Desktop Computers

Sithro_sl said:

Definitely gaming.

How much cheaper are we usually talking here? It can't be that much.

Click to expand...

Honestly, I am not entirely sure. I haven't ever actually purchased a prebuilt system. It is just way too easy to build one now-a-days.

Here is something I came up with just poking around,http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1t5ne. I am sure other people around here will have more comments/suggestions.

It isn't just the cost when it comes to the system being cheaper. It is that each individual component is something you can research and buy a reliable one. A lot of pre-built systems will have cheap RAM. Or a cheap MB. Or a case with bad airflow, small fans, etc. In some cases you may even find an identical cost unit if you are only looking at specs, but is their 16 GB of RAM the same level of quality as G.Skill or similar? Probably not.

And any component you already have? Be it case, PSU, etc? That is just "free" for the new build.

Yeah, might be better to build it myself.

What are the best companies to be dealing with these days? Last time I built a PC, AMD was the top dog. Now I'm hearing things have changed. What about Radeon Vs. Nvidia? Etc?

Sithro_sl said:

Yeah, might be better to build it myself.

What are the best companies to be dealing with these days? Last time I built a PC, AMD was the top dog. Now I'm hearing things have changed. What about Radeon Vs. Nvidia? Etc?

Click to expand...

The situation is still basically the same as it was, both cards are good and they usually trade top place. Nvidia still seems to have better driver and software support, so I usually go with them. Intel generally makes better CPUs for gaming at the mid-high end, the i5 is a great chip cost/performance for gaming.

Considering both next generation consoles are using AMD's cpu/gpu, I would consider at least an AMD video card over Nvidia.

That was the point, you can't go wrong with either considering price/performance/bundle so you can add the fact that most multi-platform games will be developed for consoles first and then ported and we all know how much they invest in those ports.

Also, I should have made it clear that I do NOT support buying an AMD cpu right now (unless you're into audio encoding or winraring shit all the time).

brekk_sl said:

What does that have to do with anything. Nvidia/AMD video cards come down to who has the better deal at your intended price point with the better game bundle, you can't really go wrong with either at the moment.

Click to expand...

I think the logic was that not a lot of effort will be put into ports so games that already run fine on an AMD card, in the console, will run without issues on an AMD card in your PC. Whereas there might be slow downs or artifacts on non-AMD cards because the game won't be as optimized for them.

I dunno if that argument has any merit because I don't know how similar the architecture is between the PC and console versions of the AMD cards, but it certainly could have merit and if the price/performance point on both cards is near identical right now, it would certainly give AMD a small edge.

That is what I assumed, but I think that was the argument being presented so I was trying to clarify. I don't have enough technical knowledge to have any useful input into the actual meat of the matter.

Is having a SSD that important these days? One guy I know had one and he says it wasn't really worth it.

Sithro_sl said:

Is having a SSD that important these days? One guy I know had one and he says it wasn't really worth it.

Click to expand...

My computer boots up in ~15 seconds. Games load basically instantly. An SSD is an enormous gain in load times. There were some issues with speed slowdown in the first couple of generations, but TRIM has fixed that completely and you basically always get the speeds as advertised these days.

That time is worth it to me. Some people I know check their e-mail or texts on their phone while things take a minute or more to load on 5400 RPM drives (because they are cheaper) on their computer. So in some sense it comes down to personal preference, but I personally will never buy or build a computer without an SSD ever again.

Sithro_sl said:

Is having a SSD that important these days? One guy I know had one and he says it wasn't really worth it.

Click to expand...

The guy you know is a dirt-eating peasant.

SSD's are the beans.

I can't imagine not using an SSD, even if you get a tiny 64GB one for just your OS and most frequently used/slow loading games (looking at you Skyrim).

Really though 120GB at least, and 256GB recommended, SSDs actually get faster as they get bigger up until ~256GB.

The SSD is the single largest upgrade I've ever made to my PC since the inception of 3D graphics accelerators. No joking at all. The startling difference an SSD makes is comparable to the first time I loaded up a game with my new 3DFX add-on graphics card. Night and day difference.

Sithro_sl said:

So, I'm looking to build something for around $800. Any builds you guys would recommend? Is it even worth building a PC yourself these days, or can I just buy it pre-built and save myself the trouble?

Click to expand...

A couple weeks ago I built a brand new PC for about a total of about $750, including a fresh copy of Windows 7 but not including monitor/keyboard/speakers/mouse/case.

Search for my posts in this thread to see a general list of the components I chose. I'm extremely happy with it so far; no issues to speak of and it is running everything I throw at it smoothly.

If I were building a new computer today, I would use this as my baseline:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1tNb0

That's a PC that should be able to play games on max settings for the next 2 years at least.

If you shopped around(and had access to a Microcenter for CPU+Mobo discount) thats a $1000 build, with all the basics covered minus peripherals(no keyboard, mouse, CD/DVD-R, etc that can be re-used from current PC). Obviously the price could be brought down even more if you already have some parts that can be re-used that are pretty common like a case or operating system.

The 8GB memory is a little light, but this leaves 2 slots free to add another 8GB later on if needed.

I only included an SSD in the build, I figure most people would pull storage HDs out of their current PC, or even use external drives for storage. The 240GB Samsung Evo SSD is plenty of space for an OS + many programs and games. You just wouldn't want to jumble it up with storing tons of video, but it would be plenty of space to get you started and you can always add more storage drives later as needed. But waiting on a SSD to save money on a new build is a bit of a pain in the ass. I hate having to re-install my OS if I can avoid it, so I'd highly recommend grabbing the SSD right off the bat so you can get your windows install set, and not have to redo it down the road at any point.

The one thing I would change is get Windows 8, it is the same price as 7 and if you are buying a new OS anyway it is better. It is also going to get DX upgrades 7 isn't.

Denaut_sl said:

The one thing I would change is get Windows 8, it is the same price as 7 and if you are buying a new OS anyway it is better. It is also going to get DX upgrades 7 isn't.

Click to expand...

Yea.. no! You can keep your Win7 just as it is. I havent seen a single glowing review of Win8 (Nor 8.1) outside of people using tablets. Win8 is your Vista or Millennium Edition. Win7 is your XP.