New Computer

[van helblaze]

I've posted a similar topic on the old fourms, but I'm back at it.

I'm going to BUY a new PC, right now I have a budget of $800, I'm already over budget...

Parts

My custom PC

Case
• Xion Dazl Gaming Tower Case w/420W Power Supply

Case Lighting
• Cold Cathode Neon Light Blue

Power Supply
• 600 Watt -- Power Supply SLI Ready

Processor
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 (2x 3.0GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)

Free Software/Game
• Free Game - [Halo 2] must purchase with Microsoft Windows Vista operation system

Processor Cooling
• [=== Silent ===] AVC Silent Intel CPU Fan and Heatsink Silent & Overclocking Proof

Motherboard
• [SLI] Asus P5N-D Nvidia nForce 750i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0,
IEEE-1394, Dual PCI-E MB EPU Technology

Memory
• 2 GB [1 GB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair-Value or Major Brand

Video Card
• NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 1GB w/DVI + TV Out Video

Video Card Brand
• Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA

Hard Drive
• 320 GB HARD Drive[Serial-ATA-II, 3Gb, 7200 RPM, 16M Cache]

CD-RW/DVD-RW Drive
• [** Special !!! ***] 20X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive Black

Sound Card
• 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Speaker System
• 600W PMPO 3 PCS Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System

Network Card
• Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Keyboard
• Logitech Deluxe Keyboard Black

Mouse
• Logitech Optical Internet Mouse Black

Flash Media Reader/Writer
• 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer Black

Operation System
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
• Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Desktop Edition (64-but) [already have]

Total Price: $829
Budget Price: $800

I'll be using this PC for school, gaming, and programming...
could someone tell me how new of games will this computer be capable of running and to what detail?

 

[dupont7]

idk if im correct but i dont think you can run Crysis on full graphics

 

[djzalzer]

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html calculates you only need 330W.  The built-in PSU should be fine.

 

[van helblaze]

which is the better graphics card?

NVIDIA GeForce 8600GT 1GB w/DVI + TV Out Video
or
2x ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB PCI-Express x16 - running CrossFire mode 

 

[dupont7]

you know google would be a lot easyer to use then asking here....

 

[___]

Yeah you're much better off looking up product reviews and comparisons than asking for opinions in a forum about specific pieces of hardware.  I can tell you my brother just built a rig with similar specs, but an 8800gt and he runs Crysis smoothly in medium-high graphics mode if you like that as a benchmark.  I found it quite playable and attractive.  The 8600 is probably going to cost you a lot of performance vs. his 8800, if you can afford the extra 50-75 bucks and cut the cost elsewhere (such as by dropping your speaker system in favor of an old pair of headphones till another paycheck shows up or whatever) it's going to make you a lot happier in the long-run.  Typically overspending on the video card is going to get you the most bang for your buck, and you are not going to have satisfying video performance on a gaming machine on less than ~300USD.

Also remember it costs a lot less to upgrade by adding cheap parts to open slots than it does to replace expensive ass parts later, so if you have to cut costs by buying a smaller HDD or getting less RAM and then expanding down the road you are going to save yourself money.  Look at it this way:  You may trim 70 bucks off by cutting corners on expandable items and have to spend the same amount in 6 months when you're ready, but if you spend 70 bucks less on a video card and want something better in 6 months you are still going to pay 350 bucks for a better one and the old one is going to gather dust in a desk drawer.

I disagree with djzalzer about the PSU: you probably don't need 600 watts with your current config, but built in power supplies are shitty and have low lifespans as a general rule.  Unless by some miracle your case manufacturer actually went the extra mile and got a reliable brand to bundle with the case that 420 is going to blow under pressure from a gaming box in an average of about 6 months.  You have to remember PSUs lose efficiency over time as their components age; with cheap components you can expect a PSU under the kind of heavy use a gaming box demands to lose around 20% or so of peak output in the first year.  Also of note you need to know the specific requirements of your system components; cheap PSUs often share 12v rails between the motherboard's secondary power and system components, and/or supply low amperage over the 12v rails which won't be sufficient for powering a gaming system. Buy a sturdy PSU from a reputable brand with at least 4 12v rails - one going to the main mobo hookup, one going to the secondary hookup (because it's fucking pointless to share the 12v rails on the two mobo hookups), and at least two for system components - one you should dedicate to your video card and the rest to your other components for max stability.  Look for at least 18 amps per rail if you can find one of these; if you must share 12v rails between components look for upwards of 25a per rail on each rail that will be shared (but still expect system instability during peak performance, especially after a couple years of wear).  Look for a PSU that supplies around 20-30% above your calculated requirement to compensate for wear, so you'll want to shoot for around 450-550 watts and more if you plan to add components in the future without replacing.

Sorry for the lecture, I used to do this stuff professionally :D

Edit:  Oh right stop me if you already know this, but crossfire won't run on SLI boards and vice versa so if you switch cards make sure to pick a new mobo.