Just Getting Started

[EFG TECH]

If someone is new to gaming what would some of you recommend for minimum requirements? I know you can spend a lot of money so some users might want to know what they need to get started, lets not be concerned about cash I would like to know what it takes to play without hardware conflicts or maybe you could tell me what the standard is for beginner, advanced players

[MysTikal]

Operating System: Windows® 98/Me/2000/XP
Processor: Pentium® III or AMD Athlon 1.0 GHz processor or faster (1.5 GHz or faster processor recommended)
Memory: 128 MB RAM minimum (256 MB recommended)
Hard Disk Space: 5.5 GB free
Video: Any Windows-compatible video card(NVIDIA GeForce 2 or ATI Radeon with at least 64 megs of video memory recommended)
Sound: Windows®-compatible sound card. NVIDIA® nForce(tm) or other motherboards/soundcards containing the Dolby® Digital Interactive Content Encoder required for Dolby Digital audio
DirectX®: DirectX® version 8.1(included)or higher
Multiplayer: Internet (TCP/IP) and LAN (TCP/IP)play supported | 33.6K baud modem or broadband Internet connection recommended

My reccomended:
Intel Pentium 4 3ghz and above, AMD64 3200+.
nVidia 6600GT+, ATI 9800+.
512mb of RAM and above.

[EFG TECH]

Good Enough

Here is what I am running, so it sounds like I am good to go? This is a new custom built computer, upgraded after a crash.

OS - Windows XP Pro
Processor - AMD Athlon64 Sempron 3000+ 1.8Ghz
Memory - 1 GB
Hard Disk Free Space - Around 35 GB
Video Card - NVidia gforce 5200 128mb
Sound - Gigabyte Mother Board came with lots of options
Direct X - 9
Broard Band Internet Connection - High Speed Cable

So it looks like I am good to go now could you recommend a good game for a beginner to start with.

[Flak]

The minimum specs Mystikal gave are for Unreal Tournament 2004. It's a great game for all skill levels and has both online and offline play.

[T@F]

Sorry been out of touch.
Anyone know what the specs for ut2007??

btw EFG TECH yep you should run ut2004 with them specs.

[Loderian]

how good is the nVIDIA GForce Go 7300 with 128mb DDR?

[Seru]

I only know that a nvidia 6200 with 128 ram (no shared memory) performed 80% of a TI 4200 (64) in the same computer and both could run ut2004 in 1024x768 resolution but the FPS didnt make me happy-its playble though .

[wickedsteve]

If you are just starting I hope you already know about these essential files.
http://www.beyondunreal.com/main/ut2...4essential.php
Seems like I would be just as concerned with downloading these.

[FliccC]

You will be able to run UT2004 at full details even better than me becaue my machine is **** (but hey it runs..).

If you got the hardware I'd say that you focus on Mouse + Surface. Most newbies don't realize how important this is. Sadly noone can give you any advise for that. You must find out yourself what is best for you.

[The5thviruz]

Razer Copperhead with Icemat and Saitek Eclipse Keyboard.

[WhipperSnapper]

The good news is that you can play the original UT (1999) on just about any computer sold after 2001 today. Really--give it a try; you might like it. It's the game that allowed UT 2003/2004 to sell as much as it did.

For a UT-2007 capable computer, you should hold off until UT 2007 is near its release. Then I would build my own computer, scouring the hot deals discussion forums for deals. Visit Anandtech.com and HardOCP.com and start reading the various components forums and by the time UT 2007 is nearing release, you'll know what components you want and what kind of computer you want to build.