I 've finally hit the wall in waiting for specx for SoW to be made available...I really want to buy a new rig today!So with that in mind has someone got the ideal set up for me to give to one of my local ( Seattle) commercial builders ( or order on the internet)that will not only handle the future add-ons that may be necessary for SoW , but will run Il-2 (all I play currently,although I might want to give & the other Silent Hunter Ubisift markets a try...) perfectly? The reasom I add that Caviat is that I have read threads recently where guys have bought the newest & best & found problems getting Il-2 to play on perfect settings.I know I want the best of both worlds here,but its only because my budget won't allow me to buy a new rig when SoW finally appears.I'm no computer whiz so I need something that basically plays Il-2 nearly straight from the box...
Advice please..

Intel E8400 or E7200 CPU
DFI DK P35 or DFI DK X38/48 Mobo
2x2gb G.Skill 1066 ram (with the blue heatspreader)
PCP&P 750W silencer PSU
Graphics are up to personal choice:
Nvidia 8800GT or 8800GTS 512
ATI 3870 or 3870X2

You might want to wait a month or two for the new nvidia and ati cards to come out, the 4870 looks really good as does the GT260 or GT280, altho the ati will be much cheaper than the nvidia.

I forgot to mention my budget...would like to hold this under $3000.00 but would be much relieved to beat that price if it makes ense!

Unless something is dying or showing its age and not able to run this sim with all its bells and whistles then why upgrade yet? There is no reason to upgrade for SOW, it won't be out for a number of years unless there is something else you are also waiting for. What's your rig look like now? If anything wait just 2-3 weeks for the next ATI cards to come out and hopefully drop the price on some current ones. If you are at least running a 939 dual core and a decent amount of ram or better hold onto your money for the time being, but in all reality its totally up to you.

With a budget like that, go with the QX9650 for a cpu. One of the mobo Urufu mentioned is fine as long as it has the X48 chipset because it supports 1600MHz on the FSB. But the Foxconn X48A is a good mobo along with the offerings from Asus. Also go ahead and pick up some DDR3 memory. This stuff, the Super Talent Project X DDR3-1800 is the best out there for tight timings and overclockability. Read more about those here:

http://aphnetworks.com/reviews/super_talent_project_x_ddr3_1800_2x1gb

Also when ATI releases their 4800 series, pick up two 3870 X2's and run a quad gpu setup. With the rest of the components you will need that should pretty much use up your budget of $3000.

But to be perfectly honest, the advice staticline offered is sound and makes more sense. Save your $$$ until BoB is released because technology will be allot further down the road by the time it is released and you would probably be better served by waiting and picking up components when BoB is released.

Ha Ha..good timing James...
Just lately I have had this horrible urge to upgrade my already great computer.
It plays il2 just fine with my ATI X1900XT all the other good stuff..

My only problem is my eyes..They ain't as good as they use to be & I have always had a hard time picking out the aircraft against the ground.

I was just wondering if anyone could comment on whether or not those pixels show up any better on the Nvidia 8800 etc or the ati 38xx vs my x1900.

I remember going from the 9700 pro to the x1900 actually I just don't see that much differrence. Its a bit better, but not a whole lot...

I believe Urufu...'s advice is about the best though...

quote:

Originally posted by staticline1:
Unless something is dying or showing its age and not able to run this sim with all its bells and whistles then why upgrade yet? There is no reason to upgrade for SOW, it won't be out for a number of years unless there is something else you are also waiting for. What's your rig look like now? If anything wait just 2-3 weeks for the next ATI cards to come out and hopefully drop the price on some current ones. If you are at least running a 939 dual core and a decent amount of ram or better hold onto your money for the time being, but in all reality its totally up to you.

I appreciate your sentiments ( also see other comments & suggestions at:http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=3392)
Let me try to explain & if you say its still better to wait I will take your suggestion to heart.
All I really play now is Il-2( except flirting with BoB2 which needs more computer power than I've got to work well & quickly...ditto Silent Hunter sims which currently sit on my shelf...))& have played it from the beginning with my current HP Pavallion710 PC which has been upgraded in memory, a CPU added & a new graphics card ,all about 2 -3 years ago...otherwise its stock & will not take any further improvements ..period.It worked wonderfully well with Il-2 Sturmovik & currently works okon simple missions in newer versions Water=0 Perfect . ....I get about 20fps-not fast but usable...but get more than 10-16 aircraft in a flight & flak,well FPS goes to hell& the only way I can get thru a mission is to do it at 1/2 speed and time acceleration ,well it just doesn't want to do its job. A bit frustrating with all the possibilities of this sim,yes? You bet! Obviously I'd like for this sim that I already have in hand so to speak play to perfect settings if I could,while waiting & waiting & waiting for BoBSoW!
Not being a computer whiz , but tight with the $$$ I've been waiting on BoB SoW to make the big step up to a new rig.Well you can figure out or know the history of waiting on this sim:first due out in late 2007 , then late 2008 ...now late in 2009. I have been patient too waiting & flying at half speed & fps's down at 8 somewhere- I don't want to waste time & money on a PC that won't cut it for SoW or have to be massively rebuilt after its release.
When I started this thread I thought the time may have come for a compromise ( after all each year I wait ,everyone says just wait 6 more months...they said it 2007 & say it now...)but I figured maybe now someone has read the tea leaves & knows which way to jump.Judging from the postings there is quite a variety of opinions,wouldn't you say?
As mentioned I 'm not a PC expert ( all I've learned is actually from this sim!!!) and I do not want to screw this up...I really want my next rig soley to play the next generation of Oleg's & Ubisoft's work . I guess I can wait as much as I don't want to...
So now what's your opinion or suggestions?

quote:

and I do not want to screw this up...I really want my next rig soley to play the next generation of Oleg's & Ubisoft's work

Either buy something 'fast' now and forget about what requirements SOW:BOB will be needing, or wait untill it's out there...

Good Luck!

Since you are struggling to run the games you play now I'd say go ahead and build, but build budget so that you aren't too tied to this investment in 2-3 years when it's time to go full bore for BoB. The rig I suggested if using the E7200 with the DFI DK P35 (which is easily capable of 1600fsb btw), the ram I suggested (which is fast, overclocks well, and is cheap!) with an 8800GT would be a hell of a rig with a minimal investment.

Or like FT says, just go balls to the wall now, I'm fairly confident that my Q6600 at 3.7ghz, 4g ram, asus rampage and an upcoming 4870 or 8800gts 512 will be perfectly capable of playing BoB on playable setting. May not be full eye candy but hell it took il2 6 years to be played full on with good frames!

Get on eBay. Pick yourself up a 939-pin mobo, cpu (at least a 4000+ in a single core), at least 1GB (2x512MB) sticks of memory, a X1950Pro in PCI-E (make sure your mobo has a PCI-E slot). Then get online and find a decent mid tower for around $40 and a decent PSU for around $60. Reuse your ROM drives & hard drive(s) from your current rig and have at it. A rig with these components will play this sim and the two others you mentioned. Plus you can wait to spend the big bucks when BoB is released.

But, if you just want a top of the line rig now, & I don't blame you, then the components I mentioned or Urufu mentioned above will give you just that. Just try to build it yourself or have someone build it for you. Don't purchase a proprietary rig. I just built one for a m8 here called Eldon45. If you are uncomfortable building a rig yourself and no one else offers, I will be glad to build it for you m8.

Actually, if you're interested in quazis suggestion of a 939 rig to hold you over I just happen to have a skt 939 DFI NF4 Expert mobo, X2 3800+ (capable of 2.6ghz), 2gigs of DDR500, and a X1950XT all up for sale. Quazi is a reasonable guy and experience witht he ebay thing, I haven't come up with a price on this yet but I'd be willing to sell it for whatever Quazi says is fair, so quazi, please pipe up and let me know what you think that setup is worth. Pm me if anyone is interested.

quote:

Originally posted by Urufu_Shinjiro:
Actually, if you're interested in quazis suggestion of a 939 rig to hold you over I just happen to have a skt 939 DFI NF4 Expert mobo, X2 3800+ (capable of 2.6ghz), 2gigs of DDR500, and a X1950XT all up for sale. Quazi is a reasonable guy and experience witht he ebay thing, I haven't come up with a price on this yet but I'd be willing to sell it for whatever Quazi says is fair, so quazi, please pipe up and let me know what you think that setup is worth. Pm me if anyone is interested.

If all this meets with my requirements,as you say & if price is mutually agreeable ..it would sure work for me.I've never PM'd anyone before...so not sure how that works here,,,You could get hold of me through www.jamesdietz.com which would be fun for you or simply email me at dietzart@aol.com...I'd be able to work out a way to ship it too!

I did a little ebay searching and came up with some numbers but I want to hear quazis opinion too. I have to add that I do not have a cooler for the videocard (I have it watercooled and don't know what happened to the stock cooler), and I may not be able to find the stock cooler for the cpu or the stock cooler bracket for the mobo. The cou cooler and bracket are no big deal since you would probably want a better cooler than the stock one and most aftermarket coolers bolt onto the backplate and not use the bracket. The gpu cooler is a bit of an issue as you will have to get a third party cooler for that when you may not have done anyway. I will ofcourse knock down the price because of this. I say about $25 off for the lack of videocard cooler as thats most of the way to a new aftermarket one, and say $15 off for the lack of cpu bracket and cooler since you would most likely get a cpu cooler that bolts on (assuming I cannot find them, I think I know where they are).

Again, we'll see if Quazi wants to chime in cause I do trust his opinion os used pc part prices and I'm just trying to cut out the ebay middleman if thats the way you want to go.

James, the suggestions that Quazi and Urufu are the ones that will serve you best ATM especially the rig from Urufu which will run this sim smooth maxed out. The only thing that I would add is whether you buy Urufus rig or build your own similar to that piece your current one out to make some money back, it won't be much but at least its something. Enjoy and good hunting in the future.

quote:

Originally posted by staticline1:
James, the suggestions that Quazi and Urufu are the ones that will serve you best ATM especially the rig from Urufu which will run this sim smooth maxed out. The only thing that I would add is whether you buy Urufus rig or build your own similar to that piece your current one out to make some money back, it won't be much but at least its something. Enjoy and good hunting in the future.

I believe the woman who puts up with me & cannot understand my obsession with this game ( and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here...) has first refusal on said obsolete-but-still-better than-her's machine...

Ok, I PMd Quazi and he came up with almost exactly the same figures I did, lol. Total is about $320 if I can find the coolers. If I can't then I'd take about $280.

Here is what myself and 99th_Monty came up with. He & I were hanging on TS when Urufu ask me to see what I come up with as far as the components he listed in this thread and what these components are selling for on eBay. And since Monty was already there, I asked him to help out. Here is what I posted in response to Urufu's question through the PM he sent me:

$300 to $320 m8 and that is if you can find the heatsinks\coolers.

And that my friend is with two heads working on it. I am on TS with 99th_Monty and we both scoured eBay. We couldn't find that particular mobo on eBay but agreed that it should at least fetch $60, if not $80. The cpu you have is listed several times with BIN's of $80. There are several 2GB (2x1GB) sticks of matched DDR500 memory with BIN's of $80. And the X1950XT PCI-E should fetch anywhere from $60 to $80.

That is the best we could do for you m8. Hope it helps.

I'm all for this but obviously want to make sure everything I'll need to make this work is available & easy to install.Would obviously like everything to come at once ready to go if poss.So you think this will run Il-2 almost perfectly?Just want affirmation...I can hardly wait!

I can tell you that allyou would need to run il2 perfectly with the items I have is the heatsinks if I cannot find them, and a power supply that will handle an X1950xt.

If you're in the States, I bought all my components from http://www.directron.com (it helps that they are across the street from where I work but it's not essential).

Got a 1 step below extreme edition dual core system (including 4 gig o' RAM and an overclocked BFG 8800 w/768 meg o' RAM) for right at $1500. With another $1500 I could have gone quad core w/2 video cards and still had plenty left over.

--Outlaw.