Hey guys and gals,

I'm a long time reader of the forums, and I have been inspored to create a really nice rig, however time and money have both been lean.

Anyway, I have a question for everyone. I purchased Call of Duty 4, and while the game installed fine, it turns out that my NVIDIA GeForce 5200 is not going to work for the visual intense CoD4. So I went looking for a graphics card that was.

I discovered that the cards I need all required a PCI Express slot. My computer does not have that. So, I went looking for a new motherboard and CPU set up to possibly build my self a new computer.

It was at this point, that I realized that I was way over my head. I've done basic changes and upgrades, but never a whole new system from scratch.


So, I was wondering if anyone could recommend a motherboard / cpu for gaming and a video card that is worth getting that I am not going to need a loan to purchase. I do a lot of online gaming, and I'm getting sick and tired of my graphics being low and slowing things down. I know I'll probably get 3,00 answers, but any insight or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks all!

i am running a 6800 xfx gs/xt agp and it runs fine on mine
so just up the card some

Well, there is a slight issue.

For some God unkown reason, I don't have an AGP slot. It claims that the onboard monitor connection is one, but there is no slot to upgrade to an aftermarket AGP card.

So, now you see my dilemma.

What are you willing to spend?

You know what? I think this is a mistake.

As much as I want to play CoD4, I can't see spending a ton of money to either buy a new card or build a new system. I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and just hold on to the game and when I get the cash to upgrade, I upgrade, however far down the road that may be.

In answer to your question though, I guess upwards of $150-$200 if I could just get a video card... but if I do need a whole new system, I want to do it right the first time, and make a really sweet gaming rig... which means I know I don't have the cash right now.

All I've got right now is an empty case and a dream....

Sorry to waste your time guys.

This card will fit your budget. It won't play DX10 but it should play in DX9
mode as well as your present system is capable. I'm sure you'll notice a
big boost in all your older games as well :-)
Newegg.com - XFX PVT71KUDF3 GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

Quote: Originally Posted by PolarrrBearrr You know what? I think this is a mistake. As much as I want to play CoD4, I can't see spending a ton of money to either buy a new card or build a new system. I guess I'm going to have to suck it up and just hold on to the game and when I get the cash to upgrade, I upgrade, however far down the road that may be. In answer to your question though, I guess upwards of $150-$200 if I could just get a video card... but if I do need a whole new system, I want to do it right the first time, and make a really sweet gaming rig... which means I know I don't have the cash right now. All I've got right now is an empty case and a dream.... Sorry to waste your time guys.

didn't you say that you dont have an AGP or PCI-E slot??

because if you're stock with only PCI then no chance to upgrade the graphic card.

if you have an AGP slot it would be good to know the rest of your system ,CPU ,Ram,PSU
it maybe not worth buying a new card?

In answer to your question, no, I don't have an AGP slot or a PCI-E slot. The computer is a little on the old side, and while it still works great for most stuff, I think it's at the end of it's usability as a game system. Though, I think it will work great as a second PC for running music and movies in my house.

I came to the realization last night, that I was about to embark on an exspensive journey in order to play ONE game. However, I have figured out what I am going to do.

Let me lay this out in terms of a list of projects and/or other stuff that is taking up my time and money:

1. In the process of purchasing a house that needs some work.
2. 1988 Ford Bronco
3. 1984 Chevrolet Camaro
4. Paintball, paintball, paintball
5. Computer system

And that is in no particular order. The main thing is that I have both MAC and PC. The MAC is for work, the PC for play. The MAC is a little older, and since that is what is paying the bills, that needs to be replaced first. So, when I put the money aside for the all new, totally top end model MAC, I will sell the MAC I have now.

That money will be put into a new PC that will be just for gaming and nothing else. I may buy something about a year or so old on Craigslist and start from there, or maybe start from scratch. The reason I'm doing this is that the PC I have now, I am running dual analog monitors and it seems to mess up some of the games I have (like GTA3 and I don't know why), plus there is a lot that needs to be upgraded that I am not sure it's worth upgrading this system anymore.

So I figure, start fresh, new 22" LCD monitor, top end cards and processor and I think I'll be back in business. For now, I'll hold onto CoD4 and let it collect dust to remind me not to be so impulsive next time a game comes out.

I also want to pimp both PC cases when I do this, and I don't have a great workshop to do it in. (But the new house does!)

So, now you know why I think it is a mistake to get wrapped up in this right now.

And on top of all that, I have to work and pack my house, so even if I did have the money, I can't find half my tools!

When I do start the project, I'll keep a log, and will consult all you gurus for help! Thanks again guys.

Well if all you want is gaming you should go with a console ps3 ,wII etc...

or you can get AMD cpu with motherboard combo for around $100-130 cnd & you have an pci-e slot & DDR2 (DDR2 are cheaper then DDR1)

I built one for my cousin AMD Sempron 3400+ with the mobo for $109.xx + 1 GB DDR2 $48.xx(soon he'll be adding another 1 GB) & an 7600GT for $149.xx (he already have all the rest HD, Monitor , mouse ect...)

Now he can play all the games he wanted most of them at 1280x1024 some at 1024x768 depends if he use AA or not on the game.

he may not play some games over 60 f/s but smooth enough to play.

he's happy with is buy since he doen't have much money that was the best thing for him

Thanks for the advice goodman.

I have a friend who always said that I should just get a console like a WII or a PS3. While I know now that the have HD capabilities, it would require me to go and get a HD TV, and that is definately something I don't have the money to purchase. I was born a PC player, and I'll die a PC player. I always thought that graphics (with the right card) look alot better on a computer screen than on a TV.

Besides, my woman would kill me if I spent the same amount of time that I spend now in front of the computer in front of the TV, when she wants to watch something.

Also, I couldn't mod a WII as much as I could a case. Which is really the whole point to this discussion. I'm a graphic designer and artist, and I really want to mod a case, just because I like things different.

I mean, if I only played on consoles, I wouldn't be here, right?

Anyway, thanks again.

One option you may have to dig a bit deeper for (But I have seen it done) is to kill two birds with one stone.

You want o upgrade to a new Apple PC right? Well the latest generations are using a Intel Core 2 based CPU...wich makes it easier to run Windows too!

I have seen a few articles on dual boot rigs using both OS's but did not read them since I don't have a need for an Apple OS.

The one I briefly looked at was about a guy who bought a new Apple and loaded Windows on it, Aplle list "Boot Camp" to do this on there site.

Apple - Mac OS X Leopard - Features - Boot Camp


What would be realy sweet is if you could build a Intel Core 2 based PC and run the Apple OS, but I am unsure if that's possible.

A typical budget gaming rig will set you back around 600$+ if you buy all new retail...you could trim that down a bit by shopping for deals on Ebay or the trading sections in forums.

Anandtech just had an article on this subject with a 1K price limit, but that includes a monitor, speakers, OS, and maybe a few things you might allready have like a decent optical drive or hard drive.

AnandTech: November 2007 Budget Buyers' Guide

Parallels lets you run windows apps side by side with other programs in OSX. VMware Fusion is supposed to be good for windows on a mac too.

Oddly enough guys, I had completely forgotten about that feature on the new MACs.

However, I have seen it used on the new MACs (my friend and former boss has one) and while it's really slick how it rotates between the two, I can't see putting all that I want to do into one machine. I already have a small farm of external harddrives connected to the MAC already, and that's just work stuff. If I start putting on games. music and movies, I'll need to build a server to handle all that, which puts me back at having more than one machine anyway.

Besides, he used the Windows for some basic type stuff, and it ran, but had a few issues that I think was the machine trying to divide processing and power between two OSs. I know that it seems as though one is shut off while the other is on, but it still needs to send info to that OS to have it ready to go when you switch back. Also, if you are running programs in both, it seemed to slow things down. I think it was problematic at best, and Jobs was just attempting to get some business away from Gates.

Besides I'm running some RAM heavy programs, and I like them having as much power as possible. That's mostly just me though.

However, your other idea intrigues me... I wonder if I could run the MAC OS on custom built machine... that would be sweet. It would also eliminate the HUGE G5 tower...hmmm....

It's not really meant to do 50/50 mac/win work. It's a way to run that windows only app you can't live without. It can run any OS, but it's a bit of a dubious claim. Apple purposely prevents you from running osx on a normal x86 cpu. It seemed to make more sense when the os was more unique and ran on powerpc cpus. Now it's basically mac flavor *nix on the most common cpu.

You're right, and I know exactly what it was created for.

I'm a web designer, and all my design work was done with the MAC, but the actual HTML was done on a PC (by another guy, but that's beside the point). Apple did this so that you can design on the MAC and then code on the PC. Why it's better to code on the PC I don't know, but whatever.

I think it was Apple's way of having all these design studios not have to buy a PC to code with. I once asked the coder why he used PC, and he just said it was easier for him and the programs he used worked better on the PC.

I guess that was just his two cents though.

I'm not convinced you even need a Mac to do design. I'm in my third year of a graphic design degree, and Creative Suite 3 runs very nicely on my Windows PC.

I've been told there are some lingering issues with printing now and then but I've never had any problems.

How do you have a FX5200 without an AGP slot?

Quote: Originally Posted by turbopsi How do you have a FX5200 without an AGP slot?

The FX5200 is available in PCI.

Quote: Originally Posted by reflux The FX5200 is available in PCI.

Oh, true.

Reflux, I completely agree. Back when I started my degree in '98, was when Adobe started making it so that their products worked on both MAC and PC. Even then, when you needed to open a PC file on a MAC, it was a matter of actually typing in the file extension, but it still worked.

Now, with CS3, everything is practically universal. I've experienced minor issues with CS on the PC, but it really isn't that big of a deal (and I can't think of what they are right now because it has been so long since I used a PC for work...) While all that may be true, unfortuneatly way back when, MAC cornered the design market, and has since been known as the computer to buy for doing design. PCs have slowly been creeping into that market, but MAC users are two hardcore to change over.

Just a little "head's up" - when you get into an office after you finish your degree, don't be surprised if they only have MACs at the office. Sadly, it's the way of the world, even though it really doesn't matter. What's funny is, my last boss used to swear by MACs, and we had just as many issues using MAC products as I've had at home using PC stuff.

Meh, whatever.