So I'm looking at getting my bro a base system solely for game playing... stuff like AoM, Warcraft 3, C&C Generals mostly... So I loaded up the Computer Alliance website and here is what i came up with:

a.. Intel Celeron 2.4GHz Socket 478 CPU
b.. Shuttle MV43N Motherboard
c.. 512Mb DDR PC2700 SDRAM
d.. 40G Seagate 7200rpm HDD
e.. Geforce 4 4200 128M 8x AGP Video Card
f.. 17" Samtron 76E Monitor
g.. CS 2001E ATX midi case
h.. Windows PS2 Keyboard
i.. Generic Optical Mouse
j.. Pioneer 16x DVD Drive Tray Load
k.. Integrated Stereo Sound Card
l.. Windows XP Home OEM
GST Inclusive Price: $1396

Please give me some advice on the components, or a cheaper place to get it that isn't someone garage. Anybody have a similar system? Know how good games would run on this thing? Cause I have no idea :/

Thanks

:D

no

Why, yes I do. You can get all sorts of hardware and software for variable prices at www.thediscshop.com.au.

Look around for the best price for each item you're looking for. You can have them put it all together for you and send it, or just have them send the parts and you can do it yourself. I reccommend the former for most people.

a.. Intel Celeron 2.4GHz Socket 478 CPU
b.. Shuttle MV43N Motherboard
c.. 512Mb DDR PC2700 SDRAM
d.. 40G Seagate 7200rpm HDD
e.. Geforce 4 4200 128M 8x AGP Video Card
f.. 17" Samtron 76E Monitor
g.. CS 2001E ATX midi case
h.. Windows PS2 Keyboard
i.. Generic Optical Mouse
j.. Pioneer 16x DVD Drive Tray Load
k.. Integrated Stereo Sound Card
l.. Windows XP Home OEM
GST Inclusive Price: $1396

Well, I'd say no. The price isnt bad but you're not being told anything specific about the parts.
The shuttle motherboard is an old lump of crap, better used as a doormat to wipe your feet on. The homebrand PoS monitor is something that they dont give any info about. eg. they dont even mention the dotpitch. I checked, and all that monitor is definitely not for gaming. Anything fast moves around the screen and you're gonna have a migraine. The case isn't too flash either, and i think that since it is a small case, you wont be able to use all the bay slots for cd drives because the mobo transistors will be in the way.

Don't get integrated sound, not good for gaming. Instead buy a sound blaster of some sort. (any sound blaster is better than integrated sound).

Can you suggest what motherboard I should look at? there are so many ASUS ones, i have no idea what the difference is :)

also, I think i'll get a sound card too, sounds like a good idea, i wasn't sure about the intergrated sound :P

Thanks

i recently got my computer upgraded with a Epox motherboard with nvidia nforce 2 chipset, amd 2400+ and 2 x 256mb DDR (Technician said get 2 x 256mb ddr instead of 1 512mb ddr so they'd run games n that better off each other) with geforce 4 ti4200 card and my games run pretty sweet if this is any help.

for the motherboard i suggest asus p4g8x deluxe. Excellent motherboard, especially for overclocking but it only supports pc2100 ram and its pretty expensive, at like 380 bucks or so

PC2100 Ram is dirt cheap, $85.00 for 512mb. Although you should get a motherboard that supports up to PC2700 Ram at least or even PC3200 ram so you can upgrade your Ram and CPU later without needing a new motherboard.

Speaking of base game computers - what did people think of the company at E3 putting together that box that looks like a console but is in fact a PC designed purely for playing games? (no, not an XBox). It's a box with a cdrom for games, that does the install process seamlessly so it plays more like a console then a pc.

Do you think people would buy a computer soley for playing games, bearing in mind that it would probably more around the console pricing too?

I wouldn't, there are so many other things a computer can do. It would, on the other hand, be better than a console- a LOT better than a console.

I generally agree, but being at a cheaper price then the average PC, say at about $300 it could be a success. Afterall, consoles do exist in a different market then pcs right.

Thats about the specf of my machine and I can run everything fine. My cpu is a little higher butmy video card is a ilttle lower so all up 1300ish should be ok for somebody who dosen't want to buy components themselvess and make up a pc from scratch.

Why the f*** are you getting a celery when you can get a 2400+ for 175 bucks?


a.. AMD 2400+ AthlonXP
b.. ASUS A7N8X Deluxe
c.. 2X256Mb DDR PC2700 SDRAM
d.. 60G WD 8mb Cache7200rpm HDD
e.. ATi Radeon 9500PRO
f.. 17" AOC 7KLR
g.. 400W Generic case
h.. MS Office Keyboard
i.. MS Intellimouse Optical
j.. 16X Lite-On
k.. 5.1 onboard Nvidia Soundstorm Dolby Sound

I just built one of these systems for my friend for 1400 bucks.

That is all.

Dude.

If you want to buy a very good computer containing pretty high end components, you will be spending over $2000 even if you build it yourself.

Dont come in and say NO, im talking most of the latest products....

As in my system:

3.0ghz intel with ht and 800fsb

Asus 800fsb MOTHERBOARD

1Ghz Corsair PC3200 DDR

GeForce 4 ti 4400 ( i know, waiting for the FX 5900 ultra)

SB Audigy 2 Plat

hmm intel are a wast of money

So true, my AMD system rapes most Intel systems, performance wise:

*AMD Athlon XP 2800+ (overclocked)
*Gigabyte 7VAXPA Ultra-SATA Raid
*1.5 Ghz PC2700 DDR
*Gigabyte Maya 2 Radeon 9700 pro
*SB Live! 5.1

spend the extra on a p4 over a celeron, i havent read about fsb ratio unlocking but i know that 2.4ghz p4's with 800fsb can easily overclock to 3.3ghz with decent cooling. so if you know how to unlock it.. value for money wise it is much better than even an athlon.

I have owned both AMD and INTEl systems over the years and everytime i find myself going back to intel.

Im not a fanboy of any type, i go with what offers me what i require and it usualy ends up being intel.

I mean go with what gives you what you want, not what benchmarks tell you are better.

not fanboy?

to quote eminem (couldn't really put it any better)
oooh yeah baby run that game...

and for the guy with the 3 p4, that's like telling a pensioner they _need_ a ferrari.

Calm down fen.....(wigga) cough....

Calm down fen, we all know you dress up like eminem and pretend to perform "Superman"

hahaha nice prefix :)

For a good games system you first have to choose AMD or INTEL
these are the minimum requirements I would suggest for playing the type games such as the ones that you said.

Intel System:
+512MB of ram minimum (not neccesary to have more but its optional). You will definitely want a pc 2700minimum, but I would suggest the ddr400. If you want to overclock go with better quality ram such as that provided by corsair.

+you want the highest FSB speed chip possible for your budget with a motherboard to match i.e. These machines are hungry bastards so I wouldn't get less than a 533Mhz fsb but preferbly higher.

AMD SYSTEM:
+ Cpu, I would get a 2600+ because they are the best value for money at the moment.
+motherboard I would prob go with one of the Newest Nforces because they appear to have good performance.

Ofcourse the requirements basically come down to what you feel you need in the end and these parts may need to be supplemented to fit the budget.

um... he bought the system already...

give up

still interesting to see what people say :P

koopz....u moron....thats not the point!

Actually I have managed to set up a good system for under $2000 mark.

here are specs,

Case: $221.10 Antec Sonata (AusPC Market)
Power Supply: Inc. Antec 380W "TruePower"
MotherBoard: $154 ASUS A7V8X (PCWorld Online)
CPU: $171.60 AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (MAT Online)
Fans: $36 Antec BLUE LED 120mm (PlusCorp)
Graphics Card: $486 ATI Sapphire Radeon 9700 128MB 8xAGP (Perf Memory)
Sound Card: Inc. Motherboard Soundcard
Hard Drive: $121 Seagate 40 GB ATA100 7200RPM (MAT Online)
RAM Memory: $170.50 Corsair XMS-2700 512MB DDR (MAT Online)
DVD-Rom: $64 4KUS 16x/40x Black DVD-ROM (PCWorld Online)
FDD: $22 Sony Black 3.5" 1.44MB (MAT Online)
Monitor: $295 Samsung 17" 765MB (PCWorld Online)
Keyboard: $30 Cherry Black PS/2 (PCWorld Online)
Mouse: $45 Microsoft Black WheelMouse Optical (PlusCorp)
Software: $154 Microsoft Windows XP Home (MAT Online)


AusPC Market $221.10 (Free Delivery)
PlusCorp $81 (Free Delivery)
Perf Memory $486
MAT Online $639.10 (Free Delivery)
PCWorld Online $543

Total - $1960.20

AusPC Market = http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/
PlusCorp = http://www.pluscorp.com.au/
Perf Memory = http://www.performancememory.com.au/
MAT Online = http://www.mat.com.au/
PCWorld Online = http://www.cworld.com.au/

I got a new PC in February... I went for almost the cheapest there was, and it's beautiful!

-P4 Northwood 2.0, overclocked to 2.67 with no extra cooling and 100% stability
-Crappy FIC mobo w/ SIS chipset
-Lite-On 52x24x52 CDRW
-256mb pc2100 RAM
-XP Home OEM
-Logitech Optical Mouse
-Generic PS2 keyboard
-40GIG 7200 rpm HDD

I payed $650 for that, and

-19" Mag Flatscreen monitor- I had already for my consoles (VGA Box)-$179 2 years ago
-GeForce FX 5200- $89
-1GB PC2700 Kingston RAM- $122

I sold my crappy ram on Ebay, got $57 for it, for a total sys. cost of
-------$1079 approx.


I get 8500+ on 3d Mark 01,
1600+ on 3d Mark 03,
95+ FPS on Antalus FlyBy in UT2k3

I run Generals great...
BF1942 and UT2k3 look smashing


my GFX card is def. the weak link...