Suggestion for Moderate Performance Gaming.

[dontwantausername]

Hi,
I'd like to be able to play Portal 2 at the end of the month, and Skyrim at the end of the year at moderate settings..

720p, 2xAA, consistent 30fps is fine for me if that's all I can get.
When Skyrim comes out - I prefer to see everything at lower quality than fewer things at higher quality.
(so bigger draw distance with crummier textures, all the particle effects at lower quality, etc.)

A gutted version of this is what I have to work with:
http://wize.com/pc-desktops/p109981-hp-hp-pavilion-media-center-a1530n-desktop#specs

running a gutted version of windows xp.

I'm hoping to make it happen with a new PSU and a new-old Graphics Card.. and spend as little as possible to do it.. (as obviously it's an aging system)

suggestions?

 

[EXT64]

Do you have a preferred budget? I know we are going low end (so not super expensive) but it is still good to know your expectations.

You do have 1 PCI-E 16x (excellent).

For this sort of application you want a card with no power cable needed. My old favorite for this type of situation is the 4650 or 4670, however those have been replaced by these guys: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=5670&x=0&y=0 (which are 5670s).

 

[EXT64]

However, those are pretty pricey. Let me look around a bit. What country are you in?

 

[EXT64]

Ah, here we go (this is a good source): http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-graphics-card-geforce-gtx-590-radeon-hd-6990,2879-2.html

So 5670 if you want to spend that much, but the 5570 is probably the one I'd recommend (or the NVidia equivalent - see the last page of the article to see a comparative list of all the cards).

 

[professorprofessorson]

Cant really speculate much on this concerning games that are not out yet, but you can go here to see your motherboards info and what cpu you can upgrade to:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00714544&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&site=null&key=null&product=3182805

As far as graphics cards go, you can score HD 4850 cards for about 50-60 bucks on ebay:
http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Computer-Components-/3667/i.html?LH_BIN=1&_nkw=hd+4850&_catref=1&_fln=1&_sc=1&_sop=15&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

http://cgi.ebay.com/512MB-Sapphire-Technology-ATI-Radeon-HD-4850-11132-35-/270728525445?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3f08ad7685

http://cgi.ebay.com/MSI-ATI-Radeon-HD-4850-R4850512M-GDDR3-SDRAM-PCI-E-/130502825981?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item1e629317fd

You can also nab a Rocketfish 550 watt psu for under 50 bucks on ebay also:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ROCKETFISH-RF-550WPS-550-WATT-ATX-CPU-POWER-SUPPLY-/250768693462?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item3a62fa98d6

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-ROCKETFISH-550-WATT-POWER-SUPPLY-GLOWS-BLUE-/380320530351?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item588cdebfaf

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rocketfish-550-Watt-ATX-CPU-Power-Supply-RF-550WPS-/360349593515?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item53e6826fab

Other then that you may want to grab you a 2GB more of DDR2 ram (given you are currently using 1-2GB on that system). You can score two 1gb sticks of DDR2 800mhz on ebay for about 20-25 bucks on average, sometimes cheaper.

Other then that not much else I can tell you. That alone will get you some performance gain for games with your current cpu, but like I said, cant comment on how well you will be able to run games that have not been released yet.

 

[dontwantausername]

US - Hawaii.

I'd like to keep a PSU and a Card under $200 - but the cheaper it is the more impulsive I'm likely to be. heh.

I haven't googled extensively but the only thing that caught my eye was the HD 4770.

I'm a little leary about replacing the PSU but that's just because I haven't done it before.. it looks easy enough.. and I'm pretty sure I have to - the one in there is only a 300watt one.

 

[dontwantausername]

Prof - That PSU looks good, but I think my MB needs a 4-pin in adition to the 20/24-pin (I'm not sure which it is)?

Or is that not strictly nessisary?

 

[EXT64]

Personally for budget PSUs, I recommend sticking with the low power Antec (Earthwatts), OCZ (ModXStream), or Corsair PSUs.

 

[dontwantausername]

Is the 4-pin to the motherboard (it's near the processor) I mentioned the 12v connector?

If so -

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rocketfish-550-Watt-ATX-CPU-Power-Supply-RF-550WPS-/360349593515?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item53e6826fab

and

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-ATI-RADEON-HD-4770-512MB-PCI-E-DUAL-DVI-VIDEO-CARD-/200591839826?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2eb4349252

seems to be the way to go..?

the general consensus among reviewers seems to be that the 5670 isn't as good as the 4770.. and if I can get the 4770 for the same price as the 5670.. seems like I should go with the 4770? Unless there's a bottleneck with my crummy processor that makes the difference moot..

 

[EXT64]

The 4770 was a really cool card. It was a bit of an 'experiment' card, but one that went very well. I didn't think that they were still around in large quantities.

 

[professorprofessorson]

Yeah the Rocketfish has the 4 pin power plug also, so you are fine with that. The 4770 is a just a tad slower then the 4850.

 

[dontwantausername]

cool. I think I'm settled than, thanks!

(It's always nice when your upgrades leave you with enough money to buy the actual game. heheh)

 

[EXT64]

Yep, Skyrim should be pretty awesome, so save money for that. Have you seen the most recent news and screenshots?

 

[dontwantausername]

Not since the debut gameplay trailer.. what in particular?

You know I was thinking that since it's going to be multi-platform that my system wouldn't need to be top of the line to play it - but looking at some of those screen shots..

I hope I can run it with settings on par with the 360 version..

haven't bought the card yet though - life threw a $400 bill at me. So I guess there's still time for getting something better..

 

[EXT64]

Just some of the recent interviews and screenshots (see bottom): http://www.tomshardware.com/news/The-Elder-Scrolls-Skyrim-Todd-Howard-RPG-DirectX-11,12495.html

I haven't been following too closely either. I want to be surprised.

 

[dontwantausername]

just reading the article that was linked to - I already know too much. >.<

Thing about TES games though - is you're surprised months after you start playing them.

 

[EXT64]

Yeah, I'm not too concerned either. Everything I've heard makes it sound like they are mostly on the right track, so it should be great.