HELP $500 on a Gaming Rig

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

that's bullsh!t. just because it doesnt have the latest generation video card does not mean it cant game. you can play ANY game out now with a 3200+, 1gb ram, and a 6600gt. it may not run at the highest settings, but the game WILL run and will be definately playable. this $500 pc will still be faster then 90% of pc's out there.

Now THAT is complete bullsh!t. Try playing COD2 with no AA, no AF, medium setttings at 1280x960 with a 6600GT. I don't consider my machine a gaming machine and it has a 6800GT and COD2 punched my machine in the face in some scenes. I mean it became a slideshow at one point. Most of the game ran fine, but that one time, it brought my machine down to a crawl. And that was with a 6800GT. FEAR runs ok at 1280x960 on my card, but that is still with medium settings and no AA and AF. I just don't consider that a gaming machine.

Let me put it this way, if I sold a machine as a "gaming machine" to someone so they could play all the latest and greatest game, and it started to choke on them. I don't think they'd be very happy. They'd probably say, "hey, I thought this was a gaming machine? Why is it I'm having problems playing games?" I just don't think he'd be to happy accepting the answer, "hey, just turn down your settings on your gaming machine. I know its primary focus was to play games great, but apparently it can't. Sorry." And I'm not talking about someone that can't play FEAR at 1920x1200 with 4xAA and 16xAF. I'm talking about a reasonable resolution like 1280x1024 at least with high details. I wouldn't even require a gaming machine to even use AA or AF, although a high end gaming PC sure better be able to do it.

I guess I hold the term "gaming machine" at a higher standard than most. Sorry.

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

that's bullsh!t. just because it doesnt have the latest generation video card does not mean it cant game. you can play ANY game out now with a 3200+, 1gb ram, and a 6600gt. it may not run at the highest settings, but the game WILL run and will be definately playable. this $500 pc will still be faster then 90% of pc's out there.

Now THAT is complete bullsh!t. Try playing COD2 with no AA, no AF, medium setttings at 1280x960 with a 6600GT. I don't consider my machine a gaming machine and it has a 6800GT and COD2 punched my machine in the face in some scenes. I mean it became a slideshow at one point. Most of the game ran fine, but that one time, it brought my machine down to a crawl. And that was with a 6800GT. FEAR runs ok at 1280x960 on my card, but that is still with medium settings and no AA and AF. I just don't consider that a gaming machine.

Let me put it this way, if I sold a machine as a "gaming machine" to someone so they could play all the latest and greatest game, and it started to choke on them. I don't think they'd be very happy. They'd probably say, "hey, I thought this was a gaming machine? Why is it I'm having problems playing games?" I just don't think he'd be to happy accepting the answer, "hey, just turn down your settings on your gaming machine. I know its primary focus was to play games great, but apparently it can't. Sorry." And I'm not talking about someone that can't play FEAR at 1920x1200 with 4xAA and 16xAF. I'm talking about a reasonable resolution like 1280x1024 at least with high details. I wouldn't even require a gaming machine to even use AA or AF, although a high end gaming PC sure better be able to do it.

I guess I hold the term "gaming machine" at a higher standard than most. Sorry.

well, he told you his budget, and he told you that he wanted it for gaming. when someone says that they want a gaming machine, they want to be able to play games on it. dont be a dick and bust his hopes by saying that he cant get jack for $500. and yes, i've tried COD2 with those settings, and i can run fine. just because it's not up to your expectations doesnt make it not feasible. you need to change your definition of a "gaming computer". its just a computer for playing games. the budget they include tells you everything you need to know.

 

[NaiMan]

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

that's bullsh!t. just because it doesnt have the latest generation video card does not mean it cant game. you can play ANY game out now with a 3200+, 1gb ram, and a 6600gt. it may not run at the highest settings, but the game WILL run and will be definately playable. this $500 pc will still be faster then 90% of pc's out there.

Now THAT is complete bullsh!t. Try playing COD2 with no AA, no AF, medium setttings at 1280x960 with a 6600GT. I don't consider my machine a gaming machine and it has a 6800GT and COD2 punched my machine in the face in some scenes. I mean it became a slideshow at one point. Most of the game ran fine, but that one time, it brought my machine down to a crawl. And that was with a 6800GT. FEAR runs ok at 1280x960 on my card, but that is still with medium settings and no AA and AF. I just don't consider that a gaming machine.

Let me put it this way, if I sold a machine as a "gaming machine" to someone so they could play all the latest and greatest game, and it started to choke on them. I don't think they'd be very happy. They'd probably say, "hey, I thought this was a gaming machine? Why is it I'm having problems playing games?" I just don't think he'd be to happy accepting the answer, "hey, just turn down your settings on your gaming machine. I know its primary focus was to play games great, but apparently it can't. Sorry." And I'm not talking about someone that can't play FEAR at 1920x1200 with 4xAA and 16xAF. I'm talking about a reasonable resolution like 1280x1024 at least with high details. I wouldn't even require a gaming machine to even use AA or AF, although a high end gaming PC sure better be able to do it.

I guess I hold the term "gaming machine" at a higher standard than most. Sorry.

Jack, how much would you think I need to build something that would play FEAR on medium settings?

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: NaiMan

Originally posted by: JackBurton

Originally posted by: Mik3y

Originally posted by: JackBurton
A $500 PC AIN'T a gaming computer. Get a 360, or start scratching more lottery tickets.

that's bullsh!t. just because it doesnt have the latest generation video card does not mean it cant game. you can play ANY game out now with a 3200+, 1gb ram, and a 6600gt. it may not run at the highest settings, but the game WILL run and will be definately playable. this $500 pc will still be faster then 90% of pc's out there.

Now THAT is complete bullsh!t. Try playing COD2 with no AA, no AF, medium setttings at 1280x960 with a 6600GT. I don't consider my machine a gaming machine and it has a 6800GT and COD2 punched my machine in the face in some scenes. I mean it became a slideshow at one point. Most of the game ran fine, but that one time, it brought my machine down to a crawl. And that was with a 6800GT. FEAR runs ok at 1280x960 on my card, but that is still with medium settings and no AA and AF. I just don't consider that a gaming machine.

Let me put it this way, if I sold a machine as a "gaming machine" to someone so they could play all the latest and greatest game, and it started to choke on them. I don't think they'd be very happy. They'd probably say, "hey, I thought this was a gaming machine? Why is it I'm having problems playing games?" I just don't think he'd be to happy accepting the answer, "hey, just turn down your settings on your gaming machine. I know its primary focus was to play games great, but apparently it can't. Sorry." And I'm not talking about someone that can't play FEAR at 1920x1200 with 4xAA and 16xAF. I'm talking about a reasonable resolution like 1280x1024 at least with high details. I wouldn't even require a gaming machine to even use AA or AF, although a high end gaming PC sure better be able to do it.

I guess I hold the term "gaming machine" at a higher standard than most. Sorry.

Jack, how much would you think I need to build something that would play FEAR on medium settings?

I played FEAR with a 6800GT and medium settings and it ran pretty well. I think a 7800GT would be just perfect for me though. But if I were to buy a card now and wanted to play FEAR, the minimum I'd get is an X850XT. It should run FEAR pretty dang smooth at about 1280x1024 with medium settings. Nice card and not a bad price. If you can build a new machine around that card for under $500, congratulations, you've got a pretty nice gaming machine.

Edit: I saw you already got a 6600GT from a friend. I'd try to sell it for at least $100 and try to get the X850XT. You'll be happier with that card. But if you insist on sticking with the 6600GT, I'd take ElFenix suggestion for your system. Just bump your budget up to $550 to include a PSU. I'd stick with 2GB of ram. Or if your budget is REALLY that tight, sell the 6600GT, get the X850XT and settle for 1GB of ram. That should get you around the $600 mark and make for a much better gaming machine. Better to spend $100 more than not have a $500 machine perform the way you want it to.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: Mik3y
well, he told you his budget, and he told you that he wanted it for gaming. when someone says that they want a gaming machine, they want to be able to play games on it. dont be a dick and bust his hopes by saying that he cant get jack for $500. and yes, i've tried COD2 with those settings, and i can run fine. just because it's not up to your expectations doesnt make it not feasible. you need to change your definition of a "gaming computer". its just a computer for playing games. the budget they include tells you everything you need to know.

I'd rather be upfront with him NOW, instead of him $500 later finding out how crappy the newest games run on his new $500 "gaming machine." And let me tell you, the only one being a dick here is YOU. I'm not going to fvck him out of $500 and get his hopes up thinking he is going to have this kick ass gaming machine after spending $500. Do you think most people want to play FEAR at 1024x768 with no details after spend $500? If you are going to spend $500 on a gaming machine, I'd recommend saving a little more to play games the way they were meant to be played.

And don't give me this "I've tried COD2 with those settings" crap because I played the whole game though with a 6800GT and let me tell you, it became a slide show at one point. I'm not talking about, <30FPS, I'm talking about what felt like <5FPS. Most of the time it ran ok, but when you get into a big fire fight and your machine grinds to almost a halt, it pisses you off (well it pissed me off). So don't try to give me this "a 6600GT will run fine with those settings" crap. Well unless you've got some magic trick that will make a 6600GT preform better than a 6800GT.

you need to change your definition of a "gaming computer". its just a computer for playing games. the budget they include tells you everything you need to know.

Sorry man, I'm not lowering my standards for you. My definition still stands.

 

[clamum]

OP, don't let him discourage you because you're going to get a plenty fast enough of a machine. It will be much faster than mine which I consider a gaming machine and I play FEAR, HL2/DoD:S (at 1680x1050), Guild Wars, COD2, Civ4, and others and with the exception of COD2, theyare all 1024x768 or higher. Your system should be much faster so you will be able to play all current games decently enough and older ones with lots of eye candy. And when you feel the newest games are running too slow (say 6 months down the road), you can pop in a used 7800GT for cheap and another 512mb-1GB of ram.

I love how he considers that you can't play computer games unless you have a retardedly fast system. As if you aren't a gamer if you can't turn on all the eye candy or AA/AF. LOL some people don't care that much. And unless you have a friend's system to compare to, it will still play games nicer and faster than anything he's seen before. 90% of the time you don't even look at the graphics if you're actually playing a game with good gameplay.

 

[Remedy]

I just wanted to post my experience from Q4 of last year with FEAR. System only had a Socket A 2700+ and a Radeon 9800XT, and a 1GB of PC3200 memory on a VIA KT880. Now, initially, game obviously couldn't have been played @ 1600x1200 resolution with all the eye candy. But, it was playable @ 800x600 for the most part with moderate to less eye candy. Moved on to a Sempron 3100+ and a K8T800 and 9800XT. Just as playable as before as well.

With online, yes, had to modify the system to config file to gain an advantage over the others with higher system specs. But, the game was playable and enjoyable. But I've seen the game on upto date systems with all the eye candy and it really wasn't the "shock and awe" some people make it out to be as opposed to a previous generation system.

This is of course is just my opinion & experience though.


With that being said, and the fact that you have a 6600GT now. I don't see how you can have a problem with "playing" the game on it with a low end system. I don't know exactly where you live, but if you have a Fry's store outlet near you, then you might want to go over and check out there CPU/board bundle deals. I don't live near a Fryes, but I have ordered plenty of bundles from Fryes/Outpost.com and you can find a nice deal with their ECS board bundles.


I just would like to recommend the following;

ASRock m1695 $66

3200+ Socket 939 $172

80GB Samsung Spinpoint 7200RPM $50

2GB PC3200 $157 Supertalent.

Enhance USA ENP-5240G 400 watt x2/Pentium-D supported PSU $45

Sub-total of $490.

Now, with your 6600, I'd try it out first before even considering the dumping of it. It may please your gaming needs. If not, there are plenty of people in the FS/FT looking to get rid of their X800XL Radeons (with 16pipes) or X800GTO2's @ a low cost considering you swap your 6600GT in fair trade of the value their product as well.