New Computer

nUfl0wnUfl0w Join Date: 2005-02-25 Member: 42412Members
in NS2 General Discussion
<div class="IPBDescription">Any Ideas?</div>Hi,

now that the Alpha is going to be released i want to play it on maximum details/best gaming experience... the problem is, that i have two computers which hardly run NS1. Now my question to you guys, maybe even devs, is what machine do you recommend/believe is good for maximum details and best playing experience. I know the minimum specs are listed on naturalselection2.com.
what i would like of a new computer is, if it would be kind of small in space-consume. right now Im using a mac-mini and i like the size. I think it has to be somewhat bigger than that. I am not very into what graphic-cards, cpus etc. are good today so I hoped you guys could help me. :)

thank you

nUfl0w
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Comments

  • schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
    edited July 2010
    you are best of waiting until the game reaches at least beta phase, for then the game will be more optimized, and also hardware will be cheaper

    and of course you'll need to have a set budget, otherwise i'm gonna quote you a $100K computer, because it is the best....
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  • alibialibi Join Date: 2009-11-20 Member: 69445Members
    if it helps, i got an i5-750 and an 5850 and it plays ns2.. and any other game full details at ~50fps in 1920x1080.
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  • Invader_ScootInvader_Scoot Join Date: 2003-10-13 Member: 21669Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    Schkorpio is right, we need a budget to be able to fine tune the computer we think is best for you. And I'm also assuming that you're looking into a Windows PC? I'm not going to get into a Mac vs PC debate here but I'm going to assume that you're in the Windows market.

    Here are some basic articles that you may want to look through to get an idea of the kind of hardware that is hot right now.
    <a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676.html" target="_blank">Best Graphics Cards for the Money: July 2010</a>
    <a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-phenom-ii-corei-i5,2647.html" target="_blank">Best Gaming CPUs for the Money: June 2010</a>

    While those links do contain a lot of text to read, researching a computer to buy and then assemble can be a very tedious process but it is important that you do so in order to get the best bang for your buck.
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  • nUfl0wnUfl0w Join Date: 2005-02-25 Member: 42412Members
    Ah I'm sorry I forgot the budget. I thought of ca. 800€ which are about 1000$.
    You were right guessing that Im searching for a windows PC.
    I googled the radeon hd5850 and read a test about it. i think it did quiet well.
    Somehow I cant open the links to Toms Hardware youve posted :- /

    thanks a lot for your help! :)
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  • RehnquistRehnquist Join Date: 2009-09-01 Member: 68672Members
    If I were you, I would go quad core with at least 6 gb of ram and a 4870 or 5850 from ATI. If you can find a 4870 for cheap, I would do that because it's almost comparable to the 5830/5850 just without DirectX 11 and some HTPC features; you could essentially just hold off another generation or two for a leap in performance. Or whatever the comparable nVidia card.

    I have an i7/5850 build and the lowest FPS I ever saw in the engine test was 40 but it was usually 70-90. Granted, I paid about double your budget but you could cut corners where I didn't and come out about the same (for example, I spent $400 on 12 gigs of RAM- cheapest I could find with decent timings because RAM rose in price so much in the past 18 months or so but 6 or 8 will work just fine).

    Also, I can't really vouch for the NS2 performance but a AMD Phenom II X4 955 build would probably cut your cost down to about $1000 since Intel builds run such a high price premium.

    A really good resource is "Tom's Hardware". They'll give you a build in no time depending on budget, use, location, etc. I would definitely check there because they'll be able to give better answers than us- they have a forum specifically for new builds and they do this all day, every day over there.
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  • HashashinHashashin Join Date: 2010-04-15 Member: 71416Members
    Is NS2 going to scale well with quad cores and SLI/Crossfire setups?
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  • Kouji_SanKouji_San Sr. Hινε Uρкεερεг - EUPT Deputy The Netherlands Join Date: 2003-05-13 Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
    <!--quoteo(post=1778753:date=Jul 14 2010, 05:53 PM:name=Hashashin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hashashin @ Jul 14 2010, 05:53 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1778753"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Is NS2 going to scale well with quad cores and SLI/Crossfire setups?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Isn't it easier to develop game codes to work with dual cores and single good GPU's though... SLI is overrated even back in the days of 3DFX Interactive :P

    Duo cores with a good card is your best bet for performance (and price indeed)
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  • ssjyodassjyoda Join Date: 2002-03-05 Member: 274Members, Squad Five Blue
    a grand... you can do a system that'll run everything on the market today pretty maxed out with that kind of budget. I've done some beefy systems for friends for around $650, all hardware off of newegg.com.. As said before, Toms Hardware is a great resource. I used to read the hardware discussions on the something awful forums before they put up a fee to join, that was always my best resource.
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  • schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
    edited July 2010
    i recently got an AMD quad core 3.4ghz and an ATi 5870 system for $1000AUD(probably like$800usd), which is very cheap, runs everything at 60-200fps at 1920x1080
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  • xposed-xposed- Join Date: 2007-09-23 Member: 62412Members, Constellation
    At the risk of looking like a jerk who just wants to stretch his e-peen, I recently bought this PC and I love every square millimeter of it.

    Motherboard: Gigabyte GA‐X58A‐UD7
    CPU: Intel Core i7 980X Hexacore OC'd @ 4.14 GHz
    RAM: 12 GB G.Skill Trident DDR3 2000mhz
    GPU: 2x Gigabyte GTX 480 in SLI
    Storage: 100 GB Mach Xtreme SSD as primary, 2x 1TB HDD's in RAID 0 as secondary.
    Display: Samsumg P2770 27" LCD, HDMI, 2ms
    Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X‐Fi Titanium FATAL1TY Pro PCIe
    Optical: Samsung SH‐B083A Bluray DVD Combo Drive
    PSU: Corsair HX‐1000w
    Cooling: Corsair H50 (CPU), 2x 140mm 2000rpm intakes and 3x 120mm 2000 RPM exhausts
    Case: Corsair Obsidian 800D

    Wholeheartedly recommended.
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  • schkorpioschkorpio I can mspaint Join Date: 2003-05-23 Member: 16635Members
    edited July 2010
    pretty sure that would cost most than the $1000 though, you epeen stretching jerk..... j/k :)
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  • xposed-xposed- Join Date: 2007-09-23 Member: 62412Members, Constellation
    Oh right, I didn't realize there was a budget in mind. Sorry about that :p
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  • nUfl0wnUfl0w Join Date: 2005-02-25 Member: 42412Members
    but nice system anyway ;)

    i took some time to search the internet yesterday and maybe im to focused on intel. ill check what a system with proper amd-core would cost.

    thanks for your help
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  • SnougarSnougar Join Date: 2007-12-31 Member: 63301Members
    edited July 2010
    <!--quoteo(post=1778753:date=Jul 15 2010, 12:53 AM:name=Hashashin)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hashashin @ Jul 15 2010, 12:53 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1778753"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Is NS2 going to scale well with quad cores and SLI/Crossfire setups?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    I've been wondering the same thing.

    Tho saying that. Even on my Q6600 and HD5850 I get about 45-70fps at 1680x1050, maxed. And looking at the CPU usage, I only see core #1 being pushed. So hopefully when it gets to the final stages of beta and its more polished and optimized, I think it should run -really- well.


    I think any quadcore you can get now, either AM3 or Socket1156, should run it fine. And a HD5830 or GTX 460 will be ample for 22" resolutions. Tho have a look at <a href="http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs_gaming_configs" target="_blank">http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/?tag=rmp_sg_w..._gaming_configs</a> (It's in AUD)


    Anyway, My setup:

    Q6600 G0 @ 3.4GHz (1.34v) (I had a E8500 dualcore that actually ran better, but I got the Q6600 for free!)
    Asus P5Q
    6GB
    HD5850 stock



    (Also holy sh*t its been ages since I've been here haha :x)
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  • DarkFrostDarkFrost Join Date: 2003-04-03 Member: 15154Members, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    edited July 2010
    For a very long lime now nvidia has had a poor price to performance ratio. So far that has not changed with the GTX 4xx range.

    As for CPU's - by using tomshardware's charts only (not something I'd use personally)
    Listed in order of performance - low to high - Price in £ because I'm not going to go an find a conversion.

    Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 - Price unlisted but the QX6700 is almost £600
    Phenom 2 x4 965 - £147.39
    Intel Core i5-750 - £167.71
    Phenom 2 X6 1090- £248.31
    Intel Core i7 920 - £209.99

    Just a snippet - Higher than this going into the CPU costing more than about 60% of the given budget

    The problem with the above though, the 6 core phenom is slower in most cases than the 965 or the i5-750 but because of the artificial nature of alot of tom's tests it scores higher (just mind you) than both.

    The £100 dual core phenom 555 is in ways faster than its quad core brothers too. And the any black edition Phenom II are multiplier unlocked, which means it will have the ability - not guarenteed - to use the same clock speed, or faster, as the 965 without adding speed to both FSB or Ram.

    A relevant point is: (prices at use of a single web page)
    The cheapest intel LGA 1156 motherboard is £64 (oh dear god its a Gigabyte)
    The cheapest intel LGA 1366 motherboard is £143.34 -> Not a typo
    The cheapest AMD AM3 motherboard is £43.01

    From that small list I'd say avoid LGA 1366 i7-920 since in total the CPU and motherboard alone will cost you £353.33. By comparrison the i5-750 and a motherboard will cost £231.71 and a phenom 2 965 and motherboard will cost £190.40. Ofcourse I don't assume that you would buy the cheapest motherboard, as thats not advisable either but its quite a large difference none the less.

    My personal advice would be to get the best possible motherboard (NOT A GIGABYTE ONE EVER) and I normally spend about the same money on a motherboard as I do on the CPU itself - I have, however had bad experience with cheapo (GIGABYTE ><) motherboards in the past.

    As for graphics card, I'd wait and see how much you have left after getting the CPU, motherboard, ram, hard drives, optical drives, sound card (if wanted), case, PSU, monitor (if needed) and peripherals (if needed) and find ones at the price of the money left over, then, not using toms hardware, do research on them.

    By "not using toms hardware" I don't mean don't ask on their forums, I mean don't use their charts, not for CPU's anyway.
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  • EpidemicEpidemic Dark Force Gorge Join Date: 2003-06-29 Member: 17781Members
    The new 460 from Nvidia provides some bang for the buck, I'd recommend it, perhaps even SLI if you can squueze it in the budget.

    About the CPU. Just get the AMD phenom II x4 BE, graphic card is primary concern.
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  • DarkFrostDarkFrost Join Date: 2003-04-03 Member: 15154Members, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    edited July 2010
    Ok OK.... I'm soft or something...

    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90362997/amd-phenom-ii-x4-955-boxed.asp?sr=phenom+black" target="_blank">Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition</a>
    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90375549/d1/product-informations-details/asus-m4a89gtd-pro%2Fusb3-sockel-am3-atx.asp#InfoDataHeader" target="_blank">ASUS M4A89GTD PRO</a>
    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90347135/ddr3-4gb-corsair-xms3-dominator-dhx-kit.asp" target="_blank">4GB Corsair Dominator</a>
    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90369714/msi-v209-016r.asp" target="_blank">MSI V209-016R (Radeon 5830)</a>
    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90343151/samsung-spinpoint-f3-500gb.asp" target="_blank">Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB</a>
    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90312746/samsung-sh-222a/bebe-black-bulk.asp" target="_blank">Samsung DVD-RW</a>
    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90372335/ms-tech-ca-0300-raptor-black/green.asp" target="_blank">A case</a>
    <a href="http://www.computeruniverse.net/products/90281388/d2/specifications/inter-tech-cp-650w-combatpower.asp#InfoDataHeader" target="_blank">A probably crap PSU</a>

    All for the exciting price of €786 excluding shipping.

    I realise this doesn't include monitor, keyboard or mouse and has no OS but hey it could be something to work from.

    I just remembered he wanted a PC only slightly larger than a mac mini, those can only be about 6"x6", there are cube cases for PC's that allow full size cards to be used on a mATX motherboard. In that case I'd also try to find one that has a built in optical drive (I dunno if those exist) and a shorter graphics card, like the 57xx range. I can't say what nvidia card to use, I lost interest in that brand a while ago and don't keep track more than "look at review score, look at price, laugh" unfortunately.
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