Computer Question.

[Ghordo]

I don't know a ton about computers so I am asking the ones who do here. My taxes came in after paying bills and such I have about 1400 dollars to spend to buy a new gaming rig. Looking to have a solid base with room to upgrade it when need be, if anyone has any idea's or paths they can lead me down it would be a great help.

Thank you for your advice/help.

[President]

You could put something together pretty nice for under 1,000$ if you wanted to.

I mean I could go through newegg.com and tell you all the shit to buy, but it really depends. I mean... what kind of games are you playing, do you want to max out that 1,400$ or do you wanna go with more reasonably priced items and save a few of that?

[Ghordo]

I have no ability to build anything by myself =(. I just don't know how, and yes I would like to make the best rig possible for the max amount of 1400 dollars with room to grow meaning it would have the ability to upgrade down the road. In terms of games, I mean atm I play DoW2, Battlefield BC 2, TF2, P1999, but I don't know what games will come up in the future you know ?

[President]

Ok, well you are being a little confusing, you can't build it yourself but you want to "make the best rig possible."

Are you asking for help putting together the best pre built computer, IE: dell, HP, etc.?

[PearlJammzz]

Putting together your own rig is SUPER easy. The hardest part is picking out the right components. Really you could build a badass rig for ~800 bucks easy. AMD AM3 quad core (this isn't as good at the i7's BUT AMD is planning to put their 6/8/etc cores on this same socket..you won't need to upgrade mobos to get a fatty cpu upgrade in a couple of yrs). ATI has some AWESOME cards. 4870's are dirt cheap, and are awesome cards. The new 5000 series are a pretty solid jump for not much more though.

Once you get the components you'll see that there is only 1 slot they can fit in, and only 1 way. it's SUPER simple. Everything is color coded and such. Installing windows is as easy as clicking next a few times. The overall complexity of it is pretty low. Plus you have a whole board to help you out :).

[Ghordo]

Ok, well you are being a little confusing, you can't build it yourself but you want to "make the best rig possible."

Are you asking for help putting together the best pre built computer, IE: dell, HP, etc.?


Nah dude more along the lines of newegg, cyberpowerpc, or tigerdirect. I was wondering if anyone knew of a rig on the website that was a good buy etc. thats all man. Yeah, my bad. lol.

[isitatomic]

If you are looking to have a fair amount of personal choice in what guts you are putting inside your rig for a reasonable price custom built PC, I would suggest checking out Cyberpower's website (http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/). I bought my first PC from them nearly a decade ago to keep up with the steady graphical improvements in EQ and it is still reliable today. I've only been paying attention to affordable laptops recently so I'm not sure about similar companies/choices out there, but this is a decent place to start considering both customization and bang-for-the-buck.

[President]

Putting together your own rig is SUPER easy. The hardest part is picking out the right components. Really you could build a badass rig for ~800 bucks easy. AMD AM3 quad core (this isn't as good at the i7's BUT AMD is planning to put their 6/8/etc cores on this same socket..you won't need to upgrade mobos to get a fatty cpu upgrade in a couple of yrs). ATI has some AWESOME cards. 4870's are dirt cheap, and are awesome cards. The new 5000 series are a pretty solid jump for not much more though.

Once you get the components you'll see that there is only 1 slot they can fit in, and only 1 way. it's SUPER simple. Everything is color coded and such. Installing windows is as easy as clicking next a few times. The overall complexity of it is pretty low. Plus you have a whole board to help you out :).

Yea... Generally when someone straight up says they aren't comfortable putting together their own PC I leave it at that. IMO, its easy, but not everyone has the "computer" mind. As easy as I think it is, it's also very easy to fuck something up if you don't know what you are doing.

[President]

6-8 years ago I would have sat there reading through every spec on every PC put together to make sure it had what I wanted.

Today, id say go to newegg, go to desktop PC's. Since Cyberpowerpc seems to be suggested, sort by Cyberpowerpc on the left. Then sort by price, and pick the one that is in your range. If you have a few that are in your range or that you have questions about, post the links here and I will try to answer them for you.

Also keep in mind it looks like they do not come with monitors, so if you are upgrading that as well keep that into considering.

[Ghordo]

tyvm guys

[Loke]

http://media.theonion.com/images/articles/article/17124/Computer-Company3-R-4612_jpg_250x1000_q85.jpg

[isitatomic]

http://media.theonion.com/images/articles/article/17124/Computer-Company3-R-4612_jpg_250x1000_q85.jpg

Excellent recommendation. May also want to consider this for your OS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGvHNNOLnCk).

[PearlJammzz]

Yea... Generally when someone straight up says they aren't comfortable putting together their own PC I leave it at that. IMO, its easy, but not everyone has the "computer" mind. As easy as I think it is, it's also very easy to fuck something up if you don't know what you are doing.

It's very hard to fuck something up. It only fits in there one way.

Open up your current computer, unplug it, and pull out a few items, and put em back in. You'll see everything clicks right in. If you for sure don't even want to attempt this I have no suggestions on pre-built machines. Only experience I have is with HP 10 years ago, and it was a horrible PC lol. Goodluck :)

[Ghordo]

yeah, remind me to never ask for advice on here again. lol.

[Ghaz]

yeah, remind me to never ask for advice on here again. lol.


Pm me whenever you get a chance. I build computers all the time

[President]

It's very hard to fuck something up. It only fits in there one way.

Open up your current computer, unplug it, and pull out a few items, and put em back in. You'll see everything clicks right in. If you for sure don't even want to attempt this I have no suggestions on pre-built machines. Only experience I have is with HP 10 years ago, and it was a horrible PC lol. Goodluck :)

I've put more computers together over the past 10 years than I'd even care to count. And during those 10 years I have seen people forget to plug in fans and torch their processors (though most, at least Intel, *should* prevent that now.) I've seen people bend pins on the processor. Seen people forget to plug in their case fans and have their shit overheat. Seen many people not figure out how to plug in their bios speaker, on button, restart button. Seen people not figure out how to install windows because they don't have their boot order done properly. Seen people fuck their hardware up from static. The list goes on and on.

If you brought your grandpa/grandma all the parts to a computer and said here set it up do you think they would be able to? Forget age, go to your local college and I bet 80% of the students there would fail miserably at putting it together.


There are people like us who could probably put a computer together in a pitch black room with 1 hand behind their back and have windows installing in 40 minutes, but I think you overestimate the general public's ability to see computer hardware and not go "what the fuck is that?"

[President]

Ghordo I'd be also happy to help you build and/or pick one out if you want.

EDIT* I work from noon-10 MST tomorrow.. if you PM me I can give you my AIM name and go through either different prebuilt computers or talk about putting one together.

[Hasbinbad]

http://media.theonion.com/images/articles/article/17124/Computer-Company3-R-4612_jpg_250x1000_q85.jpg
My parents bought this when I was very, very young. I learned some basic, and why disks are cool (notice that 16k [YES, SIXTEEN FUCKING KILOBYTES] of memory is $98 LESS than the previous model..). This thing had an outboard cassette recorder (regular tapes) as it's storage system. Didn't even use disks at all. This thing didn't even have a fucking hard drive.. It was all memory. Funny that the current trend of solid-state computers (as evidenced by netbooks) is actually hella retro.

Also, the guy in the ad is fucking beautiful.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3661/3390499582_54bcf50b43.jpg

(yes, that IS space invaders)

[Hasbinbad]

Oh yeah, it had the modem that you had to put the handset of your phone on too!

[PearlJammzz]

I've put more computers together over the past 10 years than I'd even care to count. And during those 10 years I have seen people forget to plug in fans and torch their processors (though most, at least Intel, *should* prevent that now.) I've seen people bend pins on the processor. Seen people forget to plug in their case fans and have their shit overheat. Seen many people not figure out how to plug in their bios speaker, on button, restart button. Seen people not figure out how to install windows because they don't have their boot order done properly. Seen people fuck their hardware up from static. The list goes on and on.

If you brought your grandpa/grandma all the parts to a computer and said here set it up do you think they would be able to? Forget age, go to your local college and I bet 80% of the students there would fail miserably at putting it together.


There are people like us who could probably put a computer together in a pitch black room with 1 hand behind their back and have windows installing in 40 minutes, but I think you overestimate the general public's ability to see computer hardware and not go "what the fuck is that?"

Bah, cpu's now will shut off before they toast themselves unless you turn that little feature off. Also they don't have pins anymore...at least externally lol.

But yes, I think w/ a small amount of direction, and all the parts picked out anyone who could change the oil in a car is competent enough to learn how to put a PC together. I really do. Plus with the support of the boards how could anything go wrong? I can pull up detailed instructions on how to apply thermal paste to all sorts of different types of CPUs if I wanted.

I had not 1 clue about computers a few years ago...nothing past putting in a cd, and hitting install. I am an extreme cheap-ass so I looked up tons, and tons to put together my first PC. Everything went perfect. Was awesome! I really think for the majority of people would have no issues putting one together.

[Hasbinbad]

Bah, cpu's now will shut off before they toast themselves unless you turn that little feature off. Also they don't have pins anymore...at least externally lol.

But yes, I think w/ a small amount of direction, and all the parts picked out anyone who could change the oil in a car is competent enough to learn how to put a PC together. I really do. Plus with the support of the boards how could anything go wrong? I can pull up detailed instructions on how to apply thermal paste to all sorts of different types of CPUs if I wanted.

I had not 1 clue about computers a few years ago...nothing past putting in a cd, and hitting install. I am an extreme cheap-ass so I looked up tons, and tons to put together my first PC. Everything went perfect. Was awesome! I really think for the majority of people would have no issues putting one together.
I think you overestimate the average Americans ability to change the oil in their cars. Have you ever noticed how there's a Jify Lube on every fucking corner? They pay $50 for something that costs $15 every 3 months, IF they can REMEMBER to get it done in the first place. Where do YOU live, where such reasonable people seemingly abound?

[bionicbadger]

They have steps to put all that shit together in the motherboard manuals. Its just a simple follow the steps procedure. If you don't RTFM and it doesn't work, then its your own fault for being a dumbass.

[PearlJammzz]

I think you overestimate the average Americans ability to change the oil in their cars. Have you ever noticed how there's a Jify Lube on every fucking corner? They pay $50 for something that costs $15 every 3 months, IF they can REMEMBER to get it done in the first place. Where do YOU live, where such reasonable people seemingly abound?

Northern Utah...only people that can't seem to learn are people like my old man who just refuse to. He won't even use a phone that isn't connected directly to a wall.

Hell... my grandpa has dove in, and figured out to do the basics of computer, and he's in his 70's. Hell, he even texts and stuff lol.

I guess maybe the culture is different here. There seems to be a lot of DIY-type people around here...I have always thought it normal, but maybe it's not in most places?

[mixxit]

www.tomshardware.com

[Trimm]

Words

No computer advice here, I just wanted to give you props on your avatar. Anthony Green is so dreamy.

[magic]

I read the first 6 posts or so and saw the word "rig" about 50 fucking times. Kill yourselves.

[isitatomic]

I read the first 6 posts or so and saw the word "rig" about 50 fucking times. Kill yourselves.

And yet oddly enough, OP found the recs satisfactorily useful.

Wouldn't terminology-quibbling faux nerd rage be best flaunted within another, more aptly titled section of the forums (http://www.project1999.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30)?

Hell, you may even try doing something more enjoyable at least... making all kinds of bubbles, for instance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xawyxcqB7ec).

[President]

I guess maybe the culture is different here. There seems to be a lot of DIY-type people around here...I have always thought it normal, but maybe it's not in most places?

I work next to people who fix the most massive IP and Transport network in the world who would have a serious problem putting a computer together from scratch. I've had some of them ask me which e-reader to buy or which laptop to pick out from best buy because they literally knew nothing more than USING a computer.

Some people are technologically motivated and have no problem learning on their own, which is what I did, back when you didn't get a fucking manual with your hardware. Some people see it as being completely overwhelmed.

You say its just like changing your oil, but I guaran-fucking-tee that if you brought all the computer parts to a sears auto shop and let each technician give it a go without your help, only the manuals, most would fail miserably or not even try.

[Loke]

Ghordo, read your PMs... dick.