What games are you looking to play?

Gaming laptops don't come cheap.

oblivion,skyrim and FO 3 and NV
for the hardcoe games i got my Xbox360 xD

Those are some pretty new (or new-ish) games. You're not going to find a "cheap" gaming laptop that will play all of them at decent settings--especially not if you start throwing mods into the picture, since even mod that don't replace textures, or add new areas to the game, etc. will eat up CPU and memory. That we don't know Skyrim's system specs yet makes the process more difficult, too.

FWIW, the http://www.buyxg.com/system/XG_Action_4000_Notebook/ from Xtreme Gear that could (maybe--I don't know my Nvidia cards as well as I do ATI, so I can't tell you what that video card's like) run New Vegas is $849USD before customization and shipping charges. Which isn't bad, but don't forget to factor in that laptops are not that upgradable. You could get a custom built desktop for that kind of money that you could upgrade and update in the future, which IMHO would be the better deal.

Gaming laptops also frequently suffer from overheating issues, being extremely large and heavy, shortened lifespans, and a penchant for devouring batteries for breakfast.

(Note that is coming from someone who used to have a gaming laptop (Compaq Presario X6000). It cost me a little over $1K and was, for its day, a very good gaming PC. I had to take steps to keep it from overheating though, and the svcker weighed almost ten pounds. I carried it through Heathrow and half of London once. I would know. Its battery life was never more than 1 1/2 hours, and it ate through batteries like nothing else. It was, however, extremely durable, has all its original parts save the monitor, and still works to this day. That laptop doesn't owe me a thing.

However...the day did come when it was badly outdated, and since it was a laptop going out and buying a new CPU or GPU wasn't much of an option. I got a custom built desktop about 2 years ago now and haven't looked back since: for me the ability to upgrade and do my own maintenance was a worthwhile trade off. I usually tell people these days that when it comes to gaming laptops, I was very lucky with mine and yes I loved that machine to bits, but I'd still recommend a custom built desktop instead.)

then do you have any good suggestions for a gaming desktop, like what i should put in it?

What's your budget? It'll help us put together something for you.

It would help if you started by answering these, from the first post:



FWIW Xtreme Gear's i7 builder http://www.buyxg.com/system/Core_i7_X58_Custom_Builder/ and is semi-decent, but if it were me I'd bump up the processor speed a little (not much, though), change the power supply to a brand I trust, and go for a better graphics card (and in my case an ATI, since like I said I know their cards better). That put me in the $950 range. Edit: forgot about the motherboard. Upgrading to a better motherboard got it to $1K.

1.) your budget in your country's currency, 3000
2.) what country you reside if not listed in your avatar area USA
3.) pre-assembled PC? ...or can you build your own? Either
4.) what is needed other than the PC tower? Monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, Windows OS disc? All these can jack up the price. Monitor, and M&K,
5.) product preferences, preferred seller, and intended aim Nvida
(I do want physx if i can those games where just for a laptop)

Can someone recommend another archive software (i.e. other than winrar)? One that is compatible all around and will still be accessible in the future, and most importantly, have checksum features built in.

http://www.7-zip.org/ seems to be quite popular.

Are all these programs the same in terms of preserving data accuracy?

If you need an internal card reader, this would be fine I suppose:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820132016

External:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223088

Most mid-tower ATX cases support Micro-ATX as well. Got a brand and model for the case you're using...it can be checked that way. Otherwise, you will have to determine by measuring the mounting hole locations.

Those games are relatively old enough so an Intel Chipset will manage pretty well.




Build it yourself since it's an option. I'm not going to suggest a $3K build simply because you don't need to spend that much. I will floss out the system within reason though. Unless you want to wait for AMD's Bulldozer processors to come out in June to compare, the platform to jump on right now is Intel's Sandybridge....the Core i5 2500K and Core i7 2600K are the two best CPUs right now and can be had cheap. They overclock like crazy as well. Motherboards right now are a bit scarce as vendors are fulfilling the mass recall on earlier boards due to over time faulty SATA II ports, but they should be well stocked in the coming weeks....basically, high demand right now. I myself have a Core i5 2500K and easily OCed it to 4.6GHz with room to go higher, but I don't see the need for it yet. Build proposal:

CASE+RAM Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.613846
CPU+PSU Combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.612843
MOBO: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-8P67PR3&title=Asus-P8P67-PRO-LGA1155-Intel-P67-B3-DDR3-Quad-CrossFireX-Quad-SLI-SATA3-USB3-0-A-GbE-ATX-Motherboard....or....http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MB-SAP67V3&title=Asus-SABERTOOTH-P67-Socket-1155-Intel-P67-B3-Quad-CrossFireX-Quad-SLI-SATA3-USB3-0-A-GbE-ATX-Motherboard Newegg is sold out as of this post....again, high demand.
SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227590
HDD Storage: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=HD-HD103SJ&title=Samsung-SpinPoint-F3-HD103SJ-1TB-SATA2-7200rpm-32MB-Hard-Drive
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130587
CPU Cooler: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Cooling-High-performance-Cooler-CWCH50-1/dp/B002QG2H7K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1301385339&sr=8-1
LCD: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=320-8277...or...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236104&Tpk=asus%20vg236he
MOUSE: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Performance-Optical-Gaming-Mouse/dp/B0007Z1M50/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1301386525&sr=8-2...or....http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104318&Tpk=logitech%20g500
KB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175012&Tpk=cyborg%20keyboard....or....http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Illuminated-Ultrathin-Keyboard-Backlighting/dp/B001F51G16/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1301386920&sr=1-8...whatever works for you



All that should be under $2250 not factoring in shipping and taxes (if any tax). Some notes:

- There is a black color of the same case, but it will break the combo deal with the RAM unfortunately. It's a stellar case.

- I chose the Core i5 2500K as it performs just as well as the Core i7 2600K in games. Only get the 2600K if you're actually going to make use of the Hyperthreading....meaning hardcoe video rendering and/or encoding, folding 24/7, etc. Otherwise, save the $100 with the 2500K. The 2500K is pretty good in those categories too.

- If you need extra case fans, Scythe S-flex and Scythe GentleTyphoon fans are excellent.

perfect and that white case is insanely cool looking, what would it run tho

Welcome back.

I was just thinking of you a couple weeks ago, wonder what had come of you.

Anyone?

Disable any unnecessary startup/background programs using msconfig?

Everything. Add $100 if you don't have a Windows 7 disc though.

Anything and everything.

Forgot the DVD drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204&cm_re=asus_sata_dvd-_-27-135-204-_-Product


BluRay Drive?:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106346&cm_re=lite-on_bluray-_-27-106-346-_-Product

Already done so.

I'm looking to put together a little server box for my friends and I for mostly minecraft and various other games and I was deciding between an AMD Athlon II X2 255 and an Intel Pentium E5700. Intel or AMD?

Thanks for the help with the system guys. I need to verify the case does accept the Micro ATX board, I am not sure of the model of it so I really can't look it up. I was told just to pick any new case that it will fit in so that isn't such a big deal.

Anyone recommend a graphics card for around ￡200-￡250, I'm in the UK and have a PCI-e slot for it with a pretty beefy corsair power supply.

Also, what's the procedure to follow to make sure you get RAM that's compatible with the existing RAM in the system? I'm looking to move from 4GB to 8GB.


Thank you kindly

lets see how much i got left at the end of everything else haha

Not quite sure where pounds or whatever those are will get you but for about 225-250 USD you can get a GTX 560 or an HD 6950. Both of those are pretty close and i'd say get whichever you prefer.

I have that case its huge and looks even better in person.

The E5700 will be faster, but it is also on an obsolete platform (LGA 775). The AMD route will get you more modern options with the right board (8xx chipset based ones), but I find this chip to be more worthwhile than the X2 255:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103920&cm_re=amd_x3-_-19-103-920-_-Product

The Phenom X2 555 is also quite the bang for buck as it usually can be unlocked to be a quad-core with 7xx and 8xx chipset boards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846&cm_re=x2_555-_-19-103-846-_-Product




Best bang for buck card for that price range is the 2GB Radeon 6950: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/250396...or...http://www.ebuyer.com/product/250401

These cards can be BIOS flashed to unlock shaders and perform as well as a Radeon 6970. I have the XFX card and have done this BIOS flash...it's pretty simple to do and is all over the web on how to do it. Be sure to pick one of the cards linked because vendors are starting to release versions of the card that do not have a dual-BIOS switch and there's a chance they cannot be unlocked or flashed at all.

Guide I followed to unlock Shaders:
http://www.overclock.net/ati/923129-hd-6950-810-1250-mhz-shader.html

This method unlocks shaders, but uses a modified 6950 BIOS. There's another method that literally flashes a Radeon 6970 BIOS to the card, but I have my concerns of the card not being able to handle the timings, so I went with the modified 6950 route.


As for the RAM, you should match the specifications as closely as possible to avoid issues....preferably the exact same sticks brand and model-wise. If mixing and matching is the only option, then match the speed and timings as close as possible to your existing RAM. CPU-Z will certainly reveal the type of memory you are using:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

Be forewarned....there is still the possibility of your motherboard being picky about what you're mixing as well.





New thread:
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1176772-the-community-tech-thread-no-98/