Deployment + Gaming...

[sHape oF gReY]

OK first of all, sorry if this does not belong in here, its just that I'm about to roll out the wire for a mission here in a bit and just wanted to put this where it would get some good traffic...:(

Anyway to the point. I'm currently deployed to Iraq for the next 12-16 months and to be frank, there isnt much to do here besides going to the gym, eating and sleeping in between missions. So i figured I'd get back into WoW so i looked around for a decent lappy that would run it and ended up running into a lot of new games coming out this year that Id really like to have a crack that, but to get a lappy that would run a lot of that stuff is pretty darn expensive like most of you probably know so I thought I'd try and go the desktop route.

So here's my deal, I've been away from the OC scene for quite some time now so so I'm not quite up to speed on a lot of things. Just wanted to know what my options are. Preferably for something compact (our hooch isnt all that roomy hehe) and relatively cool...gets a bit toasty round here this time of year. Price isnt too much of an issue but preferably <2000.

Any kind of ideas or pointers in the right direction would be much appreciated.

~cheers lads

[TDubbs05]

well this is in the wrong place but i can see that you want some quick replies. Well as sad as it is Intel does kinda own the laptop market. Grab something with a Core 2 duo in it. (2.0 ghz and up and you'll be fine) Graphics is where you'll really want to focus. I know AMD should be realeasing it's x1900 mobility soon which should be great but not sure when it's gonna come out. As of right now I believe the x1700 mobility is the best you can find in most places but that'll be plenty for WOW. If i were you i'd start looking around for x1900 mobilities so you can be set with something that will last for as long as possible.

you could always look into building a desktop into a breifcase or soemthing...hehe

P.S. Best of luck to you out there. Your service is much apprieciated!

[sHape oF gReY]

Yeah i've seen a few X1900Ms floating around but anything with one in it is 3000+. So I was thinking about building a small desktop using possibly one of those mini cases, thats actually what I was asking about. Just some ideas for components...basically looking to play WoW, Stalker, SC, hell maybe even Crysis but that may be a bit out of reach of todays technology.

So yeah just looking for some ideas for parts to pack into a small tower, that can take some OCing but also take the heat, both environmental and its own. Or maybe if it isnt worth making a small one, maybe pack it all into a medium tower.

Again, thanks for any and all replies.:)

~cheers

[WonderingSoul]

I know there are ones with GO7600 256mb boards out there you could check out. I think HP makes it. It has C2D support as well.

[sHape oF gReY]

Ok did some looking around while US is sleeping hehe, found a case (TT VF1000BWS) but everything else is blowing my mind. CPU-wise, what does AMD have to match up C2D, as much as I hate to say it (being an AMD guy for years now) from what I've been hearing from the guys here and reading up on the net, C2D is giving AMD a run for their money. Are these rumors true or is it fan boy-ism talking? What would be a good AMD CPU solution?

[SeasonalEclipse]

Yeah id go with either the 7600, or 1700 for a laptop. If you did get a desktop then you can spend the same ammount as you would for the laptop and get better stuff (but loose mobility of course.) Yes, Intel is winning in the performance charts currently, but AMD is still got the best bang for the buck..

[sHape oF gReY]

Thats what I was afraid of. Right now I'm pretty much set on putting together a MicroATX rig together. But it seems all the manufacturers are rolling out with new stuff in next few months in both CPU (Intel's QuadCore) and GPU(8800s) department, especially with DX10 being around the corner. But as far as laptop vs desktop goes, from what I've seen you can easily get an equal if not better desktop setup for half the price of a good lappy.

Seems as soon as you hit the ORDER button, theres something better out heh.

[Jon]

I was in the Army too. Let's not use it as an excuse to post out of section again. It'll get deleted.

On a lighter note, I wish you and your mates a safe deployment.

[sHape oF gReY]

My mistake, Jon, and thanks :)

Anyhow here's what I've come up so far:

Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133035)
Mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131014)
CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103759)
GPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102067)

Could something like this handle STALKER/SC/C&C/Crysis?

Any ideas, comments or concerns?

[Mr. Chambers]

IMO, you're making a mistake if you don't buy a C2D at this point in time. I did a great deal of research before building my system a couple months ago, and unless something has changed in that time - AMD had nothing to compete with an overclocked C2D, especially considering you said price wasn't really an option.

Keep in mind this is coming from someone who ran nothing but AMD since his 500mhz Celeron...

[Elif Tymes]

Shape of Grey:

You can generally find pretty sweet gaming laptops for cheap on Notebook forums.. They'll generally be slightly used, but most are in good condition. Ask for pictures, etc.

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread192237.html - has a 7800 Go in it, 17" Screen, for $1000.

http://www.notebookforums.com/thread192831.html - has a 7900GTX 512MB for $2000 + shipping.

like I said, some sweet deals on there, just browse around on their FS/FT Section and you'll find a great lappy.

[sHape oF gReY]

Elif, I greatly appreciate your input (saved me a lot of looking around). but I asked around and found out that we can in fact ship stuff back up to 70lb so I think I'll be going with a MicroATX box. Originally i was looking for a lappy because we were told that we could not ship anything over 10lb back home and I really didn't want to leave anything behind.

Mr. Chambers do you have any suggestions for a decent C2D microATX mobo? And should i roll with 6400 or the 6600.

Again, much love for the replies. I'll try to put together an updated list here in a bit. The 320Mb 8800 is looking mighty compelling vs the X1950.

~cheers mates

[SteveLord]

When I was deployed to Cuba (and my guys actually replaced the 29th Div there) I converted my full ATX comp, into a Shuttle case and then bought an LCD monitor from newegg.

One of my buddies spent $3000 on a new laptop, and my computer was still faster than his.

So you got to find out whats more important to you. Ultra mobility...or less mobility, but better gaming power.

Personally, I think "gaming laptops" a waste. You have to pour so much money to get one that will last, they're heavy and they eat up battery life. I use my laptop for surfing and maybe some mild oldschool single player games that are still fun to play.

[sHape oF gReY]

Steve, right on brother.

Ok so here's what im looking at right now:

Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811133035)
Mobo (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?Item=N82E16813131041)
CPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004)
RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034)
GPU (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130038)

If that works out, just need to find a monster PSU and some storage and it should be ready to rock and roll.

What do you guys think?

[Springbok]

Hmm, I'd be wary of putting a gaming rig into a small case, my buddy just made a similar system in Silverstone's microATX offering and he was experiencing heat issues right off the bat. He also had a core2duo and an 8800GTS in there and his idle CPU temps were through the roof! Might just be that silverstone case, but I wouldn't be surprised if you had similar issues. You might want to think about replacing those 60mm rear fans with some more powerful ones if you do have high idle temps.

[Surfrider77]

Thing is, the Conroes run extremely cool. They are well known to get overclocks even when undervolting them! I wouldnt hesitate 1 second to drop a C2D chip into a microATX box. My girlfriend has a mediocre gaming rig that has an old P4, X850 XT PE, 2G Ram all into a Shuttle case. We nicknamed it "toaster" because thats about how big it is.

Definitely stick to the C2D chips, my friend. This is coming from someone who previously owned an FX60 AMD system. There is A LOT more room for overclocking and they run much much cooler.

[John G]

I think you're on a good track. I would probably build something very similar if I were doing the same. I definitely like small form factor over laptop, and Core 2 Duo's over anything AMD has right now unless price point just has to be below what C2D's can be had for...and, this is coming from someone with an AMD chip currently. Both of the video cards you linked are at the top of my list for value. Spend some time researching mobo's if you haven't already...those typically require the most investigation to find what's preferrable to any given user.

There might be some heat issues in a small case without much air flow. C2D's are terrific for performance/heat, so the video card will probably be your main heat producer. Worse case, you might end up wanting to modify your case to flow more air, but you'll probably be okay even if on the warm side.

[sHape oF gReY]

Yeah, from what I've been reading in my time off, seems desktop is the way to go. The only problem I'm having is finding a decent OC mobo in mATX format. The ones I've seen either have no voltage regulation whatsoever or have issues with OCing like no PCIe lock and NIC and storage controllers going out with even the minor OCing.

Anyone got some ideas. Right now looking like I'll have to run it stock or VERY close to it. :(


EDIT: Scratch the above. Got pointed to an Abit Fatal1tyF-I90HD LGA 775 board, and it looks to be a piece of work with a E4300. System is close to being complete hehe. Just debating weather or not to stick with 320 GTS (and wait for AIT to roll out X2xxx) or go to 640/768. Feel like a kid in a candy store again.

[greenmaji]

If you plan on overclocking the mATX platform is going to be limiting :-/

Have you considerd a small full ATX build?

The Abit mobo is suppose to be the best bet though (with a E6600 or Xeon 3060 it would have the most bang in the mATX platform E4300 being the cheaper
E6600/Xeon 3060 vs. E4300......E4300 has ~400mhz less overclocking headroom and ~5-15% performance hit from the 2mb (rather then 4mb) cache. So.. affectively ~580-1120mhz slower depending on application.. same with the newer allendales..
If you can fit it in your budget it might be worthwile (expecialy since the E6400's are real allendales for the most part now)