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Need Geek advice!

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babycaek
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So it is that time again to upgrade the old comp. Poor baby is running horribly :(

 

Here is your mission if you chose to accept it:

 

You have $1000 - everything but a HD is needed... build me a desktop then show me a laptop for around the same price and tell me which one you would chose and why. (For the laptop, pretend I have a docking station just for giggles.)

What is needed - I need to be able to run photoshop and LoTRo on ultra high. Multi-tasking is a must

 

 

aaannndd GO!

 

Thank you for your time

 

<3

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babycaek
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Glad everyone could be of help! Sorry I was not more specific with the details. I was in a bit of a rush when I posted. Please, let me know if you need anymore help at all! Just drop me a PM!

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Feelmybite
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Alrighty, thanks guys :)

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Smegrat
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If your main bag is gaming, and you dont do video encoding, number crunching and the like, then the 2500 is a good choice (with a 1155 motherboard as Caek notes) considering the price differential http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/287?vs=288.

However, I would still go for the 2500K rather than the vanilla 2500. For $20 more, you get an unlocked clock multiplier and those puppies overclock like the bejeezus - they run very cool and stable at 4Ghz (ie an easy  25 percent overclock) - but I've seen plenty of reports by the more adventurous of them running stable at 4.5Ghz and up (on air).

As to your first question - yep hardware hasnt moved on much and the discussion here remains pretty relatively current. 

Cheers

Smeg

Afterthought
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Feelmybite wrote:

How so? Just make sure the processor is supported by the motherboard?

She means make sure the socket type on the motherboard is the same as the socket type for the CPU.  The new CPUs for intel (i3/5/7 2nd edition) are socket 1155 CPUs.  This means you will need to get a socket 1155 motherboard.

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Feelmybite
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babycaek wrote:

One thing I will tell you is that when you go to get your stuff,make sure you motherboard is compatable with the processor!

How so? Just make sure the processor is supported by the motherboard?

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babycaek
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V, sadly it is an older moniter that I am using as an extra. But if you luv meh, you can totally get me one :p

 

Feelmybite wrote:

Would you say that the i7-2600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071) compared to the i5-2500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073) is worth the extra $90? I'm not computer hardware savvy so I don't really understand the difference other than the extra threads and cache size.

 

Save your 90$ and just get the i5. It works just as well and is cheaper. I am enjoying my i5. One thing I will tell you is that when you go to get your stuff,make sure you motherboard is compatable with the processor!

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Feelmybite
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Would you say that the i7-2600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115071) compared to the i5-2500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073) is worth the extra $90? I'm not computer hardware savvy so I don't really understand the difference other than the extra threads and cache size.

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Vyxe
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Your monitor doesn't support the DVI connection?  You need a new monitor :)

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babycaek
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I did! And she runs like a beast! I really love her <3

I get to run on ultra-high DX10 and in large groups I get down to ~30fps and get to watch people lag while I stand there giggling. Out of group its just crazy FPS and no lag. I hickup occasionally by server lines, but server side lag you can never get around hehe.

Only complaint is that I did not look at the ports on the fxcard and now have to find an hdmi to vga connecter to use two moniters.

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Feelmybite
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Oh, ya, I forgot to ask, how do you like the comp Caek? Did you end up going with what you posted?

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Feelmybite
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Hehe, the main prob is that I don't have a desktop :P. All I have is my lappy which basically dies anything big happens even on ultra low graphics ><.

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Vyxe
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Mmm for only 1K I would look at simply upgrading your existing system (I mean a real upgrade). 

I'd still say the list is good.  There's the 6800 series of radeons out but the 5770 is still very respectable.  I'd push for an i7 though if you could get it.  Ask Caek how she likes her computer.

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Feelmybite
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Alright, I'm going to hi-jack this thread since it's basically identical to my situation. I need a new desktop which will be for pure gaming (have a lappy for work). Is this stuff still good (stinking comps change so quickly...)? And if not, what's something good for the same price ($1000)? ATM, I have a mouse, keyboard, moniter (have 1, would prefer 2, but not necessary, comp comes first), and speakers.

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babycaek
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Thanks Smeg!

 

Price wise, if I got the K series and updated the graphics card I would be over $1000 and I really don't want to spend that much to be honest! I am a cheap bastard ya know :p

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Victory may not always be in our fortune, but the glory of the battle always will.

_____

 

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Smegrat
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Looks good Caek

But I would think about getting the 2500K rather than the 2400. For $30 more, the 2500K has the unlocked clock multiplier, allowing an easy overclock to 4ghz on stock cooling.

Also, if your budget can stretch far enough, Id look at stepping up to a 6950 rather than the 6850. Not sure what a stock one goes for over there, but they have significantly more grunt than the 6850. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/Enthusiast-Index,2674.html

Oh, and in my experience, DVD players are all pretty comparable (unless you want blu-ray) . Just get the cheapest reputable brand you can find.

Happy shopping!

Cheers

Smeg

babycaek
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Ok, thanks for the advice V. I also run Windowed mode only because I like being able to alt tab easier :p

 

This is what I was looking at in terms of a comp: Most of this stuff I already had on my wish list from about a month ago, a few things changed, I changed to the Asus 1155 socket MoBo to go with of course the i5 and I added the SSD and found a cheaper graphics card instead of the high end one that I was looking at. Oh and I have no idea about anything CD/DVD burners so if there is a better one, please let me know!

 

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$895.92

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Victory may not always be in our fortune, but the glory of the battle always will.

_____

 

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Vyxe
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Just as a note, when you go to the Radeon X9XX series, you need to make sure you have a case long enough to hold it :)  So don't take Doc's video card with the case I selected!  (I haven't checked measurements but it would be really tight at the least).  With a X9XX it's got 2 cpus so I wouldn't feel a need to crossfire it at all.  I agree with the choice if a) you can fit it b) need that horsepower.  The major limitation on crossfire is that you HAVE to run in fullscreen for it to work.  I run LOTRO windowed so I can easily admin TS3 on my other screen.

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drmyeyesburn
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 This is what I have came up with caek for your build. Now there are some mail in rebates. Everything was found on tigerdirect.com. I know that I spent larger amount on couple of items and didn't add a SSD. This is because I wanted better base of componets than than trying to replace multiple lower end componets a year down the road. Now the mobo, i5 and memory I stand by. I have all 3 items in my build and its a rock. I would say on avg. I load in quick second or third in. I would look to add a SSD when the price comes down and look to add 2 more sticks of memory this will top you out at 16GB. That may be over kill but the price is right why not. Also a second GPU running in "CrossFire"  I would say there is very little you could not do with this build.

As to a laptop here is my thought. Dont even waste your time unless you travel +60% of your time its not worth it. laptop will go out dated and its harder to replace componets on it. On this desk top you can replace componets and upgrade to try to keep up with new advancement in technology.

http://www.alienware.com/Landings/laptops.aspx?~ck=mn

The link above will give  you an idea of what a comperable laptop would cost you,

GL,  Doc

 

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babycaek
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Nice link! Tells me everything I was curious about!

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Gunnolf
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Baby, the impact of a SSD drive is huge when playing LOTRO or any other HD intensive program. I recommend it to be your number one priority. All your hitches related to hard drive access will be gone. Almost instant loads and zero freep lag.

Here is a link to a forum post about SSD.

And for what not to buy, read post #3

 

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=29731859&postcount=3

/hugs

 

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Vyxe
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Any of the Intel i5's actually, pretty good for the power/cost, although if you can squeeze a bit more in, i'd go i7 (which is what I have).  You don't need an unlocked one as those overclock. 

 

SSD drives rock for loading things, so I would install programs on the SSD and save things on a regular hard drive.

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babycaek
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I knew it was called a Solid State Drive just wasnt too sure on how better it was than the regular HDs I usually get. Haven't played with one before to be honest.

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Victory may not always be in our fortune, but the glory of the battle always will.

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Raximus
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SSD = Solid State Drive, which means no moving parts to access memory. It's a HUGE increase to preformance and stabilty for processing.

babycaek
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Which i5 are you talking about? Standard i5 or the unlocked K series?

 

And explain to me the purpose of a SSD. I never seem to remember...

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Victory may not always be in our fortune, but the glory of the battle always will.

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Vyxe
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Intel Core i5 - $210

Asus P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156  - $115

Antech three hundred ATX mid tower case - $60

Corsair HX750 modular power supply - $150

Sapphire Vapor X Radeon HD 5770 - $120

Kingston HyperX (2x4GB) DDR3 1600 ram - $55

Kingston SSDNow KR-S1296-3H 96gb SSD - $135

 

Total - ~$880

Not including monitor, mouse, keyboard, nor operating system.  Expect old hard drive to be used as storage

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