Gaming PC upgrades

[SineSwiper]

Ugh this is all just too annoying. With my 360 dead I don't think I'm going to buy another console in the forseeable future, especially with my latest computer upgrade in the next few months likely falling at around $900. Some day I'm going to have to choose between a 3DS and a PSP Vita. Maybe by then they'll be worth buying

Wait? $900? I could build, nay, BUY two PCs with that money. With good video cards and sound gear and shit. How does an UPGRADE cost $900? I mean, are you buying the tip-top-of-the-line video cards? You know, the ones that are a waste of money because their price drops by half by the time you buy them.

[Shrinweck]

No, my video card is fine for another year. I'm never spending more than the sweet spot of $180 +/- $30 for this particular item. I need a new case and I'm not going to skimp on that - so that's $100 or so. $65 odd for memory, I'm not buying anything less than an i7 so let's just call that $300, a motherboard that can house said i7, is, what, $230 on the low end? It stacks fast. I expect the upgrade to last 4-6 years, as opposed to a $450 upgrade that would show its age in two. Need a new power supply and I've lost too many components to failure to ever skimp on this again. An SSD to house the OS and some core programs - want to spend like $70 for a small-ish one of these.

[kali o.]

My latest PC/Upgrade (December) cost me around $1500 (2600k+fan, asus mobo, new case/PS, 12gigs, ssd+hdd, Win 7, gts 370 and a new 21" 120hz monitor). That's not top of the line either, as I skipped the i7 (no point for gaming) and passed the gts 380...nevermind SLI. I'm not sure how you could build 2 good PCs for $900. I built my mom a PC less than a month ago, and the best value was a Phenom II X4 965. Even tossing her my old GTS 250 and using an extra OS to save a little money, it was **still** like $700 after tax.

Of course, I could never go back after SSD, and that's a pricey upgrade...but still....

[SineSwiper]

No, my video card is fine for another year. I'm never spending more than the sweet spot of $180 +/- $30 for this particular item. I need a new case and I'm not going to skimp on that - so that's $100 or so. $65 odd for memory

Okay, I'm following you so far...

I'm not buying anything less than an i7 so let's just call that $300, a motherboard that can house said i7, is, what, $230 on the low end? It stacks fast.

Wait, what? Do you guys not buy PC parts at NewEgg.com or something? i7 Mobo is $230 on the HIGH end. Hell, there's one for $54.

Yeah, it looks like the processor is pretty fixed at around $300 or so. But, i7 isn't really the popular choice yet. You could just get a i5 (for half the price) with the same motherboard and upgrade just the processor later.

Need a new power supply and I've lost too many components to failure to ever skimp on this again.

That depends: has the Wattage bidding war stopped, or do I need to get a Kilowatt PS for my next upgrade? Even the really good ones are looking like $70. (Jesus fucking Christ, they are up to 1.5 KILOWATTS???)

Also, you're not talking about an upgrade at this point. It's a new PC, or everything EXCEPT the video card. I can understand $900 for that. Even then, Shellie built me my PC about two years ago for $450. Totally new everything. It's not hyper-top-of-the-line, but it plays whatever I throw at it just fine. Played LOTRO with max graphics two years ago:

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (4GB RAM)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ (2303MB VRAM)
Good 500W PS, SATA everything, nice case, etc.

My latest PC/Upgrade (December) cost me around $1500 (2600k+fan, asus mobo, new case/PS, 12gigs, ssd+hdd, Win 7, gts 370 and a new 21" 120hz monitor). That's not top of the line either, as I skipped the i7 (no point for gaming) and passed the gts 380...nevermind SLI.

12GB of RAM? Are you insane? Also, the monitor shouldn't really count in the price, since that's generally a "once every ten years" cost.

And yeah, the SSD is going to be a big part of it. Better to just get a smallish SSD (like 60-120GB) and just put the main stuff in there. OS, drivers, and whatever game you're playing right now. Just swap out the game when you're done. Shit, my dad, way back in the day, would put Silent Service (ATARI ST) on a RAM disk every time he'd play it. Same concept except you don't have to swap it out every day.

[Shrinweck]

I'm keeping the sound card and 2tb worth of storage from the previous case, as well. I'm calling it an upgrade because I'm upgrading my components. Playing LOTRO with maximum settings is hardly a decent benchmark, even for MMORPGs :P

As for power supplies, I'm not sure what I'm looking at. The whatever I have in there is great and I'd be willing to strip the model number and just buy another one. There's a few years on it so I'm not going to just throw it into a new case. If memory serves it's 800W which is fine for my needs. I think it was $80-100 back then. For something proven, I'd pay the price again although I probably won't have to. If there's a combination with a case that is reputable to not be shit I'd be willing to trust it.

Admittedly I hadn't looked at motherboards thoroughly yet but it needs to be from a trusted maker (Asus, Gigabyte, possibly MSI) so that eliminates some of them. One of the GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H ($130) looks decent to me. I know I'm a little crazy, but I'm not the biggest fan of Asus for mobos because I had some trouble with a couple but its been ten years now and I've been using various Asus mobos the entire time.

Also I just want an i7. I never get to own anything that's the technology version of gaudy so now's my time to shine :D

[Eric]

No, my video card is fine for another year. I'm never spending more than the sweet spot of $180 +/- $30 for this particular item. I need a new case and I'm not going to skimp on that - so that's $100 or so. $65 odd for memory

Okay, I'm following you so far...

I'm not buying anything less than an i7 so let's just call that $300, a motherboard that can house said i7, is, what, $230 on the low end? It stacks fast.

Wait, what? Do you guys not buy PC parts at NewEgg.com or something? i7 Mobo is $230 on the HIGH end. Hell, there's one for $54.

Yeah, it looks like the processor is pretty fixed at around $300 or so. But, i7 isn't really the popular choice yet. You could just get a i5 (for half the price) with the same motherboard and upgrade just the processor later.

Need a new power supply and I've lost too many components to failure to ever skimp on this again.

That depends: has the Wattage bidding war stopped, or do I need to get a Kilowatt PS for my next upgrade? Even the really good ones are looking like $70. (Jesus fucking Christ, they are up to 1.5 KILOWATTS???)

Also, you're not talking about an upgrade at this point. It's a new PC, or everything EXCEPT the video card. I can understand $900 for that. Even then, Shellie built me my PC about two years ago for $450. Totally new everything. It's not hyper-top-of-the-line, but it plays whatever I throw at it just fine. Played LOTRO with max graphics two years ago:

AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6000+ (4GB RAM)
Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ (2303MB VRAM)
Good 500W PS, SATA everything, nice case, etc.

My latest PC/Upgrade (December) cost me around $1500 (2600k+fan, asus mobo, new case/PS, 12gigs, ssd+hdd, Win 7, gts 370 and a new 21" 120hz monitor). That's not top of the line either, as I skipped the i7 (no point for gaming) and passed the gts 380...nevermind SLI.

12GB of RAM? Are you insane? Also, the monitor shouldn't really count in the price, since that's generally a "once every ten years" cost.

And yeah, the SSD is going to be a big part of it. Better to just get a smallish SSD (like 60-120GB) and just put the main stuff in there. OS, drivers, and whatever game you're playing right now. Just swap out the game when you're done. Shit, my dad, way back in the day, would put Silent Service (ATARI ST) on a RAM disk every time he'd play it. Same concept except you don't have to swap it out every day.

And you're wondering why you can't play Fallout 3.

[SineSwiper]

And you're wondering why you can't play Fallout 3.

Admittedly, that was on my older PC. The one that I was stretching out the life of a AGP port.

[Eric]

You're killing me Smalls.

[kali o.]

12GB of RAM? Are you insane? Also, the monitor shouldn't really count in the price, since that's generally a "once every ten years" cost.

And yeah, the SSD is going to be a big part of it. Better to just get a smallish SSD (like 60-120GB) and just put the main stuff in there. OS, drivers, and whatever game you're playing right now. Just swap out the game when you're done. Shit, my dad, way back in the day, would put Silent Service (ATARI ST) on a RAM disk every time he'd play it. Same concept except you don't have to swap it out every day.

Have you seen the way Win7 handles memory? Win7 is worse than ME, in terms of just general non-shittiness, and it's only because of gaming I made the jump. I really shoulda gone to 16gb, which is the max for x64 home, but I just forgot. When I am using Indesign and whatnot, it's invaluable to boot. As for the SSD, I wouldn't do less than 120gb. If you go 60, it's fine, but you better stay on top of keeping the drive clean and setting up your installation/download folders properly. I wouldn't skimp on mobo's...I mean, that pretty much dictates how you will upgrrade a few years down the line. You don't need to spend more than $150 at this point. And I am a big fan of MSi...Asus has traditionally always given me issues. The only reason I took Asus **again** was because it was the difference between taking my full order of parts home that second or waiting 3-4 days shipping. Same reason I have a Kingstone SSD instead of the Crucial one I wanted.

The $450 PC you listed is more of "internet surfing" model than a gaming PC, like Shrin said, LotRO 2 years ago ain't exactly benchmark material. Stick Witcher 2 in there.

Finally, nothing wrong with the i7 but it's really wasted at this point. If you want to save a few bucks and just upgrade down the line, get an i5 2600k and hyper 212. Honestly, I am running the thing at 4.6, cool & quiet...take the extra money saved and bump up the gpu.

[SineSwiper]

Well, it depends on your idea of a "gaming PC". I mean, even two years later, my PC can still play most games. Sure, I might not be able to get the max settings on the latest Crysis or whatever FPS is causing video cards to catch fire these days. But, I can still play them, which is what is important.

Besides, most of what I've been playing have been "arcade games" or Blizzard games, neither of which fall into a category of "card melting graphics".

[Shrinweck]

Hell, my six year old PC (not counting the video card and my main hard drive) with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (2.21ghz) still runs everything but I need (want) something that'll last me just as long into the future and not be a complete paper weight.

[Flip]

I just upgraded a few years ago, April 2010 (geez that seems like yesterday for some reason) to an i7, but only 8GB of RAM. Here are the other specs:

http://www.tows.cc/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15062

It still runs beautifully and I have had no need to change anything. I do still think the vid card could use a boost, but when all the games i've DL'ed off steam and installed from Blizz run just fine at great settings, i havent seen the need. I have a dual monitor set up and basically love my computer. Lets hope it lasts a few more years.

[Shrinweck]

This is finally going from some vague "I'm planning to upgrade this year" to the "Okay, let's actually do this" phase. Probably going to be:

sticking with the Intel core i7 for the cpu
8GB of RAM from Corsair
Depending on how much I'm feeling Asus or Gigabyte for the mobo when I'm actually doing the final clicking
Either this case from Corsair or this cheaper one from BitFenix
And tentatively this PSU and this SSD for the OS and a game or two.

Edit: Changed the SSD since 60gb almost certainly wasn't enough. I had no idea modern Windows took up 35gb until I checked earlier tonight. Probably sticking with Asus on the mobo and I'm leaning towards the BitFenix case since I'm pretty minimalist when it comes to cases.

Edit 2: Getting a more expensive, better reviewed mobo. Five year warranties on Asus mobos too enticing to pass up for Gigabyte. Getting a new copy of Win7 to upgrade from what I'm currently using (Vista), as well.

[Shrinweck]

Putting the new PC together tomorrow. Went with an Intel motherboard because it was so well reviewed compared to the other alternatives. Also, the low reviews all had to do with bricking the thing with BIOS updates which are something I'm totally okay with ignoring.

Also went with an 850W Corsair power supply that's over double the cost of what I was going to spend before but my Dad is good at talking me into buying more expensive things. Also went with a 120gb Corsair SSD for the same reason (Dad). Going with a Corsair Carbide series case. Never put together or seen a case with a bottom mounted power supply so this should be interesting.

I've been a fairly stubborn supporter of Windows Vista since I've had it and it has (almost) always worked extremely well for my needs, but it's going to be nice upgrading to 7. Only having one service pack to install tomorrow is going to be much nicer than the hoard of updates required for a Vista reinstall.

Excited to not have a PC that's slowly teetering on the edge of being the minimum requirements needed for gaming. My e-penis has been very flaccid lately.

[Shrinweck]

Like I said I waited another year - I thought my card now (GeForce 250 GTS) would be nearly bumping up against certain minimum requirements by now but it hasn't happened. I went with another nVidia card and got a GeForce 650 Ti. eVGA made the card I use now so i went with them again. I've never had a better card in terms of longevity, performance, simplicity (size, expense), and Tessian recently had a good (if harrowing) experience with their customer support which resulted in him getting more than he bargained for after some cajoling.

[Eric]

You got the i7-2600k? How much did you pay for it?

Did you not consider the i7-3570K or i7-3770K? They've gone down in price since the 4K series came out(Which are only a 5% boast from the 3000s series)

[Shrinweck]

It's been a year since those previous posts where I was talking price but I think it was something around $300 give or take $20. If I was upgrading today I'd probably go with the 3770k at $320 but alas I think I would have killed myself if I had to use my old PC for another year :D

It's hard to believe that a year has passed. I still get happy every time it takes me less than 30-45 seconds to shut down and restart this thing. My last PC it would be at least 3-5 minutes to close everything, shut down, and get back into Windows. Part of that was needing to reinstall the OS cleanly but enough was enough. I used to try to time it with short activities like making snacks, shaving, etc. since sitting there twiddling my thumbs got old.

[Eric]

Oh wow, I didn't even notice lol.

[Shrinweck]

Ugh I didn't realize Newegg's free shipping was FedEx Smartpost and the package got transferred to USPS when it got to the local office. Now there's been some weird delivery error and I'm not sure when I'll get the package. It really occurs to me that for some reason here UPS is what to use in outlying Atlanta areas.

FedEx was the shit in Blacksburg. In my last apartment the carrier recognized me and my address and knew that if it was the weekend he should knock loudly and wait a minute for my hungover ass to get dressed and to the door.

[Eric]

I love ordering from Newegg, I usually get my package the next day even with standard shipping.

[kali o.]

I am spoiled, I live less than 20 minutes from major tech supplier warehouses. And if I am feeling extra lazy, less than 10 minutes from an NCIX outlet.

As for the GTS 250, I am surprised you made it last that long. That was the same card I had and some new games really chugged up that little guy even years ago. But I do agree it was decent card that lasted me a while. I see I put I bought the "370". Not sure why I wrote that, obviously meant the 570. Not sure I would have made the same choice in cards you made -- 650 good card, but based on the rest, it will be the first thing you have to upgrade.

Honestly, I think the best thing about new systems is the SSD. I can never go back.

[Shrinweck]

Didn't think of it that way but you're probably right. I could see upgrading the video card and the memory in 4-6 years. But now I get to sit golden until one of my 5+ year old HDs fail.

[Shrinweck]

FedEx and their freaking status updates... So the delivery issue was noted as a "delivery exception" where supposedly USPS tried to deliver and failed because I wasn't home (I was, they either didn't knock or never came) and that I needed to contact the USPS post office close to me to pick it up. The post office was pissed at FedEx for giving these statuses because people come to the post offices (justifiably) angry about their junk not getting delivered... and USPS doesn't even have it! So I call FedEx, whose status page still says USPS has it and that it failed to got delivered yesterday, and they say it's on FedEx vehicle for delivery today.

So in summation, I'm probably not using FedEx in this area again if I can help it. Whoever the carrier is for my area must just suck. It's already the evening, there's been no status update, and my expectations are low. To make matters worse there's another thunder storm tonight.

[Shrinweck]

All that about FedEx still having it and USPS delivered it... Well at least it's working. Too bad there isn't a brand new release to test it out on. Skyrim looking incrementally better just isn't doing it for me.

[Eric]

I was thinking about upgrading stuff, but honestly with the new consoles coming out this year I can't motivate myself to, I don't feel like I'll really NEED to upgrade for a while since I'll have a PS4 for those cross platform games, and I don't know of any PC exclusives that are gonna tax my current card.

[SineSwiper]

We have a UPS hub, so all UPS deliveries happen 10 minutes before you order it.