PC Gaming WoW..

[jakelm]

Ok , Built my new computer. And now venturing in to the world of online gaming. Where to start?

Been a huge Xbox fan since Xbox came out. From Halo to NOTOR I & II, Jade Empire, and a few LOTR's. Then came the 360, didnt get much playing time on it (except for a few hours of Halo 3). So would like for my son and I, to switch to PC gaming.

Here are my PC specs:

AMD Athlon 64 x2 4200 2.2ghz CPU

2/512 Kingston DDR SDRAM (1g)

GeForce 5500 256mb PCI Video Card

Asus A8V-XE 939 MOBO

PowMax Assassin 500w P.Supply

Samsung 17" LCD. (Soon to be 19" widescreen)

Cable broadband internet connection.

How does this look for gaming?

My son has an older Dell, pretty much stock 512 ram, with a similar Video card. Same internet connection.

Linksys router, LAN to my PC, wireless to his PC.

I think he will have problems with online gaming?

For online gaming, I have been reading alot of opions about WoW. Everyone loves it. It seems to be right up my alley, since I love RPG and FP shooters (hence Halo and Nights of the Old Republic). WoW seems to be a mix between NOTOR , Halo and LOTR. Awsome.

But I have no clue as to whats all involved. My son is 12yold. Is he too young for this game? He is a great gammer on Xbox. Is there any similarities between PC gaming and Xbox/360 gaming?

Going from controler to mouse and keyboard kinda worries me. Are there controllers for games like WoW? Or is it strictly mice and keyboard?

I hear people talk alot about "opening" multiple acounts on WoW. What is the advantage (if any) to this? Does additional accounts cost more money? Or is there a flat rate per month per PC and have as many acounts as possible?

I have read alittle on this game. But I wanted to get personal opinions on how to get started for my son and I. Should I even let him play? Being his age? The game looks quite confusing from the outside. All I really understand about it is HP and level ups. And I would like to make sure I am using the right PC for this adventure. This will be my first online gaming experience. So any help would be appreciated.

I know I have alot of questions, to all you gamers out there...Thanks for reading.


Jake

[Demiurge]

What game are you talking about? World of Warcraft? Keep yourself and your kids away from in, IMO.

It's not a first person shooter. It's a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Some friends of mine started playing it back in 2004 and I joined them. Quit playing in a year, started again last winter and just recently quit again. It's really not worth it. There's no end, the game becomes a job.

I would sincerely recommend anything but that game.

[PolkThug]

That graphics card is way past its prime.

[jakelm]

What game are you talking about? World of Warcraft? Keep yourself and your kids away from in, IMO.

It's not a first person shooter. It's a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Some friends of mine started playing it back in 2004 and I joined them. Quit playing in a year, started again last winter and just recently quit again. It's really not worth it. There's no end, the game becomes a job.

I would sincerely recommend anything but that game.

From what Ive seen and read in reviews, its a very popular game. What didnt you like about it? Are your friend's enjoying it?

What is the cost? Is this a monthly subscription?

Any other RPG/3rd person shooter game you would recommend?

[jakelm]

That graphics card is way past its prime.

I know. But other card would you recommend for around $60-$70?

[jakelm]

Cant play Halo anymore, pretty much burned out on that. No more SW RPG games, except for The Force Unleashed. But I beat NOTOR like 50 thousand times, so no more of that.

What else is there to play, that contains a fantasy adventure RPG game? Not that COD or MOH are bad games, but I prefer mystical games with magic and sorcery.

[jflail2]

WOW= $15 a month per subscription, so it would be $30 a month just for the 2 of you to play it together.

Its an incredibly fun game........for a while. The monotony wore me down after about a year, but Demi is right, during that year the game is like crack. I'd rather my kids (if I had any) be into something a little less time consuming. WOW is one of those "1 more bubble, 1 more level" type games that keeps you up until 4 in the morning....

The orange box from valve has tons of entertainment (HL, CS, TF2, etc), and scales down well to older rigs.

As far as the systems go, if you wanted a good cheap upgrade I'd go with getting at least 2gb of ram in each machine, and then worry about a decen graphics card.

Just my haypenny's worth...

[MKZ]

I know. But other card would you recommend for around $60-$70?

$60~$70 cards would lag when you play online. IMO

[jakelm]

WOW= $15 a month per subscription, so it would be $30 a month just for the 2 of you to play it together.

Its an incredibly fun game........for a while. The monotony wore me down after about a year, but Demi is right, during that year the game is like crack. I'd rather my kids (if I had any) be into something a little less time consuming. WOW is one of those "1 more bubble, 1 more level" type games that keeps you up until 4 in the morning....

The orange box from valve has tons of entertainment (HL, CS, TF2, etc), and scales down well to older rigs.

As far as the systems go, if you wanted a good cheap upgrade I'd go with getting at least 2gb of ram in each machine, and then worry about a decen graphics card.

Just my haypenny's worth...

Is 2 gigs of ram really needed for online gaming? Seems as though 1 gig would do fine. I didnt think my card was all that bad.....:(

Its like crack that many games sell.:p Most are addictive... But after homework and basketball and when the weekends rolls around, with the nasty weather, I was thinking a good online game to pass the time.

$30 a month doesnt seem so bad for 2 people, I would cut back on my rentals and audio upgrades....

[MKZ]

Check newegg.com
. PCI cards are hard to find these days. Add more RAM and faster hard drive plus set Virtual Memory high, turn off unnecessary windows services.

[jakelm]

Check newegg.com
. PCI cards are hard to find these days. Add more RAM and faster hard drive plus set Virtual Memory high, turn off unnecessary windows services.

It doesnt have to be PCI.. I do have a PCI express slot.

I have a 7200rpm 80gb WD HDD via IDE. Should I switch to higher rpm's and SATA connection?

I can add 2 more Kingston 512's. I guess I should. I have 4 DDR Ram slots avaliable, up to 4gigs. But I guess I will be ok with 2gigs.

[jakelm]

And about the game. The graphics dont seem near the quality of Xbox, and not even close to 360. Is the screan shots as good as it gets for graphics wise. Looks right above a 64.

I 2 no's and no yes's on starting World of Warcraft, that doesnt look to promising.

[jakelm]

This page @ Newegg Alot to choose from. Nothing here would work? Trying to keep it less than $100.

[Silverti]

I played wow for 2+ years and quit about 6 months ago now. I have played online games for years and I can tell you that WoW started out with by far the youngest and most immature player base of them all. Its amazing how frustrating it is for adults like us to play with a bunch of 13 year olds (dominated by) that play that game 18 hours a day (somehow) and are completely socially destructive. There are lower level areas of that games where chat is dominated by the most ridiculous socially destructive “1337 speak” you will see in your life. Such things as “your mom……”

It does become a job, I would avoid it. I got a few guys hooked on that game and its even taken over their lives. The game is 100% based on you needing to devote 4+ hour chunks of time to it with absolutely no interruption at all. Amazingly when the game came out it wasn’t so hard core and they advertised it like that but now it HAS to be a job to play it.

But it is fun.

I would suggest you get your son into a game like "Civilization 4" which I reinstalled and I’m playing again. Civ 1 is considered the best PC game of all time and for a strategy game is amazing. It would really developed your 12 year olds brain if you could get him interested


When I quit I had 5 lvl 70 characters and 4 that were lvl 30+

[jakelm]

What about EverQuest? Isnt that similar to WoW in the aspect of fantasy adventure games? RPG?

[Silverti]

I played EQ2 a little before Wow came out and it was pretty much a failure. I even tried it again a few months back on a 1 week free trial and it still sucks. But its the same concept and Wow domianted this generation. The next big one is supposed to be War Hammer Online.

[PolkThug]

This page @ Newegg Alot to choose from. Nothing here would work? Trying to keep it less than $100.

Yes, those will work.

[jakelm]

Well. Im open for suggestions, at least until 360 comes out with something worth burning hours on.

RPG with real time fighting (not the "stop.. select a fight mode.. continue".like NOTOR..that gets aggrivating sometimes), something similar to NOTOR, with magic sorcery fantasy adventure.

Anything worth playing like that?

[jakelm]

Yes, those will work.

Thay look like they have the same specs as my GeForce 5500? Unless I'm reading it wrong.

[jakelm]

Ok

Radeon? G7 series? G8 series? 256mb is enough?

[PolkThug]

Thay look like they have the same specs as my GeForce 5500? Unless I'm reading it wrong.

The chipsets have evolved. 8500GT > 5500

[jakelm]

OK Well. Video card and RAM upgrade.


Now all I need is a game to decide on....lol...:p

...Or I can just get back on 360...;)

[jflail2]

You don't have to get the ram, but that would honestly be the best upgrade for the buck.

Agreed with Silver, I downloaded Civ4 from steam, and have been loving it. Great change of pace from the frantic world of fps's and sports games for me.

[jakelm]

CIV looks cool and thanks for the opinion, but thats not quite what I'm looking for in a game. CiV is too real world for me. I'm looking for something more fantasy based. Like I said, like Dugeons and Dragons, LOTR or SW NOTOR. Something not of this world...:p

[Demiurge]

Just trust me on this, you don't want to get involved with WoW. Is it fun? Hell yeah it's fun. A lot of times it isn't. You'll think it's so awesome for the longest time and then a year later you'll suddenly ask yourself "What really is the point of this?"

The reason is because the game never ends. You're never going to be the best. You're never going to maximize your gear. There is always something better.

If you have an addictive personality there's a chance you'll never pull yourself away from the game, and it's really sad those people who lose their jobs and stuff over it. It's just horrible.

It's like they say -- everything in moderation. Some things, however, seem much less destructive until often it's too late.

So yeah, I played the game, and while I never got sucked in like so many of my friends did, it definitely did alter my daily routine. I found myself having to schedule real life around raids. That's just total bull****. All games should be something you can just turn off whenever you want. With WoW, you could be wrapped up in a 4+ hour dungeon and your leaving would screw over 39 other people, or as it is now, 24 others.

I'd really just advise staying away for the mental health of your family.

I love RPGs as well, but I make sure the games have an ending now.

[Refefer]

You really don't need 2gbs of ram for gaming if you're running XP. The video card would be a good upgrade, but so long as you have a gig of RAM, you should be completely fine: My machine is a similar setup to yours and I have no problems running pretty much any game.

Grab Oblivion for the PC if you get a new graphics card: Much better graphics than the 360s version, and what seems to be perfect a perfect mesh for your style.

As for MMORPGs, I'd recommend Guild Wars since there is no monthly fee and is a solid game with lots of active players. They also have a million updates and looks good.

For first person shooters, get Half-Life 2 and Counterstrike: Source. Much better than the Halo Series in my personal opinion and the true innovators of online gaming for the FPS.

[jakelm]

Just trust me on this, you don't want to get involved with WoW. Is it fun? Hell yeah it's fun. A lot of times it isn't. You'll think it's so awesome for the longest time and then a year later you'll suddenly ask yourself "What really is the point of this?"

The reason is because the game never ends. You're never going to be the best. You're never going to maximize your gear. There is always something better.

If you have an addictive personality there's a chance you'll never pull yourself away from the game, and it's really sad those people who lose their jobs and stuff over it. It's just horrible.

It's like they say -- everything in moderation. Some things, however, seem much less destructive until often it's too late.

So yeah, I played the game, and while I never got sucked in like so many of my friends did, it definitely did alter my daily routine. I found myself having to schedule real life around raids. That's just total bull****. All games should be something you can just turn off whenever you want. With WoW, you could be wrapped up in a 4+ hour dungeon and your leaving would screw over 39 other people, or as it is now, 24 others.

I'd really just advise staying away for the mental health of your family.

I love RPGs as well, but I make sure the games have an ending now.

I understand, I dont have an addictive personality, but I remember back in the day of NOTOR, it was always "one more level up,...one more planet". Until the alarm rang to wake up. I had to learn to pace myself.

Yes, Halo was bad but not as bad.

But going to bed before you finsh building a lightsaber, was just out of the question...lol

I can see how it could be the same with WoW. "one more task"

[MKZ]

It doesnt have to be PCI.. I do have a PCI express slot.

I have a 7200rpm 80gb WD HDD via IDE. Should I switch to higher rpm's and SATA connection?

I can add 2 more Kingston 512's. I guess I should. I have 4 DDR Ram slots avaliable, up to 4gigs. But I guess I will be ok with 2gigs.

It could be better if you can change the HD along with the RAM upgrade. SATA II has faster data transfer rate like 3GB/sec. I have never tried SATA on OS but you should feel fast response. The Raptor drives are popular among gamers. I use 15K SCSI drive for operating system and SATA, IDE for data storage and I think 2G is enough for those games.

[jakelm]

You really don't need 2gbs of ram for gaming if you're running XP. The video card would be a good upgrade, but so long as you have a gig of RAM, you should be completely fine: My machine is a similar setup to yours and I have no problems running pretty much any game.

Grab Oblivion for the PC if you get a new graphics card: Much better graphics than the 360s version, and what seems to be perfect a perfect mesh for your style.

As for MMORPGs, I'd recommend Guild Wars since there is no monthly fee and is a solid game with lots of active players. They also have a million updates and looks good.

For first person shooters, get Half-Life 2 and Counterstrike: Source. Much better than the Halo Series in my personal opinion and the true innovators of online gaming for the FPS.

Hmmmm...Guild Wars? Sounds like a branch of WoW. I wish they had a good Dugeons and Dragons MMORPG.

I am spoiled to HD 360. It might be hard to go back to "Nentendo" looking graphics

[jakelm]

It could be better if you can change the HD along with the RAM upgrade. SATA II has faster data transfer rate like 3GB/sec. I have never tried SATA on OS but you should feel fast response. The Raptor drives are popular among gamers. I use 15K SCSI drive for operating system and SATA, IDE for data storage and I think 2G is enough for those games.

Raptor is over budget...ah well.

WD 160gb 7200 SATA should work ok.

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