Getting a computer

[BobMeisterLlama]

Hey, I'm new here and I had a computer question. I'm ordering a new computer and i was wondering if these specs would be able to run the game fairly well in high resolution.

Pentium® 4 Processor at 2.40GHz with 533MHz front side bus
512MB Dual Channel DDR SDRAM at 333MHz (2x256M)
40GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
128MB DDR GeForce FX 5200 Graphics Card

I'm really sorry if there have been a lot of posts like this before (*cringes* please don't flame me!).

[SmartieKjm]

i would imagine you could use that setup and play in high-res ok...but the 2.4 ghz kind of worries me....if i was getting a new pc i would want to get a ghz up in the 3's.

it would probably cost too much to addd a radeon card on there...but that is what i personally would do..hehe..well that is what i did...

i also recently bought a new pc...

Pentium 4 - 3 ghz
512 ram
radeon 9700 pro
110 gig harddrive

if i was in your shoes i would try and get a higher ghz,bigger hard drive and radeon card...

but that is probably out of the range you want to spend..

i don't like the 2.4ghz....to invest in a new pc i think it would be wise to at least get a 2.8ghz...but i would want a 3ghz.

sorry if i couldn't help...but that is what i think.

[BobMeisterLlama]

Anyone else have an opinion?

[skoreanime]

Well, you have decent parts. However, you RAM will hold back your CPU. Currently, your CPU is running at a FSB of 533mhz, while your RAM is only 333mhz. Its best if you RAM is in sync with the CPU.

[LifeofEternity]

Your video card is what will hold your fps back. Download the benchmark from the officical FFXI site and see what you get, I doubt that you will get over a 3000. IF you have an agp slot you may want to buy a new video card, I suggest a Ati radeon 9600 pro, It will run circles around your old card. But take the bench first, IF you get over a 3000 on high, then you're fine.

[gigaman]

please, do yourself a favor and do NOT get a fx 5200. from my "sources", the FX series pales in comparison to older nVidia cards. may I recommend one of these:

geforce 4 ti- 4200: old, but it gets the job done.

ati 9600 pro: its more expensive than the ti 4200, but only gets like 7- 9 more fps. this was from a bencmark posted by someon on gamefaqs.com

ati 9800 pr: i hear it's better than the other two, but way more expensive.

Hope I Helped...

[getzxxx]

Both your ram and CPU will be fine. From the specs it looks like your board doesn't take anything more then 333Mhz ram anyways, since you're getting a CPU with 533 bus speed. The 2.4 chip is so much more worth it in terms of cost. The extra cost for a 3.0Ghz just isn't worth it..... waste of money in my view. Get a 2.4C and overclock it to 3.0GHz without anything to worry about.

I have a 2.4C with a Readeon 9600 pro and I score 3900+ on high res. And when overclocked to 3.0GHz I get 4200+

I even played on a 1.6GHz with a ATI readeon 7500 pro AIW on high res and it only slows down during foggy weather, otherwise it runs great.

[Alexander]

Got an Athlon XP 2500+, overclocked it to all hell (2400MHz+, well past a 3200+) and new Asus 400MHz motherboard from Newegg, $170 total for both. With a 9800 Pro, I get over 6100 on high. A lot of that is the Radeon, sure, but I think it still did over 3000 with a 7500. I like AMD.

[ChivalricRonin]

www.thunderboxpc.com

If you want the most powerful gaming PC, that is the place to go. Give me a PM and I might be able to get you a deal.

First of all, how much are you wanting to spend? Second, are you experienced at overclocking at all?

I personally have an Xfuel Nitro SE from them with some of the following items

LiquidCooling option
Intel 3.0 ghz P4c w/HT 800 FSB
Abit IC7-G Motherboard
1 gig PC3500 low latency RAM
320 gig RAID 0 Array
Ati Radeon 9800 Pro

I'm getting well over 7000 on the benchmark

From what you've shown me, you're getting ready to buy a comp with somewhat outdated technology. Send me a PM telling me how much you're willing to spend, and I'll point you in the right direction.

[BobMeisterLlama]

Augh, Ronin, if you had posted like 30 min. earlier you might have been able to help me, but I caved. I called Dell for some information about the computer, but then the lady started talking about the deals, and I was like, no that's ok, but she kept talking about how she could make me a better deal over the phone, so eventually I just gave in and bought the computer with those specs except with the 64MB GeForce4 MX. I'm planning on getting the 9800 for the holidays. Augh...will my configuration be able to run decently until I can upgrade the card? Man, I'm too impulsive.

[ChivalricRonin]

Awwww noooooo! It would be my suggestion to call them up right away and cancel! If you do it quick enough, there are no penalties! Dells (I used to have one that is a linux box right now), are horrible for certain uprades and stuff like that, especially if you want to game. Often you cannot even overclock. Honestly, if you're a gamer, programmer, work with video/audio stuff the major brands are a horrible value. You don't get as much performance for the price.

I've had my girlfriend cancel a dell order before so I know it can be done. I hate to see a gamer buy something that's really insufficient. It was like night and day when I got my ThunderboxPC. Listen, how about you drop me an IM on AIM at ChivalricRonin, or post the price you're looking to spend here. No harm in that. If we can figure something out cancel the Dell!

As to your question about that computer, you'll be able to run the game, but I doubt you'll be able to turn on many of the detail options. Honestly, the MX line of GF4s and the FX 5200/5600 are really really crappy compared to the GF4 Ti series and the FX 59xx. Its good to have 128mb of Vram these days on a good card.

[getzxxx]

Also a note about those big name company computers(ie Dell, IBM etc..), if you got one of those low profile cases instead of a tower case you might be introuble if you want to upgrade your video card or put in a PCI card. The low profile units only accept half size PCI/AGP cards. That means forget about going out to get your 9800, cause it just won't fit in the machine. And the only place to get half size PCI/AGP cards is from where you got your PC from and usually they only offer older out dated cards......

[BobMeisterLlama]

I called the dell people and they said it was too late to cancel it. Meh, I'll just have to cross my fingers for...uh...the gods to bless my computer with omnipotence. Also, I'm pretty sure that it has an AGP slot cause I asked them just to make sure that I would be able to upgrade to the 9800.