- Jul 15, 2013
- 12
- 0
- 18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: ideally before sept. 9 (my birthday) 
Budget Range: $1300-1400, but that is a little flexible if it buys me some good future-proofing. obviously, the less i can spend the better, but i want some good stuff and would like this machine to last.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming will be the most taxing thing i do to the system
Are you buying a monitor: no, at least not at first. i'm going to try and use my 42" hd sony tv as my primary monitor
Parts to Upgrade: everything. my last gaming rig is 10 years old. i had hoped to re-use my lian li case (a lian li pc-62) but have been advised that it likely won't be up to par with the heat generated by today's components.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes. i've seen reports that suggest win8 gains some performance in games vs win7, and with the upcoming dirextx 11.2 stuff, i'm not sure which way i should go. i'm not opposed to win8 though.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: any of the usual suspects; newegg, tigerdirect, amazon, etc.
Location: new orleans, la, usa
Parts Preferences: i've leaned intel/nvidia over my last few builds
Overclocking: Maybe. i had initially thought that i wouldn't, but some reading on this site makes it seem easier to do than it was 10 years ago and that the gains to be had could be very noticeable.
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080. as mentioned above, i will be at first using an hd sony tv. if that proves cumbersome for non-gaming, i might get something a little higher than that, probably in the 1600x1200 range, but that purchase would be a few months behind the system itself. i would also prioritize max graphics settings and framerate over resolution, so if playing at 1080 with full settings was a smoother and better looking experience than playing at 1200 with reduced settings, i would pick the 1080 choice.
Additional Comments: quieter would be nicer, so as not to annoy the wife or on-the-way child, but i don't think i'm ready to take the water cooling jump after having done some reading on it. a case window and colored lighting would be fun though, but certainly not required.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: circumstances over the last 7 years required me to have a dedicated laptop as my computing device, but that has recently changed and i'm getting back into having a dedicated desktop rig. my laptop is a sony vaio i7-2630qm @ 2.0gghz w/ an nvidia gt 540m, which has been a really nice laptop, but nothing i've owned since my last desktop rig has ever truly met my gaming needs and i want to change that now.
as far as games that will be played on it, my steam backlog includes "fallout: new vegas", "battlefield: bad company 2", "metro 2033", both batman arkham games, "the witcher 2" and "deus ex: human revolution". i'll also be playing some "guild wars 2" and "final fantasy 14:arr". "skyrim" and "dishonored" and the upcoming game "watch dogs" are on my radar as well. i haven't played most of those games yet due to knowing my current laptop just wouldn't be up to snuff in giving me the gaming experience i want.
here's a build i've put together that i would like some feedback on.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1hFYc
is the 4 gigs on the video card worth it? or is that overkill with my 1080p hd tv?
i'm split on the i5/i7 choice for cpu also. would an i5 be ok or should i go i7? i've seen lots of recommendations for both. i'm ok with an i5 if that leaves me an upgrade path to something better in the next year or so. i don't mind having to do small upgrades over time, but i would like the bulk of this system to be good for at least a year or so before needing an upgrade.
the cooler master case came recommended on other threads, but i don't think i really care for it visually. i liked the simple elegance of my previous lian li case, but haven't done a lot of case research yet.
same goes for power supply. they've changed so much since i last bought one.
thanks in advance for any thoughts, suggestions, etc you might have.
Budget Range: $1300-1400, but that is a little flexible if it buys me some good future-proofing. obviously, the less i can spend the better, but i want some good stuff and would like this machine to last.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming will be the most taxing thing i do to the system
Are you buying a monitor: no, at least not at first. i'm going to try and use my 42" hd sony tv as my primary monitor
Parts to Upgrade: everything. my last gaming rig is 10 years old. i had hoped to re-use my lian li case (a lian li pc-62) but have been advised that it likely won't be up to par with the heat generated by today's components.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes. i've seen reports that suggest win8 gains some performance in games vs win7, and with the upcoming dirextx 11.2 stuff, i'm not sure which way i should go. i'm not opposed to win8 though.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: any of the usual suspects; newegg, tigerdirect, amazon, etc.
Location: new orleans, la, usa
Parts Preferences: i've leaned intel/nvidia over my last few builds
Overclocking: Maybe. i had initially thought that i wouldn't, but some reading on this site makes it seem easier to do than it was 10 years ago and that the gains to be had could be very noticeable.
SLI or Crossfire: No
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080. as mentioned above, i will be at first using an hd sony tv. if that proves cumbersome for non-gaming, i might get something a little higher than that, probably in the 1600x1200 range, but that purchase would be a few months behind the system itself. i would also prioritize max graphics settings and framerate over resolution, so if playing at 1080 with full settings was a smoother and better looking experience than playing at 1200 with reduced settings, i would pick the 1080 choice.
Additional Comments: quieter would be nicer, so as not to annoy the wife or on-the-way child, but i don't think i'm ready to take the water cooling jump after having done some reading on it. a case window and colored lighting would be fun though, but certainly not required.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: circumstances over the last 7 years required me to have a dedicated laptop as my computing device, but that has recently changed and i'm getting back into having a dedicated desktop rig. my laptop is a sony vaio i7-2630qm @ 2.0gghz w/ an nvidia gt 540m, which has been a really nice laptop, but nothing i've owned since my last desktop rig has ever truly met my gaming needs and i want to change that now.
as far as games that will be played on it, my steam backlog includes "fallout: new vegas", "battlefield: bad company 2", "metro 2033", both batman arkham games, "the witcher 2" and "deus ex: human revolution". i'll also be playing some "guild wars 2" and "final fantasy 14:arr". "skyrim" and "dishonored" and the upcoming game "watch dogs" are on my radar as well. i haven't played most of those games yet due to knowing my current laptop just wouldn't be up to snuff in giving me the gaming experience i want.
here's a build i've put together that i would like some feedback on.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1hFYc
is the 4 gigs on the video card worth it? or is that overkill with my 1080p hd tv?
i'm split on the i5/i7 choice for cpu also. would an i5 be ok or should i go i7? i've seen lots of recommendations for both. i'm ok with an i5 if that leaves me an upgrade path to something better in the next year or so. i don't mind having to do small upgrades over time, but i would like the bulk of this system to be good for at least a year or so before needing an upgrade.
the cooler master case came recommended on other threads, but i don't think i really care for it visually. i liked the simple elegance of my previous lian li case, but haven't done a lot of case research yet.
same goes for power supply. they've changed so much since i last bought one.
thanks in advance for any thoughts, suggestions, etc you might have.
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