Help the noob PC question

[Halo Jones]

Ok noob questions for you, I am currently upgrading my PC, which is predominantly used for gaming, mostly MMORPG’s & I want a good frame rate.

I have just got an ASUS Sabertooth Z87 MoBo, Intel i7 3.5LGA 1150 chip, 4MB of DDR3 ram, & SSD hard drives.

As the only sounds I listen to via the PC is game noise & the odd YouTube video, do I need to bother with a sound card or will on board sound do me?

Graphics card: is it better to have 2 mediocre cards run in crossfire or 1 stonking good one?

Thank you for any helpful comments.

[Platypus]

I found this

Z87 ... motherboards will include Asus’ SupremeFX audio that claims to rival discrete soundcards in “power and clarity”

So the answer is no, given your requirements

EDIT: I assume you mean 4GB RAM, in which case, personally, I'd go for more, 8GB is the minimum I'd consider these days, the extra cost should be small (certainly less than £50)

[gingerjedi]

I have a similar setup and I just use onboard with a pair of these plugged into the 3.5mm jack, they aren't cheap but they are awesome for their size. You only need a card if you want some sort of surround system.

Audioengine 2 - Audioengineusa.com

[stek]

Is this the company PC just used for invoices and expenses?

[Halo Jones]

Is this the company PC just used for invoices and expenses?

LOL, personal use – I am a dodgy permie you know

[Bunk]

I'd always prefer a single graphics card to a dual setup unless you're going for 2 high-end cards. It's just another thing to go wrong so unless you need bleeding edge performance (and the rest of the PC needs to be up to scratch) it's not really worth it.

[d000hg]

Yeah, single GPU is fine, doesn't even need to be a stonker for good performance really.

4Gb is not enough though. Not for games.

[amcdonald]

If you want to spend the money go for one expensive card, as you'll get less stability problems and less heat issues

Most of us though make do with two cards via XFire or SLI

The other consideration is do you do video editing or heavy photoshop use as the graphics memory and GPU can make a difference there as well, also get at least 2 gb for the card as a lot of games need it if you want to max out their settings

[northernladuk]

Can't you just play Runescape and pocket the cash?

[SimonMac]

Can't you just play Candy Crush and pocket the cash?

FTFY