Gaming PCs?

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Zhu8

Zhu8

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Zhu12345
Anybody got one? I'll list the specs of mine, and yes I know it's pretty old stuff, I'm planning to get it replaced by the end of the year:

Original PC: Gateway FX541S (the best gateway ever)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHZ
RAM: 3GB of DDR2 (not bothering to upgrade due to reason stated above)
HDD Un: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (7200RPM)
HDD Duex: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB (7200RPM) (didn't want to waste the original hard drive
GPU: Asus Dark Knight GTS-250 512MB (Revised heatsink)
GPU 2: Asus Dark Knight GTS-250 512MB (decided to die a while ago)
Motherboard: Nvidia based ECS 680i (surprisingly its BTX instead of ATX)
 
I've got a gaming laptop from iBUYPOWER, if that counts. :lol:

CPU: Intel Core i7 740QM 1.73 GHz
RAM: 4 GB DDR3 (There really isn't much need for more, yet.)
HDD: 500 GB @ 7200 RPM, nothing special
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 460M 1.5 GB

I'm ditching it for a MacBook Pro though, which'll be an upgrade in terms of CPU but also a definite GPU downgrade. Should still be able to handle modern games though, just not quite as well.
 
Owen.C93
I would want to try and game on a mac lol. Good luck to you.
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Uh... it's not hard. :p
The specs are decent, and you can run Windows to play any Windows-only games.

My old MacBook Pro with a 2.66 GHz Core 2 Duo and an NVIDIA GeForce 9600M 256MB GPU ran Fallout 3, Mass Effect, etc. quite nicely.
 
My laptop would be one.

Laptop: ASUS N71Vn-A1
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 2.0Ghz
RAM: 4GB DDR3
HDD: 320GB 7200RPM
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M 1GB DDR3 Dedicated

Used to use it mainly for gaming purposes during high school. I used to emulate PS2 games on my laptop(playing from the DVD in my laptop) and did it fairly well. Now use it for college work since it's a lot better than the desktops at college and easier for me to work since I can take it around.

I also have my small desktop computer where I have it hooked up via HDMI to the HDTV.
Motherboard: ZOTAC GF9300-D-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 9300 HDMI Wi-Fi Mini ITX Intel Motherboard
Case: hec ITX200B(comes with 200watt PSU)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93Ghz
RAM: 4GB DDR2
SSD: Western Digital SiliconEdge Blue 64GB
Wireless: Rosewill RNX-N1 BGN
Blu-ray Drive: LG CT21N

It's a Mini-ITX build and it's great for multimedia and good for some gaming. I can barely play Just Cause 2 on it and nowadays I play Minecraft on it. SSD boots(from windows startup to the login screen) within 10 seconds. Great for checking facebook for a minute before I go to college.

I might invest into a hybrid HDD(4GB SSD chip in a HDD) since I have read they have a speed near that of a SSD and have the storage of a HDD.
 
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I seek to finance in an Alienware M15x soon, as long as they still have them in stock. All I got to do is show Dell my credit score and that's pretty much it.
 
I personally think you can get a better laptop than that. Such as this one. I matched up the specs between the alienware and the asus, I came up with that the asus would save you $886.51 over a the same spec alienware M15x. Newegg also has monthly payment plans so you can consider it.
 
nick09
I personally think you can get a better laptop than that. Such as this one. I matched up the specs between the alienware and the asus, I came up with that the asus would save you $886.51 over a the same spec alienware M15x. Newegg also has monthly payment plans so you can consider it.
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Minus the idiotically huge 17 inch screen. Might as well get a desktop at that point I think.
 
Not that bad to carry around since my laptop is seven pounds heavy. I don't mind it since I'm used to carrying more than 10 pounds everyday. If you get a desktop then you will miss the mobility of a laptop.
 
nick09
Not that bad to carry around since my laptop is seven pounds heavy. I don't mind it since I'm used to carrying more than 10 pounds everyday. If you get a desktop then you will miss the mobility of a laptop.
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17 inches is awkward. Doesn't fit in a bag as nicely, weighs 7 pounds versus 3 or 4, and honestly the only gain is a larger screen, which you could easily just buy a 22 inch monitor these days for $150 for use at home.

7 pounds on top of 10 pounds adds up to. Honestly, I think anything over 15 inches is generally pointless and more or less another way to get the consumer to buy something they don't need.

Of course, there is the whole point that buying a laptop for gaming is just silly anyhow, as you'll pay 4 times as much for half the performance in most cases. Not to mention laptop keyboards are crap to game on and you'll need to bring a mouse with you too.
 
Azuremen
17 inches is awkward. Doesn't fit in a bag as nicely, weighs 7 pounds versus 3 or 4, and honestly the only gain is a larger screen, which you could easily just buy a 22 inch monitor these days for $150 for use at home.

7 pounds on top of 10 pounds adds up to. Honestly, I think anything over 15 inches is generally pointless and more or less another way to get the consumer to buy something they don't need.

Of course, there is the whole point that buying a laptop for gaming is just silly anyhow, as you'll pay 4 times as much for half the performance in most cases. Not to mention laptop keyboards are crap to game on and you'll need to bring a mouse with you too.
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Yeah I also find 17 inches too big, personally.
 
Crap laptop keyboard? My laptop's keyboard is quite good(easy to type on and I find it easy to game with). Of course the 17in thing is a choice where one may not like it or another who would. I just prefer having a larger space to put my mouse on when tracking on a certain table is not good at all.
 
Yeah I actually prefer a laptop's shallow keys, easier to press.
 
The laptop I posted a link to has the same exact keyboard as mine. Though I did not like the older laptops that mimicked the average desktop keyboard. I find that the desktop keyboard design only really works on desktops and that they don't belong on a laptop(keys just end up being thinned down and they just don't feel right).
 
nick09
Crap laptop keyboard? My laptop's keyboard is quite good(easy to type on and I find it easy to game with). Of course the 17in thing is a choice where one may not like it or another who would. I just prefer having a larger space to put my mouse on when tracking on a certain table is not good at all.
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Scissor switches are crap, though perhaps a touch better than membrane switches. Compared to a proper keyboard, such as my Filco, Steelseries 6Gv2, or even my old IBM Model M, a laptop keyboard is rubbish. Chiclet keyboards further lack clear cupping on the keys, and are a touch vague compared to the deeper feel of standard keyboards.

I was not suggesting to use a proper keyboard design on a laptop, but in any situation where I will be gaming, I will generally travel with one of my keyboards. The tactile response of a Cherry MX Blue or the solid feel of Cherry MX Black switches is absolutely superior to those of a scissor switch.

Of course, another downside to laptop keyboards is the angle at which they present and often smaller CTRL keys to make room for Fn keys and the likes.
 
I suppose I'll post my specs since everyone else is;

DragoonGX
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition @ 3.3GHz
Processor cooling: CoolerMaster V8
Motherboard: MSI DKA790GX Platinum @ 220MHz
Memory: 8192MB (4x 2048MB) Kingston HyperX DDR2 @ 880 5-5-5-12
Sysdrive: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB-SATA6Gbps
LG 22x DVDRW SATA SuperMulti
LG 22x DVDROM SATA
Graphics: MSI N295GTX 2D1792 (nVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 896MBx2 GDDR3, single PCB ver.) @ 648/1397/1150MHz
Audio: ASUS XONAR DX
Power Supply: Corsair HX1000W
Case: CM Storm Sniper AMD Dragon Special Edition
Windows Vista Ultimate x86-64

Peripherals:
Razer Death Adder mouse (original, Nova Blue)
CM Storm Sentinel Advance mouse (don't really use it)
Microsoft Sidewinder X6 (keyboard)
Altec Lansing FX-4021 (2.1 speakers)
CM Storm SIRUS beta unit (5.1 headphones)
steelseries Siberia (headphones)
Samsung SyncMaster 2494HS (23.6" 1920x1080)



On the other hand I also have a hi-per gaming notebook (I would not quite use the term laptop on it);

ASUS G73Jh
Processor: Intel Core i7 740QM @ 1.73GHz~2.93GHz (TurboBoost, but there is an overclock function in the notebook)
Motherboard: ASUS G73Jh - HM55 Express chipset
Memory: 8192MB (4x 2048MB) 1333MHz
Sysdrive: Seagate Momentus XT 500GB hybrid (has a small supply of solid state memory)
Storage: Seagate Momentus XT 500GB hybrid
Optical drive: Blu-Ray reader + DVDRW combo drive
Graphics: ATi Mobility Radeon HD5870 1GB GDDR5
Screen: 17.3" 1920x1080 LED backlit, glossy
Wireless: Atheros 802.11 b/g/n + BlueTooth 2.1EDR
Battery: 8 cell 5200mAh
Windows 7 Home Premium x86-64
Mouse: Ideazone Reaper Edge (rebranded and bundled by ASUS though)




So yeah. I have quite a lot of power available for at home and on the go (well, kinda).
 
I'm sure i've posted my specs before but oh well.

Intel Quad Q6600
4GB RAM
ASUS Mobo (forget model)
Nvidia 8800 GT.

It's a few years old now but still runs most games on max settings. I'm looking to get a new one at some point but the specs that i want will mean around £1.5k whidh I cannot justify at the moment. :(

*edit*

Vic's PC is:
Intel Quad Core Q8300
ASUS Mobo with Intel G31 Chipset
4GB RAM
500GB HD
ATI 4870 1GB

Threads for the builds are here for mine, and here for Vic's.
 
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Azuremen
Of course, another downside to laptop keyboards is the angle at which they present and often smaller CTRL keys to make room for Fn keys and the likes.
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Ugh, don't even start.

Unfortunately you can't get a laptop with mechanical switches, as far as I know. However, personally I don't mind laptop style keyboards, as long as they're got normal key locations and not those god awful chiclet ones which are all now in style.
 
I'm running:

Asus Rampage Gene III Motherboard
12 GB G.Skill Ripjaw RAM
i7 950 @ 3.8ghz
Corsair Force Series SSD Hard Drive (awesome!!)
ATI 6950 video card flashed to 6970
2 x 2tb Western Digital Black Hard Drives for data
Cooler Master HAF 932 case
750 Watt PSU
I've got a custom cooler on the CPU
2 x 24" Dell monitors
Windows 7 Ultimate 64

I'm quite happy with it. Runs nice a cool, plays every game completely maxed out.

Shortly, I'm going to be looking at selling my 2 monitors and replacing them with 3 new ones so I can run Eyefinity...

I built it myself, and trust me, it's easier than you think. Don't buy an off the shelf rig. Do some research, choose the parts, and if you aren't sure, surf the web. There's a certain amount of satisfaction to building your own gaming rig.
 
I built mine

CPU: Intel Q9300 2.5Ghz overclocked to 3.5Ghz(Cooled via Corsair H50 water cooling)
Mainboard: Asus P5K Pro Tubro
GPU: nVidia 9800GTX(Cooled via Zalman VF1000 cooler)
RAM: Team 4x1GB DDR2 1066Mhz
PSU: Threamaltake toughpower 750W
HDD: 2xWD 500GB in Raid 0, 1x WD 1tb, 1xWD My Book 3.0 1TB
ODD: LG GGW-H20L(bluray burner combo drive)
TV: Haupauge HVR-2200
Monitor: Samsung 2494HS
Extra: USB 3.0 PCI-e Card
Case: Antec 900

I'm am avoiding upgrading as i don't have the funds at the time so i overclock, my PC can still compeat with mid range I5's
 
Custom Built
Processor: Intel i7-950 3.06 GHz
GPU/GFX Card: AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
RAM: 6 GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast TX750
Disk Drive: 1TB Western Digital HDD | 90 GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Picture: here
 
Although my PC (and Laptop) aren't "Top of the Line" machines, they can still play mainstream games (like Fallout: New Vegas) extremely well.

PC Specs:
CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
RAM: 3GB DDR2 @667MHz
Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 9800GTX+
PSU: Ultra X4 Modular @ 600W
HDD: 2x 500GB Seagate Barracuda on RAID 0
Motherboard : Intel DG33TL Micro ATX
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x86
Misc: AverTV HD DVR Video Capture Card
Creative Sound Blaster PCI Card


Laptop:
Model: Sony Vaio VPCF115FM/B
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU: Intel Core i7 720QM
RAM: 6GB DDR3
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GT330M
 
My PC:

CPU: AMD Phenom x6 1075T (6x 3.0GHz)
RAM: 8GB DDR3 @ 1006MHz from Corsair
GPU: PowerColor HD5770 PCS+ (Overclocked by PowerColor)
PSU: CoolerMaster 600W
HDD: Western Digital 500GB
Motherboard: Asus M4... with Sata 2 and USB 3
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64
 
Antec 1200 full tower
Corsair 1200 watt psu
MSI X-58 pro-e motherboard
Intel I7-950 @ 4.0ghz w/Swiftech Apogee XT waterblock
6 GB Corsair XMS3 triple channel ddr3 @ 1600mhz
Creative Sound Blaster xtremegamer sound card
2x EVGA-nVidia GTX 480 (way overclocked) w/Swiftech gpu waterblocks/heatsinks
Swiftech: 320mm triple radiator, microRes, pump
LG super multi blue drive (blu-ray)
Windows 7 Professional x64
 
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What cracks me up about "gaming PCs" is that in no way do you need the absolute top of the line of everything at all times. There's simply no reason for it.

Sorry to single you out, dchPSUone, but your post is right above mine as I'm typing, and you happen to have one of the PCs I'm talking about.. hehe.

I was going to single out my own PC, in fact. Core 2 Duo E8400 @3.0GHz. 4GB DDR2. 1GB GTX-465. 2+TB storage over three hard drives.

There's a disparity there, I know.. the system was built with a 512MB 8800GTS which has since died and been upgraded. The graphics card in my system is far and away the most powerful component at the moment.

But my point is, with my system as it is, I can run pretty much any game in existence at max settings, pegged at a solid 60fps at 1680x1050. The only exception I've seen is the original Crysis, and for that I'm bottlenecked at the CPU. But it's still quite playable at max settings, even with max AA, which used to cripple my old 8800GTS.

So I have to ask... what's the point of all that extra hardware? Most monitors these days are physically limited to 60Hz, so does it really matter that you can get 285fps in Crysis 2?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against upgrading, but I have other reasons for doing so.. in my case, I'm eyeballing a i5-2500K and a major bump in RAM because of all the CG rendering and video compositing that I do. Those are programs that can actually make full use of all the power my system has to muster. I don't expect a tremendous jump in game performance with that upgrade, except in the one case where I know my CPU is not quite up to snuff. Mostly because I'm already at max performance in every other game I play.

For me, it's about balance. My old system was based on the processor.. dual-core 3GHz, with memory and video to match.. everything was more or less at the same "level". My next upgrade will be in line with the newer video card that I'm running.

Speaking of balance, dchPSUone.. more RAM. With a rig like yours, I'm thinking at least 8-12GB.
 
Well to be honest, you're right that its not totally necessary, especially since most PC games arent even utilizing the newest technology due to the limitations of consoles. Its cool to have the potential for amazing performance, but a big part of having a system like this has just been the hobby of building the computer, overclocking, adding a custom liquid cooling system, etc...

The second video card was recently added because I got into iRacing and I intend to get two more monitors for a nice triple setup. It should also add a lot of fun to shooters.

The RAM was one of the original components from when I built the computer a year and a half ago. Funny thing actually is that I was just looking at another 6 gigs on newegg this morning cause I got a promo code from them via email. I'll probably go ahead and grab that this weekend and call it quits on upgrades for a while until the next generation of processors come out.
 
Multi-monitor, yeah, I can see that needing a bit more horsepower. :)

I was mainly calling out the people that will spend hundreds of dollars on a new component so they can get an extra 3fps out of some benchmark or game, a difference that their eyes can't even see. Just seems pointless to me, is all.

Don't get me started on the "consolization" of PC games, that's a whole other topic.. lol.
 
I've thought for the longest of building/setting up one, but as much as I'd like to, I know I won't be putting it to any good use. There's always the future to look forward though. 👍
 

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