Looking for a new PC... looking for advice

[bungled80a]

My laptop will just about run RW on low settings (before overheating) but I would like to experience it to its fullest (or at least with TSX on!!). I'm looking at buying a desktop machine to do this, and as I have seen in several threads, there is no difinitive answer to the exact spec that will run it to its fullest. Anyhoo, just had a quick browse and found a machine with the following specs...

Processor
Intel® Core™ i5-2320 (3.00GHz, 6MB L3 Cache, 4C)
Operating System
English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Memory
8GB5 Dual Channel at 1333MHz
Hard Drive
1000GB SATA hard drive (7200RPM)
Video Card
1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 555

full details can be found here..... http://www.dell.com/uk/p/alienware-x51/ ... enware-x51

Just wondering what people think of it and any changes you might think Id need to make to it so as to run RW better!?!?

Martyn

[tofwings]

http://forums.uktrainsim.com/viewtopic. ... 4&t=122079


See this thread.....the specs are at the bottom

Cheers
Brian

[secludedsfx]

Whatever you do don't get an Alienware as:
1. They're over-priced for what they are
2. The support you get from Dell is the worst I've ever had to deal with.

If you don't want to build it yourself i'd recommend using this site http://www.overclockers.co.uk/syscon_in ... =FS-280-OK if you're in the UK and configuring it to spec's like this:
i5 2300
Any of the RAM selected (More is better at the end of the day)
GTX 550Ti or any of the one's below it on the page
And everything else to what you want.

[bungled80a]

Ok, so tried the link to Overclockers UK and this is the specs I ended up with...

- TP-Link 300Mbps Wireless-N USB Adapter (TL-WN821N)
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-02050)
- OCZ ZS Series 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
- Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM
- Samsung SH-B123L/BSBP 12x BluRay ROM / 16x DVD±RW Lightscribe SATA-II Optical Drive - Black (OEM)
- No Second Hard Drive Option (ZERO Cost)
- Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS)
- OcUK GeForce GTX 550Ti 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX)
- Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION**
- No Upgrade - Intel Stock Cooler (None overclocked systems)
- Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
- Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black

I decided to up the PSU from the basic so that in future I could add a second HDD or SSD. Is upping the PSU needed??
Went for the 8GB Ram over 4GB as it is only an extra £5

Thoughts???

Martyn

[gptech]

I'd suggest,if your budget allows, upping the CPU to the i5-2500 and/or going for a more powerful GPU--460, 560, 570.

The 550Ti is a good card, but isn't as powerful as its number may suggest, being outclassed by the 460.
You didn't say what the standard PSU was, but I'd still go with the 80+ one you've chosen.

[styckx]

Is upping the PSU needed??
Thoughts???

Martyn

Depends on what the Wattage that system has now and if you plan to upgrade in the future as I don't see it listed.. PSU is probably one of the most critical pieces of hardware commonly overlooked when people build a new PC.

[Gatso]

750w is plenty for an i7.

You might also want to try a mild overclock if you're confident with changing the BIOS settings. I bought the base model i7 920 CPU with a big cooler and upped it from 2.6 to 3.5GHZ which is a lot cheaper than buying a faster CPU. Again, my 750w PSU copes fine.

[tofwings]

Asus Xonar DG 5.1 PCI Sound Card with built in Headphone Amp - OEM

Never used one of these, i have a X-Fi Gamer Sound Card..... Not too sure if the Xonar cards support EAX...( perhaps someone else may know )

OCZ ZS Series 750W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply

750w Bronze Modular is what i use ,

Intel Core i5-2300 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail

Same CPU as Mine , and coupled with a Z68 Asus Motherboard its overclocked to 4.3 ...runninng cool , and it performs very very well , ( the overclock is performed by the Ai Suite that comes with the MB.)
Cant comment on the Asus P8H61-M Intel H61 Chipset (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard **B3 REVISION**, as ive never used one .

Im not going to comment on the Graphics card, ( its a minefield , with lots of differing opinions, )....All i will say is that my ATI 6870 does a bang up job in RW........and eats everything else ....

If you could stretch to adding an SSD solely for Installing RW on , then i think you would be more than happy with the results

Brian

[Irishrailguy]

If you want to maximise performance, get a processor that is either the 2500K or 2600K. Since the models without the K suffix will limit your spec to the stock performance without the ability to overclock if required. I don't think 750w psu's are really nessicary for the system of that spec. 650w or 700w should do you fine. There is really no perfect spec for TS2012 but there are some standard things that will allow for the best experience.

I would have to go for a Creative X-fi sound card for the sound effects, Ive heard that ASUS cards cause sound problems with EAX enabled, according to some members they experience freezing and looping sounds, so I'd stick with Creative.

As far as graphics cards go, I would stick with Nvidia, TS2012 was built for on them so you will probably get far better performance thaj with the Ati counterpart. Anything above a gtx560ti should float your boat