Purchasing a new computer help!!

[Yunella]

Hi folks,

So after some serious thought I decided to look into buying a new PC but I'm looking for one that can run SL really well with shadows on. Shadows though don't need to be on 24/7 I just want to use them for photography purposes.

I've been looking at a few pc's on Ebay but I'm really not sure what I'm looking for. I'm also from England so the websites seem to be limited for me to choose from, hence me looking on Ebay.

I did find one PC I liked the look of was wondering if this would work well on SL with Shadows??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAST-QUAD-CORE-Gaming-PC-8GB-1TB-RADEON-HD6670-2GB-Desktop-Computer-AMD-/321127744002?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item4ac4b48202

I'm trying to keep to a budget of £300 - £350 if I can help it.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

That PC looks like it can handle Sl very well. The video card is a little bit on the lower end but will run SL fine.

Sl runs good with a quad core CPU. Not sure how well the card will handle shadows. I dont use Radeon my self

Looks like it has a Radeon HD6670 and is optomized for video processing.

[Suspiria Finucane]

It may be possible for this system to meet your requirements but I doubt it based on the low end video card. Good luck with your search.

[Monti Messmer]

Hello, better look for an updated graphic-card.

Now with the new possibilites in texturing, low to mid range video cards will run SL but you will miss out the "better" look.

Monti

[Yunella]

Ok so had another little look on Ebay and found this, less Ram but still in my price range

Is the Graphics Card any better?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AMD-3-6Ghz-Dual-Core-Gaming-Pc-Computer-500Gb-4Gb-Nvidia-GTX-650Ti-1Gb-Galaxy-/140962012015?pt=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item20d1fd9b6f

[Dilbert Dilweg]

Yes that is a much better card. It is mid grade for the GTX, and it is a TI which has more power than the regular 650gtx, it should handle the shadows fine

 

Try to find that same config but one with a quad core CPU

[Suspiria Finucane]

Yes better :matte-motes-wink: Unfortunately for your budget you will sacrifice one thing or another. You have a difficult choice ahead.

Personally I would save another 100 to get something closer to what you need.

[Dilbert Dilweg]

I always just buy the insides. Motherboard, cpu, ram and vidcard if I need it. It's Cheaper and can get more Power for my buck.

Usualy works great when you already have a Box, dvd burner, monitor and soundcard, power supply and all other extras like fans etc. No sense in throwing out good hardware. Then I take me old parts and put together a low end box and sell it . makes some of my money back for the upgrades lol

[Orca Flotta]

From the same guy comes this one:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SUPER-FAST-Quad-Core-4-0GHz-Gaming-PC-8GB-1TB-AMD-RADEON-HD7750-Desktop-Computer/200913656071?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D74%26meid%3D8509725572891981876%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D1152%26rk%3D3%26sd%3D321127744002%26

 

I don't know much about AMD/ATI but the 7xxx series is newer/better than the 6xxx so I guess it would make sense to up your budget around 50 pounds.

Processor isn't important. 2, 4 or a dozen cores won't help you at all in SL.

[Alesium]

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Dilbert Dilweg wrote:

That PC looks like it can handle Sl very well. The video card is a little bit on the lower end but will run SL fine.

Sl runs good with a quad core CPU. Not sure how well the card will handle shadows. I dont use Radeon my self

Looks like it has a Radeon HD6670 and is optomized for video processing.

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As an fyi, I use a Radeon HD 6670.  It's a very good video card for playing games, including Second Life.  With 4gb RAM and an i3 processor, I can play most (if not all) current PC games on either high or very high graphics settings with reasonable FPS.  The only issues I have with SL with this setup is the network connection, but that's not really my fault.

[Yunella]

Like I said I can't really go above £350 that's my limit so saving another £100 isn't a option as I'm not the one paying for the PC.

Well I obviously have a pc now but it's like 7 years old and it would work out much cheaper to buy a brand new one as the HD is making funny whiring sounds from time to time. My DVD drive/burner don't work at all, mother board is getting on etc etc so buying a new one would work better.

That one with the 7750 looks not bad I'll add that to the list of suggestions and see what we end up choosing.

Quick question though, the Radeon HD6670 are you saying you can get shadows to work?

Like I say I don't want shadows on 24/7 just for taking pictures and stuff then I'd turn them off.

[Orca Flotta]

Like I say I don't want shadows on 24/7 just for taking pictures and stuff then I'd turn them off.

 

For photos both cards should do. Shadows will get your fps down when you're not on a superduper connection and live on the US westcoast anyway. Still the 7xxx card is preferable to the 6xxx. So paying 349 instead of settling for the 299 is a good choice.

Of course you'd save some money if you'd get the parts and then build the machine yourself. It's not much more complicated to build than the Lego police station. But in that price range who cares anyway? So just go for it and enjoy while it lasts.

Oh, wait a moment ... hang on. That seller seems like a small basement builder, so you won't get much of a warantee but on the plus side he should be pretty flexible so if you just contact him and tell him you want a nVidia GTX 660 instead of the ATI crap he should be able to swap it out for you.

 

[Suspiria Finucane]

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Yunella wrote:

 

Quick question though, the Radeon HD6670 are you saying you can get shadows to work?

Like I say I don't want shadows on 24/7 just for taking pictures and stuff then I'd turn them off.

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For that, you may be fine dependent on the amount of objects, textures and avatars you are trying to render. People were just trying to get you the most bang for the buck.