[Michael Pakula]

I want to get back into computer gaming soon since
Doom 3 will be out next year. So I will need to
upgrade. What will I need to get in terms of upgrades?
I have a celeron processor and will be getting a pentium
4, I will also be getting a new video card but is undetermined? What do you think I should get? The last card I had was a Voodoo 3000. What is top of the line at the minute?. I also will be getting some more ram as I only
have about 64 now. I can't even play Alien Vs Predator 2(Laughs). So what will I need to get in terms of video card?
what do you suggest?. any help appreciated. Sorry if there is was any confusion when reading this. I was still trying to figure out myself what I needed as I typed this.


-Mike

[Jeff Kleist]

128MB ATI Radeon 9600, 512MB of PC-2700RAM, 1GB if you can afford it. at least a 3GHZ processor and a 120GB SerialATA HD

That should be pretty sweet for Doom 3

[Michael Pakula]

Thanks, cost wont be an issue as I just want to have
the best experience when it comes out. My computer just needs a serious upgrade in genereal anyways.


-Mike

[brentl]

"at least a 3GHZ processor" I think Jeff is playin with ya a little!!

Even now there aren't any games that could use the power of a 2gig processor.

I would bet that Doom 3, Half Life 2, or Max Payne 2 won't have a recommended processor of more than between 2 and 2.3 ghz. Even then the amount of memory and video card will have more of an effect.

If you can afford the faster processor get it! It will future proof you better, but you pay for it.

I'd wait until you are ready to buy the games before looking at video cards. As you know, they change every month, so keep you eye peeled for the deal you want.

Look at a 9600 right now, but in 2-3 months who knows!!

Since the top card runs around $500, it's a lot of dough to spend on a little thing.

Jeff is right when he says "go for a gig of ram"! Ram is cheap, even brand name ram. So buying a gig won't hurt to bad.

Brent
Right now I'm on an XP2200, 768meg, and a Radeon 8500. I should be able to run said games with most things maxed out.

[James St]

Quote:

Thanks, cost wont be an issue as I just want to have the best experience when it comes out

If possible I'd wait. The only official release date given for Doom3 is 2003 with rumors and speculation around Nov/Dec. Thats still a ways away in terms of hardware. Buying the top of the line everything within a month or so of its release will give you the best experience.

If you want to buy now and cost is not an issue.

P4 3.2C
Canterwood mobo
PC3200 Ram
Nvidia GeforceFX 5900 Ultra
SATA WD Raptor 36gb HDD
2nd HDD 80-120gb

[Kimmo Jaskari]

Get the fastest CPU you can, and go with 1GB of memory. It's cheap and there is no such thing as too much memory.

There are a few sites out there with quality coverage of the latest and greatest, but try Anandtech - there is a slew of articles detailing the latest video cards there.

Currently, the Radeon 9800 is the performance champion. So, if you can wait and have no other need for a hotrod games machine, hang on until Doom 3 is actually out would be my suggestion as well.

Since we're talking Doom 3... check out that top article on the NV35 (the name for Nvidia's latest upcoming chipset)... they have a performance test using a version of Doom 3 in there. Here is a direct link into mid-article where the comparison starts.