Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: swinger on May 02, 2013, 02:40:10 PM
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HI ALL: Would appreciate some suggestions on buying a new DELL comp for AcesHi. Need not be the most expensive but addiquate.
Help would be appreciated.
SWINGER
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The best I can suggest is not buying a Dell to begin with. Build your own or have someone you trust build it for you. You will get better components at the same or less price of a Dell.
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The best I can suggest is not buying a Dell to begin with. Build your own or have someone you trust build it for you. You will get better components at the same or less price of a Dell.
best advice... +1 :aok
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I played on 2 Dells. Was afraid to build my own. After a lot of research and help from this board, I built my own. It works very well. I could not have afforded a Dell or any other brand name that comes close. When I started researching, I did not know what the current components were. My Dell was over 6 years old so I was wayyy out of date. If I could do it, anyone can!
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The best I can suggest is not buying a Dell to begin with. Build your own or have someone you trust build it for you. You will get better components at the same or less price of a Dell.
Dell ist gut.
There will be a knock on your door shortly!
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The best I can suggest is not buying a Dell to begin with. Build your own or have someone you trust build it for you. You will get better components at the same or less price of a Dell.
best advice... +1 :aok
Highly agreed +1 :aok
Here's a "why?": Dell and any other widespread brand don't make dedicated gaming computers. Their idea is to standardize to the max to decrease manufacturing costs. In the lower price categories that means using outdated and/or underpowered components, balancing the rig so that nothing can be upgraded without having half of the innards changed. Their "professional" models are of better quality, but they are stripped to the minimum, often even lacking a graphics card slot.
If you don't want to build yourself, look for either a local builder shop or an Internet builder, who give you the option to make changes to their suggestions. I've seen sites that have literally dozens of slightly differing options, starting from a budget rig and ending to a gaming monster in increasing order. Such sites make it easy to figure the total cost and the cost effect of replacing only one part. Unfortunately I can't give you any addresses, I only know one reliable net shop here in Finland and one good looking in Italy, but do some research and you'll surely find one at your whereabouts.
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Thanks for the advise, will be interested in self build.
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Here's the addresses to both the Italian (http://www.pcassemblati.eu/computer-intel-i7-3770k/vedi-tutti-i-prodotti.html) and Finnish (http://www.jimms.fi/listaa/912) sites I mentioned. They might give you some advice about combinations vs. prices. A similar site near your whereabouts might give more accurate details, but anyway you'll get some ideas scrolling through them.
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Here's the addresses to both the Italian (http://www.pcassemblati.eu/computer-intel-i7-3770k/vedi-tutti-i-prodotti.html) and Finnish (http://www.jimms.fi/listaa/912) sites I mentioned. They might give you some advice about combinations vs. prices. A similar site near your whereabouts might give more accurate details, but anyway you'll get some ideas scrolling through them.
I wonder if anyone is going to actually buy the 10 000+ euro (14000 USD+) setup :D
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I wonder if anyone is going to actually buy the 10 000+ euro (14000 USD+) setup :D
*looking at Ripley as a possible suspect* :neener:
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*looking at Ripley as a possible suspect* :neener:
Nah I would never spend that much even if I could charge it on the company - and I build my own.
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I don't think Dell is bad but if I had the money I would go with Tildeath. Just an excellent builder and very customer conscious.
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:aok
I don't think Dell is bad but if I had the money I would go with Tildeath. Just an excellent builder and very customer conscious.
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WHO IS TILDEATH???
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WHO IS TILDEATH???
He's a bit of a controversial person. Some absolutely love him and praise his computer building services, some accuse him as a fraudster and post old mugshots. Overall I think the amount of satisfied customers is higher than the angry ones on this forum so far :)
Use forum search, you'll be likely to find more info.
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WHO IS TILDEATH???
He is a former AH'er and a professional computer builder, known for his cable management and overall quality - although as MrRipley said, some of his clients haven't been pleased. I suppose you can find someone like him near your whereabouts, too. Someone who is both gaming oriented and computer/component savvy can give valuable hints for a builder or build a pleasing rig turnkey delivery.
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tilldeath is the ultimate man for computer business. he's built more computers for this game than any other builder.
semp
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I would caution anyone in the EXTREME from using Til Death to build a computer. I had a very poor experience that has not been resolved too date. There are others that feel like I do, but I will not speak for them.
If you are remotely serious about using TD for a computer system, I would suggest you search his full name in the public databases in his current state and the states surrounding the one he lives in. Further, I would also search his claims on this board. A small amount of public records searches will show some interesting information regarding his claims of going to Haiti on a humanitarian mission.
I wish you good luck on whatever choice you make.
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I'm contenplaiting building my own, the comp I have now I built in 2008. What I need now is some quidense on the updated parts to put together a AcesHi comp.
Mid range could be OK.
Any help would be appreciated.
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I'm contenplaiting building my own, the comp I have now I built in 2008. What I need now is some quidense on the updated parts to put together a AcesHi comp.
Mid range could be OK.
Any help would be appreciated.
Building your own is a very good choice in many cases. You should define your price range for people to start giving advice.
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I'm contenplaiting building my own, the comp I have now I built in 2008. What I need now is some quidense on the updated parts to put together a AcesHi comp.
Mid range could be OK.
Any help would be appreciated.
Knowing what you have inside would help, too. Unless you're planning to reuse only the case, in which case there's many good alternatives both in this thread and others posted during the last month or so in this forum.
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I've been using Dells to play AH (and Air Warrior before that) for more than a decade. I think it's one of the best ways to go in terms of performance/price.
$550 for the Dell and $125 for a graphics card, and you are all set for most game settings on max, AA maxed out, and get frame rates of 60.
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I've been using Dells to play AH (and Air Warrior before that) for more than a decade. I think it's one of the best ways to go in terms of performance/price.
$550 for the Dell and $125 for a graphics card, and you are all set for most game settings on max, AA maxed out, and get frame rates of 60.
If you could find a Dell case that fits..add in a decent PSU and a high end GPU (~$400 total) and you pretty much have a high end gaming PC since most Dells come with i5s and i7s these days (granted, not the overclock models). The biggest problem is just making sure you can fit the GPU and PSU. I managed to fit a 6870 into my Dell with a Corsair 750W (more than needed, but I plan to use it in the future). Had to take off the bracket on the 6870 and cut off a bit of the CPU heatsink to make it work.
The result was that the CPU heatsink isn't screwed in but still seats on top of the CPU. My temps gets a little wacky sometimes (80-95C) at max load. But after over a year of heavy gaming everyday for 3+ hours, I still haven't seen any problems. And I still have a backup E7500 to replace my current Q9550 should it die randomly.
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I just get Dells with 350W power supplies and don't bother changing them. That has always worked OK for me so far (although that is one thing I do wish Dells had -- bigger power supplies). You can swap the factory PSU's with standard ones you can buy online or at stores, generally, without having to modify the case. It's just a hassle to change PSU's.
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I had a gateway computer with a 300 ps. that was my first puter about 7 years ago. I got a video card and it worked pretty good. it was a geforce 8400. I read about ps and video cards and decided to change the ps to a 450. it was like night and day. i guess the 300 ps was starving the low end video card.
I currently have a 750w ps on a 2500k cpu and msi mobo with sli evga 465 cards. I think it's at about 80% load. I was gonna get a bigger ps then I read what skuzzy and others said about having a too big/small ps and decided to just stick with this one.
semp
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Just looked at what Dell I'd get if I were buying one today. I think I'd get the Inspiron 660 with an I5 processor ($500). It only comes with a 300W power supply, but from the owner's manual, it looks like the connectors to the motherboard are standard ATX12V. So, I'd probably buy a decent 400-500W ATX12V power supply from Newegg and swap it (perhaps another $50-$75) and a $125 graphics card -- and Bob's your uncle.
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Just looked at what Dell I'd get if I were buying one today. I think I'd get the Inspiron 660 with an I5 processor ($500). It only comes with a 300W power supply, but from the owner's manual, it looks like the connectors to the motherboard are standard ATX12V. So, I'd probably buy a decent 400-500W ATX12V power supply from Newegg and swap it (perhaps another $50-$75) and a $125 graphics card -- and Bob's your uncle.
I've played with the idea of buying a cheap basic computer and beefing it up, but then I've thought about it again, done some calculations and quality comparisons and dumped the idea. Quality power supplies cost IMO more than $50 and even $75 sounds like a good bargain. Nevertheless, even if your price estimations were valid, the total price would go up to $700. For what I've read on this forum it seems that decent components of the same specs would be available for the same price over there, including a case with space enough to fit a foot long video card. I once had a customer, a young man, who had bought a nice rig from the Internet. His first surprise was, that it wasn't ready built. The second drawback was that the Antec case, although being big and sturdy, had full height HDD rails inside so that the video card wouldn't fit.
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I've played with the idea of buying a cheap basic computer and beefing it up, but then I've thought about it again, done some calculations and quality comparisons and dumped the idea. Quality power supplies cost IMO more than $50 and even $75 sounds like a good bargain. Nevertheless, even if your price estimations were valid, the total price would go up to $700. For what I've read on this forum it seems that decent components of the same specs would be available for the same price over there, including a case with space enough to fit a foot long video card. I once had a customer, a young man, who had bought a nice rig from the Internet. His first surprise was, that it wasn't ready built. The second drawback was that the Antec case, although being big and sturdy, had full height HDD rails inside so that the video card wouldn't fit.
Also gotta remember to subtract $100 since the OS is already there. Newegg regularly put 500W Corsair PSUs for sale for around 60-70$.
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Thanks for all the input. I like the idea of the DELL.
I intend to spend $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 for the unit no monitor,
I have a SyncMaster226bw 2ms 3000:1 that I hope
should be adaquate?
Now to check what they have.
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Thanks for all the input. I like the idea of the DELL.
I intend to spend $1,200.00 to $1,500.00 for the unit no monitor,
I have a SyncMaster226bw 2ms 3000:1 that I hope
should be adaquate?
Now to check what they have.
If you like the idea of spending 1200 for a computer you could build for 800 yourself, go ahead ;)
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For $1200-$1500, you can get two Dell-based systems. Or one Dell-based system, a good monitor, and CH Products joystick and pedals.
In my opinion, the only weakness of a Dell system is the power supply -- the rest of the components are fine. You can get a high-quality 400-500W ATX12V power supply from Newegg for $50-$75 (Antec, Corsair, Coolmax, Thermaltake, Seasonic -- take your pick).
Overall:
Dell Inspiron 660 is $500 (i5-3330, includes OS, 500 GB HD, 4 GB RAM, DVD+/-RW, 100/1000 Ethernet, sound, keyboard, mouse)
Thermaltake 500W ATX12V power supply is $50 (from Newegg)
Nvidia GTX 650 Ti (rated best for price range by Tom's Hardware) is $130 (from Newegg)
total = $680
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For $1200-$1500, you can get two Dell-based systems. Or one Dell-based system, a good monitor, and CH Products joystick and pedals.
In my opinion, the only weakness of a Dell system is the power supply -- the rest of the components are fine. You can get a high-quality 400-500W ATX12V power supply from Newegg for $50-$75 (Antec, Corsair, Coolmax, Thermaltake, Seasonic -- take your pick).
Overall:
Dell Inspiron 660 is $500 (i5-3330, includes OS, 500 GB HD, 4 GB RAM, DVD+/-RW, 100/1000 Ethernet, sound, keyboard, mouse)
Thermaltake 500W ATX12V power supply is $50 (from Newegg)
Nvidia GTX 650 Ti (rated best for price range by Tom's Hardware) is $130 (from Newegg)
total = $680
Not so long ago Dell also used non-standard components, for example the motherboard and power supply had reversed wiring order in the standard atx connector, causing motherboards to blow if non-Dell power supply was used. When you look at the setup - 3330, 500gb HD, 4Gb ram - those are midlevel specs from 3 years ago. Motherboard probably lacks support for PCI-E 3.0 and USB 3.0, heck maybe even SATA 6G. You pay little and you get exactly what you pay for or a bit less.
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Here is my unit info:
Name NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
PNP Device ID PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0193&SUBSYS_042110DE&REV_A2\4&243D7BD0&0&0070
Adapter Type GeForce 8800 GTS, NVIDIA compatible
Adapter Description NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
Adapter RAM 640.00 MB (671,088,640 bytes)
Installed Drivers nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version 6.14.13.1422
INF File oem47.inf (Section001 section)
Color Planes 1
Color Table Entries 4294967296
Resolution 1680 x 1050 x 60 hertz
Bits/Pixel 32
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Additional info:
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name OWNER-E290D109F
System Manufacturer NVIDIA
System Model AWRDACPI
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 35 Stepping 2 AuthenticAMD ~2010 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG, 11/14/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.2
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
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Last piece:
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name OWNER-E290D109F\Edward
Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.35 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 3.85 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys
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If I purchase a computer, would some one
be interested in buying this one?
Or should I update this unit if possible?
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If I purchase a computer, would some one
be interested in buying this one?
Or should I update this unit if possible?
Usually an update is the least costly way to go. Your system is so old however that most likely you'd have to update everything except your case and harddrives. The old hdds may be a bit slower but will be adequate even in the new system. If you happen to have an up to date PSU also, even better.
You can get a really cheap upgrade by getting a new motherboard, cpu, cpu cooler, ram and possibly a midlevel graphics card. For AH2 that 8800GTS may even be usable but if you want to play any other games you'll need to upgrade that too.
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Not so long ago Dell also used non-standard components, for example the motherboard and power supply had reversed wiring order in the standard atx connector, causing motherboards to blow if non-Dell power supply was used. When you look at the setup - 3330, 500gb HD, 4Gb ram - those are midlevel specs from 3 years ago. Motherboard probably lacks support for PCI-E 3.0 and USB 3.0, heck maybe even SATA 6G. You pay little and you get exactly what you pay for or a bit less.
That's why it's something to be seen as an extra bonus when you buy a Dell. You shouldn't be looking for a Dell to put your fancy parts in (wait..that sounds wrong), you should be buying a Dell for regular home/office use but if it happens to support extra fancy parts, then it's just a bonus.
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If I purchase a computer, would some one
be interested in buying this one?
Or should I update this unit if possible?
I would add new hard disks and a new version of Windows to MrRipley's upgrade list. A hdd only lasts so long, statistically their life span is only 2-3 years. If your rig is in the state you bought it, the power supply is also starting to suffer of old age. That said, an upgrade would cost almost as much as a totally new rig. A sturdy, well breathing case only costs about $50, so the saving would be marginal.
If I were in your shoes, I'd get a totally new one built of known-good quality components and leave the current one as is (removing personal user files, of course, preferably reformatting and reinstalling XP). It could serve as a secondary gaming rig for your kids/friends, a Facebook/Youtube/e-mail etc. surfboard, a home/office computer or whatever. The AH classifieds would be the right forum to try to sell it to fellow AH'ers, there's many trying to play AH with less capable rigs than yours with no chance to invest even a few hundred $. An Internet auction might give you the best profit. The price range would be nominal in any case.
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By golly, good advise fellows.
Thanks a lot for Ur input.
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Not so long ago Dell also used non-standard components
Not sure, but I think that was 10 years ago. At least for me, 10 years ago, I replaced an old Dimension's power supply with a standard one from Fry's, and my friend replaced his several-year-old Dell's PSU with a standard ATX12V. Today, I just looked inside my Dell Vostro 270 minitower at work, and judging by wire coloring, it has standard ATX connectors; and the manual for the Inspiron 660 lists the motherboard connectors as "ATX12V" and "ATX".
When you look at the setup - 3330, 500gb HD, 4Gb ram - those are midlevel specs from 3 years ago.
"Midlevel" is in the eye of the beholder. To me, an i5-3330 is midlevel today and more than sufficient for AH and everything else I do. The size of HD and RAM doesn't matter much, as I can add more if I want at low cost.
Motherboard probably lacks support for PCI-E 3.0 and USB 3.0, heck maybe even SATA 6G.
It has PCIe 3.0 and USB 3.0. Not sure what SATA it has.
You pay little and you get exactly what you pay for or a bit less.
I feel that I pay little and get exactly what I need or more at a good price/performance. :aok
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Not sure, but I think that was 10 years ago. At least for me, 10 years ago, I replaced an old Dimension's power supply with a standard one from Fry's, and my friend replaced his several-year-old Dell's PSU with a standard ATX12V. Today, I just looked inside my Dell Vostro 270 minitower at work, and judging by wire coloring, it has standard ATX connectors; and the manual for the Inspiron 660 lists the motherboard connectors as "ATX12V" and "ATX".
"Midlevel" is in the eye of the beholder. To me, an i5-3330 is midlevel today and more than sufficient for AH and everything else I do. The size of HD and RAM doesn't matter much, as I can add more if I want at low cost.
It has PCIe 3.0 and USB 3.0. Not sure what SATA it has.
I feel that I pay little and get exactly what I need or more at a good price/performance. :aok
I'm not a Dell expert but often OEM boxes contain nasty surprises which restrict upgrade options, such as non-standard PSU size so normal PSUs won't fit in the case etc... Or BIOS is crippled to minimum options, lack of ram slots or other nasties like that. In general it's a very bad idea to buy OEM with plans to expand it - they're normally built as low cost ready solutions and not for upgrades or overclocks in mind.
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I'm not a Dell expert but often OEM boxes contain nasty surprises which restrict upgrade options, such as non-standard PSU size so normal PSUs won't fit in the case etc... Or BIOS is crippled to minimum options, lack of ram slots or other nasties like that. In general it's a very bad idea to buy OEM with plans to expand it - they're normally built as low cost ready solutions and not for upgrades or overclocks in mind.
I totally agree with your sentiment. I would not advocate changing the CPU or clock speeds, for example, on a Dell. Power supplies and adding RAM (from crucial.com) are OK, but that is based on looking up specs and having done it on past systems. I completely agree that one should not buy a computer and assume without looking into it that any upgrade will work.
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I'm not a Dell expert but often OEM boxes contain nasty surprises which restrict upgrade options, such as non-standard PSU size so normal PSUs won't fit in the case etc... Or BIOS is crippled to minimum options, lack of ram slots or other nasties like that. In general it's a very bad idea to buy OEM with plans to expand it - they're normally built as low cost ready solutions and not for upgrades or overclocks in mind.
What would you say about private PC builders not using spec'd equipment, setting improper memory or cpu speeds, failing to install the proper fan drivers, or burning out a Video card and still shipping the computer? I have owned a few Dells and I have never known them to send out something that was broken. Hell, I even dropped over $4K on an Alienware that still performed better out of the box then another system I bought from another person.
It's all subjective. You get what you get, but at least with Dell you have the chance to send it back within a reasonable time if it is a POS and if they balk, you just call your CC company. With a private builder, you try and work it out, act all nice through the entirety and then get bent over the table when you go to Paypal in the end and they tell you the seller is outside the time frame for refunds.
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I have replaced a power supply, memory, hard drive and a video card on a dell. I did need to make sure the power supply could handle the video card, but not because anything was proprietary. When I was looking at computers in January, dell just did not have anything with components I wanted without paying a lot for alienware. I wound up building and got exactly what I wanted for what I wanted to pay. Had I not wanted to take the plunge and build from scratch, I would have gone with a dell. Like bodhi said, with dell, it walks in the door, you push a button and it works. That has been my experience over more than 10 years and 3 dell desktops for me and 3 laptops for my kids.
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Like bodhi said, with dell, it walks in the door, you push a button and it works. That has been my experience over more than 10 years and 3 dell desktops for me and 3 laptops for my kids.
Me, too, and I've been buying Dells for over 25 years (since the company was called "PC's Limited").
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What would you say about private PC builders not using spec'd equipment, setting improper memory or cpu speeds, failing to install the proper fan drivers, or burning out a Video card and still shipping the computer? I have owned a few Dells and I have never known them to send out something that was broken. Hell, I even dropped over $4K on an Alienware that still performed better out of the box then another system I bought from another person.
It's all subjective. You get what you get, but at least with Dell you have the chance to send it back within a reasonable time if it is a POS and if they balk, you just call your CC company. With a private builder, you try and work it out, act all nice through the entirety and then get bent over the table when you go to Paypal in the end and they tell you the seller is outside the time frame for refunds.
Lol, you hate the guy don't you? :eek:
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Not sure where you are going Titanic, but I have purchased a lot of computers in my days, and I was not referencing anyone specifically in that post you quoted. I actually quoted several friends issues into one to highlight the benefits to purchasing store bought as opposed to private, especially when it comes to warranty. You can try to make it about one guy if you want, but I am not going to. I just like to see that people are informed of potential pitfalls.
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Good info here. For me, info overload.
I'm also ready to upgrade, have never built a PC, and don't have the time and patience to build one.
Does anyone know of a PC builder that would know what to do when I ask for a PC that can run ah with all of the settings maxed out? Would they check out the game, or just build a "gaming PC."
~S~
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I'll never buy another Dell mainly because they treated me like dirt. I got a nasty call from a rep one day saying I didn't make a payment and they were going to turn me over to a collection agency. I told the rep that I did make the payment and that they were mistaken. Had to go to the bank get a copy of the cancelled check, (which cost me money and time) and send it to them. Then they had the cojones to tell me that my payment was late, which it wasn't. I had to point out that the posting date on the check was before the date my payment was due. I never got an apology, or even a recognition that they screwed up, so I never will get another Dell. I've built my own since then and have never looked back.
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What would you say about private PC builders not using spec'd equipment, setting improper memory or cpu speeds, failing to install the proper fan drivers, or burning out a Video card and still shipping the computer?
I'd say it was an ex private pc builder. :)
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Good info here. For me, info overload.
I'm also ready to upgrade, have never built a PC, and don't have the time and patience to build one.
Does anyone know of a PC builder that would know what to do when I ask for a PC that can run ah with all of the settings maxed out? Would they check out the game, or just build a "gaming PC."
~S~
it would take you less time to build a good gaming system than it would to try and buy one from a local shop...most don't have a clue what is needed to run anything more intense than wow or wot. i do know of a couple of "builders" that by all accounts, do build good gaming systems. though i don't agree with some of their hardware choices on their retail builds (they do custom builds too), every gamer that has bought a system from them raves about the customer service and the systems.
http://crimsonpc.com/ and http://www.mainperformancepc.com/
if you have the money, give either a call...
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<snip>http://crimsonpc.com/ and http://www.mainperformancepc.com/
if you have the money, give either a call...
Or, if you feel like you'd like to know what you pay for, customize your dream rig and see what the components would cost if you bought them from other vendors.
Building a PC is not a difficult thing to do, once you have found the right components. You shouldn't get anything plugged wrong without violence. Building will take about as long as unwrapping the packages. The slowest thing is to hide all cables neatly without them being twisted or strained too much. Installing Windows and all necessary drivers will take a couple of hours, the result being much better than with any brand computer. Optimizing the operating system is the most difficult and also most important part. With a diy installation you'd have the cleanest base to start with. With a brand computer you'd have a ton of crapware to sort out before you could even start any optimizing.
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Me, I'd go the $680 route with a Dell Inspiron 660 as listed above.
But if you want just to buy something and not have to install an upgraded power supply, I'd buy a Dell XPS 8500 for $700.
It has a 460W power supply. It's got an NVidia GT 620 graphics card in it, which will run AH, but it isn't as fast as the NVidia GTX 650 Ti. You can add that later if you want ($130 Nvidia GTX 650 Ti from newegg.com).
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it would take you less time to build a good gaming system than it would to try and buy one from a local shop...most don't have a clue what is needed to run anything more intense than wow or wot. i do know of a couple of "builders" that by all accounts, do build good gaming systems. though i don't agree with some of their hardware choices on their retail builds (they do custom builds too), every gamer that has bought a system from them raves about the customer service and the systems.
http://crimsonpc.com/ and http://www.mainperformancepc.com/
if you have the money, give either a call...
Thanks! ~S~
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Build your own,best way to do it alot cheaper,no filler,only what you need plus you can add onto it later as needed.im going through the same thing.im using a HP8200t CTO and am dying to get the money together to build a gaming rig.
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main thing when building your own computer is think longterm. if you can afford 700 bucks then that's a good start for a rig maybe 1 year from now. when you buy "name" brand computers you are stuck with what they have. you can change the video card and perhaps the ps but that's just about it. in 2 years or even now your computer is already a pos.
if you buy you build your own and have a budget in the long term you will save money. when i built my e8400 based computer i spent about 700 bucks. about a year later I sold the mobo, ram and cpu for 200 then used it towards a 2500k cpu, mobo and ram. total spent was about 300 bucks. I overspend on my first video card (evga 465) got it for 300 bucks my second one cost me 120 shipped.
I can upgrade if I want to for about 300 bucks with my current cpu/ram/mobo selling. but I see no point as I wont really get any higher frames than the steady 59 I get with everything on, except ev and shadows at 4096 (lowered to 2048 as I dont really see a difference).
I have 3 monitors all bought on sale at different times from different brands. I used magazines to have them all at the same height.
If I could do it all over again I would have done the same thing except buy that 300 dollar card.
one thing I regret doing is not thinking that I could build my own computer 6 or 7 years ago when I bought the gateway. then when i tried to upgrade, I realized i was stuck with what they would sell to me, which wasnt much of an upgrade. I had gotten the top of the line 1,400 computer which was useless literally a few months later. I sold it for 300 bucks and I was lucky to get that.
recycle cans, bottles if you have to. trust me, I refilled water bottles for me and my gf for 6 months using a cheap water filter to save enough money for my second monitor. since then I have yet to buy another overpriced water bottle at the store.
semp
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Thanks again for the help fellas. Building sounds like a good way to go, but I don't even know where to begin, or where to put the flux capacititor. I'll probably end up waiting for a catastrophic failure and buy an off the shelf unit. To me the inside of s PC is something you blow the dust out of a few times a year and try not to touch any of the wires or colorful boxes. Seems too complicated for me. Thanks again! ~S~
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buckshot, when I started I thought a screwdriver was oj and vodka. now I can take my puter apart with a 12 pack behind my hands.
semp
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Buckshot, it really isn't that hard. The only tool you'd need is a #2 Phillips screwdriver and maybe a flat one for the CPU cooler (I'm not going to confuse you by telling that HP likes Torx screws). Try to find a working throw-away computer for practicing. You might get one even for free! Tear it apart and build it back, try to boot. If everything has gone well, you should see windows in a couple of minutes. If not, check the wires and cards have been seated correctly. Rebuild.
Wikihow has a nice looking tutorial on How to build a computer (http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Computer). Basically the same information is given detailed according the model in the motherboard booklet, pictures and cautions included.
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Built my own for the first time a couple of years back. Did my homework, bought exactly what I wanted. Went together using I think only a phillips screwdriver so ya don't need any specialized tools. I was pleasantly surprised how easy the process was having some doubt before I started having never done it. I'll never buy a "store bought" PC again. It was too easy and way cheaper. Seriously. Give it a shot. Start looking for stuff over at Newegg. They have everything and at least it'll give you a good idea of what stuff costs. Tons of user reviews on there too so if you're thinking about a certain item because the price is right you might find it actually sucks. Good to learn from other's mistakes. ;)
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Intel Core i7 System
Case: Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower - $50 * NEW
Power Supply: Antec Basic BP550 Plus 550W - $65
Processor: Intel CPU: Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz - $180 (+$1)
CPU Cooling: Stock Cooling - $0
Motherboard: MSI P67A-G43 (P67) - $115
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX 2 x 2GB kit - $28 (+$4)
Hard Drive: Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB - $80 (-$5)
Optical Drive: LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner GH22NS90B - $16
Sound Card: Integrated Sound - $0
Speakers: Logitech LS21 Speaker System - $20
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $100
Total Price:$655.00
Upgrade VID Card NVIDIA GTX650 Ti Boost=$170.00
Will this do AcesHi?
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Those specs were suggested by SHARKYEXTREME.com
Entry-Level Gaming.
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Intel Core i7 System
Case: Antec Three Hundred Mid Tower - $50 * NEW
Power Supply: Antec Basic BP550 Plus 550W - $65
Processor: Intel CPU: Core i5-2300 Sandy Bridge 2.8GHz - $180 (+$1)
CPU Cooling: Stock Cooling - $0
Motherboard: MSI P67A-G43 (P67) - $115
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB KHX1600C9D3B1K2/4GX 2 x 2GB kit - $28 (+$4)
Hard Drive: Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB - $80 (-$5)
Optical Drive: LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner GH22NS90B - $16
Sound Card: Integrated Sound - $0
Speakers: Logitech LS21 Speaker System - $20
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $100
Total Price:$655.00
Upgrade VID Card NVIDIA GTX650 Ti Boost=$170.00
Will this do AcesHi?
eh, yeah that would definitely be entry level gaming...half the parts i wouldn't look at even for a budget build.
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Look for 8 Gb ram. 1 Tb hard drives aren't much more expensive than that 500 Gb you list. Don't go cheap on the power suppl y. Scuzzy has spoken highly of seasonic. They also make some that get stamped with other names, you can find which ones by searching. I would think you should look for a Cpu that is better than 2.8 ghz. I don't know where you live, but the in store price at microcenter for an i5 3750k and asrock extreme4 z77 motherboard is $189 for the Cpu and $94 for the Mb. The combo is cheaper than the 2 parts you listed and give you 3.4ghz before overclocking. A website called pcpartpicker.com lets you look up different components and their prices on different websites including newegg and amazon. Others with far more expertise than I will chime in, but I bet you can do better for not a lot more. Oh, don't know why that says Core i7 System when it is last year's i5.
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Here is a link to the real makers of most power supplies..
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913-9.html (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913-9.html)
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I only have 1 working arm and i just built my first pc.If i can do it then you can for sure..Here is what i got..
3570k OC to 4.4,Asetek 120mm liquid cooler in push pull,Asus Sabertooth z77,8gbs of vengence at 2133mhz,Corsair AX850 made by seasonic,1780gb intel 330 series SSD,1tb western digital Hd,Two His ICEQ X2 7950 boost cards in SLI and its all in a Cooler master Storm stryker..Here is my computer.
http://s275.photobucket.com/user/numb4507/media/20130427_201552.jpg.html (http://s275.photobucket.com/user/numb4507/media/20130427_201552.jpg.html)
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I dont want to be a dyck, also your system is pretty sweet, but i higly doubt that you could SLI the 7950s ;)
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I dont want to be a dyck, also your system is pretty sweet, but i higly doubt that you could SLI the 7950s ;)
lol you know what i meant.. :D
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lol you know what i meant.. :D
Yeah obviously you meant convergence.