What are the most important specs to consider when gaming online (i.e PS)

[Nasareth]

Not being very computer-literate, I need the help of some techies. If you were buying a new computer, what specs would you make sure were up to par if you planned on playing PS? Obviously video card and ram, but things like Mobos, cache on the HD, stuff like that, I don't wanna blow 1k on some p.o.s
Thanks,
Will

[Nasareth]

Actually, let's make this easier. The quote I have right now is on a $1800 (cdn) system, here are the specs, am I missing anything? And more specifically, what can I take away to lower the cost (but will still allow me to play games like PS enjoyably) to about 1500 cdn?

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ 512k 333FSB
Cooler: Sunon 80mm ball bearing chassis fan 3pin
Mobo: Soltek 75FRN2-L NFORCE2 SocketA Dual DDR AGP 8x 5PCI ATA 133 SOUND LAN
Memory: 2x SPECTEK PC2700 512mb DDR 333 184PIN OEM
HD: SEAGATE BARRACUDA ATA IV 80GB HD ATA/100 9.5ms 7200 OEM
Video: MSI GeForce4 Ti4600 AGP8x 128mb DDR 2DVI VIVU w/TV OUT
CASE: Turbogamer X-PIDER 21IN silver alum. 6x3.5in 420w w/window and LED fans
Modem: U.S.R 56k
Sound: Creative Sound blaster audigy 2PCI 24Bit 106DB SNR 6.1 w/SB1394
DVD: Liteon 16x DVD Rom int E-IDE OEM w/SW DVD Player
OS: Microsoft Windows 2000 prof

[Daleon]

Personally I think the MB is the overall most important part of your pc. Its not gonna make the most difference as far as performance, but as far as having a pc that works and doesn't crap out all the time and is going to last... the MB is where it all starts.

As such, go with name brand and go with chipsets that aren't full of bugs. ie: Nforce2 or Intel. Via I can't stand. SiS i hear is ok, but still kinda 3rd world ugly.

As far as performance goes though, having all quality components is where it is at. Even with a $400 video card, if your cpu is low end and your short on ram, its gonna suck. If your HD grinds and is slower as crap, its gonna suck.

So I generally buy the BEST mb I can. Get the chip that has the biggest price drop between it and the next above it. Like xp2500 is $93, xp2600 is $96, and xp2800 is $137. Go for the xp2600.

As far as online gaming goes, just get cable or dsl all that matters there.

[NoSurrender]

yea but the 2600 doesnt have the barton core which is the 512 L2 cache and that has made a preformance difference

[Doobz]

hmm... i wouldn't go with that vid card, start thinking ahead, DirectX 9

try and go for a Radeon 9500 on newegg.com

[Sentrosi]

Originally posted by Pyro_Man
yea but the 2600 doesnt have the barton core which is the 512 L2 cache and that has made a preformance difference I've heard that the Barton Core really doesn't lend itself to any significant performance enhancements unless you're doing some extreme number crunching.

The Bartons will be dropping in price soon after AMD releases its 64 bit chip anyway. Perhaps then I could consider buying the 3000+.

Anyway, about your PC. Everything looks good. Good thing you're getting the gig of ram. 2700 DDR's prices have been dropping fast lately. A good stick of 512 that I bought with my upgrade cost me $80. Now that same stick is selling for around $40.

Contact your ISP to see if they'll release the upstream/downstream for your system. If it's not at least cable, then you're going to have a tough time gaming. Even then it's somewhat a crapshoot. Some nights the ISP is bogged down, thus giving me unrelenting lag, then other nights the network is fine.

[Daleon]

What are you talking about Pyro, ofcoruse I was talking about the Barton core.

There really is no reason to buy non-Bartons now. In almost all cases the barton versions are the same price or cheaper than the older cores. Go to pricewatch and look.

XP2600/266 = 116
XP2600/333 = 95

So when I said an xp2600 for $96 which one did you think I meant?

Bartons are clocked a little slower than their older counterparts. The newer /400's are clocked slower also. So you get a boost from the increase in cache, but chip is a little slower. Depending on what your doing, speed may be more important or cache may be. But the great thing about AMD XP's, the OC!

The xp2600/333 can easily do 2.2 ghz/400 fsb. You know that equals, a xp3200/400. The exact same performance, for about $350 less. My xp2400/266 is clocked to 2.2/400 and its not even a barton. So I don't have the extra cache and not quite matching top of the line, but I am still close.

[NoSurrender]

Daleon that 2600 ISNT barton it just as a 333FSB and ur dancing bananna is hypnotic

[Daleon]

Doh, I can't believe they still didn't update those chips yet. There were supposed to be 2600 Bartons and even 2700's out by now. Guess all of their focus is on getting 64's out in Sept.

I would go for barton 2500 then... though there are some mixed signals on them. Some ppl can oc them nicely... others can't do jack with them. But if your not oc'ing... this chip is really pretty slow at default speeds.

Yea, the Bananna is a freak.

[NoSurrender]

hehehe last night when i went NC me and my friend in a vangaurd killed a bunch of CDL at N Naum tower on hossin god was it funny and that was my first time driving i loved watching PR24 run away

[Agathon]

Hello,

1. I agree about the video card. If you can afford it, make sure you get one designed with full directx 9 compatibility. Remember also that games like PS are optimized for Nvidia cards, not ATI.

2. It looks like you play on a modem connection. If this is the case, make sure that modem they are selling you is NOT a crappy "winmodem." In other words, make sure the modem has an onboard processor. winmodems do not, and they use your CPU! This is terrible for gamers.

3. I'd not go with a fancy case and all if it breaks your budget. Stick with a regular case with a high quality power supply to save money. You don't have to hav ea pretty case. The computer just needs to rock in games.


PS...

4. Is that HD 8meg cache? I didn't think it was. If you are getting a new computer, make sure you get a 8meg cache HD for gaming purposes. It does make a big difference.

8-)

[w3rd]

Barton 2500's are 92 bucks on newegg and will easily do 2.2 on air. An epox board a processor (barton 2500) will be roughly 180-190 bucks on newegg. 200 bucks for a mobo and processor isnt too bad of a start.