New PC for DOOM 3 (and Work too!)

[robottik]

Anybody here play computer games? If so you may know DOOM 3 will be out shortly.

I've needed a new computer for about a year now and the requirements for this game were the final nail in the coffin for it.

So I ordered up a Dell Dimension 8400...

(SURGEON GENERAL's WARNING: Geek-speak ahead!)

Here are the specs:

• P4 3.2 GHz, 800 MHz FSB
• 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM
• 160 GB HD - SATA - 7200 RPM
• 256 MB Radeon X800 XT Video Card - PCIe
• Dual DVDs: DVD+RW and DVD-ROM
• 20" Dell Ultrasharp LCD Monitor

So now I can play DOOM 3 (oh and of course use my computer for work too !)

Anybody else looking forward to this game? Looks to be a good one!

[john802]

Nice specs of your new pc. What's the pixel-response time for the LCD monitor? Are you going to be using Win XP pro or home version? What is the brand of your sound card?

-john

[robottik]

Originally posted by john802
Nice specs of your new pc. What's the pixel-response time for the LCD monitor? Are you going to be using Win XP pro or home version? What is the brand of your sound card?

-john

The Dell Ultrasharp 20" (model 2001FP) has a 16ms response time, which is one of the reasons I liked it. It always gets very good reviews. Good for gaming.

I ordered Win XP Home with the PC (to save a few bucks) but will be most likely upgrading to Pro when the system comes in. I have an extra copy of Pro at home.

I went cheap and went with the integrated Dolby 5.1 sound card. If it turns out to suck then I'll pop another sound card in there. Probably some version of an Audigy. Haven't looked into that much yet.

I already have a set of Klipsch THX 2.1 speakers (not 5.1 unfortunately) but even still they really kick. I'll be hooking them up to the new PC as soon as it arrives.

[robottik]

I have an Eluminx keyboard already too. Great for when I need to work on a down program in the middle of the night (which occurs much more often than I'd care to comment on!) I didn't write 'em, but I still have to fix 'em!

[john802]

I'm building my next pc from the ground up. I already bought my asus motherboard; 2 Seagate 120GB SATA 7200 RPM w/ 8 MB cache to be run on Raid 0; Enermax 480 watts power supply; SB Audigy II; Pentium 4 3.2 E GHz 800 FSB; 256 MB ATI 800XT w TV out and DVI; Lian-Li Aluminum Case PC-67.
I'm going this morning to the computer show at Pomona Fairground to buy 2 sticks of 512 MB DDR memory (corsair); Plextor 712 DVD writer; a good heatsink and Artic Silver II.

-john

[robottik]

Originally posted by john802
I'm building my next pc from the ground up.

Nice specs. Rolling your own is always a fun project.

I built the PC I'm working at right now. About 4 years ago if I recall, after I got my Y2k bonus. (Ahh those were the days...)

I was thisClose to building my own PC this time around too, but I was having trouble finding some of the latest components I wanted, most importantly the PCI Express version of the X800 XT card.

So I got lazy and called Dell. They had a very good price for the 8400 with all the latest bells and whistles, and it is rated well.

But one of the first things I'll do is uninstall all the DellWare (i.e. shovelware)

[Oahu_Dave]

I used to build my own, but got lazy so I just do what you did. I unfortunately went with a Gateway which is almost exactly the same as yours. I am going to upgrade the video card is all and I am ready to go. I wont go with Gateway again tho, just had too many issues with it. I wiped the hard drive of course and installed my copy of xp pro, but when I have problems they dont want to help since they think I caused the problems. I tell them all the cr@p that comes installed on the computer is what causes the problems, but oh well. I know more than the stupid techs there so I gave up. Atleast when my monitor died on me they replaced it with something larger and better.

Cant wait for Doom 3 and Half Life 2...

Originally posted by robottik


Nice specs. Rolling your own is always a fun project.

I built the PC I'm working at right now. About 4 years ago if I recall, after I got my Y2k bonus. (Ahh those were the days...)

I was thisClose to building my own PC this time around too, but I was having trouble finding some of the latest components I wanted, most importantly the PCI Express version of the X800 XT card.

So I got lazy and called Dell. They had a very good price for the 8400 with all the latest bells and whistles, and it is rated well.

But one of the first things I'll do is uninstall all the DellWare (i.e. shovelware)

[allanbiats]

I would also prefer to build my own pc, but I found a very workable alternative.

I went to the Dell Outlet and I cruised their inventory for several days, ok, maybe a couple weeks.

I checked all of the current models from Dell and found the ones that satisfied my requirements, like 800 mhz front side bus, 400 Double Data Rate system memory, a good Pentium 4 processor with Hyper Thread, a decent video card, a decent sound card, and good hard drive storage.

They discount the pcs offered in the Outlet Store and they offer the exact same warranty as new ones. The only feature that isn't available in the outlet store is that you can't make changes to the system that is offered, including the software. You either accept it the way it was originally ordered, or not. I accepted mine the way it was with 512 Mb of Ram, and after it was delivered, I got an email from Dell with an offer for 15% off additional memory, so I bought two more 512mb sticks and installed it myself, so now I have 1.5 GB.

I noticed that the prices for the pcs in the outlet changed during the time period I was watching and they offered $450 off the higher end systems for a brief period and free shipping, which was the end of a month and the end of a quarter. I was able to filter the inventory list by model and then to sort that list by another field, like memory, or hdd, or price and eventually, I saw one that I liked. You have to select one of the pcs to see what software is offered with it and I kept watching until I saw one with Microsoft Office, and one that had everything I was looking for, so I bought it.

Since Dell sells their pcs only by credit card, I used my platinum visa that has a feature that has an automatic double the warranty (up to one additional year), and I think I did pretty well.

One thing I was worried about when purchasing a returned pc was the license on all of the software that was installed, like Windows XP Pro and Microsoft Office, and having old data files from the previous user. It looks like they install a complete new image of the software before they sell it again and all software is now registered to me.

My only problem with it is that it has a Raid 0 setup with two 120 GB SATA drives and one of them has a SMART failure, under the original Dell warranty. They're sending me a new replacement drive, but with Raid 0, all of the data will be lost. I'm using Norton Utilities and their Norton Ghost feature to make a backup copy of the image on CDRW and then I'll reinstall it.

I am really pleased with the overall experience and I'll be looking to replace our notebook pc with a Dell from the Outlet Store soon.

hth

[DrDon]

What video card is coming with your Dell setup Robottik? The two most important things your going to need to run Doom3 is a great CPU and a new high end video card.

You're P4 should be sufficient, althought I *cough* hate intel and you get more bang for your buck with an AMD Athlon 64 chip. As for you wanting to wait for PCIExpress-I wouldn't hold your breath as their is not much performance increase in real world applications or gaming at the moment. This will probably change in the distant future, but as for now when taking a x800 AGP 8X vs. x800 PCIE there is nearly identical performance.

Also, there are some Flat panel monitors out there with a sub 12ms response time. Even those ones reviewed with a sub 12ms response time aren't up to par with a good quality CRT for gaming. If this is going to be a primariy gaming machine, you should go for a CRT, IMHO.

I'm going to build me a new system in the near future as well. Mainly for Everquest 2, Half life 2, Doom 3, and world of warcraft.
Should be a great Fall for gaming. Doom 3 comes out Aug 3rd, in case you don't already know

[john802]

I was able to attend and experienced first hand E-3 Expo at L.A. Convention Center a few months ago the next gaming engine that will power the next generation of games as a guest of Cosmi Corporation. I even saw some LCD with <10 ms pixel-response time.

[robottik]

Originally posted by DrDon
What video card is coming with your Dell setup Robottik? The two most important things your going to need to run Doom3 is a great CPU and a new high end video card.

Absolutely... The video card I ordered is an ATI X800 XT, their newest one.

You're P4 should be sufficient, althought I *cough* hate intel and you get more bang for your buck with an AMD Athlon 64 chip. As for you wanting to wait for PCIExpress-I wouldn't hold your breath as their is not much performance increase in real world applications or gaming at the moment. This will probably change in the distant future, but as for now when taking a x800 AGP 8X vs. x800 PCIE there is nearly identical performance.

Yes I realize PCI-express isn't going to give me any performance gains at this early stage, but I wanted a mobo with (at least a little) future-proofing. Of course Intel changes their roadmaps all the time so who knows if the board will even be compatible with their chips after a year.

Also, there are some Flat panel monitors out there with a sub 12ms response time. Even those ones reviewed with a sub 12ms response time aren't up to par with a good quality CRT for gaming. If this is going to be a primariy gaming machine, you should go for a CRT, IMHO.

All true. But I am a cheapskate at heart. I got that 20" LCD for something around $600 (after I applied all the deals and coupons) so I just couldn't resist. It normally goes for $800+.

If it really doesn't work out then I could return it and stick with my 19" CRT I have right now. Or give the LCD to my wife. I'm sure she won't mind!

I'm going to build me a new system in the near future as well. Mainly for Everquest 2, Half life 2, Doom 3, and world of warcraft.
Should be a great Fall for gaming. Doom 3 comes out Aug 3rd, in case you don't already know

Yessir! I already have DOOM 3 preordered at a local EB. And after that we've got HL2 and all the rest this fall, like you said.

[robottik]

Originally posted by allanbiats
I am really pleased with the overall experience and I'll be looking to replace our notebook pc with a Dell from the Outlet Store soon.

I have friends who've also bought from the Dell Outlet and were very happy with the experience.

[robottik]

Originally posted by Oahu_Dave
Cant wait for Doom 3 and Half Life 2...

Ahh yes... Half-Life 2

[RipRocK]

I didn't know whether to start a new thread or just to add to this one, but since it's still Doom 3 related, I thought I'd post it in here.

Just came across this MOD . I found it really awkward to have to switch between the flashlight and my weapon of choice, but this really nicely solves that problem.

Just read the readme file. Have fun!

[robottik]

Originally posted by RipRocK
I didn't know whether to start a new thread or just to add to this one, but since it's still Doom 3 related, I thought I'd post it in here.

Just came across this MOD . I found it really awkward to have to switch between the flashlight and my weapon of choice, but this really nicely solves that problem.

Just read the readme file. Have fun!

Yes I've been using that mod also. Makes the game more playable in all those dark areas!