My new computer and M2:TW

[M.R.Maiornikov]

Hi guys i have a question to ask this community
OK this is my new comp, costed me 2300$CAN and i already payed the first 1000$ today

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHZ 4MB (the max i can spend on it )
ASUS P5N-E SLI NFORCE 650i
OCZ TITANIUM 2.0GB (total 2 so it would be 4 GB of RAM)
SEAGATE 320GB SATA-300 7200RPM 16mb
BFG GF-7950GT OC 512mb (decided to follow expert's advice and wait a little bit more before getting a dx10 compatible card)
LG DVDRW-18X DL GSA-H50NK BLACK
ANTEC TX1050B full 500w Black
Viewsonic vx2035WM 20.1" wide 800:1 5ms SLV/BLK

My question is will i be able to enjoy M2TW on maxed setting with that system or no?

[Hadrian]

Hi guys i have a question to ask this community
OK this is my new comp, costed me 2300$CAN and i already payed the first 1000$ today

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHZ 4MB (the max i can spend on it )
ASUS P5N-E SLI NFORCE 650i
OCZ TITANIUM 2.0GB (total 2 so it would be 4 GB of RAM)
SEAGATE 320GB SATA-300 7200RPM 16mb
BFG GF-7950GT OC 512mb (decided to follow expert's advice and wait a little bit more before getting a dx10 compatible card)
LG DVDRW-18X DL GSA-H50NK BLACK
ANTEC TX1050B full 500w Black
Viewsonic vx2035WM 20.1" wide 800:1 5ms SLV/BLK

My question is will i be able to enjoy M2TW on maxed setting with that system or no?

Not totally maxed, like 16X AF, 8X AA, etc. because of the VC, but pretty close, with a few small concessions in the filtering areas and unit detail you can.....

[k_161]

With a..
3.20 cpu 2gb ram and a 7900GT i can play Me2 With everything on.So i very sure you wont have any problems .

[Erik]

BFG GF-7950GT OC 512mb (decided to follow expert's advice and wait a little bit more before getting a dx10 compatible card)

What exactly was that advice?

I like to know because I'm currently deciding between a DX9 or DX10 card too.

[M.R.Maiornikov]

What exactly was that advice?

I like to know because I'm currently deciding between a DX9 or DX10 card too.

basically the price factor he told me to wait like till mid summer then the dx10 card market will hit the shelves and you will have better choices.Right noe i think it's the only one and the prices are very high.

[Incinerate_IV]

Right now is a pretty good time for a DX10 card, with a little bit more money a Geforce 8800GTS can be had for as low as $260 with rebates.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130082

Of course the price is going to drop even more once AMD's new DX10 card comes out, but I'm not sure when that is going to happen, seeing how AMD keeps delaying the launch.

BTW, save yourself some money and don't go for 4 gigs of ram if you are only going to use this as a gaming computer, 2 gigs is more than enough for any games out right now, even with Vista. With the extra $100-200 you saved, you can get a Geforce 8800GTX video card, now that will be the ultimate gaming machine.

[Elrond]

There are two major problems witha a direct x 10 card - the nivida 8800 uses and ashtonishing 270 watts - thats about 80% of what my last computer used (everything in it that is) - this means that you will need to pay allot more for a power supply.

Next problem is that it needs PC8000 ram (which costs more than most)

the third problem is the shear size of them - you will need to pay for a big case that it can fit into.

This isnt random advice from someone who wont be affected by the outcome of the advice - I just spent £1150 on a new computer - which has a direct x 9 card - it simply isnt worth the higher costs of a direct x 10 card when most games will be backwards compatible and when the money saved can be spent on improving the other parts of the computer.

[Erik]

it simply isnt worth the higher costs of a direct x 10 card when most games will be backwards compatible and when the money saved can be spent on improving the other parts of the computer.

Sure DX9 hardware will be able to play DX10 games.
But the performance will be terrible even compared to low/mid-range DX10 cards because DX9 doesn't have instancing 2.0.
If you'd run R2:TW on DX9 hardware every soldier would have to be drawn almost from scratch.
If you'd run it on DX10 hardware only one soldier of each type would have to be drawn, and the other thousands of soldiers can all be simply copied from the first one.

[M.R.Maiornikov]

Sure DX9 hardware will be able to play DX10 games.
But the performance will be terrible even compared to low/mid-range DX10 cards because DX9 doesn't have instancing 2.0.
If you'd run R2:TW on DX9 hardware every soldier would have to be drawn almost from scratch.
If you'd run it on DX10 hardware only one soldier of each type would have to be drawn, and the other thousands of soldiers can all be copied from that.

Seriously mate it's up to you to decide. I listened to my close friend who made this computer for me and went by his advise. If you disagree with it then buy the 8800GT if you wish. It's purely your decision, and alot of people will tell you arguments for and against it.

[Incinerate_IV]

Not really, DX10 cards are the best bang for the buck right now, especially the Geforce 8800GTS 320MB for only $260, I'm about to get myself one of those.

[M.R.Maiornikov]

Not really, DX10 cards are the best bang for the buck right now, especially the Geforce 8800GTS 320MB for only $260, I'm about to get myself one of those.

well my initial pc setup was with 8800GT 320mb but he told me that you need atleast 640mb or you WILL regret it in the future.

[Erik]

well my initial pc setup was with 8800GT 320mb but he told me that you need atleast 640mb or you WILL regret it in the future.

Why is that?

[Incinerate_IV]

well my initial pc setup was with 8800GT 320mb but he told me that you need atleast 640mb or you WILL regret it in the future.

the extra 320MB of memory only comes to use when you are playing it on 1920x1200 or more... the graphics card usually phase out and get upgraded before the monitor.

If you really need that extra memory, read my last post:

BTW, save yourself some money and don't go for 4 gigs of ram if you are only going to use this as a gaming computer, 2 gigs is more than enough for any games out right now, even with Vista. With the extra $100-200 you saved, you can get a Geforce 8800GTX video card, now that will be the ultimate gaming machine.

There are two major problems witha a direct x 10 card - the nivida 8800 uses and ashtonishing 270 watts - thats about 80% of what my last computer used (everything in it that is) - this means that you will need to pay allot more for a power supply.

True, but the same applies for every other high end graphics card, DX10 and DX9. The Geforce 8800 only uses a little more power than the X1950XTX.

Next problem is that it needs PC8000 ram (which costs more than most)

Not sure where you heard that, but it doesn't. Anything more than DDR2-667 are considered "overclocking ram", since you can't even take advantage of them unless if you overclock your CPU.

the third problem is the shear size of them - you will need to pay for a big case that it can fit into.

Any case can fit them. The big heatsink only blocks the next PCI or PCI-E x1 slot on the motherboard, but you certainly don't need a big case to fit them.

[M.R.Maiornikov]

Any case can fit them. The big heatsink only blocks the next PCI or PCI-E x1 slot on the motherboard, but you certainly don't need a big case to fit them.

That's a big mistake mate.

[Incinerate_IV]

That's a big mistake mate.

Really? How so?

If the 8800 is having problem with your game, then a 7950GT is fine. But if you are planning on upgrading to DX10 later on, maybe get something lower end. A 7950GT is more enough to play M2TW on max. A 7600GT will do.

Just trying to save you some money... No reason to waste $210 when it's going to be outdated very soon.

[M.R.Maiornikov]

Really? How so?

If the 8800 is having problem with your game, then a 7950GT is fine. But if you are planning on upgrading to DX10 later on, maybe get something lower end. A 7950GT is more enough to play M2TW on max. A 7600GT will do.

Just trying to save you some money... No reason to waste $210 when it's going to be outdated very soon.

i meant big mistake as not every case can take 8800GTX as you statedYou can check it with your nearest pc parts dealer if you don't believe me.

[M.R.Maiornikov]

well just played my first game with my computer and all i can say is WOW everything is set to the possible highest setting and the army are huge. No lag what so ever even when zooming in . I love it

[Erik]

Seriously mate it's up to you to decide. I listened to my close friend who made this computer for me and went by his advise. If you disagree with it then buy the 8800GT if you wish. It's purely your decision, and alot of people will tell you arguments for and against it.

I haven't decided yet.

I'm not trying to convince you that you made the wrong choice.
I'm just trying to debate all the pro's and con's IN ORDER TO make the right decision.

To be honest I'm actually still leaning towards a mid-range DX9 card.

[M.R.Maiornikov]

I haven't decided yet.

I'm not trying to convince you that you made the wrong choice.
I'm just trying to debate all the pro's and con's IN ORDER TO make the right decision.

To be honest I'm actually still leaning towards a mid-range DX9 card.

Also i am a big player of Red Orchestra game and i heard that people were having big problems with that game and Valve and Unreal Engines. The problem is that the drivers are not that good for the new 8800 cards

So this was also the reason a leaned for the 7950 card instead of the dx10 one.

http://www.redorchestragame.com/foru...ad.php?t=16865

[Erik]

Not sure where you heard that, but it doesn't. Anything more than DDR2-667 are considered "overclocking ram", since you can't even take advantage of them unless if you overclock your CPU.

You can if you increase the RAM multiplier.
But I agree: of course DX10 cards will work fine on DDR2-667 or even DDR2-533.

And even if they couldn't: DDR2-800 really isn't that expensive anymore.
At equal latencies it costs almost the same as DDR2-667.
I think buying DDR2-800 is actually the sensible choice because it's more future proof.