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New PC setup - FFXI and other games.Follow

#1 Jun 02 2008 at 2:21 AM Rating: Decent
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262 posts
Hiya everyone, I've come up with a PC setup and I'd love some opinions. I've had this setup worked out with some guys from the website that's making the PC, but they don't play FFXI and you guys do. ^_~

Case:Xion III Gaming Mid-Tower 420W Case with Side Window;
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default Case Fan (they advised I wouldn't need extra fans unless I was overclocking;
Power Supply: LC Silent Giant 550W Power Supply 140mm fan;
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 CPU @ 3.0GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit;
Internal Cooling: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
Motherboard: (QX9650 support) Asus P5K SE Intel P35 Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard
w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio;
Memory: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory -Mushkin Value Select or Major Brand;
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 512MB 16X PCI Express Video Card(Major Brand Power by NVIDIA)
Quote:
The current cards we have for 8800GT's are eVGA and Zotec brands. They're reference cards although they do have better cooling setup than a standard card, and are much quieter to boot than the stock fan.
Quote:
The graphics card will be an Nvidia reference design by another manufacturer - Sparkle, MSI, EVGA etc.

(I might drop down to a 8800GT, but I heard of it's problems with FFXI);
Video Card 2 & 3 O.o; None;
Monitor:19" Wide TFT Active Matrix LCD Display Monitor;
2nd Monitor: Nope;
Hard Drive:250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD;
Data Hard Drive: None;
Optical Drive: SONY DUAL FORMAT 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK);
Optical Drive 2: None;
Sound Card: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 5.1 AUDIO <~ Is this ok? I can get a Creative Labs SB Audigy SE for £17 ($34)
Speakers: Logitech S120 2.0 Stereo Speaker Set(BLACK COLOR)
Network Card: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
Modem: None;
Mouse: Logitech Optical PS2 Mouse (Black);
Keyboard: Logitech PS/2 Keyboard (Black);
Extra Thermal Display: None;
Wireless Access Point/Network Card: None;
Floppy Drive: Yep;
Operating System:
Quote:

~ NONE - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY()[-42]
~ Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition) [-8]
32-bit Edition[+0]
64-bit Edition[+9]

~ Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition)[+0]
32-bit Edition[+0]
64-bit Edition[+9]

~ Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Business w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition)[+16]
32-bit Edition[+0]
64-bit Edition[+9]

~ Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate w/ Service Pack 1(32-bit Edition)[+54]
32-bit Edition[+0]
64-bit Edition[+9]

~ Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack 2 [-8] <~ I'm thinking of this, this is the same as my old OS.

~ Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2()[+16]

~ Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition[+0]



I can also have it "professionally wired" for £11, but they said I can skip that if I'm not overclocking.

PS: I also want to play Spore (requirements below) and Sims 3 (no requirements available yet)on this thing. :3

Quote:
Spore system requirements:For Creature Creator utility: Windows XP/Vista, 2.0 GHz P4 (or equiv.), 512 MB RAM (XP) 768 MB RAM (Vista), 300 MB HD space (600 MB for digital download), 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0


Thanks for reading. :D
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Heybunny & Valfreyja: Leviathan server | PerAsperaAdAstra LS
Married to Blackraven October 2005 ^^
#2 Jun 02 2008 at 3:47 AM Rating: Excellent
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1,086 posts
Greetings Heybunny,

This looks to be an excellent setup. You have a strong video card, CPU, GPU, motherboard, and memory selection. The only thing I may advise is to increase the memory from 2GB to 4GB, if you can. 2GB will work but 4GB is really the sweet spot if you're going to be playing games on Vista.

Dropping down to an 8800GT would be just fine, as it actually is faster in some cases than the 9600GT. If it has problems with FFXI though, stick with the more up-to-date 9600GT. Either should work just fine.

I'm a little confused about the power supply. You list 420W AND 550W. Either will work, but its double listed :).

You may also want to invest in a larger LCD, a 20" or 22" widescreen. 19" is somewhat on the small end these days. It'll work fine if you cannot... 22" can be had though for $200, which is not much more than a 19".

Check on that Sony DVD writer... I bet you can get something cheaper, such as from Samsung or Lite-on. Sony drives are usually unnecessarily expensive. This component shouldn't cost you more than $35.

Looks good overall! I say you're in good hands, as long as its for a decent price and comes with a warranty of some sort.
#3 Jun 02 2008 at 5:38 AM Rating: Decent
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262 posts
Berek Halfhand wrote:
Greetings Heybunny,

This looks to be an excellent setup. You have a strong video card, CPU, GPU, motherboard, and memory selection. The only thing I may advise is to increase the memory from 2GB to 4GB, if you can. 2GB will work but 4GB is really the sweet spot if you're going to be playing games on Vista.


Thanks a lot. ^^
The 4GB expansion will cost £55 ($110) though and I'm already £50 ($100) over budget. However I plan on getting Windows XP again, my only interest in Vista is seeing the interface for myself, especially when FFXI apparently has a lot of problems with it. :P

Berek Halfhand wrote:
Dropping down to an 8800GT would be just fine, as it actually is faster in some cases than the 9600GT. If it has problems with FFXI though, stick with the more up-to-date 9600GT. Either should work just fine.

Pretty much what I was thinking. The only hesitation I have is that no information has been released on www.playonline.com about the 9600GT yet, at least not that I know of. So unless anyone on here has any idea of how it runs FFXI, I can't make anything but a guess over whether or not it will have problems.

Berek Halfhand wrote:
I'm a little confused about the power supply. You list 420W AND 550W. Either will work, but its double listed :).

Hmm, that is strange. The 420W is just on the case section, is it possible it could mean something else? My intention was to get the 550W supply though, because the website I'm buying it from recommends 500+ if I'm using a graphics card any higher than Geforce 8800. I chose that one because it's called "silent giant", I don't know if it'll live up to it's name, but I figured since it's only a few pounds more it couldn't hurt.

Berek Halfhand wrote:
You may also want to invest in a larger LCD, a 20" or 22" widescreen. 19" is somewhat on the small end these days. It'll work fine if you cannot... 22" can be had though for $200, which is not much more than a 19".

Well the monitor I'm using right now is from 2000 or so, it's a standard 16" which I thought was fine for what I wanted. I can definitely see where you are coming from with regards to the cost to upgrade it, but it will up the price by at least £30 ($60) which I can't really afford right now.

Berek Halfhand wrote:
Check on that Sony DVD writer... I bet you can get something cheaper, such as from Samsung or Lite-on. Sony drives are usually unnecessarily expensive. This component shouldn't cost you more than $35.

I doubled checked, it's the cheapest option other than having a non DVD-RW or no drive at all.

Berek Halfhand wrote:
Looks good overall! I say you're in good hands, as long as its for a decent price and comes with a warranty of some sort.

The total at the moment comes to £645 ($1290 approx), but we pay a lot more for things, so it's a little inaccurate. As for warranties, here are the choices:

Quote:

STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT()[+0]

SILVER WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY FIRST YEAR COLLECT & RETURN PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT()[+£45]

GOLD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY FIRST 2 YEARS COLLECT & RETURN PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT()[+£98]

[PLATINUM WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY 3 YEARS COLLECT & RETURN PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT()[+£155]

Please note these Warranty Services ONLY apply to UK mainland customers.

I'm going for Standard at the moment, since I can't really afford much else right now.
For reference, here is the link to the PC I have in mind: CyberPowerSystem.co.uk

Thanks again for reading and for your response. :D
____________________________
Heybunny & Valfreyja: Leviathan server | PerAsperaAdAstra LS
Married to Blackraven October 2005 ^^
#4 Jun 02 2008 at 6:22 AM Rating: Good
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30,086 posts

The 4GB expansion will cost £55


Not worth it.

A 512 8800GT will perform better almost universally. If it's less money (which would be odd, really) go with that.

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Disclaimer:

To make a long story short, I don't take any responsibility for anything I post here. It's not news, it's not truth, it's not serious. It's parody. It's satire. It's bitter. It's angsty. Your mother's a *****. You like to jack off dogs. That's right, you heard me. You like to grab that dog by the bone and rub it like a ski pole. Your dad? Gay. Your priest? Straight. **** off and let me post. It's not true, it's all in good fun. Now go away.

#5 Jun 02 2008 at 5:02 PM Rating: Excellent
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1,086 posts
A 420watt will work well enough for the 8800gt or 9600gt... you shouldn't have to upgrade to the 550watt unless you buy something larger, like a 9800gtx or do SLI or have 4 or 5 hard drives and such in the system. Stick with the 420watt if it will save you money.

And if you're sticking with Windows XP, 2GB should be sufficient. Consider expanding only if you are going to run Vista or plan on using heavier programs, such as 3ds max and such.

Edited, Jun 2nd 2008 8:04pm by Berek
#6 Jun 03 2008 at 5:59 AM Rating: Decent
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262 posts
Thanks for the responses. :)

"Smasharoo" wrote:
A 512 8800GT will perform better almost universally. If it's less money (which would be odd, really) go with that.


"Berek Halfhand" wrote:
A 420watt will work well enough for the 8800gt or 9600gt... you shouldn't have to upgrade to the 550watt unless you buy something larger, like a 9800gtx or do SLI or have 4 or 5 hard drives and such in the system. Stick with the 420watt if it will save you money.

Thanks, I'll check that out with them, I'll be saving £40 ($80) if I can use the standard 420W supply.

"Berek Halfhand" wrote:
And if you're sticking with Windows XP, 2GB should be sufficient. Consider expanding only if you are going to run Vista or plan on using heavier programs, such as 3ds max and such.

Well now (i'm sure they changed it overnight :p) I seem to only be able to get Vista with this particular machine. That said, I've heard from friends that 2GB is fine for Vista too, though I don't know myself.

I think the problem with these two graphics cards is that they are too up to date for FFXI. I've heard of both randomly not working and some people can fix it, some people can't. I've never had an ATI card, so I've no idea if they are better, all I know is that the ones on offer at this site are cheaper than the NVIDIA ones. Does FFXI also have problems with Vista + ATI cards?

Thanks again guys. ^^
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Heybunny & Valfreyja: Leviathan server | PerAsperaAdAstra LS
Married to Blackraven October 2005 ^^
#7 Jun 03 2008 at 6:13 AM Rating: Good
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I've never had an ATI card, so I've no idea if they are better


This obviously depends on the card and the price, but in general at this moment in GPU development, nVidia cards are much better clock for clock.

It's really hard to go wrong with the 8800GT. It's like stealing it's so cheap these days. The 9600 is a good card, too, just newer and you're paying a slight "new shine" premium for similar performance.
____________________________
Disclaimer:

To make a long story short, I don't take any responsibility for anything I post here. It's not news, it's not truth, it's not serious. It's parody. It's satire. It's bitter. It's angsty. Your mother's a *****. You like to jack off dogs. That's right, you heard me. You like to grab that dog by the bone and rub it like a ski pole. Your dad? Gay. Your priest? Straight. **** off and let me post. It's not true, it's all in good fun. Now go away.

#8 Jun 03 2008 at 7:19 AM Rating: Decent
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262 posts
Thanks, that's what I was thinking. The only thing that puts me off NVIDIA 8 (and 9 I've seen too) cards is the problem they can cause in FFXI (basically unplayable framerate).

Actually, these are the choices available with the PC, it seems the 9600 is cheaper than the 8800 for some reason.

Quote:

~ NONE()[-69]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 7200 GS Graphics with TurboCache supporting 256MB 16X PCI Express VIDEO CARD(NVIDIA GeForce 7200 GS Graphics with TurboCache supporting 256MB 16X PCI Express VIDEO CARD)[-54]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE TurboCache supporting 512MB PCI-Express()[-50]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 256MB 16X PCI Express()[-47]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS 512MB 16X PCI Express()[-46]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express()[-41]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express()[-35]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express(Major Brand Power by NVIDIA)[-37]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express()[-21]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS 512MB 16X PCI Express()[-17]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express Video Card(Major Brand Power by NVIDIA)[+19] < this is the other one I am considering.
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 1GB 16X PCI Express()[+58]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB 16X PCI Express(Major Brand Power by NVIDIA)[+76]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 9600GT 512MB 16X PCI Express Video Card(Major Brand Power by NVIDIA)[+0] This is the standard that comes with the PC
~ NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 16X PCI Express(Major Brand otePower by NVIDIA)[+101]
~ NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB 16X PCI Express()[+226]
~ ATI RADEON X1550 256MB 16X PCI EXPRESS VIDEO CARD()[-52]
~ ATI RADEON HD 2400 XT 256MB Video Card()[-39]
~ ATI Radeon HD 3450 PCI-E x16 256MB Video Card()[-47]
~ ATI Radeon HD 3650 PCI-E x16 512MB Video Card()[-32]
~ ATI Radeon HD 3850 PCI-E x16 256MB Video Card()[-6]
~ ATI Radeon HD 3870 PCI-E x16 512MB Video Card()[+13]
~ ATI Radeon HD 3870X2 PCI-E x16 1GB Video Card()[+153]
____________________________
Heybunny & Valfreyja: Leviathan server | PerAsperaAdAstra LS
Married to Blackraven October 2005 ^^
#9 Jun 03 2008 at 9:31 AM Rating: Good
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30,086 posts


Actually, these are the choices available with the PC, it seems the 9600 is cheaper than the 8800 for some reason.


The reason is that it doesn't perform as well.

Nvidia's naming system is strange


____________________________
Disclaimer:

To make a long story short, I don't take any responsibility for anything I post here. It's not news, it's not truth, it's not serious. It's parody. It's satire. It's bitter. It's angsty. Your mother's a *****. You like to jack off dogs. That's right, you heard me. You like to grab that dog by the bone and rub it like a ski pole. Your dad? Gay. Your priest? Straight. **** off and let me post. It's not true, it's all in good fun. Now go away.

#10 Jun 06 2008 at 4:54 AM Rating: Decent
**
262 posts
Thanks guys, I think I'll go with the ATI Radeon 3870 512MB with Vista home premium, because I've not heard anything about that and FFXI having any trouble, even in Vista.
They won't install XP anymore, they say they're not allowed by Microsoft. My friend says that the 3870 is a good card and since I'm not planning on running anything more powerful than the Sims 3 and Spore on this thing at the moment, I think it'll do fine, even if the card is a little sub par to the 8800. Hopefully it beats FFXI running at 3 FPS. XD

I'm going to do a bit more reading up on this particular card while I wait for my new credit card to arrive, so I'm still open to any advice.

Thanks so much for your help guys. :D
____________________________
Heybunny & Valfreyja: Leviathan server | PerAsperaAdAstra LS
Married to Blackraven October 2005 ^^
#11 Jun 07 2008 at 4:15 AM Rating: Decent
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262 posts
My apologies for the double post, but I wanted to post my final specs, I did decide to upgrade the monitor. :)

Quote:
# *BASE_PRICE: [+471]
# CAS: Xion III Gaming Mid-Tower 420W Case with Side Window [+5] (BLACK COLOR)
# CASUPGRADE: NONE
# CS_FAN: Default Case Fan
# CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E8400 CPU @ 3.0GHz 1333FSB 6MB L2 Cache 64-bit
# CD: SONY DUAL FORMAT 20X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLACK COLOR)
# CD2: NONE
# CABLE: None
# FLASHMEDIA: None
# FLOPPY: 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE [+5] (BLACK COLOR)
# FREEBIE_VC: None
# FREEBIE_CU1: FREE! CyberPower Multi-Purpose Carrying Case
# FREEBIE_CU2: FREE! Cyberpower Unleash The Power T-Shirt
# FAN: INTEL LGA775 CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK
# HDD: Single Hard Drive (250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+6])
# HDD2: NONE
# IEEE_CARD: NONE
# KEYBOARD: Logitech PS/2 Keyboard (Black)
# MOUSE: Logitech Optical PS2 Mouse (Black)
# MODEM: NONE
# MOTHERBOARD: (QX9650 support) Asus P5K SE Intel P35 Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2/800 Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
# MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (Mushkin Value Select or Major Brand)
# MONITOR: 22" (21.6" Viewable) WIDE 5MS TFT Active Matrix LCD Display Monitor [+30]
# MONITOR2: NONE
# NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
# OS: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 (32-bit Edition)
# PRO_WIRING: None
# POWERSUPPLY: 550 Watts Power Supplies [+40] (LC Silent Giant 550W Power Supply 140mm FAN)
# RUSH: NONE
# SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 5.1 AUDIO
# SPEAKERS: NONE
# TVRC: NONE
# TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
# USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
# USBHD: NONE
# UPS: None
# VIDEO2: NONE
# VIDEO3: NONE
# VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 3870 PCI-E x16 512MB Video Card [+13]
# WEBCAM: NONE
# WNC: NONE
# WAP: NONE
# WARRANTY: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
# _PRICE: (+570)


The final price comes up to around £700 ($1400).
Oh also, what is the difference between 32 and 64 bit Vista?
I'll be rating everyone in this thread up, thanks so much for your help. ^^


Edited, Jun 7th 2008 8:25am by Heybunny
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Heybunny & Valfreyja: Leviathan server | PerAsperaAdAstra LS
Married to Blackraven October 2005 ^^
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