Need Advice From Computer Guru
 

Computers are mystery for me.

I live in Chile so I pretty much have to have a gaming computer put together locally.

I want a machine that will easily handle SIII with GWX and a few mods.
Also to have the power to handle SHV if it ever gets deDRMed and bugs fixed.



My local computer store is offering me a machine with the following specs:

Mother board ASUS
Hard disk W.Digital 500 GB Sata 2
Kingston Ram memory Kingston 2 GB DDR2-800
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E7500
Video PCIE HD4350 1024mb DDR2
Windows 7 home basic

What do you think?
Thanking you in advance
Brag

From personal experience, my computer is waaay under those capabilities. But SH3 seems to work well on mine. SH3 should be real nice on the machine you listed.

As for SH5, here's the *recommended* specs taken from HERE

Intel Processor - Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz
AMD Processor - Opteron Dual core 270
Nvidia Graphics Card - Geforce 8800 GTS 512MB
ATI Graphics Card - Radeon HD 4850
RAM Memory - 2 GB
Hard Disk Space - 5 GB
Direct X - 9

I'm not the best to answer this, but one thing I've been learning is that 2Gb RAM is on the low end for running some of the mods together; you'd be better off with 3Gb, and 4 Gb if at all possible.

Agreed - I've got 2 GB and I still have time to take a nap while GWX loads. For any newer games I think 2 GB is the absolute minimum you'll want.

If you aren't a computer geek, I'd suggest getting the best thing you can afford within reason.


Virtually every processor on the market is a dual core or quad core. Just remember that MHZ is still king. Get the fastest processor you can and look at the number of cores second.

You need at least 4GB of RAM.

The 4350 is pure crap. It's a $40 video card designed for home theater PCs. The 4850 or 4870 is a much better choice.

Windows Home Basic is not usually available in the US. However, it looks like it won't allow you to do a lot of things I consider necessary. For example, it looks like it does not support dual monitors. The seems kinda odd to me. Anyway, it will probably work fine for playing video games and surfing then internet.

looks solid enough to me Brag - though im a little like yourself when it comes to computers. though i would go for more RAM, if you are going to go for SH5.
if you aim for top spec SH5 you will be ok with the other two - you need to go see what sh5 requiremets are.

try this http://www.husdawg.com/systemrequirementslab/Home2.html click on the the 'can you run it' tab
it will scan your comp. and tell you if you can play the game you want, im fine for SH3 and 4 but seriously lacking for 5.

hmm, not sooo the expert but if you like to have a game-rig for the next years, I'd chose slowly and compare prices.
is there a hardware-store near you that will build your rig after your specifications?
if so, try a search in game-related boards which specs are sufficient for your needs. written that I remember there's one here on SubSim :D

all I can say:
- dual-core is ok, but AMD usually is cheaper
- 4GB memory is way better than 2GB
- Asus released a fine mid-range card last year: HD4770. it's around 80$ - don't buy 4350

(in half a year I will build my own new game-rig :cool:)


edit: win7 64-bit seems the better OS

Thanks, guys, for the speedy replies. Looking forward to returning into the action with Balz and his jolly crew.

Haven't played SH3 in over a year and have serious withdrawal symptoms.

:salute:

Make sure the hard drive is at least 7200RPM and not one of the old 5400RPM. There will be a painfully noticeable speed difference between them.

Also make sure your power supply is large enough to handle a new video card, 550watt + perhaps? With stats as low as your post, I'd expect a ~300watt supply which won't run newer video cards. Also check the amp rails too, some video cards require higher than normal ones. I'd bought a nice 700 watt supply that didn't work since it didn't put out enough amps. :)

Yep, power supply is often overlooked when upgrading. All that fancy stuff needs bigtime juice.

You mean one needs a transformer or is the power supply inside the fram?

Looks sound Brag apart from the RAM and the PSU as already mentioned.

Oops. Yeah, to clarify, I mean the PSU inside the case. More powerful ones can support multiple hard-disks, CD-DVD roms, and high quality video hardware.

EDIT: And fans. All that hardware generates significant heat when operating, so the PSU also keep your case fans running along with its other duties. Hot computer is a dead computer.

Many thanks to all of you who reponded. The info given has been most helpful.

I hope you guys are not pushing me over my budget. :D

If you need to cut back, buy a good case, PSU, motherboard, and processor. Let it get by with 2gb of RAM and a crappy video card for now. After 3~6 months, get some more memory. After another 3~6 months, get a better video card.


In reality, you should probably be upgrading your video card every 12 months anyway. I usually look at the $200 video card range every 9 months or so.