Buying new pc - spec opinion

well am starting to prep my parents into buying me a new comp for my "collage needs" aka sc2, and there is this shop near me and it has this spec on special sale for 500 euros- take in mind that in my country pc shit is waaay overpriced.

Intel Core 2 Duo E7600 3.06GHz 3MB 1066MHz LGA775 BOX
GIGABYTE MB GA-EP43-S3L; LGA775, Chipset: Intel P43 Express chipset + ICH10, FSB: (1600)/1333/1066 Mhz, VGA: PCI-EX X16 2.0, RAM: 4xDDR2 (1200)/1066/800, HDD: 1xATA133, 6xSATAII, Audio: Realtek ALC888-8channel High Definition, LAN: Gigabit Realtek, PCI-ex1 x 4; PCI x 2, USB 2.0 x 12, ATX
nVidia Ge Force 9600GT 512 MB DDR3
Kingston PC 6400 4GB (2x2048 MB 800 MHz DDR2 240pin Take MS / Elixir / Twin Mos/ PC4200 512MB 533MHz DDR2 240pin Take MS / Elixir / Twin Mos/ PC4200 512MB 533MHz DDR2 240pin
WD Caviar 500 GB; WD5000AAKS; 16MB SATA2
LG DVD-RW black Bare bulk/Super Multi, Double Layer DVD (+R) 18x, (-R) 18x, (-RW/+RW) 6x/8x (DVD-RAM) 12x/CD 48x 24x 48x/Black in bare bulk packing


is it any good , and in your opinion its it enough for sc2 in max detail?and what do u think will it be enough for diablo 3?

That should be good for both games. Max detail, thats hard to say untill they actually release the spec requirments.

Thats actually good for 500 euros (700us).

yeah but no monitor :(

Depending on $$$ - see if you can upgrade the 9600 vid card to a 9800. Shouldn't cost a LOT more...but you'll get HUGE graphics improvements.

Yeah pretty sure that can handle SC2 at a decent res, but not max details. I've got an i7 920, 6GB DDR3 and a 4850 and I'm still nervous about max detail at full HD.

First of all don't buy the nvidia cards nowadays those are more expensive and some of those like 9600GT or 9800GT are much much weaker than ATI's one.
Forget about e7600 CPU comparing it with a Q6600 it takes a beating.

4770 HD GPU or 4850 HD
I had dual 9600GT in SLI mode it was great but the single card can't do much
instead of that mobo buy yourself a P5Q Pro or Gigabyte DQ6 x48 chipset, also the HDD - buy the 640GB Samsung with 16mb Cache
the minimum for RAM clocking is 800MHz nowadays - Kingston, OCZ, Corsair whatever you want
600W PSU OCZ

If you want to go higher resolutions - 1920x1200 or 1600x1200 the 9600GT will be your worst decision.
4870 1GB, 4850 or 4770 nothing else ATI has now the best graphic cards if you consider quality, overclocking and price

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Originally Posted by Maul

Yeah pretty sure that can handle SC2 at a decent res, but not max details. I've got an i7 920, 6GB DDR3 and a 4850 and I'm still nervous about max detail at full HD.

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no problem, if you can play Down of War 2 on ultra than rest assured that there will be no issues with frame rates in SC2 on highest settings

I have a Q6600 OC'ed, 4870 1GB, 4GB DDR2 800MHz, right now the only thing I will change soon is my mobo, cause I have a P5N-D old 750SLI chipset and I'm changing it probably on a x48 chipset - or Asus Rampage 2 or the gigabyte DQ6

This should be in the Offtopic-lounge btw

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Originally Posted by Gritten

Depending on $$$ - see if you can upgrade the 9600 vid card to a 9800. Shouldn't cost a LOT more...but you'll get HUGE graphics improvements.

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In my humble opinion, if money is an issue then video card is the thing you should downgrade. Top of the line cards are way over priced compared to a small downgrade.

Also, especially for a technical newbie like me, video cards are the easiest hardware to upgrade yourself in a couple years.

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Originally Posted by Pick

In my humble opinion, if money is an issue then video card is the thing you should downgrade. Top of the line cards are way over priced compared to a small downgrade.

Also, especially for a technical newbie like me, video cards are the easiest hardware to upgrade yourself in a couple years.

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And it's also the easiest way to completely kill your framerate.

Go with a 4850 1GB and you'll be fine. It is extremely inexpensive for the price (I got mine for $130).

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Originally Posted by Pick

In my humble opinion, if money is an issue then video card is the thing you should downgrade. Top of the line cards are way over priced compared to a small downgrade.

Also, especially for a technical newbie like me, video cards are the easiest hardware to upgrade yourself in a couple years.

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I agree if there is something you want to buy in terms of PC hardware, mobo and the CPU are the most important parts, the Box is also very important, without the good airflow you can damage your components
heh, it seems that we have the 4850 much much cheaper than in USA (with the current currency)

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Originally Posted by spychi

First of all don't buy the nvidia cards nowadays those are more expensive and some of those like 9600GT or 9800GT are much much weaker than ATI's one.

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This may be a bit nit-picky, but I don't feel that nVidia cards are "much much weaker" than ATi cards. While you will get more bang for your buck with ATi cards, the nVidia cards usually have higher performance or comparable performance at a higher price tag. It's mostly stability that comes into question that causes the difference in price.

I haven't really been caught up on the benchmarks for the past 6-7 months, but I think your statement is a bit harsh on the nVidia vs ATi debate, that's all.

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Originally Posted by Pick

In my humble opinion, if money is an issue then video card is the thing you should downgrade. Top of the line cards are way over priced compared to a small downgrade.

Also, especially for a technical newbie like me, video cards are the easiest hardware to upgrade yourself in a couple years.

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I was thining that too, I was gonna say geforce 8800gts(512) would be the way to go. You can find em for under $100, and definately outperform the 9600gt. But for the money, Id would be fine with the machine the way it is.

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Originally Posted by Mercatosis

This may be a bit nit-picky, but I don't feel that nVidia cards are "much much weaker" than ATi cards. While you will get more bang for your buck with ATi cards, the nVidia cards usually have higher performance or comparable performance at a higher price tag. It's mostly stability that comes into question that causes the difference in price.

I haven't really been caught up on the benchmarks for the past 6-7 months, but I think your statement is a bit harsh on the nVidia vs ATi debate, that's all.

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well look at the 9800GT it supposed to have the same power as the 4850 cause it's price is the same but in tests the ATI 4850 is beating the 9800GT.
Look at the GTX260 216core rev2, it costs more than a 4870 1GB but the performance is the same.

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Originally Posted by Crazy_Jonny

I was thining that too, I was gonna say geforce 8800gts(512) would be the way to go. You can find em for under $100, and definately outperform the 9600gt. But for the money, Id would be fine with the machine the way it is.

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well the results are almost equal

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...gt,1780-1.html

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Originally Posted by Gritten

Depending on $$$ - see if you can upgrade the 9600 vid card to a 9800. Shouldn't cost a LOT more...but you'll get HUGE graphics improvements.

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I greatly suggest/support this. The issue is the 9500 and 9600 have issues with certain operating systems creating a black screen at random times.

I expirience it on Vista and it can be a major pain. The 9800 has no such issues. Besides, it is a significant upgrade for a minimal price (Comparitively)

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Originally Posted by spychi

First of all don't buy the nvidia cards nowadays those are more expensive and some of those like 9600GT or 9800GT are much much weaker than ATI's one.
Forget about e7600 CPU comparing it with a Q6600 it takes a beating.

4770 HD GPU or 4850 HD
I had dual 9600GT in SLI mode it was great but the single card can't do much
instead of that mobo buy yourself a P5Q Pro or Gigabyte DQ6 x48 chipset, also the HDD - buy the 640GB Samsung with 16mb Cache
the minimum for RAM clocking is 800MHz nowadays - Kingston, OCZ, Corsair whatever you want
600W PSU OCZ

If you want to go higher resolutions - 1920x1200 or 1600x1200 the 9600GT will be your worst decision.
4870 1GB, 4850 or 4770 nothing else ATI has now the best graphic cards if you consider quality, overclocking and price



no problem, if you can play Down of War 2 on ultra than rest assured that there will be no issues with frame rates in SC2 on highest settings

I have a Q6600 OC'ed, 4870 1GB, 4GB DDR2 800MHz, right now the only thing I will change soon is my mobo, cause I have a P5N-D old 750SLI chipset and I'm changing it probably on a x48 chipset - or Asus Rampage 2 or the gigabyte DQ6

This should be in the Offtopic-lounge btw

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I wouldn't say EVERY nvidia card is more expensive - i got a 9600 GSO for $35 after rebates (also came with CoD 5) from newegg.com. If they were still on sale i'd say pop in 2 of those suckers in SLI.

I usually check slickdeals.net for cheap cards. I almost bought a 4850 there...

9600GSO is really "low end" and going SLI with those wouldn't be a good idea.
Remember that one GPU is always better than two if the performance is the same, thats why I changed those two 9600GT on one 4870 1GB, with lower power consumption, heat and increased performance I am happy.

The ATI / NVidia debate is a long long one with no real winner IMHO.

One will always do better and something while the other will do better at something else. Personally, I'm not an ATI fan due to past experience with driver issues and just the company themselves. NVidia has yet to fail me. Again, please note these are personal opinions. Others have the opposite experience.

The 9800 is a rebranded 8800. Slightly different core, slightly higher RAM, and clock speeds.

The reason I suggested this is because if you're getting a pre-build system for 500....to upgrade from a 9600 to a 9800 may only increase the price of the system by 25-50 bucks depending on the retailer. If keeping the system cheap is a goal, this *may* be the way to go. A dual core 3ghz system is definately going to due you fine for some time still. As long as your video card can keep up. THe other thing is - RAM amount vs RAM speed. you won't need 4-8gig of RAM for sc2. but if you're looking at ram at 800mhz vs 1066+ you'll get a serious performance increase from the RAM. But I'm rambling now.

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Originally Posted by Gritten

but if you're looking at ram at 800mhz vs 1066+ you'll get a serious performance increase from the RAM. But I'm rambling now.

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well I don't see the diffrence, I mounted 1066MHz from my friend's rig and it didn't increase the frame rate one bit, the only thing I've noticed it was the faster boot-up nothing else

IMO buy the graphics right before SC2 comes out. CPU/RAM is fine. Same cards today will be cheaper tomorrow and will have biggest impact on performance. Blizz will make this so any modern computer can handle it at some level and higher res != advantage, just eye candy. If you want best details you need $$$

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Originally Posted by spychi

well I don't see the diffrence, I mounted 1066MHz from my friend's rig and it didn't increase the frame rate one bit, the only thing I've noticed it was the faster boot-up nothing else

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Really depends on what you're doing and playing.
If you have 4 gig of ram available, and a game effectively stores and swaps 1 gig worth of data in and out of memory there's always 3 gig available so the system doesn't have to wait for memory to become available again before reallocating it.

If you're playing something that's eating up your entire 4 gig, and it needs to wait for memory to become accessible, you'll start to notice a different. I doubt 800vs1066 isn't going to have a huge affect on whether or not SC2 can be played @ max setting...but when puchasing a computer, lets be realistic, is the ONLY thing that computer is ever going to be used for is SC2?

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Originally Posted by Gritten

but when puchasing a computer, lets be realistic, is the ONLY thing that computer is ever going to be used for is SC2?

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Let's be realistic, he sounds like a student that wants to play gamez. Most people won't notice any difference in RAM speed, typically, and those that will would get the better option anyway.

Edit: Comment looks arrogant, not the intention.

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Originally Posted by Gritten

but when purchasing a computer, lets be realistic, is the ONLY thing that computer is ever going to be used for is SC2?

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fixed
and thats why I buyed a high end gaming rig for over 3200 zlotys a year ago...now it costs about 2700PLN...

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Originally Posted by spychi

fixed
and thats why I buyed a high end gaming rig for over 3200 zlotys a year ago...now it costs about 2700PLN...

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Weird Al - It's All About the Pentiums IMO

This isn't really starcraft related eh? Off topic maybe?

Isn't Blizzard pairing up with ATI? - Have any of you guys heard anything about whether it'll affect performance? (if you dont have an ATI card?)

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Originally Posted by Caliban113

Isn't Blizzard pairing up with ATI? - Have any of you guys heard anything about whether it'll affect performance? (if you dont have an ATI card?)

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yep, with ATI and AMD :)
but for obvious reasons I use Intel's CPU

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Originally Posted by Caliban113

Isn't Blizzard pairing up with ATI? - Have any of you guys heard anything about whether it'll affect performance? (if you dont have an ATI card?)

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Yes it will affect performance as they'll optimise it for the ATI cards. Same reason I bought an ATI card for HL2. NVidia cards were better at the time, but ATI destroyed NVidia playing HL2

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Originally Posted by Maul

Let's be realistic, he sounds like a student that wants to play gamez. Most people won't notice any difference in RAM speed, typically, and those that will would get the better option anyway.

Edit: Comment looks arrogant, not the intention.

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And that's why it's hard to tell others what to get :D Everyone has their own opinion and different people notice differences in performance.
I've been building my own / families / friends systems for over a decade now (god...that's scarey).

And always focus on the highes speeds of everything for the price range I can afford. Then again, I notice those differences in performence....hence I overclock them even more lol :D

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Originally Posted by spychi

well I don't see the diffrence, I mounted 1066MHz from my friend's rig and it didn't increase the frame rate one bit, the only thing I've noticed it was the faster boot-up nothing else

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It's a simple fact that clock speeds on memory DEFINITELY help with performance. Being that memory is the bottleneck for most rigs, upping that speed is definitely a good choice.

While it may not have done something in your specific instance, it's definitely better to get a high clock speed on your RAM than to not.

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Originally Posted by Caliban113

Isn't Blizzard pairing up with ATI? - Have any of you guys heard anything about whether it'll affect performance? (if you dont have an ATI card?)

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I wish they'd done this several years ago (although, I'd need to research this as I haven't heard anything about this). When I played WoW, certain parts of the game would inexplicably cause my video card to freeze and lock the system. I'd have to reboot and relog, only to encounter the same problem when I got back in the game. This was only because I was using an ATi card :-/.

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Originally Posted by Mercatosis

It's a simple fact that clock speeds on memory DEFINITELY help with performance. Being that memory is the bottleneck for most rigs, upping that speed is definitely a good choice.

While it may not have done something in your specific instance, it's definitely better to get a high clock speed on your RAM than to not.

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well I wouldn't buy a higher clocked RAM while having 800MHz, that would be a waste of money for me, instead of DDR2 I would go DDR3 2000MHz