Battlefront3.net

Post by **Scott** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 11:26 pm

After doing some math, I figured out that my computer is actually 9 years old. No, not 6 as previously thought, but 9. My brother took it with him when he went to college and that was 9 years ago. So now that I've about to head off to University I figure it's time to upgrade.

So as someone who has limited knowledge of PC hardware I'm curious to what you guys think I should be looking for in specs and prices. I'm having it built, so I don't need brand names or pre-built computers.

I'm thinking something like so:

Processor: 3.2GHz Quad-core
RAM: 6GB
OS: Vista (will games for XP still work on Vista?)
Graphics Card: a good one (and with an up-to-date shader)
Price: less than $1000.00 (but flexible)

So as you can see, I'm fairly clueless. The poster with the best and most well-informed answer gets the tantalising mystery box.

Post by **spartan64** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 4:14 am

You don't want vista if you want your games (or anything else) to work. Get Windows 7 which is a million times better. A 3.2GHz Quad-core will be more than sufficient because there is no such game that uses all that power. I have a 2.93Ghz Quad-core and I'm playing BF3 at max settings, no lag, but what you really should focus on your future PC is the graphics card. I have a Nvidia GTX 570 which is a few years old but for me it is still runs my games perfectly well. I'm not sure about the future of PC games or when it's time to upgrade but just in-case it happens, you should look into the new GTX 600 series. If you want to go all economic then just get a regular 1Gb GTX 570 or even a 590.

Now let me go back to the processor. If you are getting a quad-core processor then you're only option for RAM is at minimum 4Gb, 8Gb, to a max of 16Gb. The more RAM you have, the faster your programs will load and more programs you can keep open at the same time. In gaming, the more scenery you can load and in Minecraft for example, the more chunks you can load. Your motherboard will have to support your processor as well and by that they need to have the same socket. I have an ASUS P7H55 with USB3 support and I don't think I will really need to upgrade it in a long time.

Now for physical memory I suggest you get a Solid State Drive around 100Gb just for your OS and a few programs (this will improve booting time and simply the OS' speed). Then get a 1T - 2T HDD for media and other stuff. For a disk drive just get a regular DVD reader/burner. Don't get a blu-ray drive because you won't probably need it in the next 10 years, when PC games will be sold on blu-ray. For your PSU it depends what processor you want to get. The rest is all up to you.

Before I make a list of specific parts tell me what you think.

Post by **Sam** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 6:07 am

Scott wrote: Processor: 3.2GHz Quad-core
RAM: 6GB
OS: Vista (will games for XP still work on Vista?)
Graphics Card: a good one (and with an up-to-date shader)
Price: less than $1000.00 (but flexible)

Processor: Sounds good to me. Sounds really really good actually.
RAM: Go for 8 gig at least
Graphics card: Read Spartans post

OS: Vista is **** and a resource whore and XP is no longer supported, meaning you'll be more vulnerable to viruses etc. Windows 7 is best for gaming.

Personally I run a dual boot system. Using a Linux distro for general computer use (web, work etc) because it beats everything in terms of speed, reliability, security and price (free

) but still need Windows 7 for games and if I want to run .exe programs.

I know you are doing computer science at university so you'll probably end up running some sort of dual boot as well because Linux beats all for proper computer use, you'll know what I mean in a couple of months

Make sure you get a good fan as well and Spartans advice with the hard drives is spot on, SD drives can be kinda expensive though. We can talk about partitioning when you actually get the computer.

Oh and don't worry too much about the disk drives, I think digital distribution is going to make those redundant over the next decade or so.

Post by **Scott** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 4:56 pm

Thanks for all the info guys. Unfortunately the mystery box had nothing in it.

I can't believe I said Vista. I meant 7. 7 will allow me to play XP games though?

Graphics card info is very helpful, as well as RAM amounts. Fans, cases, etc are something I don't need to worry about since someone else is building it for me (it's a really helpful service provided by a local shop).

I also hope to God that Sam is wrong about digital distribution not replacing discs. I don't have the battery life to open up that debate right now, but I hate the idea.

Post by **Kelevra** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 6:45 pm

None of my XP games have had any problems with 7. Anything older than than that tends to have issues, though.

Post by **Scott** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 10:50 pm

I'm back home, and it's good to be back. Here's a more detailed reply...

Well I did a pretty good job replying before. All I really should add is that I wouldn't mind some prices I should be expecting for a system like this. Oh, and I use a dual-boot with Ubuntu now, and due to the lack of dial-up modem support, I've been unable to do anything.

Kelevra wrote:None of my XP games have had any problems with 7. Anything older than than that tends to have issues, though.

I wouldn't be going back any further than XP, so that's good to know it'll work.

Post by **DarthRevan19** » Mon Apr 23, 2012 4:14 pm

seems like what you said for upgrades are all the ones that make Swtor run on a computer

Post by **Scott** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:16 pm

So I went to talk to the local nerds (the kind of ones that have the nerdy voice, the best ones) and here's what we came up with:

Click to Enlarge

I think it's pretty badass for $1648.29 (with tax). These guys build a good computer too. As I've mentioned numerous times, they built my current desktop which is running after 9 years.

I haven't purchased it yet, but have the quote and hopefully will in the coming month.

Let me know what you guys think

Post by **Chaos** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:23 pm

$1648.29 ????????
Wow, that's a lot, but if you have the money, that's great!

Post by **Scott** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:31 pm

Chaos wrote:$1648.29 ????????
Wow, that's a lot, but if you have the money, that's great!

Ya it's not too much to me. Not that I'm well off, but I see it as nearly future proof. Certainly not another 9 years, but 3 or 4 (hopefully).

I don't think you could find a comparable system for that price, so I'm happy

Post by **spartan64** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:33 pm

Scott wrote:So I went to talk to the local nerds (the kind of ones that have the nerdy voice, the best ones) and here's what we came up with:

Click to Enlarge

I think it's pretty badass for $1648.29 (with tax). These guys build a good computer too. As I've mentioned numerous times, they built my current desktop which is running after 9 years.

I haven't purchased it yet, but have the quote and hopefully will in the coming month.

Let me know what you guys think

What... a... ripoff...

Apart from the CPU, I paid less with better and more components all together including my 24'' LED monitor. You're better off buying the parts off the internet and getting them assembled either by yourself or by the website which you order the parts from.

Post by **Scott** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:40 pm

The only aspects I see that you have up on me are the monitor, extra HDD, speakers, and slightly better GPU. My processor is better, RAM on par, better motherboard (though I'm not sure based on your description) and mine comes with Office Pro (Student) Edition.

What are you seeing that I'm not?

Post by **spartan64** » Tue May 15, 2012 2:52 pm

Scott wrote:The only aspects I see that you have up on me are the monitor, extra HDD, speakers, and slightly better GPU. My processor is better, RAM on par, better motherboard (though I'm not sure based on your description) and mine comes with Office Pro (Student) Edition.

What are you seeing that I'm not?

I had bought my PC 1.5 years ago when all the components were at their maximum price. I still paid less.
You should do some researching and compare the prices with other shops or websites, you'll be amazed when you do. How much are all the individual parts?

Post by **Scott** » Tue May 15, 2012 3:01 pm

spartan64 wrote:
Scott wrote:The only aspects I see that you have up on me are the monitor, extra HDD, speakers, and slightly better GPU. My processor is better, RAM on par, better motherboard (though I'm not sure based on your description) and mine comes with Office Pro (Student) Edition.

What are you seeing that I'm not?
I had bought my PC 1.5 years ago when all the components were at their maximum price. I still paid less.
You should do some researching and compare the prices with other shops or websites, you'll be amazed when you do. How much are all the individual parts?

I've done some looking and everywhere else is much more expensive. This setup would easily cost $2000.00.

Post by **spartan64** » Tue May 15, 2012 3:07 pm

Scott wrote:
spartan64 wrote:
Scott wrote:The only aspects I see that you have up on me are the monitor, extra HDD, speakers, and slightly better GPU. My processor is better, RAM on par, better motherboard (though I'm not sure based on your description) and mine comes with Office Pro (Student) Edition.

What are you seeing that I'm not?
I had bought my PC 1.5 years ago when all the components were at their maximum price. I still paid less.
You should do some researching and compare the prices with other shops or websites, you'll be amazed when you do. How much are all the individual parts?
I've done some looking and everywhere else is much more expensive. This setup would easily cost $2000.00.

If that's how it is in your country then go for it.