article: gaming hardware

[street]

P4 1.7

RDRAM

Geforce 3 ti 500



Runs like a dream... The main problem with CS on a shit computer is when someone surprises you - your frame rate drops as he fires so you can't respond properly.



Oh, and 3DMark is totally useless, let's face it. Look to your frame rates, people, that's what counts.

[Aibohphobia]

Lythium wrote..

Good article luft ;0



Aibohphobia:

I think people need to understand that one of the major reasons why so many people suck is that they are playing with less than the above-stated specs.

One day when you grow up you won't be so full of yourself. 'Professionaly', please get a life. That caught my attention so much I had to register. Some people have their priorities right up their ass.

By "Professionally" i meant in CAL leage or OGL competitions, not the average 14-year-old who just beat the single player starcraft compaign and wants to see what CS is like. And how did u get the idea that I was "full of myself" for saying that most people who play cs "professionally" are way above the recommended specs?" It's absoluly true! Looks like u registered for nothing.

[=Plotz=Fallen]

if you dont have a PC above the Reco spec dont play it, cause even the recco spec is way below the spec u will need to have a smooth runnin game, my PC stuggles with MEDAL OF HONOR, but with CS is rocks.



www.ebuyer.com



cheap as a asian Prossy

[quxex1hi]

Edited by [user="5455"] @ [time="1012413187"]

Exodus wrote..

Some people are just hungry to have the best. Most people have these hopped up systems like LuftWaffle I'm sure, and probobly use 30% of it, total waste of these rich kids' money.

But why upgrade if you not obtaining an advantage by doing so? This is absolutely absurd...

[pinchet]

Exodus I do run is @ 1280x960...



I can see things fine on it and I do get 100fps

[Vodka.Bob]

Currently I'm running:

AMD Athlon 1.4 ghz

256MB SDRAM

GeForce3 Ti200

WindowsXP Professional



I have absolutely no problems running CS, I get 100 fps no matter what at 1028x768 on an LCD display.



But since I'm a rich kid, and I like to upgrade for no reason, I just bought:

AMD Athlon 1900+ XP

512MB DDR RAM

GeForce 3 Ti500

SB Live! 5.1

Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 500-watt surround sound system

WindowsXP Professional



But, why? Because I can.



P.S. Great article Luft.

[LuftWaffle]

But why upgrade if you not obtaining an advantage by doing so? This is absolutely absurd...

You ARE gaining an advantage, usually. Obviously, the visuals will look better at higher resolutions, and with all features enabled. And at higher frame rates, it's easier to aim and play. Trust me - I went from a celeron 300 OC'd to 450, to a P3-700 and I definitely started playing better. You never realize how much you're being stifled by your machine until you play on something better.



Also, this article was about GAMING hardware - not counter-strike hardware. It wasn't specific for just CS. In general, an 800mhz machine with enough memory and a good graphics card should be fine for most games that are out these days.



Anyways, thanks to everyone who gave me positive feedback. I have another article that I have to write soon, and I haven't completely decided on a topic... maybe a followup on other hardware would be good? I like that idea... Any other suggestions?

[Vodka.Bob]

Ya, I like the dream machine idea. That would be cool to see what the latest and greatest is out there right now. A guide on speakers, sound cards, and mouses would be good. Sound is just as big a part of gaming as graphics are, especially in a game like CS where you have to hear what's around you.

[KGarcia]

Edited by [user="9002"] @ [time="1012429314"]

Exodus:

Be honest, you can actually play at 1280x960? I tried 1024x768, and it's well over my limits of vision. I play at 800x600 and get 100FPS, and I see no point in going higher, nothing improves besides seeing more typing...

your missing out my freind... 1280x1024 on a nec fe950+ is sick looking and even though it cant do 1600x1200 @85Hz at that res it still looks the best I ever seen. 800x600 is good for a 15" monitor.

17" 1024x768 but on a 17" or 19" running 800x600 just dont cut it for someone who has a good card. You should see a big difference in clarity between 800x600 and 1280x1024 resolutions. Thats if your vid card and monitor is any good... when getting a monitor big and cheap is not the way to go if your looking to get the best picture for your money. The better monitors are much more clear and the support higher res @ good refresh rates so you can really see a difference.

Exodus:

some people are just hungry to have the best. Most people have these hopped up systems like LuftWaffle I'm sure, and probobly use 30% of it, total waste of these rich kids' money.

lol, what do you do? Only use your pc for reading email? My 933 p3 isnt even fast enough, I wouldnt mind having a dual athlon mp 1800+ system, 15,000rpm scsi ultra160 hdds setup with maybe a raid 0+1 config. Anyone up for some serious multitasking power not to mention programs that load faster then you could ever imagine?

MadFox:

Hey, I'm also thinking of buying a new mouse, which one should I get? I get frustrated cause everyone tells me different things. I've talked to some top swedish CS players and they all tell me to go MS, some of them tell me to get the MS Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 (which NiP uses) :)

This is one of the biggest upgrades you can get if you already got decent equiptment. The explorer is really nice and dont mess up at all. it scans the ground 6000 times per second. The other ms opticals which are cheaper only do like 2000 per sec and can mess up if you move them real fast. Im on my third ms optical and i have to say the explorer 3.0 is the best by far. plus it looks sick. Also if anyone is gonna spend $60 on a mouse you gotta get a RATPADZ.COM mousing surrface. ppl who think thier ball mouse is fine dont know what their missing out on. you want the edge? An optical on a ratpadz is what you need. As for you ppl running systems that only get 10fps and need you to take out the models and do all this other lame stuff I dont know how you can stand it... or maybe you just never played on a good system... Im not knocking you ppl who just cant afford it but I am knocking those who can but think no models and 10-20fps is good enough and upgrading is just a waste of money.

[=Plotz=Fallen]

Vodka.Bob wrote..

Currently I'm running:

AMD Athlon 1.4 ghz

256MB SDRAM

GeForce3 Ti200

WindowsXP Professional



I have absolutely no problems running CS, I get 100 fps no matter what at 1028x768 on an LCD display.



But since I'm a rich kid, and I like to upgrade for no reason, I just bought:

AMD Athlon 1900+ XP

512MB DDR RAM

GeForce 3 Ti500

SB Live! 5.1

Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 500-watt surround sound system

WindowsXP Professional



But, why? Because I can.



P.S. Great article Luft.

If you bought XP, you habe more money than sense.



who ever buys software, thats what the internet is for.

[Vodka.Bob]

Maybe I bought it because I'm not a cheap-skate punk kid who is out there trying to rip off every major company. You're not impressing anyone with your software piracy support. Moron.

[KGarcia]

I bought win2k off ebay a while back for $230 and guess what.. I get it and on the front of the box there is a seal that says "for promotional use only". I didnt bother reporting that seller but thats pretty sad. Advertise it as being retail and its really a promo copy he got from ms.

[w6509]

B2K_J_McClane wrote..

I bought win2k off ebay a while back for $230 and guess what.. I get it and on the front of the box there is a seal that says "for promotional use only". I didnt bother reporting that seller but thats pretty sad. Advertise it as being retail and its really a promo copy he got from ms.

thats excatly what happened to me whens i bought a win98 cd ago ( i am still realy pissed)

[[LR]Tanner]

I'm gonna get my new PC on Wednesday:



AMD Athlon xp 1700+ (1.46ghz)

512 DDR memory

ATI Radeon 8500 64mb



and some other neat stuff!



anyways i think if u realy want a good cheap card u should get ATI's 8500 since it owns compared to GeForce 3! www.tomshardware.com (see for ur self) Its better its cheaper and it has a cooler logo! ;D

[td`[skk]`]

hey Luf,

I could use some help. I want to upgrade as my specs are:

-PIII 800

-TNT2 32MB (ewww)

-384 SDRAM



I don't know how to upgrade my processor without changing mobos, I would also like to change my graphics card, Is there a possible way to upgrade to P4 quality or so without changing mobos?