Topic: Configuring a new computer and need help

[iPPi]

My 7 year old computer's life is coming to an end.  I've been having trouble with it and I think it is in my best interests to get a new computer.  However, I am so far removed from the computer hardware industry that I really don't know what's 'good' anymore.  I've configured a machine up and am looking for some opinions on what you guys think.  It is intended to be a gaming machine, but I have no idea how much gaming I will end up doing considering the limited amount of free time I have nowadays.  That said, I still wanted a computer capable of gaming if I ever wanted to.

Antec Three Hundred Two Case $70
i7 3770K $330
Asus P8z77-V Le Mobo $175
Corsair 16GB DDR3 1600MHz CL10 dual Channel (2 x 8GB) $85
Corsair SATAIII SSD 120GB $130
WD 1TB Caviar Black $100
LG Blu-ray reader combo drive $70 --> I can probably save $50 and just get a DVD-writer here.
eVGA Geforce GTX 660 Ti Superclocked 2GB $310
750W PSU $90

Total price with tax is about $1430.

I was actually looking at some pre-built machines.  One's from CyberPowerPC that is retailing for $1070; it has mostly the same parts but a Radeon 7770, and no SSD (2TB HDD instead).  A Dell XPS 8500 is also quite competitive at about $1200 -- again, mostly the same parts but has a 32GB SSD + 2TB.  The plus side is that both of these pre-built machines comes with Windows 8.  But they likely come with bloatware and I am wary about buying pre-built computers.

It's really quite hard to decide at the moment.  I am probably going to wait until Black Friday or Christmas before actually buying... assuming my computer can remain operational until then.

[Cobra951]

I would very much like feedback on good new PCs as well.  My situation is similar, in that I'm entirely out of the loop now.  If I bite, it will most likely be a prefab product.  My 12-year-old Dell Dimension 8100 has been amazingly durable, having been last upgraded in '05.  I will probably keep using it even if I get something new.  From what I'm seeing, the price point for something with a real video card starts out close to a grand.

[Cobra951]

OK, so I guess no one feels like getting into a lengthy exposition over this.  It has been done before, and I realize it's time consuming, and everyone has better things to do.  So, let me ask straight up about this Dell XPS X8500-4726BK desktop.  Here is a PCmag.com evaluation of it.  The version I'm looking at doesn't include SSD, which is fine.  It seems to offer a good price/performance ratio, it's a brand I trust (despite it not being as solid as when I got my still-working 8100 Dimension), and it comes with Windows 7, not 8 (a plus so far--I can always upgrade later).  Any feedback or better prefab alternatives would be much appreciated.  Thanks!

[iPPi]

I bought an XPS8500 as part of the Black Friday sale.  It comes with a 23" LED monitor as well.  I think the total price after all discounts was about $1200 for me.

Spec wise:
i7-3770
16GB RAM
1TB HDD
Geforce GTX 660

Should be pretty good.  If I'm feeling up to it I might get an SSD and put it into the new machine, but we'll see how much free time I have (which isn't much).  I think it ships next week.

[MysterD]

Nice.
What does it come w/ an optical drive - BR burner? DVD-Burner?

EDIT:
I really should look into getting a BR burner - too many PC games are now hitting 15GB to 30GB or more.

[idolminds]

I wish I knew anything about hardware.

[ren]

I bought an XPS8500 as part of the Black Friday sale.  It comes with a 23" LED monitor as well.  I think the total price after all discounts was about $1200 for me.

Spec wise:
i7-3770
16GB RAM
1TB HDD
Geforce GTX 660

Should be pretty good.  If I'm feeling up to it I might get an SSD and put it into the new machine, but we'll see how much free time I have (which isn't much).  I think it ships next week.

I'm thinking of getting the same one, just without the monitor and adding in a Blu-Ray drive.

Also it blew my mind that 32GB of RAM was an option and that it didn't cost an insane amount of money to upgrade to.

[ren]

Also, I was originally planning on getting a Laptop but for the price of getting a good laptop I can get an even better desktop and the Nexus 10 tablet which seems like a much better combination.

[Cobra951]

Dumb question of the day:  Video cards still output to good ol' analog VGA, do they not?  My current TV/monitor does HDMI, but only for HDTV, not for PC support.  The one good thing about my current setup is that my old Nvidia 5900 outputs to both VGA and DVI simultaneously, allowing me to hook it up to 2 monitors easily.  I have this cheap little Acer LCD sitting on top of it, and I use it while the main monitor is in use for something else (like the Xbox or TV).  It would be great to be able to set it all up the same way with a new system.

[Xessive]

Duoble-check the card you're getting. These days most will have dual-DVI and a HDMI. You can always get a DVI-VGA converter too. Most monitors I've seen have also done away with the VGA slot as well. Worst-case scenario the problem is easily solved with a little converter plug (or cable).

[Cobra951]

Dammit.  Thanks.  I had a feeling.  So going to the old VGA standard might require some sort of active conversion unless DVI-A is an available output option.  I'd have to look into that, because replacing the monitor is not an option at this point.  It handles a lot more than just my PC, and it's too good and too convenient (and too expensive) for me to redo from scratch.  Thanks for the info.

[Xessive]

Dammit.  Thanks.  I had a feeling.  So going to the old VGA standard might require some sort of active conversion unless DVI-A is an available output option.  I'd have to look into that, because replacing the monitor is not an option at this point.  It handles a lot more than just my PC, and it's too good and too convenient (and too expensive) for me to redo from scratch.  Thanks for the info.

Plugs like these will do the trick. I had to resort to using one for an old PC that I converted into a media center.

[Cobra951]

Plugs like these will do the trick. I had to resort to using one for an old PC that I converted into a media center.

Right, assuming a DVI-A signal is available from the card's output connector.  (I looked at a similar page, but thanks anyway.)  If it's digital only, then a simple adapter like those will never work.  I looked into the GeForce GT 640 spec sheet, and VGA is indeed an output option, so regardless of plug (standard VGA or DVI-A), it looks like it won't be a problem. 

I'm going through some serious anxiety now over this.  The fact is that I don't really need this, and money is scarce.  So I don't know.  I haven't been this ambivalent in a long time, and the cyber-Monday deals won't last much longer.  This is probably the last chance I'll get at this system with Windows 7 too.  The Win-8 variant is now also available at Amazon (for like $80 more), and it's the only way to get it from Dell directly.  Gah!  I hate indecision.

[iPPi]

Well my computer and monitor have arrived.  Everything is blazing fast so far.  I haven't really had a chance to do any gaming yet on the machine as I am in the middle of examinations.  But I will find out in a week or two how this fairs with some games.  Unfortunately, the most taxing game I have in my collection right now is probably Starcraft II.  I really need to get some new PC games... probably Hitman Absolution or something like that.

The monitor I got (23" LED monitor) is also quite amazing.  Unfortunately it doesn't come with an HDMI or DVI cable and only VGA.  My computer came with a DVI-VGA converter so I am using that right now but I've ordered an HDMI cable which should arrive in the near future.  I'll have a triple screen setup .

Not the biggest fan of Windows 8 right now.  The Metro UI is clearly designed for tablets and not really desktops with multiple screen setups.  Shutting down and accessing programs is an absolute pain in the ass.  I've made some shortcuts in my taskbar to my Program Files as the new 'start screen' is totally unintuitive to use with a Keyboard/Mouse.  Also ridiculous is what you have to do to shut down the computer.  You have to go to the top/bottom right corner of the screen, which will reveal a sidebar to access Settings to shut down (or Windows Key + I).  Absolute pain in the ass and I had to actually look up how to shut down the computer.

[ren]

I got mine a few days ago. I spent a few minutes looking around the new Start screen but since then I haven't left desktop mode. I'm not actively avoiding it, it just hasn't come up. All my regularly used programs are pinned to the taskbar and Start + X and Start + I get me everything I would go to the Start screen for but faster.

I was thinking of getting Far Cry 3. Thin the GTX660 will handle that?

[iPPi]

I think the GTX660 can handle it.  It should be able to handle nearly everything on the market right now.  You may have to make some concessions though; I don't think it will run perfectly at full 1080p with everything maxed.

I did a few rough benchmarks.  In Mafia II, everything maxed and turned on, full 1080p, I think the average framerate was ~50fps.  If I turned of PhyX or AegX (whatever it was called), I averaged 60fps.

Starcraft II runs beautifully with everything at ultra.  I just did a quick 2v2 though and there wasn't any hectic battles.  I'm not sure if there will be any slowdowns in massive battles.

[Cobra951]

Jealous x 2. 

I'm still keeping an eye on the XPS systems.  I found out they sell them locally at Microcenter.  I checked them out, and they are impressive.  I figured out how to get the tiled nightmare out of my face pretty quickly, so I'm not as afraid of Win 8 anymore.  The desktop interface is still intuitive enough.  I'm thinking early next year, I'll do some PC shopping again.

Thanks for the clarification on the VGA availability, iPPi.

[Xessive]

Not the biggest fan of Windows 8 right now.  The Metro UI is clearly designed for tablets and not really desktops with multiple screen setups.  Shutting down and accessing programs is an absolute pain in the ass.  I've made some shortcuts in my taskbar to my Program Files as the new 'start screen' is totally unintuitive to use with a Keyboard/Mouse.  Also ridiculous is what you have to do to shut down the computer.  You have to go to the top/bottom right corner of the screen, which will reveal a sidebar to access Settings to shut down (or Windows Key + I).  Absolute pain in the ass and I had to actually look up how to shut down the computer.

Yeah, Win8 can be a bitch like that. The first few times I used to just shutdown with good ol' Alt+F4 shutdown menu, it still works! Then I became aware of Win8's 3-step shutdown process: hit the corner and slide down to settings, click settings, click power. Yay, dumb. Then of course, Stardock's Start8 simplified things for me later.

Congrats on the new rig! You'll definitely be alright with the GTX660, I'm on a GeForce 560M and it's handling everything I throw at it like a champ!

[gpw11]

You guys just convinced me to make sure the laptop I'm buying for my mother is on Windows 7.

[ren]

I was playing with touch screen Windows 8 laptops at the Microsoft store and found them to be very intuitive and easy to use. It just doesn't carry over that well to a mouse or touch pad. If your mum is not very computer savvy she might find windows 8 with a touch screen easier than 7.

All our complaints about shutting down are easily void on a laptop where you just close the lid or press a physical power button.

[shock]

Cool thread.  This is a great resource for me.  I have a 2 year old PC that UPS broke a few months back.  I know the video card is for sure dead, but I'm going to do some testing on the rest to see if it can be salvaged. 

Are you happy with the GTX 660 for $300?  I see that the GTX 670 goes for about $350.  I looked at some benchmarks but it seems to just be a couple of FPS difference in most modern games.  Any thoughts on if this is worth the extra $50?

Thanks!

[ren]

I just played Far Cry 3 at 1900x1200 with everything on High and Ultra and there was no lag.

I have no idea how with GTX670 compares but the 660 is plenty for me.

[shock]

Here's my (new) list:
    
ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $89
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor: $215
PowerColor AX7950 3GBD5-2DHV4 Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0: $275
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800): $35

For a total of $614.

I swapped out the GTX 660 TI for a Radeon 7950.  Has anyone bought a Powercolor card before?  It's ~$30 cheaper, but I'm not familiar with the brand.  Also, I was told that DDR3 1600 is good enough (and half the price).  And I swapped out the previous mobo for a cheaper/better one.

Wheeee!

[gpw11]

I was playing with touch screen Windows 8 laptops at the Microsoft store and found them to be very intuitive and easy to use. It just doesn't carry over that well to a mouse or touch pad. If your mum is not very computer savvy she might find windows 8 with a touch screen easier than 7.

All our complaints about shutting down are easily void on a laptop where you just close the lid or press a physical power button.

Huge point.  I'm looking at a touchscreen laptop now with Windows 8.  I figure worst case scenario, we can just downgrade to win 7.