PC Upgrade

[Sodah]

I've only built my own PC's since I was about 12.

You get a family computer. You upgrade the ram, the case, the processor etc etc until eventually you've replaced every part in there and it's a brand new computer.

After that I have *always* built my machines from scratch. I'm 23 now and I would never buy a pre-packaged PC from Alienware or any company for that matter.

[Torp]

I've only built my own PC's since I was about 12.

You get a family computer. You upgrade the ram, the case, the processor etc etc until eventually you've replaced every part in there and it's a brand new computer.

After that I have *always* built my machines from scratch. I'm 23 now and I would never buy a pre-packaged PC from Alienware or any company for that matter.

I agree. I was amazed what a monster pc I could assemble with the same money my parents usually bought a pre-built pc for. Just make sure the first time you build it you have someone experienced with you. I was clueless the first time, luckily my friend already built 3. It's pretty easy when you know what to do.

[Deadly Peanut]

I hope i can run it i think i can im pretty close id like to ramp the settings up all the way and see the awesomeness

I have :

Windows XP
3.00 Ghz Dual core CPU
3 GB of RAM
896 mb Nvidia GTX260 Gphx card easily OCed if needed

I should be alright i hope i really havent run into a game to date i havent been able to run at max or close to max settings.

[Torp]

I hope i can run it i think i can im pretty close id like to ramp the settings up all the way and see the awesomeness

I have :

Windows XP
3.00 Ghz Dual core CPU
3 GB of RAM
896 mb Nvidia GTX260 Gphx card easily OCed if needed

I should be alright i hope i really havent run into a game to date i havent been able to run at max or close to max settings.

I don't think you'll have any problems

[Deadly Peanut]

I hope i can run it i think i can im pretty close id like to ramp the settings up all the way and see the awesomeness

I have :

Windows XP
3.00 Ghz Dual core CPU
3 GB of RAM
896 mb Nvidia GTX260 Gphx card easily OCed if needed

I should be alright i hope i really havent run into a game to date i havent been able to run at max or close to max settings.

I don't think you'll have any problems

Yea i dont think i will i love this PC Its Dell made, with a few additions doubled the memory and added a new gphx card.
Ive been doing good by them lately but i do remember like 2 PCs ago that thing was a pain in my side the whole time i owned it.

What size monitors do you guys have ? i got a 24 inch makes any game look friggen amazing i got a good deal on it. When i got it I was like why the hell would i need something that big now i would never go back

[odingrey]

With Star Trek in the horizon and seeing as my computer does not meet the recommended requirements (and I love nice graphics) It's time for some new PC hardware.
Unfortunately I'm a pretty big noob when it comes to good value-for-money hardware. Maybe someone can give me tips about what I should or should not do!

I'm currently in need for the following hardware:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
CPU cooler: Scythe Mugen 2
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H
RAM: GeIL GV34GB1333C7DC (2x 2gb DDR3 CAS 7)
GFX card: Club3D HD 5850 1GB (CGAX-58524IDP)
Harddisk: Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ, 1TB

The rest of the hardware will be used from my old pc (power 600W, dvd-burner etc.)
Does anyone have any comments on this setup? Also keep in mind I'm a pretty poor student so I can't afford 2 gfx cards etc.

Any help in this matter is really appreciated.

Also, If anyone else needs some help with upgrades of their pc/laptops please feel free to add your request in this topic.

This computer will have absolutely NO problem running any game out right now, however I would recommend a different motherboard. When you skimp out on your motherboard, it just makes upgrading in the future harder. In this case, if you wanted dual video cards you would need a new mobo.

I may have the same problem as you torp...only I know nothing about my computor and have no idea if it will cope with this game

You could check it out here.
http://cyri.systemrequirementslab.com/srtest/

Thank you Torp! This is exactly what I needed!

Well, I checked...everything is fine apart from my CPU (Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz) and Video Card (GeForce 6200 TurboCache(TM) ). Any suggestions on what to replace them with?

Your CPU is fine, that will run the game fine. Not many games out will run over multiple cores so as long as you're not running a lot of background processes you won't notice any lag from the CPU. However, your video card does need replacing. Depending on where your budget is will dictate that. As long as your budget is over at least $100 you won't have any problem running this game. Also, what operating system are you on and how much ram do you have?

Forget the upgrades, I need a whole new computer.

Leaning towards an Alienware Area51 desktop.

noooooo!!!!! Alienware means buying the name. If you had a porsche and the exact same thing as a porsche but with different badging and never took it out of a track environment, would you spend the extra 20 grand for the porsche? There's a whole bunch of other places to buy legit computers that have the exact same components as Alienware but are hundreds of dollars cheaper. http://www.ibuypower.com is a good source that I have used in the past both for myself and for customers and rarely have any problems with them that they don't solve right on the spot. Shoot me a PM if you need help building something from newegg

I've never built my own machine. I've upgraded easy stuff, like memory and video cards. I'm too impatient mostly to want to do it. I'm going to try to get my brother help me build a new one.

In the mean time, I have an AMD Athlon 64 3800+ MMX 3DNow 2.4GHz and a NVidia 7600 card with 265MB memory (4GB system total). I had bought Champions Online in a moment of weakness despite being below the minimum requirements. With low details I wasn't in too bad of a shape. The two games have identical specs, unless I made a mistake comparing them. So, I plan to start on my current machine if I can't get my new one built.

Having said that, time will tell if I am in trouble but based on my experience so far, going under the minimum requirements and running at low settings should get you by if you feel you have to. Come open beta, I'll know what I'm in for.

Your CPU should be fine though you may experience a little bit of lag because of it, your weakest spot is your video card right now. I'd suggest looking into newer ones before you do anything else. You can get some amazing cards right now for very cheap, especially if you lean towards the ATI side of the world. What operating system are you on? 4 gigs of ram should be fine for any, but with vista/7 if you're running background processes it tends to slow down... especially on 7. Windows 7 has a tendency to put everything into RAM so it will load faster, problem is that it hurts you if you are running a lot of processes without huge numbers backing it up. This is especially true when running newer games.

[APewty]

Your CPU should be fine though you may experience a little bit of lag because of it, your weakest spot is your video card right now. I'd suggest looking into newer ones before you do anything else. You can get some amazing cards right now for very cheap, especially if you lean towards the ATI side of the world. What operating system are you on? 4 gigs of ram should be fine for any, but with vista/7 if you're running background processes it tends to slow down... especially on 7. Windows 7 has a tendency to put everything into RAM so it will load faster, problem is that it hurts you if you are running a lot of processes without huge numbers backing it up. This is especially true when running newer games.

Are you serious? I'm running XP and I really don't have much trouble. My Champions example was on low settings. Turning up settings on most newer graphical heavy games is trouble for me. I was feeling that CPU and card need upgraded.

I also was under the impression my CPU does not meet the minimum standard for STO. Is this not true? I thought the minimum spec was an AMD Athlon X2 3800+, which I thought was a dual core. Mine isn't a dual core, is it?

[UberLander]

...well, from what i've read here, I doubt I can get this game afterall...

that sucks

..I hardly know anything about computors and your talking about replacing motherboards and crap. I don't know what to say.

I'm 15. I can't buy all this! My parents will have to do it..and they won't; it costs for too much.

I only need to replace the CPU and Video Card. Can I do this without replacing a load of other things as well?

we don't need to know the motherboard as much as your cpu u currently have. due to the fact it will be easy for you to find. form this we will cross reference the socket for the cpu and find u a replacement. as-far as the gpu goes it all depends on your motherboard.. soo nvm if u can tell us the motherboard u have we can help u with that

[UberLander]

Your CPU should be fine though you may experience a little bit of lag because of it, your weakest spot is your video card right now. I'd suggest looking into newer ones before you do anything else. You can get some amazing cards right now for very cheap, especially if you lean towards the ATI side of the world. What operating system are you on? 4 gigs of ram should be fine for any, but with vista/7 if you're running background processes it tends to slow down... especially on 7. Windows 7 has a tendency to put everything into RAM so it will load faster, problem is that it hurts you if you are running a lot of processes without huge numbers backing it up. This is especially true when running newer games.

Are you serious? I'm running XP and I really don't have much trouble. My Champions example was on low settings. Turning up settings on most newer graphical heavy games is trouble for me. I was feeling that CPU and card need upgraded.

I also was under the impression my CPU does not meet the minimum standard for STO. Is this not true? I thought the minimum spec was an AMD Athlon X2 3800+, which I thought was a dual core. Mine isn't a dual core, is it?

it is not u could get a mobo cpu combo for about 190 +another gpu ~140 that will lat u years. just keep in mind your PSU wont like some of the new AMD's

[Maverick]

I will also be getting a PC upgrade in Feb torp so your not the only one! lol