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But I'm certainly really interested in hearing your advice for PC construction, and all that geeky, AMD-versus-Intel stuff. New thread? I'll seriously need your help, Tez!
Always happy to help. Just let me know when you're thinking of bolting the monster together, and I'll render any assistance I can.
So anything with 128+ on board that's based on the GeForce 6 chipset should be good?
Yes, and if you like. 128Mb really should be the minimum if you're seriously thinking about running some of the latest games at full settings. Sure, a 64Mb will run most stuff, but they're getting pretty redundant now. I say 'if you like' to part the second as whilst there is a great deal of argument over whether nVidia or ATI have the bigger penis, there really isn't that much difference between the two. nVidia top ATI at some tasks, ATI top nVidia at others. PCI-Express aside, tThe essential points are that you get a 8x AGP card, that it has pixel shading (the higher the better), and that it has at least 128mb of onboard memory.
Obviously, I'm loath to leave the case open... but it sounds like this could be a good option. I just need something that'll fit in the damn box...
Like I said, that case size is a major headache. Although, whilst you say you're loathe to leave the case open, it's not actually as bad as you might think. In pretty much all PCs now, the closed case serves two purposes: (1) to stop crap getting into the guts of the machine, and, (2) to make the airflow via the internal fan(s) more efficient, thus aiding cooling. To be honest, leaving the case open, as long as it's just covered with something to stop crap getting in, really isn't that much of a problem. Your CPU may run a little hotter, but almost certainly not enough to be a problem (Intels tend to run a little cooler than AMDs anyway).
I'm imagining that the Intel integrated graphics card that comes with this system will, even with 2GB of RAM, be a bwa-ha-ha when it comes to running HL2, right? I'm wondering if Doom 3 and F.E.A.R. can wait...
You may be disappointed. I have not - admittedly - seen HL2 running on any onboard card, but the general rule of thumb is that it's always preferable to have the various aspects of a game handled by dedicated cards (visual by graphics card, audio by sound card, etc).
I know Intel did receive several complaints about HL2 crashing to desktop whilst running on their interal graphics chips, in response to which their tech support produced the following gem of assistance:
Symptom(s):
Half-Life* 2 game exits to the desktop at the end of a level and certain other points during gameplay.
Solution:
This issue has been recently reported and is currently being investigated.
The following steps can be used to minimize the issue reported with the game:
* Reload the game after the game exits. The game will continue from where it had previously stopped.
Additional information may be available at the game manufacturer's website.
As far as I'm aware, the load placed on the graphics processor, even with a huge wedge of memory behind it, by applications like HL2 and Far Cry is, I'm sorry to say, simply too much for most to bear.
Additionally - will the power supply cause problems, do you think?
I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. The only time you have to think about power supplies is when matching a case and motherboard. Since both are already taken care of in your Dell, this isn't really an issue. When you come to build your own, this will be something to consider, but for the moment you can leave it. |
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