Any Thots on this PC & Monitor for UO Play??

[BajaElladan]

Hail Folks,

I'm considering ordering the following to replace my aging (7 yr old) system. May I have your comments on it?

CASE: Hot !!! Apevia X-Telstar Junior 420W Case w/ Temp Display and Fan Control (G Type Black Color with Side-Window)
CPU: AMD Athlon™64 X2 5200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
MOTHERBOARD: Asus M2N SLI NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN, IEEE1394, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)4GB (4x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
LCD Monitor: 20& quot; TFT Active Matrix LCD Display (ViewSonic Optiquest Q201WB 5MS Response Time WSXGA 1680x1050)
HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Optical Drive: (Special Price) 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

Thanks in advance,

Elladan of Baja

 

[Guest]

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)


do your self a favor int he long run go with the 8300 series the 8500 is twitchy as hell and runs KR horriable also tends to cause system errors in windows.

 

[kennykilleduo]

My only question would be how much is it , and how expandable is it for future upgrades..

 

[Basara]

While I love my 8300 GS card, IIRC the 8300 cards are only available as OEM from PC manufacturers or as pulls. That said, it doesn't impede my game play at al in any game I've tried.

 

[Guest]

That is a good board, and the fact that it supports SLI, means you will be able to take advantage of the really high end video options.

However, on the video, I agree that the 8500 may not be the best choice.

I'd go with a GeForce 8800GT 512MB, and the nice thing is your board supports Nvidia SLI, which means if you can afford it (it is a $250 - $300 range card), you can always use 2 8800GT in SLI configuration (basically that harnesses the power of 2 cards in one), and I don't think there is any game out there that wouldn't do great with that video configuration so you would really have no limitations on your gaming choices with the new system.

Rest of the hardware looks really good to me (you might see if they offer a bit higher wattage power supply if you plan to use SLI video. I think 420W will be OK, but not sure).

-Skylark

 

[Guest]

Get a second monitor or use your old monitor. It is really nice to have sub programs on the second monitor.
Icq/teamspeak/uo auto map and uo assist on the second monitor.

 

[Al Thorin]

CASE: Hot !!! Apevia X-Telstar Junior 420W Case w/ Temp Display and Fan Control (G Type Black Color with Side-Window)
Cheap case. Alot are cheap cases. I've got a $$$ warning in my head. Watch the price.
A cheap case doesn't mean it's garbage, but be aware, it is not worth much money. $80. + PS $18-80

CPU: AMD Athlon™64 X2 5200+ Dual-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
Good CPU, you don't have issues running much, but different CPU's perform quite differently dependant on the task. This is pretty much a generic CPU, good speed, will run anything, but it's not tailored for anything in particular. (I usually go for this type myself)
$109.

MOTHERBOARD: Asus M2N SLI NVIDIA nForce 560 SLI MCP Chipset DDR2/800 SATA RAID PCI-Express MBoard w/GbLAN, IEEE1394, USB2.0, &7.1Audio
Unless you know how different features will serve you, I doubt this will hurt you.
$90


MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)4GB (4x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Corsair Value Select or Major Brand)
Quality ram starts to become important when dealing with this much. The same base spec ram can go for as little as 35/gig to 130/gig. They don't say the model or details, I'd guess cheapest that works.
I'll be nice, $140. For cheap certified ram. (w/ rebate)

VIDEO CARD: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Again, no specific model. In fact, it's a hard combo to find, and apears to only be made by a few menuafacurers, none of which are known for quality.
ALWAYS watch for the lack of manufacturer. Big warning in my eyes, even the same model can perform or LAST far differently depending on who makes it.
$90-130
Of all the things you might wanna REALLY watch, it's your video card, especially for gaming. If you're willing to put some bucks up, don't cheap out here. I would cheap out on everything else if limited by budget, and spring for a video card with a little more step. They get outdated faster than any other component, so a better one simply will remain usable for longer.

LCD Monitor: 20& quot; TFT Active Matrix LCD Display (ViewSonic Optiquest Q201WB 5MS Response Time WSXGA 1680x1050)
Depends on how good your eyes are

I'm fine with an older 17" with higher response time, but some people are really anal. It's up to you.
Surprise, surprise, the cheapest 20" model view sonic carries.
$210

HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (320GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Again, no manufacturer. I suspect it's one of the cheaper ones.
$89ish.

Optical Drive: (Special Price) 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO


I stopped.
Add it up.

I'm sure it will be ok, but everything there tells me they've cut every corner they can, so make sure it's priced accordingly.
If it's over 1k, be wary, if it's priced for 700-900, with an OS and maybe a another nice perk, it's fair priced, and will perform well in most circumstances.

For a limited budget, it's going to serve you well, most likely. Ensure you get warrenty.

 

[Alvinho]

I buy ALL my memory from www.crucial.com memory is priced great on this site

 

[Guest]

...

Get a Samsung 226BW and you're golden.

 

[Kith Kanan]

I sure LOVE mine