POJack

I have very little knowlege of computers, computer software etc. My main priority is for computer gaming (G2 included) and during the past week or so, i've been reading forums about people who have fairly new systems, but are experiencing problems with their games because of lack of memory, megabites, gigabites, rom speed, etc. (all Latin to me). A couple of things I did pick up on were you have to have a good processor and a good video card to run games properly. Other than that, I have no clue what to look for. I went to a computer store today where they build them for you and it's called Wizard Computers. I told the guy my situation and he said, "Well, we have just what your looking for!" (typical salesman). Because of my lack of knowlege about computers, I don't want to be taken advantage of and buy something that is crap and won't run the games that I want to play such as the new Combat Flight Sim 3. This is the computer that the guy showed me. Any feedback would be appreciated on how well it will run with the current games that are out, primarily CFS3.

-2.0 GHz Pentium 4 Processor/400 MHz FSB (He said I don't need any more than that such as 2.53 GHz)
-Black Mid Tower Case
-512 MB PC 2100 DDR
-60.0 GB HD (Ultra ATA 100) 7200 RPM
-Black 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Drive
-Black Hi-Speed 16X DVD-ROM
-Black 48X12X48 CDRW/ w Burn Proof
-128MB G Force 4 Ti 4200 AGP Video
-Intel Pro 10/100 NIC
-Microsoft internet keyboard
-Soundblaster Live! 5.1 Digital sound
-Benwin Speakers with subwoofer
-Microsoft Intellimouse (PS/2)
-Norton Antivirus 2003 Pro
-Windows XP Home
-Neovo 17" LCD Monitor

All this for a grand total of $1649.00. Is this a good price. And most importantly, is this a good system for current games expecially CFS3?
Thank you
512 MB PC 2100 DDR

SilverEagle2

My Feedback: (9)

I run alot of my games that are intensive on :

P3 1Ghz
512 MB PC133 RAM
100 GB Drive ATA 100
GeForce2 Ultra Video
Blaster Gamer 5.1

Blah blah blah

You would be just fine with that set up

My new machine will be alot like that one you listed with a few bump ups. Mine will com in well over $1800 for nothing but the case and insides. (No monitor, stuff like that) I would take it and run.

Cheers

FYI: I am a system administrator and software developer who has been building machines since they were 8086XT's for IBM compatibles and Apples before that. Hope that helps.

POJack

Appreciate the feedback Eagle...BTW, I forgot to ask if that flat screen monitor will be OK for games. I read somewhere that those screens tend to "skip" with games, something like they are not fast enough. Is this true?

Thanks

SilverEagle2

My Feedback: (9)

the pits for games. (my opinion)

Do not draw fast enough for me.

I stick with the CRT tubes myself. May knock a little off the price as well.

Take your specs and search on the web and compare that price.

Then look at www.alienware.com who is known for really nice gaming systems and see what you think.

I would take the box and buy a tube monitor that I really liked. That and you would be able to jump to a nice 19" one as well.

My 2 cents though.

Cheers

Loaded

Generally there aren't many bad configurations.
This one isn't either. Just a few things.

1. the p4 with 400mhz fsb is the old version. he's trying to dump
it on you. the new one's have 533 fsb, there called "Northwood"

2. the old p4 in combination with DDR memory perform rather
poor in comparison with Athlon cpu's.
p4's up to the latest chipsets from Intel run best with Rambus RIMM's.
that's what these chipsets where designed for.

3. lets talk about chipsets. right now they're about the most important part of the pc.
There the device's that get all the other stuff work together. Memory, CPU, PCI bus, AGP bus......
With a p4 cpu you shouldn't get anything else than an intel chipset.
they are the: i840, i845, i850 and so on
i guess via is also getting there, make a big circle around the others.

4. ask which brand the motherboard is. it should be an a brand like:
Tyan (too expensive), Epox, MSI, Asus, Abit, AOpen,
about in that order.

5. get as much memory as you can afford. 512mb is no luxury.

In general i would go for an Athlon 2.8Ghz / nForce 2 combo, with ecc DDR's,
that seems to be the biggest bang for the buck combo at this moment.

Do some research on the net. a good source for hardware info still is:
www.tomshardware.com
he's been around for ages.

good luck shopping

Loaded

SilverEagle:
yeah those P3's still rock.
Hard to get though now a days. can only get them as
XEON's. High end, high price. Well not like it used to be
but still more than the rest. The p3's excell especially in floating
point, yepp that's 3d games, but integer for normal appliances i.e.
Internet, word, whathaveyer is better on the p4 / athlons.
pure clock cycles.

POJack

I looked at Alienware...What about this one?

http://alienware.com/main/system_pages/area51-t9.asp

How much better is it than the one described above? Also, I assume that the monitor is not included. What is a good monitor for gaming in the $300-$400 price range?

Loaded

that config kicks a*@.
if you have that kind of cash ...

the monitor depends on how big your workspace is.
my personal favorite is the iiyama 19" or 22"
They're crisp, bright 'n big .

http://valueemporium.com/value-empor...y19crtmon.html

290 -380 $

ParticleMan

My Feedback: (24)

POJack,

The original system is a nice one and will play the newest games without a hitch. Loaded pointed out some very good issues however, getting a Northwood P4 would be well worth it. As for Alienware, well, anything from is going to be good, but for a price. They're basically the premium in gaming pcs, next to Falcon Northwest and custom builds. As far displays, I too do not prefer a flat panel. To me they're still not as sharp as my 21" trinitron CRT. Plus, they cost quiet a bit more as far as size goes.

POJack

Anyone currently using these (the ones at the top of the page)?

http://alienware.com/main/gear_shop....egory=Speakers

If so, are they good? Thanks

SimJen

LCD displays are getting better, some of the latest ones are actually quite good at games as they have quicker response times. I would still prefer to put the extra cost into a larger CRT monitor 19"+.

Northwood P4's are the best to get. I have a 1.6a clocked at 2.5Ghz rock solid stable.
Most 2-2.4Ghz are doing 2.6Ghz +.

Get some decent fast ram and a motherboard that can handle either DDR400 or Dual Channel DDR, and your games will fly-literally.

SimJen

rappyhappy

this machine will CERTAINLY have no problems with game graffics for at least a year!

Hypter

My Feedback: (2)

LCD displays are nice and save some space at your desk, but are not that great for gaming, they draw good, but the thing I dont like about them is that everything "traces" Some of the newer ones/more expensive ones are not as bad at doing this.

Check out the KDS 17" - 19" Flat Screen CRT monitors.

I have the same setup as your original choice, with the exception of the video card -- ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128meg, and the games run excelent on it, even SimCity4 (for those who have been following the problems with that game) CFS3 runs great too.

Cougar-RCU

My Feedback: (2)

$207.00 just picked one up.. ITS GREAT!


POJack

I just picked up a 5.1 set of Creative at walmart for $78 bucks
And they sound Awesome! (6 speakers)
Jeff

Hypter

My Feedback: (2)

I love the KDS XFlat monitors, i had a 17", then got the 19" with my new computer. Cant go wrong with the 5.1 either

RTDP

Like others, I'm a KDs 19" flat screen advocate. I go to Tigerdirect.com for a wide selection of gear at competitive prices. You might give them a try.

Cougar-RCU

My Feedback: (2)

And
MSI G-Force 128 with 8X
AND
1 GIG of 3200 DDR *YIPPEE*
Things are flying now..
on my new ASUS A7N8X DELUXE Board!

bgi

My Feedback: (7)

LCD monitors vary a lot. My Viewsonic VG150 is fine for games. Refresh is fast.

Question is: did the guy try to sell you a flat screen CRT? Or was it a LCD monitor? For the money, I'd guess it's a CRT. CRT's usually fine, though there are still some dogs out there. Important: Check out the screen at your desired resolution and refresh rate (ask the sales droid to set it up at least 1024x768 and 75Hz refresh).

There's hardly ever a need to buy the latest bleeding-edge stuff. You pay lots of money for stuff that's old hat in 3 months. Get something that's 6-12 months away from "brand new" and it will kick butt just fine and cost a lot less.

FYI you can get a machine which runs G2 just fine for < $600. All you need us a Pentium 2 450mHz, 128meg RAM and a good graphics card.

bronxbombr

My Feedback: (1)

I got a PC NIB for sale Amd Athlon 1700
256mb ddr ram
guellimont Gforce 4 440
52xcd rom
20GB hhd
48x12x28 CD-RW
all the toys games and most importantly >>>>>>>>>>>
G2 installed with all the addons,cd key, and official RF controller
all this with mouse,keyboard, and for 150 more 17" monitor


all this for 525.00 shipped

Yes i know I beat the Dell comercial by 24 bux but who cares

johnc1go

My Feedback: (9)

CRT displays are better for games. You don't need a 60 gig hard drive, and you sure don't need the fancy speakers. I would just about think you could spend half of what wizard wants to charge you. Dell has some great deals going right now and they make a good machine.

aquaflamz

My Feedback: (1)

Buy a system with an AMD Athlon XP processor. The AMD Athlon XP does more work than the Pentium 4. It'ls like comparing a V8 engine to a V6. The V8 does more work per revolution. (clock cycle)

captinjohn

aqua: Can a person get the system you are talking about and or parts to make a good gaming system from tiger Direct? Or where? Looking for low price. Thanks Capt,n

Lightfoot

My Feedback: (1)

Try newegg.com. I have built 3 computers. Each time I did an extensive search of the WWW for the best prices and each time I ended at NewEgg. The prices were unbeatable and the service was excellent.

ElectRick

My Feedback: (2)

Here's a general rule of thumb from someone who builds custom systems for individuals and businesses every day for a living:

If you want to know how well a given application, or game, or sim runs on any given system, just have the sales dweeb LOAD the app on the box he's hawking to you and see for yourself how it runs! Bring in your disk and keycode, your input device you plan to use, and test it. No substitute for a real-world test. Use the same model monitor you are looking to buy too, in the case of a LCD monitor, because all LCD's are not the same. If the sales dweeb won't let you, then maybe you don't want to buy from him. This means he's got something to hide. You are talking about a lot of money for that system in the first post (WAAAAY overkill for RF G2, by the way). A 1 GHz Athlon with 128 MB DDR RAM, and an older NVidia GeForce 2 w/64 MB and running Win 98SE runs it beautifully, no choppiness whatsoever at normal resolutions. I know, because that's what I run mine on. Much more speed and power than that is simply overkill for G2, and is money spent purely for bragging rights, IMHO.
Of course, as a PC salesman, I'd be glad to sell you some expensive bragging rights if you feel like you have to have 'em.

Rick

UnWired-RCU

LCD's have a bad rap, but any newer model should be fine. I dumped my 19" crt for dual 18.1" LCD's (NEC 1850E's) months ago and have never looked back. In particular, RealFlight G2 looks incredible on the LCD and there is no problem with ghosting or refresh. It looks great.

My system is a P4 2.4Ghz, GeForce 4 TI4400, 512MB RDRAM, 120GB WD HD, Creative Audigy 2 platinum, DVD, CD-RW, etc, etc and RealFlight G2 works beautifully.

I agree that if you do get an LCD (which I love and use professionally and will never go back to CRT's), try to use the one you want to buy on a computer which you can load RealFlight G2 onto first. Generally, the newer LCD's are not going to give you anything but a big grin on your face. And they sure are easier on the eyes and take up a LOT less real estate than CRT's. Even with two 18.1" LCD's hanging on an Ergotron LCD stand, I have more desk space than I did with one 19" CRT.

Good luck, and have fun! If you need this as an excuse to get a killer system, then don't worry if what you get is overkill for RF G2... get something you won't need to replace in 6 months and that can play any other simulators or games on the market without any hesitation.