Need help with purchase of new pc for GTA 4

[may19th]

@ShyguyXPC I apologize for that. I thought the CPU was on ETC Computer that you were mentioning with the 3.4 GHZ. Dang, your computer is really high tech to be able to run all those. When I seen your computer case (the size of it and the look) I was blown away in awe. Everything on your pc is highly advanced.

Well I think I've finally decided which pc package I am going to go with. I'm going to go with the one you set up for me at etc computer. My only question though is would a " AMD Phenom ll X2 555 BE Dual Core 3.2 GHZ " be good enough to run GTA 4 when websites on the internet recommend that you use a " AMD Phenom ll X3 at 2.1 GHZ " ?

[ShyguyXPC]

LOL, an X2 at 3.2 will certainly be better than an X3 at 2.1.

I think you meant 2.7, not 2.1



In any case, bit revised list, the X3 at 2.7 might be good too.




CPU
1 x AMD Athlon II X3 Triple-Core 440 AM3 3.0GHz 1.5MB 95W 45nm CA$80.00
CPU Cooler
1 x AMD CPU Stock Cooler CA$0.00
Overclocking
1 x No CPU Overclock CA$0.00
Motherboard
1 x ASUS M4N68T-M (VGA,2DDR3,2PCI,PCI-E,GbLAN,mATX) CA$55.00
Memory
1 x Kingston 2X2GB Kit PC3-10666 1333MHz (KVR1333D3N9K2/4G) CA$64.00
Hard Drive 1
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB,32MB,SATA 3Gb/s (WD5001AALS) CA$63.00
Optical Drive 1
1 x LG 24X GH24NS50 DVD+/-RW DL,SATA (Black) CA$26.00
Video card
1 x Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 (2DVI-I,HDMI,DP) CA$155.00
Sound Card
1 x Onboard Audio (Verify with Motherboard Spec) CA$0.00
Network Card
1 x Onboard Network Adapter (Verify with Motherboard Spec) CA$0.00
Case
1 x Thermaltake V3 Black Edition (VL80001W2Z) CA$49.00
Power Supply
1 x Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W v2.3 (RS500-PCARA3-US) CA$45.00
Operating System
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Full Version CA$129.00
Warranty
1 x 1 Year Parts & 3 Years Labor Warranty CA$0.00


Just using Stock cooling for now, with no OCing in mind. Slightly Cheaper 5770,

Price as Configured:

Subtotal CA$666.00
Tax CA$86.58

LOL, sorry about the Subtotal Price, but that can be viewed 2 ways, bad or good, hopefully it would be good. As in a BEAST (Number of the Beast LOL) of a machine for GTA IV.



Just keep in mind, you may still get laggy performance in GTA IV even with that list. GTA IV was just a really buggy game to begin with, and still lags down even the most high end systems, crappy programming, coding, bugs that aren't fixed, etc.

GTA San Andreas was the same way.


Also looked around on that site, ETC, and as to the Overclocking option, it lists it as an Overclocking Stability option, doesn't add anything to the price.

there's no mention of how much of an overclock they will do, or what it all entails, if its only testing to see if the CPU even OC's or what.


I checked their facebook page, and there's practically no info.

Aside from 3 reviews, 2 of them are less than encouraging.

Clarence Sandy
"" Fast shipping but PC doesn't Work. Shipped the PC back and never got an update. Be careful when buying
August 21, 2010 at 6:46am · LikeUnlike · Comment

Joel LeBreton
"" I can't edit my account info or order anything since the "https://site200.mysite4now.com/...." redirect always fails with the message "IE cannot display this webpage". Would be nice if this was fixed because I need to make an order a very soon.
August 11, 2010 at 7:04pm · LikeUnlike · Comment

Mario Roussel
"" Have already ordered computers parts from those guys, awesome service, fast shipping, pricing was right...

So unless you know this store/company, I'd maybe take some of that into consideration before ordering.

Hopefully for the Complete system builds with quality parts it would work.

But with those kinds of remarks, considering this is a small store/business, and they offer an "Overclocking" Option on their PC's, I'd be a bit wary of that service myself.

[may19th]

@ShyguyXPCI checked them out on ebay.ca and they have pretty good reputation on there. In the last 12 months of doing business they have had 658 positive feedbacks, 11 neutral feedbacks, and 5 negative feedbacks. I think that is above average for reputation for ETC Computer.

Here is the link: http://myworld.ebay.ca/etc_computers/

I would have said Athlon ll along time ago but the way how I was thinking about things was that Phenom is higher than an Athlon. So if that is not the case then what is the difference between the Athlon and the Phenom? But then I remembered you saying that if a lower version has higher GHZ per core than the higher version which has more core processors but less GHZ per core the lower version would be the better choice.

This new package that you suggested seems a little bit more expensive than the one before. I noticed how you made some changes with certain items. For one, you've down graded the CPU but you upgraded the video card. But this package the CPU can't be over clocked.

I'm guessing you said it would be better for performance wise for GTA 4 because of the higher graded video card?

[may19th]

I forgot to mention. If you go here: eBay Canada Seller: etc computers: PC Desktops, 500 MHz or more on eBay.ca at low prices That's a list of PC's that they are selling on e bay. Majority of the pc's that they have for sale are on a 10% discount. Plus you can custom search to your preferences at the far left side of the website. For example... you can search by processor speeds that are only 3.0 and higher or you can custom search by ram.. 2gb or more, 4gb or more. You can go even further by processor type, processor configuration, hard drive capacity, operating system and so on. Another plus, all the computers that I have looked at from these guys are all Windows XP compatible!

[ShyguyXPC]

@ShyguyXPCI checked them out on ebay.ca and they have pretty good reputation on there. In the last 12 months of doing business they have had 658 positive feedbacks, 11 neutral feedbacks, and 5 negative feedbacks. I think that is above average for reputation for ETC Computer.

Here is the link: http://myworld.ebay.ca/etc_computers/

I would have said Athlon ll along time ago but the way how I was thinking about things was that Phenom is higher than an Athlon. So if that is not the case then what is the difference between the Athlon and the Phenom? But then I remembered you saying that if a lower version has higher GHZ per core than the higher version which has more core processors but less GHZ per core the lower version would be the better choice.

This new package that you suggested seems a little bit more expensive than the one before. I noticed how you made some changes with certain items. For one, you've down graded the CPU but you upgraded the video card. But this package the CPU can't be over clocked.

I'm guessing you said it would be better for performance wise for GTA 4 because of the higher graded video card?

The main big difference between the Athlon II and Phenom II is the On Chip Cache Buffers, Otherwise there's really little difference, aside from Black Editions Are only on Phenom II Class CPU's.

Either can be Overclocked, or even Unlocked Cores if thats an option.

But the Black Editions offer Unlocked Clock Multipliers, allowing one more option for Overclocking, where as Non BE and Athlon II, can only rely on Increasing the Front Side Bus or more Specifically, the Hyper Transport Bus (HTT)

[ShyguyXPC]

I forgot to mention. If you go here: eBay Canada Seller: etc computers: PC Desktops, 500 MHz or more on eBay.ca at low prices That's a list of PC's that they are selling on e bay. Majority of the pc's that they have for sale are on a 10% discount. Plus you can custom search to your preferences at the far left side of the website. For example... you can search by processor speeds that are only 3.0 and higher or you can custom search by ram.. 2gb or more, 4gb or more. You can go even further by processor type, processor configuration, hard drive capacity, operating system and so on. Another plus, all the computers that I have looked at from these guys are all Windows XP compatible!

Whats so big about XP compatible, just about any PC today is XP compatible. The only things that Wouldn't be is Specifically Using DirectX 10 or 11, or Running 3 or 4 Card SLI for Nvidia Cards, or Crossfire for AMD/ATI cards.

[ShyguyXPC]

This would be a good solid build, Though I question using the stock Intel cooler for OCing that thing from 3.06 to 3.9GHz, but the rest of the specs aren't bad either.

Intel Core i3 540 OCed 3.9GHz Gaming PC w/8GB/ATI 5770 on eBay.ca (item 380230377016 end time 28-Jan-11 17:39:32 EST)

Just add Windows 7 64-bit, and it'd be a good build.



This would also be a good option, not as much Drive space, and GPU is at least as good as the 5770, but only DX10 Supporting, not really a big deal, since GTA IV is only DX9/DX10 anyways.

But its a Quad core, at 3Ghz, and just add Windows 7 64-bit and be good to go.

AMD PHENOM II X4 940 BE GAMING PC w/NVIDIA GTX260 896MB on eBay.ca (item 120427665730 end time 18-Feb-11 16:59:16 EST)


in any case, either system will handle GTA4 just fine.

[electric]

shyguy,you do realize that the PHENOM II X4 940 is install on an AM2 board,
not AM3 board



i would stay away from that seller

[may19th]

@ShyguyXPC Both of those computers are out of my budget. I think I am going to go with the one you built before.

Even this one right here is too expensive:
CPU
1 x AMD Athlon II X3 Triple-Core 440 AM3 3.0GHz 1.5MB 95W 45nm CA$80.00
CPU Cooler
1 x AMD CPU Stock Cooler CA$0.00
Overclocking
1 x No CPU Overclock CA$0.00
Motherboard
1 x ASUS M4N68T-M (VGA,2DDR3,2PCI,PCI-E,GbLAN,mATX) CA$55.00
Memory
1 x Kingston 2X2GB Kit PC3-10666 1333MHz (KVR1333D3N9K2/4G) CA$64.00
Hard Drive 1
1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB,32MB,SATA 3Gb/s (WD5001AALS) CA$63.00
Optical Drive 1
1 x LG 24X GH24NS50 DVD+/-RW DL,SATA (Black) CA$26.00
Video card
1 x Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5 (2DVI-I,HDMI,DP) CA$155.00
Sound Card
1 x Onboard Audio (Verify with Motherboard Spec) CA$0.00
Network Card
1 x Onboard Network Adapter (Verify with Motherboard Spec) CA$0.00
Case
1 x Thermaltake V3 Black Edition (VL80001W2Z) CA$49.00
Power Supply
1 x Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W v2.3 (RS500-PCARA3-US) CA$45.00
Operating System
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Full Version CA$129.00
Warranty
1 x 1 Year Parts & 3 Years Labor Warranty CA$0.00


Just using Stock cooling for now, with no OCing in mind. Slightly Cheaper 5770,

Price as Configured:

Subtotal CA$666.00
Tax CA$86.58
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm going to go with this instead, tell me what you think.

CPU:
AMD Phenom ll X4 955 Quad-Core BE 3.2GHZ 125W 45nm 8MB or
AMD Phenom ll X3 720 Triple-Core BE 2.8GHZ 95W 45nm

CPU Cooler:
AMD CPU Stock Cooler

Overclocking:
No CPU overclock

Motherboard:
ASUS M4N68T-M (VGA,2DDR3,2PCI,PCI-E,GbLAN,mATX) CA$55.00

Memory:
Kingston 2GB PC3-10666 1333MHz (KVR1333D3N9/2G) CA$60.00

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB,32MB,SATA 3Gb/s (WD5001AALS) CA$63.00

Optical Drive:
LG 24X GH24NS50 DVD+/-RW DL,SATA (Black) CA$26.00

Card Reader:
I don't think I need one.

Video Card:
Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 Vapor-X 1GB GDDR5 (2DVI-I,HDMI,DP) CA$129.00

Sound Card:
On board

Network Card:
On board

Case:
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition (VL80001W2Z) CA$49.00

Power Supply:
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition (VL80001W2Z) CA$49.00

Security Software:
I got AVG Free

Operating System:
I'm either going to be using Windows XP or I'll buy Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit " Window 7 Home Premium 64bit Full Version NEW on eBay.ca (item 260727274858 end time 31-Jan-11 21:51:10 EST) "

Office Software:
Those prices are way too astronomical for me! Plus Open Office does the same thing as Microsoft Office but it's FREE!

Warranty:
1 year parts and 3 years labor warranty

Total price with "AMD Phenom ll X3 720 Triple-Core BE 2.8GHZ 95W 45nm"
$511 and after tax it's $577.43!

With my subtotal at that price I could probably add a better CPU Cooler.

Now the total price with all the specified parts above but only swapping the CPU to a "AMD Phenom ll X4 955 Quad-Core BE 3.2GHZ 125W 45nm 8MB"

The price would be $526 and after tax it's $594.28!

Now with those two prices. I'd "for sure" be able to get a better CPU Cooler since in the packages created for me the stock one was selected. Unless it's not really all that significant then, I would just upgrade to a higher more expensive graphic card then I am set to play GTA 4!

[may19th]

shyguy,you do realize that the PHENOM II X4 940 is install on an AM2 board,
not AM3 board



i would stay away from that seller

I ordered the pc that I posted from my last listing on friday and those guys didn't even call me to tell me whats going on with the computer and when I called them they don't answer the phones. Maybe you were right electric.

So I've deiced to purchase my computer at LU Computers
I've built myself a better pc since since my budget has increased.
I think this set up that I have here my also be better than the AMD
one that I had before. Anyway here it is.

Please let me know if there are any mistakes with any of my selections. That would be greatly helpful.

CPU: Intel Core i5 760 Quad Core 2.80 GHZ [209.99]

CPU Cooling: Intel/AMD default basic fan and heat [0.00]

Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel H55 Motherboard
(GA-H55m-VD2H) [105.99]

Memory: 2x Kingston 2GB DDR3 SDRAM
1333 MHZ (PC3-10600) [39.98]

Hard Drive: Seagate 1TB (1000GB) Sata 3GB 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache
[53.99]

Optical Drive: LG 22xDVD RW w/lightscribe +-Dual Layer
Serial ATA [26.99]

Video Card: Sapphire Vapor X-HD 5770 1 GB OC DDR5 DP/HD/DVI [141.99]

Case: Thermaltake Case V9 Gaming VJ400G1N2Z [92.95]

Power Supply: 650W Seasonic Power Supply SS-650 HT [87.99]

Grand Total after taxes is $842.16!

So what do you guys think? You think a set up like that would play GTA 4 well with no issues? EX: Game slowing down during game play, picture quality getting degraded at times?

[KarmaKiller]

I ordered the pc that I posted from my last listing on friday and those guys didn't even call me to tell me whats going on with the computer and when I called them they don't answer the phones. Maybe you were right electric.

So I've deiced to purchase my computer at LU Computers
I've built myself a better pc since since my budget has increased.
I think this set up that I have here my also be better than the AMD
one that I had before. Anyway here it is.

Please let me know if there are any mistakes with any of my selections. That would be greatly helpful.

CPU: Intel Core i5 760 Quad Core 2.80 GHZ [209.99]

CPU Cooling: Intel/AMD default basic fan and heat [0.00]

Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel H55 Motherboard
(GA-H55m-VD2H) [105.99]

Memory: 2x Kingston 2GB DDR3 SDRAM
1333 MHZ (PC3-10600) [39.98]

Hard Drive: Seagate 1TB (1000GB) Sata 3GB 7200 RPM, 32MB Cache
[53.99]

Optical Drive: LG 22xDVD RW w/lightscribe +-Dual Layer
Serial ATA [26.99]

Video Card: Sapphire Vapor X-HD 5770 1 GB OC DDR5 DP/HD/DVI [141.99]

Case: Thermaltake Case V9 Gaming VJ400G1N2Z [92.95]

Power Supply: 650W Seasonic Power Supply SS-650 HT [87.99]

Grand Total after taxes is $842.16!

So what do you guys think? You think a set up like that would play GTA 4 well with no issues? EX: Game slowing down during game play, picture quality getting degraded at times?

That would certainly run GTA better then the last system list I saw in this thread. The i5 is a extremely nice CPU. And from my experience with GTA, they are VERY cpu intensive games. The more power you have the better they run. I do want to point out that the system only comes with a H55 chipset, so you'll have limited OC'ing abilities and also limited raid options if your ever looking to do that. Other then that though, that's an alright system.
I have to ask though, why don't you just build it yourself. It's actually pretty easy if you just take your time. Most people think it's harder then what it is, but if you educate yourself (and it sounds like your trying too) it really should be considered a option.
Just my 2

[may19th]

I am not skilled enough to put it together and I am one of those people who can't carry out instructions well. That is why I am going to have it built by the store.

I also scored big. I found on eBay Classifieds (Kijiji) - Post & Search Free Local Classified Ads. Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
for only $40.00 and it was a legit copy that worked. So now that saved me
about $120!

I appreciate your reply and advise by the way. I will be sure to order this pc
later on today.

Originally I was going to go with an i3 530 but the specs on the processor
wasn't as good. Then I did some research on the internet and found that an i3 530 would perform less compared to that of a intel core 2 quad processor. It does kind of make sense being that the i3 is dual core and the other one is a quad core.

[ShyguyXPC]

shyguy,you do realize that the PHENOM II X4 940 is install on an AM2 board,
not AM3 board



i would stay away from that seller

Sorry didn't see the updates to this thread, but thanks for catching that one, didn't realize it, saw it was an AMD 760 Chipset, which SHOULD be AM3 capable, But didn't see the specs on the Board.

[may19th]

I got a question for everyone. What is the difference between the "Sapphire Raedon HD 5770" and the "Sapphire Raedon HD 5770 Vapor X"?

I know that the vapor x is over clocked and the original is not. But I just really wanted to know which card is better.

To me the vapor x looks better as it's fan is bigger than the regular hd 5770 graphic card and for some reason the vapor x is about 10-20 dollars cheaper than the regular hd 5770 graphic card.

So between these two cards, which one do you guys suggest I should get?

[ShyguyXPC]

The Vapor X's Heatsink differs from most Heatpipe Coolers, in that the actual Base of the heatsink is one Large Heat Pipe or Pot, and cools more effectively, with out needs large spanning outward heatpipes and more airflow to flow over them (less fan speed, quieter fan).

I think Asus now has a similar Heatsink design, but Sapphire Pioneered the use of it on Video cards, starting with the Radeon 4000 series.

It allows the card to run cooler with quieter fan speeds basically.

[may19th]

The Vapor X's Heatsink differs from most Heatpipe Coolers, in that the actual Base of the heatsink is one Large Heat Pipe or Pot, and cools more effectively, with out needs large spanning outward heatpipes and more airflow to flow over them (less fan speed, quieter fan).

I think Asus now has a similar Heatsink design, but Sapphire Pioneered the use of it on Video cards, starting with the Radeon 4000 series.

It allows the card to run cooler with quieter fan speeds basically.

So are you saying that I should go with the vapor x over the regular hd 5770?

[ShyguyXPC]

depends which you deem more important, cost less, or potential quieter cooler running card?

The draw back to the VaporX design is they don't vent directly out the back of the case, but I can't remember what kind of cooler is on the standard 5770.

I know this is Newegg in US, but an example:

Vapor X Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VX-2L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

Regular Cooler: Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100283FLEX Radeon HD 5770 FleX 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Neither design vents out the back directly, all 3 vent back of forward.

but the Vapor X are known to run quieter and cooler than stock coolers, so if its cheaper, then I'd go for it, if not, and its noticeably less expensive for the Stock cooler, then I'd go for that, if not, then makes sense to go for Vapor X.



Even this HIS doesn't vent directly out he back. Newegg.com - HIS H577FK1GD Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

This HIS, and XFX do though (so you can see what kind of cooler I'm talking about)

Newegg.com - HIS IceQ 5 H577Q1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

Newegg.com - XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card





But to answer your question, I'm not saying which to go for, thats your choice, you asked what the difference was, and I mentioned what the difference was.




If it were me and little price difference, I'd spring for the Vapor X (mainly because I've been a fan of them since they came out with the 4000 series).

Cooler quieter card is always a good thing, and even better if one decided to try and Overclock it later on.

[may19th]

@ShyguyXPC The Vapor X card you displayed in your last reply was the same one that I was looking at and wanted to get. LU Computers

And I guess they have lots of cards in the 5770 series as I seen from what you posted. But this is the regular sapphie raedon hd 5770 graphic card I was talking about -> LU Computers

I don't know if you've seen that one before. But I appreciate your response and all of your advice. I honestly think I'm better off with the vapor x as well
since it will be more quiet and a better fan. Plus when I read the specs.

Apparently both cards "HD 5770 regular and HD 5770 Vapor X" have the same stats and qualities but the only difference is that the Vapor X is OC'ed and has a better cooling system with a more silent fan.

[electric]

Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VX-2L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

the card is a bit cheaper if you buy from newegg.ca ,their parts
come from the US

and yes i brought from them

Video Cards | Hardware Canucks


good luck

[may19th]

Newegg.ca - SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VX-2L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity

the card is a bit cheaper if you buy from newegg.ca ,their parts
come from the US

and yes i brought from them

Video Cards | Hardware Canucks


good luck

It's too late for me to do that. I've already bought and received my computer. I was only asking the question about the graphic card because
they accidently gave me the regular sapphire raedon hd 5770 graphic card instead of the hd 5770 vapor x card.

But they told me that if I'd like, I can swap the original card for the vapor x version. From what "ShyguyXPC" said about the vapor x version I am going to swap the one I currently have for the vapor x.

But thanks for the advice anyway. I appreciate it.

[Note]: Upgraded from a P4, 3.0 GHz, 1GB Ram, 50 MB vid Card, 40GB HDD.
To a quad core i5... I feel a HUGE difference in speed. My tasks are completed almost instantaneously, I can run more than 3 programs/applications without huge CPU consumption or the computer becoming slow and less stable. So many things feel so much different.

Played GTA 4 on Win XP on low (everything) settings it was ok/acceptable.
I then decided to tweak it to really high settings and it seemed as if it was
HD (and I have those old school fat monitors too)!

Just imagine if I had an LCD monitor... Who knows what that would look like?!