Namely, the major pasts (ok, duh) but ALSO the cost.
If you are planning on building a rig, list the estimated cost and a brief summary of parts. Because Apple is run by a bunch of Nazis that won’t open up their drivers to the video card manufacturers, I cannot rely on Apple to allow for something like the AMD 4870 1 GB card to be used in their Mac Pro towers anytime soon.
Beyond that, there’s no way Apple would allow for a choice of SLI setups. So, I may have to throw down on something under $800 JUST for games…
I’m finding less and less reason to build up a monster gaming PC with the 360 and PS3 out.
Because I do 3D and graphic work though, I will eventually get another killer desktop built up (but not primarily for games). For now I have a 64bit laptop with 2gb RAM which does all I need.
“No Problem” = what resolution and frame rate and graphics settings?
I’d like a rig that can push 60 fps @ 1920x1200 on the most demanding games out right now. I’ll go SLI if I have to, but I just want something with some legs…
I don’t know what games are coming out now as I’ve lately been following console lineups.
My new PC has arrived but is it’s components are still sitting on my living room floor in their respective packaging waiting for me to put them together. I’ll probably get around to that tonight. I have Crysis ready to try out.
I’ll put it through a stress test sometime this week so I can RMA anything but I’ll report back once it’s together.
What is the most taxing game at the moment? Far Cry 2? Crysis 2?
EDIT:
Also, isn’t Half Life 2: Episode One the game with HDR (High Dynamic Range lighting) scenes?
When it first came out, I heard it brought the toughest systems to their knees when action was high, something like 20 fps max, sustained.
I hear Quake 4 is nice and I’m looking at throwing down for games like Oblivion: Elder Scrolls…certainly Starcraft 2, but that doesn’t look too graphics-intensive of a game.
GeForce 7900GS (free upgrade from x800GT, buddy traded me for some reason) passively cooled with some random Thermalright heat sink that doesn’t seem to exist except for the one I got open boxed from Newegg for ~15$
2GB DDR2 533 Wintec RAM ~$40 then, cheaper now
running 1:1 with
Pentium D 915 @ 3.73GHz (266 FSB) using a Thermalright Ultra 120 - something like $50 now, $120 then
ASUS P5LD2 ~$110
2 x Seagate 160GB 7200.9 in RAID 0 (onboard controller) ~$30 then
Antec p180b case with 4 x Yate Loon SL fans ~$70 after rebate
This works decently for now since I play on a 1280x1024 monitor, but I’m looking at a refresh with Intel’s new socket. We’ll see how it performs, may go with the latest 775 for less money.
I do a fair bit of scientific work on my rig, so like a previous poster, it’s a happy coincidence that games happen to run well also
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
“No Problem” = what resolution and frame rate and graphics settings?
I’d like a rig that can push 60 fps @ 1920x1200 on the most demanding games out right now. I’ll go SLI if I have to, but I just want something with some legs…
I don’t know what games are coming out now as I’ve lately been following console lineups.[/quote]
1280x1024 and frame rates unknown(never checked, didnt even feel like I had to.)… smooth as butter with all eye candy on.
Ah, see…I will have a monitor that runs at 1920x1200 so I can A) watch 1080p HD clips, and B) use it for photo editing…hence, the graphics card I have will need to push that resolution at a decent frame rate, preferably with everything turned on…
[quote]PonceDeLeon wrote:
Ah, see…I will have a monitor that runs at 1920x1200 so I can A) watch 1080p HD clips, and B) use it for photo editing…hence, the graphics card I have will need to push that resolution at a decent frame rate, preferably with everything turned on…
Including me :)[/quote]
It doesn’t get much better than a 9800GTX+ Unless you plan on spending $500 alone on the card
I guess I should invest in an LCD monitor that provides signal zooming. Not sure if they all do this these days or if manufacturers don’t care to include this capability anymore.
I could get a 1920x1200 resolution monitor and run it at 1680x1050 just for when I play games, so I don’t have to worry about a badass graphics card to push the higher native resolution…
Asrock P45 1600Twins
4GB DDR3 1600
Q6600 OC’d to 3.6GHz /w Asus silent Square
Ati Sapphire 4870
1 x old IDE 500GB HDD
2x 250GB SATAII HDD’s
2 x Samsung Syncmasters 21" 1600x1200 (getting old now)
