Gombur also needs a new desktop

Gombur

Guild Mascot
Sep 21, 2005
2,238
After a series of hardware heart attacks and a new old CPU my very old desktop is still running, but very, very, very slowly to the point where I cant even watch youtube videos smoothly anymore. Thus the time has come to get a new desktop, but I have absolutely now idea about hardware or what is the best right now, so Gombnub needs your help once more.

I need a new: Motherboard, CPU, GFX card, RAM, PSU and a new cabinet that can fit it all (my current one is a nasty mesh of wires) and possibly a new monitor.

I'm mainly looking for a desktop to be used as a mediacenter and watch 1080 dpi etc smoothly, but would also like one that will be able to run Dragon Age, Diablo 3 and other games. Also I'd like a computer that will also be able to run Photoshop and 3DSMAX, Maya without problems.

Like I said I am a complete noob, so I hope someone can give me some suggestions and pointers :kiss:
 

Gink

Member
Nov 25, 2005
2,799
I`m about to get a desktop, and I was wondering about Windows 8 (PRO 64bit), which is the default OS in the package I`m looking at.
I`d like to swap it with Windows 7 64bit, but the shop says it`ll cost me 100 Euro (:eek:), though I`m pretty sure I can convince them to do it for free.

I`m hoping some computer savvy people could help me out a bit here.

I`m a bit unsure about Window 8 and how compatibel it is with older games, any comments on that?
I still haven`t gotten around to KOTOR, Vampire Bloodlines, Jade Empire, etc.

Which would you prefer, and why?

Windows 8 PRO vs. Windows 7 (for free)
Windows 8 PRO vs. Windows 7 (for 100 Euro)

Thanks for any advice! :)
 

Atermors

Member
Dec 2, 2010
496
In both cases win8 for sure.... it's compatible with everything windows 7 is and has some nice advancements.
 

Smaj

RawR!
Staff member
Jan 7, 2013
4,243
I'd personally not go near win8 yet.... but that's prob due to my paranoia carried over from work :D


Hardware wise, I don't know that much, though I'm currently looking at a new desktop for myself and tryign to weigh up whether to overclock an i5 or go for the i7 (due to my budget!)...... By the time I've made up my mind the i7 prob will be a lot cheaper, too :D

For an i5 build (not too expensive ~£500-550) been looking at this combo:
MB: Intel H77M-D3H
CPU: i5 (prob 3330)
GC: geforce gtx 660
RAM: venom red 2x 4gb
PSU: cx 600w v2
HDD: WD black 1TB
Case: carbide 300r (decent space and price)

(I've prob added more to the confusion than have helped! lol)
 

Smaj

RawR!
Staff member
Jan 7, 2013
4,243
I should add.... I got a friend too look at the spec..... not my brain work :D
 

Gink

Member
Nov 25, 2005
2,799
I`ve got the hardware pretty much down, so not really looking for advice on that, thanks though. :)

Glad to hear Win 8 = Win 7 in terms of compatibility, makes me slightly less sceptical towards getting it at least. Would love to get more input on the matter still though.
 

Atermors

Member
Dec 2, 2010
496
Well when it comes to the opinion I know towards Windows 8 it's pretty much split. Some hate it some love it. Oddly enough most people that hate it never used it and just hate it by recommendation.
It surely needs some getting used to (New start screen etc.), but that time is well spend imo (and was limited to an hour or so for me)

What has paranoia to do with windows 8? You should go with BSD if you're paranoid.

@Smaj: Get a SSD. Something cheap like a Samsung 840 128GB is enough as primary drive. It's just that huge of a difference. Rest looks okay. I'd go for a hd7850, but that shouldn't matter much. The i7 won't add much if you're just gaming with it. For your budget I'd even look into an AMD setup, something along the lines of Phenom II X4 965. Check e.g. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-2.html I used that CPU last month and was pretty surprised by the cost/performance ratio.
 

Merlijn

Shadow Master
Mar 11, 2009
2,284
Tbh just keep an eye out for the Setup of the Month they post on MMOChamp. I build my last comp from there and it runs everything super smooth
 

Jazende

Sacred vines, entangle the corrupted!
Staff member
May 12, 2008
4,997
Agree with Ater, an ssd is going to be a tremendous boost to any loading times from OS to software.
For RAM I prefer going a bit higher as it's really cheap anyway. I put 2x8gb CL9 for 70euro.

Case is pretty sweet, got the same one.


How stable is Win8 atm? Back in the beta version had a (granted a bit older) pc running with, crashed quite often
 

Atermors

Member
Dec 2, 2010
496
I haven't had a crash since I'm running it which is since MSDN release. (6 Month or so)

I only had one restart either due to SSD crash :/ The new sleep mode is awesome.