Will this Graphics Card run Napoleon Total War?

[Top-Tier-Tech]

OK, for the 9800GT, Palit only gives a 1 year warranty and it costs $100.99. Here is a ASUS 9800GT for $94.99 before $20 MIR ($75 after MIR), I have received a rebate from ASUS before, they have a fairly fast turnaround, also ASUS gives you a 3 year warranty on the card.

For the case, that case would be just fine, but it costs $90. Here is a CoolerMaster Elite 330 that you could get for $40 ($17 shipping in addition for a total of $57) if you would buy it on Amazon.com however, you could get that same case for $40 and receive free shipping.

The DVD drive you selected would work, but it uses an IDE cable vs. a SATA cable. This Drive has SATA and it costs less (free shipping, the other one requires $7 of shipping)

You didn't have Windows listed in your cart... remember that will add another $105 to the total.

Also you can save an extra $10 on the motherboard and CPU buy purchasing this combo, same parts, it's just $10 less than adding them to your cart separately.

[annihilator41]

OK, for the 9800GT, Palit only gives a 1 year warranty and it costs $100.99. Here is a ASUS 9800GT for $94.99 before $20 MIR ($75 after MIR), I have received a rebate from ASUS before, they have a fairly fast turnaround, also ASUS gives you a 3 year warranty on the card.

For the case, that case would be just fine, but it costs $90. Here is a CoolerMaster Elite 330 that you could get for $40 ($17 shipping in addition for a total of $57) if you would buy it on Amazon.com however, you could get that same case for $40 and receive free shipping.

The DVD drive you selected would work, but it uses an IDE cable vs. a SATA cable. This Drive has SATA and it costs less (free shipping, the other one requires $7 of shipping)

You didn't have Windows listed in your cart... remember that will add another $105 to the total.

Also you can save an extra $10 on the motherboard and CPU buy purchasing this combo, same parts, it's just $10 less than adding them to your cart separately.

But the graphics card you have is only 512mb and the one I suggested is 1gb. Will that make a big difference?

[Top-Tier-Tech]

But the graphics card you have is only 512mb and the one I suggested is 1gb. Will that make a big difference?

Not at all, 1GB would only be beneficial on high resolutions (1920x1080+) and even then it would only give a very small FPS boost if any (depending on the game)

[annihilator41]

Not at all, 1GB would only be beneficial on high resolutions (1920x1080+) and even then it would only give a very small FPS boost if any (depending on the game)

With this build will I be able to say"Napoleon Total War looks beautiful?"

[Top-Tier-Tech]

With this build will I be able to say"Napoleon Total War looks beautiful?"

On that 20" monitor? Yeah definitely.

[annihilator41]

I thought I had a terrible monitor.

[annihilator41]

I have one more question. I have a MAC and I am completely in the dark when it comes to choosing a Windows OS.
Which one should I get?

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit is the latest and greatest.

[annihilator41]

Is that the full version?

[Top-Tier-Tech]

Is that the full version?

Full as in? They have an Ultimate version, but it doesn't add anything useful for gaming and it costs another $75...

[Capt. Fozdike]

It will run it at the res you want but you want a good CPU. What CPU do you have?

[Top-Tier-Tech]

It will run it at the res you want but you want a good CPU. What CPU do you have?

Potentially an AMD 2.9Ghz. Dual core.

[Capt. Fozdike]

An Intel Core 2 Duo would be better. They generally have more cache and better co-ordination between the cores

[Top-Tier-Tech]

An Intel Core 2 Duo would be better. They generally have more cache and better co-ordination between the cores

True, although he has a budget of approx. $600. an intel dual-core CPU of 2.5Ghz.+ with an intel motherboard would cost another $100 more than the AMD 2.9Ghz. dual core /motherboard combo.

[Roman_Man#3]

An Intel Core 2 Duo would be better. They generally have more cache and better co-ordination between the cores

The C2D E8400 is $167.99 at newegg. The Phenom II 555 is $100.00 at newegg. In gaming benchmarks, they have very similar performance. Is the slight improvement in the E8400 worth the $70.00 price premium? Absolutely not.

Similarily, you could get the $104.00 Phenom II 720 OEM at Newegg. Add on a $28 Cooler Master 212+ and $10 Arctic Silver 5. This would run in at a bit over $140. Nearly $30 cheaper than the E8400, but since you have the amazing cooler you can overclock to 3.6GHz no sweat, blowing the E8400 away in every benchmark.

Intel Core 2 Duo is outdated.

[Capt. Fozdike]

The C2D E8400 is $167.99 at newegg. The Phenom II 555 is $100.00 at newegg. In gaming benchmarks, they have very similar performance. Is the slight improvement in the E8400 worth the $70.00 price premium? Absolutely not.

Similarily, you could get the $104.00 Phenom II 720 OEM at Newegg. Add on a $28 Cooler Master 212+ and $10 Arctic Silver 5. This would run in at a bit over $140. Nearly $30 cheaper than the E8400, but since you have the amazing cooler you can overclock to 3.6GHz no sweat, blowing the E8400 away in every benchmark.

Intel Core 2 Duo is outdated.

I'm saying that a Core 2 Duo would be better than a AMD Duel Core. A Phenom would be ok but most older games are programmed for Duel Cores so a Core 2 Duo would perform better on older games than a Phenom. But if you are running newer games such as NTW and such it will run much better.

[Roman_Man#3]

The 555 is a dual-core. And on older games, its more dependent on clock-speed than the amount of cores. And with newer games, if a program is multi-threaded it will get better performance on a quad-core than a dual-core even if it only supports up to 2 cores. There are other processes that can be done on the 2 other cores, so more of the 2 cores can be used for the game.

[Capt. Fozdike]

The 555 is a dual-core. And on older games, its more dependent on clock-speed than the amount of cores. And with newer games, if a program is multi-threaded it will get better performance on a quad-core than a dual-core even if it only supports up to 2 cores. There are other processes that can be done on the 2 other cores, so more of the 2 cores can be used for the game.

Ah ok, well the Phenom II would be ok for gaming but Intel CPUs are better. But yeah, I'd probably go for a Dual Core or that Phenom over the AMD Dual Core

[Top-Tier-Tech]

There are other processes that can be done on the 2 other cores, so more of the 2 cores can be used for the game.

That is true... although on my i7 the 3rd and 4th cores only see 2-4% use so it's nearly irrelevant. I suspect on a weaker quad the extra cores are of more use.

Ah ok, well the Phenom II would be ok for gaming but Intel CPUs are better. But yeah, I'd probably go for a Dual Core or that Phenom over the AMD Dual Core

No, seriously, an AMD dual core performs nearly identical to a intel dual core in games, yes the intel's are more powerful overall, but the value in sub $200 CPU's is always on AMD's side. Spending $70 more to get an intel CPU that gives you an extra 1-5 FPS isn't a smart idea unless money is irrelevant.

[Capt. Fozdike]

That is true... although on my i7 the 3rd and 4th cores only see 2-4% use so it's nearly irrelevant. I suspect on a weaker quad the extra cores are of more use.

Oh, the jealousy! I'm looking at getting an i7 but then I'd have to upgrade my mobo and then I'd get a DDR3 mobo and I'd have to get different RAM...