Buying new pc - spec opinion

[mgcemir]

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?

[Crazy_Jonny]

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).

[mgcemir]

yeah but no monitor

[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.

[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.

[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

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.

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

[Pick]

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.

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.

[Hav0x]

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.

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).

[spychi]

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.

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)

[Mercatosis]

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.

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.