My system specs, what do you think?

[Nastidon]

Ok here is the deal, I've been itching to play the new games coming out, such as Crysis, and Timeshift, but I just can't justify paying 50+ wingwangs for a game I know will probably run horribly on my computer. I would much rather submit my question to a live forum of experienced gamers and PC lovers of all kinds. This is what I have:

MotherBoard: nvidia nforce 680i Sli
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz with HT-Technology
Ram: 2GB (1 stick) 800mhz
Video: Geforce 8600 GTS 256 Ram PCIe
Sound: Sound Blaster X-FI Fatality
OS: Windows XP

Could this setup even install a game like Crysis?

[Apoptosis]

you're going to hate Crysis with an 8600 GTS! I borrowed a friends 8600 GT to benchmark in crysis and it didn't fair too well and it was on a system with 4GB of memory and a 3Ghz Intel QX9650 quad-core processor! Remember the 8600 GTS will have more muscle than the 8600 GT. If you lower the graphics resolution to 1280x1024 on medium graphics it will be playable though, so to answer your question your system will load and run Crysis. It will be at lower resolutions and graphics qualities though. Hope this helps!

[Nastidon]

I knew that would be the problem, but what do you think of the CPU, I mean I only have a single core, does Crysis really just about require two cores? Is Crysis rely more on a Video Card than CPU power?

[Apoptosis]

more GPU limited for sure, but if you are into gaming and like these new game titles then I'd suggest saving up for a new rig!

[Nastidon]

I am definitely into gaming, I've just always been a couple of steps behind, the difference I think currently as apposed to gaming back in the day is modern games are requiring people to actually have top of the line equipment to play newer games comfortably, giving people with low to mid-range setups no possible chance. For example, when Supreme Commander came out, I thought I would be able to run it easily on a single core, as it is not really graphic intensive, it is more about numbers than anything else. Needless to say, I was sorely disappointed by how my computer ran such a game (I can barely do 4 players online smoothly). Then reading on forums and such about people with massive setups that STILL have performance issues, it is just downright ridiculous. Don't know if that would be the programmers fault, or the hardware really is lagging behind the games.

[dkarko]

I tried crysis with 8600gts. With medium graphics it was very playable and the graphics seemed very nice.
BUT i'm not a graphics freak, i mean i dont mind if its on low medium or high. I usually play older games anyway

If you are a gamer 8600gts is not a good deal in my opinion

[DMB2000uk]

Your 8600 wont be operating at its full potential anyway as it is being held back by your P4, I don't know the exact amount, but its enough to notice.

If you are confident enough to overclock (and if you are but haven't done it before, graysky has put up an excellent overclocking guide on the forum somewhere), I'd suggest getting an E4500 or an E2180 and overclocking them to round the 3Ghz mark, then you will get the best performance you can from your 8600 as it won't be held back by your CPU.

Dan

[ibleet]

more GPU limited for sure, but if you are into gaming and like these new game titles then I'd suggest saving up for a new rig!

I agree!

The 8600 is a paperweight compared to the 8800GT, and I have heard of 8800's that have a hard time running Crysis on high settings.

[Nastidon]

I guess that was just my bad judgment, I didn't realize the 8600 pales in comparison to the 8800's so much (on top of that, I just found out my 8600 has been running at only 4x PCIe), I will most likely upgrade to an E4500 or something higher first, then see about upping my video card to something decent at least. I do appreciate all the feedback by the way, exactly what I wanted to hear.

[martini161]

i would recommend losing the sound card and upping the 8600gt to a 8800gt 256mb

[Nastidon]

Why the sound card?

[DMB2000uk]

Why the sound card?

Because martini thinks this is you asking if your pc you are building is ok, and hasn't realised that this is you telling us what your system is

Dan

[Nastidon]

Wow, that is all I can say right now. If you can see my specs in my signature, you know what I was playing the Crysis demo on. I was pleasantly surprised, I at first I allowed to game to auto-detect the best settings, and obviously it chose low for everything. "Absurd!" I exclaimed, surely I can have something at medium at least!. But, I went along with it, leaving everything on the auto-detect settings, I started the demo. I was waiting for horrible choppy frame rates, and a possible crash, but no! I was wrong! It was running perfectly smooth, without one hiccup. With a huge grin on my face, I hit the settings options, and boost everything to high with low shadows, (although no AA, that just takes way too much) and set it in 1024x768. I restarted, and man was I in heaven. Now I know I can't run it all pumped up to the max, but nonetheless I was more than pleased, throughout the demo, my computer chugged along without any slowdown, and I must say, this is a beautiful game indeed.