NFB: I'm finally getting a new computer!!

[02Z28]

HAHA, I just spent over $600 bucks worth of upgrades tonight....the most I've spent on computer stuff in 2+ years.

$600?!?!

what happened to your "$250 - $300" budget? LOL!!!!

lemme know what all you got....linky linky

[JeffM]

Not to mention their outstanding tech support. Homemade computers don't have this luxury.

Well.. if you're building your own PC I don't think you're worried about tech support

And yeah, I was just saying the Dells aren't great gaming machines because of their lack of upgradeability. The BIOS is usually locked, so no overclocking. That's just one downfall. They usually have slow bus speeds, and they use generic hardware.

But yeah, if you're not sure how to build, buying one is your best bet. That way you plug it in, and if you have problems, you have a phone # to call.

I sometimes build PC's for friends/families, but I have stopped doing that because then I become their tech support. I don't do tech support for others unless they pay me, and I'm not about to start asking for $$ from friends/families. Now when they ask me, I say "Buy a Dell".

And about the price - I built my gaming rig about a year ago - P4 2.4 overcloked now to 3.2, ASUS P4PE mobo, 1gb PC2700, ATI 9800pro, 310gb of HD space, 21" Trinitron monitor, and some other stuff that doesn't really matter, for about $800 including the monitor. At the time it blew any store bought away. It needs a little upgrading now though

Good luck, and get "Far Cry" - best game I've played in a very long time. And after you get good, shoot me a line and join multiplayer with me and some friends!

[Aaron4TAMU]

I sometimes build PC's for friends/families, but I have stopped doing that because then I become their tech support. I don't do tech support for others unless they pay me, and I'm not about to start asking for $$ from friends/families. Now when they ask me, I say "Buy a Dell".

HAHAHA, so true....

And about the price - I built my gaming rig about a year ago - P4 2.4 overcloked now to 3.2, ASUS P4PE mobo, 1gb PC2700, ATI 9800pro, 310gb of HD space, 21" Trinitron monitor, and some other stuff that doesn't really matter, for about $800 including the monitor. At the time it blew any store bought away. It needs a little upgrading now though

You know you may be able to turn that ati 9800 pro into an xt? PM me for the info.

[DJ Taso]

Far Cry is ok..I have the demo. I just don't like how the AI taunts you, too arcadish and cheesy imo. It runs flawlessly on my machine with max settings and with no AA. Doom 3 and HL2 is where it's at. That's what I'm for. Doom 3 is optimized to run at ultra settings for video cards that aren't even out yet!

Here's a complete article if Doom 3 can run on your system,

http://www2.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjQ0LDI=

According to them, I can run Doom 3 on 1024 x 768 with Medium settings and average 40 fps. Hopefully with some more tweaking I can get into the high settings.

If you don't know what Doom 3 or any of the Doom series is you either live under a rock or spend way too much time on your cars

And yes, I overclocked my 9800 Pro to an XT with no problems 412/365. Here's how, http://atitool.ocfaq.com

[JeffM]

Far Cry is ok..I have the demo.

Far is insanely awesome. That's all there is to it! It's a 5 disc install, and the game is LONG. And very hard. I think that you can get over the fact that the enemies taunt you, and get down to what really counts - the gameplay. It's amazing. I beat it and am now going through again on a more challenging mode. It's very hard.

And my PC also runs it at the highest settings and 1280x1024, so nyeah nyeah nyeah!

I already paid for D3, I'll be getting it next week.

[TODD 2000 V6 CAMARO]

So how does a person go about over-clocking a processor? I realize I might not be able to on my Dell, but how does it work? And....how good is my graphics card going to be? It is a NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128mb DDR. Would it run Doom3 or will I need to get a faster one? Also, how hard is it to change the graphics card? Man...now this thread is starting to sound like the nornal ones here, only the wrong subject is being discussed. LOL Anyway, can anyone give me some input on this?

[JeffM]

Overclocking can be done either with moving jumpers around on the Mobo (old school way) or changing BIOS settign (most new MoBos) You change the frequency multipliers, and can up the core voltage a little too. Also have to monitor the CPU temps so you don'[t fry it. As far as yours, last I heard Dell BIOS' were locked down. Also, I don't think they have jumpers to change. Check your motherboard manual.

The vid card should be ok for games. As far as upgrading it, you need to make sure that it has an AGP slot, and it's not a PCI card. It probably isn't, but check anyway. Just open it up, pull the old card out, stick the new one in, install the drivers, and you should be good. Will probably void your warranty though.

Try it first. Go download 3D Benchmark 01, and 03 and run it, and post your scores. That'll give you a good idea on how it's going to run games.

I can't remember who makes those benchmark tests, but it has the word "onion" in it.. Mad Onion maybe? I haven't used them in a while.

[DJ Taso]

Try it first. Go download 3D Benchmark 01, and 03 and run it, and post your scores. That'll give you a good idea on how it's going to run games.

I can't remember who makes those benchmark tests, but it has the word "onion" in it.. Mad Onion maybe? I haven't used them in a while.

http://www.futuremark.com/download/

[Aaron4TAMU]

And yes, I overclocked my 9800 Pro to an XT with no problems 412/365. Here's how, http://atitool.ocfaq.com

Actually, what I mean, is actually turning it into one by flashing the bios...not just overclocking. Won't make a HUGE difference, but it opens up a few more pipelines on the GPU...pipelines that the XT, and some PROs have. Here is the link if you are interrested:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthrea...7&page=1&pp=20