08-05-2010, 10:58 AM

Well after being Windows free for my personal computing needs since summer of 2006, I might have to go back to Windows. I'm wanting to get back into PC gaming and my 13" MBP won't cut the Steam applications. Thought about a Mac Pro, but since I could just build a PC built to my own specifications, it's much easier and less expensive. I think I"ll budget around $700-$800 for a nice desktop that can play the most recent games at decent resolution. Probably throw Winows 7 64 bit on there. Thought about doing XP, but it's getting to be way to old of an OS. Now the only question is whether or not to go with the new Intel core processors, or an AMD processor. I think the AMDs will provide more room for upgrading processors in the future without having to replace the entire motherboard.

08-05-2010, 11:08 AM

Originally Posted by todd51

Well after being Windows free for my personal computing needs since summer of 2006, I might have to go back to Windows.

Maybe this post should go in the "Switcher" forum...or maybe there should be a "Reverse Switcher" forum!

Windows computers do seem to be the way to go for hard-core gaming. Best performance/cost balance. You could still have a Windows computer for gaming...and use a Mac for everything else.

- Nick

08-05-2010, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Maybe this post should go in the "Switcher" forum...or maybe there should be a "Reverse Switcher" forum!

Windows computers do seem to be the way to go for hard-core gaming. Best performance/cost balance.

- Nick

Haha, reverse switcher forum, I like it!

Yea, I just miss playing games on Steam on my old gaming PC that I had built way back in 03-04. I played games on it up until 2008 and the motherboard went out and died.

I know a couple of my friends will be excited to hear about it. I'll finally be able to get back into PC gaming with them! I would love to do a LAN party sometime soon, haven't been to one of those in a loooonnng time!

08-05-2010, 11:15 AM

There is nothing wrong with having a mixed environment - many people here have both Windows machines and Macs at home. Use the tool that is best for the job and a Windows machine is still best for gaming.

I notice in your Mac specs that you have a 27" iMac. Have you thought about boot camping it (assuming the video card meets your needs)?

08-05-2010, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

There is nothing wrong with having a mixed environment - many people here have both Windows machines and Macs at home. Use the tool that is best for the job and a Windows machine is still best for gaming.

I notice in your Mac specs that you have a 27" iMac. Have you thought about boot camping it (assuming the video card meets your needs)?

Yea, I should take that out. I sold the 27" iMac a while ago, didn't like the whole all-in-one design. I was actually dual-booting it at the time with Windows 7 to play games and it ran Left 4 Dead at 720p resolution! It was pretty awesome, although for some reason the sound drivers weren't working with Windows 7 very well, so I couldn't chat. Which is a very essential part of the game if you have ever played it.

08-05-2010, 01:04 PM

Originally Posted by vansmith

There is nothing wrong with having a mixed environment - many people here have both Windows machines and Macs at home. Use the tool that is best for the job and a Windows machine is still best for gaming.

Ditto. I have long been an advocate of using a Mac laptop as my primary computing environment, and maintaining a gaming rig running Windows for those purposes.

The nice thing is, I can constantly refresh my hardware at minimal cost and never have a lump sum to pay out to run the latest and greatest games. Every few years, I'll get a new video card, motherboard and/or CPU. The case, optical drives, power supply, etc stay the same. And since I'm only playing games on it, maintenance of Windows is not a problem in the slightest.

Do let us know what hardware you're looking at, we can help you pick components if you want.

08-05-2010, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by cwa107

Ditto. I have long been an advocate of using a Mac laptop as my primary computing environment, and maintaining a gaming rig running Windows for those purposes.

The nice thing is, I can constantly refresh my hardware at minimal cost and never have a lump sum to pay out to run the latest and greatest games. Every few years, I'll get a new video card, motherboard and/or CPU. The case, optical drives, power supply, etc stay the same. And since I'm only playing games on it, maintenance of Windows is not a problem in the slightest.

Do let us know what hardware you're looking at, we can help you pick components if you want.

Well I'm thinking of spending about 700-800 right off the bat. Do you think I should go AMD or one of the newer Intel processors?

EDIT: cwa, I think I'm going to go with an AMD quad-core processor, just having some trouble picking out the right processor and motherboard. Can anyone suggest something that could be on budget for a $800 computer? The motherboard doesnt' really need to have any video output even though most of them do. USB ports aren't a big concern for me, I don't have too many peripherals, so I don't need a ton of them.

I also have a LCD screen with HDMI for a monitor, and have a keyboard/mouse. Also looking to order from TigerDirect.com since I get parts faster through them than NewEgg.

08-05-2010, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by todd51

Well I'm thinking of spending about 700-800 right off the bat. Do you think I should go AMD or one of the newer Intel processors?

EDIT: cwa, I think I'm going to go with an AMD quad-core processor, just having some trouble picking out the right processor and motherboard. Can anyone suggest something that could be on budget for a $800 computer? The motherboard doesnt' really need to have any video output even though most of them do. USB ports aren't a big concern for me, I don't have too many peripherals, so I don't need a ton of them.

Every time I think about my next system, I always say "I'm gonna go AMD next time", but when push comes to shove, for whatever reason, I always stick with Intel. The chipsets, sockets and naming schemes for their processors just seem to click with me. I often find myself confused when trying to figure out AMD's latest components and what is compatible with what.

If I were building one right now, I'd be going for a Core i5 or i7 with an AMD Radeon 5870 card. The video card is much more important than the CPU in terms of gaming, so I'd probably go with the more budget-minded CPU and spend more money on the video card. I also wouldn't do dual video cards until you actually see how the system performs with the games you play -- you can always add a second one in Crossfire if push comes to shove, just make sure your motherboard supports it before you commit to a particular model.

As far as motherboards go, I tend to buy Gigabyte. I like their solid state capacitors and overall designs. ASUS makes a nice MB too. MSI seems to have quite a following, but I don't have much personal experience with them.

Another tip - spend good money on a very good power supply from companies like PC Power & Cooling or Antec. Cheap, knock-off PSUs are often rated with a very high peak output, but in reality they can't handle that kind of sustained output. Buy a power supply that will outlive your motherboard and is overkill for your components. This way you won't have to buy another one down the road.

08-05-2010, 01:59 PM

NewEgg has a rather nice bundle right now with a Core i5 and a Gigabyte board for $309:

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

08-05-2010, 02:12 PM

The i7-920 is still one of the best bang for the bucks. They were on clearance at several places for about $200. You can over clock the **** out of them and it's verrrrrrry easy to do. I've even seen bench marks where they outperform stock higher end i7's.

08-05-2010, 03:21 PM

Thanks for the replies guys! I will definitely check this more out when I get off work. Typing this from my phone right now.

08-05-2010, 04:10 PM

@ todd51

What model MBP do you have mate ??
Just wondering as too if it has the newer NVIDIA GeForce 320M ?? or the older one ??
Trying to determine if mine the with the newer NVIDIA GeForce 320M will run Steam as i havnt checked it out yet

Cheers

EDIT : Just noticed the bottom of page sig of your and you have only 2GB and the new models came out with 4GB standard ... So i worked it out my self thanks

08-05-2010, 04:21 PM

I have always done the same thing. I would just use an Xbox or PS3 but I love building computers and I can have it my way.

I used to use AMD for all my gaming rigs till the Core Duo and later Core 2 Duo came out. So far AMD has some catch up to do before I will go back to using them in my Gaming rigs. The latest Intel's CPUs just blow down anything else.

08-05-2010, 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by TattooedMac

@ todd51

What model MBP do you have mate ??
Just wondering as too if it has the newer NVIDIA GeForce 320M ?? or the older one ??
Trying to determine if mine the with the newer NVIDIA GeForce 320M will run Steam as i havnt checked it out yet

Cheers

EDIT : Just noticed the bottom of page sig of your and you have only 2GB and the new models came out with 4GB standard ... So i worked it out my self thanks

My MBP has the 9400M chipset in it. It does play Portal pretty good, but not at the specs I want it to.

08-05-2010, 06:57 PM

Originally Posted by dtravis7

I have always done the same thing. I would just use an Xbox or PS3 but I love building computers and I can have it my way.

I used to use AMD for all my gaming rigs till the Core Duo and later Core 2 Duo came out. So far AMD has some catch up to do before I will go back to using them in my Gaming rigs. The latest Intel's CPUs just blow down anything else.

Yea, my last gaming rig, I used AMD. I'm thinking about going with the core i5 processor. I figured instead of getting an i7, I'll save the left over cash to dump on the video card. Anyone have a preference of nVidia or ATI? My last PC I built had an ATI card in it and it worked wonderfully for me.