Epically epic desktop...(Maybe...)

[JaredHedgehog]

(06-10-2011, 09:07 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote:

Quote:The forums are going wonky right now on the computer I'm using, which is a public computer. Anyways....Why not we get an Ivy Bridge pc and a WiiU while we're at it? I'm on a bit of a budget right now because I'm working my way towards getting the parts for the computer, and I want the computer to be around $500-$700 (around the price range of a cheap gaming laptop).

Easy enough.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074
CD/DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131708
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161379

Total: $696

You should be able to find equivalent parts on amazon for similar prices. And this was a quick and dirty build without hunting for deals.

Looks nice for dirty build...I could use the HDD... (Maybe the GPU too, but if I do I'll just buy everything else except the gpu, since the new and improved Intel integrated graphics should run the Directx9 plugin nicely, and I'll go back to the gpu later.) Also, with my current specs on this dream machine, will I need a higher wattage power supply?

[NaturalViolence]

Quote:Also, with my current specs on this dream machine, will I need a higher wattage power supply?

550watts is enough, 600/650+ is "playing it safe" (future proofing), 500 watts is "cutting it close" (it will still probably be enough but it's very very close and gives you basically no headroom for future upgrades).

I would highly recommend you get at least a 550watt psu from a decent brand.

Quote:Maybe the GPU too, but if I do I'll just buy everything else except the gpu, since the new and improved Intel integrated graphics should run the Directx9 plugin nicely, and I'll go back to the gpu later.)

One word, NO. You need a decent video card, period. If you have to make cuts in other areas to maintain your budget then so be it but please for the love of god make sure you have a decent discrete video card. Sandy bridge may have improved IGP performance significantly over the previous generation but it's performance is still only on par with the absolute worst video cards in most cases. Not to mention the feature set/compatibility/video decode pipeline of discrete video cards put sandy bridge to shame. The only time I would ever be ok with using the sandy bridge IGP is with a computer that won't be doing any 3D rendering at all.

http://www.techspot.com/review/392-budget-gpu-comparison/page3.html

Sandy Bridge IGP performance is enough for running some games at 480p but many games will demand more, even at that resolution. It depends on the cpu but for a 2500k the IGP is on par with a $40 video card, a 5450/G210. The lower end models have even slower IGPs.

[JaredHedgehog]

(06-10-2011, 03:24 PM)NaturalViolence Wrote: One word, NO. You need a decent video card, period. If you have to make cuts in other areas to maintain your budget then so be it but please for the love of god make sure you have a decent discrete video card. Sandy bridge may have improved IGP performance significantly over the previous generation but it's performance is still only on par with the absolute worst video cards in most cases. Not to mention the feature set/compatibility/video decode pipeline of discrete video cards put sandy bridge to shame. The only time I would ever be ok with using the sandy bridge IGP is with a computer that won't be doing any 3D rendering at all.

http://www.techspot.com/review/392-budget-gpu-comparison/page3.html

Sandy Bridge IGP performance is enough for running some games at 480p but many games will demand more, even at that resolution. It depends on the cpu but for a 2500k the IGP is on par with a $40 video card, a 5450/G210. The lower end models have even slower IGPs.

Hmmph...Oh well. Can't cut that corner. My total cost for everything right now is around $612. The first post will be updated, final total will not be there yet. EDIT : Just updated the first post!

[NaturalViolence]

Quote:Hmmph...Oh well. Can't cut that corner. My total cost for everything right now is around $612. The first post will be updated, final total will not be there yet. Big Grin EDIT : Just updated the first post! Smile

Ok then here we go again:

CPU: good
Mobo: I would really consider getting a P67 if you can afford it.
Memory: 1600MHz or higher! It's like $5 more.
Power supply: fine
Case: fine for low budget
HDD: Get a samsung spinpoint F3
DVD/CD: fine
GPU: fine

Keep in mind you'll be restricted to midrange video cards in the future until you upgrade your power supply and case. This is the advantage of starting off with great hardware.

[ExtremeDude2]

I would buy a HDD with at least 500GB.

[JaredHedgehog]

(06-13-2011, 06:02 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote:

Quote:Hmmph...Oh well. Can't cut that corner. My total cost for everything right now is around $612. The first post will be updated, final total will not be there yet. Big Grin EDIT : Just updated the first post! Smile

Ok then here we go again:

CPU: good
Mobo: I would really consider getting a P67 if you can afford it.
Memory: 1600MHz or higher! It's like $5 more.
Power supply: fine
Case: fine for low budget
HDD: Get a samsung spinpoint F3
DVD/CD: fine
GPU: fine

Keep in mind you'll be restricted to midrange video cards in the future until you upgrade your power supply and case. This is the advantage of starting off with great hardware.

Ok... But the hard drive doesn't affect Dolphin, doesn't it? If it does, I can always buy a another hard drive later.

ryncollins Wrote:I would buy a HDD with at least 500GB

I have a 160gb hard drive in the Celeron computer and I have LOADED it with tons of Wii/Gamecube games, Tons of Sims 2 mods, N64 games and everything else under the sun, and I have around 33gb left of space. I don't plan on playing many PC games on this new computer, I plan on using it for mainly everyday stuff, Dolphin/PCSX2, Blender, and media encoding to a certain extent.

[NaturalViolence]

Quote:Ok... But the hard drive doesn't affect Dolphin, doesn't it? If it does, I can always buy a another hard drive later.

Does that matter? Why buy an inferior HDD? If you need to buy a WD drive for whatever reason then get a black edition drive, not blue edition. Not sure why you're so resistant to changing that, was their something in particular you liked about that drive?

Quote:I have a 160gb hard drive in the Celeron computer and I have LOADED it with tons of Wii/Gamecube games, Tons of Sims 2 mods, N64 games and everything else under the sun, and I have around 33gb left of space. I don't plan on playing many PC games on this new computer, I plan on using it for mainly everyday stuff, Dolphin/PCSX2, Blender, and media encoding to a certain extent.

As you fill up a HDD the actuator arm has to extend further out to reach data and this slows down the drive dramatically. Not to mention the difference in price between a 160-250GB HDD and a 1TB HDD these days is about $20. So why not spend the little bit extra to get a dramatically better HDD regardless of whether you actually need the extra space.

[JaredHedgehog]

(06-14-2011, 08:32 AM)NaturalViolence Wrote:

Quote:Ok... But the hard drive doesn't affect Dolphin, doesn't it? If it does, I can always buy a another hard drive later.

Does that matter? Why buy an inferior HDD? If you need to buy a WD drive for whatever reason then get a black edition drive, not blue edition. Not sure why you're so resistant to changing that, was their something in particular you liked about that drive?

Quote:I have a 160gb hard drive in the Celeron computer and I have LOADED it with tons of Wii/Gamecube games, Tons of Sims 2 mods, N64 games and everything else under the sun, and I have around 33gb left of space. I don't plan on playing many PC games on this new computer, I plan on using it for mainly everyday stuff, Dolphin/PCSX2, Blender, and media encoding to a certain extent.

As you fill up a HDD the actuator arm has to extend further out to reach data and this slows down the drive dramatically. Not to mention the difference in price between a 160-250GB HDD and a 1TB HDD these days is about $20. So why not spend the little bit extra to get a dramatically better HDD regardless of whether you actually need the extra space.

Didn't know that there was a better version of that drive...I was recommended to WD drives by my mom, who on her spare time whenever anyone in my extended family needed a computer fix, she was the go to girl for anything computer related (in which, most of the time its a GOD DAMN VIRUS stuck on their hard drives forever.)

My mom tells me to go and delete stuff off of the hard drive sometimes...When she installed my graphics card for the Celeron we had to uninstall a bunch of programs I didn't even use at the time because my hard drive was low on space and my desktop was slow. EDIT: Just updated first post...again...

[NaturalViolence]

I would have agreed with her a few years ago but in recent times samsung's spinpoint drives have surpassed anything WD has been able to produce (and amazon sells them: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1308026464&sr=8-2 ). But at least I got you to upgrade to a black edition, at least that's something.

And like I've said before, get some ddr3 1600MHz ram (this ram is not only much better than what you listed but is actually $5 less in price): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

I also find it odd that half of your products are from amazon and half are from newegg. So you're willing to buy some components from newegg but not all of it?

[JaredHedgehog]

Ok....Again, I can always use one hard drive for Windows and media and then get another hard drive just for gaming. Just cutting corners, and I also trust WD.