Any recommendations on site for new PC?

[Velfi]

I'm looking to move on from my juicebox computer and into something that can run current games at high settings, etc. It's been a long time since I've stayed current with hardware and things of that nature, so I'm not sure if it would be more efficient to do some research and buy parts from Newegg or somewhere like that or somewhere that will let you customize a system and put it together for you.

Anyone have recommendations on which of these might be easier/more cost efficient, or for good sites in these categories? Thankes.

[Androidpk]

If you are comfortable piecing/building then I'd recommend that route. Use this site if you do.
It will generally find the best prices for you.

http://pcpartpicker.com/

They also have prebuilt suggestions for different price points.

[Fallen]

I'm looking to move on from my juicebox computer and into something that can run current games at high settings, etc. It's been a long time since I've stayed current with hardware and things of that nature, so I'm not sure if it would be more efficient to do some research and buy parts from Newegg or somewhere like that or somewhere that will let you customize a system and put it together for you.

Anyone have recommendations on which of these might be easier/more cost efficient, or for good sites in these categories? Thankes.

http://www.ibuypower.com/

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

I would also use the link PK posted if you have a mind for parts in order to see what sort of price you would get for mixing and matching.

[Warriorbird]

Tom's Hardware and Anandtech have excellent budget build guides.

[Androidpk]

Tom's Hardware and Anandtech have excellent budget build guides.

Budget build.. psssht.. Velfi wants quad-SLI GTX 980s and a 65" 4k OLED TV.

[Warriorbird]

Budget build.. psssht.. Velfi wants quad-SLI GTX 980s and a 65" 4k OLED TV.

They offer that too. Different levels.

[Fallen]

For shits and giggles I ran pcpartpicker's $1200 dollar gaming suggestions through ibuypower's website and got the price of $1568 shipped.

However, Ibuypower comes with a warranty, is preassembled, and most importantly comes with windows 8. pcpartpicker's price does not include an OEM windows purchase, which is roughly 100 dollars. $268 dollars difference in price for building versus buying your own. Not insubstantial savings, but not a crazy high amount for having the work done for you and some manner of warranty.

That being said I still prefer to build my own.

[Androidpk]

Slight derailment here - can you run Gemstone and Lich on linux?

[Velfi]

I appreciate the advice so far. I'm leaning towards pre-assembled just because it's less hassle for me, but I haven't ruled out piecing it together. However, I've never done any sort of water-cooled system or anything like that, how complicated is that to set up these days? Is overclocking necessary/very complicated, or can you run factory clockspeed on most stuff?

[Androidpk]

I appreciate the advice so far. I'm leaning towards pre-assembled just because it's less hassle for me, but I haven't ruled out piecing it together. However, I've never done any sort of water-cooled system or anything like that, how complicated is that to set up these days? Is overclocking necessary/very complicated, or can you run factory clockspeed on most stuff?

Neither are necessary. What kind of games are you looking to play with this and are you looking to game above 1080p?

[Velfi]

Neither are necessary. What kind of games are you looking to play with this and are you looking to game above 1080p?

I can't think of a lot of titles readily, but I have a bunch of games in my Steam/GOG library that I bought on sale meaning to play later when I could run it at a decent resolution or with better than minimum settings. Offhand, I'd say the Witcher/Stalker series..es... serii.. whatever. Shooters and just more recent stuff that I can play at 1080p.

Right now I've got an i5-3450 with a GeForce GT 520, for reference.

[Androidpk]

Okay, and what is your ideal price range?

[Velfi]

I'd like to be in the 1000-1500 range or so.. I think I can get a pretty boss PC in that range.

[waywardgs]

Building your own is fun but not noticeably cost efficient.

[Tgo01]

For shits and giggles I ran pcpartpicker's $1200 dollar gaming suggestions through ibuypower's website and got the price of $1568 shipped.

However, Ibuypower comes with a warranty, is preassembled, and most importantly comes with windows 8. pcpartpicker's price does not include an OEM windows purchase, which is roughly 100 dollars. $268 dollars difference in price for building versus buying your own. Not insubstantial savings, but not a crazy high amount for having the work done for you and some manner of warranty.

Yeah, building your own computer doesn't really save a whole lot of money these days compared to the olden days.

[Androidpk]

I would recommend this. $1200 and it has a haswell cpu and gtx 980. Not only will it be boss it will be good for games coming out in the future, especially witcher 3. Haswell's are great for overclocking, if you ever do go down that route. The gtx 900 series has dx12 support, which a lot of high end/pretty games will be using starting next year, including W3 IIRC. The only thing not on that list is a soundcard. Motherboard audio is really good these days but for you I would recommend a good quality sound card with a built in headphone amp.

[Androidpk]

$268 saved is $268 you can spend on a higher quality CPU or GPU or cocaine and hookers.

[Alashir]

Falcon-nw if you want to go the boutique route. Otherwise newegg

[Androidpk]

http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/v7Xscf/1200-gaming-build

[Alashir]

Also, newegg has several vids on front page about building comps that are excellent and answer most questions. Watch them.

[Androidpk]

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/ has high quality builds at good prices.

[Taernath]

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

Only thing you need.

Also, self-contained water cooling loops are easy to install and really cheap.

[Velfi]

I splurged a bit and got it pre-assembled, as well as a few upgrades. Went with an i7-4790k, gtx 980, samsung 250gb ssd + wd black 2tb type setup. Pretty pumped about being able to slam some new games in ultra settings.

[Androidpk]

I splurged a bit and got it pre-assembled, as well as a few upgrades. Went with an i7-4790k, gtx 980, samsung 250gb ssd + wd black 2tb type setup. Pretty pumped about being able to slam some new games in ultra settings.

Balls! Where did you order from? W3 is going to look sick as fuck on that rig :D

[Velfi]

Balls! Where did you order from? W3 is going to look sick as fuck on that rig :D

I went with ibuypower.

[Haldrik]

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

Only thing you need.

Also, self-contained water cooling loops are easy to install and really cheap.

When I did my first water cooling loop it was... 2 GPUS, 1 motherboard, 1 CPU. 360 res, 120 res. 2 res holders with 2 pumps. (this doesn't work out as well as you would think.)

Someone gave me the advice to use a tube size smaller then the barb so I wouldn't need o-clamps. Needless to say at one point I came home with my computer off. One of the tubes had popped out. Water was EVERYWHERE. In my GPUS, in my motherboard, in my motherboard screws, inside the GPU. FUCKING EVERYWHERE.

I had to rip apart EVERYTHING and dry with qtips.


Strangely enough nothing was broke. I let everything dry for 3 days and was good to go. Worst/best experience.

[Fallen]

I splurged a bit and got it pre-assembled, as well as a few upgrades. Went with an i7-4790k, gtx 980, samsung 250gb ssd + wd black 2tb type setup. Pretty pumped about being able to slam some new games in ultra settings.

Awesome. Congratulations.

[JackWhisper]

Yeah I can't lie, Haldrik. I've never used water around my computer, even for cooling. I'll use a cooling plate, and a cooling fan, but I will not put liquid cooling units in my computer. I've seen computers at my old job explode *relatively, for computers* in the middle of the day due to a malfunction with the unit. Terrifying.

[Taernath]

SSD for the OS is one of the best upgrades you can ever do for a computer. A second monitor is up there, too.

[Androidpk]

Make sure to drill holes in the side of the case so it stays cool.

[Velfi]

Thanks again everyone for the advice and recommendations.


SSD for the OS is one of the best things I ever did. A second monitor is up there, too.

Is it worth installing (a few) games on the SSD, or is it mostly the OS that benefits from it?

[Fallen]

I use SSDs for everything but music.

[Androidpk]

And why use water when you can use phase change?

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6233/ex-vap-15/Cooler_Express_2013_Super_Single_Evaporator_CPU_Co oling_Unit_w_Upgraded_Socket_Kit_-_All_Sockets_478_754_775_1155_1156_1366_2011_939_9 40_AM2_Xeon_CE-48-S-1C.html?tl=g49

[Taernath]

Thanks again everyone for the advice and recommendations.



Is it worth installing (a few) games on the SSD, or is it mostly the OS that benefits from it?

It really depends on the game. I know BF4 loads you into a server faster if you put it on the SSD, and you can start capping points before anyone else gets there. I just use my SSD for my OS myself.

[Velfi]

And why use water when you can use phase change?

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6233/ex-vap-15/Cooler_Express_2013_Super_Single_Evaporator_CPU_Co oling_Unit_w_Upgraded_Socket_Kit_-_All_Sockets_478_754_775_1155_1156_1366_2011_939_9 40_AM2_Xeon_CE-48-S-1C.html?tl=g49

:wow:

[Androidpk]

Games definitely benefit from a SSD.

[JackWhisper]

900 bucks for that... Good god no.

[Androidpk]

It really depends on the game. I know BF4 loads you into a server faster if you put it on the SSD, and you can start capping points before anyone else gets there. I just use my SSD for my OS myself.

Ditto. I was always one of the first to load the map.

[Taernath]

And why use water when you can use phase change?

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6233/ex-vap-15/Cooler_Express_2013_Super_Single_Evaporator_CPU_Co oling_Unit_w_Upgraded_Socket_Kit_-_All_Sockets_478_754_775_1155_1156_1366_2011_939_9 40_AM2_Xeon_CE-48-S-1C.html?tl=g49

What the hell is that, a dedicated air conditioner for your CPU?

[JackWhisper]

Your computer goes inside. It's a computer Snuggie!

[Androidpk]

What the hell is that, a dedicated air conditioner for your CPU?

It's a beast that keeps your CPU at a frosty -48c. There is another model that cools the GPU as well but that's just under $2000.

[Androidpk]

Your computer goes inside. It's a computer Snuggie!

That box is actually the base and your pc case sits on top of it, generally.

[JackWhisper]

Fuck that. I'd have gone for the Snuggie. A box is just boring.

[Warriorbird]

I splurged a bit and got it pre-assembled, as well as a few upgrades. Went with an i7-4790k, gtx 980, samsung 250gb ssd + wd black 2tb type setup. Pretty pumped about being able to slam some new games in ultra settings.

I wish I'd gone Intel instead of AMD for my desktop. Good choices.

[Fallen]

What brand on that 980? I'm a big fan of EVGA.

[Haldrik]

Yeah I can't lie, Haldrik. I've never used water around my computer, even for cooling. I'll use a cooling plate, and a cooling fan, but I will not put liquid cooling units in my computer. I've seen computers at my old job explode *relatively, for computers* in the middle of the day due to a malfunction with the unit. Terrifying.

Yeah, you really have to not give a fuck. I have no fucks to give so it worked out perfectly.

Or be really really really careful. Which I was, and it still exploded. There is just so many moving parts. And most people are doing it on their first or second try so something is bound to go wrong.

I actually ended up going with a Corsair CPU water cooler for my 2nd rig when I moved out of Hawaii and left my cooling rig. I got the base naked version and picked up my own fans. (Way better choice.) Of course the cooler went out after about 2 years so I'm using the stock intel cooler until I get around to sending it out for warranty.

There hasn't been much that stress on my CPU of late so I haven't worried about heat too much.

This lull in CPU power/graphics power is really painful. I love upgrading.

[Velfi]

What brand on that 980? I'm a big fan of EVGA.

I think it's just the factory GTX 980. The EVGA "Superclocked" one was a bit more and I figured I had plenty of machine as is by that point.

[Fallen]

I think it's just the factory GTX 980. The EVGA "Superclocked" one was a bit more and I figured I had plenty of machine as is by that point.

Ah. Should be a beastly machine. I suggest Shadow of Mordor for a nice title you can crank the graphics to nice effect. The optional HD texture pack doesn't make a HUGE difference, but it does improve things a bit, and doesn't actually require 6 GB VRAM.