Looking to buy a Computer...

[AddictedxGamer]

I think some of you may be missing one key piece here... Although the advice here has been true and solid, Phosphor was planning on financing the system and paying it off over time. This tends to point to the fact that he most likely doesn't have the $1200 to spend at this moment on various parts and components. If that is truly the case, then the option he's going for isn't a bad deal.

Ah, I was unaware of that.

 

If he's looking to finance the computer from best Buy, he could always finance a custom build.  If he's buying on credit he could buy whatever he wanted and pay it off just the same as if he bought the pre-built rig from Best Buy.  Newegg has financing if I remember right, so it could work the same way (potentially).

 

It's just some food for thought is all!  

[Member121]

If he's looking to finance the computer from best Buy, he could always finance a custom build.  If he's buying on credit he could buy whatever he wanted and pay it off just the same as if he bought the pre-built rig from Best Buy.

 

 

 

I agree. All of these parts are available from BestBuy except the MoBo. There are literally hundreds of other MoBo options to choose from.

[AddictedxGamer]

I agree. All of these parts are available from BestBuy except the MoBo. There are literally hundreds of other MoBo options to choose from.

My point exactly.  

 

Phosphor: In my honest opinion, if you're looking to finance whatever you end up buying, I suggest a custom build.  You have so many more options when you build from scratch, and if you're patient enough to hunt around for deals, you can build an awesome machine for an equally awesome price.  That's what I did with my rig!

 

You may be intimidated by the notion of building your own system, and that's perfectly normal.  When I started looking into building mine, I felt a little overwhelmed too.  I needed to make sure that everything would be compatible, that there weren't any known issues with any of the brands or models I was looking at, etc.  So, I posted on Tom's Hardware (a PC forum) to get some assistance, and it turns out that everything I had picked out was a-okay!  I was worrying and overthinking it for no reason at all!  

 

You'll certainly be able to get help from us as well, right here in this thread.  Phazer has already proven that with the build he posted from PC Part Picker!  

[TechAngel85]

If that is possible, then I do agree. A custom build will always trump a pre-built system. My system is actually fairly similar to the one Phazer linked. You can save a bit of money by going with an Asus z87 motherboard (it's what I have and they are very solid boards that will not bottleneck your system) and the GTX 760 4GB which will save you about $120 just from looking on Newegg. They could be found even cheaper. The GTX 770 would be preferable; however, the GTX 760 will not disappoint. It's what I ended up with due to budget constraints. It'll run Skyrim on 1920x1080 with a smooth framerate of 60FPS. Most ENBs I've tossed at it stayed within the 40s for FPS as well. I've tested it with demos from several other game including Crysis 3 and it's handled everything perfectly. Skyrim+ENB seems to be the most intensive thing I've been able to toss at it thus far.

[Member121]

You may be intimidated by the notion of building your own system, and that's perfectly normal. I needed to make sure that everything would be compatible, that there weren't any known issues with any of the brands or models I was looking at, etc.

 

 

 

I built my first pc a couple months ago. pcpartpicker has a feature that filters conflicts between components. Not all components, for example there's a problem between MSI MoBos and G-Skill RAM. G-Skill insists there's a workaround and the guy from G-Skill who is running around the MSI support forums is very polite and willing to help. Me, however, wanted avoid the hassle and went with Corsair RAM. No problems, I haven't looked back.

 

I found myself going to the mall to pickup thermal paste, extra eSATA cable (then I had to go back because SATA and eSATA are not the same) a couple times more than I wanted.

 

Ultimately it's up to you. As you can tell people who have built their own custom rig really believe the pros outweigh the cons. (The finished product will be very satisfying and the fear&intimidation will be forgotten.) And, you can get help here, pcpartpicker, (I searched at reddit), Tom's Hardware was mentioned.

 

Factoid: it looks like phazer, techangel and myself have very similar configurations. That's gotta tell you sumthin'. ADD1CTED_GAM3R? what's your specs?

Edited September 5, 2014 by Member121

[phazer11]

If that is possible, then I do agree. A custom build will always trump a pre-built system. My system is actually fairly similar to the one Phazer linked. You can save a bit of money by going with an Asus z87 motherboard (it's what I have and they are very solid boards that will not bottleneck your system) and the GTX 760 4GB which will save you about $120 just from looking on Newegg. They could be found even cheaper. The GTX 770 would be preferable; however, the GTX 760 will not disappoint. It's what I ended up with due to budget constraints. It'll run Skyrim on 1920x1080 with a smooth framerate of 60FPS. Most ENBs I've tossed at it stayed within the 40s for FPS as well. I've tested it with demos from several other game including Crysis 3 and it's handled everything perfectly. Skyrim+ENB seems to be the most intensive thing I've been able to toss at it thus far.

Actually tech if you look on the PC part picker the 4GB PNY GTX 770 is only $60 more than the GTX 760 4GB. I prefer EVGA to PNY but whichever PNY is mostly reference with no special coolers or anything if I remember correctly.

[phosphor]

Thanks everyone. Knowing there's a group of people around who have gone through this is great. Also helps that you all understand the love of modding.

I'm most definitely going to go with building the system. Probably try and finalize specs by Monday with intent to buy by the end of the week. Also need to think about speakers, a monitor, and likely a copy of windows which might necessitate a disk drive, I think.

[AddictedxGamer]

Thanks everyone. Knowing there's a group of people around who have gone through this is great. Also helps that you all understand the love of modding.

I'm most definitely going to go with building the system. Probably try and finalize specs by Monday with intent to buy by the end of the week. Also need to think about speakers, a monitor, and likely a copy of windows which might necessitate a disk drive, I think.

Excellent choice!  As you can surely tell, there are a number of us here that can help you out with any questions you have before purchase.

 

As for peripherals, I recommend going with a monitor that uses a 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution (you probably already knew that though).  I personally will always prefer a nice headset or pair of headphones to speakers, but that's just my opinion.  If you're looking for a nice sound card to add to your build list, check out the ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1; I have one and it's an awesome card!

 

And yes; you'll definitely need a disc drive.  Not only is it needed to install your OS, but to install games that you don't purchase digitally as well.  Disc drives are cheap though.  

[Member121]

I have a sound card. Xonar DSX. I wasted my money. It does not provide me with a sound experience that is worth $60. And, I've had crackling / popping / troubleshooting headaches. My onboard audio is good enough for me. And then I heard that my soundcard is not really intended for use with headphones. So if you're using headphones double check the sound card's literature for headphone compatibility.

 

I was hesitant to buy a SSD. Expensive. I decided on an old 1TB HDD and a 240GB SSD. Windows 7 installed on 1TB. Steam and my Steam games on SSD.

 

I like my setup very much.

[AddictedxGamer]

I have a sound card. Xonar DSX. I wasted my money. It does not provide me with a sound experience that is worth $60. And, I've had crackling / popping / troubleshooting headaches. My onboard audio is good enough for me. And then I heard that my soundcard is not really intended for use with headphones. So if you're using headphones double check the sound card's literature for headphone compatibility.

 

I was hesitant to buy a SSD. Expensive. I decided on an old 1TB HDD and a 240GB SSD. Windows 7 installed on 1TB. Steam and my Steam games on SSD.

 

I like my setup very much.

I'm sorry to hear you have troubles with your sound card.  Mine, however, is problem free.  It's not the same model as yours though.

 

I have a 2TB internal HDD, a 250GB internal SSD, and a 3TB external HDD.  I install the most demanding and most played games on my SSD, other games on my 2TB, and I use the 3TB for backups.  My OS and other important or demanding programs such as Photoshop are also installed on my SSD for faster performance.

 

The time it takes me to boot up is about 7 seconds with my OS on my SSD.  With it on my HDD, it would be 2-3 times as long.

[TechAngel85]

Actually tech if you look on the PC part picker the 4GB PNY GTX 770 is only $60 more than the GTX 760 4GB. I prefer EVGA to PNY but whichever PNY is mostly reference with no special coolers or anything if I remember correctly.

 I would never by a PNY. The reviews I've read aren't that great and the 1yr warranty is shady, imo, compared to all the other manufacturers that offer 3yr warranties. Even Zotac (off brand) has a 2yr warranty. That alone says something negative to me. 

Excellent choice!  As you can surely tell, there are a number of us here that can help you out with any questions you have before purchase. As for peripherals, I recommend going with a monitor that uses a 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution (you probably already knew that though).  I personally will always prefer a nice headset or pair of headphones to speakers, but that's just my opinion.  If you're looking for a nice sound card to add to your build list, check out the ASUS Xonar DGX 5.1; I have one and it's an awesome card! And yes; you'll definitely need a disc drive.  Not only is it needed to install your OS, but to install games that you don't purchase digitally as well.  Disc drives are cheap though.  

Most people don't need sound cards these days. The onboard solutions from most quality motherboards is just as good and even better in some cases. Unless you have a fine tuned ear with a surround sound speaker system or do audio type work and mixing, sound cards are a waster of money for the average consumer.Actually, if you're tech savy and have access to another computer for setting up the OS for installation via thumb drive, then you don't actually need a CD/DVD drive. I have some tech friends that haven't had them in years. I have one by have never used it myself. Unless you need it to install a game or watch movies (and there are even ways around that) and if you are tech savy enough to install an OS from a thumb drive then you can most likely pass...disc drives are going the way of the floppies. If you're uncertain, then most certainly get one. You can most likely pick one up online for around $20.

[AddictedxGamer]

Most people don't need sound cards these days. The onboard solutions from most quality motherboards is just as good and even better in some cases. Unless you have a fine tuned ear with a surround sound speaker system or do audio type work and mixing, sound cards are a waster of money for the average consumer.Actually, if you're tech savy and have access to another computer for setting up the OS for installation via thumb drive, then you don't actually need a CD/DVD drive. I have some tech friends that haven't had them in years. I have one by have never used it myself. Unless you need it to install a game or watch movies (and there are even ways around that) and if you are tech savy enough to install an OS from a thumb drive then you can most likely pass...disc drives are going the way of the floppies. If you're uncertain, then most certainly get one. You can most likely pick one up online for around $20.

You just schooled me, haha!  Thanks for the information.  

[EssArrBee]

I wish that disk drives would be dropped from laptops as well. You can just download the OS installer from the internet on a thumbdrive like Tech said. The first thing I did when I bought my last two laptops was order a hard drive caddy to replace the optical drive with a SSD. Then you can just get some converter cable to plug the disk drive in to USB or some other port on your PC. I've rarely ever used them for anything. I don't even have a reason to burn anything except Blue Rays, but who wants to download a 40+GB file? Uverse doesn't have high enough data caps to make that plausible anyways, 250GB or something.

 

If it comes down to it, take the drive out of your old PC and get an enclosure for cheap on ebay.

[hishutup]

like tech said about motherboard audio... I would tend to disagree. My Asus Crosshair IV (ROG) came with a garbage sound card. The sound was thin, tinny, and very difficult to have control over and overall very quiet.

I later got a Asus Xonar Essence STX and that is amazing. Drivers are a pain but trick is to burn it to a disc and then run them from the disc... Windows permissions :/

    After owning the card for 2.5 yrs it did break (poping and fuzzyness) and after an RMA, I am good for another 5yrs now. It was the 4 band headphones. You need to use that adapter. 

    The card also sits between to hot (95C+) graphics cards.

    The card is easy to repair if you have a basic understanding of electronics. The Op Amps are pricey but meh...

I also have an Asus Xonar DS and its ok... nothing compared to an essence

 

For an SSD replacement I still use 2x 1TB in RAID 0 and they dont do half bad. Yes, its fake raid, one of these days they'll be hooked up to my RAID card.

 

Dump your money into graphics with high VRAM 3+GB

 

Processor doesn't matter as long a its a decent one -or if you like to render video- the FM2 socket processors are terrible stick with AM3+, 2011, 1150

 

RAM 1 8GB stick is more than enough 1600MHz+ (I use 1866)

Edited September 6, 2014 by hishutup

[TechAngel85]

That mobo is from 2010 (released) and things have stepped up since then. Mobos are coming out today that have dedicated sections of the board to reduce interference, amps, replaceable chips, support for 600ohm headphones and more. Sound is always going to be different for difference people, though. If you're someone that has a fine tuned ear, uses 600 ohms headphones or do audio work, then yeah...you're probably going to want a dedicated sound card. If you're not, then the onboard audio is just fine for 90% of users. I've never had a sound card in any of my systems. I also have never been able to tell a difference in the same speakers hooked up to onboard audio vs a dedicated sound card. But that's me....mileage will vary here.