New Gaming System

[Jet04]

Hey, I was thinking of getting a new gaming system so i can play TDU more and other games without lag.

 

And was wondering, If this is a good setup for £730?

 

Specifications

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Processor
  
• Windows Vista ® Home Premium
  
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GS Graphics
  
• 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB Cache
  
• 320GB Hard Drive
  
• 2GB Memory
  
• Dual Layer DVD Rewriter
  
• 15-in-1 Media Card Reader
  
• 6 USB Connections
  
• 20" LG Widescreen TFT

Or would it be cheaper and faster to just upgrade my current PC? Or have 2 separate computers?

[eleKtro]

Hey, I was thinking of getting a new gaming system so i can play TDU more and other games without lag.

 

And was wondering, If this is a good setup for £730?

 

Specifications

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Processor
  
• Windows Vista ® Home Premium
  
• 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GS Graphics
  
• 2.33GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB Cache
  
• 320GB Hard Drive
  
• 2GB Memory
  
• Dual Layer DVD Rewriter
  
• 15-in-1 Media Card Reader
  
• 6 USB Connections
  
• 20" LG Widescreen TFT

Or would it be cheaper and faster to just upgrade my current PC? Or have 2 separate computers?

 

Don't really need Vista, it's not the best for gaming. Some people have problems some don't.

 

Nvidia 8600 is a good card, but you can get a 8800 Gts with your budget.

 

Processor is fine, what kind of memory are you buying? what make and DDR?

 

Card reader is your choice and the 6 USB connections coming with motherboard or separate?

 

IF you have money spare get a bigger monitor ;)

[TDU-RAZOR]

i wouldnt bother going to an 8800GPU if your budget will extend that far. for the simple reason as much as adore nvidia cards and would never go back to ati the 8800 series has had a load of bugs/complaints throughtout the entire range, and in general dont perform as well as they should do in all honesty. you can read endless stuff on this topic, alot of the gts owners and a few of the others returned they cards in a very short space of time. i was also at one point considering the same action. instead i would wait an extra few weeks and jump straight to the 9series cards due very soon. however this could result in the same issues as i encountered, left with some expensive hardware that doesnt deliver everything it promised... and as we all know your GPU can be one of the most expensive parts within your case.

[Guest RB26DETT]

Vista is nice if you want to experience DX10 gaming but with the 8600, you won't enjoy it that much because you'll have to dumb down some settings. the 8800 series are the best choice, IMO or get the ATi Sapphire HD3850 or HD3870. Great performance that costs cheaper than NVIDIA.

 

RAM, get DDR2-800 sticks. 4gb is the way to go if you're getting vista.

[Jet04]

I was looking at these deals http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/editorial/gaming-pcs

 

Thanks for the input, Currently i cant play TDU as it lags too much, I did the system requirement test, And i failed the minimum to play drastically.

 

CPU SpeedMinimum: Athlon CPUs require a performance rating of 2.8 GHzYou Have: 1.09 GHz

 

Video CardMinimum: ATI Radeon 9800 256MB VRAM or NVIDIA 6600 GT with 256MB of VRAMYou Have: RADEON 9800 PRO (ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x4E48))

 

Should i just upgrade my computer as everything else is fine?

 

Or would a new gaming computer be easier and better as my current computer is fairly old?

[Guest RB26DETT]

I was looking at these deals http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/editorial/gaming-pcs

 

Thanks for the input, Currently i cant play TDU as it lags too much, I did the system requirement test, And i failed the minimum to play drastically.

 

CPU SpeedMinimum: Athlon CPUs require a performance rating of 2.8 GHzYou Have: 1.09 GHz

 

Video CardMinimum: ATI Radeon 9800 256MB VRAM or NVIDIA 6600 GT with 256MB of VRAMYou Have: RADEON 9800 PRO (ATI Radeon Graphics Processor AGP (0x4E48))

 

Should i just upgrade my computer as everything else is fine?

 

Or would a new gaming computer be easier and better as my current computer is fairly old?

 

you might want to change your font color, kinda hard to read.:)

 

i suggest upgrading your rig. what cpu do you have? you might have to change the motherboard aswell so that it'll be compatible when you upgrade your cpu aswell as the other parts.

[Jet04]

Sorry :D

 

It says i have an AMD Athlon XP i think. Im not that good with finding the specifications.

[Guest RB26DETT]

Sorry :D

 

It says i have an AMD Athlon XP i think. Im not that good with finding the specifications.

 

lol. i recommend downloading this program called, EVEREST Home Edition. it summarizes your entire system.:) but seeing that your cpu runs below 2.0ghz, your rig needs an upgrade. Intel's E6750 CPU or AMD's Athlon X2 5400+ are great for gaming.

[Jet04]

Just took a survey on steam, It gathered this information,

 

Processor Information:

Vendor: AuthenticAMD

Speed: 1088 Mhz

1 logical processor

1 physical processor

HyperThreading: Unsupported

RDTSC: Supported

CMOV: Supported

FCMOV: Supported

SSE: Supported

SSE2: Unsupported

3DNOW: Supported

 

Network Information:

Network Speed: DSL/Cable > 2M

IP Address: 192.168.11.XXX

 

Windows Version:

Windows XP (32 bit)

NTFS: Supported

 

Video Card:

Driver: RADEON 9800 PRO - Secondary

DirectX Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll

Driver Version: 6.14.10.6734

DirectX Driver Version: 6.14.10.6734

Driver Date: 2 Nov 2007

Desktop Color Depth Not Detected

Monitor Refresh Rate Not Detected

DirectX Card: RADEON 9800 PRO

VendorID: 0x1002

DeviceID: 0x4e48

Number of Monitors: 1

Number of Video Cards: 1

No SLI or Crossfire Detected

Primary Display Resolution: 1280 x 1024

Desktop Resolution: 1280 x 1024

Primary Display Size: 14.76" x 11.81" (18.90" diag)

37.5cm x 30.0cm (48.0cm diag)

Primary Display Type Not Detected

Primary Bus Type Not Detected

Primary AGP GART Not Detected

Primary VRAM: 128 MB

Primary Monitor Vendor Not Detected

Primary Monitor Model Not Detected

Supported MSAA Modes: 2x 4x 6x

 

 

 

Game Display Settings

 

 

Sound card:

Audio device: Logitech USB Headset

 

Memory:

RAM: 1023 Mb

 

Miscellaneous:

UI Language: English

Microphone: Yes, I have a microphone.

Media Type: DVD

Total Hard Disk Space Available: 1106376 Mb

Largest Free Hard Disk Block: 456129 Mb

OS Install Date: Dec 18 2007

Installed Packages: Firefox

 

 

Which parts need upgrading and whats a good choice?

 

Well the CPU is slow yes, And ill download that program now. Thanks for the help, And sorry for being a noob :P

[Guest RB26DETT]

upgrade your ram, cpu, video card, motherboard.

 

MOTHERBOARD AND CPU

Asus M2N-E mobo and AMD Athlon X2 5400+ 2.8ghz

i like this package because i'm eyeing this one aswell. :p

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3044547&CatId=2417

 

VIDEO CARD

Nvidia 8800gt 512mb

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3441351&CatId=1558

 

ATi HD3850 512mb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102715

 

ATi HD3870 512mb

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102713

 

RAM

If you're getting Windows Vista 64-bit OS.

2x if you're getting vistahttp://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2206874&Sku=C13-2022

 

Hard Drive

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2268595&CatId=139

 

Power Supply

You'll need a new powersupply for all these components to run.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=719600&CatId=1079

 

sorry that the prices are in USD.:p

[TDU-RAZOR]

well if your wanting to upgrade to vista you need more ram for sure, as soon as you install vista on your current one your system will slow an awful lot.

 

as for an entire upgrade, its genarally cheaper to upgrade as oppose to new build, but if you need a new motherboard etc, new builds can become comparable to a certain degree.

 

if a total m/board style upgrade is on the cards check some prices on starter kits, might work out better for you...

[TDU-RAZOR]

i agree with rb26dett on the choice of 8800 as well (DO NOT GO FOR THE 320MB MODELS) as they the ones with the main stream of the stutter problems i was mentioning earlier.

[Guest RB26DETT]

i agree with rb26dett on the choice of 8800 as well (DO NOT GO FOR THE 320MB MODELS) as they the ones with the main stream of the stutter problems i was mentioning earlier.

 

lol. the 8800gts with the G80 core were bad. the new G92 cores are better and a bit better than the GT but I'd still go with the GT because it uses the G92 core and costs less than the GTS.

 

oh! I forgot to add, that if you're getting vista, you'll need 2x 2x1gb RAM. get it? lol.:p you'll need 4gb in total. let me edit that post above.

[Jet04]

Thanks for them links :D That will cost me around 350 and possibly a little less if my uncle can get the parts cheaper :D But that means i can play TDU so im happy :P

[Guest RB26DETT]

Thanks for them links :D That will cost me around 350 and possibly a little less if my uncle can get the parts cheaper :D But that means i can play TDU so im happy :P

 

no prob. :) hope you get your pc running and we'll see you on the island. :)

[Guest RB26DETT]

I would just like to add:

 

Don't really need Vista, it's not the best for gaming. Some people have problems some don't.

 

the reason why some people have problems running vista is because they don't have a good enough computer to make it run smoothly.:D

 

 

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/editorial/gaming-pc[/url]

 

i suggest not buying pre-built pc's. they cost a lot more for the parts you're getting. you're just buying it for the name. it's better to buy the parts on your own and build it yourself or hire a technician. you'll save a ton of money doing that, and get better parts.;)

[Tuned Maniac]

In my opinion its not worth buying a PC at the moment as by april it will all be obsolete, you are much better of buying one then, thats when I'm building my new PC.

[TDU-RAZOR]

thats true of anytime of year though really TBH an 8800 graphics card i consider old despite the fact you cant get a 9series card yet. but when the 9series launches by the time its in my system the 10series will already be near end of production..