[Jakkoff]

Crazy could you help me out? What would you recommend I do? Remember, I want the computer for mainly gaming. Take a look at my specs. Would you recommend I upgrade from there or start from scratch. Also if starting from scratch I will probably transfer some of the stuff over from this current computer to save money...what would you recommend transferring?

[CrazyComputerMan]

Depends the package of games you wanted to play

I have 512MB graphic card and i used it for Vista.

And i brought Packward Bell with XP Media Centre. Cheaper...

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...ull&tabIndex=1

If you got O.S CD Rom it should be fine because when i brought it there are pre-install and there contains error about start up something about Tempoary Files..

Wondering could you afford that?

[Jakkoff]

Are you saying it would be cheaper to buy that computer, rather than to upgrade on mine (or start building my own)?
Oh and I'm going to be playing World Of Warcraft, and Counter-strike...any other things like that too.

[CrazyComputerMan]

Moderators? What do you think of the computer in post #12?

Please reply what do you think?

[alex]

Originally Posted by CrazyComputerMan Moderators? What do you think of the computer in post #12? Please reply what do you think?

For the price its good. For Jack's requirements it's not.

system-memory stealing graphics card with a ludicrous 512mb of ram (256mb on card, 256mb taken from system ram).

That amount of ram on a card is only useful at very high resolutions, something this card can't hope to game at. Actually on that subject this gpu won't run any recent DX9 game above 1024x768. It'll struggle to cope with that resolution all said and done.

Jack, for 300 quid you are not going to be able to get a gaming pc. Seriously pal, don't even bother looking.

Your only option considering your budget is to upgrade. The only cost-effective items to upgrade on your system are the Ram and Graphics card. These will also produce the greatest benefit when gaming. The only downside to this is that your cpu is going to cause bottlenecks so you won't see the full benefit of the card upgrade (card dependent).

If you do want to go new then you'll need to double your budget for a decent gaming machine.

Bottom line: As it stands it's not an easy decision for you to make. Do you upgrade and spend your budget (decent AGP cards are still very expensive for what they are because the market is so small) and still not see a marked improvement in your gaming experience simply because other components are causing bottlenecks? Or do you wait a while and save some money and get a new system? It's all dependent on how quickly you want a better system.

[CrazyComputerMan]

He's Right. Perhaps if you could sell your old PC in ebay and see how much money you could have?? Hopefully £300. Or you could add things to make buyers want to buy your PC. You dont have to....

[Jakkoff]

Originally Posted by alex For the price its good. For Jack's requirements it's not. system-memory stealing graphics card with a ludicrous 512mb of ram (256mb on card, 256mb taken from system ram). That amount of ram on a card is only useful at very high resolutions, something this card can't hope to game at. Actually on that subject this gpu won't run any recent DX9 game above 1024x768. It'll struggle to cope with that resolution all said and done. Jack, for 300 quid you are not going to be able to get a gaming pc. Seriously pal, don't even bother looking. Your only option considering your budget is to upgrade. The only cost-effective items to upgrade on your system are the Ram and Graphics card. These will also produce the greatest benefit when gaming. The only downside to this is that your cpu is going to cause bottlenecks so you won't see the full benefit of the card upgrade (card dependent). If you do want to go new then you'll need to double your budget for a decent gaming machine. Bottom line: As it stands it's not an easy decision for you to make. Do you upgrade and spend your budget (decent AGP cards are still very expensive for what they are because the market is so small) and still not see a marked improvement in your gaming experience simply because other components are causing bottlenecks? Or do you wait a while and save some money and get a new system? It's all dependent on how quickly you want a better system.

Yes this is the decision I was trying to make in the first place. Well, in this case, what would you advise to buy in terms of RAM and Graphics Card?? I'll see what I can do. Thanks for the help aswell guys keep it coming :)

[alex]

This is an absolute steal considering the price. 7800GS's go for about 60 quid more.

You won't get the full benefit of the card with the cpu/motherboard combo you have, but still it ain't half a bad deal.

DDR ram is everywhere and can be very cheap at the moment (also because DDR3 ram will soon be coming mainstream).

I'd go for the lowest latency you can get though, on a bang for buck basis. CL2 DDR is still extortionately expensive. Again because the market is so small now. Maybe get this

[Jakkoff]

Originally Posted by alex This is an absolute steal considering the price. 7800GS's go for about 60 quid more. You won't get the full benefit of the card with the cpu/motherboard combo you have, but still it ain't half a bad deal. DDR ram is everywhere and can be very cheap at the moment (also because DDR3 ram will soon be coming mainstream). I'd go for the lowest latency you can get though, on a bang for buck basis. CL2 DDR is still extortionately expensive. Again because the market is so small now. Maybe get this

Hmm...but wouldn't it be more worth to just buy the system Crazy posted earlier on? As that has a 512mb Graphics Card which is more, and it already has 1GB RAM on it. I might just go for that. What would you say?

[alex]

Originally Posted by Jakkoff Hmm...but wouldn't it be more worth to just buy the system Crazy posted earlier on? As that has a 512mb Graphics Card which is more, and it already has 1GB RAM on it. I might just go for that. What would you say?

That system is not going to fulfill your gaming needs Jack.

Don't be sold on the amount of ram a graphics card has. 256mb will run any current game, old or new, at the resolution of your monitor.

The ram on the 7900GS is also contained on the card, (Don't forget in the system Crazy quoted the card will 'steal' 256mb of your system ram, leaving you less than 1GB).

With regards to DX9 cards you need to be looking at the gpu speed in mhz and the ram speed, also the memory controller bandwidth. You also need to be looking at how many pixel shaders, ROP's etc the card has (the more the better).

Nvidia model numbers are also a good indication of performance when compared to each other. 7300.......7900.

Each model also has sub-models if you will, the 7300 series has sub-models of GT, LE and SE (the one crazy quoted). Believe me when I say the SE is the lowest of the low of dedicated graphics cards. Intel's integrated chipset, GMA950, is nearly as powerful and thats not even a dedicated card.

At the end of the day matey, it's your money. But I strongly advise against buying that system for gaming regardless of whether or not you take my other advice.