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Buying a new PC


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#1 Matty_poo

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 10:15 AM

Don't have too much free time (despite what my posting habits on here would suggest) so building one is isn't really viable at the moment, so I'm looking to buy a new PC as mine is old as dirt, now it doesn't have to be super high end ultra turbo computing, but I'd like something fairly nice, and maybe even able to game. looking to spend 700-1000. I was looking at two, but was told that both were garbage. The Asus CM6870 http://www.newegg.co...N82E16883220155 and the HP Envy Phoenix h9 1330 are these garbage? can I do better? Should I just up and build it despite limited time? Note:so far most I've done is replacing a power supply and ram.

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#2 Coconut Man

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 10:16 AM

Not sure about a new one, but you should keep your old one and turn it into a Hackintosh (JUST to see what Mac is like) and also make sure to check out Linux, they have an OS for nearly everyone/everything.

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#3 Matty_poo

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 10:18 AM

Might just do that, looking to replace it anyway, so what do I have to lose, right? Though I've used a mac before, they have them at my college and my little brother was given a mac book by his school, they're rad man. No mac hate from me.

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#4 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 10:43 AM

For the price, yes, those aren't very good.

That being said, if you don't want to build your own, I have no problem building and shipping them out for parts +10%
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#5 Matty_poo

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 10:58 AM

I'd totally be down with that, plus you're a bit more trust worthy believe it or not (been ripped off before online) I do plan to build one in the future, but at the moment I have not the time or experience to do so. Got some income coming in soon so I figure I should just go and get a new one rather than limping around with this old thing,

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#6 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 11:04 AM

When I get a break a bit later, I'll come up with some different builds at 700, 800, and 900. Any specific games you want it to play?
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#7 Matty_poo

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 11:09 AM

Honestly stuff like skyrim, looks beautiful, fun to play, feel that it's a decent bar to aim for, I know there are the super high end requirement games but eh. As long as it can run most games and do so decently it's good. Hope that's not too vague. Also I'm impressed very easily, so let me know if that isn't all that much to aim for :P haha. And lastly, thanks man, I appreciate it.

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#8 Guest_ElatedOwl_*

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 11:17 AM

I didn't bother looking at the HP but that Asus build is pretty solid. Its only downfall is it doesn't have a dedicated video card, so if you wanted to game at respectable settings you'd need to drop another $150-$200 for a nice mid grade card. It is indeed a bit pricey for the parts it has but for a vendor built machine you're not going too do too much better for price/performance.

Putting together a desktop isn't as challenging as you think it would be, the most time consuming part is getting your case wired up to the mboard (ie power switches, HDD light etc) but I think that's mainly because of my short fat sausage fingers. If you're built like a praying mantis (ie, spleen) you could probably have the hardware in and wired in 15 minutes.

If you're not comfortable with that though I would trust spleen to do it. x: You'll end up with a better machine at a lower price. You won't have any true technical support but google can solve or give you enough info to figure out a solution 99% of the time.

#9 Matty_poo

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 11:32 AM

I didn't bother looking at the HP but that Asus build is pretty solid. Its only downfall is it doesn't have a dedicated video card, so if you wanted to game at respectable settings you'd need to drop another $150-$200 for a nice mid grade card. It is indeed a bit pricey for the parts it has but for a vendor built machine you're not going too do too much better for price/performance.

Putting together a desktop isn't as challenging as you think it would be, the most time consuming part is getting your case wired up to the mboard (ie power switches, HDD light etc) but I think that's mainly because of my short fat sausage fingers. If you're built like a praying mantis (ie, spleen) you could probably have the hardware in and wired in 15 minutes.

If you're not comfortable with that though I would trust spleen to do it. x: You'll end up with a better machine at a lower price. You won't have any true technical support but google can solve or give you enough info to figure out a solution 99% of the time.


Thing is I could probably put one together, just don't trust myself, like I said I have limited knowledge. Just changing a power supply and adding ram. So yeah right now Spleen seems a great option. Also tech support has never really been helpful to me, I appreciate that they are there but any issue that has ever arisen with a computer or any other piece of tech, I fixed with research

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#10 SIlhouette

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 01:02 PM

Mine was a second hand customised gaming HP Pav Dv6

2x core2 duo (2.53 GHz, 2.53GHz)
4 gig ram
2x 500 gig sata HDs
ATI mobility Radeon 4650, 2792mb

Bought it years ago but it plays everything, finished crysis 2 on it on medium-high.

only games that fail to play is ones that require Dx11 like crysis 3 but if you buy an updated version im sure it will have a newer GFX card.
This only set me back about $1000 and that was 3-4 years ago.

good luck :-)

#11 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 02:07 PM

I didn't bother looking at the HP but that Asus build is pretty solid. Its only downfall is it doesn't have a dedicated video card, so if you wanted to game at respectable settings you'd need to drop another $150-$200 for a nice mid grade card. It is indeed a bit pricey for the parts it has but for a vendor built machine you're not going too do too much better for price/performance.

Putting together a desktop isn't as challenging as you think it would be, the most time consuming part is getting your case wired up to the mboard (ie power switches, HDD light etc) but I think that's mainly because of my short fat sausage fingers. If you're built like a praying mantis (ie, spleen) you could probably have the hardware in and wired in 15 minutes.

If you're not comfortable with that though I would trust spleen to do it. x: You'll end up with a better machine at a lower price. You won't have any true technical support but google can solve or give you enough info to figure out a solution 99% of the time.

A few months back I build a computer for someone, and just before I went to install it I noticed the front of the case had a crack in it. I was able to completely remove all the components and install them in a new case in just about 20 minutes. >.>
Even then though, the tiny connectors for power/reset/ and leds suck balls.
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#12 SIlhouette

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 02:40 PM

Ever pulled appart a Macintosh?

Trust me you never want to, so count yourself lucky :-P

Windows computer are built like lego and require the knowledge of a 5 year old to put together.

Macintoshes are built like 10000 ipod headphones in a massive bag, tangled as all hell and was likely put together in the same way as a ball of ipod headphones.

#13 Guest_ElatedOwl_*

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 02:54 PM

Ever pulled appart a Macintosh?

Trust me you never want to, so count yourself lucky :-P

Windows computer are built like lego and require the knowledge of a 5 year old to put together.

Macintoshes are built like 10000 ipod headphones in a massive bag, tangled as all hell and was likely put together in the same way as a ball of ipod headphones.

My girlfriend had an old Dell Dimension where there was a bunch of plastic shit to keep parts in place. The case only had one fan (albeit a 120mm) front intake. It had a piece of plastic tunneling that air over the top of the heatsink for the processor (everything had weird plastic shit like that). I ordered a new case for her, disassembled her stuff just to realize the m/b wouldn't fit int he new case and to put it back together. Never again in this lifetime.

#14 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 02:57 PM

Just as a comparison, with non-budget parts, I can build the asus listed for about $760. In my opinion it's poorly optimized for most things though, so here's what I'd suggest in that range.

Processor:
Highest: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819116501
Medium: 4+ thread applications: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819116502
Medium <=4 threaded applications (most): http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819116504
A note on this, very little currently uses more than 4 threads, for 95% of people I reccomend the unlocked i5 over the locked i7.

Cooler, for either unlocked chip:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
You just can't go wrong with a 212, and if you watch the prices, you can normally get them for about $20. I have an i7 at work running one, at 4.5ghz and 1.3vcore under the heaviest loads it never gets above 70*c. I have an i5 at home, 4.5ghz and 1.25vcore, heaviest loads it stays below 60*c (better optimized case.)

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297
Good, solid motherboard. Supports pretty high memory overclocking, and two pci-e ports if you want to sli/crossfire later.

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148662
Stick with 2x 4GB sticks for now, and that leaves you with two spots to upgrade later if you want. That stuff is also low profile, nice for the big tower coolers.

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
Don't skimp. We can hunt around for different ones depending on what you decide you want from here, but this little guy will put out 40 amps on the 12v rail, much more important than watt ratings.

Disk Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148910
A note here, if you don't have a shit ton of stuff on your computer, go with a smaller drive and keep it clean. It'd be very good if you took some of the saved money and sprang for a SSD boot drive as well. I've got a 120gb one myself, load times of the computer, and the programs I have on it are insanely fast. (Under two seconds for CS6 if I remember correctly, under 10 for AutoCad)
Combo drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151256

OS:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
Windows 7, unless you wanted to try 8 or provide your own.

Now, going the i5 route and overclocking (My recomendation, but we'll have to nail down more of what you're going to use it for.) you're up to $664. This gives us a lot of room to play with and stay in your budget.

Cases:
You can skimp and put all this in a $20 case, but if you want it to look nice, or plan on doing any sort of work on the inside at a later point, go with a nice one. My fingers will thank you as well.

An example of a great case that doesn't break the bank: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119233

Video Cards
Now, the part you've been waiting for. Currently AMD/ATI dominates the price/performance in video cards. Using my recommended stuff, you've got about $200 to spend.

At the low price end of things, the 7770 is a monster: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814202011
You can check reviews to see just how good, but it'll play any game out there, generally on medium or higher.

Mid range, a 1gb 7850 is great. http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161426

At the upper end of that $200, go with a 2GB one http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814131473 (currently the same price if you don't mind waiting on a MIR.)
Those cards can be overclocked to insane numbers, and you'll have no problem playing games even at stock ratings.
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#15 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 02:58 PM

Ever pulled appart a Macintosh?

Trust me you never want to, so count yourself lucky :-P

Windows computer are built like lego and require the knowledge of a 5 year old to put together.

Macintoshes are built like 10000 ipod headphones in a massive bag, tangled as all hell and was likely put together in the same way as a ball of ipod headphones.

I have, both mac pros, and the fancy imacs where you take the front glass off. It's really not that hard, you just have to deal with the ducting.

My girlfriend had an old Dell Dimension where there was a bunch of plastic shit to keep parts in place. The case only had one fan (albeit a 120mm) front intake. It had a piece of plastic tunneling that air over the top of the heatsink for the processor (everything had weird plastic shit like that). I ordered a new case for her, disassembled her stuff just to realize the m/b wouldn't fit int he new case and to put it back together. Never again in this lifetime.

Dell uses BTX. >.>
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#16 SIlhouette

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 03:12 PM

I have, both mac pros, and the fancy imacs where you take the front glass off. It's really not that hard, you just have to deal with the ducting.


The inside to get to rear components requires you to basically do a rubix cube, its three support slates that mesh at perfect angles, then there is the cables that run from the CRT through the ducting to the power and e- control. I don't know how you can call it easy...

Hackintosh is where its at, I got SL running on my lappy and even a custom SS running OS9 which then emulates OS7 which then operates an emulator for Mac II so I can play those games from my childhood.

but seriously Imac G4 easy... you must have thrown it at a wall or something...

bah just realised I meshed two types of macintoshes together, the rubix cube isnt Imac its PowerPC G4 tower. The Imac is the cable monster...

#17 Guest_ElatedOwl_*

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 03:19 PM

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157297
Good, solid motherboard. Supports pretty high memory overclocking, and two pci-e ports if you want to sli/crossfire later.

I bought the high end ASRock AM3+ board and it kicks some major ass. Best budget boards available IMO.

#18 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 03:32 PM

They're great boards. I'm pretty sure I have that exact one running for my boss' IB I5, it's great. I've used them for all my APU builds as well, I really like them.

Also, yay richmond APU's in march. >.>
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#19 Matty_poo

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 03:35 PM

Thank you Sir Spleen, I'll look over my options here and let you know what I'm going with, either via PM or even this thread if you'd like to make it a public project to follow along with (my selections, updates from you, my review, etc etc)

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#20 SpleenBeGone

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Posted 07 February 2013 - 03:40 PM

A public project is just fine. :)
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