What should I get for my computer?

[WillNeedsHelpFast]

Hey guys, some of you may remember me!

Anyway, I'm back and I have a new question!

Alright, so I'm getting a new computer, and my MAX budget is $550 USD.

I want to get a computer for 2 things.

1. I want to be able to play games online without having lag. Games like Face of Mankind, GTA: SA/SA:MP, maybe Counterstrike...etc. Without being laggy all the time online cause my computer cant keep up. Aswell as have 3 or 4 programs like ventrilo and others working under my game simletaneously.

2. I also make videos, I'm a film producer so I need my computer to be able to handle my video production and with great speed.

All this, for a max of $550 USD.

This guy at the computer shop locally said that he'll put it together for us if we buy the parts. So I need to know, what parts can I get that are best quality for cheap enough price so I can fit my budget and still do everything I want it to do.

Can someone just list them so I can write it down.

Note: I want 2 GB of Ram. But I want it in 2 seperate slots so It works better then have 2GB in one slot. 1 GB in 1 slot, 1 GB in another. If it matters...

[EEVIAC]

Note: I want 2 GB of Ram. But I want it in 2 seperate slots so It works better then have 2GB in one slot. 1 GB in 1 slot, 1 GB in another. If it matters...

It does matter..  If you want dual channel (doubled bandwidth across the memory bus) then you'll need two ram modules of equal size.  Although some motherboards (i think) offer dual channel with without equal capacity.

What I would do if I were you, is look at the hardware requirements for the games you want to play (they should be listed on the websites or game packages), while taking into consideration the hardware requirements for the video editing software you want to run, and try to get the best video card you can for the money that you have, making sure that the card will run on your choice of motherboard..

[WillNeedsHelpFast]

Alright, I'm going to post the minimum system requirements for 4 of the main games I want. I need to be able to run them, with multiple programs at the same time without lagging.

Swat 4:

System requirements 1.2 GHz processor, 128 MB RAM, 32 MB video card, 2 GB free hard drive

Halo Combat Evolved:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Second Edition, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows XP.
Computer/Processor: 733 megahertz (MHz) processor.
DirectX: DirectX® 9.0 or later. (DirectX 9.0b is installed by Halo.)
Memory: 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM.
Hard Disk: 1.2 gigabytes (GB) of free hard disk space.
Video card: 32 MB with 3D Transform and Lighting capable.
CD: 8X.
Sound: Sound card, speakers, or headphones with multiplayer play.
*56.6 Kilobytes per second (KBps) modem or 10 MB network adapter. Multiplayer servers require broadband to run a server.
*Additionally, you must have an Internet Service provider (ISP) or a Local Area Network (LAN), if you want to play multi-player games.

Counter Strike Source:

System requirements 1.2 GHz processor, 256 MB RAM, DirectX 7 capable graphics card, Internet connection (broadband or better recommended)

Face of Mankind:

- PC with Windows XP/Vista/7
- 2.0 GHz processor
- 1 GB RAM
- DirectX 9 compatible VGA card with pixel shader 2.0 support and 128 MB video RAM
- Minimum graphical resolution of 1024x768 pixels
- DirectX 9.0c
- DirectX compatible sound card
- 5 GB of free harddisk space

These are the main games I want to get for it. The computer will need to be able to handle these, as well as be able to have 3-4 small programs like ventrilo working under it, and with those programs up, not lag me AT ALL.

For my budget.

[EEVIAC]

Motherboard

CPU

Operating System

Heatsink/Fan for that motherboard

Thermal Grease for CPU

CASE

Video Card supporting Minimum Pix. Shader 2.0

minimum 1 gigabyte of RAM/Qualified Vendor List

Power Supply

Hard Drive

DVD drive/burner


After tax and shipping, it should come out to approx. 550 bucks, maybe a little over..

This does not include a monitor, mouse, keyboard, or speakers..


If you want dual channel memory enabled on your board, you could get two separate 512 MB memory sticks...

[WillNeedsHelpFast]

Can you list the names specifically?

Because the guy at the shop says that he'll buy the parts and put it together. And we'll just pay him back for the parts & a bit for his labor.

Now these parts, all this together should get me $550 worth AND I should be able to play any of these 4 games. While being able to run them fast without computer lag, and have ventrilo and possibly 2 other programs running under it and keep the same normal speed?

And these parts will allow me to run my computer normally using basic things like Internet Explorer and MSN without lag. Aswell as handle all my video production needs.

So if I wanted to play SWAT 4, while talking on ventrilo, using a mod and have MSN up and I wont lag right?

[EEVIAC]

Can you list the names specifically?

Those blue icons I listed are not for decoration, you're suppose to click on them and they bring you to the website where you can purchase them, listing there exact "names".

With this hardware and your budget I think you'll be able to play your games just fine...

[Geek-9pm]

Hey just a minute please.
Let's talk about the Internet lets talk about computer games.
Did you say online games? What kind of online games exactly. Do you mean again that the game s loaded onto your computer and the links to the Internet just to allow the other person to interact with you. Or is this a game that is completely hosted and on a server and everything you see on the screen comes off the Internet.

Some games can be played both ways.

The faster machine has an advantage if the Internet is used just to sync  wto complete programs together using the Internet as a link. But the other kind of Internet game is just a game being played on a server with different players on the Internet having access to the game on the server at the same time.

Here's what I'm trying to get at. You talk about lag on the Internet. If it really is lag on the Internet, what we call a latency problem, it has little to do with your processor speed. It has more to do with your local ISP and whether or not they allow those kind of computer games and full support of protocol. The faster CPU is an edge when the game is not really originating on the Internet, but the game originates on your computer and on some other computer and the two computers are simply linked together so that both users can be in both games at the same time. In that case the faster computer has an advantage.

Now if you have this all figured out, pardon me for butting in. It's just that you said Internet lag. Internet lag is not an issue made by  computers  just sending back and forth a small amount of data that is used to identify the relative positions and status of the users.

[EEVIAC]

Well if his ISP is not up to the task, he'll just have to upgrade it, or change providers..

by the way, WillNeedsHelpFast, you'll probably have to factor in an extra fan, so you've got at least one fan, other than your PSU fan, doing work..

So you'll have one fan in back, one cpu fan, and the PSU fan, which is already in the power supply

[rthompson80819]

Alright, so I'm getting a new computer, and my MAX budget is $550 USD.

I want to get a computer for 2 things.

1. I want to be able to play games online without having lag. Games like Face of Mankind, GTA: SA/SA:MP, maybe Counterstrike...etc. Without being laggy all the time online cause my computer cant keep up. Aswell as have 3 or 4 programs like ventrilo and others working under my game simletaneously.

2. I also make videos, I'm a film producer so I need my computer to be able to handle my video production and with great speed.

Hey,I want a beach house in Malibu for $30,000.  For $550 you can get a machine that most people would be happy with, but it's no where near the top of the line for gaming machines or video production.  Your are going to have to make some trade offs or increase your budget.

I would suggest starting with something that you could add to little by little as your budget allows.

Some high end video game and video editing machines run from $3,000 to $10,000, and if you are talking professional machines, a whole lot more.

[EEVIAC]

I would suggest starting with something that you could add to little by little as your budget allows.

The motherboard I suggested does have PCIe 2.0, which he can utilize later, when he gets the money, although an LGA 775 processor could bottleneck a good PCIe 2.0 card...  I also tacked on an extra 100 watts  on his psu for this type of thing after calculating with full power draw on each component... Two 17-amp 12v rails should leave him room...

There was another board I saw for only about 10 dollars more that uses the LGA 1156..   But of course the Core i5, i7 costs would skimp off of other qualities.. 

[WillNeedsHelpFast]

I know they're clickable. I just gotta go through and write them down.

I'm not sure which it is, but it's not my internet lag. My internet is fast. But I have the actual computer lag.

I. E. In Face of Mankind when I go around defending my home world, I lag like *censored*. Other players with good enough computers go around, the game runs smooth from them. They pull their gun, they fire, crack crack. The guns bullets hit on both screens at the right times, one falls.

Now I'f I was the shooter, crack crack and next thing I know, they're behind me. Because on their screen, they smoothly strolled on by and got behind me. While to me it looks infront of me.

Also, if I go into a teleporter, they go in, click their destination, and arrive within 1.5 minutes.

I go in, it takes up to 10 minutes to get there.

Now when you're home colony is being raided by a warring faction, do you know how hard it is to fight off the attackers if you cant even load your home colony?

I can only load on 1 colony with minimal lag, any more and I lag terribly.

I think it's because of my video card & RAM.

It's not my internet, it's my computer itself.

Hey,I want a beach house in Malibu for $30,000.  For $550 you can get a machine that most people would be happy with, but it's no where near the top of the line for gaming machines or video production.  Your are going to have to make some trade offs or increase your budget.

I would suggest starting with something that you could add to little by little as your budget allows.

Some high end video game and video editing machines run from $3,000 to $10,000, and if you are talking professional machines, a whole lot more.

I'm not asking for this thing to suck my *censored* alright? It just needs to be able to do what I asked for that price. It doens't have to be high top, but while money is tight right now, this is all I have for it.

[EEVIAC]

Well good luck to you.. Post back if you have problems after it's built

Stick with the single 1G ram module I recommended, and just add an extra one (exact same one) when you get some extra money.  Then you'll have dual channel enabled which will greatly help the memory bandwidth, not to mention that more ram is always better.

Also, if you don't buy these items from NewEgg, I don't know what kind of deal you'll get on them, elsewhere.  Other places may want more, for the same stuff.

[WillNeedsHelpFast]

Yeah newegg is sexy, do they sell computer mics? Cause I'll need it for narrations.

I just got it all written down, when I can get the money together and the time I'm going to have the guy at the shop do it.

Yeah, I wanted to get 2 gigs.

1 in 1 slot and 1 in another slot.

For a total of 2 gigs, but not on the same slot. I heard it will allow me to multi-task and not have my computer run off just the 1 slot.

[EEVIAC]

do they sell computer mics?

take your pick

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=122&name=Microphones

[BC_Programmer]

From your description of the problem it sounds like a issue with the network connection (not necessarily the internet, but the actual NIC) and/or the cable.

Some high end video game and video editing machines run from $3,000 to $10,000, and if you are talking professional machines, a whole lot more.

3K-10K is a huge over-estimation; but 550 dollars will generally be relatively low-end. on the other hand- it really depends what his current PC is!


Anyway: the build EEVIAC described:

Motherboard:ASUS P5G43T-M Pro LGA 775 Intel G43 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

CPU: Intel Pentium E6600 3.06GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual-Core Desktop Processor - Retail

CASE: Black Apex TX Series Micro ATX Tower Computer Case TX-381-C, 90mm Fan, w/o Power Supply

PSU: SeaSonic S12II 380B 380W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Graphics: SPARKLE SF-PX84GS512U2-HP Passive GeForce 8400 GS 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail


HD:Western Digital Caviar Blue WD800AAJS 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive


DVD:LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support - Retail


It's important to note that all CPU's come with a heat sink, fan, and thermal grease, and as long as you don't overclock, these will work great. (don't believe ANYBODY who tells you otherwise- it just wouldn't make economic sense for Intel or AMD to sell a CPU with a warranty and then include a heatsink/paste that makes sure people will need that warranty, does it?

I was going to say that some of these components were relatively low on the scale, but then I remembered the 550$ limit, which sort of limits selection I guess .
No offense intended EEVIAC (it is a good build, I couldn't come up with anything better myself) but it might be a good idea to wait for Patio, I remember Patio and Calum helped shave a good several hundred dollars off my 1,100 dollar or so build, AND the resulting PC was far better, so you never know. Don't know how one could improve EEVIAC's suggestion (aside from using the cost of the heatsink/fan and thermal paste and putting it towards the other components) but then again that's what I thought about mine at the time as well!