Homei need to get a new desktop pc for things like games and video editing. does anyone know of any good computers that are reasonably priced that can handle things like that. or processors or ram recommendations.
i am computer nub help pls
i need a new computer
+2
Pancakes!
king eg
6 posters
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2 Re: i need a new computer 15th February 2014, 5:53 am
Pancakes!
egg wannabee
article that might be helpful- [i'm still a forum n00b and can't post links, look behind the spoiler for a copy/past of it]
Hope that was a useful read for you!
EDIT: (the 8)is supposed to be number 8 but I think it's funny so it is staying)
- Compooter 101:
How to Build an Ultimate Gaming PC
Anyone can buy a customized PC from Dell or HP, and get a good computer. But if you want something special, you need to make it yourself, this will take more time, but being able to say "I MADE this computer" gives a pretty good feeling.
1) Consider your price range. If you want to spend $1000 you're going to have a much different layout than if you're willing to put in $1500 or $2000. Some people have found good hardware for less than $1000.
2) Look into what you plan on using this computer for. Obviously gaming, yes, but what type of gaming, graphics intensive or not, single player or online? These will bring differences to your build.
3) Now you start researching parts. Keeping those things in mind, you have a lot of options. It's a good idea to spend a lot of time looking at different parts, spending a month looking into different parts can make a drastic difference in your computers performance.
4) First big decision: what central processing unit (CPU/processor) line. AMD and Intel both provide great processors, and depending on what you're looking for in terms of price, number of cores, and performance, you may choose different processors. Intel tends to have better dual-core CPUs, while AMD has better valued quad-core CPUs (less expensive, but still good) You could probably find a good AMD Phenom series CPU for a reasonable amount or an Intel Core 2 series CPU for a little more. Also Intel's new Core i7 is good but expensive choice. Remember that higher prices don't necessarily mean better.
5) What do you plan on doing with this CPU? Chances are, your stock heatsink will do reasonably to withstand up to moderate loads. You will want to replace that heatsink when building an ultimate computer, especially if you plan on overclocking. You probably want to look into water cooling for overclocking, but air cooling should be fine otherwise; depending on your other hardware, that is.
6) Now, you're going to need to match things up based on that. Starting with a Motherboard. Your motherboard should be specifically designed to match your CPU, not just socket, but by wattage, and maybe even suggested for that particular line. If you look at Newegg.com (and some other sites), you will find combination suggestions, which can help you decide what parts to put together. High rated motherboard manufacturers include ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, or Foxconn, your research should give you a good idea.
7) Time for a graphics card. You have a couple of options, based on your motherboard choice, the first of which is - single configuration graphics or multi-configuration graphics (nVidia SLI, Radeon Crossfire, etc.). Make sure your motherboard (and other hardware) can handle it. Most of the time, just one more powerful one will suffice, but if you're looking into very intense games like Crysis, spending the extra $100 or $150 will help you increase your FPS (Frames Per Second) a reasonable amount. However, if you look around enough, you should be able to find what you are looking for based on what types of games you plan to play, and price. Also, chipset limitations can determine your graphics configuration; AMD chipsets support nVidia SLI and Radeon CrossfireX, while Nvidia chipsets (nForce) support SLI fully and limited Crossfire.
RAM time. GBs don't mean everything, in fact, for 32bit Windows OS's, there is a maximum of 3 GBs that is being read. You can step up to 64bit (theoretical up to 16 Exabytes), but for less than 4GB it will not give a real advantage, and it might take more system resources. First thing to consider, you are probably going to want to start with 2GB (usually, 2GB (2x1GB) is ideal but 4GB (2x2GB))), and then you can upgrade later, if your system will allow it. The next thing to look at is compatibility, DDR2 or DDR3? 800MHz or 1066MHz? Your motherboard will be able to provide this compatibility information, then you make the call based on price and CAS latency (lower is better).
9) Let's look storage, as in Hard Drives. There's a number of options here, the first of which is a big one. 15000RPM, 10000RPM, or 7200RPM? Most people go with 7200RPM and more storage, but if you are looking for optimal performance regardless of other setbacks, you can buy an SSD (Solid State Drive), but they are pretty expensive. Next, how much storage? This is mostly a 'how much do I need, how much am I willing to pay?' issue. Some people find that 250GB is enough, 500GB is ideal, enthusiasts and extreme gamers use a 10000 RPM as the boot drive and a couple 7200 RPM TBs for games and media. For the most part, Cache and Interface speed are negligble, but higher cache could provide higher speed, and higher interface speed could do the same.
10) Based on your decisions so far, you'll need to make a decision on a case. Case size is the most relevant aspect, as getting a case that's too small will be problematic. After you determine what you need, it's mostly aesthetic. Don't expect to use the power supply the case comes with, they're generally not great quality, and usually will not have enough power for higher end computers.
11) Power supply (PSU) time. Based on the choices above, your power usage will vary, but expect at least 500W for a lower-end gaming computer, and 750W+ for a top notch computer or overclocked computer. Doubling up on PSU's is not usually a good idea unless you have two separate systems running inside your computer. If you have a -sometimes- overclocked computer, and have a higher end cooling system (for liquid only, really) that you want to turn on or off, you could have 2 PSUs. Not recommended.
12) Want a CD Drive? Consider what you will use it for, burning CDs/DVDs? No DVD compatibility necessary? Need Blu-ray? Based on those choices you will want to make a choice. A standard DVD Burner should fit most people's needs, but Blu-ray may be worth the extra money. However, they cost a lot!
13) Sound system? For most computers, the sound system (speakers/headphones) determine quality, but if you want to step up your system, look into an internal sound card. Digital audio (optical/coaxial) or analog (3.5mm standard for most PCs), 24 bit (HD) or 16 bit (SD)? "AC97" audio is usually what you will find in many PCs, but some motherboards have started to include HD Audio, therefore eliminating the need for an external sound card. You can find a good Creative X-fi or something for a reasonable amount. You may want to look into this as an upgrade you do later, after testing your onboard sound card. Also, don't expect free/cheap headphones to be a good judge of whether your sound card made any difference on your sound output.
14) Look at what you have so far. Based on those components, you will need to decide on a cooling system. For most (even customized) computers, air cooling will be sufficient, even if it means having 3 or 4 case fans. Most computers will not require liquid cooling unless there is high overclocking or a system costing over $1200. Liquid cooling is fairly expensive ($200 for a basic system), but if your computer runs too hot, it may be necessary.
15) You just customized a computer, congrats. Now let's look at accessories.
16) Display. Most people are okay with one monitor, but decide if you want widescreen or not (for gaming, widescreen is best (better field of view means you can see more of the battlefield)). Then, look at your graphics card, what is the max/recommended resolution? What resolution do you want to run at? You should be able to find a monitor with sufficient resolution that you can run web browsers only in large, comfortable settings, but that will support and run well under lower settings for games. For most visual pleasure, look into HD monitors that support 1080p.
17) Sound. We already covered the sound card, but for headphones and speakers, there are a number of options (5.1 configuration or 2.1). For the top of the top, there's pretty much anything Bose. Creative has a number of good options through various price ranges. Logitech has good higher level gear, as well. Do not look into big names like those 3, unless you want to spend at least $50, their products below that point are much lower quality. For gaming headsets, look toward Creative, Logitech, and Razer (in order by price, quality, performance).
18) Keyboard. You will have a lot of options here, as well. Logitech provides great options between $40 and $100. Razer provides good options for above that price range. Consider that, when gaming, you may want keyboards with functions keys (Logitech G13 or G15, for example) with sound or programmable keys.
19) Mouse. Microsoft, Logitech, Razer (in order by price, quality, performance) are the top options for anything above $30. Optical tracking or laser? Primitive "ball" mouses are one of the worst ideas for fragging your buddies effectively. The Logitech MX518 (optical) or G9 (laser) would be best.
20) Also look into a power strip that has a power surge suppression feature. This ensures that if there is a power outage or a lightning strike or something else, that your computer will not be fried (if it doesn't get hit by the lightning itself..).
21) For actually building, you may want an anti-static wrist band. This will help protect your new, expensive pieces from receiving a shock from your touch, which may break the piece.
Hope that was a useful read for you!
EDIT: (the 8)is supposed to be number 8 but I think it's funny so it is staying)
3 Re: i need a new computer 15th February 2014, 6:58 am
1123Fibonacci
egg wannabee
I'm building a gaming PC and these are the parts I am going to be getting:
-Intel i7 4770k (3.5Ghz) CPU
-NVIDIA Geforce GTX 760 GPU
-Corsair Vengeance (8GB) RAM
-Asus z87-plus Motherboard
-Antec Three Hundred Black Computer case
-WesternDigital Blue HDD
-Asus 24x DVD-RW Drive
-Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Operating System
I don't have the list with my PSU but i will let you know when i have it. Hope this is useful!
-Intel i7 4770k (3.5Ghz) CPU
-NVIDIA Geforce GTX 760 GPU
-Corsair Vengeance (8GB) RAM
-Asus z87-plus Motherboard
-Antec Three Hundred Black Computer case
-WesternDigital Blue HDD
-Asus 24x DVD-RW Drive
-Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Operating System
I don't have the list with my PSU but i will let you know when i have it. Hope this is useful!
4 Re: i need a new computer 15th February 2014, 8:51 pm
king eg
egg wannabee
ohhh thank you both :eggvan:
very helpful!
i will have to read over that a few times then eventually put together a parts list. i will post it here once i get everything together!
:eggvan: very helpful!
i will have to read over that a few times then eventually put together a parts list. i will post it here once i get everything together!
5 Re: i need a new computer 17th February 2014, 9:01 am
king eg
egg wannabee
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2UEBd
After doing some looking around I came up with this.This may or may not be very similar to your build 
I did the same thing you did basically expect with a Corsair 200r case and a 500w PSU.
Do you think it would be a good idea to have wifi built in the mobo or would it be smarter to have a pci or usb card for wireless?
After doing some looking around I came up with this.
I did the same thing you did basically expect with a Corsair 200r case and a 500w PSU.
Do you think it would be a good idea to have wifi built in the mobo or would it be smarter to have a pci or usb card for wireless?
6 Re: i need a new computer 17th February 2014, 9:02 am
MarieSmiles
spaghetti sous-chef
i think you're a NERD -runs-
7 Re: i need a new computer 18th February 2014, 7:10 am
king eg
egg wannabee
MarieSmiles wrote:i think you're a NERD -runs-
well i think you're a SUPER NERD
8 Re: i need a new computer 21st February 2014, 2:41 am
Pancakes!
egg wannabee
For wifi I'd go with whichever option ends up being cheapest... all of them should work about the same.
9 Re: i need a new computer 22nd February 2014, 8:11 am
king eg
egg wannabee
Here is an updated parts list!
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XJvX
Do you think this is a pretty good build?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XJvX
Do you think this is a pretty good build?
10 Re: i need a new computer 24th February 2014, 11:53 pm
SGLRSM
egg wannabee
king eg wrote:Here is an updated parts list!
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XJvX
Do you think this is a pretty good build?
Mr Eg,
CPU - The "k" type processors are really for overclocking, so if you plan on doing some to the unit then it'll warrant the price, otherwise just stick to a non K 4670, you'll save about $20
MOBO - top egg choice!
RAM - top egg choice! may want more? Do you do anything media intensive/streaming/photo-chopping
SSD - get a Samsung Pro series just because they're a little quicker on boot (also because I work for Samsung!) You'll also have to forward your steam cache to the WD drive because 128gb - OS leaves you with about 105GB to play with depending on what modifications you have to OS (assuming 64bit)
HDD - top egg choice!
VID - top egg choice!
CASE+PSU - top egg choice! The vid card takes about 201W at peak and only having 2 hard drives is more than fine for that whole unit. You could even consider going 400W if you wanted.
OD - top egg choice!
OS - top egg choice!
MONITOR - you may want to bump up to 24" or 27" just because of the standardisation of sizes. It makes it much easier for dual screening in the future
Absent: (but I presume they'll come from your existing PC)
Keyboard
Mouse
Speakers
Headphones
11 Re: i need a new computer 26th February 2014, 2:18 am
king eg
egg wannabee
SGLRSM wrote:king eg wrote:Here is an updated parts list!
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2XJvX
Do you think this is a pretty good build?
Mr Eg,
CPU - The "k" type processors are really for overclocking, so if you plan on doing some to the unit then it'll warrant the price, otherwise just stick to a non K 4670, you'll save about $20
MOBO - top egg choice!
RAM - top egg choice! may want more? Do you do anything media intensive/streaming/photo-chopping
SSD - get a Samsung Pro series just because they're a little quicker on boot (also because I work for Samsung!) You'll also have to forward your steam cache to the WD drive because 128gb - OS leaves you with about 105GB to play with depending on what modifications you have to OS (assuming 64bit)
HDD - top egg choice!
VID - top egg choice!
CASE+PSU - top egg choice! The vid card takes about 201W at peak and only having 2 hard drives is more than fine for that whole unit. You could even consider going 400W if you wanted.
OD - top egg choice!
OS - top egg choice!
MONITOR - you may want to bump up to 24" or 27" just because of the standardisation of sizes. It makes it much easier for dual screening in the future
Absent: (but I presume they'll come from your existing PC)
Keyboard
Mouse
Speakers
Headphones
mr chris,
thank you!
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2ZIJu
i changed the all the things you said.
i will be doing a lot of video editing, so you recommend 16gb of ram then?yeah, i have a wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as a monitor and speakers right now.
12 Re: i need a new computer 26th February 2014, 2:21 am
SGLRSM
egg wannabee
Yeah I'd recommend the 16GB if you're doing all that now. It'll make the compile and render a lot faster if you force allocate the memory.
Just make sure you get a "pair/set" and not just 2x individual sticks
Just make sure you get a "pair/set" and not just 2x individual sticks
13 Re: i need a new computer 26th February 2014, 3:57 am
king eg
egg wannabee
SGLRSM wrote:Yeah I'd recommend the 16GB if you're doing all that now. It'll make the compile and render a lot faster if you force allocate the memory.
Just make sure you get a "pair/set" and not just 2x individual sticks
Ok sweet i'll probably go with that then. Yeah the set I have selected is a pair of two 8gb sticks.
14 Re: i need a new computer 27th February 2014, 4:41 pm
SkyKeepsFalling
egg wannabee
I like how many people we have with computer or tech know how or can easily find experts on the subjects
15 Re: i need a new computer 6th March 2014, 5:45 am
king eg
egg wannabee
SkyKeepsFalling wrote:I like how many people we have with computer or tech know how or can easily find experts on the subjects
its very helpful for people like me who don't know too much about computers
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