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Help? New PC for Warhammeronline
Thinking of buying this PC from Acer to replace my current PC
My funds are very limited and the new box is only 457.
Current
Single core processer
1GB ram & 256 video card (NV)
Possible new purchase
Model: AX3200-U3600A SKU: 9026957
AMD Phenom™ X3 triple-core processor 8400; 4GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 320GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1
NVIDIA GeForce 8400
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit with SP1
Thoughts?
Comments
Lets see now... First the graphics card. The 8400 is the chaepest card from a 3 year old generation. It sucks badly.Im a Nvidia user myself, but if budget is the case, see if you cant at least find a 8800 GTS card, they are getting tough to find but they are usually very cheap. Those overclocked 9600+ cards are quite ok also. A real bad thing with the 8400 is that it usually have no fan which means you can forget to clock it up too. Don't get it, you are saving a few bucks but the RAM and GFX card are the most important things for a gaming rigg.
Also, you gave us tons of useless information but not the manufacturer of the motherboard. I reccomend MSI as a priceworth card, in worst case Gigabyte.
Try getting 6400 rams instead, they cost almost the same price, the 5300 is a bit outdated.
That system should be good enough if you don't feel comfortable building it yourself. The video card isn't as much a problem in mmos since most of it is memory intensive which this system has. You can also always replace the video card at a later date for a good one.
If you can put in a video card try this system. It may meet the needs better:
Just remember, both of these Acer machines cannot support processors over 125w. Such as the Phenom 9850, 9950, and Athlon 6000+.
Sorry the info is bad, just going off what they have available on the website. I decided against that case after seeing it in person. WAY too small to ever upgraded the card. Instead I put a little more research into in and thinking of these.
Gateway - Desktop with AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 6000+ Model: GT5668E | SKU: 8830492 --$479.00
-Processor 3.0 Ghz AMD Athlon™ 64 X2
-System Bus 2000MHz
-Cache Memory 2MB at die Level 2
-System Memory (RAM) 3GB DDR2 expandable to 4G
-Hard Drive Size 320GB Serial ATA II (7200 rpm)
-Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE 128MB(Shared)
-Network Card Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
-Available Expansion Bays 1 (3.5"), 1 (5.25"), 1 Portable Media Drive
-Available Expansion Slots 2 PCI-E x1, 1 PCI-E x16
-Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
----------------------------------------
Gateway - Desktop with AMD Phenom™ Quad-Core Processor 9500
Model: GT5674 | SKU: 8775792 ---$569.00
--Processor 2.2 GHz AMD Phenom™
-System Bus 3600MHz
-Cache Memory 2MB at die Level 3
-System Memory (RAM) DDR2 PC2-5300 -3GB expandable up to 4GB
-Hard Drive Size 500GB Serial ATA II (7200 rpm)
-Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE 128MB (Shared)
-Network Card Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet (RJ-45 connector)
-Available Expansion Bays 1 (3.5"), 1 (5.25"), 1 Portable Media Drive
-Available Expansion Slots 2 PCI-E x1
-Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acer AM1100-B1410A Desktop PC & 19" LCD Monitor Bundle,
AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor BE2350 -- $ 577
# 19" widescreen LCD monitor
# 2.1 GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 processor BE2350
# 2 GB of DDR2 system memory
# 250 GB hard drive, 7200 rpm
# SuperMulti DVD+/-RW drive with double-layer capability
# 10/100/1000 Base-T network interface and 56K modem
# 9-in-1 digital media card reader
# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition
# Integrated Graphics Processor/ Vendor:ATI Radeon X1200
# 1 PCI Xpress x1, 1 PCI xpress x16
-----------------------------------------------------------
I figure I could put a
NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB DDR2 PCI Express Graphics Card
-- $79.00
The latter would be a bit more expensive but it has a 19' monitor with it.
Thoughts?
I do not recommend Gateways, Compaqs, or Dells. They are not very good brands to shop for. Acer has cheap parts in thiers, but the 3 I listed have way cheaper parts. For your video card I do not recommend an 8400 unless you already bought it. That price is too high for such a crappy video card. If its simply on price to performance it should cost $20. I would recommend the one I already suggested. Its performance matches that of its last generation high-end.
Ok, I went and looked at a bunch of computers, compared a bunch and looked at the links above.
Here is the problem I ran into locally. The boutique boxes have inadequate power supplies for the video cards. Unless I am missing something a 250w or 300w power supply is not going to work for the 512 cards I was looking at. Has anyone else noticed this?
Is there any way Cleffy to tell that the Video card you suggested would work with that PC?
You should learn to build your own, much much cheaper. Easier to update too.
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx -Computer
www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx-Vid Card
Add a 500-550w power supply from a good company ((40-50$ there)) and that's the rig my wife uses. ((Make sure you get either a custom comp store or someone good with computer assembly to install your power supply if you're not tech savvy. It's fairly straight forward, but minor mistakes can threaten your computer in a major way)).She handles keep sieges of 70-100 people flawlessly with that setup, full graphics, no slowdown. For a budget comp, I can say this manhandles WAR, and with a lower price tag than most so called 'gaming computers' can meet operating system included.
The comp itself -is- refurbished, which can mean a lot of things from a misordered open box return to hardware or software issues, however the comp we got was in perfect condition. Not a scratch, nor hitch, nor loose wire to be found. They restore the desktop to factory condition, and while there is no refund available from newegg on refurbished comps, that does not include issues with the pc itself meaning that you can return it for a replacement should the one you receive turn out to be faulty.
Just another option for you.
You would need to replace the power supply with atleast a 400watt supply. Most pre-mades all come with power supplies sufficient to power what they are built to power. If you get one with a midrange card then it will be able to power it.
I have never built a pc from scratch but I went through and priced the components and the money ends up being higher. Especially with shipping and there are no decent parts places where I live.
I have found an asus locally at an office depot that fits what i need. Duo core, 2gb ddr2 ram, PCI X x16
The power supply will need to be replaced and after reading up on that I figure I can do it.
WIth that and a decent video card I should be good.
None of the ones mentioned so far are either avail or in my price range. I am thinking a Geforce 512 for about $80 would let me do the whole thing for around 500-550 but the guy at the store said something about the rails in the box not being able to handle more power. He went off after that. Is he talking about the cables from the power supply or do motheboards have a power limitation I should be worried about?
I kind of thought they would only pull the power they needed and anything else was just extra potential.
Video cards that require power usually need a certain amount of power going through its 12v rail. Usually its 20A per video card. This can also be done in multiple rails. However, most power supplies over 500w have that minimum.
I don't recommend any Geforce under $80. They simply are outclassed by similiarly priced Radeon HDs. In that price range here are cards you should be looking for. ATI Radeon HD3450/70, HD3650/70, HD3850, HD4550, and HD4650/70. These cards range from $30~$90. All of which out class any geForce within this range.
Thx Cleffy.
I am going to go back today to check out the boxes. I appriciate the help.
Hmm,
Hope this works.
I am going with
VisionTek - ATI RADEON HD3870 OC 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express Graphics Card
Model: 900226 SKU: 8762234
512MB GDDR4 memory; PCI Express x16 interface; dual DVI-I and TV/HDTV outputs; 2340MHz clock speed for 139.99
&
Antec - EarthWatts 500-Watt ATX CPU Power Supply
Model: EARTHWATTS 500 SKU: 8545158
12V power for motherboard and peripherals
12V for processor; 80 PLUS certified; 80mm fan
$109.99
Best of what I have locally . Now I am off to hunt the least expensive value option pc to put them in.
Thanks
Here is what I ended up with
Compaq Presario 5R5610F
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4800+ (2 CPUs), ~2.5GHz
Memory: 3070MB RAM
Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Antec 600W power supply
VisionTek - ATI RADEON HD3870 OC 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express Graphics Card
Computer - $300
Power supply - $ 110
Video Card - $ 160
Total box $ 570
And it runs like a dream. Pretty simple now that I have done it. Can't believe I was so stressed about changing out a power supply. Live and learn I guess.
Thanks to everyone for their help and feedback.