256MB ATi Radeon 9800 Graphics

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.sports (More info?)

"Matthew 'Sharky' Partridge" <matthew.partridge@durham.ac.uk> wrote in
message news:49e50337.0409041110.4512d645@posting.google.com...
> I'm thinking of buying the following from Tiny
>
> Pentium 4 3.0GHz HT Processor
> 1024MB DDR RAM
> 256MB ATi Radeon 9800 Graphics
>
> 1) Any issues with any of the hardware - how is the graphics card rated
> 2) Will this system play most software (eg Doom 3, Max Payne 2)
> 3) How 'futureproof' is this?


My current system is quite similar to what you are looking at. I have a
2.8GHz P4 Northwood C processor and 1GB of PC-3200 RAM. My motherboard is a
Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 Pro. I've owned this setup for about a year now with
no issues.

I think the 3GHz processor will easily be good for at least 18 months, and
the same will probably hold true for the memory. You might be able to
stretch it to two years. When Longhorn hits, you'll probably be looking at
buying something new again if you plan to be an early adopter.

The video card part is a bit more difficult to answer, it depends on which
variant of the 9800 you're talking about. I have a built by ATI 128MB
Radeon 9800 Pro. It's awesome for Max Payne 2, and I'm able to run Doom 3
in 1024x768 in high detail quite well. How good this video card is now and
into the future depends a lot on what you expect in terms of graphics
detail. I'm happy to game with AA and AF turned off completely, so I should
still be set for quite some time yet.

With my setup, I'm not looking to change my motherboard, CPU, memory or
video card until about June of 2006. With technology changing so much,
chances are that I will be building a whole new system from the ground up at
that time.