High End PC Games

[Mozgus]

9800GT? Do you mean the 9800GTX?
Also, it sucks that you don't like FPSes. FPS is the genre that really pushes hardware (although, RTSes have been pushing the envelope too).
As far as RPGs, try Oblivion. It looks pretty good, and there are man, many mods out there to make it look even better. The game was also poorly optimized so even current single GPU systems cannot run the game at 60 FPS (at least, not in higher resolutions).

Agreed. That game runs bad on almost anything. Hell, Morrowind still runs bad at times for me.

[PharmaceuticalCowboy]

I just built a new rig as well (AMD 6400+, 2gb ram, 512mb Geforce 8800GT) and I have been enjoying an epic RTS game called Sins of a Solar Empire. It's a galaxy-scale strategy game that marries civilization and starcraft, but you really only control the spacecraft and buildings. It runs a bit slow on the highest settings for me so I bet with the extra power you have on your machine you could max it out and it would look awesome.

[Niode]

You'd be surprised the 9800gtx isn't that much more powerful than the 8800GT. For a real step up you need to be looking at the 9800GX2 at least. Or the 260 GTX. Even then I'd recommend Crossfire hd4850s for a similar price if you have a decent enough PSU. In fact the HD3870X2 will probably give you more bang for buck. As long as you're not using stupidly high resolutions IE more than 1900x1200.

I forgot about Sins, that game is awesome. Also another good RTS is Supreme Commander, you need to get the gold edition though, it fixes a lot of issues with the first game. You also need multiple monitors to make the most out of it. Being able to see two things at once in an RTS is fantastic. You won't be able to go back to single monitor gaming, especially not RTS.

[SpaceBooger]

Thanks for the suggestions.... and even though many of you are not fond of my new choice it is better than my old: Anthlon 64 2.2, 2 gig ram, Geforce 6800.

[PharmaceuticalCowboy]

If you plan on ever upgrading that ram and want to sell yours off, I'd buy it from you... maybe you have to take a trip to Columbus around that time, lol.

[Majors]

: Anthlon 64 2.2, 2 gig ram, Geforce 6800.

Hehe..that is MY CURRENT OLD RIG! Just take 1 gig off. I did upgrade to a 8600gt, then later a 9600gt(it was FREE!)...it plays Crisis well enough for me.

With your 64-bit Vista, does that hurt anything? I've got a XP and Home Basic 32-bit dual boot, and Vista blows with my slow-ass rig for games. But I knew that going in...Vista is just there to be there. Only takes up 20 gigs. Maybe something will showcase DX10 someday.

[GSZX1337]

You'd be surprised the 9800gtx isn't that much more powerful than the 8800GT.

Well, it pretty much is just an 8800GT with a few extra features. If you want to go with nVidia, I'd suggest either a 9800GX2 or a GTX 280. The latter can be found on newegg for $450 (no sure which brand though). IF you'd like to go AMD/ATi, I'd suggest the 4870. It beats the GTX 260 and grabs at the feet of the GTX 280.

[Niode]

It's only worth upgrading to vista 64bit if you are planning on using 4GB ram. The 4GB total mimo limit on 32-bit operating system is a real pain with performance cards. Basically if you have a 1GB graphics card then you can only use 3GB of system ram. Even if you put in 4GB it will still say your system only has 3GB due to your 1GB graphics card.

There are a few performance gains in using a 64 bit operating system, but only on programs optimised for that architecture. Photoshop is not optimised and suffers from having a 2GB ram limit. Programs like Automks that are optimised for 64 bit show 10% performance increase compared to running in 32-bit mode.

It's worth the upgrade if you're building a new system, but not really worth it for an existing system. There's a £5-10 difference between Vista Home Premium 32 bit OEM and Vista Home Premium 64 bit OEM. 64 bit being the more expensive obviously.

[racketeer]

For some other great PC games, check out instantaction.com

There are a crazy amount of games on this site, and they rock!

Also, they are doing a new thing called "The Anti-Smoke Break" where they encourage people to smoke less by gaming more. Its pretty interesting, so check it out at antismokebreak.com

It can even help out your life!

[marurun]

Gee... I'm still running an Athlon XP 2400, 1.25 gb RAM, with an AGP Radeon 9800 Pro. But then, I don't play any of those happy new games.

Anybody have any spare parts that work they wanna give/trade/sell me so I can bootstrap this rig into at least early 2007?