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[Leatra]

My computer is a bit old (also I got sick of my giant CRT monitor) and I want to buy a new pre-built computer. I want to make my choice carefully. The price of a good pre-built computer is higher average monthly salary in my country.

What do you think about this? Can it run new games like Dead Island and Skyrim?

CPU: AMD X4-620 (2.60 Ghz)
RAM: 4 GB DDR3 1333MHz
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce G210

And other unimportant stuff like OS.

It's been a while since I played a big game. I have been mostly playing roguelikes and other small games. I don't know anything about processors but RAM and Video Card looks good enough. Whaddya think?

Edit: By the way, what are the official system requirements for Skyrim?

[Lectorog]

Here are the system requirements for Skyrim:
http://www.elderscrollv.com/skyrim-system-requirements/

You're good to run Skyrim. The CPU is a bit below recommended, if I understand, but it's probably still better than what the Xbox has, and Skyrim has to run on that.

Dead Island:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Minimum:
OS: Windows XP
Processor: Core2Duo 2.66 GHz
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Graphics: ATI 2600XT 512MB VRAM (GeForce 8600GT)
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0C
Hard Drive: 7 GB available hard drive space
Other: keyboard, mouse

Recommended
OS: Windows 7
Processor: Core2Duo 2.66 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: GeForce 9600 (1GB)
DirectX®: DirectX 9.0C
Hard Drive: 7 GB available hard drive space
Other: keyboard, mouse

That should be OK. You probably wont be able to run it on max graphics, but it should be fully playable. (If I understand these computer parts correctly. I'm not too well-read on PC hardware.)

If you have the capability to do so, I would very much recommend purchasing and assembling your own computer. A pre-built computer will always be more expensive than its hand-picked/assembled counterpart, and you can customize your own computer. For instance, I'd recommend getting a better processor than that. (Especially if you want to play DF at high-FPS glory.) If you're happy with the computer you're getting, though, it seems decent for gaming, especially for somewhat older games. Make sure there aren't any major complaints from other people who have bought it, if you haven't already.

[DrKillPatient]

If AMD X4 is a quad core, you have more than needed to run Skyrim I think. It needs (2.0GhZ x2) = 4.0, you have (2.6 x4) = 10.4. I'm fairly certain the measurement works that way, but you'd better check...

I would also opt for building it yourself, if you can do it. I've disassembled and rebuilt a computer before, and it's not too hard so long as you keep a close eye on the manual, and use a bit of common sense to figure out what goes where.

[Lectorog]

Oh, that processor is quad-core. I read its specs wrong initially. Yeah, that's plenty. Unless you're playing Dwarf Fortress.

[BeforeLifer]

In which the extra ones are usless

[Leatra]

Alright. I have decided to build a computer by myself using a little different hardware. My choice for CPU seems like an overkill and if I buy a pre-built computer I'm going to tweak it a little anyway. I don't need a new DVD-ROM, harddisk, mouse, keyboard and definitely Windows 7.

Thanks a lot for helping me to make a decision

[Shades]

Must say I'm not a big fan of the current generation amd chipsets. My quad core seems to get good numbers on benchmarks but games, and the os in general, feels like it runs more slowly that my technically slower intel dual core.

I'd also recommend more ram, 8gb is a good number for the current generation of OSes I think.

That said I don't see any reason why you couldn't run both those games on that spec, probably not a max everything but still at nice visual levels, I'd also second Lectorog's comment about hand picking bits being a good way to go. Everything only slots together one way these days anyway so it's minimally complex. Not sure if that would actually save a noticeable about of money.

[nenjin]

I was going to suggest more RAM too. I'm at 4 gigs and it's just enough to satisfy most top-end games on top of Win 7's requirements.

[Leatra]

I will be using XP so I think I'll do okay with 4 GB RAM.

[forsaken1111]

If AMD X4 is a quad core, you have more than needed to run Skyrim I think. It needs (2.0GhZ x2) = 4.0, you have (2.6 x4) = 10.4. I'm fairly certain the measurement works that way, but you'd better check...

That isn't at all how it works, and it made my head hurt just to read what you wrote.

[Shades]

That isn't at all how it works, and it made my head hurt just to read what you wrote.

Just assume whatever he is running on it is perfectly balanced to run on any number of cores with no extra overhead and the pain will go away

[forsaken1111]

That isn't at all how it works, and it made my head hurt just to read what you wrote.

Just assume whatever he is running on it is perfectly balanced to run on any number of cores with no extra overhead and the pain will go away

HNNNNGH -expire-

[Muz]

I will be using XP so I think I'll do okay with 4 GB RAM.

I'd recommend going Windows 7. XP isn't going to be supported by many games/etc in the future, and I think it's got some limitations with what kind of hardware it can support. Microsoft's policy is to always adapt the latest version and dump earlier stuff, you'll probably get some unexpected hardware/software incompatibility.

RAM is cheap anyway. I bought 6 GB RAM on my new comp, seems pretty much the ideal. At the price, I kinda regretted not getting 8 GB.

Also, multiple cores always have overhead. Not all software is multithreaded (or even multithreaded well when they are). I'm not fond of AMD, have bad experience with them with my current laptop, and everyone who bought a AMD laptop reports having the thing slow to a crawl because of overheating. Might be better for desktops though.

[Lectorog]

I'm running Windows 7 on 4GB of RAM just fine. You should go for more if you can, though, because of the price.

As for the processor, a high power-per-core, dual-core is probably the best compromise. For instance, I'm currently running an AMD Athlon II X2 260 Processor, 3.21 GHz. It runs everything very well, and I get the highest frame rate in DF I've seen. You shouldn't get an AMD, though - it's a cheaper brand, but you won't get the best performance.

[Leatra]

My problem with Windows 7 is compability issues. I had a lot of trouble with Windows 7 while using my mom's laptop. I will move to Windows 7 in like two years. Probably.

After some quick research, I decided to get a 8 GB RAM. Prices of 6 GB and 8 GB are very close anyway.

What brand do you suggest for the processor? I was going to get an AMD but the overheating problem got me thinking. My motherboard burned once and I thought my computer explode by judging from the sound

I'm using a desktop computer.