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New Gaming box needed for HoS

Divinehammer

Grizzled Veteran
Mar 9, 2006
1,397
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Sunny, Obamalot
So it would seem that my mobo has died on me here just prior to HoS relase so I need to rebuild the innerds of my box. I thought we used to have a hardware thread but I dont see it anymore. Now I have not built a computer for 6 years so I need some help getting back up to speed.

What I forsee needing suggestions on is MOBO, CPU, RAM and OS
I have everything else covered. What I am looking for is mid to mid-high stuff so not the top of the line but still quality. I like the Asus and Gigabyte boards.

I also have some questions as to what is best for gaming does a quad core CPU give me any benefits in games? Will HoS even use more than one core? Should I get x64 windows 7? Will I have trouble running older games on x64? Also looking for what are the best mobo chipsets for games?
On board sound where did EAX go or does everyboard just have that feature built-in now. Thanks for any input I appreciate it.
 
Get Windows 7 64bit. I don't think I've ever had a compatibility issue for a program in Vista 64bit.

No reason to not get a quad core either. They won't help a whole lot in games, but outside of games you'll notice a difference.

Intel seems to offer faster CPUs for the moment, but I believe AMD is releasing new CPUs shortly. The AMD Phenom II 1090T X6 six core is down to $200.
 
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Depends really.

If you are going for the uber expensive there is the i7 or a dual i7 board.

If you are looking for a good perfomer per dollar go with one of the new AMD 6 core CPU's, they overclock well. And as games become more multi core friendly your cpu will 'age' better then a quad core. Case in point my Quad core q6600 runs some newer games faster then games from a year or two ago due to dual/multi core support.

As for ram I would advise DDR3 and lots of it, 8-12 gigs can easily be had from places like NCIX for a few hundred bucks.
 
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I agree that Win 7 - 64 is the way to go. I love it, great OS.

I'm not so sure about needing to step all the way up to a 6-core processor though. It seems like a long ways off when games will be really using that many cores. Of course if you do a lot of video editing and stuff like that, then sure. And yes a six core will age better, and better yet if you pony up for a higher end MOBO. But that's the rub ain't it?

Personally, I now run an AM3 chipset with a P2X3 720. If I were to go out today and buy a faster chip specifically with RO:HoS in mind, I'd rather have a 965 at 3.4ghz for around 155-160 bucks than a 6-core 1055 at 2.8ghz for 180. (Newegg prices) Remember, besides the faster core clock speed, the quad core will be splitting 6mb of L3 cache 4 ways. The 6-core will be splitting that same L3 cache 6 ways.

Do your homework. Read lots of reviews. Look at lots of benchmarks. And remember one important game to look at that is currently in a lot of reviews is Batman Arkham Asylum, which uses the UE3 engine.

Here's one good link:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.p...sk=view&id=603&Itemid=63&limit=1&limitstart=7

Notice how the Thuban 1075 is slower than the 965 in Far Cry unless you overclock it pretty well.

Here's another good review comparing the slightly faster 970 with the 1075.
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Roundups/amd_pii_1075t_pii_970/11.html

Again, I'd go with the 965. Best bang for the buck gaming CPU out there right now IMO. The 1075 is 190 bucks, the 965 is 159.
 
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As mentioned above, quad core is better for games in terms of price/money.

But the AMD 1090T is only $200 now - just as fast as the AMD 955 ($160), just two extra cores. If you plan on doing video editing or anything like that spend the extra $40. I will personally upgrade to the 1090T as $40 for two extra cores might be worth it in the long run.


That being said, Intel does seem to be faster overall. If you have the money, go with an Intel.
 
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Windows 7 64 absolutely.

Spend as much money as you can afford - If your going the Intel route go for the Sandybridge platform:

Intel Core i7-2500K
4GB DDR3 PC12800 (1600Mhz) RAM
Any quality socket 1155 P67 chipset motherboard

Sandybridge is Intel's new architecture and it won't break the bank to kit yourself out.

Socket 1366 and 1156 are dead-end's and the i7-2500K is beating high end i7 1366 socket chips in gaming apps.

If you need advice choosing memory look here.
 
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Thanks for all of the input some great links here to use. See I rebuilt my machine just before RO was released so that was what 6 years ago. Thanks for helping me out I still dont know if I want to go with AMD or Intel usually I am an intel guy in poorer days I was AMD, though I am not looking to go uber expensive on this build. Not sure if now there are better reasons to go with AMD over INtel for gaming. I will most likely use this machine for Gaming, IT contracting virtual machines that sort of thing and if I have time some RO2 mapping.

So I definitely know I am going Win7 x64.
What do you think about SSD HD since I am going to have to reformat anyway I am looking into getting one of these.
For any mobo that I get I really still want to use my 8800 GTS for now will upgrade it later getting hard to pass these costs by the wife.

I also had the question about sound how does that work on most new mobos I have an old Soundblaster Audigy gamer I still use to get EAX sound. Do Mobos have that built-in now I like the positional sound it gives when gaming helps detect where the action is but maybe it is not needed.
 
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Thanks for all of the input some great links here to use. See I rebuilt my machine just before RO was released so that was what 6 years ago. Thanks for helping me out I still dont know if I want to go with AMD or Intel usually I am an intel guy in poorer days I was AMD, though I am not looking to go uber expensive on this build. Not sure if now there are better reasons to go with AMD over INtel for gaming. I will most likely use this machine for Gaming, IT contracting virtual machines that sort of thing and if I have time some RO2 mapping.

So I definitely know I am going Win7 x64.
What do you think about SSD HD since I am going to have to reformat anyway I am looking into getting one of these.
For any mobo that I get I really still want to use my 8800 GTS for now will upgrade it later getting hard to pass these costs by the wife.

I also had the question about sound how does that work on most new mobos I have an old Soundblaster Audigy gamer I still use to get EAX sound. Do Mobos have that built-in now I like the positional sound it gives when gaming helps detect where the action is but maybe it is not needed.

You can use your sound card and video card with a modern motherboard so do not worry about that.

Never tried an SSD but I have heard mixed results - some say its the best thing ever and some say it hardly makes a difference.

I have not researched it hard enough myself to give you a reliable opinion on them so I won't.
 
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DEFINITELY go SSD for boot drive and game installs if you can budget it in.


I'm using an SSD in my work laptop and it is very nice. Very quick boot times, wakes up almost instantly, and everything opens quickly and runs smoother. Also, installations and copy/pasting are incredibly quick, as well.

That's my plan on my next build...
 
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