1329 replies to this topic

[Karva Badaam]

Hail peeps...help me out here (I'm a non-technical guy and a huge Mechwarrior fan)
I need to upgrade the following machine:


Processor AMD Athlon™ 7450 Dual-Core Processor, 2411 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB

NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 512 MB

I know the system is underpowered at the moment. How much am I looking at if I want to bring it to recommended specs? I wanna know where's the best place to grab the RAM and a decent Graphics card? Also how do I know that the mother board can support a new graphics card and upgraded RAM. Or do I need to upgrade the motherboard as well?

Help me out here - I'm an old guy with family, kids etc but don't wanna miss out on some mech fun!
No trolls plz - helpful suggestions most welcome

[BigJim]

Apocalypse4987, on 07 August 2012 - 01:39 AM, said:

Thanks for this. I might be able to play on medium settings, just because I have 4 Gb instead of 8 Gb RAM

There is an NDA in place so I'm not gonna upset ceiling mech, but I'll say this.

* I run Win XP, and with it's 32-bit memory allocation, it can only see max 4GB memory, and that is shared across my RAM and my video card's vRAM (windows only reports 3.25gb on my system).

* I play all my games maxxed out, and get excellent frames.

* I'm a founder.


Make of that what you will.

Edited by BigJim, 16 August 2012 - 02:11 AM.

[Dymitry]

BigJim, on 16 August 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

There is an NDA in place so I'm not gonna upset ceiling mech, but I'll say this.

* I run Win XP, and with it's 32-bit memory allocation, it can only see max 4GB memory, and that is shared across my RAM and my video card's vRAM (windows only reports 3.25gb on my system).

* I play all my games maxxed out, and get excellent frames.

* I'm a founder.


Make of that what you will.

[Apocalypse4987]

BigJim, on 16 August 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

There is an NDA in place so I'm not gonna upset ceiling mech, but I'll say this.

* I run Win XP, and with it's 32-bit memory allocation, it can only see max 4GB memory, and that is shared across my RAM and my video card's vRAM (windows only reports 3.25gb on my system).

* I play all my games maxxed out, and get excellent frames.

* I'm a founder.


Make of that what you will.

Sir, You've made my day

[Vulpesveritas]

Well, Geforce GTX 660 reviews are out. It just won the $300 price point... at least when it actually hits store shelves.
And with AMD's new BIOS for all stock 7950's, Catalyst 12.8 drivers, and quite possibly OEM minimum settings, the 7950 manages to hang on at $350... barely.




So... 2% faster in gaming, massively faster in GPGPU gives the 7950 at least.... something of a reason to sit at $350.

[Vulpesveritas]

Updated for the 660ti, 7950 boost ediiton, and 7970ghz edition

[Vulpesveritas]

Updated for the 660ti.

[Fais]

Vulpe you have done some nice work on this forum. I am in the buisness too. I just wanted to point out a few things.

The following Powersupply (corsair hx850) is already down to $128$ with all the discounts, promotions, and rebates on it. Its realy a pretty good option for alot of people with heavier setups. I think you had it listed in the $200 range. Yea I know prices really do drop fast sometimes.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139015

The other thing was on the other thread where you used that Johnnyguru thread about powersupplies (which is a good one). Only problem I have with that thread is that it comes across sounding like split up rails are just fine and maybe even better then a single rail for safety reasons. If you are worried about a safety problem with a single rail powersupply you really should buy a better brand. Like he said there are some powersupplies out there that are built wrong and won't give you what you need. There is also problems with video cards that are big hogs on the power, sepcificly gtx 480 and gtx 580, that can run into problems even with some of the nicer "multi rail" powersupplies. If your going to buy a good powersupply I personally recommend getting one with a single rail. Its less to worry about and is more likely to accomodate future issues. If safety is really a concern buy a name brand. Or atleast one manufactured by one of the good OEM's. Leave yourself more options in the future. Who really knows how many watts/amps the video cards will be using 2 or 3 years from now.

Other then that, I humbly submit to the power Vulpes. Very nice work!!

Edited by Fais, 17 August 2012 - 08:30 AM.

[Vulpesveritas]

Fais, on 17 August 2012 - 08:17 AM, said:

Vulpe you have done some nice work on this forum. I am in the buisness too. I just wanted to point out a few things.

The following Powersupply (corsair hx850) is already down to $128$ with all the discounts, promotions, and rebates on it. Its realy a pretty good option for alot of people with heavier setups. I think you had it listed in the $200 range. Yea I know prices really do drop fast sometimes.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139015

The other thing was on the other thread where you used that Johnnyguru thread about powersupplies (which is a good one). Only problem I have with that thread is that it comes across sounding like split up rails are just fine and maybe even better then a single rail for safety reasons. If you are worried about a safety problem with a single rail powersupply you really should buy a better brand. Like he said there are some powersupplies out there that are built wrong and won't give you what you need. There is also problems with video cards that are big hogs on the power, sepcificly gtx 480 and gtx 580, that can run into problems even with some of the nicer "multi rail" powersupplies. If your going to buy a good powersupply I personally recommend getting one with a single rail. Its less to worry about and is more likely to accomodate future issues. If safety is really a concern buy a name brand. Or atleast one manufactured by one of the good OEM's. Leave yourself more options in the future. Who really knows how many watts/amps the video cards will be using 2 or 3 years from now.

Other then that, I humbly submit to the power Vulpes. Very nice work!!

The problem is that is with sales, etc. Whereas the List price -the only price that can be guaranteed- is $199.99, hence it reaches the $200 bracket. Also, I never include MIR in a price, given that it takes some time to get that money.



As far as multi-rail goes, it is rarely a problem, and the upper wattage multi-rail PSUs are running @28-30 amps, which is more than enough for any reference card which adheres to the PCI-e standard of a maximum of a 300w power draw.

[Fais]

I just brought it up because I rarely see it go for much more then $150, and it was a big difference in price.

As far as the Multi Rail thing. I know its rare, but I did see an EVGA GTX 480 the other day that said it "required" 40A on a single rail. I didnt test it, but just some food for thought. It was a year old or so.

[RooftopVoter]

First off awesome review of a huge mass of equipment. One of my old fav's ya missed besides the Ch Pro Throttle, Logitech made a awesome force feedback stick I think it was the Force Feedback 3D elegant design enough buttons but not too many, haven't seen em around lately though. But I have a question(and I'm a little too lazy to go figure it out if you already know) I still have my original CH Flightstick Pro Pro pedals and pro throttle by original I mean they're all the old gameport(gasp) products. Is it possible to run these under win 7 can I even get drivers if I can find a gameport do the new soundblasters even come with a game/midi port any more?? I would love not to have to shell out another 300$ on controllers(probably a snowballs chance in hell I know). Thanxz for w/e feedback you have.

[Vulpesveritas]

Finally updated for Canada.

[Turbo Corvair]

I've had to RMA Logitech G940's twice in four months for hardware failures. I've given up and bought a used X52 Pro which I'm having to return to the seller because it is faulty... getting really frustrated!

The G940 was very nice but the wires in the throttle don't seem to hold up. After just a few weeks of use BOTH times I started having issues with buttons/switches on the throttle going haywire as you move the throttle forward and back.

The x52 problem is probably more isolated... the MFD is really flaky... The spelling of "Mode" will change from Mod3, to Mo e, to M de, and back again five times in two or three minutes and the same thing with "Profile" becoming Prifile, Prefile, Prefole, etc.

That in itself is no big deal but the thing also keeps losing it's calibration in the middle of a match. I like it however so I'm planning to replace it with another x52 pro.

I can't afford the Warthog, but still have considered putting it on credit. I'd prefer a single throttle like the x52 however, and that throttle base bristling with switches would be great for nearly anyone but me.... they would be in the way of installing it in my simpit (version 2.0 yet to be seen).

So, the plan is to get another x52 pro. I also picked up the saitek combat rudder pedals, they are WAY nicer than the ones that came with the 940, but they also cost nearly as much as the whole 940 setup just by themselves. I made up for this by getting a great deal on the HOTAS on ebay, but the darn thing is broke =(

Check out "ppjoy". It is a real PITA to set up from my experience (have to run windows in "test" mode if you have 64 bit OS), but worth it in the end. I had to use it to play MechWarrior: Living Legends with my G940 because it only recognizes one joystick and the 940 counts as three. Once I had it set up and working I had no more troubles, but it took probably a week or more of messing around to get it to that point.

RooftopVoter, on 18 August 2012 - 01:18 PM, said:

First off awesome review of a huge mass of equipment. One of my old fav's ya missed besides the Ch Pro Throttle, Logitech made a awesome force feedback stick I think it was the Force Feedback 3D elegant design enough buttons but not too many, haven't seen em around lately though. But I have a question(and I'm a little too lazy to go figure it out if you already know) I still have my original CH Flightstick Pro Pro pedals and pro throttle by original I mean they're all the old gameport(gasp) products. Is it possible to run these under win 7 can I even get drivers if I can find a gameport do the new soundblasters even come with a game/midi port any more?? I would love not to have to shell out another 300$ on controllers(probably a snowballs chance in hell I know). Thanxz for w/e feedback you have.

[Storms Echo]

Thanks for all the info, certainly helped me make my choice!

[Marbo]

+1 for the Fighterstick by CH.

Superb quality and function.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

I am a little tempted to ebay my 580 and grab 2 660's and see how they perform in SLI.

Edited by DV McKenna, 20 August 2012 - 04:17 AM.

[80Bit]

First off, great list. I work in IT Support for both consumers and business, and I have to correct people on many of these issues.

I only made it through the first page of comments, and I am sure others have brought it up, but I do have to argue with your point #3. Right now Intel CPUs are better for gaming at every price point. I say this for gaming only, not all around computing. This is because your comparison of clock rate is not indicative of actual gaming performance. Just look at Tom's Hardware:
http://www.tomshardw...clock,3106.html
There is not a single AMD CPU on their list right now, at any price point. They benchmark game performance with each CPU and right now game performance per dollar, Intel wins everywhere. It is true that AMD CPUs will work fine 99% of the time, but for just gaming performance, I could not talk myself into an AMD CPU no matter how hard I tried when I built my last system.

Also, I agree with Catamount about the future proofing. While you definitely can't future proof overall, if you drop $250-400 on a new video card instead of $100-250, that card WILL last you a lot lot longer. And he is also right that CPU is not usually a bottleneck. Not usually, but I still see it some times.

[Vulpesveritas]

80Bit, on 20 August 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

First off, great list. I work in IT Support for both consumers and business, and I have to correct people on many of these issues.

I only made it through the first page of comments, and I am sure others have brought it up, but I do have to argue with your point #3. Right now Intel CPUs are better for gaming at every price point. I say this for gaming only, not all around computing. This is because your comparison of clock rate is not indicative of actual gaming performance. Just look at Tom's Hardware:
http://www.tomshardw...clock,3106.html
There is not a single AMD CPU on their list right now, at any price point. They benchmark game performance with each CPU and right now game performance per dollar, Intel wins everywhere. It is true that AMD CPUs will work fine 99% of the time, but for just gaming performance, I could not talk myself into an AMD CPU no matter how hard I tried when I built my last system.

Also, I agree with Catamount about the future proofing. While you definitely can't future proof overall, if you drop $250-400 on a new video card instead of $100-250, that card WILL last you a lot lot longer. And he is also right that CPU is not usually a bottleneck. Not usually, but I still see it some times.

I have to disagree with you in terms of CPUs, the AMD Phenom II X4s and FX-4170 outperform Intel i3s in quad threaded tasks, which is quickly making up the majority of newer and well-updated applications. Second, an FX-4170 is faster than most Intel i3 chips even in single thread due to the high clock rate. It has 75% of the processing power of an i5-2500k for nearly $100 less, which in itself is a better price / performance ratio.
Especially where MWO is concerned, and four threads are well utilized, you would be better off with an AMD Phenom II X4 965 vs an intel i3-2120.

Also, Tomshardware shows there is no real difference in a modern game engine such as CryENGINE 3 where coding implements modern APIs and parallel processing, which is what most coding is moving towards. I prefer something which is faster for the future, rather than something which is faster for the past. While Tom's Hardware claims CryENGINE 3 is "not a CPU intensive title" It rather is, given that a dual core A4 at 2.7ghz cannot puil more than ~35fps in the game. However, once a quad core A6 is pulled into the equation, frame rates can easily top 60, which shows the game is heavy when it comes to CPU performance, but is properly implemented to take advantage of modern hardware as well.

Edited by Vulpesveritas, 20 August 2012 - 07:00 PM.

[Vulpesveritas]

Update: Due to windows 8 being almost here, all future $600 BOTW will include windows in their build budget, rather than having two separate builds.

[PhoenixGWR]

I am running it on high graphics with below minimal specs^_^ why do i see people with $1k systems having issues?

BigJim, on 16 August 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

There is an NDA in place so I'm not gonna upset ceiling mech, but I'll say this.

* I run Win XP, and with it's 32-bit memory allocation, it can only see max 4GB memory, and that is shared across my RAM and my video card's vRAM (windows only reports 3.25gb on my system).

* I play all my games maxxed out, and get excellent frames.

* I'm a founder.


Make of that what you will.

Me too man any idea why?

Karva Badaam, on 16 August 2012 - 01:57 AM, said:

Hail peeps...help me out here (I'm a non-technical guy and a huge Mechwarrior fan)
I need to upgrade the following machine:


Processor AMD Athlon™ 7450 Dual-Core Processor, 2411 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 2.00 GB

NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT 512 MB

I know the system is underpowered at the moment. How much am I looking at if I want to bring it to recommended specs? I wanna know where's the best place to grab the RAM and a decent Graphics card? Also how do I know that the mother board can support a new graphics card and upgraded RAM. Or do I need to upgrade the motherboard as well?

Help me out here - I'm an old guy with family, kids etc but don't wanna miss out on some mech fun!
No trolls plz - helpful suggestions most welcome

I recommend Pricewatch.com to find what you need order in online better prices and just about what ever you want. What Motherboard are you using and OS?