New PC for my son

Keeper said:
actually just get the pre-built - no mess no fuss, 2 year warranty, and a few extra's

it just struck me now that you don't seem to be the PC building type :o

Scotty's system is stronger with GFX but weaker on some parts - so yeah... just buy that pre-built :)
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Why would you assume that I am not the pc building type? You obviously didnt read post #33. I guess I am at an age where pre-built is just, well, less frustrating.

Modding, yeah sure, research, 100%, but building from scratch, well, been there done that I guess.
 
I currently have a 3200 onboard (clocked at 700mhz) and it makes games like UT3 playable at 800x600 - that is more than enough.
 
I'd also say take the pre built but add in a 4670.
 
Rouxenator said:
I currently have a 3200 onboard (clocked at 700mhz) and it makes games like UT3 playable at 800x600 - that is more than enough.
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Thats like one of the best onboard gpus...so anything else you will need to play at 80X60 at lowest setting...something like pong :p

Scotty's suggestion is like buying a Golf 5 for your kid instead of a Mazda 323 for almost the same price, or a CBR600 vs a hysosung 250 for the same price.

+1 for Scotty's suggestion
 
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That is with newish games like UT3 and with moderate detail settings. Taking the details and AA/AF down you can go higher.

For older games, like MOHAA and the other he wants to play, the 3200 is overkill.

Dedicated graphics is overrated and a dying technology. The future is fusion.
 
How about the pre-built at R2599 and throw in a Gigabyte Radeon HD2400 Pro (PCI-e, 256MB) for R200?
 
The 2400 Pro is the same core as is found in the 3200 onboard. The bonus of the 3200 onboard is it comes with a better southbridge than the current board you are getting.
 
BlackWasp said:
How about the pre-built at R2599 and throw in a Gigabyte Radeon HD2400 Pro (PCI-e, 256MB) for R200?
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Thats one kuk card...compared to the HD4650...it's like 20percent gaming performance + its old too.

Your kids will enjoy flawless solitare performance and 3D game slide shows.
 
Uhm, actually, no. Even the onboard GeForce 6150 is good enough for games like MOHAA. If you want to play newer games then an onboard Radeon 3200 is a safe call.

IGP solutions from nVidia and particularly AMD/ATI have improved a lot. Casual gamers really do not need anything more. The only IGPs lagging behind are those from intel, but that is nothing new and who wants intel anways.
 
6150 is not good enough for anything. It isn't even casual gaming level. It's pretty much useless.
 
cerebus said:
6150 is not good enough for anything. It isn't even casual gaming level. It's pretty much useless.
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Yeah, this I realize now after some extensive research. Pretty much any integrated GPU is not going to really cut it, even the Radeon 3200 IGP.

Also agree that the 2400 PRO is pretty useless for gaming.

As I said before, my old 7600 GT can still hold its own with moh-pa and anything else my kid can through at it for now.

Ideally I would want to get a 7800/7900 GT secondhand somewhere.

Anyone have any ideas?
 
cerebus said:
6150 is not good enough for anything. It isn't even casual gaming level. It's pretty much useless.
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I have played MOHOO on the following onboard graphics processors :

S3 ProSavaga DDR 32MB
Radeon X200 128MB
GeForce 6100 256MB
GeForce 6150 256MB
Radeon X1250 1GB
Radeon X3200 1GB

On all of them except the first two it was playable and on the the later ones it ran smooth on 1280x1024 with some AA and AS enabled.

You, I am guessing, have never attempted to game with an IGP - so your opinion does not count for much.

Graphics cards are really not such a crucial requirement as everyone makes them out to be.
 
I have played many a game on IGP - that's why i started getting into graphics cards. Sorry but for me 'playable/smooth' on an eight year old title doesn't really cut it for gaming, even casually.
 
cerebus said:
I have played many a game on IGP - that's why i started getting into graphics cards. Sorry but for me 'playable/smooth' on an eight year old title doesn't really cut it for gaming, even casually.
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Then I suppose you did not read this bit in the opening post ?

BlackWasp said:
The pc will only be used to play older 3-d games like medal of honor etc, and limited web surfing.
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I am playing UT3 very nicely on an HD3200 and today I am getting my new ASUS motherboard with HD4200 onboard.
 
I read that and I actually recommended him to go with the original offer. But then he started looking at gaming options and I have to be honest, if you really want to game you will have to get something better than a 6150. You will reach a point where you want to play something a bit more demanding and you can't.
 
Thanks guys,

I believe you both have a point.

I have NO experience with IGP's, hence I wanted to get expert opinions on the 6150, as the pc is in my pricerange.

I have been using my 7600GT for 3 years now in 3 different pc's and I didnt really have to worry about more graphic power. The 7600 GT could always play anything I wanted to (not talking about latest FPS etc, but things like crysis,all the MOH, games, farcry 1, etc.

You see, I hail from the DOOM 1+2+3 / Quake 1+2 era. Those were the games hey? JA.

For now, my son will play MOHAA,Spearhead, and pacific assault (2004) and MAYBE farcry 1, his younger brother and sister will play supercow,turtle odessy etc, farm frenzy and other big fish games. They will also watch DVD's on a normal 17" CRT.

That's it, thats my requirement for now.

I started going through all the benchmark results on the internet after all you replies, and realized that the 6150 is indeed bottom scale, although once again, this is SUBJECTIVE, as for me the 6150 is OK, but for the guy playing COD4 at highres, the card is useless...right?

If the 6150 meets my needs for now, cool, I buy the pc and get a decent GPU in 2/3 months time. Problem solved.

I have decided to follow scottys advise and shop around for components, rather than full desktop, maybe I can put together a cheaper pc with my requirements. I spoke to some friends which also sells pc's and they said that even buying wholesale, the evetch deal will be hard to beat, so I will report back on my findings.

Also any advise on choosing between intel E5300 2.6 or Athlon II x2 245?

By the way, how does cod4 compare to the moh games of earlier days?

Thanks again.
 
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