Buying New PC, are these specs OK?

[Jack Morris]

I am going to buy a new PC soon, I am going to get the following specs as minimum:

Quadcore i7 Processor at 3.0Ghz

Nvidia GTX 580

8GB of RAM

(are there any other specs I need?)

Is this okay? How will CoD run over London etc? I'm hoping for a consistent 30+ FPS.

Thanks for the help!

[RickRuski]

Yes, just make sure that the power supply is capable of expansion as far as load is concerned. A lot of pc's come with a power supply that is ok for the system but not allow for further expansion ( graphics cards of the future that have higher power demands, extra cooling fans and maybe an extra hdd).

Rick

[335th_GRAthos]

Nvidia GTX 580 with 1.5Gb VRAM (I hope not) or Nvidia GTX 580 with 3Gb VRAM (I hope yes)

Make sure you get the second.


Operating system? I presume Win7 64bit (just checking...)

8Gb RAM is perfectly all right. IF POSSIBLE and cost difference minimal, I would prefer 12Gb because you can create very easily RAMDISKS of 5-6Gb and thus have most of your game(s) loaded on RAM when you play (For me it is easier to have a 2Tb normal hard disk + RAMDISKs than a 300Gb SSD disk + trying to find where to put the rest of my files).


~S~

[klem]

There is a school of thought that says i7 which has hyperthreading gives no advantage over the i5 which doesn't as CoD doesn't take advantage of Hyperthreading. Of course that may change. Just a thought if you are pushed for cash.

The i7 (well the previous generation i7 950) can be heavily overclocked with the right settings and cooler so you may want to think about that. Having said that the CPU isn't worked very hard atm by CoD, its the video card that takes the main load and the more memory you have on that the better. My GTX570 1.28Gb is almost fully loaded by CoD and would probably use more memory if it could.

The RAM should be fine. I have 6Gb but there is a memory leak in the game which loads up at around 2.5Gb and gradually increases to just over 5Gb at which point the game crashes. Once that problem is sorted out I believe my 6Gb will be more than enough so you should be fine.

You may want to think about a Solid State Drive (SSD) in place of the usual spinning hard drive (HDD). With windows and games on the SSD and other stuff like wordprocessing, photos etc on the HDD, you minimise the size/cost of SSD you buy and get a faster bootup and game response. I can't prove it porevents the stutters caused by loading map and skins data from the SSD but I believe it must do, I only suffer stutters from skin downloads (causes lag) and intense grahics (London) due to GPU limitations. I have 128Gb SSD and that has windows, CoD, IL-2'46, and FSX on it (about 10Gb to spare). If you get one be sure to check the read/write speeds are good. Older ones weren't much better than HDDs. Plenty of reviews on the web though.

[JG52Uther]

I have always heard that the i5 2500k is the 'sweet spot' for gaming, and the i7 is good if you want to do other tasks as well, such as image editing.

[fruitbat]

I have always heard that the i5 2500k is the 'sweet spot' for gaming, and the i7 is good if you want to do other tasks as well, such as image editing.

Yep, bang for buck and with its ease of ridiculous overclocking ability the i5 2500k is by far the best chipset out there.

[Jack Morris]

Well, this is the system I want, I am trying to play all flight sims, I just posted in this forum, becuase the members seem by far the most helpful, and it is also the most demanding game, (Along with FSX with mega airport and AI)

http://www.chillblast.com/pconf.php?productid=17826

If you scroll down the page, I have selected the Most powerful processor, and the 3072mb Nvidia.

However, I have unchecked the the drive, to the least powerful (I don't need to read/write BluRay) I have also unchecked the OS because I have the install disks at home (for XP and Win7) Would it be adviseable to have them install the OS for me? (The total cost is 1500 pounds)

Which brings me onto my penultimate question... I play all flight sims, and some of them don't work on windows 7, so would CoD run anywhere near as well on XP?

And my ultimate question, could I get an equally powerful computer for less money? (I didn't ignore the advice of the people telling me to get i5, but the option is simply not on the sight)

Oh and how many FPS would this system give me, if all settings were max?

Thanks in advance!

Jack

[335th_GRAthos]

some of them don't work on windows 7, so would CoD run anywhere near as well on XP?
No!
But, this is the first time I hear that WinXP-64 can not play a WinXP game!!!! Normally you should have no problem whatsoever playing older WinXP games. Win7-64 Professional and upwards have a very good WinXP compatibility mode.


And my ultimate question, could I get an equally powerful computer for less money?
I am sure you could but can not tell you where as I do not live in the UK.

Oh and how many FPS would this system give me, if all settings were max?
The correct answer is always: Not enough!
But it depends on your screen resolution (which you did not mention). If I would assume that your resolution would be 1920x then you will probably having 40fps over cities, 70-90fps flying over land and 140+ in the air.

~S~

[klem]

... but don't blame me :)

Case already has front, rear and side fans. Looks ok.

Processor. Looks like hey are building this for you? You could go overclocked but you'd need to be sure the cooler can support that (if they are buildng it they should advise and guarantee it)

Cooler - presumably up to the job, ask them.

Extra Case fan - can always add later if required.

Video card - you have checked the 1.5Gb not the 3Gb

Drives look ok dependong on how many flight sims you intend to fit on the SSD. HDD for the other junk.

Power supply. Looks healthy but ask them if they are building it. Can find some websites where you plug in all the kit and it tells you the PSU requirement.

Wireless networking - None. My preference is hard wired for gaming but if you do go wireless get the n band router not the g band (802.11n)

Windows 7 Home Premium should be fine, I have that and no problems with CoD. XP seems to have trouble running CoD for many people and I would move on anyway.


EDIT: Other suppliers? try www.scan.co.uk. They build some impressive systems, I have bought from them for years. They built my 3XS system and were very supportive when I ran into a Motherboard X58 chipset/SSD problem.

[Jack Morris]

I am sure you could but can not tell you where as I do not live in the UK.
~S~

I don't either! I live in Dubai, UAE, and will be having everything shipped, so getting a system from the US will be no problem! Thanks for the info by the way!

[Jack Morris]

Video card - you have checked the 1.5Gb not the 3Gb


Sorry, should have made it clearer, that link just sends the standard page, there is no way of sending what I have checked! But thanks for the advice, I will look into Scan Computer Hardware now!

[335th_GRAthos]

I don't either! I live in Dubai, UAE, and will be having everything shipped,!

Ahahahahahahahaha!

check your pm.... (in 5min)


~S~

[tanker 21]

I would also check the new ATi hd 7970 (3GB) graphics card. Came out yesterday . The same price as the 3 GB gtx 580 but faster cooler and uses less power and aparantlly overclocks like mad ....

[Jack Morris]

Thanks to GRAthos, I know a good place in Dubai where I can get a computer built in under 2 hours. Due to various circumstances, the best specs they can offer me are as follows. (Bear in mind that I just want to run CoD at a consistent 30FPS over london at almost max settings, and I can always upgrade parts in the future):

GTX 580 1.5GB

i7 2600k at 3.3ghz

8GB of RAM (Kingston)

850w Power Supply

Nice Case

These are my final specs, are they good enough to run at 30FPS over London?

And thanks one more time to GRAthos! Your advice was much appreciated!

[CWMV]

My PC has nearly the same specs as those, and before I gave up on the game I averaged about 55-58fps nearly everywhere, and flying over London was no issue at all.
With this you will wonder how anyone could fly at 30 fps.

[klem]

Thanks to GRAthos, I know a good place in Dubai where I can get a computer built in under 2 hours. Due to various circumstances, the best specs they can offer me are as follows. (Bear in mind that I just want to run CoD at a consistent 30FPS over london at almost max settings, and I can always upgrade parts in the future):

GTX 580 1.5GB

i7 2600k at 3.3ghz

8GB of RAM (Kingston)

850w Power Supply

Nice Case

These are my final specs, are they good enough to run at 30FPS over London?

And thanks one more time to GRAthos! Your advice was much appreciated!

Its your GPU, resolution and game settings that will decide. My 1.28Gb GTX570 delivers 30+ fps at rooftop level with the occasional momentary drop into the 20s to load textures or something. However I am only running 1680 x 1050 resolution (I have the impression that 1900 may account for a significant fps drop), AA set to x2, Anti-Epilepsy filter off (a must), SSAO off, Vsynch on and Detail Level initially set to High and then with the following adjustments:
Builings Detail Low
Forest Off
Buildings amount Medium
Grass off

If you have 1680 x 1050 you should do better than that with your 3Gb 580 GPU. If you have 1900 res I would expect you to get at least as good as I do on 1680. So you could start as above or just whack it on Very High, play with the settings and see how it goes.

Forest is a huge resource hog (all those individual swaying glittering trees) and are pointless except perhaps at lower settings just for the eye candy. The trees do not have collision modelling so you can fly through them. Actually its the enemy planes that sometimes try to hide in them thinking they can because they have Forest On but if you have it off/very low you can see them, they can't hide. :)


Short answer - you will be fine but you may not be able to run fully maxed out (who can?). Don't fret about London. Its become a bit of an informal bechmark but I've never actually had to fight over London.

[335th_GRAthos]

Hi Jack,

I would say the GTX580 1.5Gb is a NO GO!
Waste of money. If they do not have a 3Gb GTX580 then check if they have 2,5Gb GTX570
If they dont, check if they have GTX560ti 2Gb

NV will bring the next generation of cards soon (=insallah) so the GTX580 1.5Gb will lose its value in seconds after that. Therefore it may be better if no other option to buy a smaller cheaper card (GTX560ti 2Gb) and wait, rather than wasting so much money.


8GB of RAM (Kingston) Why only 2x4Gb!? Send me the model of the MOTHERBOARD they want to give you. I always recommend the three+three RAM slots (DDR3) motherboards (so that you can go to 3x2Gb = 6 or 6x2Gb= 12 or 3x4Gb =12
Remember, with a lot of RAM you will be able to create 6Gb RAMDISKS and run your games from there, it will be much better performance.

850w Power Supply is a bit small if you want to keep the PC (and you probably will since you like the case (I like their big cases a lot ;) ). Check how big the price difference is if you put a 1100w.


Over London the game consumes 2.4Gb VRAM. If your card has less than that you have trouble (actually no trouble, just 50% less fps)

My 2cents

~S~

[Igo kyu]

8GB of RAM (Kingston) Why only 2x4Gb!? Send me the model of the MOTHERBOARD they want to give you. I always recommend the three+three RAM slots (DDR3) motherboards (so that you can go to 3x2Gb = 6 or 6x2Gb= 12 or 3x4Gb =12
The 1155 socket, which the 2600K uses exclusively, will only deal with dual channel DDR3, you can't fit three or six sticks in any motherboard compatible with that CPU (well, three as two and one leaving an empty socket, but that's not ideal).

[Slayer]

COD runs in DX10 normally which isn't supported by win XP. Sure it will run in DX9 mode ok but I have a feeling once they roll out the new graphics code it will run a lot quicker. You might want to stick with Win7, if you have REALLY old games that work only under XP go dual boot. Even FSX: Acceleration supports DX10. No sense in wasting all that new graphics horsepower on DX9(circa 2002).

Right now COD doesn't run well on DX9 or DX10 but 30 FPS with that hardware is easily obtainable. For me it's 60 FPS or bust but thats just my personal opinion.

[335th_GRAthos]

The 1155 socket, which the 2600K uses exclusively, will only deal with dual channel...

Oh, what a pity!

OK, then, you need to check if they can fit 16Gb RAM (4x4Gb) because 8Gb is a bit low if you want to build a good PC...


~S~

[Jack Morris]

Hi Jack,

I would say the GTX580 1.5Gb is a NO GO!
Waste of money. If they do not have a 3Gb GTX580 then check if they have 2,5Gb GTX570
If they dont, check if they have GTX560ti 2Gb


~S~

They wanted to give me a mid range motherboard, should I go for a more top model? Also they only had the 1.5GB GTX580, can I get two of them? Would duel cards be equal to 3GB?

[klem]

They wanted to give me a mid range motherboard, should I go for a more top model? Also they only had the 1.5GB GTX580, can I get two of them? Would duel cards be equal to 3GB?

I now Grathos is guiding you here but my 2p is Yes and No.

Think of the future and get a mobo that meets at least today's best offerings on memory, CPU socket, chipset. NO to the 1.5Gb 580 if you can afford the 3Gb. also see Grathos' earlier post. If they can't do better than that you may not be talking to the best supplier.

[Codex]

For the graphics card, is AMD Redeon not an option?

The 7970 should be trickling through now (if your quick), yes it is dearer than the GTX580 but not by a lot and it will definitely see you through the next few years.

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-2xmDP-Graphics-Cards-FX797ATNFC/dp/B006Q4MPRA/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326418283&sr=8-1-spell

[Jack Morris]

NO to the 1.5Gb 580 if you can afford the 3Gb.

Answer is, money is not an object, but, I live in Dubai, and nowhere has the 3GB

[Flanker35M]

S!

Go for the AMD 7970HD if available. It is the fastest card at the moment. I ordered a XFX 7970HD Black Edition 3Gb version.

[335th_GRAthos]

They wanted to give me a mid range motherboard, should I go for a more top model? Also they only had the 1.5GB GTX580, can I get two of them? Would duel cards be equal to 3GB?

Hi, I an still in the Liwa desert so very limited online access... ;-)

As Klem already said, GTX580 is a no go, check if they have the other otpions I mentionned, they are supposed to be one of the main distributors in the region...
(Two cards will not do the job, you need one single card).
I am sorry, I do not know AMD and how well the new AMD cards perform with COD so make sure you hear the opinions of users before deciding to go for an AMD card.

The motherboard, med range is not good when you think about overclocking and performance...
They have super motherboardsso get the specs of a good model and check in the internet about the performancve.
The motherboard and the RAM will define how much you will be able to overclock your CPU later ;-)

Good luck!

~S~

[Jack Morris]

Just got it. There was a place on the floor of the computer plaza that sold the best stuff! Specs:

Nvidia 580 GTX 3GB

16GB of DDR3 RAM

i7 2600K processor

IL-2 is just downloading, I will tell you how it runs later, Thanks for your help everybody!

[335th_GRAthos]

Congrats!

Nice config! :)

And PM me the name of the shop! (still looking for a 3Gb card...)

~S~

[Jack Morris]

Congrats!

Nice config! :)

And PM me the name of the shop! (still looking for a 3Gb card...)

~S~

I will tomorrow morning, I can't remember because my father picked it up for me on the way back from work.

[335th_GRAthos]

I see, it is going to be a very long night if you are typing at 01:00
(and school tomorrow... don't want to be in your place LOL)

Anyway, since you have now 16Gb RAM, you also need to look into this thread:
Use a RAM drive to reduce stuttering
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=20228

ImDisk and Link Shell Extension are two fantastic utilities...

~S~

[Jack Morris]

Congrats!

Nice config! :)

And PM me the name of the shop! (still looking for a 3Gb card...)

~S~

Royal Focus Computers! And don't worry, no school! haha!

[Jack Morris]

Can run it with absolutely max settings, at between 50-60 fps over London! Thanks everyone!

[335th_GRAthos]

Lucky bugger!

Enjoy!


~S~

[klem]

Can run it with absolutely max settings, at between 50-60 fps over London! Thanks everyone!

Congrats Jack.

I know it seems to be coming down to spec atm (maybe "the patch" will change that) but its nice to welcome another positive result to the fold.

Check 6!

[SEE]

Nice to see you cutting your teeth in ATAG - MP, enjoyed talking to you Jack, been a long while since we last spoke! Your new system performance in MP sounded great - (dead jealous here!)

You got TS3 working too! - you just need headtracking now! :grin:

[priller26]

Can run it with absolutely max settings, at between 50-60 fps over London! Thanks everyone!


Hello! Congrats on the nice FPS.:-P I am also running a 3 gig 580, and I think it
is one of the few cards available now which will handle the game well. When
I built my system recently, this card with 3 gigs was not even available.

Can you tell me please what your 2600K is clocked at? Thanks!