rec.autos.simulators

I plan to bump the memory to 2GB of PC2-4200.  Is that large enough
and fast enough?  The system supports up to 4GB of DDR2 PC2-6400.

For the Graphics card, I'm considering either the 8800 or 8600.  How
would 8600 compare to say Forza on the Xbox?

Is there anything else I should get?  I have a Sound Blaster Live 64
from a couple of years ago that I figure should get good enough.

Thanks,
Freddie

It is right on the edge actually. The architechture of the I500/I600
processors is not anywhere near the Core 2 Duo/Quad processors as far as
performance per clock cycle. An E6600 at 2.4 Ghz ouperforms my I630 OC'd to
3.6 Ghz by a great margin. I then overclocked the E6600 to 3.4Ghz and there
is no comparison. My I630 at 3.6Ghz runs GTR2 fairly well.

The extra memory won't hurt you, but you probably will not see much
improvement in GTR2 overall performance.

I am not a console gamer so I can't comment on Forza. I will say that there
is really not much of a comparison between the 8600 and 8800 series cards.
The 8800s are much better than the 8600s in games/sims. An 8800GTS should
match up fairly well with your processor.

That should be fine.

Ed

Get the new 8800GT.
Much faster than 8800GTS
And cheaper

Martin.

These games all play really well, at fast frame rates,  with most
graphics options turned on, using the following pc spec:

Intel Core 2 Duo e6600 cpu (default speed 2.4Ghz, mine is clocked at
3.1Ghz)
Arctic freezer pro 7 heatsink and fan
2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 ram (800Mhz - PC2 - 6400) in dual channel
mode.
Abit AB9 pro MB (wifi model).
GeForce 8800GTS 320mb graphics card (DDR3 mem).
Jeantech Arctic 600w PSU (modular cables).
2 x 250Gb SataII HD drives (each with 16mb cache).
19" LG FlatTron LCD screen.
Jeantech NIX *** case with 3 x 120m case fans (low rear, high front,
and side) using rounded compact internal cables to aid airflow.

Bear in mind windows (32 bit) OS's are limited to 4Gb memory, but that
includes any used from graphics cards, so effectively 3Gb is the useful
max.

*Peter*

I'll probably wait until I can get a better complete system like what
Peter has above.  I don't want to blow a bunch of money and then find
out I have to turn most of the graphics off.

Thanks,
Freddie

My system:
Athlon 5000+ AM2 dual core
2 GB RAM
GF 8800 GT pci-e
160GB SATA drive
DVD-ROM
ASUS-M2N-SLI mobo
2x 12cm case fans, Arctic Cooling CPU fan

Cheers & HTH,

uwe

--

You have various power supplies coming from the same psu, to different
parts of the system, for example via the 12v rail (maybe more than one?)
and via the 5v rail (maybe more than one?) and also via the 3v rails.

These will be supplying the m/b, the cpu, memory, the gfx card, the
h/d's, the sound card, possibly also the monitor, and all the fans in
the pc case.

You then have to work out the theoretical max for each of these, which
gives you the total max drain on the whole system (max drain on the psu).

Just looked at the box for my GeForce 8800GTS and the min requirement is
400w, (we all know how well our pc's run on the "min" requirement don't
we?) but the recommemnded requirement is 600w.

So yes it will run on a 400w, but I'd much rather stick with my 600w
thanks....

8-)

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

and my pc comes out at 403w min (I have a 600w psu installed)

Remember, it is not just about what gfx card you have, its about the
total power drain on the whole system that determines what psu rating you
need.

8-)

*Peter*

Cheers, uwe