Caere
08-26-2008, 01:57 AM
Since I just went through the process of building a couple of new systems for Warhammer, here are my final thoughts.
Unless you own one or more of those 12 million dollar houses in La Jolla, California, you probably want to get the most bang for your buck, but still own a capable machine. (Of course, if you do own one of those houses, then simply buy a $6000 xtreme gaming machine and you're gtg. :cool:) Otherwise, here's a list of the parts you could get to run Warhammer at an affordable price but with excellent performance.
CPU - don't bother looking at AMD, Intel are better this time around. And the best deal are the Intel Wolfdale duo core processors. They are physically smaller, require much less power, run cooler, and will do the job better than anything for the price. Quad core is technology Warhammer doesn't use. You need quad cores for 3d rendering programs like 3d Studio and Maya, not MMORPGS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
Motherboard - For this processor you need a LGA 775 socket motherboard capable of 1333 FSB. Usually the most overlooked but extremely important piece of computer equipment, I stick to name brands like Asus or Intel. Some people swear by Gigabyte. The Mobo should be around $125 - $175, just don't get one that tries to do too much. I like Sound and LAN on board. That's about it. (If it has graphics on board, I throw it away.:lol:) Here's one that would work just fine.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232
Memory: more is always better and given that it's so cheap, I just wouldn't get less than 4 gigs. That means Windows Vista 64 bit home edition. With the 32 bit version of Vista only about 3.5 gigs can be used. Get the Vista 64 bit and 4+ gigs. "But doesn't Vista suck for gaming, Yoda?" - Nope.
Video Card - the important part for MMORPGS. No other piece of equipment is as important and as confusing thanks to nVidia's retarded numbering system. The good news is only one card makes the most sense right now, the nVidia 8800GT 512mb. Don't get confused, the 9600GT has a higher model number but is not as good. The 8800GS is worse but the 8800GTX and GTX 260 are better but cost about $300 more. So, keep it simple: this one is the right model, but there are other manufacturers.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
Other stuff. Unless you have that 6k system, you're not gonna run a 40in monitor. A good 22in Samsung should suffice. Any SATA hard drive with about 500+ gigs is good. Mouse, keyboard, sound, etc. are personal preference. Finally, 500W power supply is more than enough these days, thanks to the new processors.
A little note about routers. In our house we have a Linksys 610N wireless router, 2 desktops, a laptop, and an Apple Iphone. Only the Iphone and laptop run wireless, I would never use wireless for gaming so the desktops are plugged in. I did have some problems with Warhammer until i hardcoded the MAC CLONE address of the desktop plugged into the first router slot. At that point we could have all the machines going in the house without any degradation.
/cheers
I used newegg.com site for this write-up, but I use ncix.com here in Canada.
Caere
~Eldritch, Hib. Percival
~Magus, Warhammer
Unless you own one or more of those 12 million dollar houses in La Jolla, California, you probably want to get the most bang for your buck, but still own a capable machine. (Of course, if you do own one of those houses, then simply buy a $6000 xtreme gaming machine and you're gtg. :cool:) Otherwise, here's a list of the parts you could get to run Warhammer at an affordable price but with excellent performance.
CPU - don't bother looking at AMD, Intel are better this time around. And the best deal are the Intel Wolfdale duo core processors. They are physically smaller, require much less power, run cooler, and will do the job better than anything for the price. Quad core is technology Warhammer doesn't use. You need quad cores for 3d rendering programs like 3d Studio and Maya, not MMORPGS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
Motherboard - For this processor you need a LGA 775 socket motherboard capable of 1333 FSB. Usually the most overlooked but extremely important piece of computer equipment, I stick to name brands like Asus or Intel. Some people swear by Gigabyte. The Mobo should be around $125 - $175, just don't get one that tries to do too much. I like Sound and LAN on board. That's about it. (If it has graphics on board, I throw it away.:lol:) Here's one that would work just fine.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131232
Memory: more is always better and given that it's so cheap, I just wouldn't get less than 4 gigs. That means Windows Vista 64 bit home edition. With the 32 bit version of Vista only about 3.5 gigs can be used. Get the Vista 64 bit and 4+ gigs. "But doesn't Vista suck for gaming, Yoda?" - Nope.
Video Card - the important part for MMORPGS. No other piece of equipment is as important and as confusing thanks to nVidia's retarded numbering system. The good news is only one card makes the most sense right now, the nVidia 8800GT 512mb. Don't get confused, the 9600GT has a higher model number but is not as good. The 8800GS is worse but the 8800GTX and GTX 260 are better but cost about $300 more. So, keep it simple: this one is the right model, but there are other manufacturers.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318
Other stuff. Unless you have that 6k system, you're not gonna run a 40in monitor. A good 22in Samsung should suffice. Any SATA hard drive with about 500+ gigs is good. Mouse, keyboard, sound, etc. are personal preference. Finally, 500W power supply is more than enough these days, thanks to the new processors.
A little note about routers. In our house we have a Linksys 610N wireless router, 2 desktops, a laptop, and an Apple Iphone. Only the Iphone and laptop run wireless, I would never use wireless for gaming so the desktops are plugged in. I did have some problems with Warhammer until i hardcoded the MAC CLONE address of the desktop plugged into the first router slot. At that point we could have all the machines going in the house without any degradation.
/cheers
I used newegg.com site for this write-up, but I use ncix.com here in Canada.
Caere
~Eldritch, Hib. Percival
~Magus, Warhammer