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Every now and then a game comes along and forces a bunch of people to upgrade their comps.

One is out now - Supreme Commander, the other is still out on the horizon, but coming in soon : Crysis.

So what's the fuss?

Well, the Supreme Commander hardware requirements are turning previous beastly systems into little more than powerpoint slide shows. If you want to play, and play well with all the eye candy on, you are looking at a new comp - unless you just bought your own quadcare, super SLI'd supercomputer from Alienware in the last month.

So why does SupCom do this? Well the underlying problem is that all the bullets and lasers and bombs going off in the game, are actually calculated in real time - so if you are down in a gully, behind a tree and facing the wrong way : you've got buckley's of blowing up that dude hanging out at the top of the canyon taking pot shots at your sorry behind...

But, the problem with Supreme Commander is that is not just a two unit show - you can have hundreds of units, all firing hundreds of missiles / bullets / squashed frogs at each other, and suddenly your processor is chugging like a madman at a stag's night.

Unfortunately, playing the game is awesome fun and so you are just going to have to get your comps minimum specs up to scratch to play this sucker.

So what's the craic?

Unfortunately, its highly likely you are going to have to do a heart lung and brain transplant on your box... Then again, you could just tuck your tail between your legs and go buy C&C3, but that wouldn't be much fun now, would it?

So you wanna play?

This is the bare Minimum.

Will it run? Maybe? Will you be able to play it? Hmm, as long as you only have 4 units on screen at any time... you should be ready to roll.

Even with all the Supreme Commander Patches in the world, you probably aren't going to be having *that much fun*...

Let's check the minimum's out...

Minimum

1.8 GHz processor
512 MB RAM; 128MB video RAM with DirectX 9 Vertex Shader/Pixel Shader 2.0 support
8 GB free HD space
56.6 Kbps Internet connection.

Okay, so you got pass that one, lets try out some better specs - with a good amount of tweaking and optimisation you should have a decent playing experience...

You might have to turn down the settings a bit, which is cool to play the game properly but not having all the nice water and tree effects may spoil your enjoyment. But if you meet these specs... get the game and then think about whether you need to upgrade after that!

Recommended

3.0 GHz processor
1 GB RAM; Nvidia 6800, ATI X800 XL, ATI X1300 or better video card
10 GB free HD space
broadband internet connection.

This should get you by on most Supreme Commander Maps but you may still struggle with several players on screen at once...

Optimal

Now we are talking. I love this word : Optimal. It suggests lots of work went into getting it just right. The perfect setup for your needs. It does just roll off the tongue... ahh : Optimal.

Multi-core processor
multi monitor support.

What? That's all? They sure didn't go into too many specifics for "Optimal"!!

The Crucial Memory Advisor Tool takes the guesswork out of upgrading.

So ripping out your beloved computers soul often fills gamers with a sense of nostalgia and dread. Do not fear this little chicken, but approach your work with love and a large screwdriver...

The heart and soul of your Supreme Commander requirement smashing beast is one of these suckers.




Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz 1066MHz 2MB Dual-Core CPU


Yes, indeed, Intel went out and created a monster - having been slapped around for a while by AMD and their fanboys, they boys in blue decided to come out and show exactly who is the boss.

The E6400 is a joy to behold - strong, powerful and like a true work of art - overclocks like a animal. So, remember - unless you are going for quad core (you do have $1500 just lying around and nothing, no really - NOTHING!! better to spend it on, don't you?) just get the cheapest core 2 duo and overclock it...

Nice work!

But you can't just let the E6400 sit there by itself. Such power, strength and courage needs a suitable companion. A woman of style, beauty and grace. A princess that oozes class from her top to her toe. There of course, can only be one...

Ah, yes, perfection. Art meets Science meets Religion.

A true coming together of the souls. You are going to like her. A Lot...




Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GTS TDH 640MB GDDR3 PCIe VCD w/TV-Out


Can you feel that instant when the metal electrodes on the card slide into the motherboard? Its one of those moments that you know you can replay in your mind for years to come.

This bad girl will not let you down... The Commander will be happy with you!

Of course, if you really want to let your fantasy's get away from you... have you ever had two?

SLI me up Scotty!

You can't be letting the happy couple just mouch around on some idyllic Caribbean beach all day. To work, to work - you are going to need something for your shiny new CPU and vid card to get together on.

There are many options to choose from, but if you want to know... you go to the source. AtomicMPC has been messing around with systems since they were ugly beige boxes and a 12in CRT in 4 colours was the state of the art.

And what do they say... Go forth and overclock!

The biggest choice is are you going to want to run SLI? If yes - its the e-vga 680i SLI for you.

If not, the Gigabyte Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3P rev2.0 has been the cause of much loving and general feel goodiness in enthusiast circles - you could do worse!

Finally, if you are feeling all army, you might want to check out the Asus Commando. It got an "awesome" rating from Atomic and if nothing else, its about the only motherboard ever not to have a name made up of random letters and numbers!

Where to for these gems... Its off to Ebay with you! Click below...

10% off top memory upgrades


The last item to consider in your killer upgrade is how much memory?

Now the interesting thing is that this question has plagued PC's since they became freely available to the public for a reasonable price... many years ago, it was should I skimp and go 1meg, go bang for buck on 2megs, or splurge on 4megs?

Now 4megs is not very much these days, but maybe in another 10years, 4gigs is not going to be much either! Who can tell?

Most people tend to be aiming for 2gigs at the moment as a nice sweet spot for gaming, especially if you are running Vista.

If you have the cash, then lock in 4 right now and you will be sweet for quite some time (hopefully!).

The other thing to keep in mind is that you may want to go for a single 2gig module rather than 2x 1gig's. Why? Well, if you want to go to 4 later, your memory slots are open and you just drop in the second module.

Anyway, if you go 1,2 or 4gigs - you need to check its all going to work with your new setup. For that, you want to check out the Crucial Memory Advisor Tool
. It will confirm your memory will work before you buy.

Alright, you are all done!

Well done, and get out there and kick some Supreme butt...

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