OT: Climbing System Requirements and Specs

[Saber Cherry]

Don't buy SLI or Crossfire, they're both rip-offs. Or rips-off. They only increase the framerate sometimes, in some games... in most games (meaning, not the 10 that every website use for benchmarks) they reduce the framerate. Even when there is an increase, it's almost never more than 20% at any resolution my monitor can handle... and for people who use LCDs for gaming (sometimes even by choice), you can't tell a difference in framrate above 50fps anyway (on a modern monitor - older ones are more like 30 fps). CRTs are a different story, but I've never seen one that can handle 16x12 at 100 Hz, so framerates ate those resolutions are immaterial to me. In short, I wouldn't spend my money on a dual setup, even if I had unlimited money - more noise, heat, and problems for no advantage.

nVidia does a better job for a dual setup, BTW, but I wish sites would stop reviewing that junk when 0.1% of gamers will ever buy it. Your money will always be better spent on a higher-tier card than a second card of the same tier, or if you are at the top, saved for the next generation, which will be faster than duals of the current generation. nVidia and ATI both need to spend their money on useful research, too, rather than this stupid ego-boosting game of "Who can win the NASCAR races with a car totally unlike anything consumers will buy".

[Ragnarok-X]

I bought my current computer in February 2003, which is more than 3 years ago. Back then i spend about 1200 €, about 1400 (?) US $. Up until now, i added 512 MB ram (now 1024), exchanged graphics once (GF 4800 TI -> GF 6600) and bought a second harddrive (120 > 120 + 160). Additionally, i bought a dvd-burning-capable drive.
So, to sum it up, i spent about 50 + 300 + 90 + 40, a total of 1400 + 480 $ to get a top system.

As of now, i can play every game, with decent solution (1024x768 / 1280*1024, both with 32 mb texture depth).

- Empire at War
- F.E.A.R.
- HL 2
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted
- AoE 3
- DoW

So, i basicly cant agree with Atrocities. I spend about 1850 $ in 3 years, and got myself countless hours of enjoying games, not mentioning being able to watch countless movies and tv series, and, to make it better, surf the internet and do certain work online.
For me, since im spending a LOT of time in front the computer, this is a good investment, and definitly worth the trouble.
One thing im missing is a proper soundcard. I think i will get an Audigy ZS 2 soon.


current setup:

CPU Typ AMD Athlon XP, 2075 MHz (12.5 x 166) 2600+
RAM 1024 MB (DDR SDRAM)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT (128 MB)
HD Maxtor 120 + Maxtor 160
Drive 3x virtual, 1x physical LG 8120
Sound, Modem built on Board
Running XP pro with SP 2.