GAMES LIST

1. Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas
2. Hitman:Contracts
3. Need For Speed:Most Wanted
4. DRIV3R
5. Age of Empires 3
6. Tomb Raider:LEGEND
7. Splinter Cell:Choas Theory
8. Serious Sam 2
9. Matrix:Path of Neo
10. DOOM 3
11. Battlefield 2
12. Call of Duty 2
13. Far Cry
14. QUAKE 4
15. Unrealtournament 2004
16. Splinter Cell:Pandora Tomorrow
17. Chronciles of RIDDICK:Escape From Butcher
18. Medal of Honor:Pacific Assault
19. F.E.A.R
20. Prince of Persia:Warrior Within
21. Painkiller
22. Civilization IV
23. World of Warcraft

ARE THESE SPEC COMFORTABLE FOR THESE GAMES

MSI K8N NEO-F MAINBOARD
AMD ATHLON 64 3700+ SAN DEIGO PROCESSOR
CORSAIR XMS TWINX PC3200 1GB DDR (512 x 2) RAM
WESTERN DIGITAL 160GB SATA 300MB/s 7200RPM HDD
MSI GEFORCE 6800GS 256MB DDR3 PCI-E VGA CARD
CREATIVE AUDIGY 2 ZS SOUND CARD

Looks like a good system that'll work to me. I assume you have a compatible PSU with this nice system?

Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI
AMD Athlon 64 FX-55
Corsair 512X4 2048mb
2X WD Raptor 74gb 10K
2X 256 6800 GT
Raid-0
WinXP Pro X64

They are, but if you're gonna spend money on an aftermarket sound card, spring a little more on an X-Fi. Good news is if you do, you'll be in good shape on your sound card for probably 3 years minimum. Otherwise, I'd quite honestly run the onboard sound until you can afford it. Even the X-Fi Extreme Music version is perfectly fine.

Also, to be quite honest, you'd be better off for gaming with a 3200 CPU and a 7800GT.

Also, screw the XMS memory. You're paying a premium for it. Make sure you get a 7800GT first before you spend the extra money on the RAM. Corsair Value series is perfectly fine.

I'd also get a bigger hard drive, especially with all those games loaded. It can't be much more for a bigger drive. I bet you could get a 250 or 300 gig for like $20 more. Remember, your system runs increasingly slower if your hard drive is more than half full.

Hope this helps.

Please help survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

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- Athlon 64 3200+ (2.0GHz/S939/Venice/good OC'er)

- X850XT (Newgg OEM @ $189.00)

- DFI NF4 Ultra motherboard

- OCZ PC4000 EL 2x512-MB RAM

- SOUND (use integrated audio, only get the X-FI if you've got some bada$$ surround speakers)

- HDD (WD or Seagate 200GB)

- Make sure you've got a SOLID power supply unit to go with the above.

When Google isn't your best pal

"(WD or Seagate 200GB)"

I've found Hitachi currently to be faster and more reliable than WD. Seagate is even more reliable, although generally a tad slower than hitachi. I'd choose Seagate first, Hitachi second, WD third.

"SOUND (use integrated audio, only get the X-FI if you've got some bada$$ surround speakers)"

The X-Fi is also superior for headphone listening as well. It is noticeably clearer than integrated audio solutions, and the new EAX effects supported by the X-Fi can still be heard over headphones.

"DFI NF4 Ultra motherboard"

Totally agree there. MSI boards are pretty good, but DFI is definitely the best S939 board available.

"X850XT"

Gotta disagree on the video card though...

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/02/nvidia_7800gs_confirms_agp_aint_dead_yet/page11.html

Granted, this is AGP, but notice that while the surges in FPS are higher with the ATI, the avg is usually a tad higher with the 6800GS. It's so close though, call it a wash. But look at the pricing on the 6800GS's in PCI-e!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130271

Personally, I'd go with a 7800GT though...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130256

Please help survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

www.redcross.org

At sub $200 the X850XT is a better buy than the 6800GS, for one the X850XT is a 16 pipeline card as compared to only 12 on the 6800GS, it's also clocked faster core/memory wise and you can still overclock it even more. (this is considering the SM3 demerit).

ATi meant to market the card against the 6800 Ultra, the only better bargain would be the 7800GS if it was available at around $250.00 price range, unfortunately it ain't.

Your link even concurs the X850XT's superiority over the 6800GS.

"The X-Fi is also superior for headphone listening as well. It is noticeably clearer than integrated audio solutions, and the new EAX effects supported by the X-Fi can still be heard over headphones"

Screw headphones, bring out the big guns, crank up the speakers and FRAG the neighbors to oblivion.

When Google isn't your best pal

yea i got the SB x-fi. its great. but make sure you have at least 5.1 speakers, 7.1 is the best. otherwise, dont bother.

3.2GHZ Intel Pentium EE 840
1GB Dual-channel DDR2-533 RAM
Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe mobo
2 EVGA E-Geforce 7800GTX
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi
550W PSU

you dont wanna have an expensive soundcard with just stereo speakers, even with 3 pieces of speakers, still a waste.

3.2GHZ Intel Pentium EE 840
1GB Dual-channel DDR2-533 RAM
Asus P5ND2-SLI Deluxe mobo
2 EVGA E-Geforce 7800GTX
Creative Soundblaster X-Fi
550W PSU

"for one the X850XT is a 16 pipeline card as compared to only 12 on the 6800GS, it's also clocked faster core/memory wise and you can still overclock it even more."

First of all, the 6800GS could be overclocked as well, so unless you're arguing the X850XT is a better overclocker, that's a moot point.

Why is 16 pipes and higher clocked core and memory important?

It *often* indicates higher performance, but it doesn't always.

If performance is higher on the 6800GS, or close to the same, the number of pipes and the clock of the memory and core is irrelevant. Performance is the overall criteria of value, not the physical specs.

Quite honestly, that argument could be applied to processors in Intel vs AMD. Intel CPU's are clocked substantially higher, have hyperthreading, and often twice as much cache than comparable AMD CPU's. On paper, Intel is the better CPU hands down.

But I don't recommend parts based on physical specs. I recommend what performs the best. AMD, despite the 33-50% disadvantage in clock speed, despite it's 50% disadvantage in cache size, still wins undeniably in CPU's for gaming.

In this case, the 6800GS has SM3 support, and for all intents and purposes performs the same (if anything maybe better) than the X850XT.

The article I did fail to notice the 7800GS was compared, not the 6800GS. My fault.

However, examine this chart by Tom's Hardware showing percentage comparisons of cards...

http://images.tomshardware.com/2005/12/02/vga_charts_viii/3dupgrade-big.gif

The 6800GS is roughly equivalent to the 6800GT, as the GS has a higher clocked core and memory, but less pipes. Depending on the game, sometimes the GS makes it on top; sometimes the GT comes on top.

The X850XT however is 8% slower than the 6800GT. But I'll even just give the X850XT the benefit of the doubt and say that both the X850XT and the 6800GS are about the same performing card. Now, add SM3 support to the 6800GS, and costing some $30 less?

That adds up to the 6800GS being the superior card for the money.

"Screw headphones"

The right $70 headphones sound better than $300 speakers in pure sound quality. (Check out the Sony MDR-XD400's sometime! Sennheisers are awesome, too.) The $300 speakers are superior only in surround sound capability, which due to the speakers very often being so close together on a desk, it is often difficult to even hear. Food for thought...

And please remember, my point was if you're gonna spend $50 for an Audigy 2, THEN pony up for an X-Fi instead. Otherwise, stick with integrated audio. Your argument about needing good surround speakers would also apply to the Audigy 2.

Please help survivors of Hurricane Katrina!

www.redcross.org

So if I get you right without the your usual subliminal shenanigan you are saying the 6800GS clearly outperforms the X850XT.

Now all you gotta do is show me some CONCRETE proof and I'll eat my pants......

BTW, have you been abusing anything ???

When Google isn't your best pal

"So if I get you right without the your usual subliminal shenanigan you are saying the 6800GS clearly outperforms the X850XT."

Seriously, grow thicker skin. And if you want to debate, fine, but read what I said.

I did not say the X850XT is "clearly outperformed." I said...

"I'll even just give the X850XT the benefit of the doubt and say that both the X850XT and the 6800GS are about the same performing card."

Point being both cards are very close in performance. Yes, I happen to think the 6800GS has a very slight advantage in performance, but the performance difference is at best negligible. Since one has SM3 and is $35 less, it's the better card for the money. That is the 6800GS.

"Now all you gotta do is show me some CONCRETE proof and I'll eat my pants......"

I already provided factual evidence. You haven't. Burden is on you. Don't particularly care if the proof isn't good enough for you. An objective viewer would see you claim the X850XT performs significantly better than a 6800GS, and you have absolutely no evidence to this point that proves it, only physical specs that as I've already proven do not mean it actually performs better.

On the other hand, I substantiated what I said. The only thing I didn't back up was the 6800GS's performance being about the same as a 6800GT. If you want that evidence, no problem!

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce-6800gs.html

"BTW, have you been abusing anything ???"

Dude, anytime you get questioned, you freak, and commence with personal attacks. This was a perfectly civil discussion until you called what I'm saying "shenanigans" and accused me of abusing substances.

How about laying off the personal attacks and discuss this maturely?

Please help survivors of Hurricane Katrina!

www.redcross.org