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When using this resource, please read FragKrag's opening post. The Tech Support forum regulars have helped create countless of desktop systems without any compensation. The least you can do is provide all of the information required for them to help you properly. | ||
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Ropid
Germany3557 Posts
I'm pretty sure the Zalman CNPS14x has similar performance. Looking at amazon.com prices, I'd choose that one. At newegg.com people bitch about complicated installation, but watching a youtube video about the cooler should help. Those two also have excellent performance from what I remember and use a quiet fan. | ||
ZeromuS
Canada13389 Posts
Currently, I and my girlfriend are both students and use laptops as we don't live together but often go to eachothers homes every day. In the fall, she will be starting a new program in another city and I will be finishing my masters. Keeping this in mind, I am thinking of investing in a desktop since I won't be required to be nearly as mobile as I am now. The odd time I will be driving back to Ottawa for meetings regarding my MA thesis but those won't be often and will be day trips so I can manage without the computer at those times. Her laptop is starting to fail and we have one more repair on it atm through Best Buy before the plan ends. The next time it fails its over. The cost of a laptop being fairly high, I plan on getting a desktop which is more reliable and giving her my current laptop. I think I will have around 800$ Canadian to spend at most I think and already own all the peripherals (monitor at 1600x900 atm - 2 of them but plan on single use) and also own a copy of windows 7 Ultimate so I don't need an OS. I am looking honestly, to match or exceed my current performance of my laptop which runs most games on medium with no issues and runs SC2 on low at 80+ FPS in large battles - which I assume would not be hard to emulate. I am not in an immediate rush to purchase my computer parts and start building but am starting the planning phase. So I would love some insight on where to start. I also very importantly want to know if it is worth it to start buying the odd part if it is on sale, such as a DVD/CD drive and case if I see them on sale. I don't think that I will be needing SLI/Crossfire or Overclocking it to be honest, but the options for the future could be nice but is not necessary. Since I mainly just play SC2 and the odd other game as it releases I don't think I need to upgrade too too often or if I will even have the money in the future to be honest. Another option is if I do not build it by the fall, and her computer survives that long I plan to get a job at Best Buy for seasonal work in the new city I move to ( got laid off in January after five years and hoping to get job back for fall rush). Would be worth waiting for the discounts on whatever is available in Best Buy Canada or are prices better online if they go on sale? Lots of questions, but I dont have many tech savvy friends who build PCs so I decided to come to my 2nd home here on TL <3 | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
On May 28 2013 05:35 ZeromuS wrote:+ Show Spoiler + I have never built a PC before but am thinking of doing so in the coming months. Currently, I and my girlfriend are both students and use laptops as we don't live together but often go to eachothers homes every day. In the fall, she will be starting a new program in another city and I will be finishing my masters. Keeping this in mind, I am thinking of investing in a desktop since I won't be required to be nearly as mobile as I am now. The odd time I will be driving back to Ottawa for meetings regarding my MA thesis but those won't be often and will be day trips so I can manage without the computer at those times. Her laptop is starting to fail and we have one more repair on it atm through Best Buy before the plan ends. The next time it fails its over. The cost of a laptop being fairly high, I plan on getting a desktop which is more reliable and giving her my current laptop. I think I will have around 800$ Canadian to spend at most I think and already own all the peripherals (monitor at 1600x900 atm - 2 of them but plan on single use) and also own a copy of windows 7 Ultimate so I don't need an OS. I am looking honestly, to match or exceed my current performance of my laptop which runs most games on medium with no issues and runs SC2 on low at 80+ FPS in large battles - which I assume would not be hard to emulate. I am not in an immediate rush to purchase my computer parts and start building but am starting the planning phase. So I would love some insight on where to start. I also very importantly want to know if it is worth it to start buying the odd part if it is on sale, such as a DVD/CD drive and case if I see them on sale. I don't think that I will be needing SLI/Crossfire or Overclocking it to be honest, but the options for the future could be nice but is not necessary. Since I mainly just play SC2 and the odd other game as it releases I don't think I need to upgrade too too often or if I will even have the money in the future to be honest. Another option is if I do not build it by the fall, and her computer survives that long I plan to get a job at Best Buy for seasonal work in the new city I move to ( got laid off in January after five years and hoping to get job back for fall rush). Would be worth waiting for the discounts on whatever is available in Best Buy Canada or are prices better online if they go on sale? Lots of questions, but I dont have many tech savvy friends who build PCs so I decided to come to my 2nd home here on TL <3 Best Buy is the worst place you can buy a computer from, their shit is overpriced and their selection sucks. You want to be looking at NCIX, Memory Express, Newegg, and Canada Computers if you're looking for sales. NCIX has sales every week, starting on Wednesday night and also daily deals. Newegg has daily deals. The rest of the retailers also have their sales as well. You can buy parts as they go on sale if you wish but you would need knowledge to do this and some self control to not overspend. Canadian retailers also offer pricematching. Memory Express offers a 25% price beat so if you find a shellshocker deal on Newegg, you can pricematch it with Memory Express to get it for less. For $800, you're looking at something like this.
Taking the higher pricing of everything, this comes to ~$840. If you're going to need more space than you can select any appropriately sized HDD, a 1TB Western Digital Green is typically $70. Note that this configuration can't be overclocked. If you want to overclock than that requires a Z87 motherboard, a K suffix processor (eg. core i5 4670k), and an aftermarket heatsink. Which of course is going to be add to the price. If you are going to work at Best Buy than you may qualify for Intel's Retail Edge (Intel's discount program for retail employees). This summer, they have the 3770k for $60 (which retails for $330). But I guess if you're purchasing in the Fall than you won't be able to participate in this since it only happens during the Summertime and around Christmas time. NCIX also offers assembly if you are too lazy to do it but of course you need to purchase all the components from them in one purchase: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=7842 | ||
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ZeromuS
Canada13389 Posts
On May 28 2013 06:15 skyR wrote: Best Buy is the worst place you can buy a computer from, their shit is overpriced and their selection sucks. You want to be looking at NCIX, Memory Express, Newegg, and Canada Computers if you're looking for sales. NCIX has sales every week, starting on Wednesday night and also daily deals. Newegg has daily deals. The rest of the retailers also have their sales as well. You can buy parts as they go on sale if you wish but you would need knowledge to do this and some self control to not overspend. Canadian retailers also offer pricematching. Memory Express offers a 25% price beat so if you find a shellshocker deal on Newegg, you can pricematch it with Memory Express to get it for less. For $800, you're looking at something like this.
Taking the higher pricing of everything, this comes to ~$840. If you're going to need more space than you can select any appropriately sized HDD, a 1TB Western Digital Green is typically $70. Note that this configuration can't be overclocked. If you want to overclock than that requires a Z87 motherboard, a K suffix processor (eg. core i5 4670k), and an aftermarket heatsink. Which of course is going to be add to the price. If you are going to work at Best Buy than you may qualify for Intel's Retail Edge (Intel's discount program for retail employees). This summer, they have the 3770k for $60 (which retails for $330). But I guess if you're purchasing in the Fall than you won't be able to participate in this since it only happens during the Summertime and around Christmas time. NCIX also offers assembly if you are too lazy to do it but of course you need to purchase all the components from them in one purchase: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=7842 So I can get a pretty strong PC for under 800 if I take the lower priced stuff and cut out an SSD for a traditional HDD for extra space as well? Awesome. Will keep this bookmarked and keep an eye out for sales. Thanks a lot man! I have a few friends still at best buy might ask them to help me out with retail edge if need be. | ||
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Ropid
Germany3557 Posts
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Craton
United States17265 Posts
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ZeromuS
Canada13389 Posts
On May 28 2013 07:09 Craton wrote: Practically speaking you probably will have earned enough money to buy a storage HDD after the fact well before you come close to filling up your SSD. Well, I currently have a LOT of music and other things and would prefer not to use an external for it and the ssd could be an upgrade when i come into more money later but practically speaking a better video card vs an ssd, for the time being I would rather invest an extra 50$ on a low budget into a processor or card or decent case as opposed to an ssd vs an hdd when eventually I hope to have one of each anyway. Priority wise, I feel like an HDD is better now than later no? this is keeping in mind I already have 200GB of stuff on this hard drive on my pc and not all my music has been taken off my ipod onto it or my current backup drive which is only 500GB and external USB powered. | ||
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Craton
United States17265 Posts
The reason I opt for SSD now and HDD is later is because it's much easier to hook up a storage drive then to change your boot drive (essentially reinstall windows). In terms of priority, CPU/GPU always come first. | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
On May 28 2013 06:23 ZeromuS wrote:+ Show Spoiler + On May 28 2013 06:15 skyR wrote: Best Buy is the worst place you can buy a computer from, their shit is overpriced and their selection sucks. You want to be looking at NCIX, Memory Express, Newegg, and Canada Computers if you're looking for sales. NCIX has sales every week, starting on Wednesday night and also daily deals. Newegg has daily deals. The rest of the retailers also have their sales as well. You can buy parts as they go on sale if you wish but you would need knowledge to do this and some self control to not overspend. Canadian retailers also offer pricematching. Memory Express offers a 25% price beat so if you find a shellshocker deal on Newegg, you can pricematch it with Memory Express to get it for less. For $800, you're looking at something like this.
Taking the higher pricing of everything, this comes to ~$840. If you're going to need more space than you can select any appropriately sized HDD, a 1TB Western Digital Green is typically $70. Note that this configuration can't be overclocked. If you want to overclock than that requires a Z87 motherboard, a K suffix processor (eg. core i5 4670k), and an aftermarket heatsink. Which of course is going to be add to the price. If you are going to work at Best Buy than you may qualify for Intel's Retail Edge (Intel's discount program for retail employees). This summer, they have the 3770k for $60 (which retails for $330). But I guess if you're purchasing in the Fall than you won't be able to participate in this since it only happens during the Summertime and around Christmas time. NCIX also offers assembly if you are too lazy to do it but of course you need to purchase all the components from them in one purchase: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=7842 So I can get a pretty strong PC for under 800 if I take the lower priced stuff and cut out an SSD for a traditional HDD for extra space as well? Awesome. Will keep this bookmarked and keep an eye out for sales. Thanks a lot man! I have a few friends still at best buy might ask them to help me out with retail edge if need be. On May 28 2013 07:15 ZeromuS wrote:+ Show Spoiler + On May 28 2013 07:09 Craton wrote: Practically speaking you probably will have earned enough money to buy a storage HDD after the fact well before you come close to filling up your SSD. Well, I currently have a LOT of music and other things and would prefer not to use an external for it and the ssd could be an upgrade when i come into more money later but practically speaking a better video card vs an ssd, for the time being I would rather invest an extra 50$ on a low budget into a processor or card or decent case as opposed to an ssd vs an hdd when eventually I hope to have one of each anyway. Priority wise, I feel like an HDD is better now than later no? this is keeping in mind I already have 200GB of stuff on this hard drive on my pc and not all my music has been taken off my ipod onto it or my current backup drive which is only 500GB and external USB powered. If you want to use your friend for Intel's Retail Edge than keep in mind its the core i7 3770k which is the current generation processor and will require a Z77 motherboard (not a 8 series board). Remember that a K suffix processor allows you to overclock so you want to buy an aftermarket heatsink as well (something like the Coolermaster Hyper 212 which is around $25). And before you ask, the difference between the current generation and next generation processor isn't humongous so definitely get the 3770k for $60 and don't look back. Unless of course money is of no concern for you. If you're not going to get a SSD then you will have $180 to work with. You want a 7200 RPM drive as your boot drive (eg. Western Digital Caviar Blue [or black if you want 5 year warranty as opposed to the two). 500GB is typically $60-$70. The CX430 (power supply) I listed is one of the budget power supplies. If you want to invest in a good case like the Fractal Design Define R4, you may want to invest into a higher quality power supply as well like a Rosewill Capstone 450 for $70 from Newegg. If you're taking advantage of Retail Edge than you should have enough money for an SSD or you can use it however you please. | ||
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Havik_
United States5585 Posts
On May 28 2013 06:15 skyR wrote: Best Buy is the worst place you can buy a computer from, their shit is overpriced and their selection sucks. You want to be looking at NCIX, Memory Express, Newegg, and Canada Computers if you're looking for sales. NCIX has sales every week, starting on Wednesday night and also daily deals. Newegg has daily deals. The rest of the retailers also have their sales as well. You can buy parts as they go on sale if you wish but you would need knowledge to do this and some self control to not overspend. Canadian retailers also offer pricematching. Memory Express offers a 25% price beat so if you find a shellshocker deal on Newegg, you can pricematch it with Memory Express to get it for less. For $800, you're looking at something like this.
Taking the higher pricing of everything, this comes to ~$840. If you're going to need more space than you can select any appropriately sized HDD, a 1TB Western Digital Green is typically $70. Note that this configuration can't be overclocked. If you want to overclock than that requires a Z87 motherboard, a K suffix processor (eg. core i5 4670k), and an aftermarket heatsink. Which of course is going to be add to the price. If you are going to work at Best Buy than you may qualify for Intel's Retail Edge (Intel's discount program for retail employees). This summer, they have the 3770k for $60 (which retails for $330). But I guess if you're purchasing in the Fall than you won't be able to participate in this since it only happens during the Summertime and around Christmas time. NCIX also offers assembly if you are too lazy to do it but of course you need to purchase all the components from them in one purchase: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=7842 While this isn't a bad build, if this is a gaming PC, the budget isn't well allocated. You're spending $210 on a CPU, but ~$150 on a GPU. Seems unbalanced in the wrong direction, you don't want bottlenecking, but for gaming, I don't like this. I say upgrade the GPU to the 7850/7870/660 non Ti or downgrade the CPU to an FX 6350 (inb4 zomfg AMD sucks) and spend the saved money on a 7870. That would give you a pretty well balanced rig and it would be much stronger in gaming. | ||
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Infernal_dream
United States2359 Posts
On May 28 2013 09:52 Havik_ wrote: While this isn't a bad build, if this is a gaming PC, the budget isn't well allocated. You're spending $210 on a CPU, but ~$150 on a GPU. Seems unbalanced in the wrong direction, you don't want bottlenecking, but for gaming, I don't like this. I say upgrade the GPU to the 7850/7870/660 non Ti or downgrade the CPU to an FX 6350 (inb4 zomfg AMD sucks) and spend the saved money on a 7870. That would give you a pretty well balanced rig and it would be much stronger in gaming. Considering the only game he plays that he bothered to name is SC2 the CPU is by far the most important. And the CPU/GPU balance isn't that bad. You can play most games on medium settings with a 650. Why in the fuck would you say to buy an AMD though when new Intels are coming out within the month that are even better than current intels which already rape AMD? | ||
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Cyro
United Kingdom20321 Posts
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ZeromuS
Canada13389 Posts
On May 28 2013 10:02 Cyro wrote: ^For general gaming targetting higher graphics settings at often compromised framerates, perhaps. It's an awful choice for sc2 though. The compromise on CPU would cause massive loss of performance and the stronger GPU would add nothing to performance in cases with lots of units, or basically anywhere you would notice performance dropping. And most of the games i do play run at 60+fps on my laptop which cost me 750 a year ago. So I am sure any desktop mid range will blow this out of the water. I think the only game i dont run well is alan wake because of all the lighting that needs to be processed and a GPU can always be upgraded when my monetary situation improves. In the end this desktop will be to replace a broken laptop. Either I can buy another laptop with my gf and it will cost 600 for the unit at least then a service plan for repairs (since laptops always break on me me and her have had 5 in 6 years now thanks to the Service Plans at best buy replacing them). So, in my mind I can spend 800 on a mediocre laptop and let my current computer fall behind in terms of performance with age, or I can invest a similar amount of money into something that is less likely to break and that offers better performance. Over the coming months my finances might get better as well at which point i spend more and go ham  though if i can do retail edge i will definitely spend the savings on an overall better GFX card and also other stuff. Keep in mind im not gonna be a twitch personality as well so this is all personal gaming when im not doing schoolwork | ||
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Cyro
United Kingdom20321 Posts
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MisterFred
United States2033 Posts
On May 28 2013 09:52 Havik_ wrote: While this isn't a bad build, if this is a gaming PC, the budget isn't well allocated. You're spending $210 on a CPU, but ~$150 on a GPU. Seems unbalanced in the wrong direction, you don't want bottlenecking, but for gaming, I don't like this. I say upgrade the GPU to the 7850/7870/660 non Ti or downgrade the CPU to an FX 6350 (inb4 zomfg AMD sucks) and spend the saved money on a 7870. That would give you a pretty well balanced rig and it would be much stronger in gaming. For SC2 purposes, it is absolutely correct to spend more on the CPU than the GPU. And the poster specifically mentioned SC2 as his goal. A 6350 + 7870 would only be stronger in gaming for games that require a good graphics card and not a strong CPU. Which would mean not SC2 - again the only game mentioned by the OP. Edit: And he's also gaming on a 1600x900 screen, so there's another reason to follow SkyR's suggestion and go for a stronger CPU and a mid-range GPU like a 7790 or 650ti. | ||
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Havik_
United States5585 Posts
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ZeromuS
Canada13389 Posts
On May 28 2013 11:42 Havik_ wrote: Fair enough, but tailoring a PC just for one game isn't a good idea most of the time. The majority of games are GPU limited. I'll take the hit in SC2 for better performance in everything else (being a cheap ass gamer myself I actually did this :p). The only really popular CPU bound ones I know of off the top of my head are SC2 and Skyrim, everything else is GPU bound. You can bash AMD all you want, but for low budget builds they're the way to go unless a dual core with hyperthreading is enough for your needs. If this is really a SC2 centered build on a low res monitor, you might as well just save the $80-$100 and get an i3. Do as you please, its your money. Right, but if my primary game is SC2, and I play it 70% of my time playing games, would a better CPU not be worth it and IF I find I become GPU Limited later I can get a GPU that helps me then? It seems like you are kind of ignoring my needs and transposing them with what is "best" for "gaming". I play right now SC2, some LoL, I watch videos and I am playing Resident Evil Revelations, I have bioshock and enjoy XCOM as well. Looking at catching up on assassins creed when I have time but I can play that on medium just fine on this computer as is. I don't need super high amazing ultra graphics. I want something that plays games, lower res is fine, medium quality is cool with me. More than that is bonus. And considering I play more SC2 than any other game I think having an underperforming CPU when I am trying to play the game I put most of my energy into is bad. I dont care if I run bioshock on medium, its the story its cool. If I am trying to micro in a cpu bottleneck where max ling/muta drops me to lower framerates, I have a tough time accepting that. | ||
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Rollin
Australia1552 Posts
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
I'm not sure if Havik_ read the posts thoroughly but it looks like he didn't since I did list options so there was no reason why an AMD FX should have been suggested. If one is so hell bent on getting a $300+ GPU for "gaming" then the SSD could easily be dropped and the $180 used towards the GPU. And $800 is hardly low budget when an OS is not required. | ||
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ZeromuS
Canada13389 Posts
On May 28 2013 13:11 skyR wrote: It's simple. If your main game is Starcraft II then your focus should be on everything else but the GPU since the GPU is one of the easiest components to upgrade. A GTX 650 Ti or 7790 can still play most games on reasonably high settings at 1600x900 and even at 1080p. I'm not sure if Havik_ read the posts thoroughly but it looks like he didn't since I did list options so there was no reason why an AMD FX should have been suggested. If one is so hell bent on getting a $300+ GPU for "gaming" then the SSD could easily be dropped and the $180 used towards the GPU. And $800 is hardly low budget when an OS is not required. I guess you got a point at the 800 thing, I just always see super computers being built all over the place at way over 800 and im lucky enough to have the OS from when windows 7 first came out. I guess i've been tied to a laptop for so long my idea of budget for a computer has become warped | ||
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