Building a Desktop

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Mgalekgolo
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Building a Desktop

Post by Mgalekgolo » Tue Sep 11, 2012 2:36 pm

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Sparky
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Sparky » Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:23 pm

I explored this thoroughly in the past and it really is not worth it unless you're not going to be running Mac OS on it.
Either you are groping for answers, or you are asking God and listening to Jesus.

Mgalekgolo
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Mgalekgolo » Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:20 pm

I already have my macbook pro, and I have no need for any mac upgrades. What I need is to build a gaming PC.
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Sparky » Thu Sep 13, 2012 6:08 pm

This task is 80% research and tutorial-reading, 5% waiting and 15% working.
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Yarok
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Yarok » Fri Sep 14, 2012 4:07 am

I could offer some help with picking parts, but I'll have to do it later today once I have a bit more time. One word of advice, ASUS is awesome, and try to get ASUS parts for everything but video cards.

Also, in regards to those items, the case is overpriced, you have two CPU fans (why?), and I'm not so sure about the mobo and GPU. I'll have to do some research, the last time I did anything like this was half a year ago.

This should also be of some assistance.
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Mgalekgolo
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Mgalekgolo » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:13 pm

Ok, thanks. I picked some pretty expensive parts so if you have any altenatives i'd like to hear them. I'm looking at the 800-1200 USD range. Also i've been told the motherboard comes with a fan and heatsink, so I don't know if I need them or not.
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Yarok » Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:05 pm

The heatsink that they're talking about is probably the north/south bridge heatsinks. As far as heatsinks/CPU fans go, the 212+ is stellar.

I'll probably check it out tomorrow once I
stop playing Path of Exile
have time.
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Mgalekgolo
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Mgalekgolo » Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:58 pm

Alright, Black mesa is great by the way, might want to check it out. The torrent seems the fastest.
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Yarok » Sat Sep 15, 2012 4:26 pm

I did this in a jiffy, didn't add monitor, optical drive, OS, or accessories. Figured you'd decide on those (though I can certainly recommend some very nice parts for those categories).

NOTE: I did this in a hurry, so chances are you might be able to switch out some parts for a bit of efficiency/cost-effectiveness. Namely GPU and mobo (it seemed that a lot of LGA1115 mobos were inconsistent in quality, so I picked one that I thought would be trustworthy. I'll have to do a little more research, since my friend has a 1115 mobo but I don't remember which one. It's been working well for him). I'm going to look into AMD CPUs and mobos, as well as AMD GPUs, tomorrow once I find some time (not as familiar with AMD, more comfortable pushing something out with Intel/Nvidia quickly than AMD. Also, AMD GPUs tend to artifact a lot). Feel free to ask questions about the parts on the list and change them around.

Check out /r/buildapc, though take everything they say with a pound of salt. Lots of them are enthusiasts or people who really don't care about quality assurance, prices, or opinions other than their own (i.e. "I LIKE [BRAND NAME] BECAUSE I BOUGHT A FAN FROM THEM SEVERAL YEARS AGO. YOU SHOULD BUY EVERYTHING MADE BY [BRAND NAME].")
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Sparky » Sat Sep 15, 2012 4:30 pm

The processor, if it is a quality one, will be about as expensive as buying a new intel mac pro, on which you can install any windows software anyway. Right there, you're talking at least $1000.

Intel -- chipset should be high Ghz and bus speed, also there are newer chips which process 2d graphics in them
CrucialMemory.com -- RAM
ATI graphics would be best, at least 1 GB
Go for an LG Flatron E2350V monitor or better
Software -- if Windows at all, better make it Vista and 7
Hard Drives -- yes, you'll need at least 3 TB of hard disk space. Use a Crucial SD drive as your main app drive and stash the games on another 2TB Western Digital drive and also
DVD/CD burner...
Net connection speed? Try fiberoptic as fast as is available in your area, at least 2MB/sec

Total price and time for setup is well beyond a new mac pro, just saying, but even with a pre-built computer it could take a long time to get stuff settled on it.
Also, have you considered that technology will become almost obsolete within 10 years? So give this some real planning. Also, figure if any of this stuff is really worth just investing into a gaming machine, or if you should just buy a new mac pro at its highest specs and install some cheap WD 2TB hard drives and upgrade the RAM yourself. Basically, you're asking for the processor, the case build, all the hookups, and the extensibility when you buy a mac pro tower. You can always boot into Vista or 7 or XP to play games on windows ... and it's the same. Just make sure your OS is 64 bit, or else it'll be lame.
Either you are groping for answers, or you are asking God and listening to Jesus.

Mgalekgolo
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Mgalekgolo » Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:47 pm

Meh, my macbook pro runs everything, just not at the highest FPS. The processor is 2.30 Ghz, not very fast. I like the looks of that one Yarok, but seems expensive. Those mac pro's start at a much higher price range than this computer will be.
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Yarok » Sat Sep 15, 2012 7:03 pm

Sparky wrote:The processor, if it is a quality one, will be about as expensive as buying a new intel mac pro, on which you can install any windows software anyway. Right there, you're talking at least $1000.
$1000 processor? Are you really suggesting this? Please tell me you're kidding.
Intel -- chipset should be high Ghz and bus speed, also there are newer chips which process 2d graphics in them

CrucialMemory.com -- RAM
G.Skill is far ahead of Crucial in reliability, quality, and price. Plus they look nice.
ATI graphics would be best, at least 1 GB
ATI GPUs are frequently a lot less reliable than Nvidia ones, and are many times not supported as well by publishers/developers in terms of drivers etc.
Go for an LG Flatron E2350V monitor or better
LG is too expensive. ASUS makes great monitors and has excellent reliability.
Software -- if Windows at all, better make it Vista and 7
VISTA? AND 7? Really?
Hard Drives -- yes, you'll need at least 3 TB of hard disk space. Use a Crucial SD drive as your main app drive and stash the games on another 2TB Western Digital drive
Who the hell needs 3TB, unless you plan on making daily video recordings or whatever. SSD are expensive, and best for installing the OS onto. I'd suggest doing so, but Mgal is on a budget.
DVD/CD burner...
Net connection speed? Try fiberoptic as fast as is available in your area, at least 2MB/sec

Total price and time for setup is well beyond a new mac pro, just saying, but even with a pre-built computer it could take a long time to get stuff settled on it.
Also, have you considered that technology will become almost obsolete within 10 years? So give this some real planning. Also, figure if any of this stuff is really worth just investing into a gaming machine, or if you should just buy a new mac pro at its highest specs and install some cheap WD 2TB hard drives and upgrade the RAM yourself. Basically, you're asking for the processor, the case build, all the hookups, and the extensibility when you buy a mac pro tower. You can always boot into Vista or 7 or XP to play games on windows ... and it's the same. Just make sure your OS is 64 bit, or else it'll be lame.
It takes a couple hours to set up Windows. Not to mention that it's a lot more supported as far as programs and games go. I'm confident that Mgal is not a 12 year old girl and can operate a computer, and if he wants to code he should be getting Windows. Have you considered that Macs become obsolete in a few years, and that you can't upgrade it part by part? Not to mention that if a part breaks, you have to pay Apple to replace it. A full-upgrade Mac Pro is over $5000. Please tell me this was not a serious exposition...

Also, Mgal, if you'd like to check out some desktop-replacement laptops, ASUS makes very fine gaming laptops (their G-series).
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Mgalekgolo
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Mgalekgolo » Sun Sep 16, 2012 4:22 am

I was actually thinking of getting this SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148591
I don't actually need a TB because I have a 2 TB time capsule I use for music and random storage and a 1 TB external for videos. I've heard of much higher FPS in games like GTA IV only because they had a SSD in their model. Do I need a sound card? You didn't add one to that list.
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Yarok » Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:05 am

That drive is a laptop drive, though I suppose it should fit. Sound cards are more or less useless unless you plan on sound engineering or something, and even then it's conditional.
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Mgalekgolo
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Re: Building a Desktop

Post by Mgalekgolo » Sun Sep 16, 2012 11:47 am

Ah, well it would probably be better to get the terabyte. Alright makes sense.
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