HalfLife 2 Hardware Question...?

[mstubble]

I am going to be buying HL2 and I am trying to get my hardware ready for it.

I plan to purchase a high end video card with full DX9 support but I am not sure if I should go with ATI or nVidia, any help on what would be my best option? I want the best performance for my money. I am willing to pay for it too.


Also, my CPU is an XP 2100 and I am considering going with an XP 2700. Do you think the upgrade will be worth it? Or will I notice that much of a performance gain?

Also, I have 512mbs of ram, do you think buying more ram is going to be worth it? The only thing I use the box for is gaming so it's a fresh format and the game will be able to take advantage of all 512mbs.

Any help would be appreicated

 

[Ronin]

Apparently, ATi and VALVe have a deal going with HL2, so HL2 is going to be ATi optimized. CPU upgrades never hurt, especially with a fair jump in CPU speed. More RAM = pretty much always good, but as you get into the higher numbers, you see diminishing returns. No more than 1GB is fine.

 

[DaveSimmons]

No one really will know until it's out. A 2100+ is probablyl fast enough to get good performance out of a high-end video card, but we don't know yet how much HL2 will stress the CPU. Chances are though that a 2100+ and a $250-300 video card will play much better than a 2700+ and a $150-200 card. Whether to go with ati (9800 non-pro or pro) or nvidia is more personal preference than a clear winner -- ATI wins on some games, nvidiia wins on others.

Also for nvidia, you might want to wait a couple of weeks for the recent price drop on fx5900 non-ultra cards to reach vendors like newegg. At $250-300 the card is a much better choice than it was at $350.

 

[bjc112]

I would go with a 2500+ and overclock.. You should have no problem running 2.2ghz+

Go for a gig.

Yes, ATI and Valve have something going, not that it should matter much but, i would go with a 9700np and overclock.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: RoninCS
Apparently, ATi and VALVe have a deal going with HL2, so HL2 is going to be ATi optimized. CPU upgrades never hurt, especially with a fair jump in CPU speed. More RAM = pretty much always good, but as you get into the higher numbers, you see diminishing returns. No more than 1GB is fine.

All of this is true, but we don't know yet:
- whether HL2 really benefits from 768 - 1 GB or not
- how much better ATI cards work, exactly how performance differs between 9800 np and fx5900 non-u
- how CPU-bound HL2 is.

Yes, faster + more is always better, but only if you can afford to buy more of everything. Otherwise it makes more sense to find out which upgrades matter most, and which matter least.

 

[jacktesterson]

your 2100 will be fine

more important is, 1GB ram, and at least 9700 NP to 9800 Pro, or a 5900/5900 Ultra...

to me a 9800 NP is your best bet

 

[JulesMaximus]

I'd go for the 9800NP at $250 over the $350-400 nVidia 5900 non-ultra cards. Unless the price drops on the nVidia cards they aren't worth the extra money for the slight performance advantage.

I'm using a 9800NP and playing UT2k3 at highest settings and it is very fast and smooth.

 

[MangoTBG]

Yet another lost soul building his computer for a game! Yay! Obviously if you buy the best that your money can buy...You'll be set. What are you going to do if something isn't good enough for HL2? Ahhhhh...Sell it and buy something else. So what's the point of building a computer to run a game? A game that you have no clue what the demands will be? NOTHING. Not to mention youc an't buy something you don't have the money for. So go spend your money for the best bangs for the dollars you have, and if that's not good enough when the damn game comes out...upgrade further! Woohoo! That was hard!

 

[hdeck]

HL2 is being optimized for ATi cards.

 

[Acanthus]

they have already said that halflifes versatile graphics engine will scale all the way back to TNT2 class graphics cards. No upgrade needed to play.

Also, its not like those NVIDIA "the way its meant to be played" optimised games run any better on NV cards. Its all marketing.

 

[Davegod]

it is looking likely HL2 will be part of a bundle with the new "9800XT", the cards are supposably due end of september so the bundle might even be available at HL2 launch. Either way it seems likely the introduction of the new cards should drop the prices of the 9800's ?

 

[JamminJimmy]

I read somewhere that fans will be able to run HL2 with as little as a 32mg TNT2 Ultra. The underlying HL2 engine is not that advanced.

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: AMDHardcoreFan
your 2100 will be fine

more important is, 1GB ram, and at least 9700 NP to 9800 Pro, or a 5900/5900 Ultra...

to me a 9800 NP is your best bet

If Half-Life 2 uses more than 512MB someone should really smack the crap out of the programmers at valve. They would have to have a crapload of varibles to even fill 512MB. I would get a Graphics card more than anything else. Not to mention our friend here didnt even tell us his motherboard.

 

[Lyfer]

Cheapest method:

Nforce 2 board + Barton XP2500 + 1GB of PC3200 + Radeon 9700/9800/TI4200/5900


From what I read so far you'll need atleast a 2.5ghz to run it smoothly and a TI4200 at mininmum.

 

[Ronin]

I'm sure he wouldn't be upgrading JUST for HL2, which is where I was going with my HW suggestions. Comments made about HL2 are pretty much on (as to what the min it would run on), but for a gaming system, power never hurts, and neither does taking the burden off the HD for swapping information.

 

[EeyoreX]

Cheapest method:

Nforce 2 board + Barton XP2500 + 1GB of PC3200 + Radeon 9700/9800/TI4200/5900


From what I read so far you'll need atleast a 2.5ghz to run it smoothly and a TI4200 at mininmum.

I disagree. The cheapest method is to wait until the d@mn game is released, and upgrade if the need is there. Buying hardware for a game that exisits only in beta is rediculous.

Also, as an aside, a search of the forum would have yeilded several (dozen?) threads on this topic. Relating to both HalfLife 2 and Doom III. All just as silly and full of speculation.

\Dan

 

[randumb]

Although HL2 is optimized for ATI cards. also consider Doom III Betas perform better on nVidia cards.

 

[aniki]

I say wait for benchmarks to be released. I'm sure you'll start seeing some pop up within the next few weeks.

 

[Tab]

Originally posted by: aniki
I say wait for benchmarks to be released. I'm sure you'll start seeing some pop up within the next few weeks.

Valve doesnt need a pop-up for Half-Life 2

 

[orion7144]

Originally posted by: EeyoreX

Cheapest method:

Nforce 2 board + Barton XP2500 + 1GB of PC3200 + Radeon 9700/9800/TI4200/5900


From what I read so far you'll need atleast a 2.5ghz to run it smoothly and a TI4200 at mininmum.

I disagree. The cheapest method is to wait until the d@mn game is released, and upgrade if the need is there. Buying hardware for a game that exisits only in beta is rediculous.

Also, as an aside, a search of the forum would have yeilded several (dozen?) threads on this topic. Relating to both HalfLife 2 and Doom III. All just as silly and full of speculation.

\Dan

Atleast all these people (including me) that constanly upgrade their PC's are helping the economy rebound.

 

[techwanabe]

Originally posted by: Lyfer
Cheapest method:

Nforce 2 board + Barton XP2500 + 1GB of PC3200 + Radeon 9700/9800/TI4200/5900


From what I read so far you'll need atleast a 2.5ghz to run it smoothly and a TI4200 at mininmum.

Whoo hoo! That is what I just built for my cheap upgrade: Xp2500+, 512 mb, Ti-4200 128 mb

Looks like I should be able to play HL2 pretty well then!

 

[EeyoreX]

Atleast all these people (including me) that constanly upgrade their PC's are helping the economy rebound.

You know what? People that go to movies, buy groceries, buy stereo equipment and DVD players, pay for cable TV and DSL, rent movies, go to concerts or ball games, buy clothes, buy gifts for family/friends, eat out at restaraunts, buy a car, and oh yeah, occassionally upgrade their PCs... These people also help the economy rebound. But people who build PCs for a specific game (or in general) are special. They do more than the rest of us. Because we all know no other companies and areas of the economy need help, only the ATIs, nVidias, AMDs and Intels need it. I have done all of these things in the last 4 months, so don't give me that crap about "helping the economy rebound".

Oh, and as an aside, someone mentioned the cheapest way to do something, and I responded to that. They didn't say "Best for the economy method:" No, they said (and you even made sure to quote me quoting them)

Cheapest method:

and I responded to that. Pat yourself on the back, because you (obviously) do far more for the economy than the rest of us occassional computer upgraders.

\Dan

[EDIT]Typos and spelling[/EDIT]

 

[eastvillager]

If half-life 2 performance is that important to you, I think you owe it to yourself to WAIT TILL SOMEBODY ELSE BENCHES IT ON AVAILABLE HARDWARE AT THE TIME OF RELEASE.

ah, I feel much better now. I'm looking forward to hl2, don't get me wrong, but buying hardware to run an app you don't even have in demo form yet is ridiculous.

Many people are telling you it will run on lower end hardware. I'm sure it will. I'm also sure it is gonna run a lot smoother on a 9800pro than on riva tnt, lol.

 

[orion7144]

Originally posted by: EeyoreX

Atleast all these people (including me) that constanly upgrade their PC's are helping the economy rebound.

You know what? People that go to movies, buy groceries, buy stereo equipment and DVD players, pay for cable TV and DSL, rent movies, go to concerts or ball games, buy clothes, buy gifts for family/friends, eat out at restaraunts, buy a car, and oh yeah, occassionally upgrade their PCs... These people also help the economy rebound. But people who build PCs for a specific game (or in general) are special. They do more than the rest of us. Because we all know no other companies and areas of the economy need help, only the ATIs, nVidias, AMDs and Intels need it. I have done all of these things in the last 4 months, so don't give me that crap about "helping the economy rebound".

Oh, and as an aside, someone mentioned the cheapest way to do something, and I responded to that. They didn't say "Best for the economy method:" No, they said (and you even made sure to quote me quoting them)

Cheapest method:

and I responded to that. Pat yourself on the back, because you (obviously) do far more for the economy than the rest of us occassional computer upgraders.

\Dan

[EDIT]Typos and spelling[/EDIT]

What an A$$. Can't take sarcasm I guess.

 

[jacktesterson]

I read a P4 2.0GHz (533MHz FSB) and a Ti4200 will run HL2 smooth.....I think this was on Gamespot but not sure.


This topic should be closed...because its all hype

Your 2100+ paired with a Radeon 9800 NP will play it just fine most likely.....

easiest bet is wait to November 1st or whatever

Im like you, I want HL2, not Doom 3......but Im not worried about hardware



And I think 1 GB of ram will really help, especially if playing multiplayer.