I'm a long-time console gamer but I'm thinking about putting together a gaming PC rig. I really have no idea where to start and I don't want to spend way too much money. As such, I'm looking at this list set up found at NeoGAF for a sub-$600 PC as a starting point:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=12124614

1. How well could this PC be estimated to play Crysis 2 (settings, resolution, etc.)

2. How well would it handle Crysis and Crysis Warhead?

3. If I were willing to spend $100 or so more than that, what changes would you suggest?

Thanks guys!

I have a new suggestion on the memory for you... It is the same model and everything, but these have heatspreaders on them and are the exact same price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231274

I suggest this as a different Power Supply, that is the one part you do not want to skimp out on, its on sale so its the same price as the one you have selected: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339002

You should be just fine sticking with the stock AMD heatsink provided if you do not plan on overclocking sky high.

Athlons are not going to last you too long for gaming and you would need to upgrade soon... It is only a bit more money for this, but you will benefit from a better architecture: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103916

New motherboard, it has a better northbridge: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138193

This should be much better and yet it will only cost you $30 extra or so. Everything else looks great, you could easily handle Crysis 2 maxed out with these specs, and it will run good on Crysis and Crysis Warhead. With an extra $100, if I were you I would just get a better processor, maybe this instead of the Athlon you had selected: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103851


Good luck!

We don't know the specs for Crysis 2 yet but I would guess that the system you linked to should be a good system for Crysis 2. I have a GTX460, it's a good card at the price range. To go faster you would have to spend silly money on just the GFX and you probably won't need more for Crysis 2.

What resolution do you intend to game at?

We don't know the specs for Crysis 2 yet but I would guess that the system you linked to should be a good system for Crysis 2. I have a GTX460, it's a good card at the price range. To go faster you would have to spend silly money on just the GFX and you probably won't need more for Crysis 2.

What resolution do you intend to game at?
Actually, as I'm toying with this idea, I'm thinking of this as a pure living room gaming PC, hooked up to a 55-inch 1080P 3D LED.

In that case you might consider getting the 1GB version of the GTX460. Probably cost another 10-20 bucks dependant upon which version you get but for high resolutions and other effects like AA etc it might be worthwhile.

That card 'should' be able to handle most modern games at fullHD. Crysis averages around 30fps at 'cheap very high' for me with my GTX4601GB and I would expect Crysis 2 to be less demanding. Even today there are very few single solution cards that can really max Crysis at fullHD and remain over 40fps.

Thanks a lot guys. I'd be completely lost otherwise and I really appreciate the advice.

In that case you might consider getting the 1GB version of the GTX460. Probably cost another 10-20 bucks dependant upon which version you get but for high resolutions and other effects like AA etc it might be worthwhile.

That card 'should' be able to handle most modern games at fullHD. Crysis averages around 30fps at 'cheap very high' for me with my GTX4601GB and I would expect Crysis 2 to be less demanding. Even today there are very few single solution cards that can really max Crysis at fullHD and remain over 40fps.
I see there are several different brands of 1 gig GTX460s. Does it matter which you go with or should I just price shop?

In that case you might consider getting the 1GB version of the GTX460. Probably cost another 10-20 bucks dependant upon which version you get but for high resolutions and other effects like AA etc it might be worthwhile.

That card 'should' be able to handle most modern games at fullHD. Crysis averages around 30fps at 'cheap very high' for me with my GTX4601GB and I would expect Crysis 2 to be less demanding. Even today there are very few single solution cards that can really max Crysis at fullHD and remain over 40fps.
I see there are several different brands of 1 gig GTX460s. Does it matter which you go with or should I just price shop?

You can pretty much price shop, however, you are going to want to try and get the one with a higher core clock and shader clock if you are looking at cards that are only $10 different or so.

You can pretty much price shop, however, you are going to want to try and get the one with a higher core clock and shader clock if you are looking at cards that are only $10 different or so.
Thanks again. One more question (well, for the moment)...

Like I said earlier, I have a 3D-ready TV and active shutter 3D glasses. Will this rig allow me to play Crysis 2 in 3D on my television or is there more to it than that with a PC?

I own a Gtx 280 so im pretty much in the same league with the 460 except for Dx11 exclusive features.
( the proof http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Axle/GeForce_GTX_460_768_MB/images/perfrel.gif)

You wont be able to play a maxed out Crysis/ Warhead @ 1920 × 1080 at good overall framerates with a GTX 460.
Ive played both and even with the better performing mster config @ 1680 * 1024 i get framedrops below 25 FPS sometimes.Only a few very expensive cards like the Gtx 295 and GTX 480 are really capable for your kind of demands so that the framerate wont drop below 25 FPS @ Full Hd resolution.

You can pretty much price shop, however, you are going to want to try and get the one with a higher core clock and shader clock if you are looking at cards that are only $10 different or so.
Thanks again. One more question (well, for the moment)...

Like I said earlier, I have a 3D-ready TV and active shutter 3D glasses. Will this rig allow me to play Crysis 2 in 3D on my television or is there more to it than that with a PC?

Since Crysis 2 has Stereoscopic 3D already and the GTX 460 is 3D capable, that should be possible.

Make sure you get the 1GB version of the GTX 460 or you will get some frame rate issues on higher resolutions...

You can run Crysis 2 on Very High 1680X1050 smoothly. Get a GTX460 EVGA Super Overclock, that is cheaper and far more powerful than the card you have.

We don't know the specs for Crysis 2 yet but I would guess that the system you linked to should be a good system for Crysis 2. I have a GTX460, it's a good card at the price range. To go faster you would have to spend silly money on just the GFX and you probably won't need more for Crysis 2.

What resolution do you intend to game at?
Actually, as I'm toying with this idea, I'm thinking of this as a pure living room gaming PC, hooked up to a 55-inch 1080P 3D LED.

Don't mean to rain on your parade, but there's a huge difference between PC monitors and LCD Tv's. I always thought there wasn't much difference either, till I tried to play Black Shark on my 42" LCD TV. It looked like ****. If you want big, you might try looking at something like a 30" PC monitor. It should look better at 1080p. I think they skimp a little on TV quality, thinking no one will ever really get close. The 42" showed what I expected, but it was glaring and just didn't look good up close. And for FPS and cockpit, you want to be close to feel like your in the game.

If you plan to get a 55" TV, get one with a good response time.

Well, I already have the TV, so I'm 'stuck' with that. It's a TV first and foremost, but I figured it could probably do a decent job for this as well. And getting a nice monitor would seriously blow my planned budget out of the water. If it's a big problem, I could consider it in the future perhaps, but for now I have a Samsung UN55C7000:

http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN55C7000WFXZA

I'm not as fussy as most (I still think most 360 and PS3 games look pretty damn impressive. I remember thinking Pitfall had awesome graphics on the 2600 in fact!), so I'll probably be pretty satisfied with the TV for gaming as long as everything works properly and the PC games look considerably better than the 360 and PS3 on it.

Well, I already have the TV, so I'm 'stuck' with that. It's a TV first and foremost, but I figured it could probably do a decent job for this as well. And getting a nice monitor would seriously blow my planned budget out of the water. If it's a big problem, I could about it in the future perhaps, but for now I have a Samsung UN55C7000:

http://www.samsung.com/us/video/tvs/UN55C7000WFXZA

I'm not as fussy as most (I still think most 360 and PS3 games look pretty damn impressive. I remember thinking Pitfall had awesome graphics on the 2600 in fact!), so I'll probably be pretty satisfied with the TV for gaming as long as everything works properly.
I recommend that when you have time to upgrade, run GTX460 EVGA Super Overclock in SLI. That will boost your performance a **** tonne.

You can run Crysis 2 on Very High 1680X1050 smoothly. Get a GTX460 EVGA Super Overclock, that is cheaper and far more powerful than the card you have.
Is this a 1GB card? I already decided I would shop around for 1GB rather than one listed in the link I provided.

Also, do you know if all GTX 460 cards are 1.4a HDMI? I see it listed on some but others just saw HDMI in the specs with no further detail.

Get as much fast memory on the video card as you can. Thats where most of the graphics elements are being stored.

Okay, based on everyone's greatly-appreciated help, I've made the following wish list.



Thoughts?

I also need to grab a case. Can I just grab any ole case, or is there anything in particular I should be looking for?

Get an Antec case, also change the card the the GTX460 EVGA Super Overclock 1gb.
The money you save on the graphics card means a better processor.

You should be looking at a mid-tower or full-tower case, and they are not as cheap as you think.

If you get an Antec Twelve Hundred case, you will not need to get a bigger case for an extremely long time.

If you decide the go with a smaller Antec Three Hundred or Antec Nine Hundred, they offer plenty of space for what you need.

You should be looking at a mid-tower or full-tower case, and they are not as cheap as you think.

If you get an Antec Twelve Hundred case, you will not need to get a bigger case for an extremely long time.

If you decide the go with a smaller Antec Three Hundred or Antec Nine Hundred, they offer plenty of space for what you need.
I have an Antec 900 2 and I'm pretty pleased with it.
Though, on second thought, you should get a mid tower Fractal Designs case. Those are smexy and will keep your temperatures down.