Haven't bought a computer in years - confused by what's out there

[Shamus]

It’s been about 7 years since I bought my last computer. I’m in the market for something new, but am finding myself a bit confused by some of the newer terminology. For instance, it used to be that higher and higher CPU speeds were desired, but now I see that CPU rates are lower, but there are apparently more than one processor onboard? I’m not sure what to make of these new rates, and how they translate to current games (i.e. Medieval 2 TW). For instance, would two 2ghz processors give me a 4 ghz equivilant?

What should I be looking for in a gaming computer now?

I have posted an example of some of the things I am seeing now.



Intel® Core™2 Q8200 (4MB,2.33GHz, 1333FSB)

Memory
6GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs

Hard Drive
500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache

[Shqiponja_Hayabusa]

I see you have already figured out some nice items there. The q8200 is a very good quad core.

core2 @ 4.0 ghz >10 times at least pentium 4 @4.0

[Shamus]

I haven't figured these specs out. I found them on a computer site, but have little idea as to what they mean, or how they apply to gaming.

I should also mention that I'm a bit budget concious on this one. Something that could run M2TW or ETW smoothly would be just fine. I'm not really into first person shooters, nor do I need something that is going to blow my socks off.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

What's your budget?

[Mar77]

Here is what all those numbers mean:

Intel® Core™2 Q8200 (4MB,2.33GHz, 1333FSB)

4mb refers to the l2 cache, the higher this is the better usually. The 2.33ghz obviously refers to the clock speed, and 1333fsb refers to the Front Side Bus, which is the interface pre-Corei7 Intel processors used...The L2 cache and the clock speed are the more important when it comes to gaming, compared to the Front Side Bus, but when buying a Motherboard you need to make sure that the motherboard supports that Front Side bus speed.

Memory
6GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs

6gb refers to the memory capacity, DDR2 is the type of ram, 800mhz is the bus speed of the RAM (similar to the CPU FSB), 4 DIMMs is the number of RAM sticks (4). Capacity can improve performance, but with RAM there are numerous other factors.

Hard Drive
500GB - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache

500gb is the capacity (obviously). 7200RPM refers to the speed at which the disk spins. Generally speaking, the faster this number the better your gaming experience will be, but it isn't really critical. SATA 3.0Gb/s refers to the speed of the connection between the motherboard and hard drive. The cache, like in the processor, is where temporary data is stored, the larger this is the better/faster your system will be.


Pretty basic overview of those parts you listed I know, but its a start.

A thing to note though is that not all games support multicore processors. Older games like Medieval II only support Single Core processors. That means that if you were to play Medieval II on a Quad or Dual Core it would only use one of the cores. Newer games, though tend to use more if not all system cores, like Empire. If you are playing mostly older games you might not need a Quad core though.

[Shamus]

The budget's a bit of a tricky one. Any monies I put towards this computer will have to come from the sale of things I own. The less items I can sell to get a computer that will do what I need, the better.

Thanks for that breakdown Mar77. That goes to show just how out of touch my current system is - M2TW (the demo anyway) runs at about 0.5 fps on my current system, but is considered an older game by the comps out there now.

From the sounds of things, the amount memory and quality of video card play a more important role in quality gaming than the CPU speed. Am I seeing that right?

[atraps]

Newer games, though tend to use more if not all system cores, like Empire.

Usually yes, except don't use ETW as an example because it doesn't.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Usually yes, except don't use ETW as an example because it doesn't.

Even after that patch they released?

[Shamus]

Well, the system has been ordered, and is on its way. In order to get a video card such as those being recommended, it would have required getting a package I couldn’t afford. So instead, I picked the least expensive card available in the system (I posted earlier), with the idea of replacing it with something proper when the computer arrives. M2TW has also been ordered (no stores around here have any copies, not even Satan mart). I’ve wanted to play this game since it was announced. Now I’ve got the twitches waiting in anticipation.

Just out of curiosity, what would you consider to be the “recommended” specs for ETW? I’m not going to be able to afford it for a while after all these purchases, but I’m just curious.

Thanks for all the info, tips and suggestions.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

not even Satan mart).

[Mar77]

Usually yes, except don't use ETW as an example because it doesn't.

I have a system with a Q6700 that I play Empire on. After the patch, Empire uses all four cores.

[atraps]

I have a system with a Q6700 that I play Empire on. After the patch, Empire uses all four cores.

Show me a screen.

[Roman_Man#3]

Not necessarily, it really depends on how the game is coded. For instance, ArmA2 is a very CPU intensive game, while Crysis is a very GPU intensive one. A bad CPU will make ArmA2 perform worse than a bad video card would, and vice versa for Crysis (I believe).

Things like TW are quite CPU intensive. While not having super detailed models to generate, there are a ton of them, and each has to act accordingly. Many decisions have to be made and processed, so they will benefit from a better CPU than a better GPU.

[Wheelchair]

Not necessarily, it really depends on how the game is coded. For instance, ArmA2 is a very CPU intensive game, while Crysis is a very GPU intensive one. A bad CPU will make ArmA2 perform worse than a bad video card would, and vice versa for Crysis (I believe).

Things like TW are quite CPU intensive. While not having super detailed models to generate, there are a ton of them, and each has to act accordingly. Many decisions have to be made and processed, so they will benefit from a better CPU than a better GPU.

Crysis is CPU and GPU dependant, that's why people benchmark it

[Roman_Man#3]

I know, but as far as I know it depends upon the GPU much more heavily than the CPU. It will get GPU bottlenecked before it gets CPU bottlenecked if your rig is halfway put together. Obviously a pentium 4 is going to bottleneck it sooner than a GTX 295, but if your parts are in the same quality range, then the GPU will bottleneck it before th CPU.

[Freddie]

As previously mentioned CPU's now have two, three or four CPU cores. Now just because you have 4 cores instead of 2 (if you bought a quad core) that doesn't translate in to double the performance in games, typically a quad core will return on average 25% better frame rates (running at the same frequency) then the same CPU that has 2 cores running. In liner applications like video encoding you will see almost double the speed (so long as the application is encoded correctly for quad core CPU's)

[Shamus]

I just thought I would pop in another question to this thread. I’m wondering what people’s thoughts are on the usefulness of Dell computers in the gaming world. I live in Canada, and out in the boonies, hours from any major retailer. Generally I prefer to order a computer from a larger company, as the smaller independents around here don’t tend to stay in business for more than a few years. With my computer before this one, I bought at a local store. Six months later they went under, and with them went my extended warranty and service.

[DisgruntledGoat]

Theres nothing wrong with Dell really. You just pay a bit more thats all but you do get warranties etc. They also don't use all the best parts, they usually stick to lower end hardware. That being said, stay away from custom builders like IBuyPower.com.

A decent Canadian retailer is NCIX.com. You can purchase pre-built systems from them as well as build your own.

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Theres nothing wrong with Dell really. You just pay a bit more thats all but you do get warranties etc.

You pay a liitle more for cheap systems and a lot more for high-end systems through Dell. You get a 1 year warrenty from Dell, when you buy the parts individually, you typically get 2-5 year warrenties.

They also don't use all the best parts, they usually stick to lower end hardware. That being said, stay away from custom builders like IBuyPower.com.

Why?

[awisler]

I find HP to have some good prices for prebuilt desktops, at least compared to the other sites. I got this for $1,400. Did not include a monitor though, I went out and bought a 27 inch monitor at Sam's Club for $200 which will serve as my TV at college because my desktop has a TV tuner as well. This is a pretty high end computer that will last me a very long time.
Your e9180t series


Operating systemGenuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)editProcessorIntel(R) Core(TM) i7-920 processor (2.66GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache with QPI Technology)editMemory8GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [4 DIMMs]editHard driveFREE UPGRADE! 750GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard driveeditGraphics card1GB ATI Radeon HD 4850 [2 DVI, HDMI and VGA adapters]editPrimary optical driveBlu-ray player & Lightscribe SuperMulti DVD burnereditSecondary optical drive16x max. DVD ROM (player)editNetworkingIntegrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet, No wireless LANeditFront Productivity Ports15-in-1 memory card reader, 1 USB, 1394, audioeditTV & entertainment experienceNo TV Tuner w/remote controleditSound CardIntegrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio portseditSpeakersLogitech X-540 5.1 stereo speakerseditKeyboard and MouseHP multimedia keyboard and HP optical mouseeditProductivity softwareMicrosoft(R) Works 9.0editSecurity softwareNorton Internet Security(TM) 2009 - 15 month

The standard configuration is still a good desktop and is priced around $999. Check it out here http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...0entertainment