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This pc = what games?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by inkleach, Feb 15, 2008.

  1. inkleach

    inkleach Guest

    Hey,im not really sure about all the hardware specs etc of PC's etc,is this a good deal for £300?

    CPU Intel pentium D DUAL CORE 6.4GHZ(Vista Ready)
    Motherboard INTEL 945
    Memory 4GB DDR2 667Mhz RAM
    Hard Drive 320GB HD(WD, Maxtor or Seagate)
    Optical Drive Dual Layer DVD-RW
    Video Nvidia Geforce 7300 512MB PCI-Express VGA

    and whats the best game out atm that it could run?(technically wise..not how good the game is)

    Thanks
     
  2. BigDK

    BigDK Regular member

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    Your best bet is to just see what games you want to play 'personal choice' and then look at the developer’s web site to see what the min/recommended specs are.
    Every game released always shows that info and it is straight forward to find.

    It is not all about the spec of a PC, it will also depend on how it is setup and tweaked 'if at all'.

    You also omitted your operating system details (even though the cpu was listed as Vista ready)and the screen resolution you are able to utilize 'bigger the res - slower it will perform'.

    945 chipset is quite old now, but how it performs depends on what board it is on and with what BIOS it has loaded.

    Memory speed is one part of it, but what timings are you running as those impact on the performance as well?

    Along those same lines, are you running 4x1GB or 2x2GB as that also will have an effect.

    Also what GPU is it, as there are numerous 7300's with different spec's, chances are you have the GS 256 with turbo cache, this means you actually have 256MB memory on the GPU not 512MB, and it utilizes the system memory to make it up to 512MB.

    P.S. you have a 3.2GHz Dual core ‘not a 6.4GHz PC ‘there is a difference’
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2008
  3. Paracite

    Paracite Member

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    hey,
    well from what i see it is a good deal, tho i don't really know prices in the UK, but comparing that to the prices here in Finland, it's a really good deal!

    And i'm guessing you can run pretty much any game, i might be wrong!
    I dunno about best game atm, but S.T.A.L.K.E.R Shadow of chernobyl is in my opinnion, as a game in whole the best, and technically demanding!
    I'm running on pretty much the same specs except for Nvidia geforce 7950Gt 512mb...
    For me this game lags when on too high res :)
     
  4. inkleach

    inkleach Guest

    it is 1x4GB i think.

    Cool, i mite go ahead and buy it then,hopefully its easy enough to upgrade graphics cards(?) etc when i come across more money,lol.
    The pc im running the now is SO old,i just took the console route an never kept up with my pc..in the mood for change.
     
  5. BigDK

    BigDK Regular member

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    I just put this list together from Scan, as the parts would be better than those listed.

    The chipset is the latest P35 from Intel, the CPU is the far newer core 2 which means that although clock speed is slower than the one you listed it will still wipe the floor with it.
    Memory is faster and good quality lifetime warranty.
    DVD burner is dual layer as your listed was.
    GPU is also DX10 which the 7300 series isn't.
    Case is complet with PSU but you'd check it has at least 2 sata power connectors as it doesn't mention the spec, converters are available if required.

    Just a thought.

    Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 £77.51 Inc VAT
    MSI P35 NEO2-FR £66.96 Inc VAT
    4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2 £65.38 Inc VAT
    320 Gb Western Digital WD3200AAJS £48.53 Inc VAT
    Optiarc/NEC AD-7200S-01 20xDVD±R £15.50 Inc VAT
    Asus TA-250 Midi Twr Case 400W PSU £35.24 Inc VAT
    256/512 MB XFX 8400GS £26.19 Inc VAT
     
  6. inkleach

    inkleach Guest


    Thanks,i would hate to even try an put a pc 2gether myself tho,is it easy to chnge the graphics cards proccessors?..i kinda dont know what im talkin about..but simply..will it b easy to uprgade the machine?lol
     
  7. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    You can do that, but you will need to change the Power supply and the graphics card at least, doing that well will stand you at least £100 above the cost of the PC you buy. If you do that, you may as well have bought a better PC to start with.
     
  8. BigDK

    BigDK Regular member

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    945 chipset will be very limited as to the CPUs you can put in it as well, you'll probably be at the best or near it with the one you'd be getting.
    only certain 945 chipsets support core 2 duo 'most don't'
     
  9. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Indeed, but I wasn't even considering upgrading the mediocre CPU otherwise the PC in its current form would be a complete waste of time - as you say it'd need a new mobo too. What does that leave, the memory, case and drives?

    I was thinking though BigDK, maybe you could go with a cheaper mobo like the P35-DS3L and get a better graphics card with the extra? In fact, since the system's a gaming PC, I'm thinking a GPU is going to be more important than having 4GB of RAM, I can only go over 2GB in two games, and that's because I max the settings, something you're not going to be doing with an 8400GS...

    Here's my idea
    Intel Core 2 Duo E2160 £43.65 - still a powerful CPU, but dirt cheap
    Gigabyte P35-DS3L £59.91 - well featured motherboard from a reliable brand
    2GB (2x1GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2 £35.12 CAS4 High performance RAM
    320 Gb Western Digital WD3200AAJS £48.53 excellent drive
    Optiarc/NEC AD-7200S-01 20xDVD±R £15.50 Inc VAT ditto
    Coolermaster Centurion 5 & Corsair VX 450W PSU £77.53 total
    256MB Sapphire HD2600XT £55.93

    Think that makes a bit of an upgrade from the original system posted!
    comes in at £356 + delivery.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2008
  10. BigDK

    BigDK Regular member

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    The options are unlimted, personally I agreee that a GPU would make more sdense than the extra 2GB of memory, it depends on how closely the original spec wants to be kept to.
    I always tend to lean towards as much OC possibilty as possible 'just can't stop myself' but that other board would be a very good bet.

    inkleach - if you need some advice on building a system then you'll get it here, its not that hard to do at all.
     
  11. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Indeed, and once you've done it once, you need not rely on pre-built value units ever again!
     
  12. inkleach

    inkleach Guest

    so where is the cheapest place to buy the components if i was going to build it myself?
     
  13. inkleach

    inkleach Guest

    ok,im convinced..i'll try and build my own.

    so which is the better of the 2 ideas that were posted?
    It is mainly going to be for gaming purposes, and i dont really know where to start if im buying all the components seperately.
    Thanks for the help guys
     
  14. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Well, that's what we do best. First of all tell us which country you live in. Then we can find the best components for you to use, an instruct you on how to put them together. All we need to know is what sort of games you play, and what your budget is.

    If the lists we've outlined are in your price range, then that's fine. The second list is more oriented towards a gamer, the first (from BigDK) is a slightly more powerful PC in other areas, but it won't be as good for gaming.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2008
  15. inkleach

    inkleach Guest

    i live in the uk,
    i guess the games i wanna be able to play the most are FPS,rpg,mmorpg..
    The likes of s.t.a.l.k.e.r would b my goal i guess,maybe not straight away but..eventually
     
  16. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Ok, well STALKER is doable, but it is recommended to have 4GB of RAM for that, it uses more RAM than any other game I know, Crysis included.
    If you can afford to spend around £30 extra go with the 4GB of Memory that BigDK posted.
     
  17. inkleach

    inkleach Guest

    ok..well if u post up the 'pc' i'de need to run the likes of stalker that'de be ace,i'll get whatever parts i can afford atm then get the rest when i get paid next
     
  18. inkleach

    inkleach Guest

    i could probably afford to get all of that this month (with 2x2GB instead) apart from the PSU and 256MB Sapphire HD2600XT,would it have problems playing the newer games on the market?
     
  19. BigDK

    BigDK Regular member

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    This lot comes with free delivery, I've used Ebuyer loads of time and the service is pretty good.

    There are slightly cheaper items around, but this lot gives a good case and psu that comes with 2 years warranty.
    Motherboard is very stable ans will support latest 45nm chips in the future.
    This GPU should give pretty good frame rates and support DX10.
    Personally I would go with an E4500 as it has a decent cache size and will OC in the future if you ever decide to.
    I've listed 2 sets of memory 2GB and 4GB.

    Top price with 4GB is £368.88
    With 2GB total is £325.85
    Another option would be to go with 2 sets of the 2GB which would be £355.84, but I would recommend 2 sticks over 4.

    Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Case With CM eXtreme Power 460W PSU £42.99
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/135101
    MSI P35 Neo2-FR iP35 £67.99
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140205
    Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 2.20GHz £75.95
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130486
    PowerColor HD 3650 512MB £43.94
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/140261
    OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 800MHz/PC2-6400 £73.02
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/132904
    OCZ 2GB Kit (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 £29.99
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/116755
    Seagate ST3250410AS 250GB Hard Drive SATAII £45.21
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131301
    Optiarc AD-7200S 20X DVD±RW/DL/RAM Internal SATA £16
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/139414
    Sony 3.5" Floppy Drive Black £3.78
    http://www.ebuyer.com/product/74629









     
  20. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    I too have found ebuyer's service to be satisfactory most of the time.
    Does he really need the E4500 though BigDK? It's nearly twice as much as the E2160...
     

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