Thinking of giving PC gaming a try.

B

buck05

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I have no knowledge of computers and would appreciate some advice from the community of PC gamers here.

Looking at two of the more popular PC patches in the editing threads, I caved. Not going to resist it any longer.

All these years I've settled for option files and max drives, followed by days of further editing said OFs, including micromanaging player stats and countless other miscellany to suit my opinion of players' abilities and sides' performances.. blah blah blah.

I'm done.

It would be well worth it for me to purchase a PC built for high end gaming, as I've already an LCD TV. I am aware I can skip on a monitor and hook my tower up to that lovely thing I have dominating my den.

Sorry to clutter up the forums with my Paleolithic knowledge of computers, but it's better here amongst like minded folks than fling myself into the pit of wolves at Best Buy or Circuit City.

In summary, I live in the states, have an LCD TV I'll be hooking my new computer up to, and don't mind spending a thousand dollars US or so.

Thanks in advance everyone, great site you have here.
 
bump, just some specs - if you don't feel like explaining the tech terminology you use, no prob. Just lay it out and help with some hardware recommendations for me to look into.

thanks again
 
Hi,
The game will play quite well on a relatively older PC if you have a good graphics card on board. Sure, if you want to spend alot of cash you can get a monster gaming machine. But if you want to save a few bucks, here is an example of how simple you can keep it:
1.4GHz CPU, 512kB RAM, 9800pro graphics card (AGP).
That's in one of my older PCs and it runs quite well on high resolution.

You don't need PCI express graphics cards for this game, AGP graphics cards work fine. But if you want to anticipate future games in the coming years, and you're starting from scratch, PCI express will give you better mileage as AGP is kinda phasing out. Your motherboard will determine the type of graphics card (PCI express or AGP) you can use.

Of course, you also mentioned your LCD TV, so depending on what type of resolution it supports, you might want to get a higher end graphics card such as a 7900GT or 8800GT etc. This is particularly true if you also want to play some of the newer PC games out now, or anticipate bigger, faster games in the near future.

The bottom line though, is to get a graphics card that will run this game well, and decide what else you'll be playing on the PC.
 
Many thanks fellas. brc1 - my tv is 1080i, and Oblivion looks nothing short of amazing on the dorkbox.

I enjoy PES so much that this alone has brought me into consideration for a serious PC. However as I type this I realize I've wanted to play titles like Neverwinter Nights among many others in the last couple years. Suppose it's safe to say I might be giving PC gaming more than a try.

akhardadat - I'd be willing to spend around 1000 US. Do your worst.

Again guys, thanks - and from what I understand if I build this mother myself, it'll cut costs almost in half?
 
If you're looking to build one, here's a very rough breakdown of what parts might cost you in the U.S., as of the time that I am writing this:

Motherboard with PCIexpress slot: $100 (or more depending on whether you want to be able to run 2 graphics cards or just one, and whether you want to use a CPU chip with single core or dual core)
CPU chip: $100 (can be cheaper or more expensive. It depends on whether you want single core or the faster dual core)
Hard drive: $60-90 for anywhere from 80GB to >250GB
Graphics card: $300-400 (if you want a relatively higher end card like an 8800GT)
RAM: depends on how much you want. 512kB is fine but 1MB is better ($50 to $120)
Optical drive (eg CD burner or DVD burner): $30-40 for a DVD burner.
Case and powersupply $20 to $100 depends on the quality etc.
 
also you can check tigerdirect.com, I'm probably going to get a dual-core refurbished from them when I have some extra money...
 
This is excellent guys, I'll look into all of it. Many thanks brc1 and arkhadadat.. if you have any more info by all means.

Another question.. when I order the various hardware will it be possible to ask the seller to assemble it so all I have to do is plug in internet/tv/keyboard etc, and do the initial menu installation that a chimp like me could handle?
 
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Good question. I suppose it depends on the seller. Some sites (particularly for laptops) let you choose your parts and they put it together for you. However, I haven't seen any such services for desktop PC's since most of the major manufacturers limit your options quite a bit, and since many of them use proprietary motherboards or powersupplies etc, upgrading later may also be limited. But maybe some of the other guys might know more about it.

It really is quite easy to build your own, and it gives you alot of room to upgrade later, as long as you are certain the parts are compatible with one another. Particularly the CPU, RAM and graphics card need a specific type of motherboard. The optical drive would go with any mother board. As for the hard drive you just need to decide whether you want IDE (slower) or SATA (faster) and see which one the mother board supports.

Basically it all comes back to the motherboard, and when you order that, it should become quite clear which parts would be compatible with it.

I agree with arkhadadat, Newegg is a great website. You can pretty much get all you need there.

If you need a hand, just let me know.
 
I'll take a look at some motherboards tonight. Thanks for a solid starting point. I'll probably have some more questions tomorrow.
 
where are you located?

You could go buy the latest issue of "Maximum PC," it has information on parts and an extremly easy how-to build your own PC.
 
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