The 'Build Me A PC' Thread

[Trippy]

If your wife doesn't game then that would be fine. The 750 is slower than the Ti but not by much for something like BF4:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7764/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-and-gtx-750-review-maxwell/14

[Cyrrex]

lol, was just going to post that link. 

It'll run those older games just fine at medium to high settings.  Nothing spectacular, but decent enough.  Also, it is much smaller, draws very little power and I don't think it even needs and extra power connector.  I doubt you can find something in the price range that is much better.

[Azazel]

Thanks heaps guys, - yeah she games casually, but prefers the consoles (PC is fine for her with Torchlight/D3/WoW kinda stuff, but she's not so much into KB+M FPS, etc.

Looks like this one then - the MSI I linked earlier is out of stock.
http://www.centrecom.com.au/galaxy-geforce-gtx-750-2gb-gddr5-oc-slim-pcie-30

Galaxy? Or should I spring the extra 5 bucks for the Gigabyte?
http://www.centrecom.com.au/gigabyte-gtx-750-oc-2gb-gddr5-graphics-card

[Trippy]

I would go with the Gigabyte. The cooling system looks a bit more robust.

[Venkman]

Good-enough laptop for Minecraft and school work under $550? Does such exist? Been poking around, nothing's jumping out at me. I'd consider refurbished if reputable. It's for the kids because we'd rather have them have a laptop they can use in the living room than another desktop I'd need to build and place elsewhere. I'm such a fascist 

[Trippy]

What size?

[Venkman]

15-16" screen size is fine, maybe smaller if horsepower is sufficient.

[Salamok]

Closest I can see with the current Dell outlet coupons is an XPS 13 Ultrabook™ - 9333:

Certified Refurbished
Windows 8.1
Intel® Core i5 - 4th Gen - 2700
Intel® Core 4th Generation i5-4210U processor
8GB Memory
128 HDD Size
13.3 inch LED Backlit Touch Display with Truelife and FHD resolution (1920 x 1080)
Intel® HD Graphics
Intel® Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth 4.0
6-Cell Battery

Coupon code: FRTVVS397MQK96 should get it under $700 all the other current coupon codes are for 11" Inspiron laptops.

[Trippy]

15-16" screen size is fine, maybe smaller if horsepower is sufficient.

For a non-refurb it looks like at the $500 price point the CPU of choice is the Intel i3-4005U. Dell, HP and others have models without dedicated GPUs that use that CPU like these:

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=cal153w8112&model_id=latitude-3540-laptop&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04

http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/WFS/WW-USSMBPublicStore-Site/en_US/-/USD/ViewProductDetail-Start?ProductUUID=yLQQ7EN59c0AAAFHvh5lUSSA&CatalogCategoryID=imsQ7hacjN0AAAFD2pxylsX0&JumpTo=OfferList

Minecraft is not particularly GPU intensive but you would need to do some research to find out good the Intel HD Graphics 4400 integrated GPU is with that game.

Another option is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Aspire-E5-411G-P717-14-Inch-Laptop/dp/B00NNQF3DC

It has an NVIDIA 820M dedicated GPU which will have better GPU performance than the 4400 (roughly 2x). The Intel Pentium N3540 Quad-Core 2.16 GHz CPU, however, is not as good as the i3-4005U:

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-N3540-vs-Intel-Core-i3-4005U

[Venkman]

This is great, thanks guys. I'll dig into those links. I also like Salamok's Dell option. A bit more than I want to spend, but at that spec, there's some room to grow if they move onto something like Project Spark. I haven't however messed around with it enough to see how much of what type of hog it is.

[Bunk]

Thinking about upgrading my GTX 645 to a GTX 760 this weekend with all the sales. Benchmarks indicate about twice the score. Any opinions on if that card will be enough to keep me happy for a while? Budget is really in the $200 or less range right now.

[CmdrSlack]

So we need a second PC/Windows machine.

I was hoping for a Chromebook, but I don't know if it'll do everything I need. I've seen some good refurb laptop deals on Woot, but I'm possibly hoping for something like the Surface Pro 3.

What I need:

1. Portable
2. Small/thin
3. Runs Office or at least allows me to work on Office-type docs that are compatible with Office.
4. Will run Minecraft
5. Can play nice with my firm's Exchange server, etc.
6. Will allow me to connect to my cloud-based desktop at work (I currently use the native connection bits in Windows). Stupposedly it we have the same info and shit for the Mac and the Chromebook. I remain dubious.

Uses:

1. Work stuff when I have a long day in court with downtime between court calls.
2. Minecraft on the network so that the kid and I can play multiplayer
3. Kid school stuff, which includes working on Google Docs and also with MS Office stuff.

I am not particular about brands, etc. Price is my main issue. I'm seeing the Surface Pro 3 as cheap as $800. I've also seen Chromebook and refurb laptops on Woot for like 200-300 bucks. I kind of like the idea of touchscreen + kb + pen or whatever.

Please to provide advice. Or links to other, relevant parts of this hugeass thread.

[Chimpy]

You can possibly get the ASUS Zenbook Ultrabooks for around the price of a Surface Pro 3 (which you still need keyboard cover etc for). I have one for work and it works fine for doing work type stuff (I do a lot of remote desktop on it). The one I have is a touchscreen model (though the guy who builds the machines put Win7 on it before he gave it to me so the touch is basically more of a hassle than a use in my case).

It also is capable of running games at about the same level as my desktop at home (which, granted, is several years old in its newest components).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3FA23C8170 looks like the same model I have.

Battery lasts a long time (I was working on it doing web based labs over wifi for 8 hours straight during training at my conference in Vegas and it was still at like 30% charge at the end of the day), it comes with a USB Ethernet dongle, and it takes up less space in my bag than my simple leather folio/notepad.

[JRave]

Thinking about upgrading my GTX 645 to a GTX 760 this weekend with all the sales. Benchmarks indicate about twice the score. Any opinions on if that card will be enough to keep me happy for a while? Budget is really in the $200 or less range right now.

Make sure your PSU can support the 760, both in total wattage and with power connectors.  If the machine is a pre-built like a Dell, then you might be restricted to the 750.  The 750(ti) should not require an extra power connection, although it seems most have them for some reason.

[Rendakor]

I'm thinking about a new video card this weekend too; currently using a GTX 560 Ti. I'm debating between this GTX 760 or the $60 cheaper 750 Ti.

[Bunk]

Power supply is a good point, looks like I'd have to upgrade that as well. Have to check my budget I guess.

[Cyrrex]

For a 200 dollar budget, a 760 sounds like a good upgrade.  Way faster than a 645.

I'm thinking about a new video card this weekend too; currently using a GTX 560 Ti. I'm debating between this GTX 760 or the $60 cheaper 750 Ti.

I'm not sure a 750 would actually be much of an upgrade over a 560.  Probably quieter and less power consumption, but for the money I think you'd end up disappointed.  760, otoh, sure.

Depends on your budget though.  Always the budget.

[Rendakor]

I'll go with the 760 then, thanks.

[Chimpy]

Slack, just saw this on the ArsTechnica daily deal article:

Lenovo U430 4th-gen Core i5 14" 1600x900 Touch Ultrabook for $649 with free shipping (list price $1,049.99 - use coupon code: BFRIDAY98).

[CmdrSlack]

I am very tempted to get an HP Stream 13 from the MS store. It's super-cheap, has decent reviews, and does what I need. No touchscreen, but oh well.

Also, if my kid destroys it, it's not as tragic of a replacement cost.

The more expensive machines are obviously more attractive in general, but the Stream may get the job done, which is all that I really need.

[Salamok]

Dell usually has it's 12 days of deals around the 2nd week in December, might be some good stuff.  They also have a core i3 based convertable table coming up tomorrow: http://deals.dell.com/productdetail/dnbfh5501hu

Then there is always the huge glut of stuff (and deals to go with) as the Christmas returns roll into the Dell outlet late January early February.

[Trippy]

I spent the day upgrading my gaming PC including switching my GPU from a GTX 670 to a GTX 970 and I took some benchmarks before and after the switch. I wasn't particularly rigorous in how I benchmarked things so the numbers may or may not be "stable". All benchmarks were run at 1920x1080 with maxed settings, DX11 where applicable, VSync turned off. Benchmark numbers are listed as avg FPS, min FPS, max FPS unless otherwise noted

My system:

Intel i5-3570K (not currently OC'd)
ASUS Maximus V Gene (Z77 chipset)
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 16 GB RAM
Gigabyte GTX 670 GV-N670OC-2GD (default OC of 1058 MHz)
Gigabyte GTX 970 GV-N970G1 GAMING-4GD (default OC of 1178 MHz)


Non-game benchmarks:

3DMark Fire Strike combined test (score, avg FPS)
GTX 670: 6002, 12.34
GTX 970: 9299, 20.24

Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0
GTX 670: 34.0, 20.4, 77.8
GTX 970: 54.3, 27.6, 117.9

Unigine Valley Benchmark 1.0
GTX 670: 42.1, 22.9, 76.8
GTX 970: 56.3, 29.0, 107.7


Game benchmarks:

Batman: Arkham City
GTX 670: 98, 55, 137
GTX 970: 96, 43, 157

BioShock Infinite - Welcome Center
GTX 670: 67.85, 36.27, 112.21
GTX 970: 94.78, 43.89, 188.08

BioShock Infinite - Town Center
GTX 670: 75.42, 34.96, 87.87
GTX 970: 110.33, 39.89, 133.43

Final Fantasy XIV: A Real Reborn Official Benchmark (score, avg FPS)
GTX 670: 12333, 112.356
GTX 970: 16357, 151.910

Shogun 2 (avg FPS)
GTX 670: 80.55
GTX 970: 71.93

Sleepy Dogs
GTX 670: 47.1, 28.7, 64.0
GTX 970: 71.6, 41.7, 105.1

Tomb Raider (2013)
GTX 670: 54.6, 39.5, 76.0
GTX 970: 58.4, 42.7, 76.0


So basically there's a modest improvement in frame rates in some games, basically no improvement in two others (probably CPU-bound at 1080p) and one game that's actually slower*. Not that surprising considering the specs on the GTX 970 are only modestly better than the GTX 670 and the Maxwell architecture (GTX 970) is more about power efficiency than performance improvements compared to Kepler (GTX 670). If I ran at a higher resolution I'd likely see a bigger increase in performance. I'm still waiting for a good 60 HZ 4K solution before switching from 1080p, though.

* Nice going there The Creative Assembly Okay it's probably a driver issue but still...

[Sky]

I'm wicked cpu bound now (i5 2500k @ 4GHz, 1080p). But the 970 was a really nice bump up from the 460 SLIs. And as you say, dramatic drop in power draw (and the accompanying noise).

I really like 1080p, 4k would require games with UI scaling and you know how on the ball UI devs are. Even 1080p on the 65" set was a bit small; it's just about perfect on the 73" set.

[Fordel]

I want to get my dad a new desktop but I don't fucking know anymore what anything means. It wouldn't be a gaming machine, outside of maybe my nephew and niece playing some kind of silly web/flash game or maybe minecraft.

All he uses it for would be:

-Skype'ing the relatives
-Listening to music
-Watching youtube videos
-Email, General browsing etc
-Taxes
-Occasional Office stuff
-Trying to make copies of movies we already own
-Filling the computer with toolbars and ad/spyware
-Printing out pictures of the grandkids


Other then the never ending attempts to decrypt and burn movies, it's all really basic every day stuff. I haven't even looked at PC specs for nearly five years though, and I don't know what the shit is shit. Are Celerons still shit, or would that do? You can't buy office anymore, it's a sub service? Is there a replacement office that isn't horseshit? What the hell does windows 8.1 WITH BING mean? I assume it would work fine with on board video, or do I need some kind of video card? Is there anything where I should just wait a few months because <thing> is on the horizon that will make life better?

What is <good enough> going to run me? I'm hoping for under $500 if possible while not being worthless. We already have a monitor and all the keyboards and mice and whatnot. There's at least like 1-2 TB's of perfectly serviceable HD's on his current machine that could be brought over to this theoretical new one. Side bonus if it can one day take a video card and actually play some games half-decent, not remotely a requirement though.

Are there pre-built machines for that (500 under) price range, or am I looking at a parts list instead? I know dollar for doughnut that you'll get more out of a parts list you assemble yourself, but I would really really like some kind of already assembled thing. Some kind of idiot-proof box ready to go.


-edit-

Like say this : http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229616  What's the catch? It even has some kind of video card.
 
-edit 2- or this: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227597

-edit 3- maybe this thing: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220744

[Chimpy]

Win 8.1 with Bing is a lower priced SKU (for the vendors) that the default search engine from the factory has to be Bing. You can still change it to whatever you want and the features are the same as 8.1 otherwise.

[Lantyssa]

Celerons are still shit.

Any one of those would likely be suitable for years to come.  You could get away with a lesser system and be just fine, really.

Of those I prefer the Intel system just because of my own personal biases.

[MahrinSkel]

Fordel: I just picked out an Alienware Alpha for my youngest to get for Christmas. In spite of years putting down Alienware as overpriced shiny crap, the Alpha's are actually pretty decent deals. It would be hard to homebrew something lunchbox sized with equivalent specs for much less ($495),

If you want something cheap but still decent, it's not a bad deal for someone who will never want to mess with piecemeal upgrades.

--Dave

Edit: This is the model I got, it was $495 at the time I ordered. I'll pair it with a little Logitech keyboard/touchpad for my daughter.

http://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/alienware-alpha/dkcwa01

[Trippy]

I want to get my dad a new desktop but I don't fucking know anymore what anything means. It wouldn't be a gaming machine, outside of maybe my nephew and niece playing some kind of silly web/flash game or maybe minecraft.

All he uses it for would be:

-Skype'ing the relatives
-Listening to music
-Watching youtube videos
-Email, General browsing etc
-Taxes
-Occasional Office stuff
-Trying to make copies of movies we already own
-Filling the computer with toolbars and ad/spyware
-Printing out pictures of the grandkids

Is there a reason why you just don't get him a Dell?

[Engels]

Seriously, get a modest Dell, probably a simple Dimension All-In-One like this and then get him a good extended warranty that will make sure that if anything wonky happens you aren't on the hook for it.

[Sky]

Celerons are still shit.

Come on, the 300A was awesome.

[MahrinSkel]

Celerons are still shit.

Come on, the 300A was awesome.

Ahh, the good old days, with a dual-socket mobo running two 300A's clocked up to 400, in an open frame because the cover made it too hard to cool.

Had to play with headphones because the fans sounded like a jet engine spinning up every time I launched a game.

--Dave

[Fordel]

There is no reason to not get him a dell if I can find one in the same rough price range. I was just browsing newegg at the time of that post while being confused. My father is fully capable of fiddling with the innards of a computer, which is part of the problem really. He thinks he's roughly 10x more tech savvy then he actually is. His current machine is roughly 10-15 years old, a random assortment of parts and jury rigging. At one point he shoved something like nine hard drives into a small-medium sized tower. Why? Because he could essentially.


The Alienware thing looks like something I might get for myself  , how decent is that thing in reality? It looks like a steam box you'd hook up to your giant ass TV, that could double as an actual computer. Like, I'm all about having the PC being an appliance instead of a hobby at this point.

MY current system is a :

Intel Core i7 CPU 930 @ 2.80 GHz
6 Gigs DD3 (I think its some weird triple slot tandem thing)
ATI Raedeon HD 5670


I'm guessing that alienware box is actually better then my current rig at this point. Also Christ is the CAD that weak to the USD again?

[Sky]

The CAD rate is a welcome respite from getting cleaned out by the goddamned GBP.

[apocrypha]

I'm thinking about building a small home server to a) replace the old NAS that's died and b) run game servers occasionally (ARMA3, Unreal Tournament, Minecraft, etc.).  I had a look at some HP ProLiants but they seemed kinda expensive for the spec.

I'm currently thinking I want a decent-ish processor (i.e. not a Celeron) and at least 4Gb RAM, preferably more, to allow modded game servers with large maps etc. It's very unlikely that there'll ever be more than 3-4 people playing on it at any one time.

Does this look like a reasonable set of components for such a system? Is there anything important missing? I don't need HDD's, got two spare SATA 1Tb drives here waiting to be used, and it'll be a headless build.

Intel Core i3-4150 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail
Crucial MX100 256GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
MSI H81M-P33 V2 Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
Aerocool Qs-102 Micro-ATX Case

That's coming out at £342 inc.VAT, which is over £250 cheaper than a similarly-specced HP box.

[Lantyssa]

Go for an i5, otherwise it looks fine.

I did a cheap micro-atx server build to set up a server hosted at my mom's place for exactly that purpose.  (Also a mumble server.)  It's pretty awesome.