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Time to build a machine...

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  • Fixed that for you.
    Looks pretty good, but are you okay with $35 for only 250GB? As a point of comparison, 2TB comes in at $90 or so, which is eight times the space for less than three times the price. If you're confident you'll only ever need 250GB that's fine, but otherwise you should consider a larger drive.
    I swapped in a 1TB with a faster rpm than the 2 tb drives I was looking around at. I've come close to 250, but never hit it with what I do. That being said, having a 1Tb will probably last me a long time, and at $70, it's not bad at all.
    Total cost is now $659.93 with shipping. I'll look into getting Windows 7 with an educators discount, but assuming the whole thing works and I'm not entirely retarded in assembling it, I think I'm good to go.
    Anyone see any other issues or tweaks I should consider?
  • edited November 2010
    Anyone see any other issues or tweaks I should consider?
    You should consider a high-DPI, ergonomic mouse and a teflon-coated mouse mat.
    Post edited by WindUpBird on
  • Anyone see any other issues or tweaks I should consider?
    You should consider a high-DPI, ergonomic mouse and a teflon-coated mouse mat.
    Hanukkah is coming up. You can get that for me. :\
    I can also get an i5 on the machine and end up a tidge over budget at 720. Would the upgrade be worth it?
  • DPI on mice is not that important, unless you want to have the sensitivity set extremely high.

    As to whether or not the i5 is worth it, that depends. It won't make a difference for most games, but then there would be a difference in some CPU-heavy games like Starcraft 2. In Photoshop there will be a noticeable difference, but Photoshop won't make full use of four cores most of the time either.
  • I was just kidding. You really want a 30" Dell Ultrasharp for those USB ports.
  • I was just kidding. You really want a 30" Dell Ultrasharp for those USB ports.
    Be my secret santa and get me that plz.
    I'm thinking i5 as something that could add longevity to the system. Of course, I could go with the lesser CPU now, and then if I ever need another one spend the money later.
  • Of course, I could go with the lesser CPU now, and then if I ever need another one spend the money later.
    CPU upgrades are not cost-effective.
  • I was just kidding. You really want a 30" Dell Ultrasharp for those USB ports.
    The 24" is fine.
  • i3 vs. i5, you will not notice any difference in all likelihood. Get whatever has the most Newegg eggs and trophies as that is usually the sweet spot for price/performance ratio.
  • i3 it is then. Looks like we're in at around $660.
  • i3 vs. i5, you will not notice any difference in all likelihood. Get whatever has the most Newegg eggs and trophies as that is usually the sweet spot for price/performance ratio.
    If we're talking about the quad-core i5 vs the dual-core i3, there will be a noticeable difference in some tasks within Photoshop, for one.
  • edited November 2010
    So, I've been playing games on a macbook since my desktop met its untimely death last year, and I've decided that I really should build a new desktop for some gaming. Here's what I have so far, and I'm using my old Dell Ultrasharp 20" monitor, mouse, and keyboard (and headphones, speakers, all that peripheral jazz).

    I'm pretty sure I don't need such a powerful PSU, and I'm thinking of downgrading from an i5 to either this, this, or this. Which one should I go for? I'd like to keep this in the $700 or less range if I can, but I don't want to skimp too much. Basically, I'd like to be able to play contemporary games without noticeable and annoying lag.

    EDIT: Also, how are Newegg's digital monday deals?
    Post edited by YoshoKatana on
  • edited November 2010
    That wishlist you linked is your own private link. Is this what you meant?
    Of those three i3s, definitely get the cheapest. It's only ~10% slower than the fastest of those, and it's significantly cheaper.

    You definitely don't need 750W, although Corsair's PSUs are some of the highest quality ones. Overall, your build is pretty good; I don't see any glaring issues apart from what you found yourself.
    Post edited by lackofcheese on
  • That wishlist you linked is your own private link. Isthiswhat you meant?
    Yep! Thanks. Let me rebuild this and see what it comes out to...
  • edited November 2010
    Here's the updated one. 650W PSU, i3 540, haven't added hard drives yet. I'm thinking of just getting a $50 500gig drive for now, then doing a RAID-1 with 2TB drives when I have more money. How does that sound?
    Post edited by YoshoKatana on
  • Get this GPU instead. It's still an EVGA nVidia GTX 460, but it's got 1 GB instead of 768 MB, and it's $10 cheaper (and then another $20 cheaper after a mail-in rebate).
  • GetthisGPU instead. It's still an EVGA nVidia GTX 460, but it's got 1 GB instead of 768 MB, and it's $10 cheaper (and then another $20 cheaper after a mail-in rebate).
    Bastards! I bought the 760 just a month or so ago because it was a whole bunch cheaper than the 1GB.
  • edited November 2010
    Get this GPU instead.
    Oh, sweet! Thanks.

    $660, with $95 in mail-in rebates. I'll see if anything becomes cheaper on Monday, but that seems a pretty incredible deal.
    Post edited by YoshoKatana on
  • edited November 2010
    Not really that incredible. Granted, you've got some good prices for your parts, but a few months down the track there will be better components at similar prices.
    Post edited by lackofcheese on
  • You going full sized ATX?
  • Not really that incredible. Granted, you've got some good prices for your parts, but a few months down the track there will be better components at similar prices.
    This is always true when buying computers, is it not?
  • Not really that incredible. Granted, you've got some good prices for your parts, but a few months down the track there will be better components at similar prices.
    This is always true when buying computers, is it not?
    There are cycles of production. If you buy right before the next generation of video cards, you'll probably lose out on sweeter deals.
  • You going full sized ATX?
    Eh. That board has the best rating (for what I need), and isn't too expensive. The case is a mid-tower, though. I've never worked hands-on with a microATX board, too.
    There are cycles of production. If you buy right before the next generation of video cards, you'll probably lose out on sweeter deals.
    I haven't been keeping up with hardware news. Is there stuff very closely on the horizon that I should hold off on? I'd rather buy sooner than later, since trying to game on a macbook is a trying experience.
  • edited November 2010
    The graphics cards coming out soon are super high end. Sandybridge is also coming soon, but doesn't look too revolutionary. I think it's an OK time to buy.
    Post edited by Pegu on
  • edited November 2010
    Every now and then I see this thread out of the corner of my eye, and am disappointed when I look directly at it only to find that it is about computers and not time travel.
    Post edited by Walker on
  • Time to build a time machine...
  • edited November 2010
    Third attempt, with Cyber Monday deals in mind.
    This one is a bit more expensive because it has the i5 processor and Windows 7 included in it, and the video card is slightly more expensive as well since they sold out of the other one in the previous list.
    The whole cost is $834.92, which is basically $735 for the system not including the software. $35 over budget, but still well within reason. How does the system look to you guys?
    Post edited by GreatTeacherMacRoss on
  • edited November 2010
    And another, cheaper version with an i3.
    Now, my question is, should I go with the more expensive third attempt, or is the price:power ratio not worth it?
    EDIT: I definitely like the fourth build better. I'm just deciding if I should go with the i3 CPU that's in there, or spend a little extra and get this one. Is it worth the cost?
    Post edited by GreatTeacherMacRoss on
  • Pulling the trigger and getting the one with the i5.
  • Looks fine to me.
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