Is this a good time to invest in a gaming PC?

Jethead

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Mar 9, 2013
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Hello, this is my first post here.

Disclaimer:
I'm a total noob, and not a native speaker.
Apologies for not using the template, it's a general question, I don't have a date or budget in mind yet.

The situation:
I have a 3,5 years old Dell Studio XPS 7100 (AMD Phenom II X6 1055T + Cooler Master HyperTX3 Evo, ATI Radeon HD 5870 + Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme 5870, Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio, 4x2GB 1333Ghz RAM, 1TB+2TB 5200 RPM HDD, mobo is Dell as far as I know). I can run all the current gen games on high settings, I was hoping for it to last until the next gen.
It's PSU started to make noise. I ordered a Corsair 650TX V2 and took the old one apart - lots of weird white stuff leaked all over it.
I installed the new PSU and noticed the PC is overheating now. So I opened it again to check if all fans are connected - they were.
When I plugged the power cable in, my new PSU spew a few sparks and the fuses blew in the flat. The power switch on the PSU was on 'off'.

The questions:
Is now a good time to buy a new PC? Should I try to get the old one repaired, knowing that the new generation of consoles is coming around Xmas?
If I decide to buy a new PC, would it be safe to reuse any parts of the old one?
 

Jethead

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Mar 9, 2013
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It did the same thing in another socket. But I'll get an electrician to check the sockets, thanks for the tip!
 

pete123edgar

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Feb 8, 2013
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Yeah its good to build a new pc now. For me, I am using a mid range card to last me until the next gen card comes by, but mid-range card such as the 7870 tahiti le is good to play max for most games at around $240. Build a pc around $700 and you can play most games a high esttings
 

DEVILVSANGEL00

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May 21, 2008
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id also suggest to start saving up your budget now and wait untill a month or so after haswell is relased and that way you know if its worth going haswell over ivy/sandy bridge,

your specs seems fine to play most high demanding games on slightly lowered details for another few months, but outlander 04 is right get the wall sockets and wiring checked out just incase and if its not that then new psu power lead just to be safe,

as for the psu and the white stuff would you be able to post a picture of the insides it would help to determin what it could be,

hope this helps
 
I would wait a couple of months for Intel's next generation chip to debut. "Haswell" should offer better performance for the same price as Ivy Bridge, and judging by the cost of your last system when it was purchased, I'm guessing your budget will be similar.

The video card market will be fairly stable for the next 6 months or so as it looks like nVidia and Amd have both delayed their next gen. cards.

The rest of the components suffer from their own price volatility, so it's hard to gauge the future pricing per performance for those.
 

Jethead

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Mar 9, 2013
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Can't make pics of the old PSU, already chucked it out.

I think I will only need a new PC once the first games for the new generation of consoles start coming out, my current PC beats recommended specs for Crysis 3.

Do you think there will be a new generation of GPUs around the time new consoles come out?
 

DEVILVSANGEL00

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May 21, 2008
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I'm guessing the next gen of gpu's are going to be delayed until august/september time, and your right your pc will hold out until the next gen console games are released and starts to give pc games a bump up in quality and demand from the cpu/gpu, but in the mean time id still save a lil each month and eventually have enough to buy next gen high end parts when their finally released just to make it easier for when you finally decide to upgrade,

as with the psu and the problems you described id still get a new psu power lead and get the electrical wiring and wall plug socket checked out just to be safe, old wiring if it is that is a fire risk if over 30-40 years old depending on the cable quality laid and the environment its gone through (snow, damp, dry weather, water damage from somewhere) also make sure all of the earths (3rd top pin) are working as they are the bypass when a short circuit occurs.

hope this helps :)
 

Jethead

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Mar 9, 2013
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Sooo, if anyone is interested in update...

Electrician checked the sockets and said everything's fine. The wiring is old (about 50 years old) but all is grounded properly and power levels are good.

PC repair guys told me my PC is fine. Motherboard and PSU both overheat but they said I can still use my PC safely. Probably the fault is somewhere on the motherboard. They had no electricity related issues with my PC.

So i brought my PC back home. Connected all the plugs. Switched the power on on the power strip. Switched the power on on the PSU. Turned the PC on. Everything fine.

Switched the PC off. Switched the power off on the PSU - sparks again. Quickly disconnected the power strip from socket.

Then switched the power on PSU to on, plugged the power strip to the socket - all fine. Switched the PC on - all good again.

Can anybody explain that? Can I use my PC without the fear of being electrocuted, as the electrician and PC repair guys claim?

[update] Had to open it up again cause PC repair guys forgot to plug the case mic/phone to the graphic card. Didn't touch the PSU power switch. Plugged back in with no issues. I'll just stay away from PSU power switch.