Challenge: Select components that will provide a better price/performance than what I have selected for the situation described below.
My brother-in-law is in need of a new computer. He is currently using an Athlon XP 1800+ with a 6600 GT and 1 gig of ram. Needless to say his rig is starting to show its age. He has been a console gamer predominantly, but does enjoy playing WoW and RTS games (Starcraft, Warcraft III, and wants to play Starcraft 2, yeah he’s a blizzard fan.) Because he has been a console gamer, he has never been able to enjoy playing other types of games on the PC (FPS primarily), but does enjoy playing them on his XBOX, and on his friends XBOX360s. He wants to get an XBOX360, but he is also in dire need of a computer upgrade, as his current rig is struggling to run some of the software he needs for school let alone games. After a little convincing, and a demonstration of Gears of War for Windows on my 40” 1080P LCD with an XBOX360 wireless controller for windows, he has decided to just upgrade his computer. With that long introduction aside here is exactly what he wants:
He wants a gaming experience that is on par with or better than what is possible on an XBOX360 for as little money as possible. It does not need to be better than what is available on the console (although it will be) it just need to be on par (i.e. he does not need to run Crysis on Ultra High with all the bells and whistles).
He will be gaming at 1280x1024 on his current monitor and at that resolution only.
*Updated - He will probably be getting a new monitor, either a 19" with a resolution of 1440x900 or 20-22" with a resolution of 1680x1050, but maximum in game settings would still be used (hopefully).
He will be using Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (Already has a license)
The games he is interested in (for now) are Gears of War, Bioshock, CoD4, and Oblivion (and of course WoW and Starcraft II).
The target settings are 1280x1024 @ 4x AA and 8x AF with max settings and DirectX 10 textures for those games that support it, (although AA and AF can be toned down to 2x and 4x respectively).
The average FPS should be near 60 for the games mentioned; any frames over 60 are not doing him any good, especially if he had to pay more money to obtain those frames.
He will be gaming with an XBOX360 controller for windows, with native support in some games, and using Pinnacle Game Profiler in others. (Just a short plug for Pinnacle Game Profiler, it is absolutely amazing and is able to almost completely re-create the console experience for those games that don’t support the XBOX360 controller natively).
He is a college student and is very strapped for cash so every dollar matters.
The components I have selected after much research and web browsing are as follows:
XFX Geforce 8800GS 384MB $149.99 – 30 MIR = $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150275
It is hard to find reviews for the 8800GS, but the ones I have found show it beating the 3850 256 and 512 in almost everything and even beating the 9600GT and 3870 at 1280x1024 sometimes. It is limited by its 192-bit memory bus and 384MB memory, but this shouldn’t be too much of a problem at 1280x1024. This particular model is also known to have a loud fan which cannot be throttled (only two wires on the fan), but the noise does not bother him.
*Updated
The video card will almost certainly be a 9600GT and at this point the MSI Overclocked Version $161.57
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127333
Antec Earthwatts 430 W $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006
Antec Earthwatts are built by Seasonic and are extremely reliable and efficient. This particular model has 34 amps on the 12v rails which should be more than sufficient for the desired system.
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1 GB) DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 $64.99 – 35 MIR = $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565
Very good Ram, very good price!
Abit IP35-E P35 $89.99 – 30 MIR + 7.48 Shipping = $67.47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127031
Decent overclocker, and decent board for a budget P35. The only thing missing is IEEE 1394 which he won’t use anyway.
Intel Pentium E2160 $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036
The overclocking prowess of the 2160 has been well documented on the internet. My goal is to clock this puppy to 3.0 GHz (9x333) at stock voltage and stock Intel HSF. I know this is a lofty goal, but it has been obtained many times by forum posters. In my opinion it is not worth buying an after- market HSF because the increased cost will not provide a proportional benefit to my brother-in-law. I am 100% positive that I will reach 2.7 (9x300) at stock voltage and HSF, and anything over that is gravy.
The total price after rebates and shipping comes to $337.43. By comparison the cheapest XBOX360 with a hard drive is listed on newegg for $349.99 + 14.77 Shipping = $364.76. Throw in an XBOX controller for the PC and the price is about equal, but for a much better experience on the PC.
*Updated the overall build will now cost $374.55 which is now more expensive than the target XBOX360 , but with much better performance
All the other components will be re-used from his current computer. I am going to be placing the order in the next day or two, but would like to draw on the collective knowledge at Tom’s Forums to see if I can build him a better computer for the price.
Thanks in advance.
My brother-in-law is in need of a new computer. He is currently using an Athlon XP 1800+ with a 6600 GT and 1 gig of ram. Needless to say his rig is starting to show its age. He has been a console gamer predominantly, but does enjoy playing WoW and RTS games (Starcraft, Warcraft III, and wants to play Starcraft 2, yeah he’s a blizzard fan.) Because he has been a console gamer, he has never been able to enjoy playing other types of games on the PC (FPS primarily), but does enjoy playing them on his XBOX, and on his friends XBOX360s. He wants to get an XBOX360, but he is also in dire need of a computer upgrade, as his current rig is struggling to run some of the software he needs for school let alone games. After a little convincing, and a demonstration of Gears of War for Windows on my 40” 1080P LCD with an XBOX360 wireless controller for windows, he has decided to just upgrade his computer. With that long introduction aside here is exactly what he wants:
He wants a gaming experience that is on par with or better than what is possible on an XBOX360 for as little money as possible. It does not need to be better than what is available on the console (although it will be) it just need to be on par (i.e. he does not need to run Crysis on Ultra High with all the bells and whistles).
He will be gaming at 1280x1024 on his current monitor and at that resolution only.
*Updated - He will probably be getting a new monitor, either a 19" with a resolution of 1440x900 or 20-22" with a resolution of 1680x1050, but maximum in game settings would still be used (hopefully).
He will be using Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit (Already has a license)
The games he is interested in (for now) are Gears of War, Bioshock, CoD4, and Oblivion (and of course WoW and Starcraft II).
The target settings are 1280x1024 @ 4x AA and 8x AF with max settings and DirectX 10 textures for those games that support it, (although AA and AF can be toned down to 2x and 4x respectively).
The average FPS should be near 60 for the games mentioned; any frames over 60 are not doing him any good, especially if he had to pay more money to obtain those frames.
He will be gaming with an XBOX360 controller for windows, with native support in some games, and using Pinnacle Game Profiler in others. (Just a short plug for Pinnacle Game Profiler, it is absolutely amazing and is able to almost completely re-create the console experience for those games that don’t support the XBOX360 controller natively).
He is a college student and is very strapped for cash so every dollar matters.
The components I have selected after much research and web browsing are as follows:
XFX Geforce 8800GS 384MB $149.99 – 30 MIR = $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150275
It is hard to find reviews for the 8800GS, but the ones I have found show it beating the 3850 256 and 512 in almost everything and even beating the 9600GT and 3870 at 1280x1024 sometimes. It is limited by its 192-bit memory bus and 384MB memory, but this shouldn’t be too much of a problem at 1280x1024. This particular model is also known to have a loud fan which cannot be throttled (only two wires on the fan), but the noise does not bother him.
*Updated
The video card will almost certainly be a 9600GT and at this point the MSI Overclocked Version $161.57
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127333
Antec Earthwatts 430 W $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006
Antec Earthwatts are built by Seasonic and are extremely reliable and efficient. This particular model has 34 amps on the 12v rails which should be more than sufficient for the desired system.
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1 GB) DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 $64.99 – 35 MIR = $29.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565
Very good Ram, very good price!
Abit IP35-E P35 $89.99 – 30 MIR + 7.48 Shipping = $67.47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127031
Decent overclocker, and decent board for a budget P35. The only thing missing is IEEE 1394 which he won’t use anyway.
Intel Pentium E2160 $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116036
The overclocking prowess of the 2160 has been well documented on the internet. My goal is to clock this puppy to 3.0 GHz (9x333) at stock voltage and stock Intel HSF. I know this is a lofty goal, but it has been obtained many times by forum posters. In my opinion it is not worth buying an after- market HSF because the increased cost will not provide a proportional benefit to my brother-in-law. I am 100% positive that I will reach 2.7 (9x300) at stock voltage and HSF, and anything over that is gravy.
The total price after rebates and shipping comes to $337.43. By comparison the cheapest XBOX360 with a hard drive is listed on newegg for $349.99 + 14.77 Shipping = $364.76. Throw in an XBOX controller for the PC and the price is about equal, but for a much better experience on the PC.
*Updated the overall build will now cost $374.55 which is now more expensive than the target XBOX360 , but with much better performance
All the other components will be re-used from his current computer. I am going to be placing the order in the next day or two, but would like to draw on the collective knowledge at Tom’s Forums to see if I can build him a better computer for the price.
Thanks in advance.