# smooth tf2/COD4/FEAR?



## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

So, I'm selling some stuff of mine to buy a good, but cheap-ish gaming PC. Now I'm not going to build one, so don't tell me to, it really gets on my nerves. Please just help me with the question at hand. Now, I went to PC world (UK), and they showed me their best, decent but cheap gaming PC. It was £530, which is at the top of my budget, but is OK. I know decent gaming PC's are rarely as cheap as that, which is why I'm probably going to get it. Now, my question is, is this PC good enough to have say a minimum of 60fps on high graphics, on say COD4, tf2, and FEAR/FEAR combat? Basically, is it good enought to look good and run smooth. The man at the store said yes, it will run COD4 like a treat, but you can never trust these people. So here are the specs of the PC:

it was either a centrino duel or quad core, can't remember
500gig HDD
4gig RAM
Integrated ATI graphics

I know the first 3 are very good, the thing I don't know about is the graphics card though. I was expecting something like an nVidia. Have they even provided the full specs of the graphics card? If not, will the worst of that series be OK? (preparing for the worst). I can alwasy go back to the shop and ask for more details, but I would like your opinion on this please, just to say whether they are telling the truth.

Thanks in advance


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

You won't be able to many modern games with integrated graphics, whatever they tell you in the shop to try and make a sale. Get them to give you a demonstration of a modern game playing at full settings at 60fps before spending any money.

btw, PC World (UK) is not recommended if you want good prices and people who know what they're talking about. And their after-sales service is terrible.

Just look at all the threads in the gaming forum from people with integrated who can't get CoD4 or similar games to run.

There's no way you'll play CoD4, TF2 or FEAR at 60fps on high graphics settings. You need something like an nvidia GeForce 8800 for that kind of performance.


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

Oh ok. Do you recommend going to a computer specialist shop then?

And if you know any PC around that price that WOULD do 60+ fps on high, can you please tell me?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Definitely. They will be able to do you a custom build using quality parts that are suitable for your needs rather than getting one off the shelf. So you'll be getting the best value for money without any extras that you don't need that might be in a generic PC World computer.


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

OK thanks. I've also found a site that you can add your own requirements (you choose the graphics card, processor etc), and have made one for around my budget (£589.99) :

Case: Case Style 21 
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4700 
Processor Cooling: Standard Intel Cooling 
Memory [RAM]: 2GB DDR2 533 [2 x 1GB] 
Motherboard: ASUS P5N-D 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home 
Hard Drive 1: 160GB High Speed SATAII 8MB Buffer 
Hard Drive 2: Not Required 
Optical Drive 1: CD/DVD Rom Drive 
Optical Drive 2: Not Required 
Graphic Card 1: 256MB GeForce 8600GTS SLI 
Graphic Card 2: Not Required 
Sound Card: Integrated Sound 
Floppy/Card Reader: Not Required 
Power Supply: 480W Quiet High Grade 
Monitor: Monitor 1 - 17" 
Keyboard & Mouse: Style 1 
Speakers: Not Required 
RAID Options: Not Required 
Warranty: 12m Return to Base 

Will that run the games well? Is there anything I can get rid of, or lower on there to cut the price down?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

See if your local computer shops can match it for price. You might find they can offer better components for the same money.

The CPU is ok, not particularly fast though.

2GB RAM is plenty, but 533MHz is only average speed. See if you can get a motherboard that supports 800MHz RAM.

The hard drive is not very big, but might be ok for your needs. The 8mb cache is not good. 16mb is recommended.

The 8600GTS will play games well, but don't expect 60fps at high graphics settings.

The 480W PSU will power the computer, but doesn't allow any room for future upgrades. If you buy this computer, make sure it's a good quality PSU and not just a generic one and bear in mind that you won't be able to add any more hardware without upgrading the PSU.

I would expect a computer like this to play games like CoD4 and FEAR at medium settings at 30fps. Dropping the anti-aliasing and texture details might give you 40-50fps.


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

So basically, if I want 60+fps on high settings on COD4, I'm guna need to pay at least a couple of hundred over my budget right? Well I'll go to my local computer technitians store tomorrow. See what they can offer me. Thanks for your advice


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

sorry for double post, but I had another look on the PC world website, and do you think this would do the job? :

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/st...category_oid=-34828#productInformationSection


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

The website doesn't give full system specs, even under the Full Specifications link, so it's hard to tell what's actually in it. What speed is the RAM? How many RAM slots are there for future upgrades? How many SATA ports? What make is the motherboard? What make is the PSU? etc.

The 9500GS on a 2.4GHz Intel dual core CPU gets about 15fps running the Crysis benchmark tests. Not recommended for high-end games. For high framerates at high settings you need to be looking in the GeForce 8800 range.


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

sorry for triple post, but how do you edit your posts? Anyway, I think I've found the real deal here. I think I was setting my standards a little too high. I don't mind if i get 30+fps on high detail, and 60-70+ on medium detail on games such as COD4, tf2, FEAR, crysis etc. Do you think the following specs can easily match up to that? :

Case: Case Style 2 [see guide] 
Processor: AMD ATHLON 64 X2 4600+ 1MB 
Processor Cooling: Arctic Freezer Cooling 
Memory [RAM]: 2GB DDR2 800MHz 
Motherboard: ASUS M2N-VM DVI [see guide] 
Operating System: None [Install your own] 
Hard Drive 1: 250GB SATAII 7200 8MB 
Optical Drive 1: CD/DVD Rom Drive 
Optical Drive 2: Not Required 
Graphic Card 1: 512MB GEF 8500GT Silent 
Sound Card: Integrated 8 Channel 
Modem: Broadband Ready 
Floppy Drive: Not Required 
Power Supply: Quality 420W Low Noise 
Monitor: Monitor 1 17" [see guide] 
Keyboard & Mouse: Style 1 [see guide] 
Speakers: Not Required 
Card Reader: Not Required 

That is only £418.28. Do you think that's the best so far? I've heard the 8500GT can do 35 fps on very high detail on crysis?

The only thing that might be bad is the processor, is that an OK processor?

Thanks in advance 

[edit]
ah i see (just read your post). Is the 8500GT nearly as good as 8800? If not, then how much does the 8800 cost, and would it be easy to upgrade?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

The 8500GT is still in the low-medium range, not suitable for high framerates. There's no way it can get 35fps on high settings in Crysis. This is one of the most demanding games available, the kind of game people spend big money on their hardware to play.

Your list of components is starting to look better, but there are still things that will hold back your framerates. An 8800 GT or GTS works on any motherboard with a PCIEx16 slot, but needs a good quality PSU and cooling system. You can get a 256mb 8800GT for about £70 (*link*) or a 512mb 8800GTS for about £120 (*link*).

I had an AMD 4600+ before my last upgrade and could play games at about 30fps on medium settings with a slightly better graphics card than your 8500GT, so you can expect the same kind of results with this computer, possibly lower depending on the speed of the components.

The hard drive still only has an 8mb cache. I recommend 16mb for gaming, especially games that have cut-scenes and pause to load new levels.

The 420W PSU is worse than the last one. 550W minimum for a modern computer. More importantly, the PSU must have at least 26amps on the +12V line to power a PCIE graphics card. If the seller can't give this information, don't buy the computer. Anything less than 26amps will cause overheating and crashes. Even if you ignore the rest of my advice, don't ignore this :tongue: :grin:

What refresh rate does the 17" monitor have? For smooth gaming, it needs to be 8ms or lower. 2 or 4ms would be ideal.


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

hrm, I'm struggling to find a PC with those specs. Looks like I'll have to have it custom built. Thanks for the advice, I''l ask my local computer maintenance store what they can cook up


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

bloody edit timer. anyway, are these specs better? :

Case: Case Style 4 
Processor: AMD ATHLON 64 Dual Core 4000+ 
Processor Cooling: Scythe Cooling 
Memory [RAM]: 2Gb DDR2 800 Mhz 
Motherboard: ASUS M2A-VM HDMI 
Operating System: Not Required 
Hard Drive 1: 160GB High Speed SATAII 
Optical Drive 1: CD/DVD Rom Drive 
Optical Drive 2: Not Required 
Graphic Card 1: Integrated ATI Radeon X1250 
Sound Card: Integrated 8 Channel 
Modem: Integrated Broadband Included 
Floppy/Card Reader: Not Required 
Power Supply: Standard 350W 
Monitor: Monitor 1 
Keyboard & Mouse: Style 1 
Speakers: Not Required 
Warranty: 12m Return to Base 

it's £387.84

Will they do what I want? If not, then instead of me guessing, can someone provide good specs, for the cheapest amount (under £550) using this site:

http://www.nsysonline.co.uk/pcs-under-500-64-c.asp


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

The AMD 4000+ will not give the performance needed for demanding games. The X1250 is a low-end graphics card. You might get 10-15fps on high settings. The 350W PSU wouldn't power a fart.

That website doesn't give much choice, just a few base units with not very many options or addons, and there are no details about the parts you'll be buying. Not much better than PC World.



> "These Custom PC's have been placed in this category because, on average, once customers have customised them, the average price is in the order of £500.00 or less.
> 
> Expect good performance across a multitude of general applications and *entry level games*. These are ideal for the more frequent user on a tight budget or those running slightly more demanding applications such as photo and entry level video editing."
> 
> ...


I woiuldn't recommend spending this kind of money on this computer. You will find better by going to a specialist shop and letting them help you choose the components. If you can get a full detailed list off them, post back and we'll check it out for you.


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## jrockpunk1 (Dec 11, 2007)

I've been to a specialist shop, and I told them what I wanted, and they said I'm looking at around £800, which I really cannot do. So I guess I can't get one. Well, do you think you could make a list of specs (HDD, graphics card, PSU etc) that would be cheap, but still get 30fps on med-high graphics on tf2 and COD4 please? Because I really don't know what I'm on about with this stuff. If you could give me a list like that, then maybe I could ask the computer specialist shop how much it would cost to make.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

New thread started: *http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/cheap-components-for-high-end-games-287161.html*


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