Opinions? (Modest Gaming PC)

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Mechz

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I'll be buying a new PC,with the following specs,Im wanting to do some gaming (Counter Strike Source & Battlefield 2) Im not going for the latest and greatest though,Im just hoping to get some decent performance ,but this is the first PC Im getting with that goal in mind usually Im just a console gamer,so Id like your advice,since I havent done this before,maybe Im way off,thanks.

Intel Celeron D 351 3.2GHz, (533FSB) 256K Socket 775
Spire Socket 775 Intel P4 fan
ASUS P5PL2 945PL (dual core) PCI Express, DDR2, Sound,1GB LAN
1GB PC4200 DDR2 533
ATI Radeon x800 PRO 256MB DDR PCI Express 16x dual head, tv out
160.0GB IBM/Hitachi 7200rpm SERIAL ATA UDMA 150 8m Cache
AC 97 32 BIT Full Duplex sound card (onboard)
10/100 Network card adapter (onboard)
PowMax Black Mid Tower ATX Case w/ Front USB
Okia 400W ATX Power Supply
Click to expand...

What do you think? Again Im going for something modest.Would change something? Should splurge a little more on a certain component? All opinions welcome,thanks.

p.s. I'll be purchasing optical drives seperate which is why theyre not listed
 
The lowest Id go for a video card would be a 7600GT, $180-200. Ive seen 7900GTs for under $250. Id also get a dedicated sound card. At least a Sound Blaster Live Digital, about $30.
 
vegasgmc said:
The lowest Id go for a video card would be a 7600GT, $180-200. Ive seen 7900GTs for under $250. Id also get a dedicated sound card. At least a Sound Blaster Live Digital, about $30.
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Well heres what I get to pick from,Can you recommend something or do you think I could buy it cheaper if I shopped around purchased he card you recommended,seperate?

choicesht5.jpg
 
Mechz said:
Well heres what I get to pick from,Can you recommend something or do you think I could buy it cheaper if I shopped around purchased he card you recommended,seperate?

choicesht5.jpg
Click to expand...
Assuming you can choose any one of those in the picture, go with the 7900GT. It will wipe the floor with the other cards.
 
agi_shi said:
Assuming you can choose any one of those in the picture, go with the 7900GT. It will wipe the floor with the other cards.
Click to expand...

thanks,yeah I didnt picture the rest because that would really be the cutoff point for me.
 
Those prices are kind of high but you will get alot of mileage from a 7900GT. And it will work great with BF2.
 
vegasgmc said:
Those prices are kind of high but you will get alot of mileage from a 7900GT. And it will work great with BF2.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'll shop around and find it cheaper,I think I can get it from best buy for around $235 after 30% coupon if its still in effect.

thanks for the help,appreciate it.
 
vegasgmc said:
Id also get a dedicated sound card. At least a Sound Blaster Live Digital, about $30.
Click to expand...

can I ask,what the advantage of a dedicated sound card would be?
 
If you have onboard audio the CPU does most of the audio processing. In games that can lower your frame rates 10-15% because the CPU is having to handle audio and video processing. Most good sound cards have their own audio processor so the hit on the CPU is only 1-2%. Also onboard audio seems to cause alot more issues with gaming. This is prety good
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102176
 
vegasgmc said:
If you have onboard audio the CPU does most of the audio processing. In games that can lower your frame rates 10-15% because the CPU is having to handle audio and video processing. Most good sound cards have their own audio processor so the hit on the CPU is only 1-2%. Also onboard audio seems to cause alot more issues with gaming. This is prety good
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102176
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for the help ;)
 
heh,since its looking more and more like I'll just buy all the parts seperate,can someone recommend a good motherboard that isnt too pricey,for use with the 7900GT card.
 
I wouldn't buy a 7900GT card, and then use it with a Celeron D processor. It will severely bottleneck it. If you can get a faster CPU (P4), it would perform way better.

If you can't, then you should get a 7600GT, or a X800GTO or XL.
 
wolfram said:
I wouldn't buy a 7900GT card, and then use it with a Celeron D processor. It will severely bottleneck it. If you can get a faster CPU (P4), it would perform way better.

If you can't, then you should get a 7600GT, or a X800GTO or XL.
Click to expand...

hey thanks for the advice.
specificaly,which Pentium 4 do you think I should go with.

As it is,I was thinking about either a Pentium 4 3.2ghz or a pentium dual core 2.8ghz

but I dont mind splurging a little more on the processor to get better performance,if you can make a recommendation.

At the same time Im not looking to spend too much,and I only want something decent,so maybe downgrading the card would be better?
 
I'd choose the single-core P4 3.2 GHZ, because most current games and apps, only use one core.

These days P4's have becomer very cheap, and it will surely be a huge boost over any Celeron D.
 
wolfram said:
I'd choose the single-core P4 3.2 GHZ, because most current games and apps, only use one core.

These days P4's have becomer very cheap, and it will surely be a huge boost over any Celeron D.
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Cool,thanks for the advice.I'll stick with a P4 3.2ghz and up. :)
 
Why Dont u get a Pentium D Dual Core 3.0GHZ Or 3.4GHZ??It makes the Pentium 4 an old fashion,
But Like what Wolfram sed, Get a p4 Over a Celeron D.,
 
With intels recent price cuts on the Pentium D line, I would suggest pricing them out as well. Many games do not support Dual Core at the moment but they are starting to slowly.
 
Face of LA said:
JW^ does that mean i cant play games with Pentium D Dual Core? or what?
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Yes you can. But since most current games use only one core, a faster single core CPU will outperform dual-core ones. (unless you're talking about Core 2 duo's )

For example, you have a 2.8 GHZ Pentium D, and one 3.2 GHZ Pentium 4. Then you play any game that doesn't take advantage of your pentium D, and it will be slower than your Pentium 4 :)
 
Face of LA said:
JW^ does that mean i cant play games with Pentium D Dual Core? or what?
Click to expand...

No, you can play games just fine. What I mean by that is you are paying more for two cores. But most games today are only devloped with on "thread" Now if game devlopers were to make games with two "threads" the full advantage of the CPU could be harnessed. Now newer games like FEAR and Oblivion (IIRC) both support Dual core. Its just a all around good idea to invest in a dual core when buying a CPU in the current market. (In my opinon)

Hope this clears things up.

Sean

EDIT

wolfram said:
For example, you have a 2.8 GHZ Pentium D, and one 3.2 GHZ Pentium 4. Then you play any game that doesn't take advantage of your pentium D, and it will be slower than your Pentium 4 :)
Click to expand...
I agree however.

Do remeber even if the game is not supporting multi cores, other aplications in the backround can still harness the extra core.
 
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