OK, So i've been out of action for a while now, using a laptop with an nvidia 7600gs built in (that thing gets HOT!)
as you may have seen, I recently setup my 1.5 year old PC as a gaming system, with a 7600gs in. I screwed the system fan into the gfx card heatsing and chopped an amazing 12c off the operating temp, bringing it down to 52c during heavy usage! :D (a few days ago, this system fried a GFX card...) I was able to OC this by 25% and get smooth framerate in Test Drive Unlimited at 1600x1020! :D
So, yesterday I got some wierd sound out of my sound card. Its a few years old so I figured it was wearing out, so I default to onboard sound. System wouldnt boot!
So i'm going to guess my mobo's on its way out. The PSU is new so it's not going to be that just yet...
Since i'm out of practice, I have no idea whats actually the latest hardware is. What would I go for? I'm not specifically looking for an uber-system. I don't need SLI. though It would be nice to be able to run games at 1920x1020, I don't expect to be able to do that just yet, however, making an upgrade path available would be nice.
QUESTION: What would I go for for a decent gaming rig?
So what kit would I go for? I almost bought some 8600gts, but after looking online they actually UNDERperform compared to the 7600 I already have..... and also found out I needed a new PSU!
What I need:
Motherboard.
Processor. (IC2Ds I suppose are the best these days. Quad cores maybe, but I dont see the need just yet.)
PSU. (what would I need these days, surely not 1000w!??)
Ram.
Graphics card. (Low power yet high performance.)
The system needs to be capable of running Windows AND Ubuntu.... (My current systems can't play sound!?)
I dont want to spend £1500 on this thing, £1000 is about it. I need it to run games, not encode videos at 1h per minute....
[edit]
Note that I'll probably buy a new x360 before buying a new PC. The idea of using the PC was to save money and avoid buying the x360 ;)
as you may have seen, I recently setup my 1.5 year old PC as a gaming system, with a 7600gs in. I screwed the system fan into the gfx card heatsing and chopped an amazing 12c off the operating temp, bringing it down to 52c during heavy usage! :D (a few days ago, this system fried a GFX card...) I was able to OC this by 25% and get smooth framerate in Test Drive Unlimited at 1600x1020! :D
So, yesterday I got some wierd sound out of my sound card. Its a few years old so I figured it was wearing out, so I default to onboard sound. System wouldnt boot!
So i'm going to guess my mobo's on its way out. The PSU is new so it's not going to be that just yet...
Since i'm out of practice, I have no idea whats actually the latest hardware is. What would I go for? I'm not specifically looking for an uber-system. I don't need SLI. though It would be nice to be able to run games at 1920x1020, I don't expect to be able to do that just yet, however, making an upgrade path available would be nice.
QUESTION: What would I go for for a decent gaming rig?
So what kit would I go for? I almost bought some 8600gts, but after looking online they actually UNDERperform compared to the 7600 I already have..... and also found out I needed a new PSU!
What I need:
Motherboard.
Processor. (IC2Ds I suppose are the best these days. Quad cores maybe, but I dont see the need just yet.)
PSU. (what would I need these days, surely not 1000w!??)
Ram.
Graphics card. (Low power yet high performance.)
The system needs to be capable of running Windows AND Ubuntu.... (My current systems can't play sound!?)
I dont want to spend £1500 on this thing, £1000 is about it. I need it to run games, not encode videos at 1h per minute....
[edit]
Note that I'll probably buy a new x360 before buying a new PC. The idea of using the PC was to save money and avoid buying the x360 ;)