New Hardware needed - advice

[efcmandan]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

2gb and E6300 is plenty enough to run VMware. But then again i only ran multiple instances of Linux which isnt resourse hungry unlike XP or Vista. Don't know what they require to emulate successfully.

Get some pics up of the finished build yea?

I will probably only be running one or two max machines on VMWare at any time, bit of Linux, Longhorn, Vista etc.

The kit arrived today, a day early!



Can't build tonight, playing football, but will crack on Wednesday.

Yeah, I know what you mean about knowing where to stop. I spent about $2000 US on my machine counting the monitor, keyboard, mice, external HDD, speakers and headphones, joystick, and gamepad. The upside is that I'm never buying a PS3 or X360. BF2, Oblivion and F.E.A.R. rock on this box at around 60 fps at 1600x1200 with everything maxed out.

The lame thing is the fact that soon after I built this rig Core 2 Duos came out and I could have gotten a much better system for the same price or less. The price I pay for being an early adopter, I guess.

Yeah, I have a PS2 at the moment and I only use it for Pro Evo, but it's handy because it's in the lounge and connected to the surround sound and you can be up and playing in a minute or so. I was thinking of getting a '360, and eventually a PS3, but I need a new HD tv first really. Add to that doing up the house and it never ends!

So, F.E.A.R., should I buy it?

Yes, because we don't talk about piracy here.
-Sir. MatDef

[camper.]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

Yes, definitely. Raid a Best-Buy or whatever you have over there with your trusty cutlass.

Arrr! :P

[=98=]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

Is F.E.A.R a multiplayer or mainly a singleplayer?

Also, what number appears on the Core 2 Duo box next to "FPO#" ?

[efcmandan]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

Yes, definitely. Raid a Best-Buy or whatever you have over there with your trusty cutlass.

Arrr! :P

I'm on it

Is F.E.A.R a multiplayer or mainly a singleplayer?

Also, what number appears on the Core 2 Duo box next to "FPO#" ?

I think F.E.A.R. is mainly single player. I played it for a bit on my mates '360, but I couldn't use the controller. It was very atmospheric, which I like.

My stuff's all at home now, so I'll look tonight for the FPO number. What's the deal with that?

[=98=]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

It like the batch number. It indicates how "good" the chip is. For example, B & F batches of E6600's are very good as they are known for having excellent cooling and overclocknig capabilities. A versions on the other hand are slightly worse.

[[Expletive Deleted]]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

F.E.A.R. Combat is the multiplayer component of F.E.A.R., and you can get it for free these days. The main game you still have to buy, and it's a really good single player experience.

[Minicoop503]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

F.E.A.R. Combat is the multiplayer component of F.E.A.R., and you can get it for free these days. The main game you still have to buy, and it's a really good single player experience.

yea, and its scary as hell too!

[metalgear138]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

I hate how these threads somehow turn into an arguement of how Intel is faster than AMD; who gives a crap. Both companies make a great product. As far as your question, just go with what you can afford because your whole setup is ancient and outdated. I think its funny how all you ppl will go out and spend all your money on a Intel processor and go cheap on your gfx card.

[=98=]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

I hate how these threads somehow turn into an arguement of how Intel is faster than AMD; who gives a crap?

Who gives a crap....? Well, for one, the person who is about to spend £500 on a new PC that will probably have to last him another few years... thats who. Plus, there does not seem to be any sign of an argument here, just people commenting on how Intel is the brand to go for at the moment for quality & speed.

I think its funny how all you ppl will go out and spend all your money on a Intel processor and go cheap on your gfx card.

The reason people go "cheap" (I don't think that spending £100 on a graphics card is cheap really) is because they can be upgraded easily in the future. All cards for the next 2 years or so will use PCI-E and therefore it is easy to sell your card, and for an extra £40 or so, buy a better one. Most people only upgrade their Graphics card when they need to (IE when they want to play a game that requires a better GPU). It's not really so easy with processors. You buy a cheap one now, it will not last you as long, and when you come to upgrade it, you will have to buy a new mobo because the socket type has changed or whatever. You may as well buy a high end processor now that will last you 4 years or so and simply upgrade the GPU when needed cos apart from power consumption, they are not going to be changing a lot for a while (Until PCI-E2 comes).

Anyone esle agree?

[megawhompertoo]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

You may as well buy a high end processor now that will last you 4 years or so and simply upgrade the GPU when needed cos apart from power consumption, they are not going to be changing a lot for a while (Until PCI-E2 comes).

Anyone esle agree?

In theory, I agree. In practice, it depends mostly on one's budget and how willing one is to crack open the case and utilze ebay. Me? I'm tickled pink with the combination of an overclocked $80 pentium d and a $200 ($180 after rebate) x1950xt, and I will be until lga775 quad-cores start to look reasonably priced.

That's not to say that's what the OP should have done. The OP's decision should also be based on the types of games he plays. I don't play games that much anymore, but the ones I do are usually FPS/RPG (BF2/Oblivion), which are vastly more GPU intensive. All the CPU is doing is refereeing the rest of components and making hit-box calculations (ok, that's an understatement--esp. w/Oblivion--but I'm about to expand on the theme). If I was to fire up something that asks the CPU to keep track of thousands of "units" across a huge "map", while still coordinating software instructions between the mem/gpu/soundcard--say Supreme Commanderish--I'd get very familiar with my CPU's limitations, no matter how gorgeously the gpu was rendering the explosions.

@ Previous poster, with regard to your point about an advice thread being degraded into an argument: so...why'd you do it?

[Sir. MatDef]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

I hate how these threads somehow turn into an arguement of how Intel is faster than AMD; who gives a crap. Both companies make a great product.

As far as I can see, nobody was arguing until you wandered in here with what can be considered nothing but a flamebait.


Unless you have something valuable to bring to the discussion please stop posting in this section, thanks.

[efcmandan]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

So yeah, ignoring the b0llocks above, my CPU says FPO/BATCH#: Q645A492 :)

[=98=]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

Yeah, thats the standard version that most people get. Will work a treat tho. Looking forward to seeing the end result of this thread. So many people come on here asking for advice with either no intention of buying a new computer or they never post back.

[efcmandan]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

Yeah, thats the standard version that most people get. Will work a treat tho. Looking forward to seeing the end result of this thread. So many people come on here asking for advice with either no intention of buying a new computer or they never post back.

Hi

yeah I imagine you get a lot of drop-ins, you do offer advice very easily! I'm here for the long-run though, once I get the machine built I'll hone my 'skillz' and be back for some 'pwnage'

I backed up the stuff I needed off my machine last night, so I'm going to start building the new one tonight. Hopefully she'll be rolling by the weekend.

I'll run 3dMark tests before and after, just to show the huge difference.

Oh, and I've just bought a 21" CRT that does 1920x1440 for £30. I've got a 17" TFT but it only does 1280x1024, so I'll use the CRT for gaming.

[imported_insurgent0011]

Re: New Hardware needed - advice

Hi

yeah I imagine you get a lot of drop-ins, you do offer advice very easily! I'm here for the long-run though, once I get the machine built I'll hone my 'skillz' and be back for some 'pwnage'

I backed up the stuff I needed off my machine last night, so I'm going to start building the new one tonight. Hopefully she'll be rolling by the weekend.

I'll run 3dMark tests before and after, just to show the huge difference.

Oh, and I've just bought a 21" CRT that does 1920x1440 for £30. I've got a 17" TFT but it only does 1280x1024, so I'll use the CRT for gaming.

21 inch for 30 quid? Where from??! BTW am getting the same rig as you expect with a E6420....