[afireinside]

Wireless mouses are bad for gaming. Either go with the Razer Copperhead (what I use) or the significantly cheaper logitech MX518. For a mousepad go with the steelpad Qck+ (or the plain Qck is 17.7" is tob big for your desk

)

Headphones the favorites here for gaming seem to be the A900s and the DT770s. I'm getting some darth beyers soon so I'll have some gaming impressions

 

[EasyRaider]

Dual-core is not very useful for gaming yet. You'll actually get worse performance in many cases unless you mess around with process affinity (blame Windows, hopefully Vista will be better). Perhaps even worse, you may get strange bugs in a few games (again, not the CPU's fault).

I'd suggest Opteron 144 for overclocking, or A64 3500+ if you want to stay at stock speed.

Besides, those would be better equivalents to the Grado SR60 IMO. An OCed dual-core is more like a high-end Senn or something.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afireinside Wireless mouses are bad for gaming. Either go with the Razer Copperhead (what I use) or the significantly cheaper logitech MX518. For a mousepad go with the steelpad Qck+ (or the plain Qck is 17.7" is tob big for your desk ) Headphones the favorites here for gaming seem to be the A900s and the DT770s. I'm getting some darth beyers soon so I'll have some gaming impressions

I have a g5, it is probably the best mouse in comparison to the laser razer diamondmax.

And please, get a dual core, you'll cry when you see how bad a single core cpu does at multi-tasking. Your going to end up upgrading your cpu in 3 months if you get a single core anyway, so don't waiste that money no matter what this guy says.

 

[afireinside]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasyRaider Dual-core is not very useful for gaming yet. You'll actually get worse performance in many cases unless you mess around with process affinity (blame Windows, hopefully Vista will be better). Perhaps even worse, you may get strange bugs in a few games (again, not the CPU's fault). I'd suggest Opteron 144 for overclocking, or A64 3500+ if you want to stay at stock speed. Besides, those would be better equivalents to the Grado SR60 IMO. An OCed dual-core is more like a high-end Senn or something.

You're wrong. Very wrong. Both ATI and Nvidia drivers are coded to take advantage of dual core, giving a decent boost in gaming, especially with SLI or Crossfire. Plus the snappier windows experience is worth the price tag alone.

G5 is the same laser as the copperhead but the copperhead offers a 1000hz polling rate vs a 500hz polling rate. Hardly any difference though. I prefer the razer design.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afireinside You're wrong. Very wrong. Both ATI and Nvidia drivers are coded to take advantage of dual core, giving a decent boost in gaming, especially with SLI or Crossfire. Plus the snappier windows experience is worth the price tag alone. G5 is the same laser as the copperhead but the copperhead offers a 1000hz polling rate vs a 500hz polling rate. Hardly any difference though. I prefer the razer design.

Both are perfectly fine, try both yourself before you buy, and decide for yourself.

And yes, if you don't get the dual core, your a complete moron, unless your on some super tight budget. Dual core will make all the difference, and it will make everything just faster and smoother all-together I would say.

 

[EasyRaider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE And please, get a dual core, you'll cry when you see how bad a single core cpu does at multi-tasking. Your going to end up upgrading your cpu in 3 months if you get a single core anyway, so don't waiste that money no matter what this guy says.

Sure, it's great for multi-tasking, but that was not the focus here. As far as gaming goes, dual-core is the real waste, at least at the moment.
Quote:

And yes, if you don't get the dual core, your a complete moron, unless your on some super tight budget. Dual core will make all the difference, and it will make everything just faster and smoother all-together I would say.

You're the moron if you're serious. Fact is, dual-core is known to give a less smooth experience in single-threaded games unless you set process affinity to one core.
Quote:

Originally Posted by afireinside You're wrong. Very wrong. Both ATI and Nvidia drivers are coded to take advantage of dual core, giving a decent boost in gaming, especially with SLI or Crossfire. Plus the snappier windows experience is worth the price tag alone.

SLI and Crossfire are quite irrelevant at this budget. The bottom line is, single core gives significantly more gaming performance at the same price. However, that may change in the future. So it makes sense to buy dual-core if you're looking to spend a lot of money, or if you value Windows snappiness above gaming experience. But given the premise of this thread, single-core is probably the best bet. It just doesn't make sense to spend that much on CPU when we're trying to find the gaming PC equivalent to cheap, but capable headphones.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasyRaider Sure, it's great for multi-tasking, but that was not the focus here. As far as gaming goes, dual-core is the real waste, at least at the moment. You're the moron if you're serious. Fact is, dual-core is known to give a less smooth experience in single-threaded games unless you set process affinity to one core. SLI and Crossfire are quite irrelevant at this budget. The bottom line is, single core gives significantly more gaming performance at the same price. However, that may change in the future. So it makes sense to buy dual-core if you're looking to spend a lot of money, or if you value Windows snappiness above gaming experience. But given the premise of this thread, single-core is probably the best bet. It just doesn't make sense to spend that much on CPU when we're trying to find the gaming PC equivalent to cheap, but capable headphones.

I have no idea what drugs you are on, but it is not just multi tasking. The single core amd cpus always felt so much slower then even an HT intel CPU, until dual core came along. Now you can have a few windows open, etc etc, and not be boggled down. I urge you to not listen to the above guy, windows "snappiness" is what so many people would consider fast, and what they are looking for. Unless your looking for results in some benchmark showing you that an amd 3200+ venice overclocked preforms better then a 3800x2 (say super pi 32m), I once again urge you to get the dual core.

 

[EasyRaider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE I have no idea what drugs you are on, but it is not just multi tasking. The single core amd cpus always felt so much slower then even an HT intel CPU, until dual core came along. Now you can have a few windows open, etc etc, and not be boggled down. I urge you to not listen to the above guy, windows "snappiness" is what so many people would consider fast, and what they are looking for. Unless your looking for results in some benchmark showing you that an amd 3200+ venice overclocked preforms better then a 3800x2 (say super pi 32m), I once again urge you to get the dual core.

I, for one, am almost never bothered by slowness in Windows, except in cases when some lowly system runs out of memory and starts swapping like crazy. But I sure hate choppiness in games.

Now, this was about a value gaming PC, remember? You're grasping at straws, trying to justify an expensive CPU when a much cheaper one would do the job just fine. If gaming wasn't the main focus, then a dual-core CPU and a lesser graphics card would make perfect sense. Or if the aim was a high-end gaming system, one might as well include dual-core.

 

[afireinside]

How is he grasping at straws trying to justify an expensive CPU? Games get a small performance boost off DRIVERS ALONE right now. Quake4 and cod2 already have been patched to take advantage of dual core and the unreal 3 engine will fully support SMP. Add in the snappier windows experience and the fact that it's a MASSIVE performance boost if you do any sort of stressful multitasking, or graphics design, audio/video editing, or encoding. Just because all YOU do is game and don't mind a slow windows, doesn't mean everyone else thinks the same.

 

[XFxGeforced]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afireinside Yes I'm active in the dry ice world. I have the 7800GT records and you probably remember me pushing the opteron 146 to 3.6ghz before most people got them

are you using a one-piece pot or did you braze a pipe onto a base? i have my copper pipe, just needa find out where to get a flat piece of copper to braze to it. i already have the record for my sempron 3300+, but thats just on air so i kinda wanna take it further. im familiar with insulation and all that goes with it, just want to know where to get the base. sorry that this is ot

 

[EasyRaider]

He asked for the most cost-effective components for gaming and music. 7900 GT is a good one. An X-Fi serves both purposes. OTOH, dual-cores cannot be said to be cost-effective yet. Even for future multithreaded games, they will have worse performance/price ratio than single-cores (maybe 60% faster for 90% higher price).

Chances are that if games run well, everything else will be fast enough too. I didn't see any mention of working with video, 3D rendering and such.

Actually, I have considered to buy a dual-core. But for gaming and music, I know it still is more of a luxury item than a "Grado SR60".

Ask me again in 5-6 months and I'll probably recommend a dual-core for everybody. (I'm expecting Conroe to be a very nice offer, and AMD to lower prices accordingly.)

 

[juzmister]

im a big poster over at www.extremeprometeia.com/forum, great bunch of people, who will be glad to help you! If you want to get loads of value out of your chip go phase (got my opty to 3.4) , maybe its a little out of this league tho...get an opty, 2gb memory, 7900gt and put it all on water with an AQZ 50Z. Water is far easier than you would think...(use non-conductive water for peace of mind)

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EasyRaider He asked for the most cost-effective components for gaming and music. 7900 GT is a good one. An X-Fi serves both purposes. OTOH, dual-cores cannot be said to be cost-effective yet. Even for future multithreaded games, they will have worse performance/price ratio than single-cores (maybe 60% faster for 90% higher price). Chances are that if games run well, everything else will be fast enough too. I didn't see any mention of working with video, 3D rendering and such. Actually, I have considered to buy a dual-core. But for gaming and music, I know it still is more of a luxury item than a "Grado SR60". Ask me again in 5-6 months and I'll probably recommend a dual-core for everybody. (I'm expecting Conroe to be a very nice offer, and AMD to lower prices accordingly.)

*Shrug*. I don't want to argue anymore, but it's not just multi tasking. It's how Windows will feel itself. An single core is like an dell from 4 years ago, a dual core is like that futuristic thing you've been waiting for to upgrade.

 

[afireinside]

Quote:

Originally Posted by XFxGeforced are you using a one-piece pot or did you braze a pipe onto a base? i have my copper pipe, just needa find out where to get a flat piece of copper to braze to it. i already have the record for my sempron 3300+, but thats just on air so i kinda wanna take it further. im familiar with insulation and all that goes with it, just want to know where to get the base. sorry that this is ot

Solid aluminum

Easy isn't even worth fighting anymore. Get some proof to back up your claim.

 

[EasyRaider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afireinside Easy isn't even worth fighting anymore. Get some proof to back up your claim.

Which claim exactly?

As if you have shown any more proof for your claims...