Gaming with a DVDRW +/- CDRW Multi Combo Drive

[Mark-FON]

Hi, I haven't been here for a while.

Right, I am fed up with my 6 year-old 450MHz, 128MB SDRam, 12Gb, PII computer that has never worked right from the word go!

Tomorrow, I put a deposit on a computer with these specs:


Intel Pentium® 4 3,2GHz HT800MHz

MSI or Asus® Motherboard

1GB DDR3200 Memory / Crucial®

200GB Hard Disk Serial ATA 10000RPM

nVidia FX5600 256MB DDR Video Card

DVDRW +/- CDRW Multi Combo Drive

5.1 Channel Audio Card

6xUSB2.0 + 3xFireWire Connectors

Network Card and V.92 Modem

Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

17" Flat TFT Screen /+ 3y. warranty

Windows XP Home Edition



I know I will be going "WHOA!" At the speed of everything just on that alone.

My question is about gaming though!

I now have Broadband and will have the computer to use it online, but the person I am buying this system said the -

DVDRW +/- CDRW Multi Combo Drive will be good enough to do things including faster transferring to Hard Drive and then to disk, rather than from a ROM drive to this drive.

But for my gaming, would I be better off just getting a DVD-ROM drive installed as well. I have always known to do that (in case one drive crashes), but for gaming, is a DVD-ROM drive better, than the (above) combi drive for gaming?

Thanks for all your help!

Mark (FON)


A wise old owl, sat on an oak;
The more he saw, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard;
Why can't we be - like that wise, old bird?

[SaulTurnedPaul]

Originally posted by Mark-FON
Hi, I haven't been here for a while.

Right, I am fed up with my 6 year-old 450MHz, 128MB SDRam, 12Gb, PII computer that has never worked right from the word go!

Tomorrow, I put a deposit on a computer with these specs:


Intel Pentium® 4 3,2GHz HT800MHz

MSI or Asus® Motherboard

1GB DDR3200 Memory / Crucial®

200GB Hard Disk Serial ATA 10000RPM

nVidia FX5600 256MB DDR Video Card

DVDRW +/- CDRW Multi Combo Drive

5.1 Channel Audio Card

6xUSB2.0 + 3xFireWire Connectors

Network Card and V.92 Modem

Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

17" Flat TFT Screen /+ 3y. warranty

Windows XP Home Edition



I know I will be going "WHOA!" At the speed of everything just on that alone.

My question is about gaming though!

I now have Broadband and will have the computer to use it online, but the person I am buying this system said the -

DVDRW +/- CDRW Multi Combo Drive will be good enough to do things including faster transferring to Hard Drive and then to disk, rather than from a ROM drive to this drive.

But for my gaming, would I be better off just getting a DVD-ROM drive installed as well. I have always known to do that (in case one drive crashes), but for gaming, is a DVD-ROM drive better, than the (above) combi drive for gaming?

Thanks for all your help!

Mark (FON)


A wise old owl, sat on an oak;
The more he saw, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard;
Why can't we be - like that wise, old bird?

First of all, what is the price quoted on all of those parts?

The CPU, RAM, mobo (depending on model number), and hard drive look great. The graphics card is not so great. In fact, if you plan to be playing a lot of games with the computer, that graphics card is far too slow. I would encourage you to look around at prices for 9800 Pro's, or at the bare minimum a 9600XT, or on the Nvidia side, a 5950 Ultra or a 5900XT. Getting a good graphics card is pinnacle if you want to have a "gaming" system. There is a lot of new graphics card technologies out right now, but they aren't widely available, so if you need to buy right now then I would recommend the 9800P above all others (assuming you can get it for a good price).

I'm kind of confused about what you're talking about concerning the DVD/RW drive - if you're talking about raw data transfer speeds from a DVD/RW compared to a DVD-ROM, the DVD-ROM would be faster (16x as compared with 12x). If you can afford it, get the DVD/RW though because it is handy to burn 3GB of data to a disc.

I personally wouldn't go for the flat screen if you are a gamer, as you still can't beat a CRT. I would recommend a 19" flat screen CRT, as they are cheaper than a 17" LCD and give you better image quality and no worry about refresh times.

All in all, looks like a good system, but only dependant on how much it costs. If you could, post the price for the whole system or each component and perhaps its model number.

[Mark-FON]

The Price is on offer at £999 ($1,789 - current exchange rate) and I looked around for other systems and prices and all.

I wasn't sure and this confirms my initial thoughts on the Graphics card.

I can get components I want, (build as I want) So I will check this out.

I will ask about a CRT.

And can get a DVD-ROM drive added for £29 ($52)

[nodnod]

I wouldn't concern myself with the dvd rw and gaming. The game cd is hardly ever used for any games. Usually just as a cd check nowadays.

[DanceMan]

I would look into an Athlon 64 cpu and board at an equivalent price to your P4. It will likely be faster on gaming and office apps, equal or a bit less on streaming media, gives you 64-bit capability for the future, and will run cooler because of "Cool & Quiet" (cpu speed/voltage stepping).

[Mark-FON]

Ok, well I went researching even further on the comments I received and even went to another shop and got not only their prices but all my questions answered.

So much so, I decided to purchase the computer above , specifications as is, though I added a DVD-ROM drive to the package.

This being said. I was told the DVDRW +/- CDRW Multi Combo Drive was a newer and would do all the things including the playback, but as I know and have been told, for gaming, why burn out a laser writer for only reading a games disk!

And as I haven't been able to play games on this old machine for up to 4 years and have never worked right since it was bought 6 years ago and I can't even play Medal of Honor Allied Assault online or even Age of Empires (offline) without slowing down and jumping and many other games disks have so many problems, I just Might have said "Stuff it" Anything will be better than this.

I looked at a range of TFT screens and did not see a problem for me and was even and am getting a solution to the wireless package I want, without the trouble of batteries. The Manufacturer said and showed me the keyboard/mouse package and told me so many people were typing so fast, that the keyboard is going to cable connected and the mouse wireless, as in the box he is providing and showed me. Perfect, just what I wanted and asked at the other shop about this very solution!

I am getting all complete disks as well as drivers package and though the 200GBs HDD is going to be partitioned and their is no extra software, apart from, Windows XP, Norton Utilities, I will be more than happy with what I am getting.

Anyone wanting to know more, either about specifications and names of the products, etc. let me know and I will post it.

Be warned. Once it comes though, I may be gone for a year or two, playing all those games I could never really do or not at all.

Oh wait! This Doom 3 is out! Better make that 2 to 3 years then!

;-)

L8r!

Mark (FON) (ex-Editor on TV Tome)




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[DanceMan]

You know how your friends ask for your advice on a computer purchase, you give it, and then they go ahead and buy what they were looking at originally.............?

[krupted]

i hear ya dance, i think it comes down the the outright malicious marketing by manufacturers.

That said, Mark, you will be very happy with your pc. I would look into swapping for a different video card though, DOOM3 will really push the hell out of the 5600.

I actually agree with getting a second optical drive, but not for the reason of longevity. You probably wont burn out a laser by reading too many game discs, their lifespan is longer than yours
I like two drives for the fact of compatibility. Sometimes i find one of my drives doesnt really like a certain discs, and having another drive to use helps a lot. Also, you can copy audio discs 'on-the-fly' if you do that stuff

a 10,000rpm 200GB drive? i didnt know they existed, hmmm

I think the monitor will be awesome. I dont think LCD's are as bad as some make them out to be. Especially since you bought a 17" you should be set for a long time, or at least untill the OLED panels come out

Overall though, you will find that you probaly spent too much for what you got, but thats only because it was made for you. Round these parts we dont even breathe the words 'prebuilt' or the like, but nonetheless you wont be dissapointed, that is untill you figure out how easy it is to build your own rig

[Martin_89]

Originally posted by DanceMan
You know how your friends ask for your advice on a computer purchase, you give it, and then they go ahead and buy what they were looking at originally.............?

my mate was like that had me riming off off all these specs and numbers then went and bought a dell, then phoned me to come up to his bit to set it up and install his broadband!

plus dont pay £30 for a DVD-Rom heres a liteon one for £15 HERE