New Comp Suggestions for EQ2/WoW/HL2

[mgk]

I have been planning on purchasing a new pc. With the release of Everquest 2, World of Warcraft, and Half-Life 2 coming up I think its time to retire my AMD 2000+ and Geforce 4.

Here is my first wish list. I would like to get the price down to around the $1500 area. I have heard from different forums EQ2 works CPU/Memory/Vid Card hard during game play and hard drive speed helps zone times. I don?t really plan on overclocking but I happen to have a very warm room so some nice cooling helps in the summer months.

What would you guys suggest on my list below =)

CPU ? AMD 3500+ :: Zipzoomfly $273+FreeShip
Memory ? 1 Gig OCZ DDR-3200 Platinum Revision 2 2-2-2-5 Timings :: NewEgg $270.25+$4.73
Motherboard ? MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum :: NewEgg $136 + FreeShip
Hard Drive - WD Raptor 74GB 10k RPM :: NewEgg $182+$1.99 Ship+$25 Mail Rebate
Case ? Thermaltake Tsunami w/Window :: Newegg $129+FreeShip
PSU ? Antec Neopower 480W :: Zipzoomfly $109.99+FreeShip
HSF ? Spire KestrelKing III :: NewEgg $14.99+$4.99
Video ? BFG 6800GT OC :: Bestbuy $399.99+Tax+$7.99shipping
Sound ? Audigy 2 ZS Platinum :: Zipzoomfly $164.99+FreeShip
DVDRW ? Nec 16X 3500A BLK :: NewEgg $72.99+FreeShip
FDD ? Sony FDD :: NewEgg $6.99+$3.99

Total Price + Shipping without Tax $1779.89 Out of pocket + $25 Mail in Rebate

I plan to purchase within the next couple of days.

 

[Frew]

If you dont plan on overclocking you are going overboard with the ram.

I would get a better Heatsink. Like this.

 

[Slik]

Everything looks great, I would pick a different HSF and you might want to consider 2GB ram depending if you want to run EQ2 on the best settings.

Goodluck on your new rig

 

[KoolDrew]

Everything looks fine except for I would get a 3000+ and overclock it but thats just me.

Also that hard drive is a total waste of money. Just get yourself a Seagate 200GB drive or soemthing.

And the heatsink is not that good. This should be good if overclocking

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=35-106-036&depa=0

The RAM you chose is a bit on the expensive side. You may want to get 2 sticks of this

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=20-145-420&depa=0

If not overclocking just get soem Corsair Valu RAM as it is much cheaper and you won't really ntoice the difference.

Also I would not get a sound card at all. Just use the onboard sound on the MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum

 

[mgk]

Made some changes trying to get price down
==================================
CPU ? AMD 3500+ :: Zipzoomfly $273+FreeShip
Memory ? 1 Gig Corsair PC-3200 Value Select Dual Channel :: Zipzoomfly $155+FreeShip
Motherboard ? MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum :: NewEgg $136 + FreeShip
Hard Drive - 2x Hitachi 80GB Sata in Raid 1 :: NewEgg $63+$63+Free Ship
Case ? Antec Performance Plus w/window no ps :: Newegg $66.50+$15.99
PSU ? Fortron 530W :: NewEgg $75.50+$6.99
HeatSink ? ThermalRight XP-90 :: svc.com $37.99+$4.96
HS Fan - Vantec Stealth 92mm :: Zipzoomfly $11.99+FreeShip
Video ? BFG 6800GT OC :: Bestbuy $399.99+Tax+$7.99shipping
Sound ? Onboard
DVDRW ? Nec 16X 3500A BLK :: NewEgg $72.99+FreeShip
FDD ? Samsung FDD :: NewEgg $6.99+$3.99
Replacement Case Fans :: Vantec Stealth 80mm Fans x5 NewEgg $34.95+$4.95

Total + Shipping Out of Pocket - Tax on Vid Card = $1441.77

 

[LordPhoenix]

*Cough*

I have a Mercedes Benz..

Will that run well at 50mph?

 

[BentValve]

Originally posted by: Slik
Everything looks great, I would pick a different HSF and you might want to consider 2GB ram depending if you want to run EQ2 on the best settings.

Goodluck on your new rig

Really ? I was unaware that any game could utilize 2gb of ram.

 

[KoolDrew]

I would get a 3000+ instead. Also why are you buying 2 hard drives and running them in RAID 1? Also if you are not overclocking a XP-90 is kinda overkill

 

[Cook1]

Originally posted by: BentValve

Originally posted by: Slik
Everything looks great, I would pick a different HSF and you might want to consider 2GB ram depending if you want to run EQ2 on the best settings.

Goodluck on your new rig

Really ? I was unaware that any game could utilize 2gb of ram.

Try running EQ on 512, then 1 gig, then 1.5 gig...you'll notice a HUGE difference between 1 gig and 1.5 gig.

 

[BentValve]

Welp , I guess I am going to get 2 gigs then.

From the producer of EQ 2:

If we could spec Ideal, I'd have to say the best NVidia or ATI card that money can buy, attached to a dual Xeon, with about 2GB RAM

 

[ApacheChief]

What a newb, Opteron > Xeon

 

[Cook1]

Heck, I couldn't get by without 1.5 gigs with just EQ. Upt it to 2 gigs for EQ2

 

[Mrvile]

I didn't read any of the other posts (lazy) but here are my thoughts:

1. 3200+ or 3000+. Definately not the 3500+, costs almost a hundred bucks more and the difference between it and the lower two are unnoticeable. Plus the lower two can be OC'd to higher than the 3500+.

2. Radeon cards run HF2 better than GF cards, so I suggest an X800Pro or XT if you can afford it.

3. Raptor hard drives aren't necessary and they produce much more noise than 7200s, not to mention the price and limited space.

4. Not gonna be overclocking? Your 270 dollar RAM isn't necessary either. Any good brand of Valuram works just as well, and it cuts another hundred bucks for ya.

5. Finally, you say you need it to be "cool for the summer months." Well you can save yourself 20 bucks by not getting that aftermarket HSF. CPU temps are usually around 40 - 50 degrees C under load, and remember that 100 degrees F is about 32 degrees C. Summer temperatures won't be a problem , the HSF that comes with the CPU will work fine.


With those changes you should be able to cut the price down to 1500. Have fun with your new comp!

 

[BentValve]

Well I dont want to hijack this guys thread but he is asking for advice on an EQ2/WOW rig.


Heck maybe I better just go for 4gb of ram then.. I am tired of not having enough ram.

 

[Slik]

-_-

 

[Cook1]

Originally posted by: BentValve
Well I dont want to hijack this guys thread but he is asking for advice on an EQ2/WOW rig.


Heck maybe I better just go for 4gb of ram then.. I am tired of not having enough ram.

My Experience with EQ is RAM first, THEN Video Card.