Getting into PC Gaming and COD 4 (Steam or Disc.)

[MJL]

Hey

So I've ordered my PC and I wanted to know what kind of settings it will run COD 4 on. By the way its not ment to be a gaming machine and I wanted to stick with Intel as from what I've read Intel is better in the long run.

Also I was wondering if I should get COD 4 on Disc or from Steam and what are the benefits?

If there is anything you think I should know about PC Gaming then posting it here would be great thanks!

My Build:

Case
ANTEC NINE HUNDRED TWO - UK, The Ultimate Gaming Case, Evolved
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5-760 Quad Core (2.80GHz, 8MB Cache) + Turbo Boost
Motherboard
ASUS® P7P55 LX: USB 2.0 & SATA 3.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™ SUPPORT
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON HYPER-X BLU DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 2GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GT430 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£29)
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1156 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)

 

[DSN]

To be honest, all we can do is guess at your settings.

Best way is to play around with it yourself.

Crank all the settings right up and play. If you cant play or frame rate is to low, Start dropping the settings until you are happy with the game play.

Personally if i can hit 70-80 FPS then im not happy, But im a special kind of picky

Hope this helps.

 

[Phoenix]

Well you'll be able to run the game just using low settings, it's up to you where to buy games from. One thing to consider though is that if for whatever reason Steam closes you could lose your game license whereas if you have the physical disc it won't matter.

 

[PringlesInside]

i would rather get the disk. Usually i find it cheaper anyways to get disk than steam digital download. + for those who have limited internet download (fk*n fair use polices ehy) such as talktalk package then for e.g 40gb can go very quickly in a month.

 

[MJL]

Im on PlusNet and I get about 15GB per month and maximum speed in my area is 3mbps, I get 1.2mbps...
Still manage to dominate on xbox though

And yeah I think I might get the disc

Cheers
~ MJL

 

[frosty]

Hi mjl
If you are just getting into online ( i assume ) gaming then dont buy cod4 unless you are very young and have the reflexes of a gazelle simply because its been out for a couple of years and although its a fantastic game there is a ranking system you have to go through to get all the weapons and perks. Every player online will have all these already and I would not wish a newcomer to be disillusioned by how you die so easily.
A much better prospect would be COD BlackOPS which is relatively new and you will be ok really if you turn the settings down a touch.

 

[DSN]

Hi mjl
If you are just getting into online ( i assume ) gaming then dont buy cod4 unless you are very young and have the reflexes of a gazelle simply because its been out for a couple of years and although its a fantastic game there is a ranking system you have to go through to get all the weapons and perks. Every player online will have all these already and I would not wish a newcomer to be disillusioned by how you die so easily.
A much better prospect would be COD BlackOPS which is relatively new and you will be ok really if you turn the settings down a touch.

this.... 100%

 

[MJL]

Cheers for the input lads but... and im not trying to be rude here, I know how to play Call of Duty VERY well
I've been playing it on xbox since COD4 came out, 10th prestige on COD4 about 18 Days played :O, pretty much the same on MW2 just shorter play time and Black Ops Im about 6th prestige with about 5 days play time.
The reason I am going to get COD4 is because I absolutely adore that game and the only thing I will find hard is the controls, mouse and keyboard as I am used to an xbox 360 controller.

~ Max

 

[Tom DWC]

The only thing I will find hard is the controls - mouse and keyboard as I am used to an Xbox 360 controller.

If you find the m+k affects your enjoyment of the game then consider using a controller for at least single player game modes. If you use it online you'll be at a natural disadvantage though. It's very hard to go up against the m+k with a controller regardless of skill level.

 

[MJL]

The thing is I enjoy a gaming challenge and I know that it will be very hard for me but I can improve and I will only be playing Multiplayer. Also using a controller completely destroys the purpose of PC gaming for me, I won't even be PC gaming much anyway.

 

[DSN]

Id say crack on the mate

 

[frosty]

Back to your original question though. DL this http://www.fraps.com/download.php and run your games on optimum settings, which the games will usually decide for you anyway when first played. If you are seeing 30+ FPS its playable, but consider going into the graphics menu settings and turning off.
1, sync every frame. this setting just forces your graphics card to try and keep up with the game which to be honest will not be possible for yours, and even with the best cards can suffer from graphics lag with this on.
2, Anti-alaising turn it down if its not already on 2X
3, Check your monitors resolution is not too high I would maybe suggest 1078x764 ish
4, Check and change all this while running FRAPS and you will find your sweet spot for gaming.
hope this helps.

 

[MJL]

Oohhh cant wait to find my sweet spot and I dont currently have it lol, should be here within the next two days and also would you say this is a good monitor/tv for BOTH xbox and PC?
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170089

Thank You very much for the help mate! + Rep

~ MJL

 

[frosty]

For mixed use it will be absolutely fine and even for PC gaming will be better than most ppl you play against, contrast ratio is awesome only slight niggle is the responce time 5ms.
Im using this at the moment http://www.trustedreviews.com/monitors/review/2008/04/28/Samsung-Pebble-SyncMaster-2232BW/p1. Yours will beat this in every way apart from the 2ms which is only a nerdy gaming thing, I only use it for pc gaming so didnt look at anthing else spec wise. BTW if you wanna date im just installing all my stuff ( picked my pc up from PCS today ) cheers boys talk about the middle of nowhere. . I will probably install cod4 tomorrow so add me on xfire if you have it.
One last thing though having been gaming for a few years now and if your new to pc,s I would say the better bet is still BlackOps. Not trying to say you is crap or owt lol but KB+M is way different.
=frosty=

ps : and if as you say u like a challenge buy the new game.