need new gaming pc

[Valentine Wiggin]

No anthrax, possibly bombs.

edit: i read that wrong.  bombs are okay as long as i'm not home and get the insurance monies

[Blues]

I will be irl Dr. Blues by then, you'll never prove it was me.

[Radio Raheem]

blues actually against my better judgement built a solid computer and didnt make the wallpaper gay porn like i would have to him

[Blues]

blues actually against my better judgement built a solid computer and didnt make the wallpaper gay porn like i would have to him

Don't worry it's on a timer for when you least expect it.

[Mr. Face]

Timer... a timer? cmon Blues you can do better than a timer! Think BIG! Like motion sensors, attached to the Spacebar so when she presses it it turns of her computer. Eventually it will drive her mad while you watch from a safe haven :-*

[Sponson]

Timer... a timer? cmon Blues you can do better than a timer! Think BIG! Like motion sensors, attached to the Spacebar so when she presses it it turns of her computer. Eventually it will drive her mad while you watch from a safe haven :-*

But thats so obvious that Blues did it, and even if he did do it, it would make rage, not embarrassment like gay porn desktop.

[at0m]

Shouldn't this be in the computers subforum instead of up here?

[quote author=Wedge link=topic=3039.msg89002#msg89002 date=1244428700]
Lololol, just because she thinks they cost that much doesn't mean she needs to spend that much.  I guess you can make a killer beast machine that costs half that for fun though.

This too, most good gaming PCs shouldn't cost more than 1000


3000+ - Splurging on unnecessary things
2000 - 3000 - Bleeding Edge
1000 - 2000 - Mostly all New Stuff
700 - 1000 - Usually very solid
600 and Lower - Budget


* Numbers may vary highly from person to person
[/quote]This. If you're not comfortable putting it together yourself, buy a Falcon or something from AlienWare, although you're going to end up paying a premium that you really strictly speaking don't need to. Honestly, computers go together easier than LEGOs, they're made to be pretty idiot-proof - the pieces only fit together one way.

Personally, I've never bought a pre-built rig. I've been building systems for myself for the last 11 years (5 rigs of mine + several for family members). I don't go bleeding edge (mainly because I don't have the money to burn); I buy at the price break, usually the 1-generation-old stuff that starts to get steeply discounted when the new stuff comes out and starts taking over the market.

Some brands to trust:
- Case: ANTEC. They're solid, although most of their cases are really heavy since they're cold-rolled steel. If you don't take your computer to LANs (often) it shouldn't be an issue, and you'll appreciate the thought they put into layout of the case when you're building the rig. There are a couple of brands that are mimics (or mods) of Antec that are also good, like Thermaltake and Vantec.
- Motherboard: ASUS. Sometimes you can get something that looks as good for cheaper, but they stand behind their products. Ask Caff about his video card for proof. I've only ever gone non-ASUS twice: my first rig had an ABIT mobo which actually had a bad RAID controller chip rendering half the IDE ports useless, and a FOXCONN one in my current sHiTPC. The FOXCONN board I have has some nice features and was pretty easy to set up for my HTPC, but wasn't designed to be a gaming board and the whole rig kinda chugs playing TF2 despite having Hybrid CrossfireX.
- RAM: Kingston, PNY, Patriot. More than 4GB is overkill at this point, but get the fastest your motherboard can handle.
Video Card: ASUS, eVGA, BFG. ASUS' cards are usually prohibitively expensive now, though, since they don't make as many as they used to. The ones they make are all high-end though. I've stuck with eVGA for my last three rigs with no real problems until my latest one died from heat damage. This was more due to my case's lack of proper venting than anything else. Silent rig != gaming rig :/
- Sound card: Creative's cards are always good, but most people don't really need one. Newer motherboards have 5.1/7.1 built into the northbridge which is adequate for most people. If you're an audiophile, pick one up, otherwise just run with whatever is onboard.
- HDD: WD, Seagate. I used to swear by Seagate exclusively since they were faster and quieter, but WD's drives are slightly more reliable and they have a solid warranty replacement program if they die.
- Optical drive: whatever's cheap. You probably won't be using it much if it's a gaming rig, since most stuff nowadays is digitally distributed. Make sure you get one, though, or you won't be able to install an OS and if you take it out you'll be up shit creek without a paddle if your rig goes down.
- Floppy: not really needed any more. Waste of money.

[cannedpeahes]

At0m's explanation is mostly spot on. Not so sure about what he says about the optical drive, though, as I still rely a lot on physical media in a pinch - downloading just isn't the right way, some of the time, and Steam and Direct2Drive don't offer everything. Not to mention, you can't have the pretty boxes. I wouldn't stress about getting a good one, just get an affordable one with good burn speeds or, if your budget is that high, maybe futureproof yourself with Blu-Ray.

Also, I have an older Foxconn in my primary machine and it's served me fine.

The difficulty in buying and building PCs is making sure all the parts "line up", so to speak. If you get a motherboard that supports a socket LGA775 processor, you've got to get a LGA775 processor. If you get a motherboard that supports RAM standard PC3-10600, you've gotta get 10600 RAM. And if possible you should always Google around to see which parts complement each other ideally. Some boards are better for certain lines of processors than others. Make sure you get as many second opinions as possible when building.

[Valentine Wiggin]

Shouldn't this be in the computers subforum instead of up here?

yeah sorry, i'm still figuring this place out

[CaffeinePowered]

Its all good, moved it to computers  :

[Blues]

Shouldn't this be in the computers subforum instead of up here?

[quote author=Caffeine link=topic=3039.msg89009#msg89009 date=1244429069]
[quote author=Wedge link=topic=3039.msg89002#msg89002 date=1244428700]
Lololol, just because she thinks they cost that much doesn't mean she needs to spend that much.  I guess you can make a killer beast machine that costs half that for fun though.

This too, most good gaming PCs shouldn't cost more than 1000


3000+ - Splurging on unnecessary things
2000 - 3000 - Bleeding Edge
1000 - 2000 - Mostly all New Stuff
700 - 1000 - Usually very solid
600 and Lower - Budget


* Numbers may vary highly from person to person
[/quote]This. If you're not comfortable putting it together yourself, buy a Falcon or something from AlienWare, although you're going to end up paying a premium that you really strictly speaking don't need to. Honestly, computers go together easier than LEGOs, they're made to be pretty idiot-proof - the pieces only fit together one way.

Personally, I've never bought a pre-built rig. I've been building systems for myself for the last 11 years (5 rigs of mine + several for family members). I don't go bleeding edge (mainly because I don't have the money to burn); I buy at the price break, usually the 1-generation-old stuff that starts to get steeply discounted when the new stuff comes out and starts taking over the market.

Some brands to trust:
- Case: ANTEC. They're solid, although most of their cases are really heavy since they're cold-rolled steel. If you don't take your computer to LANs (often) it shouldn't be an issue, and you'll appreciate the thought they put into layout of the case when you're building the rig. There are a couple of brands that are mimics (or mods) of Antec that are also good, like Thermaltake and Vantec.
- Motherboard: ASUS. Sometimes you can get something that looks as good for cheaper, but they stand behind their products. Ask Caff about his video card for proof. I've only ever gone non-ASUS twice: my first rig had an ABIT mobo which actually had a bad RAID controller chip rendering half the IDE ports useless, and a FOXCONN one in my current sHiTPC. The FOXCONN board I have has some nice features and was pretty easy to set up for my HTPC, but wasn't designed to be a gaming board and the whole rig kinda chugs playing TF2 despite having Hybrid CrossfireX.
- RAM: Kingston, PNY, Patriot. More than 4GB is overkill at this point, but get the fastest your motherboard can handle.
Video Card: ASUS, eVGA, BFG. ASUS' cards are usually prohibitively expensive now, though, since they don't make as many as they used to. The ones they make are all high-end though. I've stuck with eVGA for my last three rigs with no real problems until my latest one died from heat damage. This was more due to my case's lack of proper venting than anything else. Silent rig != gaming rig :/
- Sound card: Creative's cards are always good, but most people don't really need one. Newer motherboards have 5.1/7.1 built into the northbridge which is adequate for most people. If you're an audiophile, pick one up, otherwise just run with whatever is onboard.
- HDD: WD, Seagate. I used to swear by Seagate exclusively since they were faster and quieter, but WD's drives are slightly more reliable and they have a solid warranty replacement program if they die.
- Optical drive: whatever's cheap. You probably won't be using it much if it's a gaming rig, since most stuff nowadays is digitally distributed. Make sure you get one, though, or you won't be able to install an OS and if you take it out you'll be up shit creek without a paddle if your rig goes down.
- Floppy: not really needed any more. Waste of money.
[/quote]

You probably lost her back at LEGOs, I talked to her about some of this and she's a selfaware comptard.

Also, I'm not familiar with Dell power supplies past google, is there anywhere to find a good 500W for less than 70$? Based on her current specs a whole new computer might be a bit unneccessary, all things considered a GPU/PSU would cover her fine.

[at0m]

You probably lost her back at LEGOs, I talked to her about some of this and she's a selfaware comptard.

Also, I'm not familiar with Dell power supplies past google, is there anywhere to find a good 500W for less than 70$? Based on her current specs a whole new computer might be a bit unneccessary, all things considered a GPU/PSU would cover her fine.

That's part of why I didn't spec out a computer for her, just wanted to make her aware of what was decent if she got sent a cart from someone. Plus you've got to learn something every day, amirite?

Are Dell PSU's proprietary? Because she might be able to get away with an ATX one, although if she's that bad she might not be able to do it herself.

[cbre88x]

[quote author=Pokemon Trainer Blues link=topic=3039.msg89131#msg89131 date=1244486177]
You probably lost her back at LEGOs, I talked to her about some of this and she's a selfaware comptard. \
Also, I'm not familiar with Dell power supplies past google, is there anywhere to find a good 500W for less than 70$? Based on her current specs a whole new computer might be a bit unneccessary, all things considered a GPU/PSU would cover her fine.

That's part of why I didn't spec out a computer for her, just wanted to make her aware of what was decent if she got sent a cart from someone. Plus you've got to learn something every day, amirite?
Are Dell PSU's proprietary? Because she might be able to get away with an ATX one, although if she's that bad she might not be able to do it herself.
[/quote]

Depends on the make. If it's a BTX then yes, they are prop. Unless you're like me and mount your ATX PSU on top of the box... Mother fuckin' Dell....