What PC for Black Shark?

[tallboy]

I am going to get a new PC in the near future and I want to be able to run BS with all settings maxed out.

 

What spec PC should I get? My budget is up to GBP2500.

 

Any recommendations out there? I quite like the look of the Alienware stuff, but then again Dell seem a bit more switched on to gaming these days.

 

Anyone care to post me the specs of a dream machine within my sort of budget?

[SuperKungFu]

first depends on how bad you want this comp, personally i say wait because the hardware to run everything maxed out probably doesnt even exist yet.

 

second you would be better off if you build one by yourself rather than get an alienware or dell. You can personally get the best of the best hardware with a cheaper price.

[Witchking]

The main thing about computers is to shop around. And yes...NEVER get a branded system unless its a laptop. Just go around to various stores and get individual parts and build it yourself. That obviously involves a lot of research and time but it will be worth it. You can save a lot of money by doing it yourself.

 

Secondly....the main thing for now is WAIT. There is a rumor that sometime in november nvidia is showing off its DX 10 video card...Nvidia Geforce 8000 series. You waited this long...then stay tuned for another month or two. You won't be disappointed later that you missed the DX 10 wagon.

 

Those DX 10 cards use the latest tech and are apparently very powerful. they can probably own lomac (note: probably). :) So just wait for them to come out. Then you will have a real treat. :D

[3Sqn_Fudd]

 

Secondly....the main thing for now is WAIT. There is a rumor that sometime in november nvidia is showing off its DX 10 video card...Nvidia Geforce 8000 series. You waited this long...then stay tuned for another month or two. You won't be disappointed later that you missed the DX 10 wagon.

 

It's a quasi rumor right now... THere should be a launch of the 8800 soon (whether its a hard or paper launch remains to be seen) and if the thread below is any indication, the card is putting up some pretty good numbers. However, read the arguements... if these benches are correct it seems the 8800 may not be so awe inspiring considering its a new process.

 

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1113565

 

Also...remember that the "Dx10" wagon also comes with three things... Vista Os, a 8800, a high end power supply

 

It's an odd time to build fresh... some things possibly to wait on... Intel Kentsfield, 8800gtx GPU, ATI R600 Gpu,

[Pilotasso]

With christmas rush knocking on our doors, it will be very hard to get a DX10 ready PC and without paying a premium for it.

[Colt40Five]

Early adopters always pay through the nose. I will do what I always do and wait at least a year after a major advance before I seriously consider an upgrade. I built a new rig last November and I usually go on 2 yr cycles, so hopefully it will work out for me. But you're right fudd it's a wierd time to think about building fresh...too many what-ifs in the near future.

[Witchking]

well....as its said..its always what you finally decide. Early DX 10 jumpers will love the experience ...but when the real time comes with acutal DX 10 games...the second gen DX10 cards will shine more.

 

Me personally...I think I am done with desktops. I love laptops. I am going to stay with this now LOW-MEDIUM end baby for atleast another 2 yrs. Then I am planning on deciding between a mac or a new vista ultimate laptop. ...yeah..lol! long time still...but hey....I am being impressed by the visuals of a mac....and it will also serve well to keep me away from games in school ;)

[Ukr_Alex]

Whats the deal with dx 10 cards?

 

It will take a while for DX games that are worth playing to come out. Then the first DX 10 cards will wont be that fast in comparison to the ones released 6 months later when there actually will be dx10 games that are worth your money.

[tallboy]

So will BS run OK on DX9 or will it really need DX10 to get the best out of it?

[britgliderpilot]

So will BS run OK on DX9 or will it really need DX10 to get the best out of it?

 

IIRC, DX10 is only going to work with Windows Vista and a set of graphics cards that haven't been made yet ;)

 

I'd have to check on Black Shark, but I'm fairly sure the Lomac engine only used up to DX8.1 anyway . . . . . . so you don't need to worry about that.

 

 

What you WILL need is a very fast CPU, and a lot of video memory.

 

Right now the top of the line is the Core 2 Duo Extreme at 2.93GHz, and if you manage to SLI a pair of Nvidia 7950 GX2's, you will have a barely believable 2Gb of video memory. Yum.

 

Add that in with a pair of 500Gb SATA drives, a 22" TFT screen, 2Gb RAM, and while you'll struggle to fit it all within your £2500 budget (!!!) you'll have a fair shot at playing Black Shark on high settings.

 

Without seeing it run there are no guarantees, but if money really is no object then just buy what you can and see how it goes!

[Guest IguanaKing]

I don't know for sure, but I don't think BS is a DX10 game. I don't think many others will be for quite some time either. Not to mention the fact that its going to be part of Windows Vista, and just like it was with XP, I'm sure it'll be several months of patches and service packs before that one is worth a s**t. If you choose to wait for a DX10 card, you may be waiting a while...and then waiting some more before it gives you any benefits. I'm predicting that, by the time the capabilities are fully realized, that GPU interfaces on motherboards will change just a few months after that. Of course, this prediction is pure speculation and only based on history.

[Pilotasso]

Actualy the DX10 card is just arround the corner, but be prepared to swich all your home apliances down and wear some year plugs to use it. Not to mention its almost as big as a surf board.

[Guest IguanaKing]

Yup. I know its nearing release. What I was saying is that it will be quite some time before its of much use. :smilewink:

[Ukr_Alex]

Yup. I know its nearing release. What I was saying is that it will be quite some time before its of much use. :smilewink:

 

Yeah. By the time the first DX10 card becomes usefull it will be outdated.

 

Best is to give at least a year for that technology to mature. Then get whatever is the best thing on the block.

[firesoldier845]

Then I am planning on deciding between a mac or a new vista ultimate laptop. ...yeah..lol! long time still...but hey....I am being impressed by the visuals of a mac....and it will also serve well to keep me away from games in school ;)

 

I've always had a Mac and a Pc, well mostly at least both platforms at the same time. I love Apple, man they are really nice laptops. I have a Macbook Pro and love it, but I will say from experience I would never recommend Apple laptop as a single computer to have if you are into flight simming. I run both OSX and Windows on my Apple which u can do nowadays and I tell u, my MBP laptop is really nice but it is not great for gaming. It's marginal for other gaming but totally inadequate for simming of any kind. Apple's problem is they never have option to buy high end video card in their laptop line. Right now X1600 is best u can get and I tell u it is better than some chipsets but really still subpar for any kind of gaming. On OS X side you will be sorely missing a lot of games because their really is a lack of games for Mac other than a handful of decent ones. You can load Windows on your laptop but I tell you it is a lot of hassle as well on small HD running 2 OS. I speak from experience because I own MBP and am avid flight sim fan. Thankfully, I can afford both PC @ home that is for flight simming and gaming and have laptop for most of my work. Now for future I can't say much, if Apple would ever put 7900 or X1800 class 3d chipset in laptop line as option I would buy and never look back. My friend has Toshiba laptop with 7900 and even slower processor than mine and he plays games at settings I could never even think of trying. He paid close to $1000 less than I did for my MBP. I'm not Mac bashing or trying to change your mind, just wanted to give u some advice so u not waste money or be dissappointed. If your a gamer I would look elsewhere like alienware or another vendor that has higher end video cards than what Apple uses in their professional laptop line.

 

cheers

 

fs845

[tallboy]

Hell, I think I'll have three 22" TFT screens and a Matrox TripleHead2Go!

 

I used to enjoy PONG, you know. Apart from the tape loading, life was so easier then.

[Lightning]

As already been said, the CPU was and still is the most important thing in Lock On / Flaming Cliffs / Black Shark.

 

Lock On does not really profit from a better Video Card ( neither DX9 nor with DX10 cards ). As far as i know even Dual Core Processors do not affect the game in a positive way, the only profit is that you can run teamspeak and maybe some other backround software the same time without taking away CPU cycle Power from Lock On.

 

I just upgraded from a single Geforce 7800 GTX ( 256 MB ) to a SLI system.

And an AMD 64 FX-57 is the Heart of my system.

 

Believe me or not but nothing changed to the FPS !

It definatly does not affect the FPS in a positive way, the only thing is that i can have a higher setting of Anti-Aliasing and Anisotropic-Filter, which in my opinion is not worth the money that i invested :doh:.

 

So my only hope is, that i will have more decent FPS in Fighter Ops which has not been released yet ( no idea when this sim will be finished and released ). I am sure that the developers will integrate a Dual Core CPU usage to give the game more performance.

 

Fact is : Get the fastest CPU you can buy on the market and a Motherboard with two PCI-E 16x slots and a Geforce 7900 GTX SLI system ( thats faster than a single Geforce 7950 GX2 ) to have the best performance in Lock On ... and you still will be disapointed with the FPS when you set every detail to maximum in a war scenery with many Planes and lots of ground forces.

 

The actual CPU generation is still much to slow to handle that detail level ! :(

[Guest IguanaKing]

Yeah. By the time the first DX10 card becomes usefull it will be outdated.

 

Best is to give at least a year for that technology to mature. Then get whatever is the best thing on the block.

 

Yup, and if you can't wait more than a year...stop telling the rest of us we should wait. The way I see it, when it actualy matters, it'll be time to upgrade anyway and all the "wait for DX10" boys will have spent WAY TOO MUCH MONEY ALREADY.

[Witchking]

I've always had a Mac and a Pc, well mostly at least both platforms at the same time. I love Apple, man they are really nice laptops. I have a Macbook Pro and love it, but I will say from experience I would never recommend Apple laptop as a single computer to have if you are into flight simming. I run both OSX and Windows on my Apple which u can do nowadays and I tell u, my MBP laptop is really nice but it is not great for gaming. It's marginal for other gaming but totally inadequate for simming of any kind. Apple's problem is they never have option to buy high end video card in their laptop line. Right now X1600 is best u can get and I tell u it is better than some chipsets but really still subpar for any kind of gaming. On OS X side you will be sorely missing a lot of games because their really is a lack of games for Mac other than a handful of decent ones. You can load Windows on your laptop but I tell you it is a lot of hassle as well on small HD running 2 OS. I speak from experience because I own MBP and am avid flight sim fan. Thankfully, I can afford both PC @ home that is for flight simming and gaming and have laptop for most of my work. Now for future I can't say much, if Apple would ever put 7900 or X1800 class 3d chipset in laptop line as option I would buy and never look back. My friend has Toshiba laptop with 7900 and even slower processor than mine and he plays games at settings I could never even think of trying. He paid close to $1000 less than I did for my MBP. I'm not Mac bashing or trying to change your mind, just wanted to give u some advice so u not waste money or be dissappointed. If your a gamer I would look elsewhere like alienware or another vendor that has higher end video cards than what Apple uses in their professional laptop line.

 

cheers

 

fs845

 

I know what you mean. Macs are like hot girls with no brains. They look good and make you go crazy but they are no way practical for gaming. :D

 

Thats the other reason I want to get it though. I want to get away from gaming. However, I am pretty sure that at the end I will stick with windows again. its just too mainstream to let go. especially with vista...I can get the pretty girl look in it as well. :D

[TucksonSonny]

Do you want a real power OC CPU test? How fast can you get a depth 20 in chess?

Core 2 Duo dominates the Chess game but single cores are not blown away!

http://www.chessexchange.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=12898&sid=bf7b00c42ad04a5aa718c5f34af90034

I came up with this test because chess is the only game that can take advantage of dual core with 100% (2X speed of 1 core) and it is all about CPU like with flight sims.

[Sleek]

I'm sure i read someware that DELL bought out Alienware pc's?

 

As far as the MAC goes you can run both MAC and PC software on the new CoreDuo's but you have to buy something to make PC software run on the new MAC's..I'm quite interested in the idea.

[britgliderpilot]

I'm sure i read someware that DELL bought out Alienware pc's?

 

As far as the MAC goes you can run both MAC and PC software on the new CoreDuo's but you have to buy something to make PC software run on the new MAC's..I'm quite interested in the idea.

 

Boot camp. It's a free tweak allowing you to boot Windows XP on a Mac, the only other thing you need is a copy of Windows XP ready to install.

 

It's an expensive way of doing things, but you do end up with a Mac to do Mac stuff, and a half-decent PC as well. If you like Macs it's good stuff :)

Do it on a Mac Pro and things are better but even more expensive.

[Anytime]

Don't forget the grafx card on the Macbook pro is way underclocked, when running windows under boot camp you can bump it back up to it's normal speed.

 

I leave it alone under os x, don't need the added speed for the day to day jobs.

 

Drawling over a Mac Pro though, hear it will support quad cores x 2 (thats 8!! cores) very very soon, but I don't think my wife will let me hawk her engagement ring to buy one. :cry:

 

 

Boot camp. It's a free tweak allowing you to boot Windows XP on a Mac, the only other thing you need is a copy of Windows XP ready to install.

 

It's an expensive way of doing things, but you do end up with a Mac to do Mac stuff, and a half-decent PC as well. If you like Macs it's good stuff :)

Do it on a Mac Pro and things are better but even more expensive.

[britgliderpilot]

Don't forget the grafx card on the Macbook pro is way underclocked, when running windows under boot camp you can bump it back up to it's normal speed.

 

I leave it alone under os x, don't need the added speed for the day to day jobs.

 

Drawling over a Mac Pro though, hear it will support quad cores x 2 (thats 8!! cores) very very soon, but I don't think my wife will let me hawk her engagement ring to buy one. :cry:

 

It is?

Now that's useful to know . . . . . just so happens that my brother's looking at buying a Macbook Pro, may swing things for him.

 

 

Bored one day, I did actually go and look up how much you could spend on a Mac Pro if you wanted to.

I got to £12,000 . . . . . . .

[Anytime]

Lol me too, 4 gpu's bit of an overkill hehe

 

http://www.maconintel.com/news.php?article=178

 

 

I think it's clocked at around

It is?

Now that's useful to know . . . . . just so happens that my brother's looking at buying a Macbook Pro, may swing things for him.

 

 

Bored one day, I did actually go and look up how much you could spend on a Mac Pro if you wanted to.

I got to ?12,000 . . . . . . .