New Desktop Configuration

s4g3

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2008
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18,510
Hi Guys,

This is my first post here. I am planning to buy a new desktop for gaming (windows) , linux (gentoo and RH) and Opensolaris

I would need your gaming experience and expertise to help me choose the right hardware. So i have some questions here:

1) Which processor is better for gaming:intel E7200 (2.56GHz) or AMD 6000+ (3 GHz) or AMD tri core phenom 8450 (2.2 GHz)?

2) Motherboard: I am particularly biased towards Asus M3A78-EM rather than Intel DG 31 PR due to the features and price but willing to buy Intel if its really better than Asus

3) If the mother board does not support DDR3 will GPU with DDR3 work or is it dependant on motherboard?

4) In some game i saw the min req is a 2.8 GHz processor...will it create issues if i get a 3 core 2.2 GHz ?

5) Does the motherboard M3A78-EM support DDR3 RAM for later upgrade?
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=149&l3=639&l4=0&model=2252&modelmenu=1

6) If i get a M3A78-EM motherboard, will linux and opensolaris work on AMD 780G + SB700 chipset?

7) The Integrated GPU presented with the M3A78-EM motherboard is
Integrated ATI Radeon™ HD 3200 GPU
Maximum shared memory of 256MB
AMD Hybrid CrossFireX™ Support (For Windows Vista only)
Supports Microsoft® DirectX 10, OpenGL 2.0, Pixel Shader 4
Will it work with Quake 4, Unreal Tournament 2007 and F.E.A.R without jerky output?
Any idea what FPS i will get?

BTW i plan to use a 22" ViewSonic Monitor so will be using 1680x1050 screen res. However for playing games i might reduce it to 1024x768 for better quality.

Thanks a lot for the help in advance

 

s4g3

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2008
2
0
18,510
Oh! one more thing:

did any of you guys ever used Nvidia GeForce FX 8600 GT 512mb? If the Amd+ Asus combination does not work good i will buy the Nvidia card. Does the card perform good with Quake 4, UT 2007 and FEAR?

Thanks in advance