Long lasting specs for a low resolution display?

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SPOOKYSHOGUN

n00b
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Dec 18, 2005
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O.k. so here's the deal. I want to get a PC that will allow me to game well into the next few years at lower resolutions. Please don't poke fun at me for this but I want to get a PC for gaming on the HeadPlay HMD. The resolution is low enough on that device that I figure I shouldn't have to get a very "hardcore" system for this purpose but longevity is a concern (as it is with any new PC). If I do use it with a standard monitor, I'd be gaming at 1280 X 800 (maybe 1680 X 1050 if I pick up an IZ3D monitor later).

Just FYI to share a little, I've got a room in my house set aside for my hobbies. As far as gaming goes, currently it contains a 3&1/2 year old AMD socket 939 AGP system, but it doesn't cut it with the latest games with good eye candy anymore, even at lower resolutions. It will soon be joined by an X360 and whatever new PC I decide on. I will be getting a HeadPlay HMD to use with both the X360 and the new PC. I'm going for a more immersive experience this year. That's my New Years resolution! I'm 31 and I've been experiencing games on standard monitors and TV's since I was 8. It's been great, but it's time to let the kid that's left in me experiment a little.

So, what PC specs do you think would help me achieve my goal? Also, what OS should I lean towards? XP or Vista? 32 or 64 bit? Any input is greatly appreciated and thanks for listening.
 
I don't think your specifications really matter. But the more powerful the system = more lower resolution longevity. You may want to play it cheap and use lower ram graphics cards, but other than that just get the most powerful rig you can afford.
 
It looks like you are after a 3D gaming experience.
The specs of the PC will be important once you exceed 1024x768 res as the gfx card has to render 2 screens for each frame and bottlenecks will start to appear.

For example, 1280x800 res is practically the same number of pixels in stereo vision as 1920x1080 is in flat 3D.
This is realisable without buying the fastest hardware.
ie a 2.7GHz CPU and 8800GT will be about the minimum you need and will give satisfactory performance if you arent bothered about using the highest quality settings.

If you move to 1680x1050 res in 3D, its 75% more pixels (than 1280 res) so you will need approx 75% more GPU power to maintain the same framerate and a CPU fast enough to drive the GPU to its full performance.
So you will prefer at least a GTX260 or higher with a 3.6GHz CPU.
Be sure to get a gfx card with higher than 512MB gfx memory for 1680 res in stereo.

Choose whichever OS you personally prefer, there is little performance difference and Vista has a couple of games that actually run faster in DX10.
However, there will be games where you will need to drop quality to maintain framerate, dropping to DX9 may be the best solution for those games.

If you intend on playing GTA IV, you will want a gfx card with the highest amount of memory (ie 1GB) and you will get better performance from a quad core CPU for this game.
Note that x2 cards with 2GB video ram only have 1GB of addressable space so they do not give any memory advantage over a 1GB card.
The game can use over 1.6GB video ram with all options maxed!
 
I am indeed looking for a more VR-like or more immersive experience. I won't be building the machine myself (not into that anymore) so I am looking at one of these

http://www.hypersonic-pc.com/build_computer/preview/nighthawk_ats_m.html or.......
http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668210.php

I looked at Velocity Micro too and they might have something I like. Maingear was too expensive. I'd like to keep the price at $1250 or less. The most "bang for my buck" is important but I will need the performance to keep up with games for some time.

The gateway has the i7 advantage but the PS is weak and a couple glitches are known to exist. The Hypersonic has the GTX-260 but only a Core2 Duo with 2Gb RAM. What to do?
:)
 
Build your own, its not that hard and we can assist.

I forgot to mention that you need an NVidia card for good stereo operation.
ATI has poor support for Stereoscopic display whereas NVidia have a stereo driver that works alongside The Forceware driver.
There is a small downside:
Nvidia dont update the stereo driver very often and it needs to be used with the same forceware driver.
This will be a bind if a new game comes out and a new driver appears to make it run better.
To counter this, get the fastest gfx card with the largest memory.
ie GTX280 as you will have a great amount of power on tap and the full 1GB memory.

You dont need i7 unless you intend to use SLI, thats when it shines.

My recommendations are a high clocking quad core to hit 3.6GHz or higher.
A first class CPU cooler like the TRUE 120 for higher stable overclocks. (this needs a 120mm fan too)
4GB DDR2-1000/1066 so you can overclock easily.
A good P45 motherboard so you can overclock easily.
GTX280
A good 650W PSU for single gfx card (800W if you ever intend to go SLI as its still not bad on the P45 motherboard)
A case with decent airflow. No need to get a noisy case though, you should be able to get a good quiet case.

I'm in the UK so am not the best for finding good prices.
 
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