Shall I upgrade my system or buy new one?
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NABHA
November 24, 2006 2:59:33 PM
Collegs
Im a fun of stratige games and I bought my CPU 4 years back and i was fully satisfied with it( no single problem in runing any games)
.
Below is the specification of the desktop
Pentium(R) 4 1.8 GHZ
512 MBof Ram
Sustem XP
40GB Harddisk.
24x10X40 Yamaha Safeburn
RAdeon 7500 - 128 MB
However this week I was about to buy the latest game "Medieval II Total War" with alot new requiremnts such us and im not sure if its worth going for upgrade only or buying an new desktop?. For example the DirectX® 9.0c, will Radeon 7500 be able to run?. Pls Help & Thanks
Minimum System Requirements For Medieval II Total War"
English version of Microsoft® Windows® 2000/XP
Celeron 1.8GHz Pentium 4® (1500MHz) or equivalent AMD® processor.
512MB RAM
8x Speed DVD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers
11.0 Gigs of uncompressed free hard disk space
100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers
100% Windows® 2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers
DirectX® 9.0c
128MB Hardware Accelerated video card with Shader 1 support and the latest drivers. Must be 100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible.
Monitor must be able to display 1024x768 resolution or above.
Im a fun of stratige games and I bought my CPU 4 years back and i was fully satisfied with it( no single problem in runing any games)
. Below is the specification of the desktop
Pentium(R) 4 1.8 GHZ
512 MBof Ram
Sustem XP
40GB Harddisk.
24x10X40 Yamaha Safeburn
RAdeon 7500 - 128 MB
However this week I was about to buy the latest game "Medieval II Total War" with alot new requiremnts such us and im not sure if its worth going for upgrade only or buying an new desktop?. For example the DirectX® 9.0c, will Radeon 7500 be able to run?. Pls Help & Thanks
Minimum System Requirements For Medieval II Total War"
English version of Microsoft® Windows® 2000/XP
Celeron 1.8GHz Pentium 4® (1500MHz) or equivalent AMD® processor.
512MB RAM
8x Speed DVD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers
11.0 Gigs of uncompressed free hard disk space
100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers
100% Windows® 2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers
DirectX® 9.0c
128MB Hardware Accelerated video card with Shader 1 support and the latest drivers. Must be 100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible.
Monitor must be able to display 1024x768 resolution or above.
More about : upgrade system buy
apt403
November 24, 2006 3:01:52 PM
cdonato
November 24, 2006 5:47:36 PM
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exit2dos
November 24, 2006 6:37:00 PM
1Tanker
November 24, 2006 6:41:37 PM
Quote:
Collegs Im a fun of stratige games and I bought my CPU 4 years back and i was fully satisfied with it( no single problem in runing any games)
. Below is the specification of the desktop
Pentium(R) 4 1.8 GHZ
512 MBof Ram
Sustem XP
40GB Harddisk.
24x10X40 Yamaha Safeburn
RAdeon 7500 - 128 MB
However this week I was about to buy the latest game "Medieval II Total War" with alot new requiremnts such us and im not sure if its worth going for upgrade only or buying an new desktop?. For example the DirectX® 9.0c, will Radeon 7500 be able to run?. Pls Help & Thanks
Minimum System Requirements For Medieval II Total War"
English version of Microsoft® Windows® 2000/XP
Celeron 1.8GHz Pentium 4® (1500MHz) or equivalent AMD® processor.
512MB RAM
8x Speed DVD-ROM drive (1200KB/sec sustained transfer rate) and latest drivers
11.0 Gigs of uncompressed free hard disk space
100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible 16-bit sound card and latest drivers
100% Windows® 2000/XP compatible mouse, keyboard and latest drivers
DirectX® 9.0c
128MB Hardware Accelerated video card with Shader 1 support and the latest drivers. Must be 100% DirectX® 9.0c compatible.
Monitor must be able to display 1024x768 resolution or above.
spanner_razor
November 24, 2006 6:53:01 PM
melarcky
November 24, 2006 7:38:09 PM
Each of the components is a few generations behind current. It doesn't pay, as the others have also said, to put any moola into that box. Plan on a Core 2 Duo processor, at least a 250 GB hard drive, and 1 GB of RAM to be sure (unless you're seriously cash strapped and there are some less attractive alternatives...).
NABHA
November 25, 2006 5:15:15 AM
Thanks ALL for your Value advice. I will go for new PC. My budget can go upto 1600 $. Can you help to build up a system which will Survive for the next 4 years without a single need for upgrade (if possiable).
I read the artical "THGC CPU Buyer's Guide by Spitfire_x86" and i find it very useful and I don't understand term " excellent overclocking potential "
I read the artical "THGC CPU Buyer's Guide by Spitfire_x86" and i find it very useful and I don't understand term " excellent overclocking potential "
NABHA
November 25, 2006 7:21:53 AM
How good is below specification for gaming?
System Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.67GHz (Dual Core) 1066FSB
CPU Fan: Intel Heavy Duty Cooling Fan With Heat Sink
Motherboard: Gigabyte 8N-SLI (up to 3.8GHz+ CPU support)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 533 PC4200 RAM
Video: nVidia SLI GeForce 7600GS Dual SLI video ( 2 cards)
Hard drive: 300GB 7200RPM SATA2 8MB Cache
CD/DVD drive: 18x DVD +RW/-RW drive (DVD-burner drive)
Sound: AC 97 6 channel 5.1 Full duplex digital sound
Network: 10/100 RJ45 onboard network (Ethernet, cable or DSL)
Ports: Six USB 2.0 ports,1 serial, 1 parallel
Case: Black Neon Mid Tower 600W with front USB & Temp control
Keyboard: Black PS2 Windows Keyboard
Mouse: Black PS2 Scroll Mouse
Speakers: Black Multimedia stereo speakers
System Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.67GHz (Dual Core) 1066FSB
CPU Fan: Intel Heavy Duty Cooling Fan With Heat Sink
Motherboard: Gigabyte 8N-SLI (up to 3.8GHz+ CPU support)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 533 PC4200 RAM
Video: nVidia SLI GeForce 7600GS Dual SLI video ( 2 cards)
Hard drive: 300GB 7200RPM SATA2 8MB Cache
CD/DVD drive: 18x DVD +RW/-RW drive (DVD-burner drive)
Sound: AC 97 6 channel 5.1 Full duplex digital sound
Network: 10/100 RJ45 onboard network (Ethernet, cable or DSL)
Ports: Six USB 2.0 ports,1 serial, 1 parallel
Case: Black Neon Mid Tower 600W with front USB & Temp control
Keyboard: Black PS2 Windows Keyboard
Mouse: Black PS2 Scroll Mouse
Speakers: Black Multimedia stereo speakers
1Tanker
November 25, 2006 8:02:46 AM
Quote:
How good is below specification for gaming? System Configuration:
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.67GHz (Dual Core) 1066FSB
CPU Fan: Intel Heavy Duty Cooling Fan With Heat Sink
Motherboard: Gigabyte 8N-SLI (up to 3.8GHz+ CPU support)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 533 PC4200 RAM
Video: nVidia SLI GeForce 7600GS Dual SLI video ( 2 cards)
Hard drive: 300GB 7200RPM SATA2 8MB Cache
CD/DVD drive: 18x DVD +RW/-RW drive (DVD-burner drive)
Sound: AC 97 6 channel 5.1 Full duplex digital sound
Network: 10/100 RJ45 onboard network (Ethernet, cable or DSL)
Ports: Six USB 2.0 ports,1 serial, 1 parallel
Case: Black Neon Mid Tower 600W with front USB & Temp control
Keyboard: Black PS2 Windows Keyboard
Mouse: Black PS2 Scroll Mouse
Speakers: Black Multimedia stereo speakers
exit2dos
November 25, 2006 8:28:27 AM
TabrisDarkPeace
November 25, 2006 10:55:40 AM
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 will do you, but more performance / cache in E6600 will offer more longtivity. (Cache helps in your games more than most, just as it does in large scale military simulators - not FPS's).
Mainboard: You don't need SLI unless you're a FPS freak.
Consider a Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 or even just the cheaper: GA-965P-DS3. (The DS4 and DQ6 are also nice).
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Product...
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Product...
Intel P965 based: GA-965P-DS4, GA-965P-DQ6, GA-965P-DS3, GA-965P-S3 ; don't pay more for an Asus because Gigabyte / Asus share manufacturing, but Gigabyte have easier BIOS + easy BIOS flash image backup/restore.
Video Card: GeForce 7600 GT factory overclocked a shade, but with a warranty on that overclock, might suite your game style fine.
SLI of 2 x 7600 GT is pointless as 1 x 7950 GT can outperform 2 x 7600 GT cards.
FSAA does not scale well with SLI using 2 low end cards - each with weak FSAA performance to start with
, you're better off with one powerful, but affordable, card.
This saves money on the mainboard / chipset as you likely don't need 2 video cards, and with the GeForce 8800 GTX / Radeon 1950 XT and its replacement due out in March 2007 it is unlikely people will ever 'need' two video cards for gaming. 'Want' is a totally different matter though.
The Gigabyte 7600 GT is available in a Silent Pipe varient, with totally fanless cooling. I am running one right now and my PC is very quiet (which is something a strategy player can appreciate, vs explosions every 3 seconds in a FPS at 120+ fps at 1600 x 1200, max detail, max FSAA, etc :roll: )http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2235
![]()
If you want a silent video card, but with more than standard GeForce 7950 GT performance then check out:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/listConfigurations....;jsessionid=a7dPiupxOtq-2VO_E8?seriesId=185563&productId=638284
![]()
With a GeForce 7950 GT GPU core, but clocked at 610 MHz, and 1.6 GHz GDDR3 and passive cooling, this card can almost touch the performance of GeForce 7900 GTX cards. Just without the noise and at a decent price:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/listConfigurationDe...
Then just get a PSU to future-proof your PC for awhile:
http://users.on.net/~darkpeace/psu/List_of_Recommended_...
RAM: 2 x 1 GB of decent (non faulty, tested) DDR2-SDRAM is fine, even DDR2-533 or DDR2-667 with typical timings will perform fine. The 4 MB cache on the Core 2 Duo negates the impacts of more affordable memory on performance. (TomsHardware, Anandtech, and likely Xbitlabs have articles on this).
Mainboard: You don't need SLI unless you're a FPS freak.
Consider a Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 or even just the cheaper: GA-965P-DS3. (The DS4 and DQ6 are also nice).
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Product...
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Product...
Intel P965 based: GA-965P-DS4, GA-965P-DQ6, GA-965P-DS3, GA-965P-S3 ; don't pay more for an Asus because Gigabyte / Asus share manufacturing, but Gigabyte have easier BIOS + easy BIOS flash image backup/restore.
Video Card: GeForce 7600 GT factory overclocked a shade, but with a warranty on that overclock, might suite your game style fine.
SLI of 2 x 7600 GT is pointless as 1 x 7950 GT can outperform 2 x 7600 GT cards.
FSAA does not scale well with SLI using 2 low end cards - each with weak FSAA performance to start with
, you're better off with one powerful, but affordable, card.This saves money on the mainboard / chipset as you likely don't need 2 video cards, and with the GeForce 8800 GTX / Radeon 1950 XT and its replacement due out in March 2007 it is unlikely people will ever 'need' two video cards for gaming. 'Want' is a totally different matter though.
The Gigabyte 7600 GT is available in a Silent Pipe varient, with totally fanless cooling. I am running one right now and my PC is very quiet (which is something a strategy player can appreciate, vs explosions every 3 seconds in a FPS at 120+ fps at 1600 x 1200, max detail, max FSAA, etc :roll: )http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2235
If you want a silent video card, but with more than standard GeForce 7950 GT performance then check out:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/listConfigurations....;jsessionid=a7dPiupxOtq-2VO_E8?seriesId=185563&productId=638284
With a GeForce 7950 GT GPU core, but clocked at 610 MHz, and 1.6 GHz GDDR3 and passive cooling, this card can almost touch the performance of GeForce 7900 GTX cards. Just without the noise and at a decent price:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/listConfigurationDe...
Then just get a PSU to future-proof your PC for awhile:
http://users.on.net/~darkpeace/psu/List_of_Recommended_...
RAM: 2 x 1 GB of decent (non faulty, tested) DDR2-SDRAM is fine, even DDR2-533 or DDR2-667 with typical timings will perform fine. The 4 MB cache on the Core 2 Duo negates the impacts of more affordable memory on performance. (TomsHardware, Anandtech, and likely Xbitlabs have articles on this).
NABHA
November 26, 2006 3:15:40 AM
RyanMicah
November 26, 2006 4:23:53 AM
melarcky
November 26, 2006 1:52:51 PM
luckyblur
November 26, 2006 5:17:38 PM
Well since I’m in the same boat I figured I would mention my system plans.
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor - $219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
ZALMAN 9700 LED 2 Ball CPU Cooler - $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1683...
XFX GeForce 7900GT PVT71GUQL3 Video Card - $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
ZALMAN VF900 - CU LED 80mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light VGA Cooling Fan/Heatsink - $49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1683...
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1682...
Antec Performance I P180B Black Computer Case - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W Power Supply - $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
I am still reading reviews on ram and DDR2 so I haven’t chosen what I need to OC. Also it seems many are using the gigabyte boards to OC on which I’m trying to figure out the difference between the 5 C2D boards that newegg has.
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965GM-S2 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor - $219
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
ZALMAN 9700 LED 2 Ball CPU Cooler - $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1683...
XFX GeForce 7900GT PVT71GUQL3 Video Card - $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
ZALMAN VF900 - CU LED 80mm 2 Ball Blue LED Light VGA Cooling Fan/Heatsink - $49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1683...
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1682...
Antec Performance I P180B Black Computer Case - $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W Power Supply - $24
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...
I am still reading reviews on ram and DDR2 so I haven’t chosen what I need to OC. Also it seems many are using the gigabyte boards to OC on which I’m trying to figure out the difference between the 5 C2D boards that newegg has.
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965GM-S2 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard – Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
luckyblur
November 26, 2006 7:55:17 PM
After looking at all the various Gigabyte boards I decided to chose the GA-965P-DS3 because it seems to be a real winner in all the reviews that I read.
The only downfall I see is its southbridge is the ICH8 and not the firewire supporting ICH8R that boards such as the MSI P965 Platinum have. However with the MSI comes some OC limitations.
Anyways I choose the DS3 and now to finish off choosing the ram.
The only downfall I see is its southbridge is the ICH8 and not the firewire supporting ICH8R that boards such as the MSI P965 Platinum have. However with the MSI comes some OC limitations.
Anyways I choose the DS3 and now to finish off choosing the ram.
RyanMicah
November 26, 2006 8:42:52 PM
axilon
November 26, 2006 9:26:39 PM
luckyblur
November 26, 2006 10:10:50 PM
luckyblur
November 26, 2006 11:13:49 PM
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz - $219
ZALMAN 9700 LED - $45
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 - $130
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel - $200
XFX GeForce 7900GT - $200
ZALMAN VF900 LED - $49
Western Digital Raptor 74GB - $140
Antec Performance I P180B Black - $75
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W - $24
Total is $1082, a little more then I had hoped. My only worry is that the 430W PS won't be enough. In addition to these components I will be adding 2 roms and a PCI IDE controller for two 160g hard drives which I have in my current system.
ZALMAN 9700 LED - $45
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 - $130
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel - $200
XFX GeForce 7900GT - $200
ZALMAN VF900 LED - $49
Western Digital Raptor 74GB - $140
Antec Performance I P180B Black - $75
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W - $24
Total is $1082, a little more then I had hoped. My only worry is that the 430W PS won't be enough. In addition to these components I will be adding 2 roms and a PCI IDE controller for two 160g hard drives which I have in my current system.
RyanMicah
November 27, 2006 12:21:12 AM
carlhungis
November 27, 2006 6:04:54 AM
luckyblur
November 27, 2006 6:24:55 AM
Quote:
Out of curiosity, is the performance really worth the price on those Raptors? 150 bucks could buy you 2 250GB SATA's of the slower WD's. I am not bashing your choice or anything, I just honestly wondered if the price was worth it?They are supposedly the fastest HDs out there and worth it for your windows and gaming directories. They have a new 150gb raptor out for like $220 but I felt the 74gb burnt a large enough hole in my pocket. Raptors are really for your movie storage, however I would assume that there is someone rich enough out there to afford a TB of raptors.
The excess heat and vibration noise does not really appeal to me but the case on my list has some HD rubber grommets or something that is supposed to help with that.
mitch074
November 27, 2006 7:39:59 AM
Or you could go the dual disk way: one small, fast HD (10,000 RPM, 16Mb cache, 80 Gb) for the system, one bigger, 'slower' HD for the apps - on linear access, a 7200 or even 5400 RPM drive will transfer data fast anyway. It has higher latency, but on non-framented, populated with big files drive, latency is almost a non-issue.
RyanMicah
November 27, 2006 12:49:20 PM
I have the raptor X and the raptor ADFD. They're really not worth it unless you have a very high end system. My 7200rpm 8mb drives load almost as fast from what I can tell. I'm getting an FX-60 processor soon, so I'll be able to tell better then if they make a real difference. Right now they're on my 3000+ A64 system and the slower drives are in my X2 4200+ Both are Raid-0 They ARE loud. :roll:
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