Curse

Bastian · Oct 17, 2006, 01:50 AM // 01:50

I think my laptop crashing and burning (basically not turning on anymore) was a blessing in disguise. I have finally made up my mind to buy a new desktop computer (finally!) in order to run GuildWars. I was hoping for one that was both cost effective and could run Guild Wars well. Here is what I am considering buying (from a local mom and pop shop), let me know what, if anything, the pro's think about this setup.

AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3500+
Process Type: AMD Athlon 64 3500+
Frequence: 2200MHz(HT Speed)
FSB: 2000(HT Speed)
L1 Cache 128KB
L2 Cache 512KB
Process: 90nm SOI
Socket: 939
ECS K8T890-A AMD ATHLON 64 Socket 939 Motherboard
1GB RAM PC 3200 DDR RAM(2x 512MB)
200GB Matrox SATAII Hard Drive Buffer
Sapphire ATI Radeon X1300 Video Card, 512MB DDR2,HDTV Pci Express X16

I also bought an Acer AL1916WAB 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor:
19" wide-screen TFT LCD
1440 x 900 native resolution
700:1 contrast ratio
150/130 degree horizontal/vertical viewing angle
VGA connector
300 cd/m2 brightness
5ms response time

Any thoughts on how this might play out for my future enjoyment of GW?

Thanks!

l)l2UNl( · Oct 17, 2006, 02:04 AM // 02:04

well do you want to custom make one or get one built already and sent to you?
and how powerful do you want this machine?
first of all if you want a decent comp no less than 3.0ghz proc 256mb vid card and minimum 1gb ram for a machine that will play games to your satisfaction
if you want to go all out wait a few month for the new releses then buy tilll your hearts content and weep in a few month as your machine gets outdated by others...

Bastian · Oct 17, 2006, 02:12 AM // 02:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by l)l2UNl(

well do you want to custom make one or get one built already and sent to you?
and how powerful do you want this machine?
first of all if you want a decent comp no less than 3.0ghz proc 256mb vid card and minimum 1gb ram for a machine that will play games to your satisfaction
if you want to go all out wait a few month for the new releses then buy tilll your hearts content and weep in a few month as your machine gets outdated by others...

Hey, thanks for the great feedback - that really helped me answer my questions!

/sarcasm

jesh · Oct 17, 2006, 02:14 AM // 02:14

This looks fine to me except for the motherboard.. personally I'd rather use the nforce4 chipset if you absolutely cannot afford to go with the AM2 chipset - which I would highly recommend as it will give you an upgrade path! The socket 939 chipset you have listed currently is discontinued, and in the future, the highest you'd be able to get would be the 4000+, which isn't much of an upgrade.

The disadvantage that I see with going on the AM2 bandwagon is that you will have to jump up to DDR2 memory, which is a little more expensive.. however I think it's worth it. Try to get a 1x1gb stick, not 2x 512.. it won't get you the benefit of dual channel at the moment, but later on when you upgrade, you can go with 2x1gb and get a nice boost.

In the same way, you may have to go with a slower CPU right now with an AM2 chipset, but in my opinion this is worth it because you actually have something that you can upgrade to later on.
Other than that.. meh? See if you can get a better video card, but truth be told, that will probably run GW just fine. Just don't count on it for other future games.

I would also strongly take a long look at that monitor and see if it satisfies you. Not just the box, or the display at the store, hook it up to a system and play GW, and see how you like it. Pay special attention to the color and if there is any motion blurring. I made the switch to an LCD not too long ago, and ended up with the Viewsonic VX924. Going from a Sony Trinitron 21" monitor, it's a bit of a change.. but I'm a little more used to it now.
If you're expecting CRT quality in your LCD monitor, think again.

Anyways, good luck on the new computer.

Bastian · Oct 17, 2006, 02:21 AM // 02:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by jesh

This looks fine to me except for the motherboard.. personally I'd rather use the nforce4 chipset if you absolutely cannot afford to go with the AM2 chipset - which I would highly recommend as it will give you an upgrade path! The socket 939 chipset you have listed currently is discontinued, and in the future, the highest you'd be able to get would be the 4000+, which isn't much of an upgrade....

Thanks for the honesty. The whole setup is pretty cheap (< $1,000 which includes the monitor), but I will definitely look into the other motherboard. It was tough to find a lot of good information out there that makes sense to a hardware idiot like myself. So again, I thank you very much!

Emik · Oct 17, 2006, 12:26 PM // 12:26

If i can make a suggestion:
Two friends of mine that play GW and have an ATI gfx card complain bout lacking visual effects
I myself have an nVidia and do not suffer from this...
Logical explanation =

Mushroom · Oct 17, 2006, 02:07 PM // 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bastian

Thanks for the honesty. The whole setup is pretty cheap (< $1,000 which includes the monitor), but I will definitely look into the other motherboard. It was tough to find a lot of good information out there that makes sense to a hardware idiot like myself. So again, I thank you very much!

I agree, do not bother. In short, you are buying somebodies old leftover stock. 939 is obsolete, and should not be purchased, unless you are getting one heck of a deal. And $1k for that is not a deal, I am selling my personal 939 3500 system (with Asus Deluxe MB) for half that amount.

To give an idea, I can pretty much match that price with an AM2 3500 CPU, DDR2 RAM, and an Asus or MSI motherboard. ECS is not a bad board, but it is not a "good" board either. It is simply an average quality "budget board". A higher quality Asus or MSI normally run about $20-40 more, and are well worth the extra money spent.