Fruitloop Posted November 25, 2001 Share Posted November 25, 2001 I've tried. Really. But my valiant attempts to resist the relentless temptation to go out and buy a new system right now is showing the first signs of faltering. Originally, I'd planned on putting off buying a brand new computer until a few weeks before JK2 came out. That way I'd have a better idea of what its system requirements would look like. Furthermore, that'd give me half-a-year more to earn some more money. However, the holiday season is upon us, and prices are dropping like thermal detonators on stormies. Today I went to BestBuy and looked wide-eyed at the "low" prices of some of the nicer systems out there. I'm now 100% sure that if I see a decent computer that's too good to pass up I'll buy it on the spot, regardless of JK2's release date. Self control issues aside, I've come here to ask for your help in choosing a system. What kind of computer do you think I should look for that'll run JK2 without a problem, plus all the other games in the upcoming batch of first person shooters (Unreal 2, Duke Nukem Never, and Medal of Honor)? I can't afford a maxed out P4 2.0GHz, but the desire to get a system that can actually play today's best (Max Payne, RTCW, etc....) is winning out. Basically, I'm asking what kind of budget sysetm should I look for if I went looking for one now, JK2 and longevity being my chief concerns. Your ideas are much appreciated, and thanks for your time. What I'm currently looking at: 1.3GHz or above, AMD or Intel, 128MB SDRAM or above CDRW, no exceptions (+ DVD if possible) Windows XP, no exceptions 20.0GB Hard Disk or above A motherboard with an AGP 4x slot, no exceptions 3D card is not an issue right now [ November 24, 2001: Message edited by: Fruitloop ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millions o' Monkeys Posted November 25, 2001 Share Posted November 25, 2001 heres what i think. Athlon 1.3 ghz min. 256 meg RAM Min geforce 2 titanium min.20 gb hard drive thats the basics of what id say. The rest is up to you really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty_V2.1 Posted November 25, 2001 Share Posted November 25, 2001 ^ What he said, min 256MG RAM..... and suggest over 20 GB, i've had my current hard drive for a year and it's nearly full but I d/l stuff alot and buy something every couple of months and I don't know about other RPG's but BG2 takes about 2 gig by itself so if ur an RPGer u might need the space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRAVE Posted November 25, 2001 Share Posted November 25, 2001 I think those specs above are quite accurate. Of course my system will run it fine .....a lot of people will need to upgrade for JK2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruitloop Posted November 26, 2001 Author Share Posted November 26, 2001 I spotted one in an ad today that I might actually pick up. Specs are as follows: P4 1.5Ghz 256MB SDRAM 60GB Hard Drive 8x CD-RW + 20x DVD-ROM 32MB nVidia Graphics Card (no specifics given) Windows XP Home Edition Do you guys think this'll do, or should I just not look at any more computer ads until summer? [ November 25, 2001: Message edited by: Fruitloop ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormHammer Posted November 26, 2001 Share Posted November 26, 2001 Fruitloop...hmmm, maybe. My advice is don't get caught short on the graphics card, unless you are planning to invest in an up-to-date model early next year. More and more games are relying on the graphics card, so a lower-spec CPU shouldn't be too much of a problem. The rest sounds okay, though, if Pentiums are your thing. Oh...and does it have a modem? Or is online MP not an issue? Of course, my baseline advice is...hold out as long as possible, because the price tag on that system you're looking at should buy you something better a few months down the line. I know. I paid 2.5k for my system, mid 2000, and now I can get something twice as fast, with twice the HDD capacity for nearly half the price. It's a tough old world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psycoglass Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 ok I'm also trying to aford a great computer on a small budget and this is what I've come up with. 1.4 Ghz Athlon might go for XP 1900+ Soyo Dragon+ motherboard (great motherboard) 256 DDR 60 Gig Win XP DVD 16x with hardware decoder dvd roms look horrible without them. That's it. I know it looks expensive But it's really not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRAVE Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 That will run it fine, and if I were you I wouldnt bother with the XP 1900+, at the moment their new out and quite expensive....mmmmmm a 1.4 Ghz for £100, or an XP for £263.....I know which id get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kurgan Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Just me personally, I would go with ordering the parts online (it's almost always cheaper than buying retail oem) and assembling them either yourself or with somebody that knows computers. My current system cost me about 2k$US (back in sept-october of last year) including all the cables and attachments, monitor, etc. But you could probably get the same system for a lot less now (or a better system for equivalent). Now I can't say I've built my own system for years, but I did it this time and had a pretty good result I think. Only got the stuff I needed, and got the best I could for my budget. 1.1 Ghz (oc from 750) 128mb pc133 ram geforce2 gts abit motherboard (and the rest of the usual stuff) I also got a barely used 5x dvd-rom drive which is fine for me, for $30. The only bad luck I had was with my hard drive. It was a 45 gig IBM hd drive, that had the well known (but I believe IBM still refuses to acknowledge it was a mistake on their part) problem with the drives. Basically if you use RAID exclusively and keep it cool, you should be fine. But if you use IDE, you're screwed. My drive "went bad" I lost about a gig of data and had to have it repaired by IBM. It still made funny noises until it was hooked up to RAID and reformatted. Now it works as if it's normal (but I still don't trust it that far, so I got a maxtor drive just in case). But otherwise, I figure I saved some money and got a great system. I need a box fan to keep it cool though. ; ) So if you can, buy online, balance cheapness with quality. I'd go for AMD over Intel for processors, just in general, since the speed increases are minimal on the Pentium side, verses the extra cash you have to fork over. I got 128 ram, but you might want to go for 256. Personally I would go with dual boot win98se and win2kpro (or just win2k if you don't want to go dual boot, but I play a lot of old games and apps that require dos) rather than ME or XP (XP can be a memory hog, and ME I've heard too many complaints about in terms of bugginess). As far as JK2, look at the specs for recent Q3 engine games like EF, etc for ideas on the possible specs. Looks like it'll definately require a more powerful machine than Q3:Team Arena did. Kurgan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Kurgan Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Oh, and probably the only thing I plan to do in terms of "upgrading" my current setup between now and JK2's release is getting more ram. I plan to get another stick of 128 (for a total of 256) while it's still cheap. I can't likely afford to do more, and I hear that getting a GeForce3 instead of a GeForce2 would probably be pretty pointless (cost, verses speed). Most of us can't afford to upgrade as often as we'd like anyway. ; ) If you have a low budget, and your processor is at least minimum, then adding more ram should be the best solution to boosting your speed (although if you're already over 256 I don't think there is much point yet, am I right?). Now obviously you don't need a CD burner to play JK2, but it is a great thing to have. A decent CDRW drive (I have only used the RW feature once oddly enough, though it is twice as slow as just play R) though makes it easier to have a smaller HDD, since you can burn stuff to make backups (and blank 16x compatible 80 min CDR/W's are very cheap these days.. like about 25-50 cents per disc). I have now about 80GB (with my two drives) but 40 should be plenty, if you burn stuff, it really takes the load off, even if you're a download maniac who installs everything. My DVD drive I only use to watch movies, and my system is fast enough that even though I only have dxr2, it's not big deal. They run fine, I use PowerDVD and they look as good as on the TV (or better, depending on the disc). Interesting story (kind of off topic), I was talking to some guy awhile back who got an AMD 850 about the time I got my 750. He paid 100$ more, and here's the kicker.. he overlocked it, but could only do 1.00 Ghz. So I saved $100 and got 100.0 Mhz faster to boot! Kurgan [ November 29, 2001: Message edited by: Kurgan ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agen Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 I woudl usually say kurgan woudl get onto u for posting twice but er... ur kurgan... anyway i got my 1.2 ghz about 5 motnh ago and now we've got the 2ghz mark... dammit! typical eh? 256 mb ram does most things fine and are u aiming to play jk2 at max graphics or jsut damn good graphics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormHammer Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Originally posted by Agen_Terminator: ...anyway i got my 1.2 ghz about 5 motnh ago and now we've got the 2ghz mark... dammit! typical eh? Yeah, I agree. And didn't I read somewhere that they are hoping to produce a 3Ghz before Q2 next year? My T-Bird 850 is going to look decidedly tardy... I still reckon I'll be able to run JK2 at a decent level, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRAVE Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 Yup, if you look through the archives i posted that. Athlon 3.3Ghz by this time next year, and 4.4Ghz by the same time the year after that ........things just move to quickly these days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agen Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 Most things i read say that they shall get thumped in the face when the yreach the 20ghz mark! They won't be able to make things small enough and u'd half boil to death if u got nay higher a speed. it coudl be a micro-wave. I think jk2 shoudl run decent on my 1.2ghz with gf2. what do u think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormHammer Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 Originally posted by CaptainRAVE: Yup, if you look through the archives i posted that. I knew I read it somewhere. As for beating the 4 Ghz barrier...I think they're being too pessimistic. I reckon they'll crack that nut earlier, judging by past events. As for the 20Ghz limit...yes, Terminator, I read that too. Which is why the tech-heads are constantly working on new stuff, like optics, bio, new processes etc., so that we don't just run headlong into a speed barrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acdcfanbill Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 t-bird 850 eh? i got the duron 850, cause im a cheap bas... erm guy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenG Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 Originally posted by acdcfanbill: <STRONG>t-bird 850 eh? i got the duron 850, cause im a cheap bas... erm guy...</STRONG> *i have a duron 800? if an 850 makes you cheap then what does 800 make me?* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thrEEpaGe Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 /me has a duron 750 overclocked to 1050...damn i feel stupid ... not! hehe feel the ownage of water cooling btw, my older pc has that duron 1050..hehe...im not gonna tell what my new one has =) [ November 30, 2001: Message edited by: thrEEpaGe ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainRAVE Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 By the time we reach the 20Ghz barrier we will have the technology to get past it. Look at my thread here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millions o' Monkeys Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 1050...so uve been playing have you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agen Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 U jsut copy and paste that off a website (i'll give address l8r) good on ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psycoglass Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 I am BUilding myself a new computer like I posted before, but I'm wondering if my current setup will run JK2.It's 400mhz Celeron 256mb ram Geforce 2 mx 400 64 mb I can run Elite force pretty well at full effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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