Warhammer Online Gaming Rig,

Hi Guys,

A friend and I are both interested in trying Warhammer Online, but our problem is we both own an old edition of Apple's iMac which we both use for work, so we have decided that the time has come to buy a gaming rig,

At present we have both looked around on the net to see what we can get for our budgets (mine is £600-£700, his is £700-£800), my friend likes the look of an alienware system that fits in to his budget (i also like the look of it but its more then my budget) and i have seen a Dell system that seems ok,

What i would like to know is if you guys could recommend some good gaming systems to us that would fit our budgets,

Thanks,
/Rookie

Are you not willing to build them for yourselves? Because self built, £700 will get you a monster PC.

I'm not suggesting this to buy but this is the sort of spec you can expect from some of the smaller builders out there
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...ator%22%204850

probably better to use yoyotech though.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by staffsMike

Are you not willing to build them for yourselves? Because self built, £700 will get you a monster PC.

I'm not suggesting this to buy but this is the sort of spec you can expect from some of the smaller builders out there

probably better to use yoyotech though.

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Well since i come from the Apple world i have no experience in "building" a PC, to be honest i wouldn't even know where to start or what i would have to do

And my friend doesn't think that the case looks as "cool" as the ones on the alienware site so i think its a no from him on a system from that site,

thanks for your reply
/Rookie

P.S.
URL Removed due to: Members are required to have a minimum of 5 posts before they can post any URL's - This is in place to stop abuse of the forums due to excessive spam posts - we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

There are loads of "cool" cases out there, and ask your friend how long he intends:
a) To look at the case for.
b) To look at the screen for.

Get my drift?

Obviously there is a certain amount of personal taste that goes into the case but function is the real issue, not design. PC World sell a rip off alienware case, if he likes it that much lol

Building yourself is pretty easy tbh, just google for a guide.

So if my friend likes the Alienware Area-51 7500 desktop how would he go about building the equivalent him self at home?

Sorry for all of the questions but after taking a look at a build-it-yourself guide it left me more confused and in fear of breaking or damaging expensive components which neither of us would want to chance or risk doing as we don't have much of a budget to begin with,

Also will building a system ourselves give the same performance as one from a company such as alienware?

/Rookie

Building it yourself saves a wod of cash and also gives you the satisfaction of self accomplishment that money cannot buy....

lol who am I kidding but you do save a wod of cash and everyone has to start somewhere!

LW

I paid £800 on my home build, I'm making it monday and i've never built one before but ther are so many guides it makes it much easier on rookies like us!

My build is about the equivalent to a £1000/£1100 prebuild at least, I as quoted over £1300 at a local store (but they are ripoffs anyway).

If your willing to spend the time on it, you might really impress yourself ;)

As these machines are for one game, that sets you a target specification. I found this article which benchmarks the game and determines what video cards and CPUs are optimal:

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,6..._of_Reckoning/

It seems any reasonably modern card will do, and a dual-core CPU will provide adequate grunt.

A decent spec might be:

Antec Sonata 500 Watt case - £75-80
2gb RAM - £25-30 or 4Gb ~£50
nVidia 9800 GT ~ £85-90 or ATI/AMD 4850 ~ £110
DVD-RW ~£15
Price: £200-255

HD - depends on how much capacity you want. Best price per GB is around the 500Gb range. Performance-wise, single platter 320 Gb or dual-platter 640 Gb drives are best.
CPU - lots of choice here. Intel E7200 or better, maybe an AMD Phenom if at a good price.
Motherboard - depends on the CPU. Consider connectivity options for other secondary purposes. AMD boards are cheaper than Intel ones for what they provide, which somewhat offsets the price/performance advantage of the Intel Core Duos.

Price: >£145

Monitor:
How big do you want? Aim for something with HDCP support (allows HD video to be played on it). There are threads on the forum about a budget 24" Yuraku monitor for about £200, which is somewhat basic as far as inputs and positioning is concerned, but has a very good panel and HDCP. A basic 22" TN film panel monitor can be had for £130, anything smaller wouldn't be worth it. Read up on TN film and PVA panel types to see why some monitors cost a lot more than others.

Price: >£130

Accessories:
Mice, keyboards - very much a personal choice.

I would say that investing in a good quality monitor, keyboard/mouse (I'm not a fan of wireless keyboards, those batteries can give out at a critical moment!) and a good chair are the best investments you could make. Blowing a load of cash on a spec that far exceeds the requirements of the game and will devalue like a sinking stone is not something I'd advise.

We've been here a few times before and everyone always says build your own. I would caveat that. If you have more money than time, or are completely cack-handed or -brained, then you might be better off getting someone else to build it for you. There are a few things that can trip up a first time builder - probably your best quality is patience, and it helps if you can be methodical.

As has been pointed out, self-built you would absolutely have no problem in getting a PC that is well capable of playing WH very nicely indeed. If you want one built then in my mind you were right to pick on Dell. You can be sure that they will still be there next year if anything goes wrong and they are pretty competitive. They also sell excellent monitors.

If you decide to DIY, then your first choice should be a monitor. Minimum size is 20" widescreen. 22" are same pixels so picture quality is slightly inferior if anything, but obviously everything looks a little larger. A 24" costs a fair bit more, so it's probably outside your budget.

Having decided on a monitor then you need to choose a graphic card. Your Res on a 20 or 22" screen is 1680x1050, and colmo's recommendations look fine. His excellent linky also shows that the game benefits from a C2D. Myself I think you can justify getting a E8400. It's £35 more, but the extra speed and cache will be noticeable, but any C2D (or indeed most AMD dual cores) will probably do.

He did forget that you need a Hard Drive. I'd suggest a single platter 320Gb, like the Western Digital WD3200AAKS, although you could save a bit by reducing the size (won't be as fast though). A great value, excellent mouse is the Logitech MX518.

Motherboard, I'd get a P45 chipset, like this http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=818511. Case is somewhat a matter of choice, but do make sure you get a decent Power Supply, like Corsair, Seasonic, Enermax. Check here before you buy.

Nope, the HD is in there, I just didn't give any detail because it's the sort of thing you toss in with other hardware in an order.

I forgot to mention you'll need OEM Vista or XP licenses - don't forget to budget for those. For a new machine, I'd go for the 64-bit versions.

I always seem to recommend the Sonata case, because buying a comparable PSU and case of similar quality usually ends up costing more. At £80, I think it represents a good deal.

Building PCs isn't for everyone, but if you have a friend who knows how to do it, you could get him to do it (or both of them). As both your friend and you are getting machines, I can see a fun evening for the two of you, with PC parts strewn across a table, in your future! As long as you observe anti-static precautions and don't use excessive force, you should be fine.

Building PCs now is a lot simpler than it was 10 years ago (less/no PCI boards to install, no motherboard dip switches, harder to wire up the power to the motherboard incorrectly, no floppy drive anymore, SATA cables are so much neater than IDE..etc). The biggest issue is if a part is DOA, and you don't know which one it is because the rig won't start-up. Having another machine to swap parts in and out of for diagnostic purposes is a big help there.

Rookie? I know this is a long shot but if you go by the nickname of rookie and you live in Bethnal green, then why the Heck didn't you just ask me. (ok it's a long shot but I've had too many other coincidences this week to surprise me, if you're not this rookie then ignore that)

many people here have listed good advice so far, couple of things to note:
windows xp = 2gb memory (or 3gb)
Vista 32bit = don't bother
Vista 64bit = 4gb memory or more
MMOs like system memory and happly eat a lot of it, more than any other games.
warhammer online also take up a lot of harddrive space (not so much a problem for a new system, but older pc's with slower hard drives be aware)

I wouldn't go as high as a 24" montior personally, the jump in resolution can require a setup in graphics card or a step down in graphics settings. a 20"-22" with a nvidia 9800gt or ati 4850 would be fine.

If you do want prebuilt then the yoyotech Spartan system looks good
http://www.yoyotech.co.uk/pc_system....bd85749f10a85d

Well my friend decided to go with the Alienware Rig as he was able to up the system specs and get it on finance over the next three years,

The Rig hes got looks good, and getting it on finance for around £35 a month is soooo tempting but i haven't made my mind up yet,

I've looked at what you guys have suggested and i'm a little unsure on what i should do next, on one hand i could try and build my own but on the other i could have people who have built computers for "x" amount of years do it for me and then enjoy paying back a small fee every month :S

Think this is going to be a hard choice
/Rookie

What spec has he gone for because you don't get a lot of alienware for £800.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

Well my friend decided to go with the Alienware Rig as he was able to up the system specs and get it on finance over the next three years,

The Rig hes got looks good, and getting it on finance for around £35 a month is soooo tempting but i haven't made my mind up yet,

I've looked at what you guys have suggested and i'm a little unsure on what i should do next, on one hand i could try and build my own but on the other i could have people who have built computers for "x" amount of years do it for me and then enjoy paying back a small fee every month :S

Think this is going to be a hard choice
/Rookie

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Finance means you end up paying 20% more.

He went with this system and it looks mighty tempting to me too:

Alienware Aurora System in Space Black with Red Fusion lighting,
AMD® Athlon™ X2 5200+ 2.7GHz Dual Core 2 x 512KB L2 Cache
750 Watt Alienware® Approved Multi-GPU Power Supply
512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GT
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 x 1024MB
Alienware® Approved AMD® 790FX Motherboard
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1
250GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM
20X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Writer
Logitech® Classic Keyboard UK - Space Black
Razer Diamondback 3D Mouse - Green
AlienCare 1-Year Free Phone 24/7 and Collect & Return
AlienRespawn v2.0 Recovery DVD – Windows Vista Edition

/Rookie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

He went with this system and it looks mighty tempting to me too:

Alienware Aurora System in Space Black with Red Fusion lighting,
AMD® Athlon™ X2 5200+ 2.7GHz Dual Core 2 x 512KB L2 Cache
750 Watt Alienware® Approved Multi-GPU Power Supply
512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800 GT
4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 x 1024MB
Alienware® Approved AMD® 790FX Motherboard
Genuine Windows® Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1
250GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM
20X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Writer
Logitech® Classic Keyboard UK - Space Black
Razer Diamondback 3D Mouse - Green
AlienCare 1-Year Free Phone 24/7 and Collect & Return
AlienRespawn v2.0 Recovery DVD – Windows Vista Edition

/Rookie

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£800???
OUCH! << i like being subtle :D

for a direct comparison... (with an expensive case...)
http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k...AK/ouchies.jpg

and thats without taking up offers.. or searching round for cheapest prices...

So it comes in at around £200 cheaper if he buys the components himself, but does that include everything that would be needed to build it or are we going to need tools, screws, wires, fans and other parts?

Also just how hard is it to build your own computer, because like i said neither of us really know anything about PC's as were both Mac users so were not even native with windows and its setup,

Also what would he have in the forms of system recovery and a return to base warranty?

All the screws etc.. come with it. You just need a screwdriver and some common sense.

Online guides will tell you everything as will case/motherboard manuals etc..

His PC is already out dated though and AMD is not the way to go with bigger budget PC's.

I'm a bit surprised, I expected Alienware to work out al ot more expensive.

I mean take into consideration you get the OS, recovery disks pre-created, a years warranty, better PSU and not build and tested/configured.

Ok its like £200 more expensive but I think the above are deffo worth it, especially with the buy now pay September 2009 finance option (basically giving you a year to save for it and still get away without paying any interest)

TBH I would seriously consider looking to get an Alienware system myself after seeing this!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by staffsMike

All the screws etc.. come with it. You just need a screwdriver and some common sense.

Online guides will tell you everything as will case/motherboard manuals etc..

His PC is already out dated though and AMD is not the way to go with bigger budget PC's.

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What do you mean by common sense though, the only alteration to my iMac was undo one screw in the ram guard, push in a second stick of ram and then re-screw the ram guard back in place, is building my own system going to be that simple?

I've been looking on http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/ and it does seem a little heavy with info when it comes to building a system and there are a lot of "Warning" boxes which scares me a little (remember i come from the world of "it just works"),

And wouldn't any computer that isn't housing the newest and best of all components be out dated buy there successors?

Right but the point isn't that you can build his system for &#163;200 less. It's that the same money can get you something considerably better.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1...ffsMike/PC.jpg
This is embeleshing everywhere so is more pricey than it should be but is better in every way. And prices would be cheaper using today only but you don't get the pretty pictures :laugh:

There is very little to get wrong on PC's. Warnings are the common sense parts. Like don't screw your motherboard down without the risers underneath it, and dont let any screw's get under the motherboard etc.. I've done that before :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

So it comes in at around &#163;200 cheaper if he buys the components himself, but does that include everything that would be needed to build it or are we going to need tools, screws, wires, fans and other parts?

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some thermal paste, a screwdriver, and a brain

Quote:

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Also just how hard is it to build your own computer, because like i said neither of us really know anything about PC's as were both Mac users so were not even native with windows and its setup,

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TBH everything is colour coded and or has tabs to stop you connecting it wrong...

Quote:

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Also what would he have in the forms of system recovery and a return to base warranty?

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warranties for EVERY component in the build, ranging from a year to lifetime.....

and you gain the knowhow to fix any problems yourself in the future...

and that build was only a straight up comparison... i would go for an intel (:() for anything gaming worthy...

I know you guys are just trying to be helpful and save my friend some money, which is appreciated but he just feels better going with the Alienware, but he does appreciate the time/effort you guys have put in and would like to say thanks.

Anyway, so that leaves me, i am interested in giving my first build ago, it just would have been nicer to build something for £200-£300 instead of near £700, as I'm sure you guys will know its a lot of money to risk on something i know nothing about, and not to seem rude to you guys but you have said all it needs is a brain and commonsense but i think your being a little naive there, no doubt you guys have built loads of computers in the past and collectively have hours of experience but for us who have never even seen inside a computer it is a very intimidating process, if we were talking Histograms, Dynamic Range or the f/16 rule then i would feel right at home but unfortunately were not,

I'm going to have to think long and hard about this and see what i decide to do, hopefully if i do decided to build my own you guys will offer your knowledge and support to me,

/Rookie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by staffsMike

All the screws etc.. come with it. You just need a screwdriver and some common sense.

Online guides will tell you everything as will case/motherboard manuals etc..

His PC is already out dated though and AMD is not the way to go with bigger budget PC's.

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And what is the point of buying a 790FX motherboard if the video card (an nVidia) can't use Crossfire (only ATI boards can)?

That CPU is very underpowered compared to the rest of the rig.

Why is the PSU so overpowered for a modest CPU and mid-range video-card?

It's an unbalanced spec, and believe me, £200 to assemble a PC is a lot of money. I used to do it, and £50-100 was the margin we aimed for.

Here's another version of TAKTAK's spec, by trimming the SLi motherboard and fancy-pants case you get a much better CPU:

http://www.worldinfocus.net/Pics/Spec1.png

P.S. I suggest peeps posting screenshots use PNG or GIF files indexed to 256 colours instead of JPGs.

Tbh a lot of people here are on their first few real builds. I mean I did my first one for a long time a couple of years ago, "My System" which was before I joined hexus. I had done rebuilds in the past but never one with fresh components that I wouldn't know if they would work if not.

Seriously it is not hard at all. Fault diagnosis is the worst part if things don't work but that is what Hexus is for :D

Frankly if you don't want to spend that much I could spec you a decent build for &#163;400 - &#163;450 that would still be better than your mates :laugh:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

and not to seem rude to you guys but you have said all it needs is a brain and commonsense but i think your being a little naive there

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actually the hardest part about the whole process is probably specing it up... and i'm being deadly serious... (well... mebbe not deadly :laugh:)

but everything will only let you connect it one way around:

cpu has a gold triangle in the corner that you just match up with the one on the motherboard.
ram has a notch so it only goes in one way.
gfx card has a notch so it only goes in one way.
power cables have shaped connectors so they will only go in 1 way.
sata cables have a notch.
ide cables have a notch.
and so on/so forth

aslong as you can use a screwdriver (without causing death and suffering) then you can build a computer...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

I know you guys are just trying to be helpful and save my friend some money, which is appreciated but he just feels better going with the Alienware, but he does appreciate the time/effort you guys have put in and would like to say thanks.

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If his time is more valuable than his money, then it makes sense to get a bespoke one

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

Anyway, so that leaves me, i am interested in giving my first build ago, it just would have been nicer to build something for £200-£300 instead of near £700, as I'm sure you guys will know its a lot of money to risk on something i know nothing about, and not to seem rude to you guys but you have said all it needs is a brain and commonsense but i think your being a little naive there, no doubt you guys have built loads of computers in the past and collectively have hours of experience but for us who have never even seen inside a computer it is a very intimidating process, if we were talking Histograms, Dynamic Range or the f/16 rule then i would feel right at home but unfortunately were not,
/Rookie

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If you can get your head around digital photography, building a PC is child's-play by comparison - I often describe it as building a big Meccano set.

£300....oo, now that's a challenge. I think it can be done, sort of. Maybe excluding the Vista license, anyway. I'll get speccing...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colmo

If his time is more valuable than his money, then it makes sense to get a bespoke one



If you can get your head around digital photography, building a PC is child's-play by comparison - I often describe it as building a big Meccano set.

£300....oo, now that's a challenge. I think it can be done, sort of. Maybe excluding the Vista license, anyway. I'll get speccing...

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I'm not wanting you guys to spec something for the £200-£300 price range, what i was meaning is it would have been nice to of had previous experience building a PC at a cheaper price where if something went wrong i wouldn't be so gutted about it, but building a rig thats going to cost around £700 would mean some components are work £££ and im scared that something will go wrong,

Well buying your own components mean you get far longer warranties than alienware's 1 year jobby. They range from around 3 years to lifetime depending on the component :)

If you break something.. just say it was Dead On Arrival* :D

* Joke**

** But not really :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

I'm not wanting you guys to spec something for the £200-£300 price range, what i was meaning is it would have been nice to of had previous experience building a PC at a cheaper price where if something went wrong i wouldn't be so gutted about it, but building a rig thats going to cost around £700 would mean some components are work £££ and im scared that something will go wrong,

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my first complete build (last september [had just upgraded before]) cost around £800.

i'm 100% glad that i decided to build...

and TBH even if you did manage to break something, the amount you save by doing it yourself, more than covers your back...

I think i will take a look at things on ebuyer.com and price some parts up for my &#163;700 budget..... then i could always get an Alienware case from eBay



j/k :p

/Rookie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

I think i will take a look at things on ebuyer.com and price some parts up for my &#163;700 budget..... then i could always get an Alienware case from eBay



j/k :p

/Rookie

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truthfully... do you actually like the look of alienware cases?

and theres nothing wrong with ebuyer :P, we just get free shipping from SCAN for being on HEXUS, which often makes it cheaper.. and their support is better :) (support forum on HEXUS)

oh... and welcome to HEXUS :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TAKTAK

truthfully... do you actually like the look of alienware cases?

and theres nothing wrong with ebuyer :P, we just get free shipping from SCAN for being on HEXUS, which often makes it cheaper.. and their support is better :) (support forum on HEXUS)

oh... and welcome to HEXUS :D

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I think they look a little different form the standard shaped grey box that most people have stood next to there monitor, and i do like the lighting effect they have in them too,

Never heard of Scan, will take a look and see what they have to offer,

Thanks
/Rookie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

I'm not wanting you guys to spec something for the £200-£300 price range

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Too late - I made it comfortably inside my target of £300 + Vista, too:

http://www.worldinfocus.net/Pics/Spec2.png

Comments:
- the case, keyboard and mouse are sure to be ugly, but suffice for ultra-budget spec purposes. Scan may not be the best for low-end cases aimed at PC builders.
- the CPU is a bit on the slow side, but the cheapest Phenom x3 is only £30 more.
- this rig's next obvious upgrade is a second AMD 4670 video-card in Crossfire, and some more RAM
- overall, a good intro system with room to grow.

I'd feel sory for the person with that PC. The PSU will be .. swear filter doesn't allow me to use the appropriate word :p

Quote:

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Originally Posted by staffsMike

I'd feel sory for the person with that PC. The PSU will be .. swear filter doesn't allow me to use the appropriate word :p

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I know - but I'm banking on the fact that the 4670 is a low-power card. If in doubt, get the Antec Earthwatts 4480 case - it's around &#163;50 with a more-than-adequate 380W PSU.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

I think they look a little different form the standard shaped grey box that most people have stood next to there monitor...

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Most of us have outgrown the Alienware style, the most popular case here is the Antec P182. But you can get pretty much any style of case you want.

The last home PC i owned had a thermaltake tsunami case which i did like, I can't recall the spec of the system but it was the "family" computer so i didn't use it very much as i preferred my Mac

I had a look on Scan and it seems a good site, my only problem is what do things like:

Asus P5QL-E, iP43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

Actually mean? to me its just a combination of letters and numbers of which i have very little understanding, I'm guessing the DDR2 relates to RAM? S775 relates to CPU? and PCI-E is something to do with GFX card? but even if that was right it doesn't give me much of an idea what parts would fit on to it,

Say i was able to budget £1000 towards this build, what would you guys come up with for that budget, keeping in mind that its my first build so i would like it to be as simple as possible to put together and that the hardest parts to assemble offer enough future proofing so i wont need to upgrade them in the next two years,

Also if i was to try and draw up a system myself where would be the best place to start? I was thinking with the mother board as it should tell me what i can fit on to it rather then selecting an array of items to find there is no mother board that can house them, please correct me if I'm wrong,

/Rookie

The majority of components available today will combine to form a PC no problems.

The first choice you have is AMD or Intel, most people go with Intel as their current CPUs overclock so well leaving the AMDs behind performance wise. But for gaming anything past 2.4GHz is enough to make no difference.

Once you have chosen your CPU you can start looking at motherboards.
If you chose an Intel CPU then your starting point for a motherboard will be with the P43 and P45 chipset boards.
If AMD get your cash then the 790X, 790GX and 790FX are your best options, If you choose a lower powered CPu then the 770, 740G and 780G boards are also good options but are limited to 95W CPUs (so not the fastest duel cores or the majority of the quad cores).

Now you have a motherboard you can pick your graphics card, it will be PCI-E

Your Memory will be DDR2 look at DDR2-800 (PC2-6400) you will probably need 2GB but it is cheap so if you can get 4GB in budget you may as well

That is it for the components attached directly to the motherboard, next we will look at Hard drives and optical drives.

You will be buying SATA devices buy whichever hard drive you like but stick with one of the major companies who provide quakity products Western Digital, Samsung and Seagate are all good. Get as much space as you think you will need but 250 - 320GB will probably be ample as a starting point.

Optical drive I like Samsung drives but they are all pretty much the same

That leaves us with the PSU and the Case, do not skimp on the PSU it is the heart that keeps your PC running and you don't want a dodgy heart! If purchasing the case and PSU seperately then look at PSUs by Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, Silverstone, Be Quiet you will also have 2 options modular and non-modular, modular PSUs have detachable cables so ou can plug in just what you need, non-modular require you to hide away those your not using, obviously modular are more expensive. What power PSU you will require will depend on what graphics card you decide to buy if you go with a low powered graphics card like the ATI HD4670 then a 350W PSU will be ample if you go for a HD4870X2 then you will be needing something more in the 650W region.

Finally Cases buy what you like the look of but remember it needs to be practical as well Antec and Coolermaster both make well built cases available at all price points you can spend as little or as much as you like here.

If you decide to get a Case with an included PSU then look at the cases by Antec, the NSK series offer very good value and the Sonatas offer quieter computing and larger PSUs but still at reasonable prices.

Hopefully that will give you a better idea of the choices involved, if you ask nicely I expect people will design some systems for you but it is up to you to decide on what you actually want to buy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

Asus P5QL-E, iP43, S 775, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

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P5QLE is the Mobo name, iP43 is the chipset, S775 is the socket of the processor it takes, PCI-E 2.0 (16x) is the graphics support it has, DDR2 and the number next to it are the speeds and type of ram it can take, SATAII/Raid is to tell you how storage is connected (by SATA) and that it supports raid also. ATX is the form factor :)

Its what were here for, I'm doing a build log of my build today when the stuff comes. So if you need an idea on what its like for a newbie, check it out later :)

4 gigs of RAM will probably be a must for you if you're going to play in the 100v100 RvR battles in WAR effortlessly.

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Originally Posted by e-LAN-go

4 gigs of RAM will probably be a must for you if you're going to play in the 100v100 RvR battles in WAR effortlessly.

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Isn't that the only reason to play WO: AoR? :drool: To be able to take part in huge wars and hopefully kill some elves with a big axe?
:angst:

Because the game heavily relies on the power of the CPU and the RAM what kind of components would be best suited to this.


(already got myself a thread on here looking to build a computer for around the same amount of money as the guy in this thread and looking to play the exact same game in all its glory so thought I would ask here as I'm pretty sure what ever is advised for him would be also suitable for me)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sacred

Isn't that the only reason to play WO: AoR? :drool: To be able to take part in huge wars and hopefully kill some elves with a big axe?
:angst:

Because the game heavily relies on the power of the CPU and the RAM what kind of components would be best suited to this.


(already got myself a thread on here looking to build a computer for around the same amount of money as the guy in this thread and looking to play the exact same game in all its glory so thought I would ask here as I'm pretty sure what ever is advised for him would be also suitable for me)

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If you clicked the link in the first series of posts in this thread, you will see a comprehensive guide where they tested all manor of hardware and tell you what you need for certain resolutions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shaithis

If you clicked the link in the first series of posts in this thread, you will see a comprehensive guide where they tested all manor of hardware and tell you what you need for certain resolutions.

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Spot on, thanks a lot for that!

It really doesn't look like it needs that much graphical power or even an amazing processor to be honest. Guessing a £1000 system would eat this game up! :rockon2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sacred

Spot on, thanks a lot for that!

It really doesn't look like it needs that much graphical power or even an amazing processor to be honest. Guessing a £1000 system would eat this game up! :rockon2:

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Lets hope so as it would kill me to find my friends Alienware was better,

/Rookie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

Lets hope so as it would kill me to find my friends Alienware was better

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Alienware might as well be part of the swearword filter on these forums :P

The Alienware system uses standard components anyway, so you can always build a system that is faster and cheaper then it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rookie1986

Lets hope so as it would kill me to find my friends Alienware was better,

/Rookie

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Apart from the super-budget spec I posted, every spec suggested here will comprehensively beat your mate's Alienware :)

One thing I like to caution against is over-spend - better to hold back a bit of cash for an upgrade in 6 months than blowing your wad now, as long as the spec is good enough for your purposes. Computer components conform to the law of diminishing returns - there is a 'sweet-spot' of price/performance, above which you spend a lot to get not much more (or unrequired) performance, and below which, you're hurting performance to trim a few pennies. Most of the specs posted here are around about that sweet-spot.

Few of the specs mention a monitor - it's a good idea to have one picked out, as it's native resolution determines the best-looking game resolution, and hence the horsepower you require. These days, a 22" is standard, which usually come in at 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 (=1080p).

*stifles urge to say something about 12 sided dice and using same to decide on components*

Putting a PC together is great. You're going to have a blast.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shooty*

Putting a PC together is great. You're going to have a blast.

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Shortly after the spark and the fizzle ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shaithis

Shortly after the spark and the fizzle ;)

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There's nothing that gets the heart pumping like an exploding PSU - I love the smell of ozone in the morning :) (the explanation was always the same - it was DOA :P)

With these ATX power couplings and no 240~120V switches anymore, you can't even do that...

One think I don't miss is those nasty cases which slice open your fingers - nowadays, they're beautifully machined.

[geek]Warhammer uses D6s, not D12s, and WHFR uses D100s (or 2x D10s) iirc...[/geek]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colmo

[geek]Warhammer uses D6s, not D12s, and WHFR uses D100s (or 2x D10s) iirc...[/geek]

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Yuppers two D6 is all you would need to play the whole game (AFAIK) although would get a little boring when having full regiments attacking.

Not that the online game will be anything like this at all, it just can't be. But still the massive RvR battles look amazing! Can't wait to get my student loan and actually be able to give it a try!

:)

Just wanted to post a direct price comparison for you showing the Alienware Area-51 system:

[1] Area-51&#174;

Processor: Intel&#174; Core™ 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz 6MB Cache 1333MHz FSB
Alienware P2 Chassis : Alienware&#174; P2 Chassis - Saucer Silver
System Lighting: Alienware&#174; Standard System Lighting - Astral Blue
Processor Cooling : Alienware&#174; Standard System Cooling
Acoustic Dampening: None
Power Supply: 750 Watt Alienware&#174; Approved Multi-GPU Power Supply
Graphics Processor : Single Graphics Card - 1GB NVIDIA&#174; GeForce&#174; 9800 GX2
Memory: 2GB Patriot EP+ Low Latency Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Motherboard: Alienware&#174; Approved NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI
Includes PCI-Express 2.0, DDR3 Memory, and Support for Intel 1600 FSB
Operating System: Genuine Windows&#174; Vista Home Premium - English
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 250GB SATA 3Gb/s 7200 RPM
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM : 20X Dual Layer DVD&#177;RW/CD-RW Writer
Enthusiast Essentials: Dual High Performance Gigabit Ethernet Ports
Physics Processor : None
Sound Hardware: Integrated 7.1 High-Definition Audio
Monitor: 22" Dell UltraSharp Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
Keyboard: Logitech&#174; G15 Gaming Keyboard - UK
Mouse: Logitech&#174; G9 Laser Gaming Mouse
Warranty: AlienCare 1-Year Free Phone 24/7 and Collect & Return

&#163;2151.68



SCAN:

Intel PWLA 8391GT Pro/1000GT Desktop Gbit (Copper) Network Card
Gigabyte 3D Aurora GZ-FSCA1-AT Black Aluminum Tower Case - Hi End w/o PSU
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1* 64Bit 1Pk OEM (DVD)
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse, 3200dpi, USB 1.1/2.0, 2 Buttons, Black, Retail
750W TX Corsair PSU, single 12V rail, energy efficient, quiet & cool, fully compatible,5 yr warranty
Logitech G15 New Rev.2 Gaming Keyboard, USB, Wired, Silver/Black, GamePanel LCD, Illuminated
Intel Core 2 Duo, E8500, Wolfdale Core, S775, 3.16 GHz, 1333MHz, 6MB Cache, Retail
2GB (2x1GB) SuperTalent DDR3 PC3-10600 (1333MHz), 240 Pin, Non-ECC, Unbuffered, CAS 8-8-8-18
1GB EVGA 9800 GX2, PCI-E 2.0, Mem 2000MHz, GDDR3, GPU 600MHz, 256 Cores, 2x DL DVI-I/HDMI
250 GB Western Digital WD2502ABYS RE3, SATA 300, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms
22" LG W2252TQ, Black Widescreen, LCD Monitor, 1680x1050, 10000:1 DCR, 300cd/m&#178;, 2 ms MSI P7N2 DIAMOND,
NF790i Ultra 3Way SLI, S775, PCIEx16, DDR3 1333/1600/2000, SATA II, SATA RAID,
ATXSamsung TS-H653B/DEBH 20x DVD&#177;R, 8x DVD&#177;DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, x12 DVD-RAM SATA Black OEM

&#163;1334.30


Thats a saving of over &#163;800 just by building it yourself instead of letting Alienware do it....:mrgreen:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by colmo

[geek]Warhammer uses D6s, not D12s, and WHFR uses D100s (or 2x D10s) iirc...[/geek]

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Love the [geek] bit. V good. Will have to adopt that.

I was more of a 40k guy. But, TBH, I just enjoyed painting them and arranging them in dioramas. Dawn of War satisfies my warhammer requirements quite nicely, not having to wait turns.


I started on that route by playing Space Hulk as a kid. Anyone else?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shooty*

Love the [geek] bit. V good. Will have to adopt that.

I was more of a 40k guy. But, TBH, I just enjoyed painting them and arranging them in dioramas. Dawn of War satisfies my warhammer requirements quite nicely, not having to wait turns.


I started on that route by playing Space Hulk as a kid. Anyone else?

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Space Hulk was awesome!

Anyway i've looked about and selected some components, i will post it in a new thread as this one is starting to drift off topic and is getting a little post heavy,

/Rookie

:surprised:

AMD® Athlon™ X2 5200+ 2.7GHz Dual Core 2 x 512KB L2 Cache

Gaming pc? lol could have got a q6600 and easily taken it to 3ghz.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shooty*

I started on that route by playing Space Hulk as a kid. Anyone else?

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Hell yeah played the table top game years ago and still have the disk to the game for the PC.

[geek] I started on warhammer 1st ed, when it was 3 thin books black and white covers, inside pages were photo copy quality and was very tolken infulenced and toughness was a letter not a number for some unknown reason, still have it someware ;)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...tion-cover.jpg
That was the box lid [/geek]

Back to the topic, I guess you're not the bloke called "rookie" I know then.
However I do understand your fear, I helped a friend build his first PC last december and he too had the "I don't want to break it it costs so much" fear

Here's a few tips for a first time build:
- Big case, more room to work makes life eaiser.
- Quality components make life eaiser.
- Take your time, do it step by step, don't be afraid to have to pull it all a part again because youve put thing together in the wrong order (not that there is a right order, but just simple things like, you discover you need to plug a case fan in after you put the graphics card in and now you cannot eaisly get to the fan header (where you plug a fan on to the motherboard) because the graphics card is in the way)
- All plugs go in and come out stright try not to twist them when unplugging (older IDE ribbon cables and Molunx power plugs especially)
- While big cpu coolers are good for better cooling they can sometimes be tricky for a first time user, balance size and fitting type, against cooling
- Intell socket 775 (any core2duo or quadcore will be this type) fitting the cpu is easy but the intell push pins can be tricky for a first time user (common on many coolers as well as the stock cooler that comes with the cpu) if you can get your head around them they are easy and quick but you may prefur that involves mounting brackets and screws down. (This will effect your cooler choise, also the stock cooler that comes with the cpu is good for playing around with and getting used to the push pins)
- Keep all your bits orgainised, you don't want to spend hours looking for that one little jumper or plug you put down a moement a go.

Tools needed
- A cross point screwdriver. get one with a long shaft, not a short ratchet one as sometime reeaching screws can be tricky with a short screwdriver
- Large paper clip, yep this is an amazingly useful tool, strighten it out, bend one end out into a small hook (useful for hooking wires) the other end leave stright (on dvd & cd drives you'll notice a small hole on the front, poke it in there and you manually eject the draw, bend the whole thing around into a U shape and you can use it to jumpstart a Power supply unit without it being connected to anything)
- Long tweesers, usefull for recovering dropped screws.
- A work space, clear a good area, not just for the case but all the boxes and bits, keep pets and children away while building.

Good advice. I'd add make sure that you have good light, but have a small torch handy. My order of components is (usually):

1. Drives into case, which probably requires taking off both side panels. Put in cables (draped out of the way) - these can be hard to fit after everything else is in. Big advantage with Modular Power Supply (PSU) as well as the cables can be plugged into the PSU afterwards. Note that sometimes steps 1 & 2 may need to be reversed, if the PSU fits into a cramped chamber like with the P182.

2. Power Supply, and connect drives, but leave other cables free.

3. Motherboard (a removable motherboard tray on the case can be a bonus to first time builders, if so follow step 4 first before putting tray back in case).

4.a If using an aftermarket Heat Sink/Fan (HSF) check whether you need to put a backplate on the motherboard - probably better to get a pushpin type as a first time builder though.

4.b CPU & RAM into motherboard, but not the HSF at this point.

5. Add the HSF making sure that you have a nice smooth path for the power cable to the motherboard CPU fan header. Note that you need to put Arctic Silver or similar between the HSF and the CPU for most aftermarket coolers. Arctic's site has good instructions. This is the most fiddly bit by far. Intel's own HSF is easier to fit but noisier and hotter.

6. Plug case wires into motherboard, starting with the Power, Reset, HDD LED set as these are really fiddly (and why you may need the torch and/or tweezers). The Power (& Reset) have to be the right way round or the PC won't switch on (or hard reboot). Then Audio, USB etc.

7. Plug in drive cables and PSU cables to motherboard. It's worth plugging in the PSU, switching that on and then pushing the case Power On button at this point to see that it powers up. Press power button for 8 secs (I think that's the default) to switch off, and switch off/unplug.

8. Attach case fan cables to motherboard (3 pin) or PSU cables (Molex).

9. Add Graphics and any other add-in cards. With Graphics it may be easier to put in the power lead before inserting into the PCI-E slot. Depends on room in case and length of cables.

10. Add back 'far' side panel. Plug in external cables: power lead, speaker leads, video cable, keyboard & mouse.

11. Switch on, and if everything is running OK add the 'near' side panel.