Planing for New PC.
By
Father Xmas,
Posted on: 2012-09-17 11:33 in ALL ACCESS Gameplay Technical Issues Bugs
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The game itself will help.|
Originally Posted by OmniNogard
I'm looking over Hyperstrikes Guide, Talking to my Mother(Handles my money, can't trust me with it hehe.) and a Friend(Some Spec's/PC Info) on what i "need". I'll be post the [Code Box] thing once i get all the info i need on a few things like my Budget and what some of the things i need to put down is. Ether i'll edit into this post later or make a 2nd post.
Would it help any if i post What game i will be using the PC for? Almost thinking of post current PC Specs just to see how badly i need a upgrade*. *Current PC plays CoH (Near low Graphics) fine but any other MMO i try my FPS takes a dive.  |
But anything relatively modern should run most of these games okay so long as you're not trying to do a $500 PC and expecting to run at 2560x1440 at max detail.
So dish out as much info as you can. It'll help tune in to something suitable for you more easily.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Here's the Code box. Think that covers most of the things i need/looking at. If i forgot anything let me know.
Code:
1) What will you primarily be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc *** Mostly Gaming, New C&C 17th Anni 'box' (Has most of the C&C Games) Guild Wars 2. Champaions Online. Firefall. Minecraft. City of Heroes. 2) What's your budget? (Real Dollars) Are tax and shipping included? This is important as it allows people trying to help you to suggest things appropriate to your budget. *** About $800 to $1,500 at most. 3) Where do you live? This is important as it affects what vendors you may buy from and how much shipping costs might be. *** East Cost, North Carolina, US 4) Are you planning to buy or build? *** Ether or. Getting to the point where i need to upgrade to even play any games on PC. If Making going to need a lot of advice. If Buying i'm looking at the Alienware X51(http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51/fs). 5) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need. If you're unsure what exactly you need, say so. *** Unsure sadly. 6) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. *** Don't think i'll be reusing. 7) Will you be overclocking? *** Not Likely. 8) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? *** Have 19in i think, may go for a 22in if it can fit in bugdet. 9) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? *** Soon as possable, aiming for Self X-Mas Gift. 10) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc. *** USBs at least (Keyboard,Mouse,Phone Charger, USB for files/links. So at least 4 if possable.) Maybe SLI, if fits budget. 11) Any specific must-have features? Must be able to max out Ultra-Mode? Must have 6+GB of RAM? Must have an SSD? etc. *** At least 4GB, able to play at Decent Grapihcs with next to no lag. 12) Are there any vendors/brands you'd specifically prefer to use? *** NVidia 13) Are there any vendors/brands you'd specifically prefer to avoid? *** No ATI/AMD. 14) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? (Note: If your current OS came with your computer, odds are that it is NOT transferable.) *** Might, would have to check, Current is Windows 7, 32Bit. Which is better for Gaming, 32 or 62?
Going to miss the fun and nice people here at CoH. Feel free to add me on PS3/XBox360
PS3X360: OmniNogard
Currently playing: Mass Effect 3(PS3) Minecraft(X360) Skyrim(X360).
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Originally Posted by OmniNogard
Here's the Code box. Think that covers most of the things i need/looking at. If i forgot anything let me know.
1) What will you primarily be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc *** Mostly Gaming, New C&C 17th Anni 'box' (Has most of the C&C Games) Guild Wars 2. Champaions Online. Firefall. Minecraft. City of Heroes. |
Okay. That's a fairly simple group of games to get a system together for.
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2) What's your budget? (Real Dollars) Are tax and shipping included? This is important as it allows people trying to help you to suggest things appropriate to your budget. *** About $800 to $1,500 at most. |
Okay, a realistic budget.
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3) Where do you live? This is important as it affects what vendors you may buy from and how much shipping costs might be. *** East Cost, North Carolina, US |
Okay. Nothing exotic for shipping.
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4) Are you planning to buy or build? *** Ether or. Getting to the point where i need to upgrade to even play any games on PC. If Making going to need a lot of advice. If Buying i'm looking at the Alienware X51(http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51/fs). |
Honestly, don't waste your time or money on Alienware. They're essentially relabeled Dell boxes at a premium price. Labeled as "gaming" PCs becuase they have a discrete (but low-end) video card from a non-Intel manufacturer.
I can suggest a general parts list. Then if that seems intimidating, I can suggest something from iBuyPower or CyberPowerPC so you can see what buying vs building will be as a price premium.
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5) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need. If you're unsure what exactly you need, say so. *** Unsure sadly. 6) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. *** Don't think i'll be reusing. |
If you're not reusing, you're pretty much building from scratch
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7) Will you be overclocking? *** Not Likely |
Okay.
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8) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? *** Have 19in i think, may go for a 22in if it can fit in bugdet. |
That's do-able.
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9) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? *** Soon as possable, aiming for Self X-Mas Gift. |
Okay.
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10) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc. *** USBs at least (Keyboard,Mouse,Phone Charger, USB for files/links. So at least 4 if possable.) Maybe SLI, if fits budget. |
At $8-1200? No. SLI really isn't. But the good news is, even the "mid-range" cards will whup *** on pretty much every game in your list.
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11) Any specific must-have features? Must be able to max out Ultra-Mode? Must have 6+GB of RAM? Must have an SSD? etc. *** At least 4GB, able to play at Decent Grapihcs with next to no lag. |
Okay. Probably looking at 8GB minimum. Decent graphics card. No problem.
"Lag" is a "catch all" phrase for a lot of people. Not all of them have anything to do with the graphics system.
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12) Are there any vendors/brands you'd specifically prefer to use? *** NVidia ]13) Are there any vendors/brands you'd specifically prefer to avoid? *** No ATI/AMD. |
Easy enough.
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14) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? (Note: If your current OS came with your computer, odds are that it is NOT transferable.) *** Might, would have to check, Current is Windows 7, 32Bit. Which is better for Gaming, 32 or 62? |
Here's a build option:
Case
PSU (Comes as a combo with the case)
Motherboard
Memory
CPU
Vidcard
OS Drive
Optical
OS
$1261.75 shipped.
Haven't included a keyboard or mouse.
Haven't included a huge 3rd party CPU heatsink. If you're not overclocking, I wouldn't worry too much about the default Intel HSF.
Found something comparable at CyberPowerPC (Link is the link)
Here's something comparable at iBuyPower (A bit more expensive, but the upgraded card is the 3GB model instead of the 2GB.)
The only thing this would be missing would be a large hard drive (either internal or external) for storage.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
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That's mostly what i plan to play. May or May not find any more that look good for PC.|
Originally Posted by Hyperstrike
Okay. That's a fairly simple group of games to get a system together for.
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| Okay, a realistic budget. |
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| Honestly, don't waste your time or money on Alienware. They're essentially relabeled Dell boxes at a premium price. Labeled as "gaming" PCs becuase they have a discrete (but low-end) video card from a non-Intel manufacturer. |
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| If you're not reusing, you're pretty much building from scratch |
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| "Lag" is a "catch all" phrase for a lot of people. Not all of them have anything to do with the graphics system. |
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Here's a build option: Case PSU (Comes as a combo with the case) Motherboard Memory CPU Vidcard OS Drive Optical OS $1261.75 shipped. Haven't included a keyboard or mouse. |
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Found something comparable at CyberPowerPC (Link is the link) Here's something comparable at iBuyPower (A bit more expensive, but the upgraded card is the 3GB model instead of the 2GB.) The only thing this would be missing would be a large hard drive (either internal or external) for storage. |
Going to miss the fun and nice people here at CoH. Feel free to add me on PS3/XBox360
PS3X360: OmniNogard
Currently playing: Mass Effect 3(PS3) Minecraft(X360) Skyrim(X360).
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Originally Posted by OmniNogard
That's mostly what i plan to play. May or May not find any more that look good for PC.
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| Realistic? What's a Unrealistic Budget? |
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This is why i love CoH Community, you guys care.
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| Mainly for the fact of using current PC as just a browsing PC and a way to 'test' if i like a new game or not. |
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| Ya bad habit on my part. I often use Lag even if its my side that's the problem. (Like low FPS) |
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| No need to worry about Keyboard or mouse since i still have my old ones i can use for current PC while the 'new' ones go on new PC. |
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| Would you say it's hard to build one for your 1st time? I'm normally a deconstructor (have a habit of taking things apart.) rather then a constructor. So trying to build something is intimidating to say the least but i'm willing to try. |
If you want to go the "build it" route, I can give you my Skype address and help you through some of it.
Also, in my build list, if you happen to hate the case (I more or less just selected a semi-decent one), look around Newegg to find something you DO like.
If you're not sure about the size of a case, get a tape measure out and measure where you plan to put the computer too.
Some, the the stupid-high-end CoolerMaster Cosmos cases are positively HUUUUUUUUGE.
My case is pretty large. But I'm a fan of big cases. The Cosmos almost makes mine look like a mini-tower.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
Some odd choices there Hyper. Definitely with CPU, memory and optical drive.
Would have gone with the i5-3570K over the i5-2500K. It's only a $10 difference in performance but some significant performance boost in gaming according to this review looking at the impact of various CPUs as they relate to gaming.
16GB is nice and all but CAS 10? Really now? Yes it's not that much more expensive than 8GB CAS 8 memory at that speed but CAS 10 seriously impacts latency and streaming bandwidth. Plus is anyone actually exceeding 8GB while playing a game and not multiboxing?
Plextor is the Cadillac of optical drives. Great drives. But you can get an OEM Asus for $20 (sans Lightscribe) and an OEM Sony for $18. Yes the Plextor is a retail box kit but that's a bit of a premium for screws, a SATA cable and a CD with software you could download from their website. Oh, and a nice box.
I have no problems with the rest of your choices. I know you are Mr SSD but I would have loved to see a conventional very large hard drive as well for bulk storage.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
I recently went through a similar decision, and was definitely going for prebuilt after a bad experience with my own build.
I went with a Dell XPS 8500 with an I5-3450 processor and an NVideo GT 640 video card and 8GB RAM. (Got just the PC, already had monitor and the other add-ons they pushed on me). Cost me a total of $811.23 delivered, there was a small deal on it, it's currently $999 which is still well within your budget. I'm running it on a 1920x1080 resolution 21" monitor and been playing City of Heroes in Ultra mode without a problem, even during hami raids, Magisterium trials, and various support rallies for the game.
Is it the very best computer I could have gotten for that money? Building, probably not, buying, was pretty close. I've had really good experiences with Dell, so the fact it was from Dell was a plus, but not everyone has had the same experiences. Just presenting this as an option worth looking at - it's not a hot spanking game machine but it's more than served my needs which seem close to yours and one that may not have sprung to mind.
My arcs are constantly shifting, just search for GadgetDon for the latest.
The world beware! I've started a blog
GadgetMania Under Attack: The Digg Lockout
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I certainly agree that going IB for the CPU is the way to go. Memory I agree with Hyperstrike. If you run AMD then yes get the fastest memory you can afford, but for Intel not so much.|
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
Some odd choices there Hyper. Definitely with CPU, memory and optical drive.
Would have gone with the i5-3570K over the i5-2500K. It's only a $10 difference in performance but some significant performance boost in gaming according to this review looking at the impact of various CPUs as they relate to gaming. 16GB is nice and all but CAS 10? Really now? Yes it's not that much more expensive than 8GB CAS 8 memory at that speed but CAS 10 seriously impacts latency and streaming bandwidth. Plus is anyone actually exceeding 8GB while playing a game and not multiboxing? Plextor is the Cadillac of optical drives. Great drives. But you can get an OEM Asus for $20 (sans Lightscribe) and an OEM Sony for $18. Yes the Plextor is a retail box kit but that's a bit of a premium for screws, a SATA cable and a CD with software you could download from their website. Oh, and a nice box. I have no problems with the rest of your choices. I know you are Mr SSD but I would have loved to see a conventional very large hard drive as well for bulk storage. |
Plextor vs Asus vs Lite-on vs Samsung. Plextors are well made all of the other branded items are roughly the same "old" design which barely make any money. I had some issues with Lite-Ons being unable to read certain DVDs so I swapped to Samsungs. Plextors are fine, its not like its a big chunk of wasted cash. I see people waste quite a bit more for silly stuff.
H: Blaster 50, Defender 50, Tank 50, Scrapper 50, Controller 50, PB 50, WS 50
V: Brute 50, Corruptor 50, MM 50, Dominator 50, Stalker 50, AW 50, AS 50
Top 4: Controller, Brute, Scrapper, Corruptor
Bottom 4: (Peacebringer) way below everything else, Mastermind, Dominator, Blaster
CoH in WQHD
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Okay that's weird. When I was doing the pricing, the variance between the 2500K and the 3570K was a lot more than that for some reason...|
Originally Posted by Father Xmas
Some odd choices there Hyper. Definitely with CPU, memory and optical drive.
Would have gone with the i5-3570K over the i5-2500K. It's only a $10 difference in performance but some significant performance boost in gaming according to this review looking at the impact of various CPUs as they relate to gaming. |
Quote:
| 16GB is nice and all but CAS 10? Really now? Yes it's not that much more expensive than 8GB CAS 8 memory at that speed but CAS 10 seriously impacts latency and streaming bandwidth. Plus is anyone actually exceeding 8GB while playing a game and not multiboxing? |
Quote:
| Plextor is the Cadillac of optical drives. Great drives. But you can get an OEM Asus for $20 (sans Lightscribe) and an OEM Sony for $18. Yes the Plextor is a retail box kit but that's a bit of a premium for screws, a SATA cable and a CD with software you could download from their website. Oh, and a nice box. |
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| I have no problems with the rest of your choices. I know you are Mr SSD but I would have loved to see a conventional very large hard drive as well for bulk storage. |
Setting up a network shared drive costs nothing.
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
While i try to make a check list of the things to buy for making a new PC, i got a random question: Did they ever make a Blu-Ray player for PCs? (Don't care if they did but it popped into my mind when reading the many different DvD Drives you guys are listing.)
While checking my current PC for some stuff with my friend he noticed that was a 2nd Display Adapter, says it might be part of the current problems i'm having. If so how do i get rid of the weaker one? I'm not touching anything till i get some good advice.
The Display Adapters are.
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE
NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS
Side Note: While this PC will become a Browsing/Test Games PC, anyone have a virus free* Game Booster?
*I never trust sites that have Ads that say "Download Now/Play Now" makes it hard to find the real DL Button.
Going to miss the fun and nice people here at CoH. Feel free to add me on PS3/XBox360
PS3X360: OmniNogard
Currently playing: Mass Effect 3(PS3) Minecraft(X360) Skyrim(X360).
Yes they've made Blu-ray readers and Blu-ray/DVD burners for a few years now. They are a bit more expensive that plain old DVD burners. A Plextor retail Blu-ray/DVD burner is $140 at NewEgg. A Blu-ray reader is anywhere from $60-80.
Both display adapters are poor, the 8400GS is better. The 6150LE is part of the motherboard chipset, there may be an setting in the BIOS to disable it.
Game boosters and PC optimizers are nothing but digital snake oil in my book. However that said there is one on CNet's download site that they reviewed and liked. I do not vouch it's effectiveness or how annoying it might be as it pesters you to buy the pro version.
Father Xmas - Level 50 Ice/Ice Tanker - Victory
$725 and $1350 parts lists --- My guide to computer components
Tempus unum hominem manet
Quote:
Yes. You can buy a Blu-Ray drive for your computer. However, you'll need to purchase software to allow you to actually view the content.|
Originally Posted by OmniNogard
While i try to make a check list of the things to buy for making a new PC, i got a random question: Did they ever make a Blu-Ray player for PCs? (Don't care if they did but it popped into my mind when reading the many different DvD Drives you guys are listing.)
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| While checking my current PC for some stuff with my friend he noticed that was a 2nd Display Adapter, says it might be part of the current problems i'm having. If so how do i get rid of the weaker one? I'm not touching anything till i get some good advice. |
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The Display Adapters are. NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE |
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| Side Note: While this PC will become a Browsing/Test Games PC, anyone have a virus free* Game Booster? |
Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.
I'm looking over Hyperstrikes Guide, Talking to my Mother(Handles my money, can't trust me with it hehe.) and a Friend(Some Spec's/PC Info) on what i "need". I'll be post the [Code Box] thing once i get all the info i need on a few things like my Budget and what some of the things i need to put down is. Ether i'll edit into this post later or make a 2nd post.
Would it help any if i post What game i will be using the PC for? Almost thinking of post current PC Specs just to see how badly i need a upgrade*.
*Current PC plays CoH (Near low Graphics) fine but any other MMO i try my FPS takes a dive.
Going to miss the fun and nice people here at CoH. Feel free to add me on PS3/XBox360
PS3X360: OmniNogard
Currently playing: Mass Effect 3(PS3) Minecraft(X360) Skyrim(X360).