what PC for SH4?

[fvd]

Hi guys,

Please forgive me for asking a question that probably has been answered a zillion times.
But in "computerland" changes and progress happens very fast, that's why i dare to ask which computer i should by to play SH4?
Now i still play SH3 but am thinking to buy a new pc to be able to play SH4.
What do you recommend?
And which O.S. is the best, Vista or XP?

Thank you very much!
Regards,
fvd

[FooFighters]

Hi guys,

Please forgive me for asking a question that probably has been answered a zillion times.
But in "computerland" changes and progress happens very fast, that's why i dare to ask which computer i should by to play SH4?
Now i still play SH3 but am thinking to buy a new pc to be able to play SH4.
What do you recommend?
And which O.S. is the best, Vista or XP?

Thank you very much!
Regards,
fvd

This going to be a difficult answer..
Afcourse a new 2000 dollar PC will do the job.

But I think if you don't have that kind of budget there are 2 things that are important for SH-IV..
* Get 2gb of memory.. this will make the game more playable.. especialy with loading times
* Get a good videocard. I would suggest an 8800 from nvidia or something similar fom Ati (thought it was a 2900. But I am a nvidia guy). Afcourse the older 7800, 7900 and new 8600 also work fine.

just buy a standard dual core processor, the game will run fine !
Like AMD's 4600+ or Intels E6300..

I only have a AMD XP 64 3200+ (no dual core) and this also runs fine with my XFX 8800 GTS and 2 GB memory.

In the end the big question is.. are you just buying a new PC for SHIV ?
Or do you want to prepare for the future ?

Buying a higher end PC never hurts (except for your wallet :rotfl: )

Hope it helps you on the way to your new PC.

:up:

[seafarer]

I upgraded a few weeks ago, but I was seriously limited in what I was prepared to pay for a WinBox. My main machines are Apple, and the Windows machine is just for fun (and not a whole lot of time for that either, so no point spending huge amounts for a killer machine that gets used a few hours a week).

I just baught a budget Acer box from chain electronics store:

Acer E380 - AMD 4800+ dual-core Athlon 64x2 (2.5GHz, 512MB cache per core)
2Gb DDR2 RAM, 400GB SATA HDD, dual-layer 8x DVD/CD burner

The machine has onboard NVidia graphics, but it has a 300Watt power supply, so I stuck a PNY GeForce 8500GT 512MB PCIe card in it instead. Then I replace my old 17inch CRT with a 21.6inch wide screen SamSung (216BW). The whole thing was less then $1000 US, and it runs SHIV just fine (unless you are a FPS snob :lol: ).

The GeForce 8800 would have required a power supply upgrade, and that card alone would have been 1/3rd to 1/2 the cost of the whole bundle I brought home, so too expensive for my taste or needs.

I'm running Vista Home Premium 32-bit, and have had no real issues. Just follow the advice here about installing your games ANYWHERE but "program files" (mine are in my user's area in a "games" top directory - this bypasses Vista's whole insanely applied user access control security "feature"). Some older games just won't work with Vista's graphics changes (Jane's USAF, some real oldies like Fighting Steel, DID's F22), but other's are alright (Janes WWII Fighters, for example) although you may need to download and install DirectX9 (or get it off an old game CD - it can run happily alongside DirectX10 on Vista).

Figure out how much you want to spend first, then you'll know what ballpark you're in for combination of CPU/RAM/Video card.

P.S. in hindsight, I do wish Acer had used the older version of AMD's 4800+ chip - the 2.4GHz chip has 1GB cache per core, which seems a better trade off then 2.5GHz and 512MB/core. Although, for all I know, you just cannot get the 2.4GHz version anymore?

[fvd]

Thanks guys for the advice!

It seems that it won't be easy...
Probably the price will help me to decide ;)

Good hunting,
fvd

PS: i am really curious for playing SH4!!!

[sqk7744]

Foo is right on the money!

Def. a dual core+ cpu
If you can swing it, get two SLI GPU's
and the most RAM you can fit/swing never hurts.

I'm running a custom built AMD 64FX dual Core overclocked to 2.73gz on a ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe mobo with 2GB of RAM and 3 x 400GB Seagate 7200rpm SATA HD's.

Make sure you also get a big enough power supply to provide for all these 'power hungry' components as well as plenty of cooling fans, front and back.

You can check alienware and falcon-nw for what's hot in cutting edge components and then order them via newegg or others ( if you are into building your own pc's )

cheers :arrgh!:

[Zantham]

A budget system you can build for around $1000 Canadian:

Core2Duo E6320 1.86GHz 4MB Cache (4MB is good for gaming, and this CPU can overclock to 3GHz+ pretty easily even with the stock Intel cooler, 1333FSB doesnt have any appreciable performance gains, DDR3 is expensive still)

Asus P5N-E SLI (650i chipset, DX10 ready, SLI ready, I like Asus, benchmarks show no appreciable difference in gaming compared to 680i)

2GB DDR2-800 Dual Channel (no point going over 2GB at this point even with 64bit OS since very few programs are written to break the 2GB barrier)

GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB (very fast performer at a reasonable price, handles pretty much any game max graphics up to minimum 1680x1050, havent tested it at 1920x1200 but the 320MB memory may begin affecting performance at this high resolution, esp with antialiasing enabled)

SATA Hard Drive (400GB seems to be a decent price/size point these days)

DVD Burner (SATA is nice, but incompatible with certain game protections - SH4 with 1.3 is not affected anymore by this)

Generic Case, and get a GOOD powersupply (500W is plenty for this machine, even if you add a second 320MB 8800GTS, but watch your amp ratings)

Operating system and monitor not included in price. For something like this I'd get a 20" running 1680x1050, thats a good resolution, and 20's are cheap nowadays. Operating system I still recommend XP for now since Vista will run games somewhat slower.


What I'm running:

C2D 2.66GHz e6700 at 3.6GHz
BFG 8800GTX OC2 (single card, OC2 when I got it was over $200 less than the Ultra, and clocks pretty much the same)
Asus P5N32-E SLI (680i chipset, awesome overclocker, not as expensive as Striker Extreme but same basic features)
Western Digital 74GB Raptors (10,000rpm, loads games in no time)
2GB OCZ DDR2-800 RAM
Windows XP

For comparison, this system is enough to power SH4 on my 30" LCD max settings including max AA at 2560x1600 with FPS never dropping below 50. The budget system will still run SH4 at 2560x1600 with its 8800GTS, but with AA off, and dips under 30FPS under intense situations even with the CPU overclocked. The 320MB hurts it most at these high resolutions.

[Torps]

It is not a silly question.


Core 2 duo is great for a budget or the quad cores by Intel are best if you want to shell out money for little improvement in game performance (has advantages games do not know how to take advantage of the quad core yet)

AMD is great but the new cores by intel blow AMD away in benchmark and performance tests in most areas.

Vista or XP is fine, XP is just more compatible however does not offer DX 10.
Vista reaches it peak performance with 4GB of memory or more
XP does not know how to take advantage of memory above 2GB
DDR 3 is out so if your not on a budget that would be good

ATI graphics cards are good but Nvidia is better(Yes I have ATI)
NVIDIA cards that support DX 10 would be a nice choice, to save on money if you upgrade in a year.