner $29.99
Again, same thing with your CD/DVD. I think I have one similar in one of my workshop machines.
Video Card - GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card $329.99
Ok, for a video card, if you're going to spend that kind of coin on a video card, I would agree with Tomec here and spring for a 512Mb one. I personally prefer ATI over nVidia but I have heard similar issues with cards acting stupid with some boards. That being said, take a look at this one. It's considerably cheaper and has almost twice the onboard RAM:
Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 $134.99
Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card $27.99
So, by changing a few things, to have a really nice, fast rig, you are looking at a total of $831.99, not counting OS and monitor.
Edited, Sep 17th 2007 6:29pm by Wordaen
Woradaen, that was a really, really helpful post. Thanks a ton. At the least it shows me that I need to look around for parts more so I can get the most bang for my buck.
A few questions:
1)Would the AMD Athlon CPU you suggested run as fast as the core 2 duo I listed?
2)Motherboards are one thing I really don't know much about. Why is there such a price difference between the motherboard I had listed and the Asus one you listed?
3)What does it mean when a video card has 128-bit opposd to 320-bit or 512-bit.
4)I've noticed that both you and Tomec, and other people, have suggested Asus motherboards and ATI cards, what makes those parts better than the ones I suggested?
Thanks again!
A few questions:
1)Would the AMD Athlon CPU you suggested run as fast as the core 2 duo I listed?
2)Motherboards are one thing I really don't know much about. Why is there such a price difference between the motherboard I had listed and the Asus one you listed?
3)What does it mean when a video card has 128-bit opposd to 320-bit or 512-bit.
4)I've noticed that both you and Tomec, and other people, have suggested Asus motherboards and ATI cards, what makes those parts better than the ones I suggested?
Thanks again!
Well, ASUS and ATI have always served me well in terms of performance and value so I recommend them. They also have great support and software options and, in regards to ATI, they have one of the best RMA programs for video cards I have used thus far.
In regards to the AMD I listed, it's also a dual core but provides better throughput and runs faster. It also supports overclocking should you want to eventually try that. It has a decent L1 and L2 cache so you will see good performance out of it.
One difference between AMD and Intel chips is that the AMDs tend to run a little hotter, although they are usually also rated higher before shut down or failure than Intel. And part of the reason for price difference has to do with upgrade ability, manufacturer, component cost and a few other things. Basically, when looking into a motherboard, I like to check and see if the CPU can be upgraded later on down the road. The board I listed supports the Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64. Gives you a really good range of processors to work with.
In regards to the AMD I listed, it's also a dual core but provides better throughput and runs faster. It also supports overclocking should you want to eventually try that. It has a decent L1 and L2 cache so you will see good performance out of it.
One difference between AMD and Intel chips is that the AMDs tend to run a little hotter, although they are usually also rated higher before shut down or failure than Intel. And part of the reason for price difference has to do with upgrade ability, manufacturer, component cost and a few other things. Basically, when looking into a motherboard, I like to check and see if the CPU can be upgraded later on down the road. The board I listed supports the Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64 FX and Athlon 64. Gives you a really good range of processors to work with.
I think the set-up you suggested looks really appetizing. I'll have to read up more on the parts, but I think that's basically the set-up I want. It seems like it will run very fast, have good graphics and be affordable. After all, I'm not going to be running insane games on this computer, mostly LOTRO, and a few shooters here and there.
Thanks everyone for your help!
Thanks everyone for your help!
Schmere wrote:
A few questions:
1)Would the AMD Athlon CPU you suggested run as fast as the core 2 duo I listed?
2)Motherboards are one thing I really don't know much about. Why is there such a price difference between the motherboard I had listed and the Asus one you listed?
3)What does it mean when a video card has 128-bit opposd to 320-bit or 512-bit.
4)I've noticed that both you and Tomec, and other people, have suggested Asus motherboards and ATI cards, what makes those parts better than the ones I suggested?
Thanks again!
1)Would the AMD Athlon CPU you suggested run as fast as the core 2 duo I listed?
2)Motherboards are one thing I really don't know much about. Why is there such a price difference between the motherboard I had listed and the Asus one you listed?
3)What does it mean when a video card has 128-bit opposd to 320-bit or 512-bit.
4)I've noticed that both you and Tomec, and other people, have suggested Asus motherboards and ATI cards, what makes those parts better than the ones I suggested?
Thanks again!
1. It'll probably be close actually... from what I can gather from looking at benches the AMD runs close to the Core 2 Duo E6600, which isn't really the top of the line and the one you are thinking of is slightly better. Personally, I still think that the Core 2 Duo is a better processor, and this coming from someone who used AMD for quite some time.
2. Just like in other things prices will vary a lot by how sturdy it is, how much extra stuff you put on it, etc. As for the price difference between those two particular boards I can't say without taking a closer look (probably in a store) at them.
3. It's just something to do with memory bandwidth I think, and higher is better but it doesn't really matter THAT much.
4. While I can't speak for others, personally I like them because ASUS is a solid brand. As for ATI, it's again just sort of brand preference. I think that ATI gives better picture at higher AA/AF levels (aka less jaggies) then nVidia. nVidia can still give high-res images, but I found they don't have much AA/AF. But again, it really just depends on personal preference.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029
Little more expensive then the AMD Word linked, but will probably outperform the AMD easily. The benches I found pitted the AMD vs the E6600 (and even a lower model based on the pricepoints from before price-cuts intel took) and that CPU is slightly better then the 6600. In fact, one of the reviews I found even said this:
but goes on to say with the price cuts it's closest competition is the 6300, which is one of the lower end core 2 duos. With the new price cuts though, the 6600 becomes competition again, and the 6750 I linked is even better then the 6600 (and cheaper for some reason)
Little more expensive then the AMD Word linked, but will probably outperform the AMD easily. The benches I found pitted the AMD vs the E6600 (and even a lower model based on the pricepoints from before price-cuts intel took) and that CPU is slightly better then the 6600. In fact, one of the reviews I found even said this:
Quote:
In the case of the Athlon 64 X2 5600+ for instance, the 5600+ was previously priced at $326. At this price, its closest competitor from Intel was the Core 2 Duo E6600, which carries a list price of $316. Compared to the E6600, the X2 5600+ definitely takes a backseat to the Core 2 CPU when it comes to performance, generally running anywhere from 5-20% slower with the exact amount depending on the game being tested. The chief advantage the X2 5600+ holds over the E6600 is idle power consumption, everywhere else the E6600 generally outpaces the X2 5600+.
but goes on to say with the price cuts it's closest competition is the 6300, which is one of the lower end core 2 duos. With the new price cuts though, the 6600 becomes competition again, and the 6750 I linked is even better then the 6600 (and cheaper for some reason)
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