Originally posted by huckleberryhoundWhat do you need it for?
i take it a proper answer from sensible people is out of the question?
Wingnut
Which country do you live in (affects what advice people can give as to where to get it)
How much are you willing to spend?
Alienware is good for high-end gaming, but it comes at a price.
Dell are good for low or average machines at a good price, but tend to tail off for the high end of the market.
If you're int the UK you could also look at Mesh or Evesham.
Originally posted by huckleberryhoundFor online gaming, I would say the main considerations are CPU speed, amount of memory (and how fast is it), and video speed/memory/compatibility.
I'm in the process of looking for a desktop.
Any tips on adequate specs?
I want to do some online gaming but dont want to control the hubble telescope. Any help would be useful.
Having 2 out of the 3 (for example above-average CPU, above-average amt of memory and below-average video card) will get you by for awhile, but having all 3 will make you happier in the long run.
I'd recommend 3.0 Ghz CPU or higher, at least 1 Gb of memory (2 would be better) (ask around about memory speeds, I'm not too clear on this), and at least a 256 Mb video card, either NVidia or using the NVidia chipset for compatibility. ATI cards tend to have more problems with some online games. (By online games, I'm guessing you mean MMO games)
By the way, I'm starting to think that controlling the hubble telescope is child's play compared to getting good performance out of your system in a MMO game. 🙂
Originally posted by SuzianneSeems too me your internet speed is most imporant. I played EverQuest for a year and a half with a 266 speed computer. You know if my computer was that slow the rest of it was not so great. With a new and more powerful computer I did zone faster but I still lagged very badly and was disconnected just as often. My internet speed was not newer and faster as my new computer was.
For online gaming, I would say the main considerations are CPU speed, amount of memory (and how fast is it), and video speed/memory/compatibility.
Having 2 out of the 3 (for example above-average CPU, above-average amt of memory and below-average video card) will get you by for awhile, but having all 3 will make you happier in the long run.
I'd recomm ...[text shortened]... is child's play compared to getting good performance out of your system in a MMO game. 🙂
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Originally posted by SuzianneCPU - Consider the speed but also the level1 and 2 cache. A cache is a place where the CPU can store often used operations so as to fetch them faster when needed. This greatly increases the response from the computer. So, a 3 Ghz 512K level 1 cache is not as good as 2.7 Ghs 1M level 1 cache. In the end, the second CPU will probably perform better. Also, there are different brands of processors, using the speed figures slitghly different (AMD and Intel comes to mind).
I'd recommend 3.0 Ghz CPU or higher, at least 1 Gb of memory (2 would be better) (ask around about memory speeds, I'm not too clear on this), and at least a 256 Mb video card, either NVidia or using the NVidia chipset for compatibility.
Memory - You want as much memory as you can squeese into the box.
FSB (Front Side Bus) - This is perhaps the most important thing to consider. The front side bus speed. When the computer is working it must fetch data from harddrive or CD-player or whatever, and load it into memory before it can do the work. The information that it fetches must travel through the front side bus on the motherboard. Now, it doesn't matter much if you have a blazingly fast processor and an awesome amount of memory if you don't have a fast fsb. Then you will have to wait ages for information to load anyway and you will have that tedious hourglass appear on screen everytime the computer has to access the harddrive. So, look carefully at the specification for the FSB speed (the higher the better).
Video memory - The videocard you choose should have a fast processor on it and a good amount of memory. Simple as that.
{And as Gambit mentions above, your network card and Internet connection should be as fast as possible if you're to play Internet games. I just figured that was kinda obvious.}
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As for brands, I tend to prefer HP computers - but I don't use them much for realtime 3D graphics gaming. To do that, I would have to squeeze in a good graphics card.
Originally posted by gambit3Yes, true. I upgraded to broadband from dialup and haven't looked back. All the computer power in the world will not help you if you're on dialup; lag and disconnects will still be bad.
Seems too me your internet speed is most imporant. I played EverQuest for a year and a half with a 266 speed computer. You know if my computer was that slow the rest of it was not so great. With a new and more powerful computer I did zone faster but I still lagged very badly and was disconnected just as often. My internet speed was not newer and faster as my new computer was.
Originally posted by SuzianneThe next thing I had trouble with was the graphics card. When it came to the playing of a game I have had no trouble with games play past the these two things. I have never been able to play mmorpg well because of lag. There is nothing like seeing a tough monster so far away that a bolt spell is the only thing that can hit it. Press fire to have nothing happen then a couple seconds later seen said monster in your face and eighty percent of your hit points gone. Can you say "Laaaaaaag".
Yes, true. I upgraded to broadband from dialup and haven't looked back. All the computer power in the world will not help you if you're on dialup; lag and disconnects will still be bad.
Originally posted by gambit3Memory - FSB - CPU with cache
The next thing I had trouble with was the graphics card. When it came to the playing of a game I have had no trouble with games play past the these two things. I have never been able to play mmorpg well because of lag. There is nothing like seeing a tough monster so far away that a bolt spell is the only thing that can hit it. Press fire to have nothing happ ...[text shortened]... said monster in your face and eighty percent of your hit points gone. Can you say "Laaaaaaag".
Solves all your gaming problems. Especially the FSB speed. My computer is meant for programming work so the graphics card is a crappy built-in on motherboard kind of thingie. Still, it performs pretty well when running pretty intense 3D-simulations. Why? Lots of memory and a fast front side bus. It doesn't hurt buying a great graphics card, but you still want the FSB to be as fast as possible so information can travel between graphics card and main CPU as fast as possible.
Just bought the Packard bell 1509 - P4ht 3.0 processor, 1024 mb memory, 160 gb hard drive, 256 mb gee force nvida. just need to wait for the broadband train to get here :-( laying the tracks at the mo, should get here by mid march. Ireland is sooooo poor for broadband
Cheers guys, and sorry for the snub nordlys, just used to getting smart alec replys on this site, head jumping replies are natural now
😀😀😀