Rate my computer.

FearoftheNight

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2003
5,101
0
71
Hey guys i'm not really hardware savvy so I'd like some opinions on mine for gaming:
Sandy Bridge i5 2300
Radeon HD 6850
6 gb ram
1 tb hdd

Thoughts? Is this a midrange or high end system? What games/settings would be too much?
 

Rifter

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,522
751
126
how are you going to run 6GB of ram, SB is dual channel. You would be better off going 4GB or 8GB. Running 3 sticks of 2GB each is a bad idea.

Other than that its a alright setup, the GPU will be whats holding you back gaming.
 

T_Yamamoto

Lifer
Jul 6, 2011
15,007
795
126
Some people *cough*me*cough* cant afford SSDs right now so some people like me are using our main HD as our boot drive and a storage drive
 

wuliheron

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2011
3,536
0
0
Hey guys i'm not really hardware savvy so I'd like some opinions on mine for gaming:
Sandy Bridge i5 2300
Radeon HD 6850
6 gb ram
1 tb hdd

Thoughts? Is this a midrange or high end system? What games/settings would be too much?

Definitely mid-range. The graphics card is the biggest limitation and won't max out some really demanding games in full HD, but it will play any game on the market today.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
He might have 2 sticks of 3gb ram

No such thing as a 3GB DIMM.

ok so what kind of psus do high end gfx req? i think the highest supported by my psu is the 6870..

You might be able to put something better in there without upgrading the PSU. Pop open the side of the case and tell us the overall wattage, number of amps on the 12V rail(s), and number of PCIe 6-pin connectors.
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
No such thing as a 3GB DIMM.
The only Dell XPS 8300 6GB memory option that I could find was listed as 4 DIMMs.
But surely there must be a 2x3GB choice somewhere, since T_Yamamoto read that was one of the Dell options. :p
Yes, that is right
but he bought the Dell online
and i look at the choices and it was 2x3 or 2x4 ram
T_Yamamoto, can you link us up on that 2x3GB option?
 
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LOL_Wut_Axel

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2011
4,310
8
81
To break it down:

Sandy Bridge:

Core i7, Core i5: Performance (high-end)
Core i3: Mainstream
Pentium, Celeron: Essential (low-end)

Northern Islands:

Radeon HD 6900: Enthusiast (high-end)
Radeon HD 6800: Performance (high-end)
Radeon HD 6700, 6600: Mainstream
Radeon HD 6500, 6400: Essential (low-end)

It's mid high-end, basically. You'll be able to play anything maxed out or at high settings at 1680x1050 or 1920x1080/1200 except poorly optimized games like Crysis and Metro 2033.

OT:

Having 6GB of RAM is probably giving you lesser performance due to dual-channel not being enabled. You have either 3x2GB RAM or 1x4GB + 1x2GB. You need two or four DIMMs of the same capacity to enable it.
 
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Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
To break it down:

Having 6GB of RAM is probably giving you lesser performance due to dual-channel not being enabled. You have either 3x2GB RAM or 1x4GB + 1x2GB. You need two or four DIMMs of the same capacity to enable it.
2x2GB + 2x1GB would still allow for dual channel support. The DIMMs need to be balance not simply all the same size.

Channel 1 - 1x1GB + 1x2GB = 3GB
Channel 2 - 1x1GB + 1x2GB = 3GB