New machine

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Postby colsie » Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:31 am

Hi all. Well I got a new unit for christmas and never told anyone. So here are the specs..

CPU: Intel Core Duo E6750 (2.66ghz)
Motherboard: MSI 7357
Memory: 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 (2x 1GB) updated with an extra 2GB to give 4 GB memory.
Hard Drive: 2x 250GB SATA II Total = 500GB
CD/DVD Drive: 18x DVD = RW DL
Floppy Drive: Integrated 7 in 1 reader
Video/Graphics Card: ATI Radeon X 1650 SE 256mb PCI-Express
Tv Card: Phillips TV card
Sound Card: RealTek ALC888 Integrated sound card
Media centre remote included with vista reciever

Overall I feel a nice basic gaming system with a minor improvement I could have it better.

Please leave comments on it.
colsie
 

Postby HardCorePawn » Thu Jan 31, 2008 7:28 am

Save up and get a new video card would be my advice... preferably 512Meg...

I am currently torn between getting an 8800GT and waiting for the 9 series nVidia cards... although I just realised yesterday that I missed an awesome opportunity as my mum + dad just flew back from the UK via Hong Kong... my dad even went to the Wan Chai computer centre... and I forgot to ask him to scope out prices for me!! DOH! :whoops:

oh well, looks like I'll have to convince the missus we need another holiday to HK ;)
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Postby kimz28 » Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:17 am

the 8800GT (512MB) is a very good card for the price $450.00+ noticable improvement in games like Crysis etc..., and as HCP mentioned minimum should be 512MB with all of the texture thrashing going on in games it can only help.
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Postby brownbox » Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:16 am

Get the Radeon HD 2900 Pro. Cost me $240 brand new, and it is slightly faster than a $400+ 8800GTS 320mb. Ofcourse, I have "spruced" mine up a bit
Last edited by brownbox on Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Desktop:Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8@ 3.0Ghz@ 1.36v. 4Gb Supertalent DDR2-800 2.1v@ 5-5-5-15. Asus P5N-E SLI Pencil Modded. Corsair TX 650. 512MB Palit Geforce 8800GT. 2x200GB IDE+640GB SATAII. Windows Vista Ultimate X86. Samsung SH-S222A
Phone:Nokia N900 Vodafone
Car: 1993 Mitsubishi Mirage Asti Z. Steel Blue Pearl

1996 Toyota Curren 2.0L 5 Spd Manual Silver. 205/50/R16 on Enkei K-95. Lowered on Jamex Superlows. Remote locking. Remote boot release. Cruise control
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Postby Charl » Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:23 am

If you listen to music, or have some high-grade addons (WOP P40 anyone?) then a good sound card will vastly improve your immersive experience.
You'd think with a a dual core and all it wouldn't matter...
I ran mine for a while with onboard sound, and the difference between thud thud before and ROARR BOOM after is stunning.
Last edited by Charl on Thu Jan 31, 2008 11:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby HardCorePawn » Fri Feb 01, 2008 7:29 am

kimz28 wrote:
QUOTE (kimz28 @ Jan 31 2008, 10:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
the 8800GT (512MB) is a very good card for the price $450.00+


brownbox wrote:
QUOTE (brownbox @ Jan 31 2008, 12:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Get the Radeon HD 2900 Pro. Cost me $240 brand new, and it is slightly faster than a $400+ 8800GTS 320mb. Ofcourse, I have "spruced" mine up a bit


Dont know where you guys are shopping... but the 8800GT is only around $360 at the moment... there seems to be a bit of a price war happening... check these prices over at pricespy... the Palit is supposedly a relatively decent card... it also has a zalman 'inspired' fan on it, rather than the standard big enclosed unit, which makes it cooler and also quieter. It does suck up a double slot tho as the heatsink fan is so big.

And don't bother with a 8800GTS that has 320 or 640meg... thats the old G80 core... they get beaten by an 8800GT.... the new G92 core GTS (you can easily tell coz it has 512Meg) is faster tho, but about another $100 to $150...

The 8800GT is about even with the Radeon HD3870 in both price and performance... Although with the price drops the GT is slightly cheaper and slightly faster
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Postby NZ255 » Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:22 pm

colsie wrote:
QUOTE (colsie @ Jan 31 2008, 07:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Floppy Drive: Integrated 7 in 1 reader

Sweat set up dude! :drool: ...... :)


Nick
Last edited by NZ255 on Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby brownbox » Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:42 pm

I brought a new video card 2 weeks ago, and the prices have already changed again....
Desktop:Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8@ 3.0Ghz@ 1.36v. 4Gb Supertalent DDR2-800 2.1v@ 5-5-5-15. Asus P5N-E SLI Pencil Modded. Corsair TX 650. 512MB Palit Geforce 8800GT. 2x200GB IDE+640GB SATAII. Windows Vista Ultimate X86. Samsung SH-S222A
Phone:Nokia N900 Vodafone
Car: 1993 Mitsubishi Mirage Asti Z. Steel Blue Pearl

1996 Toyota Curren 2.0L 5 Spd Manual Silver. 205/50/R16 on Enkei K-95. Lowered on Jamex Superlows. Remote locking. Remote boot release. Cruise control
1996 Mitsubishi GTO MR

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