How cheapish? HD7950 will run any modern game excellently for $260, as mentioned above. regular GTX760 is also around there. If more cheaply, I have a pair of GTX560s I wouldn't horribly mind parting with. Though one of them is a bit broken.
I'm looking to spend $0 if possible, my GF needs a computer so I'm setting up my old Core 2 Quad for her to use. It's old, but still has plenty of power. Thanks for the offer of parts, but I think a few friends have stuff I can use closer.
I am very tempted to upgrade my computer. The 2009 i7-920 mega machine isn't performing 100% where I need it to be anymore.
I think I can still keep the core system for another year or more. I'm going to buy a few HDDs (SSD for OS, 2TB for striping when editing local video) and a new video card. At that point, CPU is only a bottleneck for actual renders, and I really don't care if they take 20 hours instead of 22.
The bandwidth available for the video card will be limited by the fact that my motherboard is ancient, but this does not appear as though it will have any impact on actual performance in real world scenarios.
I'm debating just getting a 780. The 680 hasn't had that much of a price dropoff yet.
I think it might be time for a complete overhaul - I'm a little behind modern technology.
The board itself isn't giving me trouble (and really, it's still not a bad piece of hardware), but the socket and memory are obsolete, making upgrades a bit of a losing proposition. At this point, I think my money would be better spent on a newer system.
It occurs to me that the vast majority of my needs would be fulfilled by something like a Steam Box - an HTPC that can play games. Something quiet, unobtrusive, that can play modern games (I don't care about full quality) if I want to, and that will serve my media needs.
I've been poking around at AMD's newest desktop APU's (Richland), and they seem pretty interesting. They actually have the ability to play modern games at not-unreasonable levels of quality, and I could hypothetically drop one in a mini-ITX board for a tiny-ass HTPC rig.
Of course, they're gearing up to release a new iteration of this technology some time late this year or early next year - and since I'm going to be moving, it'll probably be at least that long before I'm willing to throw money at something. Maybe I'll wait it out and see what their new tech is going to bring.
What does the forum think of this APU thing? I've read conflicting opinions about builds that use them - I could probably have a more powerful system if I step up to micro-ATX with discrete graphics, but there is something appealing about a tiny-ass HTPC that can also play games. An all-in-one entertainment console that is less constrained than, say, an Xbox.
e: http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/ < for streaming just about any type of video from your current computer to the PS3, then enjoy a superior gameing experience offered by the slick black shell of Sony's baby.
e: http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/ < for streaming just about any type of video from your current computer to the PS3, then enjoy a superior gameing experience offered by the slick black shell of Sony's baby.
e: http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/ < for streaming just about any type of video from your current computer to the PS3, then enjoy a superior gameing experience offered by the slick black shell of Sony's baby.
Wow. PS3 can play every type of media.
If you have a PC to do all the work for it!
Yeah but then he can play an extensive library of excellent Playstation games and wouldn't have to upgrade his PC. I can also share my account w/ you Pete so you'd have access to my games and stuff. But whatever, I'm just saying it's a good option if you just wanna play some games and watch some shit and don't wanna spend a bunch of money/time upgrading your computer!!
Anyway, getting an HTPC is only different from getting a regular PC in the following ways:
1) You might get a sideways case 2) You might make quietness a higher priority 3) Your video card MUST have HDMI output (almost all do) 4) Gotta get some sort of small wireless mouse/keyboard/peripherals
e: http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/ < for streaming just about any type of video from your current computer to the PS3, then enjoy a superior gameing experience offered by the slick black shell of Sony's baby.
Wow. PS3 can play every type of media.
If you have a PC to do all the work for it!
Yeah but then he can play an extensive library of excellent Playstation games and wouldn't have to upgrade his PC. I can also share my account w/ you Pete so you'd have access to my games and stuff. But whatever, I'm just saying it's a good option if you just wanna play some games and watch some shit and don't wanna spend a bunch of money/time upgrading your computer!!
Extensive library of PS3 games, eh? How extensive is that really? Let us count the PS3 games worth playing that are exclusive.
I finished counting.
And let us not forget the near infinite quantities of games available on PC outside of Steam, including the complete emulated libraries of all but the newest consoles, also MAME.
And how much do those games cost on PS3 versus PC where most games are free or insanely discounted?
Really, you have to let the PS3 fanboy middle school console war thing go already. It's as over as the Civil War. Stop being the crazy confederate guy who think's it's still game on.
Yeah, I was looking at that exact thing. Tomshardware just did their latest builder marathon article on tiny-ass builds. A processor plus a discrete low-profile video card seems to be a very solid way to go. I'm just really really into the concept of a very tiny all-in-one low power draw solution.
Anyway, getting an HTPC is only different from getting a regular PC in the following ways:
1) You might get a sideways case 2) You might make quietness a higher priority 3) Your video card MUST have HDMI output (almost all do) 4) Gotta get some sort of small wireless mouse/keyboard/peripherals
1 and 2 are actually good things - something that unobtrusively fits into the living room and doesn't have a huge footprint.
The HDMI thing, believe it or not, is like 85% of the reason that an upgrade is needed. I only got an HDTV like 2 months ago (ancient CRT before that), so HDMI wasn't really a concern. So you know what I found out? The GTX260 (which is evidently still a decent video card aside from being incompatible with DX11) doesn't have audio built into its HDMI port; you have to run cables from the SPDIF header on your motherboard to the card.
Except my mobo doesn't have an SPDIF header. Or at least, not one that I can hook shit up to.
And, for reasons I cannot fathom, my TV doesn't seem to like the idea of pulling video from an HDMI cable but audio from another source.
I could grab a different video card with built-in audio, but once I started looking at slapping new video cards into an aging core, it just became apparent that an overhaul is more efficient.
Yeah but then he can play an extensive library of excellent Playstation games and wouldn't have to upgrade his PC. I can also share my account w/ you Pete so you'd have access to my games and stuff. But whatever, I'm just saying it's a good option if you just wanna play some games and watch some shit and don't wanna spend a bunch of money/time upgrading your computer!!
Extensive library of PS3 games, eh? How extensive is that really? Let us count the PS3 games worth playing that are exclusive.
I finished counting.
Gran Turismo 5
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Gran Turismo 6
Gran Turismo HD Concept
GTI Club+: Rally Cote d'Azur
Infamous
Infamous 2
Heavy Rain
Initial D Extreme Stage
Little Big Planet
Little Big Planet 2
Virtua Fighter
Journey
Katamari Forever
Formula One Championship Edition
Flower
Tekken Revolution
Time Crisis 4
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Twisted Metal
Count again. Seriously, Scott, not everyone likes the same games you do.
And, for reasons I cannot fathom, my TV doesn't seem to like the idea of pulling video from an HDMI cable but audio from another source.
No TV will do this. You are failing because you are using your shitty TV speakers. Get some sort of audio system up ins.
Yes yes yes. Once I have money raining from the fucking sky and I'm in my awesome new not-a-shoebox-filled-with-beer-and-yarn apartment. No room for a worthwhile audio system in my current place.
And then of course, we still have the issue of an obtrusive (and loud) tower setup with old hardware. If I'm plunking down for an audio system, I might as well update the rest of the hardware and get something that I want.
I guess if you're a racing game fanatic who likes Gran Turismo more than Forza, and you just HAVE to play the newest one.
Also 22 games is a really small number.
Let's count how many of those 22 exclusive games will be emulateable on PC sometime that is sooner than you expect.
22
How many PC games will never be available on any other platform ever? Effectively infinity because it is impossible for any one person to play them all in a single lifetime.
Really, you have to let the PS3 fanboy middle school console war thing go already. It's as over as the Civil War. Stop being the crazy confederate guy who think's it's still game on.
The War is always on, my friend. And you can bury my fanboyism with me in my PS3 slim shaped piano black coffin *lifts up muscle shirt to reveal full torso tat of Kazuo Hirai*
Comments
I think I can still keep the core system for another year or more. I'm going to buy a few HDDs (SSD for OS, 2TB for striping when editing local video) and a new video card. At that point, CPU is only a bottleneck for actual renders, and I really don't care if they take 20 hours instead of 22.
The bandwidth available for the video card will be limited by the fact that my motherboard is ancient, but this does not appear as though it will have any impact on actual performance in real world scenarios.
I'm debating just getting a 780. The 680 hasn't had that much of a price dropoff yet.
The board itself isn't giving me trouble (and really, it's still not a bad piece of hardware), but the socket and memory are obsolete, making upgrades a bit of a losing proposition. At this point, I think my money would be better spent on a newer system.
It occurs to me that the vast majority of my needs would be fulfilled by something like a Steam Box - an HTPC that can play games. Something quiet, unobtrusive, that can play modern games (I don't care about full quality) if I want to, and that will serve my media needs.
I've been poking around at AMD's newest desktop APU's (Richland), and they seem pretty interesting. They actually have the ability to play modern games at not-unreasonable levels of quality, and I could hypothetically drop one in a mini-ITX board for a tiny-ass HTPC rig.
Of course, they're gearing up to release a new iteration of this technology some time late this year or early next year - and since I'm going to be moving, it'll probably be at least that long before I'm willing to throw money at something. Maybe I'll wait it out and see what their new tech is going to bring.
What does the forum think of this APU thing? I've read conflicting opinions about builds that use them - I could probably have a more powerful system if I step up to micro-ATX with discrete graphics, but there is something appealing about a tiny-ass HTPC that can also play games. An all-in-one entertainment console that is less constrained than, say, an Xbox.
e: http://www.ps3mediaserver.org/ < for streaming just about any type of video from your current computer to the PS3, then enjoy a superior gameing experience offered by the slick black shell of Sony's baby.
If you have a PC to do all the work for it!
On the other hand, I can probably get one on the cheap once the PS4 comes out.
EDIT: Ah, I didn't poke into that. Sounds like the media center shit I run on my Wii.
Christ the Wii is so useless.
1) You might get a sideways case
2) You might make quietness a higher priority
3) Your video card MUST have HDMI output (almost all do)
4) Gotta get some sort of small wireless mouse/keyboard/peripherals
Done.
I finished counting.
And let us not forget the near infinite quantities of games available on PC outside of Steam, including the complete emulated libraries of all but the newest consoles, also MAME.
And how much do those games cost on PS3 versus PC where most games are free or insanely discounted?
Really, you have to let the PS3 fanboy middle school console war thing go already. It's as over as the Civil War. Stop being the crazy confederate guy who think's it's still game on.
Nah, I'd like something with a bit more flexibility than the Xbox. Yeah, I was looking at that exact thing. Tomshardware just did their latest builder marathon article on tiny-ass builds. A processor plus a discrete low-profile video card seems to be a very solid way to go. I'm just really really into the concept of a very tiny all-in-one low power draw solution. 1 and 2 are actually good things - something that unobtrusively fits into the living room and doesn't have a huge footprint.
The HDMI thing, believe it or not, is like 85% of the reason that an upgrade is needed. I only got an HDTV like 2 months ago (ancient CRT before that), so HDMI wasn't really a concern. So you know what I found out? The GTX260 (which is evidently still a decent video card aside from being incompatible with DX11) doesn't have audio built into its HDMI port; you have to run cables from the SPDIF header on your motherboard to the card.
Except my mobo doesn't have an SPDIF header. Or at least, not one that I can hook shit up to.
And, for reasons I cannot fathom, my TV doesn't seem to like the idea of pulling video from an HDMI cable but audio from another source.
I could grab a different video card with built-in audio, but once I started looking at slapping new video cards into an aging core, it just became apparent that an overhaul is more efficient.
That's not a very large piece, but I'd like to focus on a compact build.
- Gran Turismo 5
- Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
- Gran Turismo 6
- Gran Turismo HD Concept
- GTI Club+: Rally Cote d'Azur
- Infamous
- Infamous 2
- Heavy Rain
- Initial D Extreme Stage
- Little Big Planet
- Little Big Planet 2
- Virtua Fighter
- Journey
- Katamari Forever
- Formula One Championship Edition
- Flower
- Tekken Revolution
- Time Crisis 4
- Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
- Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
- Twisted Metal
Count again. Seriously, Scott, not everyone likes the same games you do.And then of course, we still have the issue of an obtrusive (and loud) tower setup with old hardware. If I'm plunking down for an audio system, I might as well update the rest of the hardware and get something that I want.
Also 22 games is a really small number.
Let's count how many of those 22 exclusive games will be emulateable on PC sometime that is sooner than you expect.
22
How many PC games will never be available on any other platform ever? Effectively infinity because it is impossible for any one person to play them all in a single lifetime.