Well DOOM3 runs on my old system....but just barely and not with a whole lot of slowdown. This means I'm buying a new computer tomorrow so I'm interested in asking all the tech geeks like me out there: what kind of setup would you pick for a kick-butt gaming computer? Here are the specs I think will work, tell me if you think they're not up to par for games like DOOM and HalfLife 2...

Pentium4 2.8Ghz processor
256MB Nvidia FX 5200 video card
512mb 400 DDR RAM
totally random motherboard that supports Pentium 4 (is there a preferred motherboard for gaming?)
all the other components are add-on cards like sound cards, LAN, etc.

thank you!

 

> Get the new 64 bit AMD chip
> Get a sick dual-bios MB that supports it
> Get either the ATI Radeon X800, 9800XT, or 9800Pro video card.

 

Look at alienware: http://www.alienware.com a bit expensive, but you won't find a better windows machine anywhere.

 

I second on the ATI 9800XT vid card

 

yeah I only have the 9800Pro and its badass!

save money and build your computer yourself!

 

Building the computer yourself will save you a ton of money. You could get a barebones system from www.monarchcomputer.com and ur hd and drives from www.newegg.com.

 

go with the new amd 64 bit's and run a socket 939 mobo. Also if you want new apps and doom 3 to run smoothly get a gig of ram with some low latency.

 

What he said. Don't buy the Alienware machine, it costs WAY too much. I built my own exact replica, even down to the neon lights and it only cost me about $650 invcluding sound system.

-Chris

 

Creative Labs Audigy 2ZS or 2ZS Platinum are nice sound card setups.

 

64bit amd chips KICK ***, they will smoke the p4 just about any day of the week, even in 32 bit mode. That chip with a good mb and 1 gig of ram and a heavy duty vid card and you are set for life.

See if DFI makes a lanparty series board for the 64bit proccesors... if so jump on it.

 

My 64 board is an nvidia N-force and works pretty well... though I did have a bios problem for a bit, but I think that was user error.

-Chris

 

wait a few months. they are gonna come out with Dual AMD Opteron Small Form Factor PC's. use that as a building block. dual opteron on a nforce3 board. dont skimp out on the motherboard.. its proly the most important part of your computer. anyways. dual opteron, SATA in raid 0. get seagate 10K rpm drives as they now have a 5 year warrenty.. unlike the other hd manufacturers that only have a 1 year. Those plus a ATi x800 vid card and u are good to go. or hopefully an x800 based All in wonder card if they come out with one. oh ya.. 1 gb ddr400 ram running dual channel. that should handle your gaming for at least the next year. haha

 

I say go with the western digital Raptor drives and run them in raid 0. They are a bit pricey but perform great.

 

X800 definately rocks the 9800XT pricey but way worth it.
My friend had a x800 with a Athlon 64 3200 and he gets a 3dmark score of 27000 something. It is absolutely wicked. That will definately be my PC when I start building later this year.

 

um perhaps I forgot to mention...I AM ON A BUDGET! RAID hard drives and the latest processors running at the most advanced speeds are not an option for me. the Pentium4 2.8ghz has a bus speed of 800mhz vs. 500mhz for the next step down at 2.4ghz, so i'm going with the better processor. the video card i just bought and i ran it with doom on my current system and the visuals are amazing! actually everything runs perfectly and the graphics are OUTRAGEOUS to say the least, but everythings runs too slowly to be playable. the new doom definitely needs 1.8ghz processor or more and at least 384mb of fast ram.

the motherboard that has been chosen by the store i am working with (Mysolu.com off of Ocean street in SF) is made by Abit, Kelly at the store told me that Abit puts out good updated BIOS for the board so it should be reliable.

and yes i looked into getting a full "warrantied" computer from companies like gateway dell etc., but they are too expensive and i just needed to swap all my "good" parts into a new motherboard with ram and a processor.

thanks for the advice