Hi guys,
I'm just after some advice on a new 'gaming' system. Most notably, I want to know whether people think it would be best, with what I'm starting with, to wack a top of the line graphics card into my aging system, or to spend the same money to upgrade my entire system but end up with a much lower powered graphics card.
It's been quite a while since I've started feeling like my system needs upgrading, but I don't have much time for gaming these days, so I've been surviving with what I've got and probably would have managed for a couple more years with what I've got, but...
As soon as I heard about Oculus Rift, it's suddenly brought the need to upgrade to the forefront of my mind. I've been dreaming about effective VR for my entire life, and I can't wait for the consumer edition of this thing to come out.
It's a little premature at the moment, but I basically want to upgrade around the same time it comes out. The better graphics that I can have, and the smoother the frame rate, etc., the more immersive the VR experience will be.
At the moment, I have:
Core2Duo E8400
4GB RAM
8800GT
GA-EP35-DS3R
I realise there will be a big mismatch if I wack a new, top of the line graphics card in this setup, but I also know that a good graphics card can often make up for shortcomings in the rest of the system, and if I upgrade the entire system, I will have less money to spend on the graphics card itself. I'm probably going to be looking at spending about $700 all up, and this could be in about a year, depending on when the consumer edition of the Rift comes out.
Another concern I have is that I have two monitors plugged into the 8800GT, and I'm guessing that I need one output free for the Rift, so if I get another two-head card, I will have to unplug a monitor to make room for it.
The MB I have only has one PCI-e slot, so I can't keep my old card in there for extra monitors with the new one in there for gaming/Oculus. The solution would be to either get a three head card, or upgrade the whole system and put both graphics cards in there (assuming the two cards can play nicely together).
So, if anyone can suggest which route would be better for me to take to get the maximum performance for the price range I'm looking at, it would be much appreciated. Also, I know it's early days yet, but if anyone has any specific recommendations for what is likely to be available in a year or so, I'd love to hear them.
Cheers
I'm just after some advice on a new 'gaming' system. Most notably, I want to know whether people think it would be best, with what I'm starting with, to wack a top of the line graphics card into my aging system, or to spend the same money to upgrade my entire system but end up with a much lower powered graphics card.
It's been quite a while since I've started feeling like my system needs upgrading, but I don't have much time for gaming these days, so I've been surviving with what I've got and probably would have managed for a couple more years with what I've got, but...
As soon as I heard about Oculus Rift, it's suddenly brought the need to upgrade to the forefront of my mind. I've been dreaming about effective VR for my entire life, and I can't wait for the consumer edition of this thing to come out.
It's a little premature at the moment, but I basically want to upgrade around the same time it comes out. The better graphics that I can have, and the smoother the frame rate, etc., the more immersive the VR experience will be.
At the moment, I have:
Core2Duo E8400
4GB RAM
8800GT
GA-EP35-DS3R
I realise there will be a big mismatch if I wack a new, top of the line graphics card in this setup, but I also know that a good graphics card can often make up for shortcomings in the rest of the system, and if I upgrade the entire system, I will have less money to spend on the graphics card itself. I'm probably going to be looking at spending about $700 all up, and this could be in about a year, depending on when the consumer edition of the Rift comes out.
Another concern I have is that I have two monitors plugged into the 8800GT, and I'm guessing that I need one output free for the Rift, so if I get another two-head card, I will have to unplug a monitor to make room for it.
The MB I have only has one PCI-e slot, so I can't keep my old card in there for extra monitors with the new one in there for gaming/Oculus. The solution would be to either get a three head card, or upgrade the whole system and put both graphics cards in there (assuming the two cards can play nicely together).
So, if anyone can suggest which route would be better for me to take to get the maximum performance for the price range I'm looking at, it would be much appreciated. Also, I know it's early days yet, but if anyone has any specific recommendations for what is likely to be available in a year or so, I'd love to hear them.
Cheers