Need info about a gaming computer

[Dave - WebGuy]

I'm looking at picking up a computer to better handle some of the gaming I've been doing (WoW and SWTOR). Was looking at picking up one of these:

CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra Desktop

I have a hunch it's something branded by AMD, but nobody at Futureshop or Bestbuy seem to know much.

Anyone have experience or info that would be useful?

 

[escortphotoshoots]

Since intel has released their multicore processors (especially the iX series), i've made a point of staying away from AMD processors (their high end video cards are great, but their processors are crap for handling multithreaded applications compared to intel's offerings).

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4955/the-bulldozer-review-amd-fx8150-tested/11 (a review on the slightly higher amd processor model to the one you were considering)

What is your max budget before taxes? I'd be happy to look something up for you.

 

[escortphotoshoots]

As a PC enthusiast, it's a bit hard to make recommendations on pre-built units (i prefer buying the pieces and building my own machine - it tends to be cheaper / i know *exactly* what is under the hood), but in terms of bestbuy, these are the best units i can find in the high 900 and 700 price points

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http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=006c753a560b78010ea436e75c769268en02

price: 999 (on sale)
processor: i7 2600 - quad core (fantastic)
ram: 10gb ddr3 (fantastic)
hdd: 2tb - 5400rpm (great size, i wish the rpm was 7200 though - if you know how to install hdd's, you can always add / replace later)
video card: amd 7570 (insane for gaming lol)

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http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=b34507172724ac9256044b8ca761eafeen02

price: 799
processor: i5-2500K - quad core (very good, not as good as the i7 above, but much better than the amd you were considering)
ram: 8GB DDR3 (very good, more ram = running more processes at one time)
hdd: 1tb - 7200rpm (decent size, recommended hdd speed, like the other configuration, you can always add more storage)
video card: amd 6850 (excellent for gaming)

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Hope this info helps, if you have any questions feel free to ask, i am *extremely* tech savvy.

 

[Dave - WebGuy]

What I was suggested from Futureshop was

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/gateway-gateway-2nd-gen-intel-core-i7-2600-desktop-computer-dx4860-ef12p-dx4860-ef12p/10191921.aspx?path=584b9edcadc83bbb74e497abd71d32aben02

They had mentioned that the i7 processor was better at multithreading ... I just wasn't thrilled about there being little room to add any more than a sound card and that I'd likely be wanting to upgrade the video right away. I looked at the AMD one just as simpler to add or upgrade.

It's pretty much between those 2, unless someting in or around the $700-$800 range is better.

Everyone a year from now will have all new processors for Windows 8, and whatever I buy will be old hat in about 3 months ... I've learned technology can keep ahead of anyone's wallet.

 

[escortphotoshoots]

Yeah, the main issue with that gateway unit is that it looks to me like it does not have a dedicated video card, so gaming on it would be a no / go (unless you added a dedicated video card to it)

Let me quickly look at futureshop's offerings for you.

I've learned technology can keep ahead of anyone's wallet

You'd be surprised though how long good tech can last though. For example, I'm currently running the amd 5850 series video card (a couple generations lower than today's 6000 and 7000 series cards), and it has *no* problems handling battlefield 3 in resolutions 1600x1200 and lower at a solid 30fps (and bf3 is very gpu intensive).

 

[Dave - WebGuy]

As a PC enthusiast, it's a bit hard to make recommendations on pre-built units (i prefer buying the pieces and building my own machine - it tends to be cheaper / i know *exactly* what is under the hood), but in terms of bestbuy, these are the best units i can find in the high 900 and 700 price points

--------------------------------------------------

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product...spx?path=b34507172724ac9256044b8ca761eafeen02

price: 799
processor: i5-2500K - quad core (very good, not as good as the i7 above, but much better than the amd you were considering)
ram: 8GB DDR3 (very good, more ram = running more processes at one time)
hdd: 1tb - 7200rpm (decent size, recommended hdd speed, like the other configuration, you can always add more storage)
video card: amd 6850 (excellent for gaming)

--------------------------------------------------

Hope this info helps, if you have any questions feel free to ask, i am *extremely* tech savvy.

The second one you mentioned isn't one I spotted ... not bad, just I think their listing is missing some stuff. I'm pricing a custom build tomorrow, the person I usually get parts from is in tomorrow instead of the guy I talked to who told me "what I needed" instead of answering my questions .lol We'll see what comes up with the build I'm looking for and how far off the price is.

Solid State drives are coming .... HDD size isn't a consideration as long as it's better than 500GB lol Besides I have 3 2TB externals at my disposal.

I thought the NVIDIA cards were tauted best of the best ... but I'm no expert. Guess it's a prefferential thing, I've actually been using Radeon cards up till now.

I'm starting with the 8GB and noticed on the one system there was 2 slots for adding 2X4GB, rather than replacing 2X4GB with 2X8GB ... I'll have to check Bestbuy to find out about their open PCI slots as all they list is N/A .. I'm assuming it should have at least one open.

 

[Dave - WebGuy]

Yeah, the main issue with that gateway unit is that it looks to me like it does not have a dedicated video card, so gaming on it would be a no / go (unless you added a dedicated video card to it)

Let me quickly look at futureshop's offerings for you.



You'd be surprised though how long good tech can last though. For example, I'm currently running the amd 5850 series video card (a couple generations lower than today's 6000 and 7000 series cards), and it has *no* problems handling battlefield 3 in resolutions 1600x1200 and lower at a solid 30fps (and bf3 is very gpu intensive).

Uses a Radeon 6750 in the one that I saw on the shelf ... although it's likely the older model on the site as they told me the one they had on the shelf in the store was an updated version.

 

[escortphotoshoots]

If you are planning on buying standalone parts (ram, hard drives, etc), do yourself a favor and pick stuff up from canadacomputers rather than a big box company, you will save money, and you can get great stuff.

Uses a Radeon 6750 in the one that I saw on the shelf

If that build comes with a radeon 6700 series video card, you will not need to upgrade for awhile lol. Unless you plan on doing some hardcore gaming (of very gpu intense games) on gigantic monitors, then you might need a second video card to pull it off lol.

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In terms of futureshop, the only build that is worth considering, and rests between the 1000 and 700 mark is this:

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/prod...spx?path=5cfa88adde3ebd7260d7724c6ae33497en02

price: 899
cpu: Intel Core i5-2500K - quad core
ram: 8 GB DDR3 (2 additional slots available)
hdd: 1TB - 7200rpm (5 additional 3.5 hdd bays available)
video card: ATI Radeon HD 6850 (1 additional 16x video card slot available)

-- it's a bit more expensive than the 700 price range, but this is a really good build. good specs for the internal parts and loads of expansion possibilities.

-- upgrading if you needed to, would mean getting more ram, and another video card (from canadacomputers), and you'll turn this machine from a great gaming beast, to a monster lol.

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btw, im not sure if you knew this, but futureshop prices are *always* negotiable lol. usually you can talk the salesperson into giving you items for close to cost, especially if you plan on buying warranties and such.

 

[escortphotoshoots]

Solid State drives are coming .... HDD size isn't a consideration as long as it's better than 500GB lol Besides I have 3 2TB externals at my disposal.

-- and they are wonderful for loading your operating system and apps (photoshop runs like a dream, and any os executed task is almost instantaneous), for large games though, i would install onto a large spinning drive. good ssds are costly (look at the vertex 2-3 series by ocz). My config is based on installing the os and all my apps on my ssds, and i have my game installs on a separate internal spinning drive. Also, with regards to your external drives, be mindful of the connectivity, for working on projects and such, you will get much slower performance if those external drives are using usb 2.0 for their connectivity. Look into usb 3.0 housing or eSATA for external stuff (especially eSATA, as it mirror's internal drive performance).

I thought the NVIDIA cards were tauted best of the best ... but I'm no expert. Guess it's a prefferential thing, I've actually been using Radeon cards up till now.

-- video cards are a much more flakey competition than processors, honestly which is the "best" between nvidia and amd just depends on the time of the year. both are good brands. I've owned both, I love both.

I'm starting with the 8GB and noticed on the one system there was 2 slots for adding 2X4GB, rather than replacing 2X4GB with 2X8GB ... I'll have to check Bestbuy to find out about their open PCI slots as all they list is N/A .. I'm assuming it should have at least one open.

--look into systems that have lots of ram slots, and are only using half (have 2-3 available ones). Ram gets expensive when you try to buy large sticks of it (like a single 8gb stick). I've used workstations with 12-16gb ram and trust me, they are OVERKILL lol. 8-10gb will serve you fine (I can easily open up 40-50 low layer projects in photoshop cs5 x64 and not break a sweat on 12gb).

 

[nihilism]

I would recommend staying away from the FS/BB offerings. If you want a pre-built unit, or are not comfortable building your own PC, go to either Canada Computers or NCIX, you can specify your components, and they will build the system for you.
This is an offering worth considering - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_121&item_id=046084

 

[djk]

Build your own.

 

[Dave - WebGuy]

I priced out the custom build today with the guy at CC I usually deal with.

Asus P8Z68-V LE Board
Intel i5-2400 Quad core Processor @ 3.1 Ghz
1TB Western Digital Drive
8GB Kingston Ram (2 open DIMMs on board for later)
Sapphire (11194-02-20G) AMD Radeon HD 6790 1GB Video (considering moving back to multi-display)

With the other necessities (case/power supply/cooling/OS), comes up about the $900 mark. Definitely maxes me out, but wouldn't need to worry about upgrades and swapping out a while I think.

I have no issues doing the build myself. I was probably going to pay the $50 build fee and install he OS myself to save myself 1-2 hours putting it all together and leave the build to someone more experienced with pin and switch settings.

 

[rex_baner]

If you are planning on buying standalone parts (ram, hard drives, etc), do yourself a favor and pick stuff up from canadacomputers rather than a big box company, you will save money, and you can get great stuff.

I agree to this 100%.

@ op if you don't know how to build computers, find someone who does because it can save you A LOT of money. Granted building your own can take more time because you will look for the best sales and video card prices seem to drop every 3 months, but it will be lighter on your pocket.

 

[escortphotoshoots]

1TB Western Digital Drive

please make sure this is a western digital *black* edition drive, and not a green one.. which will drive you nuts with its spindle ramp ups / downs.

 

[richaceg]

as long as your processor...memory & hard drive is compatible with each other. you're fine. I had mine assembled...parts from tigerdirect. everything is running smooth. playing starcraft "wings of liberty". still waiting for the diablo 3.

 

[The Options Menu]

I agree to this 100%.

@ op if you don't know how to build computers, find someone who does because it can save you A LOT of money. Granted building your own can take more time because you will look for the best sales and video card prices seem to drop every 3 months, but it will be lighter on your pocket.

If it's not a disposable (laptop or netbook), I agree 100%. Shop around and build the best you can buy. Have a shop day, and a build and install day. For gaming the GPU is a big deal, but even there you don't need to go nuts, especially at the expense of the fastest single core speed (very important given that most games still don't use MP very well), bus speed (and latency), RAM latency, and disk speed. Slapping big GPU on something that has a high latency on a slow bus with a slow disk and 8 slow cores should get you slapped if you're a gamer. (Err, and also don't go stupid in the other direction, your RAM doesn't need camo and neon, it needs to be low(er) latency and be sufficient in quantity.)

 

[basketcase]

I would recommend staying away from the FS/BB offerings. If you want a pre-built unit, or are not comfortable building your own PC, go to either Canada Computers or NCIX, you can specify your components, and they will build the system for you.
This is an offering worth considering - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=7_121&item_id=046084

+1 for those who aren't comfortable putting one together.

 

[Dave - WebGuy]

please make sure this is a western digital *black* edition drive, and not a green one.. which will drive you nuts with its spindle ramp ups / downs.

I have a green one now, I know the noise you're talking about lol

as long as your processor...memory & hard drive is compatible with each other. you're fine. I had mine assembled...parts from tigerdirect. everything is running smooth. playing starcraft "wings of liberty". still waiting for the diablo 3.

My son's been waitin on Diablo II for over a year ... Now that Blizzard has taken their top minds and moved them around to get it launched so they can be slave-driven to get WoW: Mists of Pandaria done. BTW MoP Beta is expected in only a few months, I'll assume DIII will be launched shortly within that window.

If it's not a disposable (laptop or netbook), I agree 100%. Shop around and build the best you can buy. Have a shop day, and a build and install day. For gaming the GPU is a big deal, but even there you don't need to go nuts, especially at the expense of the fastest single core speed (very important given that most games still don't use MP very well), bus speed (and latency), RAM latency, and disk speed. Slapping big GPU on something that has a high latency on a slow bus with a slow disk and 8 slow cores should get you slapped if you're a gamer. (Err, and also don't go stupid in the other direction, your RAM doesn't need camo and neon, it needs to be low(er) latency and be sufficient in quantity.)

I'm impatient when there's new toys involved. I'll probably set aside the day after I shop for build and install lmao Good advice, thanks

 

[Joe-Dart54]

u should build ur own and specially don't ask the tech guy at the store for help

 

[MattRoxx]

When I was looking at building my own PC about a year ago, it was actually cheaper to choose the parts and have NCIX put it together, plus it came with a 1 year warranty.

Dave - Web Guy : SSDs are not coming, they're here and I highly recommend digging a little deeper into your pockets and getting one for your OS and and a 1 TB Western Digital hdd for everything else. As for RAM, there is a limit to how much RAM Window7 32 bit can use (I think it's a little under 4 GB), it is higher with the 64 bit version.



ps I've been waiting for Diablo 3 for around 10 years, it's about time that game came out!! Release day is now May 15.