Some Qs

[Havok209]

First off I would just like to let everyone know that Im new here and Im sorry if I have posted this in the wrong section

OK, I am looking ahead with the future release of Crysis as Im sure many are and I want to have a system which will run it comfortably. Currently ended my run of BF2 and WoW which I ran on high settings. I know you will need to speculate a litte. So I had some general upgrade questions, recommendations would be great.
My setup(1 year old this month)...
Intel Pentium Processor 830 w/ Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Alienware PCI Express Motherboard with Intel 955X Chipset
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCI Express 256MB DDR3 w/Digital and S-Video Out
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
160GB Serial ATA 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache
16x DVD / 52x36x52x CD-RW Drive
Integrated High-Performance 7.1 Surround Sound(I know this will probably be first on your reccomended updates lol)
yes it is an alienware, as you probably know, as I heard upgrade paths for them were numerous. Will my setup be good enough for another year? What are your reccomendations? thanks.

 

[RichPLS]

If you feel gaming is on the verge of lagging, then you could consider an upgrade to something like X1900XT or when released X1950XT and another gig of RAM.
Also, you should be able to overclock that CPU a good bit with whatever cooling you have... if AW supplied you with a decent board.
So yes, you should have a bit more life in that PC.

 

[wun911]

That comp looks fine to me I wouldnt touch it for another year maybe another 2 years!

 

[Heyyou27]

The 6800GT is going to have serious problems with newer titles like Crysis and UT2007.

 

[sailer]

I'd change the gpu for a better card, 1900XTX or 7900GTX, pick your flavor. Also I'd go for two 1 gig sticks of ram. Otherwise, the machine looks good for at least a year, probably two.

 

[Pompeii]

I know playing the waiting game generally isn't a good thing, but in this case I believe it is.

Both Conroe and DirectX 10 cards will be coming out very soon, if your rig can last until then(which I believe it can), you should wait.

 

[sailer]

My thought was that he wanted to upgrade his present rig for Crysis without changing the entire machine, so it seemed logical to upgrade the gpu. Besides, DX10 won't be all that useful until Vista is out, and games using it will be even further down the road. If a person wants to wait a year, perhaps longer, before doing major upgrades, fine. In fact, it will be a year to a year and a half that I make the major upgrade.

Until then, the point was to improve the present machine, and I think a good graphics card that's now available would do the job and keep up pretty well for a year, perhaps even longer. It all depends on when Microsoft actually releases Vista, teh DX10 cards are available, and maybe more important, game makers start producing games that actually require DX10.

 

[Pompeii]

Well then, in that situation, I would have to agree with RichPLS. Upgrade your video card, ram, and then do some light to moderate oc'ing.

 

[turpit]

The 6800GT is going to have serious problems with newer titles like Crysis and UT2007.

What he said.

Crysis is still a ways away, and looking at what the game will do, especially considering the physics of the completely interactive environment they're developing, I doubt anything you could buy right now, either CPU or GPU will allow you to run that game at its max quality settings.

The Crysis software looks absolutely amazing, to the point of exceeding Oblivion handily, and Oblivion at max settings is a system killer right now.

My advice, hold off for now, enjoy what you have. Hardware prices will continue to drop allowing you to get more for less when Crysis is finally released

 

[Havok209]

thanks for the replies, anyone see any reason to upgrade my integrated sound card or is it alright?

 

[Pompeii]

It really depends. Upgrading your sound card will make a dramatic difference in the sound quality of games and music. But do you have the speakers to enjoy it?

On the other hand, buying a sound card such as a Creative X-Fi will give you a fps boost in most games, as the sound is no longer being processed by the cpu, allowing it to perform other in game calculations.

If you do want to upgrade your sound card, the Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music is the way to go.

 

[Plekto]

My setup(1 year old this month)...
Intel Pentium Processor 830 w/ Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Alienware PCI Express Motherboard with Intel 955X Chipset
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT PCI Express 256MB DDR3 w/Digital and S-Video Out
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
160GB Serial ATA 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache
16x DVD / 52x36x52x CD-RW Drive
Integrated High-Performance 7.1 Surround Sound(I know this will probably be first on your reccomended updates lol)

- CPU, MB, memory - fine.
- Video card is a bit old, but should be fine. Install a Silenx or Zalman cooler on it - lowers noise and allows a bit of overclocking if you want.
- Upgrade the drives to a 250gig*2 raid 1 array. I learned the hard way this month that data redundancy is a godsend why my one year old drive ate itself. Raid 1 also gives you double the read speed(but no gain in writing speed), which is great for gaming.
- Purchase a Sound Blaster 24 Value for $30. This is a 20% or more gain to your overall speed as onboard sound slows down your machine greatly. Why this? The Hardware on it is *identical* to an Audigy 1, which is more than you actually need unless you plan to do professional recording and NEED an Audigy 2.