Computer purchase
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Sidesteal
Posts: 5,510 Member
Hey MFPeeps.
I'm going to be purchasing a new computer for the Diablo III release in a couple of weeks and I'd like to solicit feedback from the MFP gaming community.
1) What would be your preferred company or website to purchase from?
2) Generally speaking, what areas would you cut corners from if cost were a concern?
3) And if you're THAT bored (I don't expect anyone to actually do this), what computer would YOU purchase with a $1000 cap on price?
My previous gaming PC is about 7 years old and I've not researched current "stuff" for that long.
LOL.
Thanks!
I'm going to be purchasing a new computer for the Diablo III release in a couple of weeks and I'd like to solicit feedback from the MFP gaming community.
1) What would be your preferred company or website to purchase from?
2) Generally speaking, what areas would you cut corners from if cost were a concern?
3) And if you're THAT bored (I don't expect anyone to actually do this), what computer would YOU purchase with a $1000 cap on price?
My previous gaming PC is about 7 years old and I've not researched current "stuff" for that long.
LOL.
Thanks!
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Replies
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Just an idea, but if the computer runs well still and you want to save by not buying brand new you could install a new video card on your current computer, unless its a laptop no clue how to do that. I had to buy one for my pc when I started playing SWTOR and wow what a difference like I have a new computer, the website I purchased from was Newegg.com. Good luck on your purchase and the new game!!
They have PC's and laptops on this site as well to look at.0 -
Avoid Dell and Alienware at all costs.
I recommend Asus if anything. Don't buy a laptop stick with a desktop. Also, do not cut corners on processor, memory or video card. If you bought a built computer please take into consideration that you will most likely need to update the video card (unless you buy a model with a decent one) and you might have to buy a new power supply.
These are usually two items that one has to update when buying a built model. Have you looked into maybe building your own?0 -
With a $1000 cap space, you can buy a pretty powerful machine by today's standards. I recommend building your own, but you may not have the knowledge/skills/time to do that, I don't know.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229317
Might be up your ally. That thing is a beast, but you really don't even need that. My computer is 2 years old and ran the D3 beta on ultra settings fine, and runs all other games on ultra fine. Blizzard makes it so you don't need the best computer to play.
On the cheaper side you could buy this...it really comes down to how good of a video card you want.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229270
Good luck!0 -
Thanks, checking the above links now.
I'm not sure if I could build one from scratch or not. I do know how to replace drives/memory/PSU/video+sound cards and install fans and such. Not sure I'd get everything right if I tried to go from the beginning or not. I can do basic stuff with hardware though.
If it's pretty self-explanatory AND if it is a big money saver to build from scratch I'd consider it.0 -
Just an idea, but if the computer runs well still and you want to save by not buying brand new you could install a new video card on your current computer, unless its a laptop no clue how to do that. I had to buy one for my pc when I started playing SWTOR and wow what a difference like I have a new computer, the website I purchased from was Newegg.com. Good luck on your purchase and the new game!!
They have PC's and laptops on this site as well to look at.
I afraid that just buying a video card wont help much with a 7 year computer. You got to consider the limitations of that generation of cpu's(Intel Pentium 4 and AMD Athlon's?) and memory. Nothing worse than coming to the realization that everything is bottle-necking at the CPU.
I say salvage what you can salvage out of your old PC and build you a new one.
Good place to start is http://www.newegg.com/Store/Promotion.aspx?storeid=33&name=DIY-PC-Combos
here is my computer specs.
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz (overclocked to 3.8GHz)
Memory: CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Video Card: XFX HD-687A-ZNBC Radeon HD 6870 Black Edition 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16
Hard-drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive0 -
Thanks, checking the above links now.
I'm not sure if I could build one from scratch or not. I do know how to replace drives/memory/PSU/video+sound cards and install fans and such. Not sure I'd get everything right if I tried to go from the beginning or not. I can do basic stuff with hardware though.
If it's pretty self-explanatory AND if it is a big money saver to build from scratch I'd consider it.
I knew basically what you do and was able to put my own PC together it's pretty self explanatory now and gives you step by step instructions on how to do it. And there is always the Google if you do get stuck on something. I ordered a bare bones kit off Tigerdirect last year, it's pretty sweet and was around $700. You might want to take a look. I did have to upgrade the power supply and buy a graphics card, but it still came in under $1000.
I'm in the process of upgrading RAM and the fans.0 -
Update:
I made my purchase. I decided to build my own, staring at the parts and boxes now
I went with the following for what I think was a good compromise between price and performance:
ASUS p8z68-vLX mobo
intel i5 2500K processor
8g Kingston DDR 1600 RAM
ATI 6870HD vid card
500gig 7200 RPM seagate HD (I think 500g is going to be plenty for my needs)
WIndows 7 home
some ghetto optical drive
A big-*kitten* black Antec case. (300)
600W MK III PSU
After mail in rebates I flew in at just under $800 which I think is damn good for what I ended up with.
It remains to be seen whether or not I can figure out how to assemble it. Working on that now 0 -
Make sure you get the 64bit version of Windows 7 to utilize all 8 gigs of your ram.0
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Not a bad article to give you some tips on building your own. Good luck with the build. I always build my own, and do IT for a living. Go slow, carefully, and should do fine.
http://arstechnica.com/ask-ars/2011/04/how-to-build-your-own-computer-ask-ars-diy-series-part-i.ars0 -
Not a bad article to give you some tips on building your own. Good luck with the build. I always build my own, and do IT for a living. Go slow, carefully, and should do fine.
http://arstechnica.com/ask-ars/2011/04/how-to-build-your-own-computer-ask-ars-diy-series-part-i.ars
Thanks, I probably should have read this BEFORE assembling it considering it won't power on now.
But, I was quite careful and took my time
Mobo gets power (LED on mobo lights up) but the system won't power on.
I removed everything and just re-seated the RAM, CPU, connected the display, and connected the PSU to the mobo and it still acts as though it's totally unplugged (power switch does nothing).
The only thing I can think to do is try to start it by shorting the pins on the mobo (where the switch connects) to rule out whether or not it's just a faulty switch.
Thoughts?0 -
^ Did, and thanks!Make sure you get the 64bit version of Windows 7 to utilize all 8 gigs of your ram.0 -
Not a bad article to give you some tips on building your own. Good luck with the build. I always build my own, and do IT for a living. Go slow, carefully, and should do fine.
http://arstechnica.com/ask-ars/2011/04/how-to-build-your-own-computer-ask-ars-diy-series-part-i.ars
Thanks, I probably should have read this BEFORE assembling it considering it won't power on now.
But, I was quite careful and took my time
Mobo gets power (LED on mobo lights up) but the system won't power on.
I removed everything and just re-seated the RAM, CPU, connected the display, and connected the PSU to the mobo and it still acts as though it's totally unplugged (power switch does nothing).
The only thing I can think to do is try to start it by shorting the pins on the mobo (where the switch connects) to rule out whether or not it's just a faulty switch.
Thoughts?
Make sure the power supply is properly connected to the bare minimum items - motherboard, cpu, and that case fans are plugged into the motherboard. You want to know if the fans at least are getting power.
Did you use standoffs to mount the motherboard? Those are important to make sure it doesn't short out.
Perhaps clear the CMOS. That's either a jumper change, or a button on the motherboard.
Good luck. Troubleshooting can be tedious.0 -
Make sure the power supply is properly connected to the bare minimum items - motherboard, cpu, and that case fans are plugged into the motherboard. You want to know if the fans at least are getting power.
Did this, fans did not spin up at all.
Did you use standoffs to mount the motherboard? Those are important to make sure it doesn't short out.
Yep, used the brass standoffs to keep the board up above the floor of the case. I then made an attempt with the board completely out of the case (resting the mobo on the cardboard box) to make 100% certain it wasn't a mounting issue.Perhaps clear the CMOS. That's either a jumper change, or a button on the motherboard.
Wasn't able to find the proper place to clear CMOS (via pins/switch) but I did remove the lithium battery as I read online that this will effectively clear the CMOS.Good luck. Troubleshooting can be tedious.
I returned the board and bought a new one (not an open box item). I'll be installing it today, hopefully the issue was the board.0 -
Make sure the power supply is properly connected to the bare minimum items - motherboard, cpu, and that case fans are plugged into the motherboard. You want to know if the fans at least are getting power.
Did this, fans did not spin up at all.
Did you use standoffs to mount the motherboard? Those are important to make sure it doesn't short out.
Yep, used the brass standoffs to keep the board up above the floor of the case. I then made an attempt with the board completely out of the case (resting the mobo on the cardboard box) to make 100% certain it wasn't a mounting issue.Perhaps clear the CMOS. That's either a jumper change, or a button on the motherboard.
Wasn't able to find the proper place to clear CMOS (via pins/switch) but I did remove the lithium battery as I read online that this will effectively clear the CMOS.Good luck. Troubleshooting can be tedious.
I returned the board and bought a new one (not an open box item). I'll be installing it today, hopefully the issue was the board.
Good luck! Sounds like a DOA board. You did all the right steps to troubleshoot.0 -
Good luck! Sounds like a DOA board. You did all the right steps to troubleshoot.
Thanks, I'm downloading drivers on it now, it's up and running like a champ. Turns out there were two issues:
1) I didn't properly connect the power switch and ultimately this was why it wasn't doing anything.
However:
2) When I installed the CPU on the open-box mobo, I'm fairly certain the pins were bent due to the rather "crunchy" sound that it would make when I'd use the locking device to lock the CPU in place. I'm 100% certain that the CPU was properly installed as it simply drops into place and can only fit one way. On the new board, it seemed to be a much smoother process.
Overall, I'm damn happy that I went through this despite the hangup. I learned a ton and probably saved ~$200 or so at a guess.0 -
Good luck! Sounds like a DOA board. You did all the right steps to troubleshoot.
Thanks, I'm downloading drivers on it now, it's up and running like a champ. Turns out there were two issues:
1) I didn't properly connect the power switch and ultimately this was why it wasn't doing anything.
However:
2) When I installed the CPU on the open-box mobo, I'm fairly certain the pins were bent due to the rather "crunchy" sound that it would make when I'd use the locking device to lock the CPU in place. I'm 100% certain that the CPU was properly installed as it simply drops into place and can only fit one way. On the new board, it seemed to be a much smoother process.
Overall, I'm damn happy that I went through this despite the hangup. I learned a ton and probably saved ~$200 or so at a guess.
Congrats on getting it up and running!
And, yes, you shouldn't have any "crunching" with a CPU install. They are zero-effort now (should never take any force). I avoid open-box purchases for these reasons. You never know what someone did to something before they returned it.0
