NEW , Need help Upgrading

[Aastii]

BFBC2 + C2D = poor fps (40 max, average around 25-30) on medium settings. Having tried to use one overclocked to 3.6GHz (E6750) with a GTX460, which will be able to, with a decent CPU, plow through the game at max settings at high resolutions, I can tell you, it doesn't work at all wekk.

WoW, saw ~20fps gain with a quad core over my tri @3.2GHz, effectively giving myself a 955BE

CoD4, WaW and MW2, saw around 15-20 fps, about a 25% increase, with a tri core over a dual core.

For console ports, did you try MW2, MoH or BO, they played shockingly at release, and even now, BO is still full of bugs and unable to play as it should on current hardware. If anything, games designed for PC will work better than console ports, because the console ports are not designed for PC, it is the same as how even though a PS2, by todays standards, is ancient technology, you still need a pretty decent computer to run an emulator. To run console games on PC, even if they are ported to work straight on a PC rather than an emulator, the performance doesn't reflect the extra power that you have.

Also, why go and spend money on cheap components, rather than higher quality ones that will last longer, or when the chance for upgrade comes, will sell for more? There is a reason that you got the system for $300, and that is because you went to brands such as Biostar, Rosewill, and went for Kingston value RAM.

Biostar make some of the most awful computer components, and I would sooner go to the likes of ECS than them, because you are looking at 0 overclockability compared to better brands (Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, ASRock, eVGA), which sure, isn't a massive factor for most systems, but to a low end gaming system, squeezeing out as much power as possible through overclocking is pretty much vital, and you are putting your system at massive risk by having such low quality capacitors and phases especially, which to put the words Biostar and qulity together is laughable. Also, look at the board that you posted, 2 RAM slots, a daft place for the 24 pin mobo connector that will either block airflow for the CPU HSF, will be morelikely to cause damage to the board stretching it over it, and will reduce airflow through the case.

Rosewill are so highly over rated, for a case, it doesn't make THAT much difference, though putting a reasonably long (just over 8") video card in that case, you are going to limit the number of hard drives you can fit in there as the connectors on the back of the card and on the HDD will be blocking each other and the PCIe and the SATA + HDD power cables block a lot of airflow through the case from the front fans, causing higher temperatures inside the case due to more stagnant air. You don't need a super duper expensive case, but spending an extra $20 or so to get better cable management, more room and a better design is much more worth it.

The power supply, it is Antec, which is a good choice, but look at the connectors it comes with, it lacks the PCIe cable required for the card, it doesn't have enough connectors for any upgrades past what is there, it is a solid unit for a basic system, but for a gaming system, it is absolutely not up to the standards...

@OP, by all means jump in and get the system listed, but note that there ARE massive issues with it, especially with being hasty with your purchase, rather than save up a little more. It is a forum, it is the internet, I can only say so much, but you came here for advice, I gave it pretty clearly why you shouldn't go and jump in and just get it, but it is your money and your time that would, in my honest opinion, be wasted

 

[VINMAN46]

this Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

+ the 4830

 

[foothead]

this Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

+ the 4830

That would be perfect. It doesn't include an optical drive though, but one could easily be salvaged from the OP's computer.

 

[Aastii]

this Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

+ the 4830

That would be perfect. It doesn't include an optical drive though, but one could easily be salvaged from the OP's computer.

It would be good if it weren't dual core and if $65 was enough for a video card and power supply. As it is, only 1 or the other can be purchased on the budget, because for a gaming system, the budget is too low... I notice that the case comes with a 450W Rosewill PSU, but that has just answered the question as to why a power supply is needed - The one that comes with it is Rosewill

 

[foothead]

Rosewill power supplies are decent. I've read professional reviews of them and they seem to be up to par with the bigger brands.

Also, dual core CPUs are fine for low-end gaming rigs. It does not make nearly as much difference as you'd think. Read this review if you don't believe me. It puts up respectable framerates at high settings in all the games they tested (except GTA4, but it'd run fine at medium). Sure, it won't beat an i7, but it definitely is fine for "Medium-High Graphics games"

 

[Aastii]

Rosewill power supplies are decent. I've read professional reviews of them and they seem to be up to par with the bigger brands.

Also, dual core CPUs are fine for low-end gaming rigs. It does not make nearly as much difference as you'd think. Read this review if you don't believe me. It puts up respectable framerates at high settings in all the games they tested (except GTA4, but it'd run fine at medium). Sure, it won't beat an i7, but it definitely is fine for "Medium-High Graphics games"

Go and look at ripple, noise levels and voltage outputs at higher loads on Rosewill PSU's, compare it to those of your better brands (Antec, Corsair, SeaSonic, XFX, Enermax, Silverstone, Be Quiet!, PC P&C etc) and it is awful. Try and put a Rosewill PSU under any sort of load, and it won't last long, because like your cheaper units, it is rated for it's peak voltage, not the voltage that is its continual output. If you were to put that Rosewill unit at anywhere near its 400W limit for any length of time, it will blow, and that isn't just a case of getting a new PSU and being done with it, the majority of time a PSU blows it clears out other components too, so you are out the cost of a PSU, and whatever components it took out too on the way, which, as they were damaged due to another component failure, isn't covered by warranty, so rushing into a $300 build will lead to having only $200 worth of components left and an unusable, incomplete system.

For dual core, as it stands right now, a dual core will just about manage, a tri core or more is better as games are utilising 3 cores, with a few exceptions like GTA4 that you mentioned, but that is coded awfully as well (console port), but with the standard now starting to be quad, hex, or around Q2-Q3 next year, octo core, quad cores and more will start to be what is required for any sort of decent settings. At the moment, a dual core would just about be ok for most games, but a year down the line, I doubt it will, so, it comes back to the point of making the system an investment and last, building to the $300 budget will not work. more and more and more money will have to be spent to keep it able to play the upcoming games

 

[VINMAN46]

Go and look at ripple, noise levels and voltage outputs at higher loads on Rosewill PSU's, compare it to those of your better brands (Antec, Corsair, SeaSonic, XFX, Enermax, Silverstone, Be Quiet!, PC P&C etc) and it is awful. Try and put a Rosewill PSU under any sort of load, and it won't last long, because like your cheaper units, it is rated for it's peak voltage, not the voltage that is its continual output. If you were to put that Rosewill unit at anywhere near its 400W limit for any length of time, it will blow, and that isn't just a case of getting a new PSU and being done with it, the majority of time a PSU blows it clears out other components too, so you are out the cost of a PSU, and whatever components it took out too on the way, which, as they were damaged due to another component failure, isn't covered by warranty, so rushing into a $300 build will lead to having only $200 worth of components left and an unusable, incomplete system.

For dual core, as it stands right now, a dual core will just about manage, a tri core or more is better as games are utilising 3 cores, with a few exceptions like GTA4 that you mentioned, but that is coded awfully as well (console port), but with the standard now starting to be quad, hex, or around Q2-Q3 next year, octo core, quad cores and more will start to be what is required for any sort of decent settings. At the moment, a dual core would just about be ok for most games, but a year down the line, I doubt it will, so, it comes back to the point of making the system an investment and last, building to the $300 budget will not work. more and more and more money will have to be spent to keep it able to play the upcoming games

i max every game i played on my dual core
aion, mw2 , cod4 , Civ 5 , tropico , spore
my system is about the same as this except i have a 4770

 

[foothead]

Go and look at ripple, noise levels and voltage outputs at higher loads on Rosewill PSU's, compare it to those of your better brands (Antec, Corsair, SeaSonic, XFX, Enermax, Silverstone, Be Quiet!, PC P&C etc) and it is awful.

I read several reviews, and it was well within normal range. You are right about it not being able to supply the rated voltage, because they rate at 25C which is kinda ridiculous. Still, it should be able to supply 90% of that number at normal temperatures, which is fine.

Also, Rosewill PSUs don't explode. They put in overdraw protection, so it shuts off when it starts running beyond what it can handle.

 

[compdude]

hmm 300 bucks would probably get you the same setup as my computer but without the ram and graphics prob just the motherboard and cpu and maybe 1gb ram if lucky.

here is my motherboard ASRock > Products > N73V-S

and cpu just a dual core cpu with 2.5ghz and overclocked to 3.6ghz

 

[Aastii]

i max every game i played on my dual core
aion, mw2 , cod4 , Civ 5 , tropico , spore
my system is about the same as this except i have a 4770

With the exception of Civ5, none of those rely heavily on the CPU at all. In Civ5, you will see massive performance gain with more cores as it is programmed to utilise more threads, for the others though, with the exception of MW2 and Aion, the rest are only programmed for dual cores anyway, so you won't see performance gain, they are also fairly old games now in terms of hardware progression, so being able to play games that have recommended specs of much less than what you have, it isn't a surprise that you can play them at decent settings. You would be able to play the games he listed, with the exception of Singularity, at good settings too, but post back again this time in 6 months and then in 12 months as to how your system is holding up. Like I said in an earlier post, what is the point in spendings $300 on a rig that will be outdated and unable to serve its main purpose a few months down the line?

I read several reviews, and it was well within normal range. You are right about it not being able to supply the rated voltage, because they rate at 25C which is kinda ridiculous. Still, it should be able to supply 90% of that number at normal temperatures, which is fine.

Also, Rosewill PSUs don't explode. They put in overdraw protection, so it shuts off when it starts running beyond what it can handle.

"Normal Range" = with in industry guidelines, not that it is good. I'm not sure what the guidelines are, but I do know that the Seasonic and some of the CWT units that are used for most power supplies that are seen as better units are well above these, especially when you get into S12II territory, or the units that go into the XFX and Corsair TX lines. Paying the extra is well worth it.

And Rosewill PSUs do blow, not necessarily from overvoltage, usually, like most cheap power supplies, from normal voltage + excessive heat. Very inneficient components + cheap fans + cheap heatsinks = hot components, couple that in with voltages that are fluctuating like crazy because of, again, cheap parts, and it is a disaster waiting to happen.

Even though something like an Hitatchi DeathStar is a little cheaper than your WD/Seagate/Samsung drives, you wouldn't get one because of their reputation for high failure rates. It isn't anywhere near as high as they were when Hitatchi first bought the drive design/names from IBM, but they are still much, much worse than the brands which you would recommend. You wouldn't say "get a cheap drive" because it can compromise important data, but you would say "get a cheap PSU" even though it can compromise the entire system, including the hard drives?