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Thoughts on Video Cards

Ed

Philosopher
E
Joined
Aug 4, 2001
Messages
8,658
I am thinking about getting a gaming machine. Since I have a HDTV the notion of running S-Video seems silly. Anyone here haave any experience using component outputs from a computer to a tv?

RE. the machine itself. I figure just maxing out a dell something or other. Likw 2GB memory and a 2.8 Gig processor. I am looking at a 4600. What else should I be thinking about?
 
Hi Ed,

Apologies if I'm wrong but it sounds as if you have some cash to splash. If it's gaming you're about, you might like to consider an Alienware box. I bought one a couple of years ago straight off their site and have never regretted the splurge. I'm going back for another one in the autumn.

You can aim a bit higher in your specs as well, they'll do an Intel 3.4 Ghz or AMD equivalent, you can customise the choice of components. Not sure if the 4600 refers to the nVidia card, but that's what I have and it is 2 years old so you'll probably be looking at the nVidia 5xxx or Radeon 9xxx (I think) graphics if you want to keep up. You'll want the Audigy 2 sound card as well.

Don't know where you live mate, but they (at least) have US and UK offices:

www.alienware.com
www.alienware.co.uk
 
DickK said:
Hi Ed,

Apologies if I'm wrong but it sounds as if you have some cash to splash. If it's gaming you're about, you might like to consider an Alienware box. I bought one a couple of years ago straight off their site and have never regretted the splurge. I'm going back for another one in the autumn.

You can aim a bit higher in your specs as well, they'll do an Intel 3.4 Ghz or AMD equivalent, you can customise the choice of components. Not sure if the 4600 refers to the nVidia card, but that's what I have and it is 2 years old so you'll probably be looking at the nVidia 5xxx or Radeon 9xxx (I think) graphics if you want to keep up. You'll want the Audigy 2 sound card as well.

Don't know where you live mate, but they (at least) have US and UK offices:

www.alienware.com

I've been dicking round with RPGs since early incarnations of Ultima using basically the same machines I used for work. I figure it is time for a change. It also seems to me that you want the fastest processor possible, 256meg video memory and as much RAM a possible with 512 being a minimum. Don't care about sound since I'll be using a 5.1 surround system. Don't care about disk since this will be game dedicated, though making a disk image of the CD-ROM might enhance speed. Point is, are we not talking about any old box with a wonder bra assuming the specs are met?
Click to expand...
 
Ed said:
Don't care about disk since this will be game dedicated, though making a disk image of the CD-ROM might enhance speed.
Click to expand...
The only thing I'd say about hard drives is to make sure you get a 7200RPM drive, not a 5400RPM one, though the low speed drives seem to be disappearing these days.
 
I know a couple people at work that bought Alienware boxes. All but one are very happy with what they bought. He had a weird interference problem with his sound card that no one could fix and Alienware refunded him without any trouble.

They're definitely good gaming machines and they use mostly off the shelf parts. If you're confident about building your own system you can part it out from Newegg and save yourself ~$200 but you won't get the warranty or the cool case.

I have a Dell Dimension here at home (3gighz, 1 gig ram, Radeon 9800) and it does everything I need it to gamingwise. But if I had money to burn I'd buy a Precision with a Perc raid controller and a couple of scsi drives. The only thing I don't like about the Precisions is their size. Great big ugly systems that barely fit under a desk.
 
Alienware systems are stupidly expensive.

I recommend going to ibuypower.com and getting an Athlon based system. You get the same processing ability at a lower cost. I use an Athlon XP 3200+, and it's screaming.


As for Video Cards, the nvidia Ti series is a thing of the past.

If you are looking for a decent medium-high range card, I'd recommend a Radeon 9800XT. It's the renewal phase of the 9800 (one step up from pro) and is in and of itself a very snazzy card. The x800 is out now, and is much more powerful, but also runs upwards of 500 dollars. If you HAVE that.. go for it, but you really won't find many games really writing with that card in mind. For ATI cards I recommend ATI brand, or Sapphire. Stay away from shady brands that seem to only sell their stuff on the deeply discounted sites, they really aren't worth it.


If you really like nVIDIA, Gainward is your best bet for cards. They are an *awesome* company, using higher quality DDRAM and higher quality fans. You can also get a FX5950 with a water cooling system that just *screams*


If you want something more of a bargain, grab yourself a 9600XT from newegg.
 
I had a ATI All-In-One-Wonder Radeon (64MB) that used a composite video out so you could connect it to your TV.

For a while, until I got my DVD player, it served that purpose and served it well. The only problem was it was a b***h having to unplug it, bring it to the living room, connect it, fire it up, watch the movie, disconnect, bring it back to the computer room and then reconnect it again.

A few months later I broke down and bought the damn DVD player.
 
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