Official PC Specifications for BioShock Infinite

[Vyndeleron]

I don't know how to put together a PC Also I'm kind of an old Steam user but my computer that could barely run it (bad graphics) broke down couple months back but now I think I want to get back into PC gaming.

What I mean by "pre-built" (probably shouldn't of use that) but anyways it means buying it from somewhere like Dell or Falcon Northwest where you get to "sort of" customize the PC/Notebook and make them build it for you... which results in higher price than building a PC yourself but usually you get better "quality" if you let a "expert" handle it...

I highly recommend checking this website out if you are thinking about building a PC for yourself:

http://pcpartpicker.com/

I have yet to find any better website out there that really helps out on what hardware to get and which retailer has the lowest price (usually it is newegg) also provides "incompatible" errors if hardware "conflicts" with other hardware

Go ahead and click "System Build" and just mess with it to get a feel of how it works... also check out the "benchmarks" section as well to see how each hardware component compares performance/quality and price wise... I think that section is still in development since it is only showing CPUs...

[Biovision]

That is a pretty cool site Vyndeleron thanks for sharing. I don't trust myself building things like computers lol. I got my pre-built from www.digitalstormonline.com as they had great reviews that I'd read. Sure it's more costly but I would have messed it up, plus they test the computer thoroughly before it even goes out the door. I didn't go super high end I got the ODE V2.

Although when I get my new house I may get one of their higher end rigs. Thus far since last August this has had no issues whatsoever.

[Cakefish]

I don't know how to put together a PC Also I'm kind of an old Steam user but my computer that could barely run it (bad graphics) broke down couple months back but now I think I want to get back into PC gaming.

As Vyndeleron has already said, if you are new to PC gaming, the easiest and simplest way to go about things is to buy an OEM PC. Building your own from scratch is slightly cheaper but isn't essential to get a good PC experience. I have never built my own (then again, I have never owned a desktop, as I require the portability of laptops at university), there are many things to consider and precautions to make if you decide to go down that route. Often it is just nice to buy something that works out of the box

Of course, I could waffle on about which parts would be good to get but it would all be rather meaningless unless I knew your budget. If you tell me that I could recommend some PCs for ya! This is a good website by the way (UK website but there are equivalent sites if you live in USA or elsewhere).

[CyborgHippo]

Thanks Cakefish/Biovision/Vyndeleron,I really appreciate all the help for the sites! Cakefish I'm willing to pay at max 300$ but I don't think I'll be able to afford anything higher.

[Cakefish]

Thanks Cakefish/Biovision/Vyndeleron,I really appreciate all the help for the sites! Cakefish I'm willing to pay at max 300$ but I don't think I'll be able to afford anything higher.

Do you have an existing PC? $300 isn't enough to buy a whole new one that would be any good at gaming unfortunately. So if not, best to stay with your existing console for now.

[CyborgHippo]

Do you have an existing PC? $300 isn't enough to buy a whole new one that would be any good at gaming unfortunately. So if not, best to stay with your existing console for now.

I have a crappy existing PC.... And really? I don't really think I can go above 300$ personally... I'll see if I can go 400$ but I definitely can not ever go higher than that.

[CyborgHippo]

Sorry for double post but here's some CPU setups I found off the site Vyndeleron recommended me,they're all pretty cheap,it seems they work well with games (would like confirmation) although I'm a complete newbie on computers so I appreciate it if someone check it out and also I don't know how to make computers

I read it's easy though...

http://pcpartpicker.com/b/AOM
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/zUh
http://pcpartpicker.com/b/xtU

I'm not sure if any of these set ups are good for games like Dishonored/Resident Evil/Dead Space/Bioshock/etc.

[_Pax_]

How much money would it cost to get a computer/laptop that can handle really good graphics for Bioshock Infinite?
[...]
I appreciate the cheapest kind you can recommend but still functions well (good graphics,good speed,etc.)

If you're budget conscious, then you'll want to go with a desktop. With laptops, you're paying for capability and portability; if the portability aspect isn't important to you, don't spend money on it.

But first ... define "really good" ...?

See, I spent three thousand on my computer, but it's got all top-shelf parts, cut no corners, "spared no expense" - because I wanted to not have to even ponder an upgrade for a couple years (and because it makes me giggle with happiness to think "I have a superawesome gaming PC" ... ).

But you can get a decent machine for considerably less.

...

I wholeheartedly recommend Puget Systems. They really treat their customers right ... and are used to helping people figure out what they want, what they need, and what they can afford. My sales rep even gave me advice that LOWERED the price of my computer, without impacting it's performance.

I don't really think I can go above 300$ personally... I'll see if I can go 400$ but I definitely can not ever go higher than that.

Oh.

...

... oh. We're talking SERIOUSLY-bargain-PC.

...

Give up. For that price, you're not getting a Gaming PC. I you could go to $600 or $800, if you could self-assemble it, and you might get something worth the time and money. But for only $300, you'll just be wasting your money. I'm sorry, but it's the truth.

If I were you, I'd put together a savings plan, and aim for ... oh ... $1,000, maybe $1,500. Yeah, I know, that's triple your current budget. It won't be easy getting there. But otherwise? You're going to get a machine that just will not give you "really good graphics" for almost any game out there.

Puget, the place I just recommended? Their "affordable" desktop starts at $1,100 ... and needs a video card ("on board" isn't enough for gaming). A modest GTX 650 pushes that system just past $1200.

[CyborgHippo]

If you're budget conscious, then you'll want to go with a desktop. With laptops, you're paying for capability and portability; if the portability aspect isn't important to you, don't spend money on it.

But first ... define "really good" ...?

See, I spent three thousand on my computer, but it's got all top-shelf parts, cut no corners, "spared no expense" - because I wanted to not have to even ponder an upgrade for a couple years (and because it makes me giggle with happiness to think "I have a superawesome gaming PC" ... ).

But you can get a decent machine for considerably less.

...

I wholeheartedly recommend Puget Systems. They really treat their customers right ... and are used to helping people figure out what they want, what they need, and what they can afford. My sales rep even gave me advice that LOWERED the price of my computer, without impacting it's performance.






Oh.

...

... oh. We're talking SERIOUSLY-bargain-PC.

...

Give up. For that price, you're not getting a Gaming PC. I you could go to $600 or $800, if you could self-assemble it, and you might get something worth the time and money. But for only $300, you'll just be wasting your money. I'm sorry, but it's the truth.

If I were you, I'd put together a savings plan, and aim for ... oh ... $1,000, maybe $1,500. Yeah, I know, that's triple your current budget. It won't be easy getting there. But otherwise? You're going to get a machine that just will not give you "really good graphics" for almost any game out there.

Puget, the place I just recommended? Their "affordable" desktop starts at $1,100 ... and needs a video card ("on board" isn't enough for gaming). A modest GTX 650 pushes that system just past $1200.

It's going to be impossible for me to even get close to 500 dollars! I guess I should give up... Also what I want is just a PC with smooth sailing,rarely any lag,and I don't have to play it on the lowest difficulty,I really don't know how to explain it since I'm a newbie with computers. I don't really necessarily think it HAS to be a "gaming" computer but again a computer who can run the game well and I don't really have to play the game on the lowest graphic settings,like I'm not expecting the best graphics or even the second best graphics,just mediocre I would say. Sorry for being complicated...

[_Pax_]

I'm not sure if any of these set ups are good for games like Dishonored/Resident Evil/Dead Space/Bioshock/etc.

Only the third, "xtU" link is even worth looking at. The other two rely on integrated / "on board" graphics, which simply won't cut it for Dishonored, RE, and so forth.

And it's CPU just ... no. It's not even a Core i3.

[CyborgHippo]

Only the third, "xtU" link is even worth looking at. The other two rely on integrated / "on board" graphics, which simply won't cut it for Dishonored, RE, and so forth.

And it's CPU just ... no. It's not even a Core i3.

Sorry don't know much about computers,not even the basics =(

[Vyndeleron]

Wasn't expecting you to look at what other users have built and which components... since some are old..

Not to mention some of the hardware on those 3 systems are reportedly no longer available to all/most retailers... probably have to go to ebay or something similar to that...

One or two don't even include a OS so still you are looking at $600+ to get a budget-gaming pc...

[_Pax_]

It's going to be impossible for me to even get close to 500 dollars! I guess I should give up...

Or start saving?

With a budget of only $300 ... honestly, you're not going to get a machine capable of playing higher-end games like Dishonored, Bioshock, and so on.

Let's break this down, and I'll try to be as frugal as I can. Maybe I can find parts that wuld let you squeeze in under $400. I'll honestly try; I'd love to surprise myself and succeed!

VIDEO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150659 $45
... XFX is a good brand. The HD 5450 is older, and not the top-shelf card of it's generation either, but it'll suffice for most games like those you list on low-medium to medium graphics.

PROCESSOR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115078 $120
... the Intel Core i3 is still a good CPU, dual-core at 3.1GHz isn't going to set speed records, but it should do what you need.

MOTHERBOARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157302 $75
... you have to have one with an LG 1155 socket, that's what that CPU fits. This is the cheapest one on NewEgg that has a brandname I recognise as "not garbage".


You'll notice, we're already at $240 ... and we still need a case, a power supply, RAM, a hard drive, and an optical drive - bare minimum.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820139770 $38 ... 4GB (2x2GB)
... Kingston is a good brand, they make reliable memory. Since this is only 2 sticks, and the motherboard Ipicked out has 4 slots, there's room for inexpensive expansion later.

HARD DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236271 $72 ... 250GB
... WD is one of _the_ names for quality PC hard drives (Seagate is the other). This is about as small and inexpensive as WD drives come.

POWER SUPPLY: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256071 $70
... Silverstone is a reasonable brand, and "80+ certified" helps ensure it's not complete garbage. I'm not sure you'll even need 600W, but you definitely won't need more.

OPTICAL DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...irtualParent=1 $19
... Lite-On is pretty standard stuff. This one is good for DVDs and CDs, but can only read, not burn.

CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133094 $45
... Thermaltake is a good case manufacturor. However, this case only comes with 1 fan, you should really have at least 1 or 2 more. I'll get to that later.

EXTRA FANS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103052 $14
... CoolerMaster is a reliable brand, and this pack - about the price of 2.5 to 3 fans - gives you four of them. One or two for the computer, the rest as spares (fans do wear out, after all).

...

FINAL TOTAL ... $493 ... and you'd have to put it all together yourself. And you have to re-use your current Keyboard, Monitor, Mouse, and Speakers. That doesn't include Shipping and Handling on the parts, either - but OTOH there might be a few rebates and such I didn't bother paying attention to.

Sorry. I did try ... but I'm just not willing to recommend garbage generic-brand parts. If it's not something I'd consider for myself, in terms of quality ... it's not something I'll suggest to someone else.

Still, I know you say $500 is impossible for you ... but, at least it's got to be more possible than $1,500 ... right? And, all those parts are currently in stock, too.

I don't really necessarily think it HAS to be a "gaming" computer but again a computer who can run the game well [...]

"Can run games well" is what "gaming computer" means.

It doesn't have to be the bleeding-edge-est supermachine to be a gaming computer.

What it needs to have is ... well, the list above is a pretty good "start here" point. Anything less, and you will be stuck playing "PopCap" style games, not Dishonored, Bioshock, and so on.

[Vyndeleron]

@Pax

Forgot to mention the OS that will probably be $100+ to that "final total"

Can't really "re-use" a OS on a different system... Microsoft would get "cranky" if you attempt to (Regardless if it is OEM or Full)

Unless planning to use the same hard drive that should work... may be it is tied to the Motherboard/BIOS instead then you're in trouble :P

[_Pax_]

And, BUGGER ... I forgot an Operating System.

An OEM copy of Win7 64-bit Home Premium will set you back $100. Win8 64-bit would be the same price.

Note, OEM copies of Windows means no Tech Support from Microsoft, should you have problems during installation.

[CyborgHippo]

Or start saving?

With a budget of only $300 ... honestly, you're not going to get a machine capable of playing higher-end games like Dishonored, Bioshock, and so on.

Let's break this down, and I'll try to be as frugal as I can. Maybe I can find parts that wuld let you squeeze in under $400. I'll honestly try; I'd love to surprise myself and succeed!

VIDEO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150659 $45
... XFX is a good brand. The HD 5450 is older, and not the top-shelf card of it's generation either, but it'll suffice for most games like those you list on low-medium to medium graphics.

PROCESSOR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115078 $120
... the Intel Core i3 is still a good CPU, dual-core at 3.1GHz isn't going to set speed records, but it should do what you need.

MOTHERBOARD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157302 $75
... you have to have one with an LG 1155 socket, that's what that CPU fits. This is the cheapest one on NewEgg that has a brandname I recognise as "not garbage".


You'll notice, we're already at $240 ... and we still need a case, a power supply, RAM, a hard drive, and an optical drive - bare minimum.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820139770 $38 ... 4GB (2x2GB)
... Kingston is a good brand, they make reliable memory. Since this is only 2 sticks, and the motherboard Ipicked out has 4 slots, there's room for inexpensive expansion later.

HARD DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822236271 $72 ... 250GB
... WD is one of _the_ names for quality PC hard drives (Seagate is the other). This is about as small and inexpensive as WD drives come.

POWER SUPPLY: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817256071 $70
... Silverstone is a reasonable brand, and "80+ certified" helps ensure it's not complete garbage. I'm not sure you'll even need 600W, but you definitely won't need more.

OPTICAL DRIVE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...irtualParent=1 $19
... Lite-On is pretty standard stuff. This one is good for DVDs and CDs, but can only read, not burn.

CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811133094 $45
... Thermaltake is a good case manufacturor. However, this case only comes with 1 fan, you should really have at least 1 or 2 more. I'll get to that later.

EXTRA FANS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103052 $14
... CoolerMaster is a reliable brand, and this pack - about the price of 2.5 to 3 fans - gives you four of them. One or two for the computer, the rest as spares (fans do wear out, after all).

...

FINAL TOTAL ... $493 ... and you'd have to put it all together yourself. And you have to re-use your current Keyboard, Monitor, Mouse, and Speakers. That doesn't include Shipping and Handling on the parts, either - but OTOH there might be a few rebates and such I didn't bother paying attention to.

Sorry. I did try ... but I'm just not willing to recommend garbage generic-brand parts. If it's not something I'd consider for myself, in terms of quality ... it's not something I'll suggest to someone else.

Still, I know you say $500 is impossible for you ... but, at least it's got to be more possible than $1,500 ... right? And, all those parts are currently in stock, too.



"Can run games well" is what "gaming computer" means.

It doesn't have to be the bleeding-edge-est supermachine to be a gaming computer.

What it needs to have is ... well, the list above is a pretty good "start here" point. Anything less, and you will be stuck playing "PopCap" style games, not Dishonored, Bioshock, and so on.

Seriously thanks for all the help,I never seem someone try so hard to help a stranger,I'll see what I can do,the first thing is if I can manage to snatch a job at my school's cafeteria next year which they 80$ a month. I don't really rely on birthday's much but I'll see if I can get money off that too (which is really really rare) and I'll see what else I can do. Really,thanks for the help

I'm assuming the system will be at max 600$ (?) with all that shipping and handling too,the only problem is snatching a job,games (omg forgot about this too...),and stopping myself from buying any other games... If I can't get a job though I think I'm give up

EDIT: Actually I have a couple of alternatives. I know there's a farm that pays like 100$ a month for picking berries in such,I'll see what I can do there too.

[Vyndeleron]

Seriously thanks for all the help,I never seem someone try so hard to help a stranger,I'll see what I can do,the first thing is if I can manage to snatch a job at my school's cafeteria next year which they 80$ a month. I don't really rely on birthday's much but I'll see if I can get money off that too (which is really really rare) and I'll see what else I can do. Really,thanks for the help

I'm assuming the system will be at max 600$ (?) with all that shipping and handling too,the only problem is snatching a job,games (omg forgot about this too...),and stopping myself from buying any other games... If I can't get a job though I think I'm give up

I'm sure it happens to all us gamers... especially using Steam... you can never stop buying those "low-price" games... it's like Gabe Newell knows how to sell games :P

[CyborgHippo]

I'm sure it happens to all us gamers... especially using Steam... you can never stop buying those "low-price" games... it's like Gabe Newell knows how to sell games :P

I really wanna play "The Last of Us" this year so hopefully it'll be the only game

[TheONeill]

Actually you should do more research before buying parts. As a person who builds his own PC's while PAX is definitely helping out, there are some errors he is coming up with.

#1. If you buy that video card he suggest, you don't need extra case fans. But I also highly suggest NOT going with that card. You can get much better. I suggest, if you're looking for a much better card, going with...

EVGA GTX 650 $93.99 (and also has a $10 rebate card)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130827

It's literally 8x as powerful as the gfx card he listed.

Here's a great resource too, letting you compare various graphics cards and shows you the 5450 vs a GTX 650

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=625&card2=681

If you can go a bit higher go for the GTX 650ti, that would be ~14x better than a 5450, and almost 2x as good as a GTX 650.

It costs $139, but at this time it has a $25 rebate on it (so if you do the rebate you'd get it for $115)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127710

You'd be MUCH better off with the GTX 650 or the GTX 650ti.

But OK say you want to stay under $60 dollars

Well right here you can get a...

ATI 6570 for $49.99 (and with a $10 rebate, after receiving the rebate the net would be $39.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102994

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards....=625&card2=655

Twice the memory and SIX times the power as the ATI 5450. (GFlops or TFlops is the rough overall power of a video card, the others are important too as they affect different aspects being rendered. )

But if ANYTHING you splurge on, make sure it's the videocard. It's the #1 most important thing in your system. So I highly recommend the GTX 650 or GTX 650ti.

Also I would recommend DDR3 1600 ram, not 1066.

4 GB's DDR3 1600 MHZ for $32.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231313

DDR3 1600 is the standard, and thus you will find the cheapest prices usually with DDR3 1600, not 1066. So better and cheaper, as long as the CAS latency is reasonable, which it is at CL9. (9 is pretty standard really)

Seagate 500gb 7200rpm SATA 3 hd $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148767

But if you go up a bit higher

1TB for $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148321

Note: If you time it well you can get 2TB anywhere from $79.99-$99.99.

Two other CPU's to look at are the

Ivy Bridge 3210 (this is the newer chip series on 22nm not the older 32nm), $129, slightly better
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116890

i5 3350P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116782

If you want to go up a bit more than that, the next level would be the cheapest quad core for $179 (though right now they also have a $15 gift card, so you'd save $15 on your next purchase...this is also a great thing about buying PC parts, is that you don't have do it all in one order. So it's possible, that sometimes you might find a better price a month or two later if it takes you that long to come up with money and/or you might be able to get something else slightly better (as long as it's compatible...i.e. same socket/motherboard CPU or better graphics card, or bigger hd, etc). Look for sales, as newegg is the best place imo.

I built my pc for $1200, though I already had hard drives, monitor, keyboard/mouse. I also upgrade my vidcard, from an ATI 5850 to a GTX 670 and now I've had a great PC for 3 years now that can play Battlefield 3 on ultra settings at 60 FPS. But that's a system + upgrading a vid card and including OS for $1600 (that'll be playing 6 years of videogames at top or nearly top settings), and you can hook up your PC to any HDTV you have with an HDMI cable. So you don't need a monitor. Your HDTV will probably work fine. Either way you can build a PC that you don't need upgrading for years for about 800-1200 with quality components if you do research, buy from newegg, and put it together yourself. Anybody can spend their money on whatever they want, but many times you can easily overspend when buying a built computer. It can easily double the cost or close to it, plus anything over a GTX 670 is kind of a waste. Dual GPU cards are usually equal or less then the best or 2nd best single GPU card from the next year. Also there is inherently problems with some games and SLI. IMO it's best to buy a strong midrange GPU like a GTX 670 for $400 or so (I've seen it for $339) and then upgrade from that every 2-3 years with a like card, rather then spend $1000-2000 on graphics cards and be eclipsed by a $400 card in two years.

Also you may want to look into overclocking. With your system, probably not much, but if you can safely add 10-20 percent performance, why not? My i7 920 is overclocked from 2.66ghz to 4.0ghz on air (though I do have a $70 heatsink). Still stock heatsink on some processors can generally overclock. On the i7 920 you could still get 25-35 percent on the stock heatsink/fan. But not too much unless you have a powerful PSU.

His PSU is fine, but you can get cheaper, especially with this XFX 550watt, which is 69.99 but has two discounts on it. One if you enter in the promo code "EMCXTVW43" (between now and March 27th) you get $15 off AND there is a $15 rebate. So you could get it for $39.99.

But his post forgets OS. If you have a Vista or Win 7 OS, you'll be fine. If you don't, you need to get one.

Win 7 home 64 bit is fine
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

Optical drive he gives is good price, and they all can fail,

Or maybe you go Linux (though many games don't like Linux...yet this MIGHT change). Though I've never used Linux, but do know Steam does sell Linux games and is pushing it. Though I assume you'd need to get a copy on a USB stick or a DVD disc (perhaps even CD) to install it. Also if you go linux and put it on a usb drive(if you have a usb stick) you don't need an optical drive at all. You could get one later, but with Steam, you don't need discs for games. Thus you can buy Bioshock Infinite over steam (and actually with the preorder they are giving away X-Com game for free, the original bioshock, plus some cute weapons with the free to play Team Fortress 2.

So whether you get an optical drive or not, I highly suggest Steam as a means to get games, or greenman gaming (which sometimes will sell you steam keys or origin keys [ea's version of steam] for sometimes cheaper than Steam does. But generally speaking Steam is a great way to go, especially with the two free games you get for pre-ordering the game with them...but that's only if you pre-order.

So other things you might need are HDMI cable (perhaps), sata cable for the hard drive, the optical drive will have one. Also keyboard and mouse, and/or gamepad. If you have any of these then you're good.


Thus in recap

GPU $50 (10 rebate), or $94 (10 rebate), or $140 (25 rebate)
CPU $120 , or 130, or 180 (15 gift card)
RAM 33
MB $75
PSU $55 (15 rebate)
HD $60 or 75
Case $45
Fans $14
Optical $20

Thus the cheapest build would be = 472-25 rebate = $447....and that's if you have an OS and keyboard/mouse and if desired, gamepad. You'd have a much better graphics card....like 6 times better and double the hard drive.

My recommended cheap one would be $512-25 rebate = $487 and have with it a GTX 650, which would be ~8x better graphically, with the same as the above.

My best bang for the buck would be $637-40 rebate and $15 gift card = $582...with this one you'd get a quad core processor, a GTX 650ti graphics card that is 14x as powerful as a 5450, double the hard drive (1tb) of the other configuration (500 gb) and four times (250gb) Pax's configuration.

If you wanted to double the ram to 8gb's, you'd just need $26 more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231567

Oh and some of these are free shipping, some aren't. Also if you don't live in CA, and most other places, there will be no sales tax (thus your budget MIGHT be a bit higher if you were thinking XXX price because you also have to pay for tax or whatever)

Also if you aren't concerned about looks, which you shouldn't be, and you aren't running a PC that is power hungry...you are the definition of bargain case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811233073
$30 including shipping

With that case, which isn't as good, you can shave another $14 off. Drop the extra fans and you have another $14 off.

So bargain basement $419, recommended cheap $459, and bang for the buck $554.

So again $419 for faster ram, double the hard drive, and a vid card ~6x stronger, crappier case, no extra fans, and 50 watts smaller power supply (50 watts you won't need for this build)
$473 for faster ram, double the hard drive, and a vid card ~8x stronger, crappier case, no extra fans, and 50 watts smaller power supply
or
$554 for faster ram, quadruple the hard drive, a vid card ~14x stronger, crappier case, no extra fans, and 50 watts smaller power supply you don't need.

But I actually have something cheaper than that, if you're willing to go AMD.

So

GPU $50 (10 rebate), or $94 (10 rebate), or $140 (25 rebate)
CPU $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819106001
or $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103942
RAM $33
MB $48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130641

PSU $55 (15 rebate)
HD $60 or 75
Case $30 (including shipping)
Optical $20

Thus the cheapest of cheap I can find for you, without doing extensive research is...
$361

The AMD recommended cheap is $405

The AMD bang for the buck quad core is $461 (that comes with the slightly better processor $10 extra, 1 TB HD instead of 500gb for 15 extra, and the GTX 550ti graphics card).

Obviously if you wanted the cheapest stuff but that best vid card it would be $436

[rda10002002]

OK I have that can I run it question. I know I wontget the best ultra high setting, but I do hope to be able to get better then the 360 graphics as I have played the last two on my pc and not 360
Display: either on mm smaller display at 728*1024 or my larger hd display at 1080p or 1080i
CPU: Core i5 dual core at 3.2 ghz
RAM: 12gb DDR3
HDD: 3 1TB 7200rpm drives
GPU: Radeon HD 5750

[Vyndeleron]

OK I have that can I run it question. I know I wontget the best ultra high setting, but I do hope to be able to get better then the 360 graphics as I have played the last two on my pc and not 360
Display: either on mm smaller display at 728*1024 or my larger hd display at 1080p or 1080i
CPU: Core i5 dual core at 3.2 ghz
RAM: 12gb DDR3
HDD: 3 1TB 7200rpm drives
GPU: Radeon HD 5750

I doubt you will get decent performance on a setting that makes the game's quality look better than on the consoles...

Here is what I think is the cause...

CPU isn't a quad or higher core

Second the GPU (Radeon HD 5750) specifications is lower than the GTX 560 / Radeon HD 6950 specs so that will also lower the potential of getting "said" graphic settings...

However you mentioned a very low resolution though... so now I'm not quite sure

[Strawberrys18]

I hope theirs Xbox 360 controller support for PC. Is there ?? Thanks Rob

[Vyndeleron]

I hope theirs Xbox 360 controller support for PC. Is there ?? Thanks Rob

Yes there is... I can also confirm again since I'm using one when I played

[Strawberrys18]

Yes there is... I can also confirm again since I'm using one when I played

Cool thank you for the information.

[_Pax_]

Yep, same here, been playing with my controller all along.

[phips]

hey, i read the specs requirements but i am still a little confused. i was looking for some assistance.
i am on a Mac laptop and planning on getting Windows 7 or 8 and splitting my HD so i can play this.
(i know its coming out on Mac this summer but i want to play it on windows)

so, once i have the proper OS I'm wondering if my laptop specs will even be sufficient....
here's a ss of some of the relevant specs. hopefully someone can tell me if they would be sufficient
and if so, if id be on super minimum or something a little higher...

[_Pax_]

CPU: you meet recommended
MEMORY: you meed recommended
GRAPHICS: you exactly meet minimum specs;

Note, however: while your CPU and memory meet the recommended specs, that's before accounting for the fact that they'll be picking up all the slack from your integrated graphics.

So, I'd suspect the game will run, but, won't be nearly as pretty as you might be hoping for.

[coffee009]

Question, how tough is this game on graphics? I played this game for one and a half playthoughs and I can hardly run it on medium settings.
Specs:
Prossessor: AMD Athlon X4 635 Processor 2.90GHz
4GB of RAM
GPU: Geforce GTX 460 with 1gb of video RAM
OS: Windows 7 64 bit
I know the game needs a 560, but is the 460 that much worse? I can run Borderlands 2 on high settings (also calls for a 560) except anti aliasing which is at 4x and anisotropic (is that how its spelled) filtering at 4x, running with almost no hiccups.
Also note my drivers were installed just before playing, and they were the latest.

EDIT: also @ cyborg hippo, I recommend if you can go the extra 60 dollars (going by pax's list) to get a cheap GTX 460, like here; http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-1...ywords=GTX+460 It is alot faster, and could be worth the bit of extra cash.

But honestly I recommend saving to get a really decent computer that will last, I own a prebuilt HP Pavilion p6610f with a new graphics card and power supply. I think the total cost then was around 700 bucks. If you get this http://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-p6.../dp/B003ZX87GS (same as my computer, and mine lasted me 2 1/4 years with no bluescreens) plus the graphics card and a power supply, you could get a nice rig for 529.94 dollars, which is a 36.14 dollar difference from pax's list (which I must give credit, is a damn fine list for the price), if you dont mind the out of date used parts that is.

[_Pax_]

Coffee, part of the issues you've had might be due to using an Athlon II processor.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...he,2416-9.html

Overall, the Athlon II X4 takes a ~10% hit on their performance index, compared to an identically-clocked Phenom II X4, in an otherwise-identical benchmarking rig.

EDIT: also @ cyborg hippo, I recommend if you can go the extra 60 dollars (going by pax's list) to get a cheap GTX 460, like here; http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-1...ywords=GTX+460 It is alot faster, and could be worth the bit of extra cash.

Yeah, there's a LOT of places where another $20, $40, $60 would have boosted that list from "it'll do" into "this is great".

But that kind of thing would result in nickel-and-dime-ing yourself to $600, $700, even $800.

Some examples:

• I found an XFX-made Radeon HD 6670 (a serious upgrade to the 5450 of my list above) for $90. That's "only" an extra $41 ...
• Newegg also has a Core i5 quad-core 3.1GHz CPU for "only" $60 more than the Core i3 in my list ...
• The memory could be doubled, from the same manufacturor, for "only" $24 more ...

Right there, that's an extra $125. Together, they'd also be a significant upgrade, and I'd say using those three parts instead of their counterparts in my list, would make for a much better PC. But it's still another hundred and twenty-five bucks, nice parts or no.

(I was going to go on abut a bigger HDD, and maybe a very small SSD - 60GB or 80GB - but, it turns out I chose poorly for the HDD above; I'm seeing 500GB models from Seagate and WD, for $60 right now ... less than my list above. Which brings up another point: until you've got the money to buy everything, keep revising your shopping list; prices fluctuate all the time.)

...

And regarding your HP-and-parts idea: yeah, somewhere around $500 is a workable budget for an inexpensive, lower-end "gaming PC" - whether you buy a prebuilt and some immediate upgrades, or buy it piecemeal and assemble it all yourself.

Trawling NewEgg for decent sales / clearance offerings is a good way to save some money too. My very first "mine all mine" PC - not counting the Commodore C64 of my teen years, ha!! - was $1,150, and had a Phenom II X4, 8GB of memory, and a GTX 275 video card. It was really QUITE nice at the time, and custom-building an equivalent through an OEM at the time would have been at least $1,500, maybe a few hundred more.

[phips]

hey, i read the specs requirements but i am still a little confused. i was looking for some assistance.
i am on a Mac laptop and planning on getting Windows 7 or 8 and splitting my HD so i can play this.
(i know its coming out on Mac this summer but i want to play it on windows)

so, once i have the proper OS I'm wondering if my laptop specs will even be sufficient....
here's a ss of some of the relevant specs. hopefully someone can tell me if they would be sufficient
and if so, if id be on super minimum or something a little higher...

CPU: you meet recommended
MEMORY: you meed recommended
GRAPHICS: you exactly meet minimum specs;

Note, however: while your CPU and memory meet the recommended specs, that's before accounting for the fact that they'll be picking up all the slack from your integrated graphics.

So, I'd suspect the game will run, but, won't be nearly as pretty as you might be hoping for.

Thanks for the input and feedback. can you elaborate on what you mean in the latter part of your response (bolded)?


note: i also don't NEED this game to be on the maximum settings or look the absolute best. as long as it doesn't look like sh*t and lag on my computer and run poorly. if it runs smoothly and looks pretty good (but not GREAT), then I'm fine with that.

thanks again.

[_Pax_]

Thanks for the input and feedback. can you elaborate on what you mean in the latter part of your response (bolded)?

A discrete video card has it's own physical memory (often, of a type faster than the rest of the computer relies on), dedicated solely to it's own use. For example, I have a Radeon HD 7970, which has 3GB of it's own memory (GDDR-5, which is way faster than the DDR-3 memory available to my CPU). So, some of your system memory has to be shared with your graphics processing, and is no longer available for other uses.

The next thing is: on-board graphics relies much more heavily on the CPU to do some of hte "heavy lifting" - calculations and such - than the GPU of a discrete video card. That eats into the available "power" / capacity of the CPU.

Together, they mean that you need a slightly better CPU and slightly more RAM, to not see a reduction in overall non-graphics performance, when using Integrated graphics. I don't know by hoe much - it used to be "by a lot" for Intel chipsets, but they've improved their integrated graphics capacity by a wide margin in the past couple iterations, so ... *shrug* ...

note: i also don't NEED this game to be on the maximum settings or look the absolute best. as long as it doesn't look like sh*t and lag on my computer and run poorly. if it runs smoothly and looks pretty good (but not GREAT), then I'm fine with that.

I can't be certain, but I strongly suspect that the game will run satisfactorily for you (barring a bug or something, of course), based on those standards.

Mainly, I think you won't quite get "recommended specs" performance in most areas. And for graphics, you'll definitely get minimum performance. Console-level, rather than gaming-PC-level, if you will. At a guess, your resolution may be limited to 720p at most, rather than full HD or better.

[phips]

wow. great insight thanks.

i just have 2 questions left about 2 of your points.

So, some of your system memory has to be shared with your graphics processing, and is no longer available for other uses. The next thing is: on-board graphics relies much more heavily on the CPU to do some of hte "heavy lifting" - calculations and such - than the GPU of a discrete video card. That eats into the available "power" / capacity of the CPU.

so if some of my system memory has to be used to run this and "no longer available for other uses" does that mean that i wouldn't be able to run things in the background or.....??

Mainly, I think you won't quite get "recommended specs" performance in most areas. And for graphics, you'll definitely get minimum performance. Console-level, rather than gaming-PC-level, if you will. At a guess, your resolution may be limited to 720p at most, rather than full HD or better.

so if I've played Bioshock 1 & 2 on xbox 360 and thought that that was sufficient, this would look similar-ish. is that what you're getting it? because what I've seen on the 360 from BS 1 & 2 is great and id be happy if i could get that on my Mac.

thanks for the insight....obviously i don't understand this stuff too well but you're definitely helping me =)

[_Pax_]

I wouldn't run anything much in the background regardless, while playing Infinite.

And I didn't mean, "it's like it doesn't exist" - I mean, you can only have so much loaded into RAM at once ... and with Integrated graphics, all the textures (etc) have to go into the same RAM being used to run the game, and to run any applications you've got in the background too.

Windows uses a Page File on your hard drive whenever RAM isn't sufficient for all the things clamoring for space in it ... but, accessing that page file is lots slower than accessing proper RAM.

[phips]

alright, so i gather that i should test to see if this works and, given the spec requirements and my machine specs, it should work and i should be pretty happy with it, given my acceptable standards. good to know.

thanks again.

[_Pax_]

It will definitely work - you meet minimum for graphics, and Recommended everywhere else.

It's just, the graphics will need to be dialled down to minimum or close to it, and you should atleast consider closing as many background applications as you can when playing the game.

[JDestructo]

So, what settings do you think I can run the game at with this:

Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium Home Edition 64
CPU -Intel Pentium III Xeon, 3166 MHz
Card - Nvidia Geforce GTX 650
System memory - 4096mb

[Vyndeleron]

So, what settings do you think I can run the game at with this:

Operating System Windows 7 Home Premium Home Edition 64
CPU -Intel Pentium III Xeon, 3166 MHz
Card - Nvidia Geforce GTX 650
System memory - 4096mb

Geforce Experience from Nvidia should answer your question... v1.1 now supports Bioshock Infinite... I think you need to have the game installed first before it gives you "optimal" settings

http://www.geforce.com/drivers/gefor...ience/download

[JDestructo]

Geforce Experience from Nvidia should answer your question... v1.1 now supports Bioshock Infinite... I think you need to have the game installed first before it gives you "optimal" settings

http://www.geforce.com/drivers/gefor...ience/download

eh, I tried that thing. it's results are pretty sketchy. It's saying I can only play torchlight 2 on low settings yet i'm playing it maxed out with zero issues. Same with Crysis...everything on high and it says I can barely play it...

Man, I really wish this game had a demo!!!

[bioshoked]

I have:
-8 gigs of 1600mhz ram
- AMD Athlon II x4 640 3 Ghz
- Radeon 7850 2 GB
- Windows 7 x64

And it runs beautifully at high setting 1920x1080 with solid 50-60 fps. Just for the record if anyone wants to know who has similar build .

[phips]

i am on a Mac laptop and planning on getting Windows 7 or 8 and splitting my HD so i can play this.
(i know its coming out on Mac this summer but i want to play it on windows)

so, once i have the proper OS I'm wondering if my laptop specs will even be sufficient....
here's a ss of some of the relevant specs. hopefully someone can tell me if they would be sufficient
and if so, if id be on super minimum or something a little higher...

So i know that we've established that I can play Infinite on my Mac if I bootcamp it with Windows 7, but I was curious if these specs would work for the first 2 Bioshocks as well (i know this is an Infinite forum but i was hoping someone in here might be able to help)

also, will my sound card (whatever it is) suffice?