Will This All Work? My New Gaming RIG.

If that was true in the past, the 3870 isn't one to follow the tradition. You might have issues if you use high levels of Anti-Aliasing, especially 8x.
I can run Crysis at 1680x1050 with 4x AA at 13fps if I use all High settings (I don't use Vista so I can't run very High). With AA off I get around the 20 mark. Interestingly enough though, if you set all of Crysis' graphical settings to high apart from Shadows and Shaders (this includes Volumetric effects) you can get up to 40fps at 2560x1600 without AA. The highest resolution you can run Crysis at with any AA though is 1680x1050 as after that point, you run out of video RAM!

 

Ah..Well max res I'm looking to run my games on is 1024x768 maybe 1280x1024. .

And another question...

If you pirated vista by downloading it, and burnt it onto disc. The OEM version perhaps...Would it be able to install? And I heard the OEM version assigns itself to your hardware banishing you from adding new ram without seeing ACTIVATE WINDOWS.

Maybe you could point me to a link of the retail version...?

 

I can't legally provide links to pirate software on this forum, so all I can say is have a google, type Vista into some search engines and see what's what.
As for the resolutions, I guarantee you there is nothing currently out that a 3870 can't max at 1280x1024 and get a decent frame rate.

 

Ah...Well I'll look around. Btw I've got msn if you cba to keep checking bakc here : uzumaki-naruto-and-ramen@hotmail.com

(yes I used to be a huge anime fan...)

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Dpa0YpdM_uQ
Awesome Eh?

Oh yeah why did I post another reply again.....

Oh right..

So burning vista onto a disc and then putting that disc in the DVD drive when the PC boots up for the first time, it will install, correct?

I'm just making sure =P. Egh the transition from XP to Vista will be weird..

 

Oh yeah and OEM is crappy if you're thinking about upgrading your PC right? Will you have to install windows again or something?

:/

 

And one other thing...

I'm thinking of upgrading some ram after I get my PC too.

Will this : http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=462617
work with this in the mobo at the same time : http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=402849
Using this motherboard : http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=661326
And will this work with the ram using that mobo : http://scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=466725

 

It will, but only at the same speed as the slower RAM. May as well just get more of what you already have. If you're using normal XMS2, you don't need the dominator fan.

 

I see...Another question..

Right now I've got my HDD with windows xp on it..What should I do with it? Format it and when I get my new pc hook it all up...And I have absolutely NO experience with starting up a fresh PC. NONE What-so-ever..So I'm gonna have trouble changing the bios and everything. Could you give me a quick walk-through of what I'll need to do? And how would I install Vista? Thanks ~G-Man Is Watching You.

 

Well, you may not need to reinstall windows depending on the chipset, if you do, it's simpler if you have a separate hard disk to save having to reformat your old one (having backed up the data first). It doesn't need to be a particularly big drive.
Installing Vista's easy, stick the disc in and follow the instructions.

 

Ah . Well my old drive is sure to have aloada bugs n' glitches and stuffs. So I'll format it anyway. And start fresh ^^.

Right well I'm ordering it around next month (yup that far away) So I'll keep you posted on how things turn out. You've been a big help so far, lots of people who I've asked before have just given me basic crappy info I don't really need. So Thumbs up to you .

Thanks Again
~C.
(G-man is still watching you, especially in Water Hazard)

 

Okay so after some searching around for cheaper deals I came across www.ebuyer.com . I relised they have cheaper everything and free shipping and less VAT. So I decided to look for everything I was gonna get from scan.co.uk

Tell me if this will all fit together :

CPU
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130484
RAM
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/98710
HDD
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/124735
MOTHER/B
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/136363 ~ It's not DS3L it's just DS3.
MONITOR
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131675
CASE
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/115546
PSU
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131052
GRAPHICS
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/138550


And does the motherboard come with an ethernet slot and is the onboard sound alright to use?

I'm thinking of buying an ethernet cable and I'm using my headphones for sound.

 

Oh and another question sorry....Will the CPU run without me buying that cooler? Doesn't it come with one?

Because I've got £620 and I'll need like £640 with the cooler which I really really really can't get. Yet.

I'm thinking of ordering it on friday...Yup. This friday.

 

The CPU does indeed come with a cooler, it's fine for normal use but it's strongly recommended you get a better cooler for overclocking. So by all means keep the CPU stock (or just overclock it a bit) to start with, and then when finances allow, order a Freezer 7 Pro to overclock with. Bear in mind though a small separate order will cost you shipping.
The RAM is CAS5, and is therefore cheaper elsewhere, so be wary of that. The hard disk is also £2.40 more than Scan, so consider how much you're actually gaining here before taking the plunge. As for the motherboard, it looks the same as the DS3R pretty much so it'll almost certainly be pretty good. The board comes with integrated gigabit ethernet (1 port) and surround sound, but if you play games, you'll really want a proper PCI sound card, even if it isn't an expensive one. Onboard audio is not good for games, not with this motherboard anyway. In all other aspects (sound quality, music, video) it's fine though.
Don't buy the PCS Powercolor card as the cooler is crap. In truth, ebuyer don't offer any good value HD3870s, you'll have to buy one of those elsewhere. The only proper 3870s they sell are £150 or more.
Your component list is fine, but as a whole, I wouldn't get it from ebuyer.

 

I see...Well I chose free shipping and it's cheaper so I'm gonna go and buy the http://www.ebuyer.com/product/105994 cooler as you advised .

Well I'll REALLY need good sound as I'll be playing counter strike and I'll need pin-point precision of where those buggers are hiding. But I guess I could hold with what I've got at the mo.

Do you know any good sites I can buy a 512mb HD3870 for the same price for? Or less price including shipping and vat? I can't find any and ebuyer has crappy ones :/.

.

 

This works out about £148 including delivery
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...eon+HD+3870+512MB+DDR4+PCI-E+?productId=30170

As for the sound, I use one of these - no problems with CSS so far!
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Sound+Cards/Creative+S/B+Audigy+SE+7.1+OEM?productId=19790

 

Nice. I'll get that one you showed me and that card you also showed I can get that on ebuyer.com but not right now, I could either buy the sound card or the cpu cooler and I'll buy the cooler for now...

Btw. Do these sites accept Maestro/solo/switch cards?

~C.

(thanks)

 

btw that card you showed me (the graphics card) is out of stock...Eghh WHY IS IT SO HARD TO FIND CARDS! . I'm sure I'll find something..

 

nvm, found one http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...i+Radeon+HD+3870+512MB+PCI-E+?productId=29511 ..

I just have to find out if they accept maestro/switch cards now :/.

(sends a pencil to McGuyver)

 

They do, I've used them with one before.

BE WARNED! That graphics card is not what you'll get if you buy that card. You'll get one with a single slot cooler, because that's the exact card I bought from that site. It works, but it's very noisy.