Hi

Can anyone help me. I've been out of the PC making scene for a while now and i wouldnt be confident in spec'ing up my own games pc incase i got it wrong. I dont really have much time to read up on current specs so can someone help me out.

Basically we need to have the use of 2 pc's in the house, this one will be used as a workhorse (photography software, printing etc etc) the new one needs to be a good games machine which is used for online gaming also. I have 1 meg BB atm but would have to wireless that to the other machine. Will that kill my gaming bandwidth?????

So can you recommend me a good machine or specifically graphics. MB, HD etc etc? I'm okay for monitor though

TIA

 

Nvidia 6800 gt ultra is the best graphics board at the mom...better still pair them on a sli motherboard !

 

Ok, since you've not set a budget how about this(middle of the road).
AMD 64 3500 San Diego core
Nvidia 6600 GT
1Gb Cosair Value PC3200 cas 2.5(part no VS1GBKIT400)
Western Digital 250Gb SATA drive
Asus A8N-SLi nForce4 SLi
Any case you like so long as it has a 400W+ Power supply.

That should do you for a year or so. Then just add another 6600GT to get the power of a 6800 Ultra.

if you want high end and can afford to, get two 6800 Ultra's (about 700 quid in total).

The best single card solution at the mo, if you're not going to go mad is the ATI X850 PE, tis faster than a single 6800 and uses less power.

Bear in mind that the next gen of graphics cards is due out soon(next month), so it may be worth waiting to see whats what, it's widely reported that a single card of these new gen will be as quick as two of the top range now.

Anyway if you stick with the above spec you won't go too far wrong(IMHO) or too broke.

 

Apart from the X850XT anyway... Unless you only play OpenGL games.


M

 

Thanks for that Chaps

So is it safe to say that i should try and wait a short while for the new generation graphics cards?

Sorry, you are right i didnt state a budget. I was thinking no more than £300 - £350 for the graphics card, the other stuff is pretty much "you get what you pay for" with the exception of the MB, i've always used Asus, i've had no bother from the A7v and A8v and found them to be okay.

Oh, is 512 RAM enough nowadays, if so which type?

Thanks for all your help

 

1gig of Ram is the absolute minimum now. And the type depends on the mobo ure going to get. As mentioned earlier PC3200 or above would suffice. The lower the cas latency the better.

I use to have an asus a7v, very old piece of kit now, but very stable You'll be surprised how things have moved on. But yes wait for latest gen vid cards if u can afford them

 

Thanks Bioforger

Do you know what sort of prices these new gen cards will be?

 

Apart from the X950 512mb 32 pixel pipeline one

 

Dunno, the top of the range jobbies usually go for £350-£450 when they first come out. You will more than likely need a PCI-Express capable mobo to. But thats a good thing, as it is the new standard now.

 

So - no one going to mention SLI then?

 

On his budget of £350, nope Unless he got two 6600's, mindu not much point when one ultra card will do the same job.