Please provide advice to Mac user building a Gaming PC

[MacUserMDM]

<I'm a Mac User who is building a PC strictly for gaming. I'm not switching to the PC. I'm going to continue to use my Macs for productivity. It's just that Macs suck for gaming. We have to wait 6 months to a year for ports that sometimes never come. Further, new games are requiring brand-new PowerMacs to run them.>

I'm looking at getting the Abit IC7 board because of the 800 FSB and because of the overclocking abilities of the board. Apart from that, I'm looking for some advice.

Do I get the P4 2.4 or 2.6, or should I spend the cash on the 2.8?
What video card to I get? There seems to be tons with the same numbers but from different companies (example- The ATI Radeon 750 is sold with the logo of a bunch of different companies). Are there differences?

How much memory should I start with?
Any other advice would be appreciated.


-Please keep in mind that I am so used the the simplicity of Macs. With Apple, you don't have seemingly endless choices when you want to buy or upgrade a computer.

[Oni]

I'm not too sure on the Intel scene, 'cause I run mainly AMD. But I think I can still help you out :)

For video card, industry best is currently the 9800 Pro 256. It's terribly expensive, however. You can go w/ a Radeon 9500 Pro, or a 9700 Non Pro or Pro for a reasonable amount of money, and still be close to the bleeding edge. Built By ATI cards are about the best. I'm not too well rounded on nVidia cards, so I'll leave that to somebody who knows about them to explain :)

As for RAM, you should get at least 768MB of good DDR. RAM is pretty cheep right now, iirc. Corsair makes excellent DDR. So does Samsung.

Which OS are you planning on running? I recommend Win2k, but lots of people like using WinXP. Seeing as you're used to MacOS, I suggest WinXP.

[Too Smart]

It really depends on how much money you're willing to spend.

Best bang for the buck video card now would probably be the Radeon 9500 (non-pro) for about $130-50. There is nothing that comes close to its performance for the same amount of money. But I could better recommend something if I knew your budget.

As for ram, I only have 256 mb and have not yet come across a game that I couldn't run smoothly at 1024x768 with all detail settings on high. But since ram is so cheap now there's no reason to get at least 512 megs.

Re: CPU/Mobo, I've been running AMD for several years now so I don't know about Pentium 4 CPU's or motherboards, but a 2.4 ghz P4 should run any game now or in the next couple of years just fine. If you look at the minimum requirements printed on the box for most games, it is usually around 800 mhz, and the recommended requirements are around 1.2 ghz. A good video card is more important.

[Too Smart]

Sorry, in the 2nd paragraph it should real "there's no reason NOT to get at least 512 megs."

[Oni]

Originally posted by Too Smart
As for ram, I only have 256 mb and have not yet come across a game that I couldn't run smoothly at 1024x768 with all detail settings on high. But since ram is so cheap now there's no reason to get at least 512 megs.

Battlefield: 1942

[funnyperson1]

Originally posted by Too Smart
Sorry, in the 2nd paragraph it should real "there's no reason NOT to get at least 512 megs."

You do know there is an edit button? :)

I recommend 512. Also I would get the 2.4 and overclock it.

As for video card, a 9600Pro should do you well for aroun 150$.

[NOThelagak]

i have the p4 2.533, and im very happy with it. i kinda doubt the 2.8 is worth the extra money right now. i have an nvidia Ti4600, and have no problems with it, and am very happy with the graphics. but i would still prolly have to recomend teh ati 9500 pro. or 9700 non pro. as for ram im running a gig of RD ram, and would recommend at least 512. BARE MINIMUM also, RD is propriatary, so i would go with the corsair DDR.

also a requirement is for you to go straight out and buy battlefield 1942. its essential :)

[TUK101]

Originally posted by Too Smart
It really depends on how much money you're willing to spend.


As for ram, I only have 256 mb and have not yet come across a game that I couldn't run smoothly at 1024x768 with all detail settings on high. But since ram is so cheap now there's no reason to get at least 512 megs.

Warcraft III runs much more smoothly on 512mb of ram and load times in pretty much any game are significantly reduced. WinXP runs optimally on 512mb of ram, and a lot of games run even better on even more than 512mb.

[BmanG17]

I think the intel 2.4Cs are currently the best overclockers for the buck if you are thinking about overclocking. I've seen many getting into 3ghz+ with these. Not exactly sure, but thats what i've been seeing.

-Gleason