computer advice

[TheJoker]

would this be a good set up to play the new mmos comin out next year plus civ 5.


PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7 920 2.66GHz (8MB Cache) Quad Core Processor edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English edit
VIDEO CARD Single 1GB GDDR5 ATI Radeon™ HD 5870 edit
MEMORY 9GB Triple Channel 1333Mhz DDR3 edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB - SATA-II, 3Gb/s, 7,200RPM, 16MB Cache HDD edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

[psicodude]

Easily.

9GB of memory is an odd number though.

If you have the money, get a larger hard drive as well.

[TheJoker]

yeah id rather spend my money on prerformance rather than storage since there is only a few games i play.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by psicodude

If you have the money, get a larger hard drive as well.

I'll second that. What's the difference between a 500 and a 1TB? About $30?

Also, are you going to need a blu-ray capable drive for the games you want to get? (No idea if they use blu-ray, I'm not a PC gamer).

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by psicodude

Easily.

9GB of memory is an odd number though.

If you have the money, get a larger hard drive as well.

9GB would be normal on an i7 system - it’s a triple channel memory configuration, so you install RAM in multiples of 3. Assuming the motherboard has 3 slots per channel, it makes sense. I don’t know how many slots most i7 mobo’s have - I haven’t seen too many, unfortunately.

[TheJoker]

really a blue ray can some one confirm this for me

[SebC]

So far I haven't seen any game released on Blu-Ray... if you need one, you can always add it later, and the price drop in the meantime will probably cover the cost of a DVD drive in the mean time anyways.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

9GB would be normal on an i7 system - it’s a triple channel memory configuration, so you install RAM in multiples of 3. Assuming the motherboard has 3 slots per channel, it makes sense. I don’t know how many slots most i7 mobo’s have - I haven’t seen too many, unfortunately.

Yeah, I know. I have built several Core i7 machines. Most i7 boards have 6 memory slots, which makes it impossible to get 9GB of ram. I guess whatever he is getting has 9 slots full of 1GB chips? I didn't even think you could buy 1GB anymore.

I stand by my opinion. It's weird.

[Hack&Lube]

That build is about 5x what you need to play the games you stated

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

9GB would be normal on an i7 system - it’s a triple channel memory configuration, so you install RAM in multiples of 3. Assuming the motherboard has 3 slots per channel, it makes sense. I don’t know how many slots most i7 mobo’s have - I haven’t seen too many, unfortunately.

I haven't been following the 1366 boards that closely but the memory I've seen comes in 2GB sticks X3 for 6 GB or 2GB sticks X6 for 12 GB. I guess you could combine 3 2GB sticks with 3 1GB sticks.

For a hard drive, I'd look at getting an SSD large enough to put his games and OS on and another regular 500GB drive.

[TheJoker]

well if anybody could recomend a cheaper rig that would be great i just want this computer to last me a few years of gaming

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by TheJoker

well if anybody could recomend a cheaper rig that would be great i just want this computer to last me a few years of gaming

If you want it to last, there is no reason to cheap out. The rig you have up there is decent and will last you probably 5 years of gaming as technology cycles seem more tied to the console generations than ever before.

9GB of ram however, is simply overkill for what I assume are your ordinary uses and you do not need that at all unless you do a ton of work like video encoding that requires it or you are running a server with multiple virtual machines, etc.

I would consider maybe getting a 2GB HD5870. I find my 1GB 5870 is not cutting it, especially at Eyefinity Resolutions and some games have been maxing out my video ram. It helps for future proofing, especially if you decide to upgrade the videocard in the future via adding a second one in Crossfire. You could also consider Nvidia's new GTX 460 right now which will scale very well with an additional 460 in SLI now or in the future and is at a good price point. The videocard decision is the most crucial aspect if gaming is a priority for you. However, if only Civilization and MMOs are what you are aiming for, you should be perfectly fine for many years on a 1GB 5870 which is already much more than what you need for those games. I would even suggest that you could consider a cheaper ATI 5770 or 5850 for your current needs.

Save some money on the system ram, and put it into an SSD to install your OS and games on. Ram prices will always keep falling (at least until a technology is nolonger the main tech) and 4-6GB is all you need for the moment.

If I were you, I'd also throw on one of those self-contained water cooling kits like the Corsair H50 on your CPU which will give you more room to grow performance via overclocking in the future.

You should also list what motherboard/PSU you are thinking of getting as those are very important.

[TheJoker]

this is just a build from dell its an aurora desktop

[Hack&Lube]

You chould probably save a tiny bit of money and get overall better components by building it yourself by pricematching to memory express but there is nothing wrong with going for a dell...

I personally would not buy an Aurora however, you pay a premium for the Alienware branding and it doesn't actually offer you any benefits.

If you must go for a Dell, I'd go with a standard one and put a 5870 in there. What is your budget?

I just put together a Studio XPS on dell.ca with all the same options as one I put together on the Aurora and you actually get a bit more and it's $300 cheaper.

[TheJoker]

which one though some don't come with that great of graphics cards

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by TheJoker

which one though some don't come with that great of graphics cards

You can choose the graphics card. I went to dell.ca and put together a Studio XPS 9000 with the same stuff as an Aurora you end up with 500GB more harddrive on the Studio XPS and the same 5870 videocard and it costs $300 less than the Aurora.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I would consider maybe getting a 2GB HD5870. I find my 1GB 5870 is not cutting it, especially at Eyefinity Resolutions and some games have been maxing out my video ram.

O/T question: how do you know if you're maxing out your video RAM? How does that manifest itself?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by SebC

O/T question: how do you know if you're maxing out your video RAM? How does that manifest itself?

There are several applications that you can display an onscreen display showing you your VRAM usage in game. I use ATi Tray Tools for ATI. I think Rivatuner or Nhancer will do so for Nvidia. GTA IV actually has a memory usage meter when you are pumping up the graphics options.

Maxing it out usually means you are running a very high resolution in a demanding game with high resolution textures. If you max it out, the more the game has to fetch resources from the harddrive instead of having it available for use. Results in lower FPS and lower performance and choppiness.

For today's games, 1GB is generally more than enough unless it is a specific game (GTA IV kills me, same for Oblivion with mods), or if you are running a very high resolution on a large monitor or spanning multiple monitors with Eyefinity or Nvidia 3D Surround.

[TheJoker]

just learned the power supply on the 9000 sucks not good for gaming

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by TheJoker

just learned the power supply on the 9000 sucks not good for gaming

That's a good example of why you should build your own, or at least pick your own components and let MemoryExpress or NciX build it. With Dell your ability to upgrade your parts to stay current, is limited along with the ability to overclock, which also can give a processor a longer gaming life. Overclocking can cut into the processors real lifetime though if it gets overheated. So when you build your own, you can pick your own case and cooling to give longer life to your components.