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Shaddim · Mar 10, 2005, 04:12 PM

Specs:

Athlon 64 3000+ (s939)
Geforce 6600 (PCIe)
1GB of RAM
(usual generic DVD-ROM drive, FDD, etc.)

It's just something cheap that I can throw together to play some games (I'm getting really tired of the crappy Mac gaming scene), but specifically how will it do with games like WoW? Also, does the flavor of XP make a difference (home or pro)?

Captain Egotist · Mar 10, 2005, 04:27 PM

DONT DO THIS! YOU"RE JUST CONTRIBUTING TO ANOTHER LOSS OF A MAC SALE! PLEASE INSTEAD SPEND $2500+ ON A SHINY NEW G5 POWERMAC FROM APPLE! IF YOU BUY A PC YOU"RE KILLIGN COMPANIES LIKE MACSOFT AND MAKING THE MAC GAMING MARKET EVEN SMALLER!

Shaddim · Mar 10, 2005, 05:00 PM

Go away Rob. This thread will not turn into another BS session where you're trying to justify software piracy.

Now. Anyone have any cogent thoughts regarding this PC configuration and it's potential gaming prowess?

Captain Egotist · Mar 10, 2005, 05:08 PM

Actually that isn't my opinion, I was just presenting another member's opinion of what you are doing.

Shaddim · Mar 10, 2005, 05:12 PM

No. They're berating you (and rightfully so) for buying a PC game and using the code to pirate a Mac game. It's wrong and it's illegal.

Now, as I said before, go away.

Captain Egotist · Mar 10, 2005, 05:19 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
No. They're berating you (and rightfully so) for buying a PC game and using the code to pirate a Mac game. It's wrong and it's illegal.

Now, as I said before, go away.

Heaven forbid I avoid getting ripped off! I should definitely pay full price for a game a few years old that would have come out even earlier had bungie not sold out to microsoft and turned it's back onto the very people who supported them in the beginning!

goMac · Mar 10, 2005, 05:24 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Specs:

Athlon 64 3000+ (s939)
Geforce 6600 (PCIe)
1GB of RAM
(usual generic DVD-ROM drive, FDD, etc.)

It's just something cheap that I can throw together to play some games (I'm getting really tired of the crappy Mac gaming scene), but specifically how will it do with games like WoW? Also, does the flavor of XP make a difference (home or pro)?

Should run perfect. I have a Pentium 4 3.6 ghz with a Radeon X700 PCIe. Your 6600 should be about the same speed as my X700, and your processor is pretty competitive with mine. I only have 512 MB of RAM, and its runs smooth at all full settings.

Shaddim · Mar 10, 2005, 05:26 PM

This thread is about the gaming system I'm thinking of building, not Rob's justification for his illegal actions.

So guys, think I should beef up the video card a bit? Maybe go with a 6600GT or faster? The thing is, I'm trying to keep the price around $500. Also, I'm not above a little bit of OCing, and the vanilla 6600 looks like a good candidate for that.

goMac · Mar 10, 2005, 05:28 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
This thread is about the gaming system I'm thinking of building, not Rob's justification for his illegal actions.

So guys, think I should beef up the video card a bit? Maybe go with a 6600GT or faster? The thing is, I'm trying to keep the price around $500.

If I remember correctly, the 6600 GT is the fastest in its range. I would have bought it, but I just couldn't swing the extra $20 over the X700 at the time.

Pretty much any machine that could run Warcraft III well can run World of Warcraft. I have my Powerbook 1.25 ghz running at full settings also.

Captain Egotist · Mar 10, 2005, 05:29 PM

You are killing macsoft by refusing to buy the mac version and instead playing the game on your PC!

Shaddim · Mar 10, 2005, 05:31 PM

Originally posted by goMac:
Should run perfect. I have a Pentium 4 3.6 ghz with a Radeon X700 PCIe. Your 6600 should be about the same speed as my X700, and your processor is pretty competitive with mine. I only have 512 MB of RAM, and its runs smooth at all full settings.

You don't think the 6600 is too "lite"? I'm also considering the x700 (I do love ATI cards), but it's a little out of the price range that I've set. Do you think it would be worth the extra cost?

goMac · Mar 10, 2005, 05:35 PM

Originally posted by Captain Egotist:
You are killing macsoft by refusing to buy the mac version and instead playing the game on your PC!

Go away. WoW is dual platform anyway. At least complain in a thread about a game thats not cross platform.

goMac · Mar 10, 2005, 05:37 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MacNStein:
You don't think the 6600 is too "lite"? I'm also considering the x700 (I do love ATI cards), but it's a little out of the price range that I've set. Do you think it would be worth the extra cost? [/QUOTE

I would go with the 6600 only if its a GT. The GT version iirc was a bit faster than the x700. Otherwise get the x700. The graphics engine in WoW isn't actually all that demanding, but my x700 also has been able to handle games like Half Life 2 on full quality. For just WoW though a normal 6600 would work just fine, but I'd worry about how it would perform on other games.

benb · 02:48 PM

Huh, I just built a PC for games the other day. Literally the other day. Anyways, here's what I used.

Soltek SL-K890Pro - Decent price, specs, manual. Comes with all the cables you'd need so you can buy OEM drives and save some cash

Athlon 64 3000+ Inexpensive and fast

Sapphire Radeon X700Pro Refurbished. No box, manual, cables. But cheap. I've bought refurbished cards from Sapphire before and never had any problems. YMMV. Regardless, the X700 has been speedy enough for me in WoW, America's Army, and HL2. 80% of the top of the line performance for 40% of the price. Sounds like a good deal to me.

I get about 40-60FPS in WoW with this setup at 1280x1024 with everything turned to eleven. Until I go to the Auction House. Also, I would disable the "Full Screen Glow" effect, which will enable FSAA. FSAA and the glow are incompatible with one another. Plus I think the glow is ugly. But that's just me, I'd rather see smooth edges.

benb · Mar 11, 2005, 02:41 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by goMac:

Originally posted by MacNStein:
You don't think the 6600 is too "lite"? I'm also considering the x700 (I do love ATI cards), but it's a little out of the price range that I've set. Do you think it would be worth the extra cost? [/QUOTE

I would go with the 6600 only if its a GT. The GT version iirc was a bit faster than the x700. Otherwise get the x700. The graphics engine in WoW isn't actually all that demanding, but my x700 also has been able to handle games like Half Life 2 on full quality. For just WoW though a normal 6600 would work just fine, but I'd worry about how it would perform on other games.

In benches I've seen its about 50-50, with neither card ever really having a deciding edge over the other. The difference was never more than about 5FPS. This might change in time with driver updates, but who knows. I would go with the cheaper of the two you can find.

NemesisEG · Mar 12, 2005, 10:41 AM

I've got a Shuttle setup with the X800 card and an AMD 2400 processor and WoW runs through the Cinema Display (native 1680x1050) with everything maxed out.

WoW is quite forgiving in many respects. I can drive native res via a 9700 GPU on my PB15 and it's not too bad; although I'm turning off most of the effects and downing the view distances etc.

Still...once you're in the game, you don't really notice the differences after a while. The higher res I can push on the PB means it's looking pretty good as it is, although you do get some nice bells and whistles with the X800.

As for Mac games being full price, not in the UK. I can order most stuff (and I do) through Simply Games and the games are about 28 quid. I'm quite happy playing Rise of Nations, WC3 and WoW on the Mac and that suits me fine. I don't get much time, and the PC doesn't get much attention. I'd sell it, but I'm a greedy sod.

Captain Egotist · Mar 12, 2005, 02:49 PM

Hear that? It's the sound of macsoft dying, because of you.

cSurfr · Mar 12, 2005, 03:02 PM

Originally posted by Captain Egotist:
Hear that? It's the sound of macsoft dying, because of you.

[Derail]over 250 posts since Feb of 2005...that almost qualifies you as a troll.[/Derail]

Back to the original question. You should be more than happy with WoW performance on that machine. I don't know how much better the 6800 Ultra is than the 6600, but I'm sure it can't be that much. I use the 6800 and Wow runs great. I'm sure you'll be happy.

mac freak · Mar 12, 2005, 05:11 PM

Is "Captain Egotist" Ca$h? If so, his longevity amazes me! How many trouble-making posters can last so long?

wuzup101 · Mar 12, 2005, 05:43 PM

It will run perfect at 1280x1024 and probably 1600x1200 also very well. It runs w/ high details on my powerbook w/ the distance down. I'm sure if I installed it on my gaming PC it would run even better. It seems to be more dependent on your net connection as long as you manage to meet the sugested specs. Happy gaming

blizzard · Mar 12, 2005, 09:28 PM

You've made your point, Ca$h. Restating it repeatedly doesn't make it any more valid, so please stop.

Captain Egotist · Mar 12, 2005, 09:52 PM

Originally posted by blizzard:
You've made your point, Ca$h. Restating it repeatedly doesn't make it any more valid, so please stop.

Then unlock my topic about using a PC version of halo, since they were saying the same stupid **** to me.

jamil5454 · Mar 13, 2005, 05:57 PM

An x700 or 6600GT even would definitely be the bottleneck in your system - especially if you play demanding games such as doom3 and HL2. I would spend the extra money and get a 6800GT with 256mb of RAM - that way you'll be doing your athlon64 some good. Remember, the video card is the most important part of the equation in PC game performance.

As for me, I've got an athlon64 2800+ with a gig of RAM and an old 9600 pro and it runs anything I throw at it perfectly. Usually with highest settings (minus the FFSA and ANISO). I know I should probably invest in a new video card, but ever since I started focusing less on hardcore PC gaming and more on Macs then all of a sudden I don't care anymore. As long as I can still play what I want to play without it looking awful then I'm alright.

I'm thinking of getting an Xbox soon so I can do away with my PC all together. I figure I could sell my PC that I have now and put the money towards an Xbox and iMac G5 for graduation. I'll need something as my main machine a little more powerful than this iBook for college.

bradoesch · Mar 13, 2005, 09:05 PM

What motherboard are you looking at?

Shaddim · Mar 14, 2005, 12:24 AM

Lot's of good info, thanks.

What motherboard are you looking at?

I'm getting a Gigabyte GA-K8NF9. It's cheap ($100 for a S939 mobo is good), has good features, and it's pretty reliable. I considered the DFI LanParty Ultra-D, but didn't feel like spending the extra $70.

Captain Egotist · Mar 14, 2005, 02:03 AM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Lot's of good info, thanks.

I'm getting a Gigabyte GA-K8NF9. It's cheap ($100 for a S939 mobo is good), has good features, and it's pretty reliable. I considered the DFI LanParty Ultra-D, but didn't feel like spending the extra $70.

A good choice, but you're killing apple by not purchasing their hardware. I mean, even if apple's stuff costs more for the same thing, you should definetly buy apple. If everyone 'cheated' and got a PC instead, there wouldn't be any mac's made in the future!

- Rob

Shaddim · 01:16 PM

NM, not worth it.

bradoesch · Mar 14, 2005, 04:42 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Lot's of good info, thanks.

I'm getting a Gigabyte GA-K8NF9. It's cheap ($100 for a S939 mobo is good), has good features, and it's pretty reliable. I considered the DFI LanParty Ultra-D, but didn't feel like spending the extra $70.

Looks good. Here's another big one, the power supply. Do you have one picked out yet?

Shaddim · Mar 15, 2005, 01:16 PM

Originally posted by bradoesch:
Looks good. Here's another big one, the power supply. Do you have one picked out yet?

I ordered a generic Enlight case and have a 420W Sparkle PS to put in it. I think it will be sufficient, even if I do a little OCing.

goMac · Mar 15, 2005, 04:40 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
I ordered a generic Enlight case and have a 420W Sparkle PS to put in it. I think it will be sufficient, even if I do a little OCing.

I think I have a 400W powering my P4 3.6, so you definitely should be good for anything.

BTW, most of the time over-clocking won't increase your power draw, just the heat output. At least on the Intel side of things.

bradoesch · Mar 15, 2005, 09:24 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
I ordered a generic Enlight case and have a 420W Sparkle PS to put in it. I think it will be sufficient, even if I do a little OCing.

The big question is the amperage on the 12V rail. As long as you don't stuff it with HDs and optical drives you should be fairly safe with a generic PSU. I ran my Athlon 64 system with a $35 CAD generic 350W PSU for a few weeks with no problems. 16A on the +12 IIRC. Do you have the specs for your PSU?

cruciarius · Mar 15, 2005, 09:36 PM

i don't know anything about building a PC and i haven't been to this part of MacNN boards much, but...i saw MacNStein mention something about Captian Egotist's illegal activities. saying someone buys a PC game and illegally ports the game. i have never heard of such a thing. ports are companies, like MacSoft, who buy the right to make a port. which isn't illegal at all.

also, if someone wants to make/buy a PC for gaming, then go ahead. its your choice to do so. though, i can see how doing that will also mean you won't buy mac games (or at least PC ported games to macs), i still think companies like MacSoft make enough money that it wouldn't bother them much. it would only matter, if say 50% of mac users had a PC for gaming.

you could just pretend to not see Captain Egotist, if he really annoys you.

Shaddim · Mar 15, 2005, 09:55 PM

Originally posted by bradoesch:
The big question is the amperage on the 12V rail. As long as you don't stuff it with HDs and optical drives you should be fairly safe with a generic PSU. I ran my Athlon 64 system with a $35 CAD generic 350W PSU for a few weeks with no problems. 16A on the +12 IIRC. Do you have the specs for your PSU?

+12V
Regulation -- �5%
MinimumLoad -- 1A
MaximumLoad -- 18A
Ripple & Noise(Vp-p) -- 120 mV

Seems to be ok. I only plan on using 1 200GB HD and a DVD-ROM drive. It's going to be for games only, I'm not even installing any other types of apps on it (other than firewall, anti-spyware, and AV).

Also, will it make any difference which version of XP I use (Home or Pro)? In terms of performance, that is.

bleee · Mar 15, 2005, 10:25 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Specs:

Athlon 64 3000+ (s939)
Geforce 6600 (PCIe)
1GB of RAM
(usual generic DVD-ROM drive, FDD, etc.)

It's just something cheap that I can throw together to play some games (I'm getting really tired of the crappy Mac gaming scene), but specifically how will it do with games like WoW? Also, does the flavor of XP make a difference (home or pro)?

That will run WoW just fine actually you can max all the wow display features out with that machine. I run it on a 3.3Ghz (3.0 OC) 1GB ram and a Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB and I max everything out run it in 1280x1024. What kind of mac do you own? I can play WoW on my 1.5Ghz PowerBook with 1.25GB Ram at 1024x768 at the lowest settings. If you have a G5 and a decent graphics card wow should run fine. And yes WoW is dual platform so if regardless if you own a copy you own the mac copy as well which I praise Blizzard for they are one of the few companies who release their own Mac ports and they do a dam fine job of it.

Shaddim · Mar 15, 2005, 10:52 PM

Originally posted by bleee:
That will run WoW just fine actually you can max all the wow display features out with that machine. I run it on a 3.3Ghz (3.0 OC) 1GB ram and a Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB and I max everything out run it in 1280x1024. What kind of mac do you own? I can play WoW on my 1.5Ghz PowerBook with 1.25GB Ram at 1024x768 at the lowest settings. If you have a G5 and a decent graphics card wow should run fine. And yes WoW is dual platform so if regardless if you own a copy you own the mac copy as well which I praise Blizzard for they are one of the few companies who release their own Mac ports and they do a dam fine job of it.

I have many, many Macs. A dual 1.42 G4, a 12" rev A PB, ruby and sage imacs, etc.. And I suppose WoW would run ok on my 1.42, but I don't just want "ok". I want to run at 1280x1024 with all the eyecandy and full AA at over 60fps. Currently, that can't be done on even a dual G5 2.5 with a 6800U.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my Macs, they're my babies. But, for games (and that's the only thing I'm using this PC for) they simply lack. No big deal, that's what this $500 PC is for. I'm sure as hell not going to use it for work... bleh.

cSurfr · Mar 16, 2005, 12:57 AM

For what it's worth, my G5 1.8 / 1.25GB Ram / 6800 Ultra pushes WoW max details about about 3/4 of terrain distance at an average of (according to the game) 50FPS or so. I think that it's misleading, because I never have issues with FPS, even during heavy battle. The only issue I have is with Ironfogre, and I beleive that everyone has issues there. Sometimes in some of the huge PvP battles it lags a bit, but that's the server pushing all the date over the net.

-cs

blizzard · Mar 16, 2005, 01:24 AM

Originally posted by cruciarius:

you could just pretend to not see Captain Egotist, if he really annoys you.

He's been banned for now, although it's foolish to think that he won't be back under another name shortly. I asked him repeatedly to tone it down, and he always said he would then ignored his promise.

Sorry it took so long, but I always try to give people a chance in here no matter how they act on the rest of the forum.

And for what it's worth, for everyone who replied to any of his flames recently, if you ignore him he'll disappear a lot faster than if you keep feeding his contempt. Just something to remember for when he comes back.

Makes my job easier too.

goMac · Mar 16, 2005, 04:08 AM

Originally posted by cSurfr:
The only issue I have is with Ironfogre, and I beleive that everyone has issues there.

You mean lagforge?

bradoesch · Mar 16, 2005, 03:29 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
+12V
Regulation -- �5%
MinimumLoad -- 1A
MaximumLoad -- 18A
Ripple & Noise(Vp-p) -- 120 mV

Seems to be ok. I only plan on using 1 200GB HD and a DVD-ROM drive. It's going to be for games only, I'm not even installing any other types of apps on it (other than firewall, anti-spyware, and AV).

Also, will it make any difference which version of XP I use (Home or Pro)? In terms of performance, that is.

I think you'll be fine then, as long as the PSU can deliver what it's rated for.

I'm not sure if there's a performance difference between Home and Pro. I think they simply pulled features out of Pro to make Home but I'm not totally sure.

Il Duce · Mar 16, 2005, 09:55 PM

I have a similart setup, but with a stepped up graphics card (X800pro). I run everything maxed out at 1600x1200 and my fps almost never drop below 60. Lag can be a problem sometimes, regardless of processing power, although I have far more trouble in Orgrimmar than IF.

One option you have is to grab an SLI mobo, and then spring for another 6600 down the road. That would probably give you a significant performance boost, and those cards will be cheap in 6-12 months (6600 < X700 < 6600GT). May cost a little more now, but allows for more expandability in the future.

Also, you do realise that you will have no life once you start playing this game? Just a friendly warning

Shaddim · Mar 17, 2005, 11:44 AM

Originally posted by Il Duce:
I have a similart setup, but with a stepped up graphics card (X800pro). I run everything maxed out at 1600x1200 and my fps almost never drop below 60. Lag can be a problem sometimes, regardless of processing power, although I have far more trouble in Orgrimmar than IF.

One option you have is to grab an SLI mobo, and then spring for another 6600 down the road. That would probably give you a significant performance boost, and those cards will be cheap in 6-12 months (6600 < X700 < 6600GT). May cost a little more now, but allows for more expandability in the future.

Also, you do realise that you will have no life once you start playing this game? Just a friendly warning

I was under the impression that the 6600GT and the X800Pro were, more or less, in the same class.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2290&p=10

and the numbers I've seen in WoW place them at almost the same level (slight edge to the X800Pro). Plus, the 6600GT seems to be more OC friendly. As for SLI, I really didn't want to spring for an SLI capable motherboard ($500 budget). I figured I'd just buy another $200 video card in a year or so. By then, I'm sure they'll have a card that's twice as fast as the 6600GT for the same amount of $.

Il Duce · Mar 17, 2005, 06:37 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
I was under the impression that the 6600GT and the X800Pro were, more or less, in the same class.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2290&p=10

and the numbers I've seen in WoW place them at almost the same level (slight edge to the X800Pro). Plus, the 6600GT seems to be more OC friendly. As for SLI, I really didn't want to spring for an SLI capable motherboard ($500 budget). I figured I'd just buy another $200 video card in a year or so. By then, I'm sure they'll have a card that's twice as fast as the 6600GT for the same amount of $.

Wow! The X800 Pro was in direct competition with the 6800 when I bought the card. The Ultra and GT versions have really stepped things up.

Although, in my defense, the X800 Pro does spank the 6600 in a few tests further along the list. I just can't keep up with this stuff anymore. It makes my brain hurt.

The price/performance ratio of the 6600GT makes it a bit of a no brainer. Go for it (but remember what I said about having no life). Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to check the AH before I go to uni

Shaddim · Mar 21, 2005, 12:06 PM

Ok, I got the machine built, OCed, and stability tested and I have to say that I'm extremely impressed. Yesterday, after reading some OC guides and doing some tweaking, I got it up to 2700MHz (270x10) and was able to run the video card at 580 core, 1150 memory. I believe I can go a little higher, but there's no reason to get too greedy.

This sucker just flies. How does it run WoW? How about all the eye-candy maxed out (at 50% terrain) at 1600x1200 at ~60fps, smooth as glass... and drop dead gorgeous. I spent quite a bit of time just wandering around the game looking at the scenery. Definitely have to chalk this up as a 100% success.

gbafan · Mar 23, 2005, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
Ok, I got the machine built, OCed, and stability tested and I have to say that I'm extremely impressed. Yesterday, after reading some OC guides and doing some tweaking, I got it up to 2700MHz (270x10) and was able to run the video card at 580 core, 1150 memory. I believe I can go a little higher, but there's no reason to get too greedy. This sucker just flies. How does it run WoW? How about all the eye-candy maxed out (at 50% terrain) at 1600x1200 at ~60fps, smooth as glass... and drop dead gorgeous. I spent quite a bit of time just wandering around the game looking at the scenery. Definitely have to chalk this up as a 100% success.

Towards the end of beta I purchased a PC to play WoW. Threw in a PCIe X700 and the game is simply amazing; night and day compared to the Mac client I'd been running for months. I think the best thing about having a smooth machine to play WoW on is instances and PvP, it really does make a huge difference.

'Tis a sad day when a $800 or so PC can whoop a $4000 G5 in a game like WoW.

dragonbong · Mar 23, 2005, 04:14 PM

You know whats hilarious, not sure if you guys are experiencing the freeze problem with WoW on PC's (check the Blizzard Forums) but i've had to play 13lvls on my PB 867 LOL and not my Athlon 2800+, 128mb MX440, 768mb Ram. So disturbing that I rely on my below spec PB to play and not the PC.

gbafan · Mar 24, 2005, 06:22 PM

Originally posted by dragonbong:
You know whats hilarious, not sure if you guys are experiencing the freeze problem with WoW on PC's (check the Blizzard Forums) but i've had to play 13lvls on my PB 867 LOL and not my Athlon 2800+, 128mb MX440, 768mb Ram. So disturbing that I rely on my below spec PB to play and not the PC.

Oh ouch. Haven't heard about a freeze problem nor experienced one myself. Normally I don't read their tech support forum.

Is this is a widespread PC issue?

videian28 · Mar 25, 2005, 11:34 AM

Originally posted by cSurfr:
For what it's worth, my G5 1.8 / 1.25GB Ram / 6800 Ultra pushes WoW max details about about 3/4 of terrain distance at an average of (according to the game) 50FPS or so. I think that it's misleading, because I never have issues with FPS, even during heavy battle. The only issue I have is with Ironfogre, and I beleive that everyone has issues there. Sometimes in some of the huge PvP battles it lags a bit, but that's the server pushing all the date over the net.

-cs

I call bullsh1t

you can see my system specs below and I can tell you I get no where near to that

unless of course you are playing at 640x480 =/

Cincojoe · Mar 25, 2005, 04:53 PM

Originally posted by Captain Egotist:
A good choice, but you're killing apple by not purchasing their hardware. I mean, even if apple's stuff costs more for the same thing, you should definetly buy apple. If everyone 'cheated' and got a PC instead, there wouldn't be any mac's made in the future!

- Rob

ENOUGH ALREADY!

jamil5454 · Mar 25, 2005, 08:31 PM

Originally posted by MacNStein:
I was under the impression that the 6600GT and the X800Pro were, more or less, in the same class.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2290&p=10

and the numbers I've seen in WoW place them at almost the same level (slight edge to the X800Pro). Plus, the 6600GT seems to be more OC friendly. As for SLI, I really didn't want to spring for an SLI capable motherboard ($500 budget). I figured I'd just buy another $200 video card in a year or so. By then, I'm sure they'll have a card that's twice as fast as the 6600GT for the same amount of $.

There is one problem with this:

DOOM3!!!

Nvidia cards win hands-down on the PC side for doom3. Nvidia's cards are known to actually compete up a level with the ATI cards. Which means a 6600GT will compete with the higher level x800 pro.

In just about any other game, the X800 pro will outperform the 6600GT. The game makes all the difference, so you may want to look at a card that performs well with WoW specifically.

I think you should read this before making the plunge on the video card:

http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-x-1304-x-x-x

dragonbong · Mar 29, 2005, 03:01 PM

Originally posted by gbafan:
Oh ouch. Haven't heard about a freeze problem nor experienced one myself. Normally I don't read their tech support forum.

Is this is a widespread PC issue?

Seems to be somewhat of an issue as the tech posts have about 60pages just on this subject. Hope they fix it soon dueling on the PB is really painful.