Gaming Rig

[Nand12]

Hey I'm planning on building a gaming rig so I can play BF2, Counterstrike, Fear etc. My current system (Gateway w/ Pentium D 820, 1 GB RAM, 250GB SATA HD) isn't cutting it. I bought an XFX 7800 GT for it a few months ago but BF2 performance is still pretty poor. Here is what I am thinking in terms of basic specs for the new system:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego
DFI LANPARTY UT nForce4 SLI-D or Asus A8N-SLI Premium
1 GB Crucial Ballistix DDR-400 RAM (2-2-2-6) or 1 GB OCX Gold DDR-400 RAM (2-2-2-5)
Seagate Barracuda 120 GB SATA 3.0 GB/S HD
Antec 2.0 TruePower 550 Watt PSU (SLI certified)
CoolerMaster Cavalier Case
1 XFX 7800GT (I'm going to start with the card I already have and maybe add a second one later)

My main questions are whether or not SLI is really worth it and any if there are any compatability issues between the Asus boards and XFX cards because I read somewhere that there may be. Also, what is the best combination of those components and are there any areas where I can improve. Thanks

 

[Mr.Suave]

whats your budget?
the DFI is a better board. getting SLI is up to you. some people say it is a waste of money other say its a good idea to have the option of getting another card thats cheaper down the road.

 

[Nand12]

I can spend up to $1200 but I would like to keep the price of the system to around $1000. I already have a flat panel monitor and wireless keyboard + mouse so those items don't need to be factored into the price. Thanks.

 

[LITHIUM]

that sounds like a pretty good setup

 

[tweaker]

I bought an XFX 7800 GT for it a few months ago but BF2 performance is still pretty poor.

How does the other games run? Your current machine is capable of running BF2 smoothly. Mine does, and your VS is way better than mine.

My main questions are whether or not SLI is really worth it

Not really.

 

[Nand12]

The other games (CS Source, Half-Life 2, Far Cry) run fine but the video settings aren't maxed out. Video settings are all highest in BF2. I'm going to run 3DMark05 in a few minutes so I'll post back with the results.

 

[Nand12]

I ended up getting 6256 marks in 3DMark05.

 

[tweaker]

The other games (CS Source, Half-Life 2, Far Cry) run fine but the video settings aren't maxed out

At what resolution? Definitely something going on there.

I'm going to run 3DMark05 in a few minutes so I'll post back with the results.

Good idea to see if the machine is running correctly.
You should expect a fair bit higher than 5000, which is my stock score in 05.

 

[tweaker]

I ended up getting 6256 marks in 3DMark05.

A decent score, what resolution are you running your games at?


Edit: Have a look at this guide, tweaking the game is highly recommended no matter what machine your running it on.

http://www.tweakguides.com/BF2_1.html

 

[liquidshadow]

get a dual core. its not that much.

 

[Beyond]

some people say it is a waste of money other say its a good idea to have the option of getting another card thats cheaper down the road.

agreed. i know from experience

 

[Mankz_91]

I agree, i think that you should look for a decent Stepping X2 3800, and using the DFI board, overclock it!!!- try to use an Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 64- nice quiet and cool- 2.4 or so GHz should be easily reached!

Have fun Gaming!

Mankz

 

[Nand12]

I run my games at 1024 x 768 @ 75Hz. Don't games run slower with dual core processors compared to single core? Also, is it worth getting Windows XP Professional or should Home suffice?

 

[Mankz_91]

Ive Never used Home Edition so i have no idea!
ON the games side, i cant tell, the only 2 things I know is that its more future proof than a single core one, and a 4400 @ 4800 with an X800 @ X850

beats a 3.7 Ghz P4 EE in doom 3 and also an 840

 

[liquidshadow]

Some games may run a little slower atm, but the difference is extremely minimal. Also, there are software out for dual-core right now.

 

[Nand12]

OK here is the latest configuration:

CoolerMaster Cavalier 3 Black/Silver ATX Case
Antec TruePower II ATX ESV 12 12V 550W PSU - nVidia SLI Certified
AMD Athlon 64 3700+
DFI LanParty nF4-SLI DR
2 GB OCZ GOLD GX DDR-400 RAM
160 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 3.0 GB/S HD
XFX GeForce 7800GT GPU
Lite-On Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner w/ 5x RAM Write
Lite-On Black IDE DVD-ROM
Samsung 1.44 MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
Zalman 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan w/ Copper Heatsink
Artic Silver 5

Sub-Total: $1011.37
Total (w/ FedEx Express Saver Shipping): $1097.58

Does this look like a good configuration? Is there anything I can improve? Thanks

 

[Praetor]

some people say it is a waste of money other say its a good idea to have the option of getting another card thats cheaper down the road.

Even tho the new card will outpace the SLI .... and the bottleneck down the road wont just be the GPU....

and using the DFI board, overclock it!!!-

DFI makes awesome boards but isnt the only option

Don't games run slower with dual core processors compared to single core

If you're asking, you prolly wont notice. For the most part, the dualcore will effectively be equivelent if not significantly more.

2 GB OCZ GOLD GX DDR-400 RAM

In what configuration?

Zalman 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan w/ Copper Heatsink

Which one?

Sub-Total: $1011.37

Slightly different but will outpace your box

• ASUS A8R-MVP [RX200CF] ($96.99)
• XClio XClio-480BL [12V@33A] ($63.99)
• Rosewill 2x1GB [email protected] ($155.99)
• Maxtor DiamondMax10 200GB 16MB PATA ($89.00)
• AMD Athlon64 X2 3800 [S939, Manchester, ADA3800DAA5BV] ($296.00)
• NEC 3550A DVDRW ($38.99)
• eVGA 7800GT 256MB ($274.00 after $20.00 MIR)
• SUBTOTAL: $1014.96