92 replies to this topic

[MagnusEffect]

Mason Grimm, on 19 June 2012 - 08:21 AM, said:

Children; behave!

If you don't agree then don't post here or post it in a creative and helpful manner.

agreed, but then the OP was never really all that helpful to begin with. i'm betting this will get locked pretty soon.

[Joe Mallad]

just bought my game rig and its being shipped out in a few days! *Giggle*

Alienware Aurora unit. And she is so sexy!

[Mick Mars]

Fair enough.

This is the best advice I can give to anybody who doesn't know hardware very well:

Go Here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/

Start reading the articles that are helpfully categorized in the tabs on top. Do not stop until you are able to have a conversation with knowledgeable people.

Do not pay attention to anything that the OP says, EVER.

That is as helpful as I can be on this subject.

[Teralitha]

BenEEeees VAT GROWN BACON, on 19 June 2012 - 08:09 AM, said:

Well, I tried to be nice but there's no helping you.

No, you were not nice at all, just a complete ***. Stop trolling this topic pls.

[BenEEeees VAT GROWN BACON]

MagnusEffect, on 19 June 2012 - 08:25 AM, said:

agreed, but then the OP was never really all that helpful to begin with. i'm betting this will get locked pretty soon.

Yeah, this thread's just turns straight into flame bait after OP post responds :/

[Mick Mars]

Yoseful Mallad, on 19 June 2012 - 08:26 AM, said:

just bought my game rig and its being shipped out in a few days! *Giggle*

Alienware Aurora unit. And she is so sexy!

This is another way to go, it will cost you about 2-3 times as much as building your own comparable system, but it is easier.

[EDMW CSN]

I just make it simple.

1) PSUs are on demand only. Their number means their MAX output. A 1000 Watt can provide a max of 1000, if the system uses only 600, it provides only 600. No burn outs.
Oh get a good one like Seasonic etc.

2) Ram, 8 GB in practice is more than enough for most gaming applications. Also try to get RAM with higher MTs.
Generally 1333 and 1375 are good numbers to shoot for at a minimum.

3) The GPU is the meat of the setup. As this game is CE3 based, most mid range cards will do absolutely fine at lower resolutions even with all bangs and whistles on. A GTX 560 TI is good enough for this but if you plan to be more future proof, there are better cards out there.

4) CPU. Surprisingly not that much. An i5 is more than sufficiently empowered for this.
It works fine.


That's all I gotta offer.

Edited by EDMW CSN, 19 June 2012 - 08:32 AM.

[Teralitha]

Mick Mars, on 19 June 2012 - 08:16 AM, said:

The only thing you have said in this whole thread that has any worth to it is that heat kills things. I agree, it does. The idiocy comes in when you somehow link that to having larger PSU's.

Any person not familiar with hardware needs to stay very far away from you and your posts, and you should refrain from giving advice on anything until you are educated in the subject. Every single post I have seen you make on this board progressively made you look worse than before. You really just need to stop posting and start lurking.

When you have had meltdowns, and had friends who have had meltdowns, from installing a higher wattage PSU, you tend to be more cautious. I myself do not like feeling the back of my computer, and getting burned because the PSU is almost 200 degrees.(or more) Nor do I like all that heat, weakening the rest of my componants, which makes them not last as long, and that is the whole point Im making. You didnt get the point. I build MY computers to last many years, not a year or 2.

Edited by Teralitha, 19 June 2012 - 08:33 AM.

[Teralitha]

Mick Mars, on 19 June 2012 - 08:26 AM, said:

Fair enough.

This is the best advice I can give to anybody who doesn't know hardware very well:

Go Here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/

Start reading the articles that are helpfully categorized in the tabs on top. Do not stop until you are able to have a conversation with knowledgeable people.

Do not pay attention to anything that the OP says, EVER.

That is as helpful as I can be on this subject.

Sorry but you failed. you are still trolling.

[Tanner S]

Teralitha, on 18 June 2012 - 08:17 PM, said:

There are alot of old stock computers that many places are trying to dump on poor unsuspecting buyers of notebooks, laptop buyers and desktops.

Before you buy something to upgrade in order to play MWO, please do research on every individual componant of the computer you are looking at first, because you might get duped into buying another worthless hunk of junk that is not designed to handle gaming.

First rule, If you dont know what GHz means, dont buy until you do. This is the speed at which your computer processes information. The faster the better. So your computer has 2 processor... or even 4 processors, but if your GHz is low, your game will be slow. I suggest anything that is in the 3GHz range for games. Much more than that and you get into overclocking and you run the risk of your motherboard being too hot, without having some added cooling devices. And if your internals run super hot, the life of your puter will be lessened.

Duo Core... Quad core, I5, I7, AMD phenom II, Pentium ***, what do these all mean? best thing to do is check manufacturer descriptions. Make sure to find out exactly just how many processors it really has, and what the GHz is. You want at least 4 processor(Quad Core), and a proccessor speed in the higher ranges. Like 2.8GHz or more. This is for games.

Ram... what is it? what does it do? For playing games, the more the better. If you can afford to max it out, do it. But, note that the amount of ram that is actually used by your system depends on your operating system. For example, if your using windows XP, believe the most RAM it supports is 2GB, and If I remember correctly, Windows Vista only supports up to 4GB of RAM. So if your computer has more ram, your older windows version may not be able to use more than 4GB. I have windows 7, and I use 16GB of RAM to run my games, I think that even 8 GB is not enough for todays Gaming.(Windows XP 32-bit SP3 I think runs up to 4GB also)

Hard Drive (HD) memory. Most computers have tons of it nowadays. Shouldnt be an issue. But if your computer is very old... well... get a new one, upgrading HD is not expensive. Old Hard Drives can have a heart attack and die at any time.

Graphix, the big one...
First.. if you have integrated graphics? Hell FKN NO. Never ever ever ever never ever never ever buy a computer with integrated graphics for GAMING no matter how much a saleman might shmooze you. Just refuse.
Alaways go straight to teh source when researching a video card, that means, look at the manufacturers website, and read the full descriptions of any given card your looking to buy for the specs. Does it have its own on board memory?(GB) Does it have its own processor? How fast is it? Does it have adequate cooling? Its own cooling fan? Does it support 4.0 shaders? For gaming, you want to get the best of the best. Or the best you can afford. Look at all the newest models, and read about what they are able to do, or what they are designed to do. Alot of online stores will sell a variant of the original designs, make sure to read those specs too before buying, they might be stripped of some of the capabilities that are listed by the manufacturer.

Another important piece of the puzzle.. Power supply unit (PSU) Now suppose you went to an online store, customized everything to get the best of the best, or the best you can afford, and you get it home, only to discover that it isnt running games as well as you thought it would. Well this may be the result of the PSU, being substandard. PSU are not often mentioned in a computers specs because for general purposes, it isnt important. If you cant find the info anywere else, youll have to open your PC and look at the powersupply for the specs. Alot of PC companies use the cheapeast, bare minimum that they can get in mass quantity. Many will be 300 WATTs. For a gaming rig, this is not enough.

But be cautious, because if you get a powersupply that is too much, it can fry your computer. I recommend only a minor upgrade to the PSU, if your stuck with a 300watt. There are several poor quality PSU's out there that have good specs, but have little or no heat reduction capacity, and require you to buy another cooling fan or several. I suggest not going more than anything in the 400-500watt range unless you really know what your doing. You can also, before buying the PC< ask the builder about the PSU, and try to get them to put on an adequate PSU.


Mods pls leave this in general chat, as most people always look here first for info about their computers. And if possible, maybe pinn it up.

I agree with everything you have to say except that you need a quad core except for a small percentage of games software is designed to run with one or two cores not 4 to 12 cores

[Mick Mars]

Teralitha, on 19 June 2012 - 08:31 AM, said:

When you have had meltdowns, and had friends who have had meltdowns, from installing a higher wattage PSU, you tend to be more cautious. I myself do not like feeling the back of my computer, and getting burned because the PSU is almost 200 degrees.(or more) Nor do I like all that heat, weakening the rest of my componants, which makes them not last as long, and that is the whole point Im making. You didnt get the point. I build MY computers to last many years, not a year or 2.

And you don't understand a single thing about PSU's. Let me educate you a little( me being helpful).

Take 2 PSU's, 1 is 600 watts, the other is 1200. Both are by a quality manufacturer. Your system demands 580 watts at full load. The 600 watts PSU will barely deliver enough power. but be running at full blast to do it. The 1200 watt PSU will be barely breathing hard. Which do you think produces more heat?
(Hint- it's not the big one)

I will say it one more time, in caps this time- LARGER POWER SUPPLIES DO NOT CAUSE MELTDOWNS/BURNOUTS/MAGIC SMOKE/FRIED ELECTRONICS.

Rather than argue your poorly based position, go and start reading at that website I posted up. You won't even have to apologize to anybody after, just kep that info for future reference.

[Kelthar]

Teralitha, on 18 June 2012 - 08:17 PM, said:

But be cautious, because if you get a powersupply that is too much, it can fry your computer

Someone needs some electronics training. However, this is one of the most common pieces of incorrect information in the computer world. A power supply will only source what is needed. In theory if you got a direct short somewhere, the higher powered PS could do more damage than a lower power unit, but at that point the component is already dead anyway.

Other than that, mostly what the other guy said in his response about power supplies.

[MagnusEffect]

Teralitha, on 19 June 2012 - 08:31 AM, said:

When you have had meltdowns, and had friends who have had meltdowns, from installing a higher wattage PSU, you tend to be more cautious. I myself do not like feeling the back of my computer, and getting burned because the PSU is almost 200 degrees.(or more) Nor do I like all that heat, weakening the rest of my componants, which makes them not last as long, and that is the whole point Im making. You didnt get the point. I build MY computers to last many years, not a year or 2.

If that is your concern, then it is heat that is your biggest issue, not "higher wattage". That said, personally, I always try to only use as big of a PSU as I need so that not only my computer runs cool, but is power efficient (and like you said, allows for better operational reliability). Running giant PSUs on computer's that don't need it is just wasting money.

Edited by MagnusEffect, 19 June 2012 - 08:48 AM.

[Teralitha]

MagnusEffect, on 19 June 2012 - 08:42 AM, said:

If that is your concern, then it is heat that is your biggest issue, not the "power output". That said, personally, I always try to only use as big of a PSU as I need so that not only my computer runs cool, but is power efficient. Running giant PSUs on computer's that don't need it is just wasting money.

Thank you, this was actually what I meant to say. You said it better. Just for the record, I have a 420. It was good quality, didnt cost much, runs very cool, and powers my componants efficiently. I do not see a need to ever increase this. I may, however, if I upgrade the gfx card in a couple years to something new, and it requires more power.

Edited by Teralitha, 19 June 2012 - 08:53 AM.

[MagnusEffect]

oops.. i editted after you made the quote, but the wording is essentially the same

[th3 fr4gil3]

MagnusEffect, on 19 June 2012 - 08:42 AM, said:

I always try to only use as big of a PSU as I need so that not only my computer runs cool, but is power efficient (and like you said, allows for better operational reliability). Running giant PSUs on computer's that don't need it is just wasting money.

only true for the cost of the actual PSU, for electricity supply costs one that just exceeds demand would use as much as a PSU that greatly exceeds demand.

anyway back onto track, i'm fine just need to double ram to 8 Gig, replace GFX card and might splash for a quad core phenom 965 before all stocks vanish. so about £250 in all, comp was due for a tune up and MWO just gave me the incentive.

Edited by th3 fr4gil3, 19 June 2012 - 08:55 AM.

[Mick Mars]

Magnus, you are somewhat wrong as well, see my 600/1200 example above. While all that extra power is not needed, it is nice to have the headroom available, especially if you are upgrade happy like me.

[Dragonpriest]

Wow, so many sharks just waiting to jump on someone out there to prove their e-peen'ness.

Teralitha was trying to help out the vast majority of gamers that don't know squat about computers, and lets face it, that's going to be most of them. Was her info 100% accurate, no, but she at least tried and that's more than most of you can say. Throughout the article some great info was posted and is something that definately the computer illiterates can learn from.

Personally, anyone that plays on a prebuilt machine should be shot, hung and left for the vultures. If you buy Dell/Alienware your just supporting junk vendors so they can continue to push more junk out to the public. Building your own PC is as easy as googling how to make a apple pie.

That's my 2 cents....

[MagnusEffect]

th3 fr4gil3, on 19 June 2012 - 08:50 AM, said:

only true for the cost of the actual PSU, for electricity supply costs one that just exceeds demand would use as much as a PSU that greatly exceeds demand.

that is interesting. i admit, my knowledge is a little limited on the subject so i won't argue otherwise. i always assumed there was some extra operational costs as well... you know... like a car engine; more performance = less efficiency (i realize that is sort of a bad example, but you get the idea)

Mick Mars, on 19 June 2012 - 08:52 AM, said:

Magnus, you are somewhat wrong as well, see my 600/1200 example above. While all that extra power is not needed, it is nice to have the headroom available, especially if you are upgrade happy like me.

I'm not upgrade happy at all so it might be a relative thing, but i see your point. i tend to lean more towards cost effective and reliability over high performance. my computer is around 5 years old (i think). my GTX 260 GPU is still running strong also (just for the record), I think my PSU is a 650 watt. i think the biggest factor (in regards to my machine's reliability) is my tower though: the air coming out of my computer is actually colder than my room.

Edited by MagnusEffect, 19 June 2012 - 09:02 AM.

[Mick Mars]

Dragonpriest, on 19 June 2012 - 08:53 AM, said:

Wow, so many sharks just waiting to jump on someone out there to prove their e-peen'ness.

Teralitha was trying to help out the vast majority of gamers that don't know squat about computers, and lets face it, that's going to be most of them. Was her info 100% accurate, no, but she at least tried and that's more than most of you can say. Throughout the article some great info was posted and is something that definately the computer illiterates can learn from.

Personally, anyone that plays on a prebuilt machine should be shot, hung and left for the vultures. If you buy Dell/Alienware your just supporting junk vendors so they can continue to push more junk out to the public. Building your own PC is as easy as googling how to make a apple pie.

That's my 2 cents....

Speaking for myself, I am not trying to troll the OP, but his/her/it's suggestions are so full of BS, they do more harm than good. That is what I am doing in this thread. The fact that OP's panties are getting bunched up is just a side benefit, icing on the cake if you will.