Hey Minor, does that card allow for swapping between different outputs from within windows, like without having to plug/unplug stuff?
I like listening to music/watching netflix with speakers, but headphones are good for games and i'd very much like to be able to swap easily between the two.
Having actual headphone surround would also be nice, but there's a lotta ways to get that.
Yep! It has optical/coax audio out, 2-channel RCA stereo out, and headphone out. It also has a pass-through to your front panel inputs, of course. You can swap to any of those outputs in the config application without having to unplug the headphones. I've got my speakers plugged into the RCAs and my headphones into the headphone-out. It's working great so far. The headphone surround sound is working wonderfully, too. Very happy with this purchase.
Hmmm
guess I'll end up picking one up in the not too distant future then.
Somehow it makes me feel better about blowing 200 bucks if I know it's caused you to do the same.
Is this how alcoholics feel?
Their habit is probably less expensive, monetarily speaking.
I have conquered SWTOR! No longer shall its claws keep me in its fearsome grip! Except for the times when I'm playing it!
Heyo build thread, new post on the blog, some other updates there as well. I have all the old build gallery stuff set up and formatted for the new thread (pre-separated into posts that won't go over the limit even!) as well as a new OP.
Im not going to lie, Ive been super tempted to try evaporative cooling for a while now. I mean, I know itll make whatever room my computer is in humid and itll probably be loud and its totally overkill, but fuck man, that shit cools nuclear power plants.
Not really the same thing. The point of cooling a nuclear plant is make make dry saturated steam to push a turbine.
Then whats with the steam here:
That's just left over stuff, cooling towers in nuke plants are used to increase the efficiency of the system. The vast majority of the energy (>90%) is used to turn the turbine, although the total energy conversion for nuke plants is generally around 80%, the other parts are lost in energy conversion.
Hilarious sometimes. Awesome other times. I've gone Light side with my Sith Inquisitor and it's pretty fun. You're still basically electrocuting a bunch of stuff and/or people, you're body count's just a bit lower than the Dark side version.
And yeah, mojojoeo, the 7950s look really good in general.
So if anyone would like to follow the continuing adventures of my computer woes, I've started a thread detailing all the problems and the results of solution attempts. I would appreciate any help people can offer. Or at least someone to tell me what part i probably killed.
The_SpaniardIt's never lupinesIrvine, CaliforniaRegistered Userregular
So boyfriend is getting a new processor and motherboard. I told him he'd do well with an i5-2500k and now he needs a motherboard to go with it. He wants some suggestions for the cheapest decent one he can get closer to 100 than 200. Any thoughts?
For overclocking the lowest I'd go on 1155 is the asrock z68 extreme 3 gen 3.
It's not a bad board, and for the price can't be beat.
IfHe's interested in more aggressive oc's I'd pick up something else but the low 4ghz range that most air overclocks go for should be just fine
He wouldn't know how to overclock if I handed him a wrench and a trout, so that's not important. He's just an average computer user that plays a lot of videogames.
For overclocking the lowest I'd go on 1155 is the asrock z68 extreme 3 gen 3.
It's not a bad board, and for the price can't be beat.
IfHe's interested in more aggressive oc's I'd pick up something else but the low 4ghz range that most air overclocks go for should be just fine
He wouldn't know how to overclock if I handed him a wrench and a trout, so that's not important. He's just an average computer user that plays a lot of videogames.
He could totally just step down to a H67 board with an i3 2100 or i3 2120. Save himself a big ol chunk of change.
For overclocking the lowest I'd go on 1155 is the asrock z68 extreme 3 gen 3.
It's not a bad board, and for the price can't be beat.
IfHe's interested in more aggressive oc's I'd pick up something else but the low 4ghz range that most air overclocks go for should be just fine
He wouldn't know how to overclock if I handed him a wrench and a trout, so that's not important. He's just an average computer user that plays a lot of videogames.
He could totally just step down to a H67 board with an i3 2100 or i3 2120. Save himself a big ol chunk of change.
More or less this. The performance difference at stock between the i3s and the 2500k is not large. It really only starts to pull away when the clock speed is bumped up.
edit: to actually make a helpful suggestion, I am known to be a big fan of Asus' products. Their P8H67V board paired with either an i3 or an i5 depending on what you choose to go with will make for a very decent very affordable platform for someone not into overclocking.
You could also grab something in the micro atx form factor for a bit less.
Hey guys, I know this thread is largely about PC parts and building and whatnot, but I wanted to get your thoughts on this prebuilt XPS from Dell. I know I could probably get better price/performance with a custom rig, but I am surprisingly inept with computer stuff. Also, I've come to trust Dell over the years, and the XPS systems always seems solid, so that's where I am.
Anyway, the important specs:
-Intel Core i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)
-8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
-1TB HDD - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
-AMD Radeon HD 6770
-Dell ST2220L 21.5-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor
...and the various amenities, like Office and standard mouse and keyboard. The price comes in at $1,148.99.
I know the thing will do perfectly well with writing and web browsing. How does it look for gaming, though? I would say my goal is to be able to play, say, Diablo 3 or Skyrim on decent-to-highish settings with a good framerate at 1280x720 (the monitor can do 1080p, but resolution isn't the biggest deal to me). I've read about the video card and it seems pretty good for the price, but if there's something significantly better I would consider dropping the card to the base option on the Dell site and then ordering a new card seperately.
Or if the system is complete crap all around, that would be good to know, too.
Anyway, thanks in advance for the help, guys.
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Are you absolutely sure you don't have a buddy that can clip a system together for you? Because that's a weird parts list.
If that's meant to be a 'gaming' p.c., the 2600 is the wrong processor, the 6770 is the wrong video card, and the monitor is too small.
Well, I have a friend who put together a computer like...6 years ago or something. He might be able to help.
As for the parts. The processor is the only option available on the XPS on the Dell site, the graphics card is the "best" option available, and the monitor...well, there are size constraints I'm working under, but that said, having a huge monitor isn't a big deal for me (I currently do my PC gaming on a 15" laptop screen, so).
I'll see what my friend has to say about it, I suppose, and perhaps go from there.
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
Yeah, I mean, the thing is, you could probably build a better machine for gaming for under $1000. If it's really not an option, that will play games, but if you have to buy, you'll be better off shopping around some of the internet PC builders that specialize in gaming machines.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
Everything will be at my home in three days. Can't wait to start building! Future plans are to move up to SLI'ed 560Ti's once I get a couple paychecks in.
Well, I have a friend who put together a computer like...6 years ago or something. He might be able to help.
As for the parts. The processor is the only option available on the XPS on the Dell site, the graphics card is the "best" option available, and the monitor...well, there are size constraints I'm working under, but that said, having a huge monitor isn't a big deal for me (I currently do my PC gaming on a 15" laptop screen, so).
I'll see what my friend has to say about it, I suppose, and perhaps go from there.
Computers are easier to build today than they were 6 years ago. And we will do our best to help you.
I left the GPU until last. Consequently, I have little money left. So here's what's I could find. This system with this card is capable of running any game out today, most recent games on pretty good settings. However, this is definitely the bottleneck. Upgrading this card is the only thing necessary to keep this system playing games on top settings for a long time yet. You can overclock the CPU, and the PSU will run pretty much any video card on the planet.
Any thoughts on this mouse pad: Razer Vespula. I do like both the wrist-rest and the large mouse pad size.
I have one, I love it. The Razer symbol on the wrist rest rubs off super easy, but that's my only complaint. It's a nice memory gel wrist rest. It comes out of the package a bit stiff, but you can either work it with your hands like playdough for a little bit to soften it up, or it will naturally soften up through use. The surface itself is great, though I never use the speed side...always the control side. Sort of an odd thing, but I love the gray color of the surface as well. It shows dirt and particles really easy, so if you get some dust or something on your mouse pad that you can "feel" when you're mouse moves around, it should be easy to see (this happens with hair a lot for me, as I have a thick beard and shaggy hair).
Overall, I love it. I replaced a cheapo RocketFish dual sided surface with it, and would never go back. I also recommend pairing it with a Razer Mouse Bungee if you have mouse cord tug issues.
e: Also, it's not that large. It's medium sized. It's smaller than the RocketFish I had before, but plenty big enough to not have to do the mouse pick up routine.
Well, I have a friend who put together a computer like...6 years ago or something. He might be able to help.
As for the parts. The processor is the only option available on the XPS on the Dell site, the graphics card is the "best" option available, and the monitor...well, there are size constraints I'm working under, but that said, having a huge monitor isn't a big deal for me (I currently do my PC gaming on a 15" laptop screen, so).
I'll see what my friend has to say about it, I suppose, and perhaps go from there.
Computers are easier to build today than they were 6 years ago. And we will do our best to help you.
I left the GPU until last. Consequently, I have little money left. So here's what's I could find. This system with this card is capable of running any game out today, most recent games on pretty good settings. However, this is definitely the bottleneck. Upgrading this card is the only thing necessary to keep this system playing games on top settings for a long time yet. You can overclock the CPU, and the PSU will run pretty much any video card on the planet.
Oh, wow. This is great! Thanks for putting that together.
I guess I should have mentioned my budget is around $1,500 anyway, so what you have wouldn't be over budget at all (and it would actually leave me room to get Microsoft Office, which is absolutely essentially). I'm definitely going to bookmark this and show it to my friend, see what he makes of it all.
Really, thanks for the info. Glad I asked about the Dell thing, too, since researching it a bit more made me realize it wouldn't really do everything I wanted.
edit - and actually, I think I could do with a slightly smaller monitor (saw an Acer 22" for $130) and I probably don't need an SSD, as nice as that would be. With those savings I think I could get an even nicer video card which...I would enjoy. So, if you wouldn't mind indulging my amateurish understanding of these things for a little longer, what card could you recommend in this set up for, say, $250?
Oh, I would need a wireless internet adapter...doohickey.
Well, I have a friend who put together a computer like...6 years ago or something. He might be able to help.
As for the parts. The processor is the only option available on the XPS on the Dell site, the graphics card is the "best" option available, and the monitor...well, there are size constraints I'm working under, but that said, having a huge monitor isn't a big deal for me (I currently do my PC gaming on a 15" laptop screen, so).
I'll see what my friend has to say about it, I suppose, and perhaps go from there.
Computers are easier to build today than they were 6 years ago. And we will do our best to help you.
I left the GPU until last. Consequently, I have little money left. So here's what's I could find. This system with this card is capable of running any game out today, most recent games on pretty good settings. However, this is definitely the bottleneck. Upgrading this card is the only thing necessary to keep this system playing games on top settings for a long time yet. You can overclock the CPU, and the PSU will run pretty much any video card on the planet.
Your HSF link goes to the 1TB Spinpoint. I'm assuming it was probably supposed to be to the CM Hyper 212+?
This set of Patriot RAM is a couple bucks cheaper and is CAS 9 instead of 10. Probably not even slightly noticeable, but since it's also cheaper, might as well get the theoretically faster memory, right?
You can save some money by going with an Antec Neo Eco 520W PSU. And while that Corsair Carbide is really nice, there are cheaper options from NZXT like the Source 220, Tempest 410, Tempest 210, or the Source 210 / 210 Elite (the elite version gets you a top-mounted 140mm fan, front-port USB 3.0, and screwless drive mounting).
There's plenty of savings available there to make up the $38 difference.
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proyebatGARY WAS HEREASH IS A LOSERRegistered Userregular
Oh, wow. This is great! Thanks for putting that together.
I guess I should have mentioned my budget is around $1,500 anyway, so what you have wouldn't be over budget at all (and it would actually leave me room to get Microsoft Office, which is absolutely essentially). I'm definitely going to bookmark this and show it to my friend, see what he makes of it all.
Really, thanks for the info. Glad I asked about the Dell thing, too, since researching it a bit more made me realize it wouldn't really do everything I wanted.
edit - and actually, I think I could do with a slightly smaller monitor (saw an Acer 22" for $130) and I probably don't need an SSD, as nice as that would be. With those savings I think I could get an even nicer video card which...I would enjoy. So, if you wouldn't mind indulging my amateurish understanding of these things for a little longer, what card could you recommend in this set up for, say, $250?
Oh, I would need a wireless internet adapter...doohickey.
$250 can get you either 1GB version of 6950 or 560 ti. If you can put off buying a GPU for another month, the 7850 should be coming out in March for around $250. Sometime in March/April, Nvidia might have their Kepler equivalent.
Oh, wow. This is great! Thanks for putting that together.
I guess I should have mentioned my budget is around $1,500 anyway, so what you have wouldn't be over budget at all (and it would actually leave me room to get Microsoft Office, which is absolutely essentially). I'm definitely going to bookmark this and show it to my friend, see what he makes of it all.
Really, thanks for the info. Glad I asked about the Dell thing, too, since researching it a bit more made me realize it wouldn't really do everything I wanted.
edit - and actually, I think I could do with a slightly smaller monitor (saw an Acer 22" for $130) and I probably don't need an SSD, as nice as that would be. With those savings I think I could get an even nicer video card which...I would enjoy. So, if you wouldn't mind indulging my amateurish understanding of these things for a little longer, what card could you recommend in this set up for, say, $250?
Oh, I would need a wireless internet adapter...doohickey.
$250 can get you either 1GB version of 6950 or 560 ti. If you can put off buying a GPU for another month, the 7850 should be coming out in March for around $250. Sometime in March/April, Nvidia might have their Kepler equivalent.
That's very sound advise. I think the 6950 is typically considered to be slightly better than the 560 Ti, but not by very much. I opted for the 560 Ti because at the time mine came with Batman: AC.
I'd also advice looking into some of the money saving options I previously posted in order to keep the SSD. I'm running off of an Agility 3 right now and absolutely love it. I'll never buy another computer without one. Coming into work and not having it feels like torture.
Well, I have a friend who put together a computer like...6 years ago or something. He might be able to help.
As for the parts. The processor is the only option available on the XPS on the Dell site, the graphics card is the "best" option available, and the monitor...well, there are size constraints I'm working under, but that said, having a huge monitor isn't a big deal for me (I currently do my PC gaming on a 15" laptop screen, so).
I'll see what my friend has to say about it, I suppose, and perhaps go from there.
Computers are easier to build today than they were 6 years ago. And we will do our best to help you.
I left the GPU until last. Consequently, I have little money left. So here's what's I could find. This system with this card is capable of running any game out today, most recent games on pretty good settings. However, this is definitely the bottleneck. Upgrading this card is the only thing necessary to keep this system playing games on top settings for a long time yet. You can overclock the CPU, and the PSU will run pretty much any video card on the planet.
Oh, wow. This is great! Thanks for putting that together.
I guess I should have mentioned my budget is around $1,500 anyway, so what you have wouldn't be over budget at all (and it would actually leave me room to get Microsoft Office, which is absolutely essentially). I'm definitely going to bookmark this and show it to my friend, see what he makes of it all.
Really, thanks for the info. Glad I asked about the Dell thing, too, since researching it a bit more made me realize it wouldn't really do everything I wanted.
edit - and actually, I think I could do with a slightly smaller monitor (saw an Acer 22" for $130) and I probably don't need an SSD, as nice as that would be. With those savings I think I could get an even nicer video card which...I would enjoy. So, if you wouldn't mind indulging my amateurish understanding of these things for a little longer, what card could you recommend in this set up for, say, $250?
Oh, I would need a wireless internet adapter...doohickey.
Okay, $1500. That makes heaps more room for fun times.
I changed out the CPU cooler to the correct link! (oops)
You do need an SSD. It makes the world of difference to the systems responsiveness. You might have the fastest processor and video card out there, but they can only process data as fast as you can feed it to them from the HDD. With a decent SSD? In-game loading screens, pretty much gone. Windows cold boot? 9 seconds, instead of 35. Things like that. So I'm not taking it out.
The PSU is a little pricey, but it's excellent quality, and has enough grunt to run pretty much anything you want to hook up to it. It should last for a long time, and will supply good clean power to all your components, keeping them happy and healthy. You could even run two of the video cards I have linked above, except the motherboard doesn't have enough PCI-E 2.0 slots.
I picked that tower for the brand quality, the easily removable and cleanable intake fan filters, and the clean and neat function over form styling.
As for the RAM, I prefer to go with reputable (to me) brands, and I upgraded it as well for the new budget.
I threw in some speakers to fill your ears with all the gunshots, tyre screeches and other assorted sound effects you'll ever want. They should sound pretty nice, and put out a fair amount of volume.
gonna echo everyone else in saying an ssd is a must on a budget like that.
It's probably the biggest upgrade in terms of user experiance you can make, and I'd gladly cut down on the cpu or gpu in a build if it meant keeping the ssd
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
Oh yeah, video cards are too variable at the moment to spend stupid money on. That's why I tried to make every other part of the build really nice, so in 6 months to a year he can spend $300-350 on the hot new shit midrange card, and run everything on ULTRAMAX for a couple of years.
Mother of god, so much information. All right...all right. I'm going to save/bookmark everything here and run it by my computer-savvy friend (not because I don't trust you all, but because he would inevitably be the one helping put it together). It all looks...glorious. Lemme just let all these recommendations simmer for a little while and we'll see what pans out.
Either way, thank you all for the input. I would be lost forever in a mire of techno-babble without it.
Mother of god, so much information. All right...all right. I'm going to save/bookmark everything here and run it by my computer-savvy friend (not because I don't trust you all, but because he would inevitably be the one helping put it together). It all looks...glorious. Lemme just let all these recommendations simmer for a little while and we'll see what pans out.
Either way, thank you all for the input. I would be lost forever in a mire of techno-babble without it.
As for building the p.c., it all just snaps together like one of those no-glue model kits for children. There are literally hundreds of instructional videos on how to build your first p.c. For optimising the SSD, ask in the thread, we can point you to step-by-step guides. Other than that, it's just a matter of installing your OS (click some simple options, wait half an hour), downloading some drivers and updates, then installing your other software. It just takes a couple of hours is all.
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minor incidentexpert in a dying fieldnjRegistered Userregular
And when it you finally get it all together and you plug it in and press the power button for the first time, it will not boot. Don't worry, it's not just you. It happens to everyone, and you probably just forgot something stupid.
Ah, it stinks, it sucks, it's anthropologically unjust
And when it you finally get it all together and you plug it in and press the power button for the first time, it will not boot. Don't worry, it's not just you. It happens to everyone, and you probably just forgot something stupid.
I think this has been the case for every single new build I've ever done. Usually it's the switch on the back of the psu being turned off
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GnomeTankWhat the what?Portland, OregonRegistered Userregular
And when it you finally get it all together and you plug it in and press the power button for the first time, it will not boot. Don't worry, it's not just you. It happens to everyone, and you probably just forgot something stupid.
My favorite is that you've put the power switch wire on the motherboard post backwards. On some motherboards, that will cause it to start as soon as the power is plugged in...but on most, it just causes it not to do anything when you press the button.
My builds usually turn on first time through (I cant remember any that didnt, which may or may not be the result of selective memory), but every time Ive put a computer together (shit, sometimes just when I change a part) I bleed.
Posts
Their habit is probably less expensive, monetarily speaking.
I have conquered SWTOR! No longer shall its claws keep me in its fearsome grip! Except for the times when I'm playing it!
Heyo build thread, new post on the blog, some other updates there as well. I have all the old build gallery stuff set up and formatted for the new thread (pre-separated into posts that won't go over the limit even!) as well as a new OP.
Also, I LIVE!!!!!
Battle.net
That's just left over stuff, cooling towers in nuke plants are used to increase the efficiency of the system. The vast majority of the energy (>90%) is used to turn the turbine, although the total energy conversion for nuke plants is generally around 80%, the other parts are lost in energy conversion.
Sorry I haven't been on swtor at all to run any hardmodes with ya
You should be sorry.
Hilarious sometimes. Awesome other times. I've gone Light side with my Sith Inquisitor and it's pretty fun. You're still basically electrocuting a bunch of stuff and/or people, you're body count's just a bit lower than the Dark side version.
And yeah, mojojoeo, the 7950s look really good in general.
Battle.net
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/155964/computer-wont-boot-after-overclock-failure#Item_1
It's not a bad board, and for the price can't be beat.
IfHe's interested in more aggressive oc's I'd pick up something else but the low 4ghz range that most air overclocks go for should be just fine
He wouldn't know how to overclock if I handed him a wrench and a trout, so that's not important. He's just an average computer user that plays a lot of videogames.
He could totally just step down to a H67 board with an i3 2100 or i3 2120. Save himself a big ol chunk of change.
More or less this. The performance difference at stock between the i3s and the 2500k is not large. It really only starts to pull away when the clock speed is bumped up.
edit: to actually make a helpful suggestion, I am known to be a big fan of Asus' products. Their P8H67V board paired with either an i3 or an i5 depending on what you choose to go with will make for a very decent very affordable platform for someone not into overclocking.
You could also grab something in the micro atx form factor for a bit less.
Anyway, the important specs:
-Intel Core i7-2600 processor(8MB Cache, 3.4GHz)
-8GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 4 DIMMs
-1TB HDD - 7200RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s, 16MB Cache
-AMD Radeon HD 6770
-Dell ST2220L 21.5-inch Full HD Widescreen Monitor
...and the various amenities, like Office and standard mouse and keyboard. The price comes in at $1,148.99.
I know the thing will do perfectly well with writing and web browsing. How does it look for gaming, though? I would say my goal is to be able to play, say, Diablo 3 or Skyrim on decent-to-highish settings with a good framerate at 1280x720 (the monitor can do 1080p, but resolution isn't the biggest deal to me). I've read about the video card and it seems pretty good for the price, but if there's something significantly better I would consider dropping the card to the base option on the Dell site and then ordering a new card seperately.
Or if the system is complete crap all around, that would be good to know, too.
Anyway, thanks in advance for the help, guys.
If that's meant to be a 'gaming' p.c., the 2600 is the wrong processor, the 6770 is the wrong video card, and the monitor is too small.
As for the parts. The processor is the only option available on the XPS on the Dell site, the graphics card is the "best" option available, and the monitor...well, there are size constraints I'm working under, but that said, having a huge monitor isn't a big deal for me (I currently do my PC gaming on a 15" laptop screen, so).
I'll see what my friend has to say about it, I suppose, and perhaps go from there.
The final build:
CPU/Processor - i5-2500k
Motherboard - ASUS P8P67 PRO
Memory - Mushkin Enhanced 2x4GB
PSU - OCZ ZT Series 750W Fully-Modular
Graphics - GIGABYTE 560 Ti
Hard Drive - Seagate 500GB 7200RPM
Optical Drive - LITE-ON DVD BURNER
Case - Corsair Carbide 400R
Everything will be at my home in three days. Can't wait to start building! Future plans are to move up to SLI'ed 560Ti's once I get a couple paychecks in.
FFXIV - Milliardo Beoulve/Sargatanas
Computers are easier to build today than they were 6 years ago. And we will do our best to help you.
As for a gaming p.c., you have a huge budget.
What I would put together with US$1200:
CASE: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703036
MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
CPU cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148447
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
CD/DVD burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125383
OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
KBAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109232
Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009245 (a 24 inch 1080p monitor should blow your eyes out compared to a 15 inch laptop screen...)
I left the GPU until last. Consequently, I have little money left. So here's what's I could find. This system with this card is capable of running any game out today, most recent games on pretty good settings. However, this is definitely the bottleneck. Upgrading this card is the only thing necessary to keep this system playing games on top settings for a long time yet. You can overclock the CPU, and the PSU will run pretty much any video card on the planet.
Oh fuck a duck, I forgot RAM.
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148463
That puts me $38 over budget. Sorry!
I have one, I love it. The Razer symbol on the wrist rest rubs off super easy, but that's my only complaint. It's a nice memory gel wrist rest. It comes out of the package a bit stiff, but you can either work it with your hands like playdough for a little bit to soften it up, or it will naturally soften up through use. The surface itself is great, though I never use the speed side...always the control side. Sort of an odd thing, but I love the gray color of the surface as well. It shows dirt and particles really easy, so if you get some dust or something on your mouse pad that you can "feel" when you're mouse moves around, it should be easy to see (this happens with hair a lot for me, as I have a thick beard and shaggy hair).
Overall, I love it. I replaced a cheapo RocketFish dual sided surface with it, and would never go back. I also recommend pairing it with a Razer Mouse Bungee if you have mouse cord tug issues.
e: Also, it's not that large. It's medium sized. It's smaller than the RocketFish I had before, but plenty big enough to not have to do the mouse pick up routine.
I guess I should have mentioned my budget is around $1,500 anyway, so what you have wouldn't be over budget at all (and it would actually leave me room to get Microsoft Office, which is absolutely essentially). I'm definitely going to bookmark this and show it to my friend, see what he makes of it all.
Really, thanks for the info. Glad I asked about the Dell thing, too, since researching it a bit more made me realize it wouldn't really do everything I wanted.
edit - and actually, I think I could do with a slightly smaller monitor (saw an Acer 22" for $130) and I probably don't need an SSD, as nice as that would be. With those savings I think I could get an even nicer video card which...I would enjoy. So, if you wouldn't mind indulging my amateurish understanding of these things for a little longer, what card could you recommend in this set up for, say, $250?
Oh, I would need a wireless internet adapter...doohickey.
Your HSF link goes to the 1TB Spinpoint. I'm assuming it was probably supposed to be to the CM Hyper 212+?
This set of Patriot RAM is a couple bucks cheaper and is CAS 9 instead of 10. Probably not even slightly noticeable, but since it's also cheaper, might as well get the theoretically faster memory, right?
You can save some money by going with an Antec Neo Eco 520W PSU. And while that Corsair Carbide is really nice, there are cheaper options from NZXT like the Source 220, Tempest 410, Tempest 210, or the Source 210 / 210 Elite (the elite version gets you a top-mounted 140mm fan, front-port USB 3.0, and screwless drive mounting).
There's plenty of savings available there to make up the $38 difference.
$250 can get you either 1GB version of 6950 or 560 ti. If you can put off buying a GPU for another month, the 7850 should be coming out in March for around $250. Sometime in March/April, Nvidia might have their Kepler equivalent.
That's very sound advise. I think the 6950 is typically considered to be slightly better than the 560 Ti, but not by very much. I opted for the 560 Ti because at the time mine came with Batman: AC.
I'd also advice looking into some of the money saving options I previously posted in order to keep the SSD. I'm running off of an Agility 3 right now and absolutely love it. I'll never buy another computer without one. Coming into work and not having it feels like torture.
Okay, $1500. That makes heaps more room for fun times.
I changed out the CPU cooler to the correct link! (oops)
You do need an SSD. It makes the world of difference to the systems responsiveness. You might have the fastest processor and video card out there, but they can only process data as fast as you can feed it to them from the HDD. With a decent SSD? In-game loading screens, pretty much gone. Windows cold boot? 9 seconds, instead of 35. Things like that. So I'm not taking it out.
Better RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226295
Office: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116856
Smaller monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001385
Speakers: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836183038
Wireless adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127218
New video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130686 (it's slightly better than the other one, but not by a significant amount)
If you really, really don't want the SSD, then there's options like this for the GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162075
Or an AMD card if you'd prefer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127575
The PSU is a little pricey, but it's excellent quality, and has enough grunt to run pretty much anything you want to hook up to it. It should last for a long time, and will supply good clean power to all your components, keeping them happy and healthy. You could even run two of the video cards I have linked above, except the motherboard doesn't have enough PCI-E 2.0 slots.
I picked that tower for the brand quality, the easily removable and cleanable intake fan filters, and the clean and neat function over form styling.
As for the RAM, I prefer to go with reputable (to me) brands, and I upgraded it as well for the new budget.
I threw in some speakers to fill your ears with all the gunshots, tyre screeches and other assorted sound effects you'll ever want. They should sound pretty nice, and put out a fair amount of volume.
It's probably the biggest upgrade in terms of user experiance you can make, and I'd gladly cut down on the cpu or gpu in a build if it meant keeping the ssd
Either way, thank you all for the input. I would be lost forever in a mire of techno-babble without it.
As for building the p.c., it all just snaps together like one of those no-glue model kits for children. There are literally hundreds of instructional videos on how to build your first p.c. For optimising the SSD, ask in the thread, we can point you to step-by-step guides. Other than that, it's just a matter of installing your OS (click some simple options, wait half an hour), downloading some drivers and updates, then installing your other software. It just takes a couple of hours is all.
I think this has been the case for every single new build I've ever done. Usually it's the switch on the back of the psu being turned off
My favorite is that you've put the power switch wire on the motherboard post backwards. On some motherboards, that will cause it to start as soon as the power is plugged in...but on most, it just causes it not to do anything when you press the button.
Not a hard fix to make but it always feels a little boneheaded
then i found out that my motherboard didn't have spacers between it and the tray.
Maybe your computers need more blood?