axle2152 Wrote:Are we talking lasting a long time or usability?...so slow I have to RDP into my server at home to use it.
Excellent point. Physical hardware will last a very long time when it is well cared for. Graphic requirements for many of the current games out there have gone up over timeThat's why I mentioned the inexpensive AMD/Radeon A8.
IIMO, If you bought a computer with good quality (say, $1,000 or more, 8GB RAM, 1TB storage, at least 4 processors or whatever), you can get quite a bit of longevity (and quality usage) out of it. I have converted some of my gaming systems into computers for work. The intel core 2 duo motherboards are unique creatures and probably worthy of an entire website and forum of their own
Anyway, I guess it depends. Windows 10 is much much lighter than its predecessors. If we could mention some specific games, it might be easier.
Cobalt Wrote:So currently I have a laptop, which isn't really suited for games (integrated graphics card, etc.). I haven't had a desktop PC for a while. While there is one in the house, it's definitely not a game PC. It's mostly used for the business and other type things. My partner does video editing on a separate computer but I don't really want to go into that one, it's his and I don't want to mess with it.
Truthfully, I don't think I don't have real desire to play Street Fighter V. I considered it but I don't think I'm all that impressed enough to invest money into a system to play it. Street Fighter IV however, yes. I have it for consoles but I always wanted to mess around with the PC mods/skins.
I'm against considering a gaming laptop, mostly because I've never read any good news about them. I'm leaning more towards building a PC but I'm not totally sure just yet. Building wouldn't really be out of the question ability wise, money would just be the issue. My partner is an engineer, so electronics and components are second nature to him. If I got stuck with something, he could figure it out I'm sure. I did tinker around with a desktop PC I had years ago, so I was/am a little familiar with swapping parts out as well.
What kind of graphics card is in your current laptop? It doesn't look like the requirements are steep to play that game...and most of the other games ought to run on just about anything.
The nice thing about building it yourself is that you can buy the components as you go. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that the motherboard socket and CPU all match. So if you buy a socket 1155 CPU you need to pair it with a socket 1155 board. The next being memory, if your board uses DDR4 be sure use DDR4 memory also look at the clock speed that the board can support. All sounds pretty "duh" but when you're looking around on places like Newegg or Amazon it is very easy to accidentally order the wrong thing....I've almost slipped up myself a time or two.
Once I get some time I'll sit down and do a mock up of a gaming system you could build for around $800.
"I’m not expecting to grow flowers in a desert, but I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime" Check out my stuff!
For my integrated graphics card, it's only identified as "Intel HD Graphics Family" with 4150 MB of approximate total memory. The processor is listed as Intel Core i5-4210U @1.70 GHz~2.4 GHz, and 8 GB of RAM.
Truthfully I haven't had many problems running the very small amount of games I have on this but, I don't really like playing games on a laptop that much at all. Playing something like The Sims just doesn't "feel" right on this, it felt much more natural and better on a desktop. I bought a wireless mouse for the laptop thinking maybe using that instead of the trackpad would help but, not really. It still felt off.
No pointers are really off limits for me, I've never built a computer before so any information is good information. Unless it's counter intuitive (like saying: be sure to toss the whole thing in a fire once you've finished).
[MENTION=22914]Cobalt[/MENTION] If you have never built a computer and have relatively no clue what you're singing up for have a look at this video...it is about 30 minutes, touches on pretty much the jist of everything...I'll follow up with more detail on all the steps. Of course, every computer build differs but I think most cases between things like the video and some pointers I have you should be able to build pretty much whatever you want.
Have a look at that first, see what you think and if you're still not like screw it I'll go into more detail. Just a FYI, used to work at a computer repair shop, worked there for about 5 years and have built many many desktop computers, some gaming computers...some which sold for $2500...rack mount servers a few times. Most of which went to the local school district, I've probably built somewhere around 1,000 computers...repaired god knows how many. Now, that being said it has been a while since I have built one from the ground up as the places I have worked didn't require me to do so, but there have been a few exceptions so yeah it's not like I've forgotten but I may leave out some tips and potientially something important, like screws, or grounding youself that sort of thing.
Now some possible options for your laptop, which by the way, while it might not play Street Fighter IV or V (It might play IV) it will likely play everything you have mentioned so far. You can get what is called a docking station. I've seen these used and they pretty much turn your laptop into a desktop system. You would need a monitor, keyboard and mouse...all this ties back to the docking station... If your laptop isn't able to mate up to an OEM docking station you can simply plug a monitor, keyboard and mouse directly. Still not the real thing but you'll be using all the same peripherals you would use with a desktop. That is the cheap option you can take opposed to building a computer. Mind you, not trying to talk you out of building a computer, just throwing out other options you might not have thought about.
That being said, peripherals, what do you have, what things like monitor, keyboard and mouse are going to eat into your budget? Monitors being the bigger one, but if you plan on getting a nice mechanical gaming keyboard this stuff adds up then you're really limiting what you can build...unless you start spacing things out on what you buy at once. If we're at ground zero...probably going to be very difficult to build anything of much decency for under $1,000 if we're needing to factor in things like a monitor of you require higher end things like gaming keyboards and mice... Or headset, lots of folks want those for their Everquest raids lol (ring ring 2006 called and wants their MMORPG's back lol). Anyway, I think depending on your answers to those we need to make a list of things that are going to be part of your build that will be going against your budget (I'll include the hardware -- we can adjust that as necessary should the need arise).
Sorry to ask all these questions but it does make it easier to get a baseline on everything that is needed. I wouldn't just send you a bunch of a link and be like hey buy this stuff and put it together not knowing whether or not you knew what you were doing.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling on and we'll start there and see what we got.
"I’m not expecting to grow flowers in a desert, but I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime" Check out my stuff!
Definitely going to put that video on my to-do-list to watch tomorrow. Thanks for that.
I never considered doing the docking station thing to be honest. It is a much cheaper alternative but I feel like a full blown desktop PC is best. I would hate for something to happen to my laptop and realize that both my laptop and my desktop PC are now gone. Having two separate things would be ideal but thanks for the suggestion, I didn't consider it before.
I would be doing my own research for sure to try and learn as much as possible. And I'm sure as soon as my partner catches wind of what I'm doing, he'll be intensely interested. Electronics/gadgets are hardcore porn for him, he loves loves loves them. He's got a work bench with all sorts of gizmos and gadgets that I could assemble it on and if I got confused/hung up he would lend a hand, or several.
As of now I have basically nothing, we do have keyboards and monitors here but of course, those are hooked up to current working PCs. I'm not at all picky about fancy keyboards and mice, as long as they comfortable and functioning I don't mind. I'm fine with sub 20 dollar peripherals, I wouldn't consider them part of my budget. A monitor is where things get a little pricier but I'm not looking for a huge, big ass beast of a monitor with 4K quality. As long as it can display what my computer's graphics card is putting out just fine, I'm happy. I know a monitor is definitely more than 20 bucks but again, I wouldn't consider that part of my budget either.
The only thing that could cut into my budget is Windows 10. I'm not sure if I want to factor that into my budget yet or not. For now I would say it's not part of my budget. It probably should be but, I would be okay with waiting to get that if I was able to build the computer and know it's not "complete" yet without getting Windows. Besides, it wouldn't be a very long wait and I would also probably kick up my budget to include the cost of that if it came down to it.
Headsets wouldn't matter to me, I think I have one...somewhere but I never, ever used any headsets. I don't play anything online really and if I do, I don't communicate outside of text.
But anyway, I think that answered most of what you were asking about, hopefully. So yeah, thanks for the help so far!
Cobalt Wrote:I never considered doing the docking station thing to be honest. It is a much cheaper alternative but I feel like a full blown desktop PC is best. I would hate for something to happen to my laptop and realize that both my laptop and my desktop PC are now gone. Having two separate things would be ideal but thanks for the suggestion, I didn't consider it before.
It is definitely best to not use a laptop for gaming at all in my opinion. I know they make gaming laptops but you're basically toting around a full blown desktop, they're bulkier, heavier, put out more heat and unfortunately cool laptops are likely to get stolen among everything. Think of it like having an exotic sports car, they're pretty cool until you have to have them serviced for a problem.
Anyway, I have speced out a "sample" computer, you don't have to do this exact build but this gives you an idea of what sort of specs you could have... First and foremost, this isn't the biggest powerhouse you could build...I could spec out a $3,000 gaming computer that would rock out practically any game. Even the system I speced out would play GTA V. I've attached a text file (19.5 KB isn't enough for Microsoft's garbage formatting...literally less than 1,000 characters and Microsoft adds 38
One thing though, there are things you can change, different case, different power supply. I tend to prefer having a higher end power supply, they simply last longer when you're drawing less than 50%.
I'll go through all the steps I take when I build a computer, you might consider getting some things like a power supply tester (to test prior to applying power to the system) and a grounding wrist strap -- pretty much needed if you're in a dry area or during the winter. Beyond that you just need a Phillips screw driver...possibly a band-aid. Also, some might say not to use a magnetic screw driver...I say use one unless you like trying to chase down screws that fall down in the case and get wedged only to fall out some time later and short out and ruin the motherboard.
Anyway, look over the list, let me know if you have any questions or want to make changes, like maybe you think the case it too ugly...too expensive, etc. I know some people who just mount the thing on a block of wood...but that's kind of extreme.
"I’m not expecting to grow flowers in a desert, but I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime" Check out my stuff!
So I looked at all the parts, thanks for compiling that list! I actually do like the case, the blue LEDs are neat and considering blue's my favorite color, I have no complaints at all. What's the point of the cpu coolers on some builds that I see? Other than, you know, doing the obvious (cooling) why do some builds have it when others don't?
Cobalt Wrote:So I looked at all the parts, thanks for compiling that list! I actually do like the case, the blue LEDs are neat and considering blue's my favorite color, I have no complaints at all. What's the point of the cpu coolers on some builds that I see? Other than, you know, doing the obvious (cooling) why do some builds have it when others don't?
I haven't had any issues with OEM coolers from Intel. Some CPU's (AMD in the past) would run very hot and folks like to overclock. So an aftermarket CPU cooler can keep the CPU cooler than an OEM one in some cases. I don't think for the build I listed would really benefit from an aftermarket cooler, some may disagree and here's why:
While your computer will run stable and everything from the surface looks fine behind the scenes there are always to some extent math and logic errors occurring, this effect increases as the temperature goes up...also more common for graphics cards. This is why a lot of people like to water cool their computers, they're able to get rid of heat faster enabling them to overclock and improve performance overall by keeping the temperatures lower.
However the biggest benefit is lifespan, cooler computers tend to last longer. I also feel that used hardware last longer than hardware that sits around. I say that because every computer I have built has always lasted longer than 5 years... In fact I just added a new video card for 4k resolution in an 8 year old computer.
"I’m not expecting to grow flowers in a desert, but I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime" Check out my stuff!
Thanks for that information. I didn't think I needed it, just kind of wondered why some people had them while others didn't. If it's mostly for overclocking then yeah, I don't intend on having a need for that at all then.
I was wondering about the case. I noticed this was recommended here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...38566&SID=
I kind of don't like the look, as it seems sort of plain but, it looks like cable management is really good on it and like it's got more room inside for parts? Not totally sure. I'm mostly concerned about making sure it gets good airflow though. I don't mind if a case fits parts a little tight as long as the air flow is good. Which one would you recommend, the one you originally suggested or this one?
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