Blu02 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) About SSD-drives. Just so you know, the difference in performance between the regular and more expensive "fast" SSD-drives is really quite moot in games today. The real advantage they have, and which is most often overpresented, is how they handle certain file-sizes in certain processes, and so on. It's good to keep an eye on for servers or any special purposes, but overall it's very little difference in games as they only benefit from the access-time and reading-performance, which is still superior and more than enough for games compared to the old mechanical drives, no matter which SSD you choose. Seeing as SSD's are still quite unreliable and short-lived for their price, I'd rather put my eyes on the models that has proven themselves to be reliable already, and not drool too much about the latest non-patched ones. Intel's SSD's are still superior on this note according to RMA-diagrams, especially their past X25-M series, which should be quite cheap nowadays. They had some firmware-problems with their newer "budget" 320-series, but their 510-series seems to work excellent. I personally have a X25-M 160gb for game-installs since over a year back and a 510 120gb for windows since 6 months back, in a computer that runs 24/7. Never had a single problem with them, and there are just about no complaints about them on various hardware-forums. Edited September 7, 2011 by Mr. Bravo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderiii Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Would a 6870 Radeon run it on max settings, and if so, would that graphics card be able to run properly on these other specs? (Am looking into buying a new graphics card atm): Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E8400 @3.00GHz (2 COUs) ~3.0GHzMemory: 6144mb (DDR2)Hard Drive: 600GBOS: Windows 7The only thing I might recommend is new memory...you can pick up 8 gigs of DDR3 for about 60 bucks and be set for a good, long while, gaming-wise. A must if you usually run other stuff in the background while playing. Everything else looks good to go! DDR3 will not fit in a DDR2 motherboard, so he/she would have to do a complete platform upgrade for that. btw, if you are running 3 x 2Gb DIMMs with that CPU, you do realize that you are not benefiting from Dual Channel mode?Huh, I though Dual Channel just required the amount of RAM to be divisible by 2, and Triple Channel divisible by 3? So in his case, 3 x 2GB DIMMs = 6 would be fine. Or I've misunderstood, and it's not the amount of RAM, but the amount of DIMMs? His processor is not triple channel capable, so he is limited to dual channel, which means he needs to have either 2 OR 4 DIMMs (sticks of memory) installed. Having 3 DIMMs installed means that it runs in single channel mode, which is slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natelovesyou Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Would a 6870 Radeon run it on max settings, and if so, would that graphics card be able to run properly on these other specs? (Am looking into buying a new graphics card atm): Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E8400 @3.00GHz (2 COUs) ~3.0GHzMemory: 6144mb (DDR2)Hard Drive: 600GBOS: Windows 7The only thing I might recommend is new memory...you can pick up 8 gigs of DDR3 for about 60 bucks and be set for a good, long while, gaming-wise. A must if you usually run other stuff in the background while playing. Everything else looks good to go! DDR3 will not fit in a DDR2 motherboard, so he/she would have to do a complete platform upgrade for that. btw, if you are running 3 x 2Gb DIMMs with that CPU, you do realize that you are not benefiting from Dual Channel mode?Huh, I though Dual Channel just required the amount of RAM to be divisible by 2, and Triple Channel divisible by 3? So in his case, 3 x 2GB DIMMs = 6 would be fine. Or I've misunderstood, and it's not the amount of RAM, but the amount of DIMMs? His processor is not triple channel capable, so he is limited to dual channel, which means he needs to have either 2 OR 4 DIMMs (sticks of memory) installed. Having 3 DIMMs installed means that it runs in single channel mode, which is slower.I know it isn't triple channel, his is dual. But to clarify then...it is dependent ONLY on the amount of DIMMS, not the amount of RAM? Aka, 2 x 3GB DIMMS will do the job, but 3 x 4GB DIMMs won't? Even though 12 is divisible by 2? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghogiel Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Assuming the mobo and cpu are supporting triple channel set up, then yes, I suppose it comes down to the # of matched sticks themselves not the actual amount of memory the sticks have on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AltreU Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 So I have a pretty basic level of knowledge about what makes computers tick, but I've never bought my own and would like a little help in finding a cheap PC that could play something like Crysis on at least minimum to mid range settings. I'll probably be getting my own place sometime next year and would like to have a desktop for gaming (I've got a netbook for everything else). I've currently got access to a 15" Alienware laptop, but it's my brothers. The price range is 300-500 bucks (USD).I have a friend that recently spent about 1000 bucks on a custom build that crapped out on him the day that he bought it and ended up returning it. He's about 3 years into college and is aiming to get into network administrations. If he, with the years of experience that he has with desktops, made a mistake like that, I'd rather get an opinion from a community with tech experience.Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghogiel Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Well don't be put off about your friends bad luck, because that sounds like exactly what it was, luck. Bad luck. You can get a faulty component and it might be a right PITA to diagnose. and you will have to be returning goods for replacements if you have a bit of bad luck with your build. But just assume you're system will go together without a hitch, your gear all works, and hopefully you have no problem with windows, getting all the divers and windows to recognise your ram can be more frustrating than the hardware. Vista wouldn't even recognise my new DDR3 ram for some reason when I put this current system together, I though I had faulty sticks for an hour or 2. Anyway, you need monitor, keyboard, case, mouse etc? or can you scavenge any of that from some family and friends. I have 2 empty cases and a oooooold ass keyboard in the closet for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowk Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 (edited) @AltreU:I referred to this site a lot when I was building my computer; it gives consistent, relatively up-to-date advice and part recommendations. The focus is on best performance per dollar spent, so it's right up your alley! I like that it presents a list of components and sort of lets you pick and choose from different builds for different budget ranges. Great if you're not terribly knowledgeable and a bit wary about building your own PC. Their $400-$500 builds are pretty beefy; you might squeak by on Crysis with one of those if you don't want uber-resolutions. EDIT: Keep in mind, these are JUST the case + parts, no OS, monitor, accessories... Edited September 8, 2011 by Lowk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeopoldCrank Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Would a 6870 Radeon run it on max settings, and if so, would that graphics card be able to run properly on these other specs? (Am looking into buying a new graphics card atm): Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E8400 @3.00GHz (2 COUs) ~3.0GHzMemory: 6144mb (DDR2)Hard Drive: 600GBOS: Windows 7The only thing I might recommend is new memory...you can pick up 8 gigs of DDR3 for about 60 bucks and be set for a good, long while, gaming-wise. A must if you usually run other stuff in the background while playing. Everything else looks good to go! DDR3 will not fit in a DDR2 motherboard, so he/she would have to do a complete platform upgrade for that. btw, if you are running 3 x 2Gb DIMMs with that CPU, you do realize that you are not benefiting from Dual Channel mode?Huh, I though Dual Channel just required the amount of RAM to be divisible by 2, and Triple Channel divisible by 3? So in his case, 3 x 2GB DIMMs = 6 would be fine. Or I've misunderstood, and it's not the amount of RAM, but the amount of DIMMs? His processor is not triple channel capable, so he is limited to dual channel, which means he needs to have either 2 OR 4 DIMMs (sticks of memory) installed. Having 3 DIMMs installed means that it runs in single channel mode, which is slower. I have 2 sticks of 2GB and 2 sticks of 1GB, I thought about it :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderiii Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 ^good to hear :) Most people just buy a 3 x 2GB kit thinking that they automatically will get triple channel benefits, even although they don't have a nephalem cpu... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ankleon Posted September 8, 2011 Share Posted September 8, 2011 Wonder if my laptop could run this? I can run Oblivion, New Vegas, Fallout 3 on high settings. Cyri gives constant recommended settings, even for Crysis and the like. Specs (I took some of them on CYRI, I'm not good in finding them :P) 4GB RAM Intel® Core i7-2630QM CPU @ 2.00GHz GeForce GT 540M(2,7 GB RAM) I've heard before that laptops aren't very good at running games, but if I can run Skyrim on low to mid settings, then I'll buy the PC version. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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