Mass Effect - Any suggestions if I'll be able to play it?

peetee said:
you already have a PSU thats capable, hard-drives, soundcard, a case? an OS? etc?

You end up spending £220 for a core2duo, 2gb ram and a blisteringly fast graphics card compared to what you have.

Thats over double the processing power and god knows how much graphics horsepower.

You can recoup some of that £220 by selling current mobo cpu gfx
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Excuse my utter ignorance here :confused:

[noob mode enabled]

Hang on! So for £220 I can get a MB, core2duo, 2gb ram and a GFX card?

My issue with my PSU is don't PCI cards need a specific connector which my ATX style system won't have?

Also my main drive is an IDE one. So this must surely need replacing with a SATA one?

My graphics card is PCI, this wouldn't work in a PCI mb?

[noob mode disabled]
 
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NeilFawcett said:
Excuse my utter ignorance here :confused:

[noob mode enabled]

Hang on! So for £220 I can get a MB, core2duo, 2gb ram and a GFX card?

My issue with my PSU is don't PCI cards need a specific connector which my ATX style system won't have?

Also my main drive is an IDE one. So this must surely need replacing with a SATA one?

My graphics card is PCI, this wouldn't work in a PCI mb?

[noob mode disabled]
Click to expand...

1. I mentionned in my post that you need to check PSU connectors compatibility with GPU

2. SATA is better, but tons of PCI mobo that handle IDE connections

3. If you buy a mobo from last couple of years then it will be PCI
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-221-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=
costs less than £70 (that is a tank of gas and you get more mileage) and it is quality :) for all your needs in next couple of years
 
lunarwolf said:
1. I mentionned in my post that you need to check PSU connectors compatibility with GPU

2. SATA is better, but tons of PCI mobo that handle IDE connections

3. If you buy a mobo from last couple of years then it will be PCI
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-221-AS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=
costs less than £70 (that is a tank of gas and you get more mileage) and it is quality :) for all your needs in next couple of years
Click to expand...

OK... You're getting me interested :)
So MB - £70, and my PCI sound card could fit into this?
CPU - E2200? - £55
Ram - Corsair 2gb - £40
GFX - ? What were you thinking of ?

Now TBH, if I was to do this I'd replace my primary IDE drive with a SATA so I'd end up with my old drive in a cadi with everything I used to have. Nice to have that backup while installing from fresh! Ideally I'd just love to plug the drive in the new system, but XP Pro would almost certainly have issues with a new MB etc!

Two final things:-
1) What connector am I looking for that my PSU would need?
2) And this would all fit in my existing ATX case?
 
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I only post links to OC product page since forum doesn't allow links to competitor sites - but I imagine you can get suggested components for a lot cheaper second hand.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-002-PN

Very good graphics card => check review for XFX card (a little more than PNY)
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews...._gt_xxx_alpha_dog_edition_-_g92_performance/1
1 x Dual molex power to PCI-e power connector is included and may do the trick in your case. You will need to do a little research, check your PSU manufacturers website if you can't find answers on this forum.

May be harder to find GPU second hand, but mobo and CPU should be no problem to find second hand - if you want to replace RAM you can (probably a set of PC6400 is best), but you don't have to.

As Petee suggested you can come close to around £200 if you shop around.
 
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If it were me id probably go this route.

Core 2 Duo E2160 £44.64 inc VAT(ocuk) I own a E2180 and should have saved a few bucks and got this.
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L £46.99 inc VAT(ocuk) <own it and love it. just as good as a p35.
some cheap 2g 5300 they have several brands for around £30 in VAT(ocuk)
As for gfx I would get a 9600 GT 512 which you can get here for around £100 inc vat.
You will need a 6 pin plug for that so check your PSU. im not sure if they have adapters you can buy on the cheap and add.

Throw in a 160g sata drive that will run around £35 with VAT and you will have one hell of a budget rig that will play pretty much every game out at good setting for roughly £250 ish. Thats a pretty sweet deal.
 
NeilFawcett said:
OK... You're getting me interested :)
So MB - £70, and my PCI sound card could fit into this?
CPU - E2200? - £55
Ram - Corsair 2gb - £40
GFX - ? What were you thinking of ?

Now TBH, if I was to do this I'd replace my primary IDE drive with a SATA so I'd end up with my old drive in a cadi with everything I used to have. Nice to have that backup while installing from fresh! Ideally I'd just love to plug the drive in the new system, but XP Pro would almost certainly have issues with a new MB etc!

Two final things:-
1) What connector am I looking for that my PSU would need?
2) And this would all fit in my existing ATX case?
Click to expand...

better tip : members market forum section - FOR SALE.
e2140/60/80 have been going for £30 with guaranteed 2.7ghz clock speeds.
get a 2nd hand mobo
get a 2nd hand graphics card if you can

etc etc.
If your working in a budget you buy 2nd hand, you can get brilliant bang for buck in members market atm.

It will fit into your case.
Your PSU might fit the card, im not sure what adapter would be needed if any, someone else can answer that
 
I anticipate this game very much! got 24" screen coming tomorrow just for gaming, and work ^_^ but mainly gaming!
 
you can buy a pre overclocked asusrock bundle, i got my daughter a e2160 overclocked and guaranteed (and setup in bios!) for £84.99.

Pre overclocked to 2.66ghz, fantastic price.
 
lunarwolf said:
go to Antec site and calculate Power consumption with their calculator - I guess you are looking at about 300w continuous power needs (not peak)

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/powercalc.jsp

also you can check with their customer support about your specific model having compatible connectors

good luck and good gaming :)
Click to expand...

That's a useful link thanks!

Put in my current system with all at 100%...
Current ATI X800 - 298W
Changed to ATI X1950pro - 311W
Changed to ATI HD 3850 - 312W
Changed to NVidia 7900 GT - 310W (ie: Gainward 7800 GS+)

So any of these three cards would seem to be fine on my system... So I'm happy to spend a bit now and continue to make my system limp along for another year or two... (remember I don't play many games and am more than happy at lower res, on medium settings :))

Which to go for:-
X1950 = Around £100 new
Gainward BLISS 7800 GS+ = Under £100 second hand

BTH, for an extra £50 (£150) why not the HIS ATI X3850?
You can also get things like the Club3D HD3850 (512mb) for around £125.
 
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I cannot say about the ATI 3800 series. But most people seem to rate the latest Nvidia cards better (8800 and 9600series) at less than £150 . Also not sure if Ati 3800 needs special connectors for PSU and aren't they PCI not AGP? = new mobo, you may need to double check on that.
 
lunarwolf said:
I cannot say about the ATI 3800 series. But most people seem to rate the latest Nvidia cards better (8800 and 9600series) at less than £150 . Also not sure if Ati 3800 needs special connectors for PSU and aren't they PCI not AGP? = new mobo, you may need to double check on that.
Click to expand...

We're talking AGP here, so only the cards I mentioned above :)

Not sure what that card needs connection wise, but would hope if its a 6 pin it comes with a 4 pin molex converter?
 
Tombo said:
Most AGP cards will be molex anyway I would thing.
Click to expand...

Not sure about the HIS ATI X3850? My biggest two concerns are its length? I can't find it out (will it fit in my case!), and it's power connector (I assume if it's 6pin you can get a 4pin adapter?)
 
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