# Will this system be up to par?



## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

I am looking at buying a budget gaming system. I would like to run most new games (Crysis, Far Cry 2, etc) without breaking the bank. I just need to verify that this system will be good enough, thanks in advance. Also should I use Windows XP or Vista? I like XP better but not sure if the newer games will run on it?

PS, Sorry if this is the wrong forum, I am not looking to build it myself, I would purchase it already built.

Processor:
AMD AthlonT X2 7750+ Black Edition Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology (plan to overclock)

Motherboard:
[SLI] Asus M3N72-D NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, Dual PCI-E/HDMI MB

Memory:
4gb DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module 

Video Card(s):
2x NVIDIA GeForce 9500GT 512MB w/DVI + TV Out Video - running SLI mode


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## Net Jockey (Oct 18, 2008)

The power supply unit in today's modern computer assumes a role probably more critical than any other single component in your system. 

A poor PSU can also cause other components to fail in your computer. 

The right Brand names = Quality
Some approved Brand names follow...

Seasonic - any model
Corsair - any model
Thermaltake - "Toughpower" series only
Coolermaster - "Real Power Pro" series only
PC Power & Cooling - any model
Silverstone - any model 

Unless you are not into some serious gaming a 650 watt or higher will take care of your needs...PCI-E requires 26 amps at 12 volts. That's a 650W...Quality...PSU. 

If you are a serious gamer a 750 Watt, or a little higher will be all that you would need.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/power-supply-information-and-selection-192217.html


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

whats your budget?

you can do a gaming computer with a $600 budget

building a computer yourself will save you $100 or so


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## Aus_Karlos (Mar 10, 2007)

Hi pbiancardi and welcome to TSF,

I would exchange 2 of the 9500 for a single 9800GTX any day of the week. They are low end cards and SLI at the moment isn't at its best. There are only a handful of games that uses SLI and many you will only see 10%-30% increase in performance.

Just make sure you have a power supply to match. I recommend a 750W PSU with 12v @50A.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153038

With Power Supplys Quality is very important, dont buy the cheapest you find. It wont last long and may not provide a stable power flow to your system hardware.


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## Jtsou (Jul 13, 2007)

Aus_Karlos said:


> With Power Supplys Quality is very important, dont buy the cheapest you find. It wont last long and may not provide a stable power flow to your system hardware.


Not to mention destroy your system.


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks, I did realize this myself, for an extra $30 I did upgrade to a single 9800 gtx. So will this system be able to run games at high resolution / framerate?


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## Dealmaster13 (Jan 1, 2009)

9800GTX:

Crysis Warhead:
1280x1024 2xAA - min: 15fps, avg: 20fps


Far Cry 2:
1280x1024 2xAA - min: 33fps, avg: 43fps
1680x1050 2xAA - min: 24fps, avg: 33fps

(min: >25fps is considered a smooth frame rate)

I'd also like to point out that in most games the 8800GTX and the ATI 4850/4870 run at significantly higher frame rates.


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

So you are saying this card is not good enough?


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## Dealmaster13 (Jan 1, 2009)

pbiancardi said:


> So you are saying this card is not good enough?


For the games you've stated - yes. Those are official figures taken from Custom PC. If you're seriously looking to game on your computer; you're going to need to invest as much money as possible into your graphics card.
What is your monitor's resolution?

512MB 4850 if you're going on a serious budget
1GB 4870 if you're free to spend that little bit more
GTX260 (216 cores) / GTX 280 / 4870x2 if you don't really care about the price

I wouldn't even think for a second about going for SLI/Crossfire - it's just not worth it at the moment.

Play close attention to the Graphics card's memory size - 1GB instead of 512MB will add up to 10fps in the very high resolution settings (1920x1200/2560x1600)


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Frame rates are dependent upon screen resolution and monitor size, as well as processor speed and graphics settings, those numbers above look like Cyrsis set with full AA which you don't need and will not notice on a screen smaller then 30" Not to mention you will also need a cpu to push the larger card, the lower the resolution the higher the load on the CPU the higher the resolution the higher the load on the GPU, bottom line if your gaming on a 19-22" monitor the 9800GT, GTX, GTX+ will be fine, to go higher and be able to use the full power of the card yo would need a E8500/E8600/Q9650 or above.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Crysis-v1-21,753.html


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

I will be using a 22" monitor @ 1680x1050, I believe I will be able to overclock the processor to about 3.0ghz. I dont need to run the games "maxed out", nor do I need to drop $500 on a card (whole computer was only $729.00).


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Exactly, if you notice on that chart a GTX280 in SLI (2 of them) is slower then a single at that resolution I would hate to be the guy who spent the extra on that set up


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

your system sounds good what kind of PSU are you getting?


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

Generic 600W "SLI Ready", I did not realize how important the power supply was until I started reading, so I am thinking that will be my first upgrade. I did a PSU calculator online and 600W seemed like enough. Anyway I am hoping to use this a my base system, later I could always upgrade CPU, Video Card, and Power Supply correct?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

For the 9800GTX we always recommend a 750w, 650w for a 9800GT, you need to add 30% to the number you get from the calculator and then round up to cover for room temp extremes and aging of the capacitors.


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## Aus_Karlos (Mar 10, 2007)

wrench97 said:


> Exactly, if you notice on that chart a GTX280 in SLI (2 of them) is slower then a single at that resolution I would hate to be the guy who spent the extra on that set up


I guess you will be pointing the finger at me. Ive have yet to enable SLI on my 2x GTX280


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Aus_Karlos said:


> I guess you will be pointing the finger at me. Ive have yet to enable SLI on my 2x GTX280


On a large screen you can use the power of the 2 cards on a normal pc sized screen I think you'll see the same drop in rates as the testers did:grin:


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

I have been reading a lot about the 9800 gtx, apparently you can get very good overclocking results. I think I am comfortable that with a safe overclock of the CPU and GPU I will get very acceptable performance out the system.

I have found that a modest overclock (781 / 1953 up from stock 675 / 1688) can get 55 fps on Crysis with medium settings, and that many have gone way up from there safely).


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

you could probably get away with a 20% overclock safely.


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

Well I was a little concerned about the place I ordered from so I cancelled and ordered a prebuilt from NewEgg, so my setup will be:

AMD Phenom II X4 940(3.0GHz)
8GB (4x2GB) DDR2 800
1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 7200RPM HDD
LITE-ON 4X Blu-ray Player
ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB PCI Express Video Card
790GX motherboard (The "Dragon" Platform)
800W Power Supply
Thermaltake Spedo Gaming Case

Its more expensive (quite a bit more actually) but I dont imagine I will need to upgrade anytime soon. I am going to add a second HD 4870 after I get everything here.

So much for the budget.....


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

ahh the thing I'm wondering about is if the new Phenom II's are easily overclocked?

crossfire won't give you give the spped you want versus budget.

some games you might get another 40- 60% some games will give you less FPS

you don't need a 8gbs

a 4870 with 1gb of memory is better

blu ray is cool

what power supply is it?

how much is this computer?


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

The system is $1,249.00 (which seems like a good price to me??).

The 940 is a black box with unlocked multiplier, supposed to go to 3.6ghz with stock cooling.

I already have the 4gb of memory that I ordered intending to put in the other system which only came with 2gb to start.

Not sure about power supply brand, it doesnt say.


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## Net Jockey (Oct 18, 2008)

pbiancardi said:


> Not sure about power supply brand, it doesn't say.


Of course not...One of the most important items of a computer...and they keep you in the dark. I wonder why they do this?


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

Mcninjaguy said:


> ahh the thing I'm wondering about is if the new Phenom II's are easily overclocked?
> 
> crossfire won't give you give the spped you want versus budget.
> 
> ...


Just curious what else can I spend $200 on and get 40-60% increase?


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

a better graphics card

4870x2 (take 2 4870's and smush em together)
$450
after rebate $400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768

and a better PSU
Corsair 850w
$140
after rebate $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

Nevermind,

I could have a flipping NASA supercomputer and people on forums would say it wasnt good enough....


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

pbiancardi said:


> Nevermind,
> 
> I could have a flipping NASA supercomputer and people on forums would say it wasnt good enough....


true true but thats around $200 more

if you take away the original video card and PSU from the prebuilt computer


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## Jtsou (Jul 13, 2007)

pbiancardi said:


> Nevermind,
> 
> I could have a flipping NASA supercomputer and people on forums would say it wasnt good enough....


Not necessarily, they are telling you how to make it better.


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## McNinja (Jun 22, 2008)

you want a supercomputer here's one
http://www.tycrid.com/?page_id=85


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## Dealmaster13 (Jan 1, 2009)

If I were able to make a change to that, which is probably no longer possible if you've already confirmed the purchases, I'd have changed that 4870 to the 1 GB version or a 4850.

Good luck with your new build, and make sure you make good use of that RAM


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## pbiancardi (Jan 7, 2009)

Dealmaster13 said:


> Good luck with your new build, and make sure you make good use of that RAM


You guys are harsh man, see ya....


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