few questions about a winxp gaming system \ VOGONS

few questions about a winxp gaming system

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First post, by gamefan_851

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Hi there. I am in the pre-planning phase to get myself a WinPXP retro gaming system suitable for the years 2002 to 2006/2007

A rather pivotal time, which makes picking the proper parts a bit difficult. I am interested in getting a system built around a fast Cor2duo CPU chipset. Not sure which one would be the best mainboard/chipset for gaming, what would you recommend, and geforce 7 card. Is the geforce 7 a solid pick?

So far so good, but is muli core cpu the right pick for a system that should work for games catered for a single core cpu only? For 2005, 2006 and 2007 games a dual core cpu makes lot of sense to get out most of the games.

But how about the years 2002 to 2004? Is the single core performce oft intel core 2duo 7 series fast enough for these games, or would I be better off with a ultra fast single core cpu in general?

Please feel free to share your thoughts and recommendations.

Reply 1 of 3, by Shagittarius

Posted on Yesterday, 22:14

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Get the fastest Core2 your MB can support. The Core2 duos are going to be faster clock/clock than any single core CPU just due to architecture improvements.

I would recommend if you are not going for period correctness to get a GTX 580, these go for about the same price as anything prior 35.00 or so, and will be enough to do anything your XP rig could want and leave you the power to add extra eye candy too, certainly if not going for period correct I wouldn't go under a GTX 280. If you do care about period correctness go for a GTX 8800, or 8800 Ultra.

For MB , look for features you want with one of these chipsets : P35, X38, P45, X48

Reply 2 of 3, by Shponglefan

Posted on Yesterday, 22:49

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Before deciding on a platform, what type of monitor / resolutions were you planning to use? And what are your expectations for performance?

If you're planning on a 4:3 display and resolutions, then a Core2Duo system will probably be fine for that era. If you're going wide-screen (i.e. 16:9 or 16:10) at a faster refresh rate (75Hz+) then you might want to consider a Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge system.

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Reply 3 of 3, by JoyfulTechnology

Posted on Today, 00:05

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Shponglefan wrote on Yesterday, 22:49:

Before deciding on a platform, what type of monitor / resolutions were you planning to use? And what are your expectations for performance?

If you're planning on a 4:3 display and resolutions, then a Core2Duo system will probably be fine for that era. If you're going wide-screen (i.e. 16:9 or 16:10) at a faster refresh rate (75Hz+) then you might want to consider a Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge system.

This. You have to remember that we had different (lower) expectations of our systems back in the day...60fps wasn't a given yet. A modern gamer might be happier with a system a couple of years later than the games you're actually planning on playing.

This was, incidentally, the period when I built my first gaming PC...a Core 2 Duo E6750 with an 8800 GTS and two whole gigs of DDR2 in 2007 with a 22" 1680x1050 LCD display. Not that I particularly recommend that particular configuration (I had no idea what I was doing and was a starving college student), but that'll give you an idea of what gamers were working with back in the day.

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