Desktop Shopping

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PhaseDMA
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Desktop Shopping

Post by PhaseDMA »

tl;dr - I need a new computer. Can you look at the two links I provided and see what I screwed up for the configuration and/or make suggestions?

So I have had my laptop forever... Actually only 1120 days...

And now it's time to upgrade I think. Honestly I'd love to sell my laptop because while it served me the way I had hoped I just don't need a laptop any more much less a 17 inch beast. I mean I have a CR-48, a nice smartphone, and a tablet - none of which I had when I got my laptop. Needless to say I have other devices that better serve what a laptop did back then (mobility).

So I'm looking into buying a desktop.

Here is the thing. I *KNOW* I should build myself my own computer. I also know it still pathetically scares me. Actually the motherboard and processor placement is what scares me.

So I'm looking at Dell. Let me tell you something. I love Dell. I have owned and used Dell's for longer then I can remember off hand and the worst issue I had was a CD-ROM drive died on a machine that had two optical drives.

So I'm looking at Desktops. Pretty much I want a i7. I just have no desire to screw around with something less. I'm thinking that I also want 12 GBs of RAM. The idea being to get more RAM than I need today so that in 3 years I'm still operating in the green.

However the RAM has already become a huge sticking point. To no shock at all to me Dell decides they need to use all 4 DIMM slots no matter how much memory you put into the computer. Here is what I have realized. If I bought 8 GBs of RAM through Dell and then bought 16 GBs through Crucial (Only using Crucial as a example) it would be cheaper that way than to just buy 16 GBs from Dell. ie If Dell would sell a computer without memory I could easily save like $200 in memory alone and end up with the max memory the machine will take.

:sigh:

Than there is HDs. Basically I would much rather take a much smaller SSD drive for the same price than a 1 TB drive, but that isn't a option with Dell.

I want a nice video card, but not to pay through the nose for it. In fact I probably would be okay with a decent bottom end card here. Basically I want to be able to play GTA IV on the PC at max settings, and hopefully GTA V at decent settings when it comes out. However I have ZERO idea what that means as far as one card to another. The only thing I know is integrated is unacceptable in every possible way.

I'd like a Blu-Ray drive, but it isn't a deal breaker. Hell. To be honest a CD-R/W drive wouldn't even be a deal breaker at this point.

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For Reference - Pieces I'm looking at for my own build (Subject to change daily :-P)

[quote="Self-Build Computer"]
CPU - AMD FX-6100 (95 watt 6 core...aka fast and cool) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103962 ($149)
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128521 ($89.99)
MEM - 8GB Corsair http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820233180 ($55)
SSD - OCZ Vertex 3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227706 ($139 before rebate)
HDD -
PSU - OCZ 700W modular http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341018 ($89)
GFX - EVGA 560 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130660 ($189)

OS - Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6832116986 ($99.99)

Hardware = $710.99
OS = $99.99
Total = $809.98
[/quote]

-----

I did price out two self builds. One that had a case with a 480w power supply and looked cooler, and one with a 500w power supply with a case that didn't look as cool.

Cheaper 480w - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XGY ... Im5v8/edit

500w - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aP- ... 3usWw/edit

Basically they came to the same price as the Dell within a hundred dollars of each other.

The thing to note is the graphics card. Like I said I have no idea about graphics cards as far as bang for the buck.

The other thing to note is if either of those self builds look promising - Can someone make sure I didn't screw up and try to put a SDRAM memory card into a DDR3 slot? Or that I tried to put a IDE hard drive into a SATA slot? The real thing I'm concerned about is using the wrong speeds.

Edited: Removed the Dell specs and price because I don't think I'm going that route
Last edited by PhaseDMA on Wed May 02, 2012 10:53 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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My MPG sucks cause' I remote start all the time - And than drive 2 miles to work
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y0bailey
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by y0bailey »

My 2c.

It is time to learn how to build a computer. Exactly what you wanted to hear right? I could literally walk you through it on a video chat in no time. There are also some amazing videos on newegg/youtube on how to do it yourself. You can get EXACTLY what you want and get a sweet rig for the 1k mark. You won't be making compromises (500w PSU is a joke and if you ever want to upgrade to a nice GFX card you will be instantly upgrading your PSU as well). It isn't hard. I walked my computer illiterate friend through it when he build his first PC for BF3.

That being said, if that isn't what floats your boat, then almost any standard i7 rig will be fine. I worry about GFX updatability, but other than that what you have up there is fine. I wouldn't go dell for a desktop...they I would buy one of the newegg house brands (ibuypower) because they actually put nice motherboards, PSU, etc. in there so you have some play room in the future.

You don't need 16gb of ram. I have 8 and game non-stop, do some video editing, and never need 8gb. I would take that money towards an SSD drive, which is the only upgrades these days that give real world performance increases. 16gb is cool, but overkill.

i5 is the best bang/buck. If I was building right now I would throw in i5 in there, spend the money on SSD and a better GFX card. Hyperthreading honestly shits the bed more often than not in a lot of current games...and unless you are doing some hardcore shit, 8 "cores" isn't doing much. Most good motherboard brands have preset overclocking settings that will easily get you i7 speeds without increasing voltage or actually having to know what you are doing.

Think about that and let me know if you want more info. GTA V might be a semi-GPU hog. Dell will drop the ball if that is the case.
Wotcher
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by Wotcher »

building your own computer is a big step to take, but the satisfaction of being able to say "i built this computer that i use, myself" feels great, and your non-technological friends will be all impressed and shit. plus, unless you've found a Killer Deal on a preassembled computer, it'll be cheaper to build one.
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plasma2002
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by plasma2002 »

just whatever you do, DON'T build a computer for your wife. From that day forward, any problem with it, or any error she ever gets will be all your fault.


...or so ive heard.
[quote]Plasma: This thread is now about how everyone from England has a melty face
Quirk: I second this motion. All in favor?
cokalsM: Im drunk.
bigcfk: i'm too.
Quirk: The motion has passed. The topic of discussion is now Beanie Babies.[/quote]
^ m_m, summed up.
y0bailey
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by y0bailey »

Also, I couldn't use those links to see your wish lists.
PhaseDMA
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by PhaseDMA »

Edited the URLs in the first post but here they are for ease of access.

Cheaper 480w - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XGY ... Im5v8/edit

500w - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aP- ... 3usWw/edit

Couldn't figure out how to share a public wishlist so I just put it in a Google Doc. Links should work.
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My MPG sucks cause' I remote start all the time - And than drive 2 miles to work
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y0bailey
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by y0bailey »

Holy shit I didn't know the i7 was that expensive. Def drop to an i5.

Upgrade the GFX card for sure.

Honestly, my last build was an AMD Phenom x4. Bang for buck, hard to beat. You can save $300 alone by going AMD, and the speed will be exactly the same in real world use.

I would spend that extra $300 divided between a better GFX card, a bigger SSD drive (I just bought a 120gb for $99 after rebate), and a back-up 1T drive to dump your video's etc. on.

Here is the build I would do today if I had 1k:

CPU - AMD FX-6100 (95 watt 6 core...aka fast and cool) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103962 ($149)
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-990FX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128509 ($179 before rebate)
MEM - 8GB Corsair http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820233180 ($55)
SSD - OCZ Vertex 3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820227706 ($139 before rebate)
HDD - Seagate 1TB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148697 ($99)
PSU - OCZ 700W modular http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341018 ($89)
GFX - EVGA 560 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130660 ($189)

Total = $899 with around $100 coming back with rebates. Add your case, your OS, your set.

This is without skimping at all. Could easily pick a less feature rich motherboard and save there. Could also go lesser brands on the PSU...but I have started to learn after 13 years building PCs...this can bite you in the ass later. Cases are fine to go cheap on. I always end up buying a nice one...but that is because I am in my computer tinkering around 100x a year.

NOTE: This will be much faster in real world usage (ie gaming) than dropping $500 on a i7 and mobo.
Jenna
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by Jenna »

If I can build my own HTPC, vagina and all, you can build one. Save the money.

Plus, it's fun to tinker.
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ryn
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by ryn »

So I think build your own is the verdict. It's not hard at ALL. And it's WAY easy to upgrade.

Since everyone here knows all about video cards and what not. I built a new desktop at the end of last year. I don't game at all really (I run RealFlight and Pheonix, and MS FlightSIM 04' and they do alright), but I've been using sketch up a lot and on larger models it starts to crawl. I realized I had OpenGL disabled and enabled it and it was much better, but now I'm painting stuff and once I get a lot of color down it crawls like before. I figure its time to get a real video card. I have a measly Radeon HD 5450. So I want to upgrade to a more real card, so maybe I could play real games if I so decide, but primarily would like to do well with SketchUp and real CAD programs eventually, Photoshop as well. What's my best bang for buck that wont require any other upgrades?

MoBo: BIOSTAR TA990FXE
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1866)
CPU: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz
PSU: OCZ Fatality 550w

I haven't touched voltages, timings or anything. I guess you could say it's running all stock...
Yes, I did the most vain thing I've ever done and color coordinated my desktop components (I just really hate blue). So a video card that's primarily red or black would be a plus.
y0bailey
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Re: Desktop Shopping

Post by y0bailey »

ryn,

Anything on this page should do fine: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gam ... 107-3.html
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