The "Will my computer run this?" thread v1.8

[ShadowDragon28]

ok, just for shits and giggles. I want to know if there is a way to upgrade my current computer further (without resorting to building/buy a whole new one).
I was able to run the game in low settings btw.
Here's my specs (please I know there not great now, I got this computer in 2007.)

Dell Dimension E520

Intel Duo Core 1.86Ghz + 1.86 Ghz
GeForce 8600GT (256mb video memory) (PCI Express x16)
2 GB RAM

Now I have one last slot for RAM, so I know I could get 1 more 1gb ram stick, I am wondering is there any Card that's PCI x16 based that better than a GeForce 8600GT (more than 256mb video memory) That would be compatible with my Dell E520. I will replace the power unit with a higher watt one if neccessary too. Any advice (other than "build a new PC, der her!" would be appreciated.

[Mag-X]

Alright PSOW, I need some opinions on something.

I'm currently trying to decide between which of these two motherboards to buy for the system I'm building. To my knowledge, they are both ATX-size Z68 chipset boards with LGA1155 sockets that can accommodate the Intel i7-2600K core that I want.

Mobo #1

Pros:

- more ports overall, including 2 more SATA (I already have 6 drives), DisplayPort, and Firewire
- higher customer rating on Newegg

Cons:

- costs more
- doesn't have the newer UEFI BIOS
- doesn't allow for RAM OC'ing...?

Mobo #2

Pros:

- cheaper
- uses newer UEFI BIOS
- can overclock RAM to higher speeds

Cons:

- not as many mounting points as other boards of the same size, may lead to more stress on the board when installing components in the case
- customer reviews have mentioned audio and memory issues with them, more RMA's

I'm leaning more towards the Intel one, but one of my friends thinks I should go with the ASUS one to OC my RAM. Any thoughts?

The main thing I see is that the ASUS board's second PCI Express slot is limited to 4x, making it useless for SLI or Crossfire. (Nvidia's drivers won't even give the SLI option with a 4x slot.)

[Mag-X]

ok, just for shits and giggles. I want to know if there is a way to upgrade my current computer further (without resorting to building/buy a whole new one).
I was able to run the game in low settings btw.
Here's my specs (please I know there not great now, I got this computer in 2007.)

Dell Dimension E520

Intel Duo Core 1.86Ghz + 1.86 Ghz
GeForce 8600GT (256mb video memory) (PCI Express x16)
2 GB RAM

Now I have one last slot for RAM, so I know I could get 1 more 1gb ram stick, I am wondering is there any Card that's PCI x16 based that better than a GeForce 8600GT (more than 256mb video memory) That would be compatible with my Dell E520. I will replace the power unit with a higher watt one if neccessary too. Any advice (other than "build a new PC, der her!" would be appreciated.

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...M_EN/specs.htm

Processor Upgrade: You could get a faster Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. You could even get an Intel Celeron E3400 2.6GHz for $46.99. The Celeron Dual Cores are actually cut down Core 2 Duos, but even cut down, they're still quite a bit faster and have more cache than those old 1.8 GHz Core 2 Duos.

Memory: You can get 4GB of DDR2 800 for about $45. You should run an even number of sticks that are the same size and speed if you can.

Graphics: A Radeon 6670 may run in your system. They don't require a power supply with extra power connectors, but they do suggest around a 400 Watt unit, and yours seems to be only a 305 Watt unit. (It may work though. They tend to over-estimate power draw.) That said, it's only about $20 more for a 6770, which is a significantly more powerful graphics card, but would require you to purchase a better power supply.

[edit]The Tom's Hardware review of the 6670 only shows a maximum total system power draw of 124 Watts[/edit]

[kyuuketsuki]

The main thing I see is that the ASUS board's second PCI Express slot is limited to 4x, making it useless for SLI or Crossfire. (Nvidia's drivers won't even give the SLI option with a 4x slot.)

While, of course, nVidia simply disables SLI on x4 slots, Crossfire works just fine. The test I saw using CF 6950s, the difference between 16x/4x CF and 8x/8x CF was like 10%. Not exactly useless.

This presumes he even cares about SLI/CF. Personally, even with the 90%+ increase in performance they can achieve now, the issues with heat, power consumption, and, in particular, microstuttering turn me off the idea. I still prefer to simply go with the best single GPU solution I can afford at the time.

@ Tetsaru-
On the other hand, the ability to OC RAM on the ASUS board is 100% not a factor (no offense to your friend, but he's wrong). RAM frequency has been repeatedly shown to have pretty much zero effect on gaming or most any other performance metric with Sandy Bridge. Sandy Bridge simply isn't starved for memory bandwidth at all. Just get a decent 8GB 1600MHz set.

[Mag-X]

Considering how much it costs for two video cards worth running in SLI/Crossfire, I'd call that an unacceptable performance loss. If you're going to spend that much money on video cards, why cheap out and take an easily avoidable performance hit?

[SuKKrl]

Alright PSOW, I need some opinions on something.

I'm currently trying to decide between which of these two motherboards to buy for the system I'm building. To my knowledge, they are both ATX-size Z68 chipset boards with LGA1155 sockets that can accommodate the Intel i7-2600K core that I want.

Mobo #1

Pros:

- more ports overall, including 2 more SATA (I already have 6 drives), DisplayPort, and Firewire
- higher customer rating on Newegg

Cons:

- costs more
- doesn't have the newer UEFI BIOS
- doesn't allow for RAM OC'ing...?

Mobo #2

Pros:

- cheaper
- uses newer UEFI BIOS
- can overclock RAM to higher speeds

Cons:

- not as many mounting points as other boards of the same size, may lead to more stress on the board when installing components in the case
- customer reviews have mentioned audio and memory issues with them, more RMA's

I'm leaning more towards the Intel one, but one of my friends thinks I should go with the ASUS one to OC my RAM. Any thoughts?

I've built quite a lot of computers for people I know and one thing I can say is, avoid Intel boards for gaming. They're clearly directed to the regular pc user who needs limited functionality and tweaking to get what it wants. I'm not also a fun of Asus low-end boards (I think they could have a better quality control with them) but i would still go with them.

I've recently updated my pc with a Asus p8z68-v pro and its pretty good but its expensive. (native bluetooth with good range for Wiimotes and PS3 controllers was worth it though)
One Mobo I know that is closer to that price point is the GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3 which haven't got the uefi bios that's pretty good but is more solid feature-wise.

I've also heard that ones from AsRock have improved since Asus got them some time ago but I haven't used them yet to be able to see if its true.

Hope this helps.

[kyuuketsuki]

Considering how much it costs for two video cards worth running in SLI/Crossfire, I'd call that an unacceptable performance loss. If you're going to spend that much money on video cards, why cheap out and take an easily avoidable performance hit?

Well I wouldn't buy that board if you're planning a new rig and intend on SLI/Xfire, certainly. But if you already have the board, have a graphics card, and can double up on your existing one in Xfire for cheaper than buying a single card that would net you better performance, then I'd still do it.

Or, if you're like me, and bought a similar board without noticing that the second PCI-E slot was limited to 4x until it was too late (and/or were just too lazy to disassemble the system, return the board, get a new board, and reassemble).

Of course, I'm against SLI/Xfire in the first place for previously mentioned reasons, and I'd still recommend to anyone that they stick with a single card solution and only rely on Xfire as a possible future upgrade path should they want to increase their GPU performance for cheaper than buying a new high-end card. In that case, I'd still recommend that board if it allows them the budget to get a better GPU now or upgrade some other component. An average of 10% isn't something to lose sleep over.

[bLOODSAW]

Kinda need a new laptop, think this one could run it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215245

Intel Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz

AMD Radeon HD 6650M 2GB Vram

4 Gb ram (probably will upgrade to 6 or 8 )

I already have a desktop that's overkill for this, but my old laptop is out of commission and was curious if this one could run it, as it seems rather good for it's price.

[Mag-X]

Kinda need a new laptop, think this one could run it?

I would think so.

They said they lowered the system requirements since the first alpha, so I think just about anything relatively modern running something better than Intel graphics should be able to do it.

[drmcst45]

Kinda need a new laptop, think this one could run it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834215245

Intel Core i5-2430M 2.4GHz

AMD Radeon HD 6650M 2GB Vram

4 Gb ram (probably will upgrade to 6 or 8 )

I already have a desktop that's overkill for this, but my old laptop is out of commission and was curious if this one could run it, as it seems rather good for it's price.

i just odered this laptop on Sunday. solid chip, videocard. im going to upgrade it to 16gb once pso 2 comes out. i anticipate it'll run it fine on medium.