New PC and Half-Life 2

[Palo Alto]

I am getting anew computer and was wondering if this machine has sufficient specs to run Half-Life at a decent rate. I know next to nothing about computers.

AMD Athlon 2600+ Processor
512Mb RAM
80Gb Hard drive
DVD RW
NVIDIA Geforce4 MX Graphics Card

[mt50]

that pc is fine exept for the graphics card. you will need one of the new GeForceFX graphics cards or a Ati card to play half life 2 on.

buy the way where are you getting your pc from and how much is it costing you?

[Valken]

you will need one of the new GeForceFX graphics cards or a Ati card to play half life 2 on.

Despite being correct about the poor videocard the above statement still isn't true.

[Ciaran]

The biggest bottleneck on that pc is the graphics card, your performace should improve greatly with a Raedon 9500 pro, 9600 etc.

What motherboard are you getting?

[Palo Alto]

It is from a deal in pc world. Basically I am getting it for going to university and I would like a flat screen monitor which this comes with. It costs 699 pounds. If you know of any better deals please tell me.

[mt50]

It is from a deal in pc world. Basically I am getting it for going to university and I would like a flat screen monitor which this comes with. It costs 699 pounds. If you know of any better deals please tell me.

what make is it? allways have a look on the net for a comarison of prices, and try a local coputer shop.

do you need a dvdrw? if you don't you could save about an ?100-?150 on that price.

[Fire]

You really want all the exact model numbers of parts to get an idea of how good the system is. Unfortunately places like PC world will use mostly generic no-name or low specification components to keep the price down. You have to remember there can be a huge difference in products from a certain series or manufacturor even though they can all be described with the same vague maketing term - "128MB Geforce graphics" or something similar could mean anything from a ?30 economy job to a ?350 monster.

For a prebuilt game system I'd recommend buying from somewhere else.

[Palo Alto]

It is an Emachines 610 with an AMD Athlon processor. I would like a cd-rw drive but don't require dvd-rw. Is there anywhere I could get a better deal, possibly with a better graphics card?

[mt50]

the spec of the pc sounds good but they are probably using unbranded componants, you could do with building one yourself or trying a local pc shop to see what they can do for you, also check places like savastore.co.uk and nethighstreet.com as they do good pc's for a good price.
good luck.
also i've got the sames graphics card as that pc your looking at and it plays all the latest game a decent rate. i will be upgrading after chirstmas though.

[Adam]

I read an interview last night on CVG, one of the guys said you can play Half-Life 2 on a card as low as a TNT, just some things like the water won't look as good as the screens/movies we've all seen. I have an MX graphics card myself and I expect it to run 'ok'

[probeater]

Don't get a pc from pc world, they give you a tft monitor with a response time of 40ms or something stupid like that

[Palo Alto]

where would be a good alternative to buy a complete package then? I have no idea how to build my own.

[mt50]

where would be a good alternative to buy a complete package then? I have no idea how to build my own.

like i said try your local computer shops they should give you a good deal.
also try toysrus they have some pc's.

if you want that pc from pcworld why not go in store and ask to try one out? to see if you like it.

[Spatial]

IMO and humble experience its best to use an independant computer hardware retailer - keep it to local for word of mouth about someone who's got a good rep and customer service

Chances are they'll know what they're talking about ( unlike some PC World or Comet / Currys / Dixons monkeys ) and the system should be upgradable in the future. Independants are usually more helpful when it comes to rectifying faults and offering support too

I bought a brand name PC once and got stung with an over inflated price, plus a system that couldn't be upgraded cos the components were so **** ( on board modem and video anyone ???????!!!!!!! ft: )

[MO2J]

I recently built my own PC (a 3Ghz AMD Athlon XP), it's a lot more satisfying and you are immediatley more familiar with the machine.

I got a Geforce FX 5600 on the cheap, which isn't too bad a graphics card, but I will be upgrading very soon to either a Radeon 9800 or Geforce FX 5900.

I just handpicked the parts myself and got my local independent retailer to put it all together. I prefer to give my business to the independent retailers. In my experience, the people that work at PC World et al aren't bad people as such, but they are restricted by business policies and generally seem to have less knowledge about their trade.