PC to play STALKER: how much?

[MattyD]

How much do you guys think I would be needing to spend for a PC that could play STALKER and the new add-on pack?

Assuming I was to either buy a machine complete or make one up out of parts, what sort of spec should I be looking at?

Please bear in mind I haven't had a current (for gaming anyway) PC since the Pentium MMX-233 was considered top of the line, and so don't have a clue about current PC graphics cards or anything like that. I'm not looking to make a future-proof beast of a machine that plays Crysis in its sleep, just something that will play Stalker. What do you reckon?

Oh and don't include the price of a monitor as I'll just use my Sammy LCD-TV.

[capcom_suicide]

Overclockers.co.uk do some great systems.

I think this is good value: 750 quid

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-007-OE&groupid=43&catid=1080&subcat=&name="Titan%2 0Accelerator"%204850

But you can get cheaper too.

Like this: 400 quid

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-036-OK&groupid=43&catid=1184&subcat=&name="Titan%20Gam er"%20AMD%20Athlon%20X2%204600+%202.4GHz%20SILENT% 20DDR2%20System

How much do you want to spend?

[Soundwave]

Cyber power system are pretty good...

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/r01/ri01.asp

All systems are fully customisable.
All include monitors but you can spec them without & take some money off.

I reckon you could look at this one...

http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/system/gamer_infinity_800/#configurator_top

No monitor for £529 delivered
Could do with an upgrade on the PSU to a 600watt+ & also upgrade on the CPU cooler.

Neil

[Matt]

Overclockers.co.uk do some great systems.

I think this is good value: 750 quid

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-007-OE&groupid=43&catid=1080&subcat=&name="Titan%20Acc elerator"%204850

That's the spec to be aiming at - Quad core, 4gig ram, 4850 gfx, with quality components throughout the system. The 4850 is the best card for the money, no doubt about that, and it can run anything you chuck at it, maxed out with a lot of frames (except Crysis of course). That will keep you going for quite a while I'd imagine

[Matt]

BTW, the 4850 is the highest card I'd recommend if you Samsung is 720/768 res. If it's 1080 I'd go for the 4870.

And you may as well upgrade the DVD drive to a BluRay player

[Psyduck]

sorry guys, I'm no expert, but isn't that huge overkill for stalker? Haven't got time right now to look around but I'd be expecting a figure of around £300 at the most to play it.

[vanpeebles]

Stalker ran ok on my now creaky Athlon 3ghz with 1.5 gig ram and Radeon 9800. So something cheap should do.

[AlonzoUK]

Some of those specs are overkill for Stalker - the original ran fine on my core2duo 6400 with 2GB and 7600 card. Its one of those games where people on lower spec kit generally got better performance than those on newer hardware - patches may have resolved this though.

Not sure what the specs are for the sequel are though.

[Kit]

I think this is good value: 750 quid

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-007-OE&groupid=43&catid=1080&subcat=&name="Titan%2 0Accelerator"%204850

^
I'd go for that if I had the money.

Alternatively.

Q6600- £120
P35 MB- £80
2GB Ballistix- £50
ATI 4850- £120
Decent Lian Li case £70
HDD- £30
Corsair PSU 520- £50

-£520

That would give you some headroom for minor upgrades and you'll be able to play everything maxed.

I'm not looking to make a future-proof beast of a machine that plays Crysis in its sleep, just something that will play Stalker.

If you build a decent PC you should play Crysis. It’s got a bad rep for the required spec but it’s still an excellent game.

[Soundwave]

sorry guys, I'm no expert, but isn't that huge overkill for stalker? Haven't got time right now to look around but I'd be expecting a figure of around ?300 at the most to play it.

They might be overkill but in my experience once you start playing FPS on a PC it becomes a VERY slippery slope & then the need to play the next latest & greatest FPS starts to bite

So if it was my money I'd buy a machine that is slightly overpowered for the job just so I know I have maybe a year or 2 before I need to consider an upgrade.

PC gaming is a VERY expensive hobby IMO

Of course there is the just plain ridiculous if money is no object...

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ShowSystem.asp?SystemId=827

?11k for a PC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Neil

[ExpertKing]

I've just been playing this on my system at 1600x1200 with all the visual options set at full and it plays perfectly.

core2duo e6300 ( 1.8ghz)
4Gb ram installed ( 3.25 in 32bit Xp , although the game only detected 2G during install )
Nvidia 8600GT
P5k-premium.


Above would only cost a few hundred now I would imagine...

[MattyD]

Q6600- ?120 - What the hell is this?
P35 MB- ?80 - And this?
2GB Ballistix- ?50 - I'm guessing this is RAM
ATI 4850- ?120 - And video card

This isn't looking to be as expensive as I thought but I will still probably want to build my own rather than buy one. Is there any reason why you suggested such an expensive case BTW?

[VR46]

Top one is processor, second is Motherboard. Third is indeed memory and last one the graphics card yes.

[Hohum]

I probably wouldn't build your own PC unless you do have some knowledge of the various components you need, their compatibility with each other, and also some experience at diagnosing problems should you encounter one... otherwise, it could get messy.

If the case is a bit too pricey for you, then this one seems to get good feedback and is fairly cheap:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN

Have a look at the pre-built systems though, some are actually reasonably priced.

[Kit]

Here’s some good prices.

Processor : Q6000

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=643237

Motherboard P5K
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=656141


Memory : 2 X 1GB DDR 2
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-093-CR&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817&name=Crucial%20B allistix%202GB%20(2x1GB)%20DDR2%20PC2-8500C5%201066MHz%20Dual%20Channel%20Kit%20(BL2KIT1 2864AA106A)

PSU : HX Corsair 520w
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=446788

Graphics Card : ATI 4850
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=836588

And I’m sure you can carry over your hard drive.

Is there any reason why you suggested such an expensive case BTW?

It’s always a good idea to pay a bit extra for a good case with some 120mm fans - mainly to ensure you’ve got a decent amount of air flowing over the components.