Thinking of getting a desktop / PC.

[orangeweaver]

Any suggestions? I'm a little bit of a computer noob. I used PCs in the past, played mainly on my PC but when I went to college ended up getting a macbook... I'm thinking of getting another desktop, something mid-range.

I don't really want to build anything, it doesn't need to be fancy but something that can run most games with good FPS. Graphics aren't all that important to me as long as I am getting decent frames.

I know this is super broad but I'd appreciate any help narrowing down some machines in a mid-range hardware / price if possible.

Thanks :D

[Ultionis]

Hunting for hardware is always a lot of fun, but there's a lot of variables to consider and as you said, this is very broad and vague :P

Usually I'll just take a look at my budget and see which supplier can get me the best hardware for the lowest price. Also when buying a pre-built pc you always end up being cheated one way or another, at least in my experience.

Not too sure what mid range is anymore, perhaps I3 and I5 processors? AMD Phenom II Dual Core? Regarding a graphics card, it's mostly dependent on your monitor's native resolution (if you're still working on a 19" CRT monitor with 1280x1024 resolution like I am you can get away with something dirt cheap). Of course we could throw terms like GeForce 460GT around, but one also has to note that the Asus model differs a lot from the MSI variant.

Either way I think you're better off talking to people who know suppliers in your area, as that's what it usually comes down to :)

[Nielmor]

For a mid range computer computer I would look at the intel i5 to a low end i7, as I don't know what your budget/currency you have I can't help you too much.

You will need to look at how long you want to keep it for, if it's for the long term I would recommend a mac partially because that's what you have been using so it's the system you know how to use, as for a windows PC it can be a bastard to work with but gives you the most compatability with programs just the biggest killer of the system is the registry (the way MS deal with licensing and user/program permissions) it lists literally everything (even deleting a file makes an entry) and the longer it gets the slower the computer is but if you only plan to keep the computer for 18 to 24 months this won't worry you too much.

Yes there are ways to "clean" the registry to make your computer run fast again but unless you know what you are doing I wouldn't go there.

[StormBeforeDawn]

i5, 8 gigs of ram and the best graphics card you have a budget for. i3's are really junk and an i7 is overkill for most applications. A 560 ti is a decent card for the money, but others will have plenty of opinions on that mater.

Buying the computer prebuilt from best buy or the like will cost ~30% more then building it yourself, and they like to use crappy Chinese parts, especially in their powersupplies. However, if you are not comfortable building it yourself that is understandable.

[Nielmor]

i5, 8 gigs of ram and the best graphics card you have a budget for. i3's are really junk and an i7 is overkill for most applications.

For most personal use anything over 4 gigs of ram is also overkill, even though ram is cheap.

[Poppycocks]

it lists literally everything (even deleting a file makes an entry)

That's quite a wild claim, can you back it?

AMD's are pretty much out of breath and there's no sign of a new AMD flagship on the horizon. So I'd go with an intel, i5s come in very decent price ranges and I'm sure you'll be able to take a pick. I'd suggest one of the ivy bridge ones.

Other than that, I can only re-iterate what's been said already: pre-built PC's tend to be cheated, not enough RAM, small/slow disk, low end MoBo, weak power supply, tiny little things which mean in the end that you'll be either returning the piece'a'crap for repairs or refitting with better stuff quite soon. Building your own is quite easy, and really only requires basic common sense, as there's a manual for every piece of equipment and everything's made so that you can't stick it in the wrong way. You also get individual guarantees for every piece of equipment, which means you can do small alternations and repairs yourself. Like adding more RAM or a new DISK. 5 second jobs for which you have to bring the pc into service to do it for you. (which means a nice drive, a nice wait, and a lot of extra dosh for nothing, it's like calling the electrician to change your light-bulbs ffs)

Just make sure that you can read. Like that one little sign on the cover of the core socket saying "Don't touch", there's an important message right there.

I've built my own pc (yet again) recently, I can tell you which components I bought - if you want.

For most personal use anything over 4 gigs of ram is also overkill, even though ram is cheap.

Dude, minecraft alone takes up 5 gigs no problem.

[Urian]

I'd also definitely go with an intel CPU over an AMD. I'd also not disregard i7, while it's true that an i5 is enough for pretty much every thing at the moment you want to plan somewhat for the future as well and considering that a lot of games relies on the CPU more than the GPU it won't hurt to have an i7. If you know your way around computers to some degree, you might want to get an itel cpu ending with "k" (e.g. i7-2600k) since that means it's unlocked and well suited for overclocking. If you want to overclock though, make sure that you get a mother board that also supports it.

For the video card I'd say go with nVidia. It's mainly based on personal preference but I've heard more problem stories from people using ATIs than I've heard from people using nVidia. Getting the best you can afford isn't a bad idea but some of the newest top cards are probably not really worth the premium price for the often small improvement over the slightly cheaper models. I'd say check some review sites (e.g. Tom's Hardware) for benchmarking results for the kind of games you're interested in and then decide if you think it's worth it. If you're interested in Crossfire/SLI, it is often a way to get better performance with 2 cheaper cards than one more expensive one but games support SLI/crossfire to varying extents so while you might do extremely well in one game you might have severe framerate issues in another at higher settings.

Ram. Your OS version plays a role since various versions have different limits on the limits for physical memory. I'd say the more the merrier but it really depends on what you plan on doing. Ram is quite cheap and also one of the easiest things to replace and/or add to but you might want to get a decent amount from the get to. Just how much you need depends on what you do, if you plan on doing things like video rendering and image editing then a large amount of ram is definitely a huge benefit. If you only plan on play games then you still will do well with getting a decent amount. It's another thing that games tend to eat up more and more of as the time goes so if you go for a small amount now you'll want to upgrade it later on but on the other hand you will probably do fine with a smaller amount for now. I'd say get 8Gb or 16Gb but it's the least important of the components here.

Make sure you get a good and stable power unit. I'm unfortunately out of the loop on what are good PSUs these days but it's one of the most often overlooked components and it can mess up your system if you have a low quality one.

[orangeweaver]

Thanks for all the information everyone. This is something I'll likely put some money away each paycheck and be getting more in the winter time but I didn't think it would hurt to have a more legit plan / goal.

@Poppycocks, I would be interested in a part list and price point if you wouldn't mind? My main hesitation with building is that a) I have not done it before and am pretty out of the loop with parts than I used to be.

@Urian, thanks for that breakdown of different components and priority. That will be pretty helpful for me I think.

Sounds like everyone is a definite no on pre-built. Something I'll have to think about because I really don't want to build something and botch it.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Urian]

You're welcome!

although

Sounds like everyone is a definite no on pre-built. Something I'll have to think about because I really don't want to build something and botch it.

Not at all. My current computer is a pre-built actually (first time since I was about 11) :) It's just that you get a better computer with a greater degree of customization if you build it yourself for the same price as a pre-built one. Of course, there are pre-builts and there are pre-builts. I wouldn't recommend e.g. alienware or some other big name one. The one I use is a pre-built by a start up company sponsored by a local store (still the largest computer store in Finland though) that is aimed at gamers and their "charge" for putting it together and installing everything was only 100€ (which includes free support for 2 years). You can get a good pre-built but it will always cost you more and you'll often not be able to find one with exactly the component versions by the manufacturers that you want.

[Battosay]

Well, pre-built will cost you up to 150% more, but you'll get a better waranty, and, well, it's easier if you're not familiar with computers :)
For my home computer, I went the "build it yourself" way, and saved around one thousand euroq.
For my laptop, I took a built-in, this Asus : http://fr.asus.com/Notebooks/Gaming_Powerhouse/G53SX/
With a few options : More HDD for storage, more RAM and a better graphic card (namely the nvidia GeForce 460GT), and in the end it cost me as much as the computer I made myself ;)

[redrew89]

Agreement with everything stated above. However, there is also a slightly more interesting tactic:

Find yourself a fairly-cheap used PC, as long as it isn't horribly out-dated. If gaming is your primary consideration, bear in mind that, since the early 2000s a majority of PC games are primarily designed for consoles. As the current generation of consoles can do comparatively little compared to today's top-of-the-line PC, a computer from as far as 4 years ago will still fare pretty well, if you know how to squeeze the most out of it. More often than not, all you will need to do is upgrade the RAM, add a video card, and maybe a slightly more reliable PSU. Install a fresh copy of your OS of choice, and you have a fairly competant PC.

However, if you really want to be future-proof, many online retailers have very good bargains for bundled components. TigerDirect has a number of builds that range from 299 to 599, depending on the components (with rebates, mind you). You still have to assemble the PC by hand, but you will be reasonably assured that the components are all compatable. Newegg also has many good combo deals.

[orangeweaver]

@Battosay: Do you game on your laptop? One of the reasons why I am considering a desktop now is my mac laptop starts sounding like a jet engine ... sometimes even w/ minecraft. I would be really concerned with a laptop running something like BF3. I have other reasons for a desktop but I'm a bit curious.

@Redrew: Yeah I've been looking at Newegg as I remembered them when I used to own a PC, never heard of TigerDirect. The used computer idea w/ upgrades to RAM and graphics card is intriguing. Sounds like I will need to hit up some local spots to get a more clear idea of pricing.

@Everyone. Thanks for all the replies and help. BTW community is awesome!

[StormBeforeDawn]

@Battosay: Do you game on your laptop? One of the reasons why I am considering a desktop now is my mac laptop starts sounding like a jet engine ... sometimes even w/ minecraft. I would be really concerned with a laptop running something like BF3. I have other reasons for a desktop but I'm a bit curious.

@Redrew: Yeah I've been looking at Newegg as I remembered them when I used to own a PC, never heard of TigerDirect. The used computer idea w/ upgrades to RAM and graphics card is intriguing. Sounds like I will need to hit up some local spots to get a more clear idea of pricing.

@Everyone. Thanks for all the replies and help. BTW community is awesome!

Some of these were not aimed at me, but I think I have some valid advice. You can game on a laptop, and easily too. It just costs a whole lot more, is louder and has heat issues. A $1000 PC will blow away a $1500 laptop from my experience. I have a friend who plays BF3 on a i7 based laptop. He gets crappy framerates and complains of lag (his bullets don't always seem to hit)

Avoid Tiger Direct if you can, their customer support sucks and you can get burned on their warranties. Local shops can be hit or miss, but you can save a TON of cash with them as well depending on what they stock.

[Poppycocks]

MoBo: ASUS P8Z77-V LX
Good for clocking, good OOTB capabilities; including SATA3; PCIe 16x; USB3 etc-, fancy bios, good reviews. Few consumer complaints considering it's an ASUS.
$110

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K
Suitable for clocking, full four cores, 22nm ivy bridge. Good core.
$230

RAM: Corsair 16GB KIT(2x8) DDR3
Corsairs, nuff said. They even come with their own fucking passive cooling. 16GB IS a tad too much, but you won't see me complain. Heck, I might eventually upgrade to 32 - just because.
$105

Graphics: GIGABYTE N550D5-1GI
Was going for the low price with this one to be honest, but it does comparably well in benchmarks. Great cost efficiency. What I didn't expect from this buy is the massive 10cm fan, which is as silent as a ninja. Haven't checked yet, but I think I'll be able to SLI it later.
$120

PSU: ZM500-GS 500W
Zalman is a great brand and this PSU is really good, honestly, the voltages are scarily on-mark, even on high loads. If the CPU is the brain, then a PSU is the heart, and you want a good heart. What I once again didn't expect is that for some reason this PSU is once again incredibly silent, sometimes I don't even know that my pc is running.
$55

Disk: WDC WD5000aakx
500GB, 7200rpm, SATA3 6GB/s. Bought this some time ago. Caviar disks never failed me, all other did. That is all.
$65

DVD is old, so's the case (I really love my case, fancy, black, well designed, functional - has even got a detachable drive rack)

$685, not bad.

[StormBeforeDawn]

I would go with a corsair PSU (same wattage), and a faster graphics card personally, but Poppy's take on most everything is spot on. Like he says, get Corsair ram. Ram is the single most prone to failure item in a PC and no one beats Corsair's customer service, they send you the replacement parts promptly and without hassle if they are ever needed. 16 gigs might be overkill, but it's what I have as well, and I have managed to max it while running multiple MC instances at once.

You would still need a case, keyboard+mouse, and monitor and that will run you ~$75, $60 and ~$200 usd.

Under $1000 is easy to pull and with the right tweaks $800 PCs can be good as well.