My Pre christmas plan that went wrong...

[AndyStok]

So it came to me that christmas was nearly upon us and i realsied that in order to play GTA IV id obviously need to do some updating. So i did...in the form of a new powersupply and 2 gig of 400mhz RAM, oh and a new GFX card i picked (for free) this was a GeForce 8600 GS...not terribly great i know but quite a step up from onboard gfx

So my set up is the following

650 Watt Power Supply
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
2GB 400mhz DDR1 RAM
GeForce 8600 GS
200 GB HD
VIsta 32 SP1

This system runs the new GTA IV but no point in really playing because well the FPS is ****! i dont know what it is but i imagine 2! and this is with the settings on the lowest possible!

So basically my question is what should i do? I told myself that the parts ive bought for this system is the first time and last time i'll be buying anything for it. Should i steel any of the parts froim this comp and add a new motherboard and graphics card? or go full out with a new system? what is the best option money wise? what would be cheaper if i was going to do this? Ive looked at some of the system that novatech have to offer and they seem ok for price. but yeah to run GTA IV at a decent FPSs what system would be good or what parts? and! baring in mind i would like to upgrade in the future as direct x 10.1 is the future of gaming and require high performing comps

Thanks for any advice

Andy

[hampshire_hog]

You need 512mb of memory on the graphic card to play that game the 8600 has 256m6

GTA IV system rquirements:

OS: Windows XP SP2
Processor: Dual core processor (Intel Pentium D or better)
RAM: 2GB
Hard Drive: 18GB free hard disk space
Video Card: 512MB Direct3D 10 compatible video card or Direct3D 9 card compatible with Shader
Drive: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive


A Geforce 8800 would meet that.

[system7]

I know we talked about GTA4 some time back.

I think we decided it needs dual-core around 2.4 GHz to run properly and then a goodish graphics card to pump out some frames.

By way of example, if a 8600GT puts out a juddery 20 FPS, an 8800GT would be getting you up around a playable 60.

These hot new games have a way of getting you buying new stuff at Novatech. Gibbo would approve of that. :p

[Kevster]

Same thing happened to me mate...
I was gutted..
I thought my card would handle most stuff on an ok resolution/detail level.

I read an interesting write up about GTA, that even a <single> top of the range ATI or Nvidia card struggles with a high FPS rate with GTA4 (with everything on MAX level).

That's why they are bringing out *new* £400+ GFX cards - well within the reach of average Joe! (Not!)

Seems the PC is the best for gaming - at a price.

GTA4 on Consoles... no hassles.
PC's should be no exception...regardless of spec.
If a game is designed to run with on a Quad Core with 4GB RAM or use SLI/CF'd GFX Board's then there shouldn't be a con that the 'minimum' spec will run the game anywhere near a satisfactory level.

I wasted my money with GTA4, buying it through Steam at a **** exchange rate...
Disappointing!

[Stickyjam]

if you have the money id go full out with a new system so you can really appreciate the game!

[Lemon]

Although I haven't had much time to play the game recently, I think that when it plays well on a computer (see spec in sig), it looks even better than on console. I run full settings at 1680x1050 and still get a reasnable frame rate. It is still however, a killer on computer hardware.

Looking at your spec, i would say bite the bullet, sell/donate the old system to a freind or family or put it on the bay(won't get much) and buy a newer sytem. If you want value, you might be able to save on the cost of the build by re using the case. But other than that, if you want to play GTA, unfotiantely, you will need to splash the cash...

[AndyStok]

ahhh well im thinking if i have to spend money im gunna go all out and get a quad, for the future of gaming. My thought are to get a barebones system but who is better? amd? or intel? any thoughts?

Then id pop in harddrive and id need to buy a GFX card but it seems the cheaper option..i think


Andy

[hampshire_hog]

I'm an AMD fan myself, not that you will meet many of those round here.

Building one from scratch is cheaper but if you are a bit wery of handiling a processer then you can still save money by going bare bones.

Upgrading sounds like a good idea seing you current setup, hopefully will last for a while longer.

[system7]

I'm an AMD fan myself, not that you will meet many of those round here.

LOL @Hog. Quite agree, m*. Too many blooming Intel Fanbois here. :lol:

[Baggpuss]

I used to love AMD, just recently they are well behind the game.

[Jonny2Bad]

Gtv4 is best played with a quad for sure, even high end systems with older duals cores are struggling with this game, give us an idea of your price range and we'' put together a parts list for ya ;)

[AndyStok]

had a look through the catalogue, looking at either the following below, gone for ones without a case as i already have a case obviously that i'll transfer the board into

AMD Phenom x4 9850 Quad Core 2GB Bundle = 4x2.83 = 11.32ghz
£323.13

or
Intel Quad Core q9550 2GB Bundle = 4x2.5=10ghz
£376.00

Worth the extra money?

What are the motheboards like on the bundles?

i cant see the ones in the catolg that are on the web site?

Thanks

Andy

[TheTranquilEye]

I'd personally go for the Intel option because it has a larger L2 cache which is proven to improve gaming performance.

[AndyStok]

ahhhhhhh ok thanks for that, the ghz is pretty much the same, another difference is the front side bus is bigger on the AMD (i got speeds the wrong way round in the post before the intel is greater in ghz) So yeah the AMD FSB is 2000mhz where the intel is 1333mhz, a major part to consider?

[system7]

Andy, all this talk of clock speed and cache is irrelevant for comparing AMD and Intel. It doesn't work the same way on the two architectures. As it happens, The new AMD Phenom II is the CPU to think about these days on a crossfire 790GX board. weigh that up against an Intel Quad.

[TheTranquilEye]

Andy, all this talk of clock speed and cache is irrelevant for comparing AMD and Intel. It doesn't work the same way on the two architectures. As it happens, The new AMD Phenom II is the CPU to think about these days on a crossfire 790GX board. weigh that up against an Intel Quad.

I stand corrected!

Bit out of touch with the new Phenoms, it seems...:-(

[system7]

lol, TTE. AMD Hypertransport and Intel FSB gets kind of complicated too.

The Intel Core2s need L2 cache to compensate for the fact the memory controller isn't on the CPU. AMD needs it less due to lower latency on the memory controller on the CPU. Of course, the new pricey Intel i7 has borrowed the idea so is now faster.

BTW, I'm not advocating AMD over Intel here, that's for the buyer to decide. Happily the Phenom II and the excellent new AMD boards are not to be sniffed at. Competition is good for prices.

[TheTranquilEye]

Oh System, you made me hang my head in shame and toddle off into the ether (or the 'internets' as GWB knows it) and do some reading up...

http://www.beyond3d.com/content/news/702

[system7]

Oh System, you made me hang my head in shame and toddle off into the ether (or the 'internets' as GWB knows it) and do some reading up...

http://www.beyond3d.com/content/new/702


404 Page Not Found

The page you requested was not found.

Linky broken... :lol:

[TheTranquilEye]

Linky fixed..;)

[system7]

Splendid link. :p

So I surmise the Phenom II has L3 cache, where the Intel has only L2.

That's better then, innit? :rolleyes:

[Willzo101]

If you want great value for money you could get a Q6600 and overclock it? You'll save a heap of money that you can spend on a better graphics card like a ATI HD4870 or an nVidia GTX260. Both cards will tear through GTA IV, but tbh anything above an 8800GT will do the job.

[AndyStok]

ahhhhh too much technical information! hah!

do NT do bundles with the Q6600?

[Jonny2Bad]

ahhhhh too much technical information! hah!

do NT do bundles with the Q6600?
Unfortunately not but i hear Gibbo is looking for a large supply of q6600's through the grapevine lol so if he's successful be nice to see them back in the line up ;)

[AndyStok]

well i think im gunna wait on one of those, prices will drop aswell and i can work out my system better, the graphics card decision is stressfull, not so much a hard decidion somehow for the processor, just went for the bggest ghz with ease of oberclokcing within a decent price range

so yeah get some q6600's please :D

http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4DWF