New computer spec opinions?

[Apache]

Just about to replace my ageing desktop and on the gaming front it will be used mainly for CM albeit I do like the Total War series sometimes. As I'd REALLY like to ensure I get no CM issues I'd be grateful fro any views on the spec. It's a Chillblast Fusion machine which have had some good reviews in the UK:

Intel Core i7 870 Processor overclocked to 3.6GHz

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Cooler

Asus P7P55D-E LX Motherboard with USB 3.0

GeForce GTX 460 768MB Graphics Card

EZCool A200D ATX Case

4GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Memory

Samsung Blu Ray ROM / DVD-RW Combo Drive

1000GB SATA 7200rpm Hard Disk

500watt FSP PSU

Onboard High Definition Audio

Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM

Included Peripherals:

Samsung B2430L

Logitech Cordless Keyboard & Mouse

Logitech S220 Speakers

Ports on rear of system: *

4 x USB 2.0 ports

2 x USB 3.0 ports

1 x PS/2 for keyboard

Audio outputs

1 x 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet for network

1 x DVI output

1 x HDMI output

1 x DisplayPort

1 x S-Video

* May vary if configuration is altered!

Ports on case:

2 x USB 2.0 ports

[Schrullenhaft]

It should be fine as far as I'm aware.

Typically the issues that CM suffers from are due to video drivers more than anything else. Between the two major video chip manufacturers they usually alternate in terms of some sort of problem. In the past with ATI/AMD there was a texture management problem in the OpenGL driver that caused the game to crash within 20 minutes or the requirement for a 'workaround' in the code to handle the mouse. These issues have disappeared for ATI/AMD lately, but there can always be something in the future. For Nvidia there was the recent 'flashing/lighting' bug that is actually still present in the drivers, but we managed to work around it within the code.

Occasionally we hear about reports regarding the latest video cards and the drivers that they use. Often these newer video cards have to use the latest drivers in order to work and that sometimes causes some grief when the latest drivers have bugs that can't be worked-around. Occasionally some newer hardware will behave differently than other hardware using the same drivers. That happens because that hardware may have features or functions enabled that other hardware doesn't have and the way that this hardware works may give different results with the same drivers.

There were complaints recently with some users who had Nvidia GTX 460 video cards. However I don't believe that there is anything wrong with them to my knowledge and CM.

[Apache]

Thanks. I might look at upping the spec with a different card, I'll post details after Xmas when I will know more about what it will be (hoping for some kind of sale). Only thing I was a little surprised about is the onboard sound? I'm not sure of the current state of PC sound delivery but I always thought a separate sound card was preferable?? That said, I won't be using 5.1 or anything like that.

IIRC wasn't there an issue years ago with ATI cards and fog? Is that still a problem.

[Schrullenhaft]

For CMx1 games (CMBO, CMBB & CMAK) there was an issue with fog and ATI/AMD video cards, but that got fixed a couple of years ago. In fact now Nvidia has an issue with fog under Windows Vista / 7. However I'm not sure if the same is also true of ATI/AMD. They both work under Windows XP.

A separate sound card is generally better if it is truly a higher quality card. Usually a separate PCI/PCIe sound card can have more electronics on it to help with the amplification of the audio and maintain the audio signal a bit better with more/better 'passive' electronic components (capacitors, etc.). There's also the possibility of better DSP/sound field effects, but that may vary depending on the software that is used. Generally speaking the common Realtek and 'SoundMax' codecs are fairly decent. Higher quality motherboards will probably have higher quality results with on-board audio.

[Apache]

Thanks for that. This comes with Windows 7 so that fog issue has got be a bit worried!! I'll monitor the situation I think and might consider going for an ATI option. This system is supposed to be geared towards gaming so I'm hoping the sound will be OK. I'll research it some more.

[Apache]

Coming at this from a slightly different angle, what would a good combination of video card, ram etc be so I can perhaps look to spec around those?

The cards this manufacturer seem to offer are:

Chillblast Radeon HD 5770 1024MB Video Card [-£15.00]

Chillblast GeForce GTX 460 768MB Video Card

Chillblast GeForce GTX 460 1GB Video Card [+£54.00]

Chillblast Radeon HD 6850 1024MB Video Card [+£54.00]

Chillblast Radeon HD 5850 1024MB Video Card Recommended [+£80.00]

Chillblast Radeon HD 6870 1024MB Video Card [+£80.00]

That said I am not committed to this manufacturer in any way. They just seem quite highly thought of in the UK and I've not been that impressed with my Dell in all honesty.

The system at the top comes in around a £1,000 whereas the one below, almost half the price:

Installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit as standard.

EZCool A200D Case

650W EZCool PSU

Core i3 530 overclocked to 4GHz

Asus P7H55-M/USB3 USB3 Motherboard

4GB DDR3 Memory

500GB SATA II Hard Disk

24X Sony DVD-RW Drive

GeForce GTS 450 1024MB Video Card

Windows 7 HP 64 Bit

Included Peripherals:

22 " AOC F22+ Widescreen TFT Monitor

Logitech MK250 Cordless Keyboard and Mouse

Chillblast 2.0 Speakers

Ports on rear of system: *

4 x USB 2.0 ports

2 x USB 3.0 ports

1 x PS/2 for keyboard

Audio outputs

1 x 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet for network

1 x DVI outputs

1 x HDMI

1 x VGA

Ports on case:

2 x USB 2.0 ports

FP audio

The first system is clearly better in terms of its Vid Card, HDD and some components (screen etc) but as I don't play Crysis or whatever I wonder if it's overkill for CM etc?

[c3k]

Coming at this from a slightly different angle, what would a good combination of video card, ram etc be so I can perhaps look to spec around those?

Chillblast GeForce GTX 460 1GB Video Card [+£54.00]

Chillblast Radeon HD 6850 1024MB Video Card [+£54.00]

Chillblast Radeon HD 6870 1024MB Video Card [+£80.00]

The first system is clearly better in terms of its Vid Card, HDD and some components (screen etc) but as I don't play Crysis or whatever I wonder if it's overkill for CM etc?

Just my .02 on your video card choices. If you go with the GTX 460, get the 1Gb version. The HD6850 and the GTX 460 are pretty much equivalent cards. (HD6850 was just released a month ago - or so - whereas the GTX 460 has been around a lot longer. Newer may have some room for driver upgrades improving performance, older may benefit from greater stability. Pick whichever manufacturer you like better.)

The upgrade to a 6870 is not necessary for CM series. However, if you use other games, you may think about the cost of 80 quid and how much you may or may not see out of it.

Good luck!

[Apache]

Thanks, I'm wondering how the 450 1GB would compare. Like I say, I don't do other gaming, just CM and occasional Total War (Rome, Medieval II and Napoleon).

[Erwin]

Also consider the advantages of an SSD drive. Putting the OS on an SSD seems to increase performace remarkably.