Lumina wants a New PC Advice/Help

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 06:38 PM

Well last week I was given a 1,180 USD bonus for the year, unexpected because of how much money our company made everyone in the facility was given an equal share of leftover profits after all the books were closed, this is the money that did not go into my 401k plan which was double this, ie this does not including my actually paycheck for the week.

Well I thought I'd pay myself a gift and finally get myself a gaming computer worth spending money on.

Normally I build my own but I was thinking of not going through all the extra trouble in an attempt to save a few dozen bucks here and there per component and actually get one which will work without my own hands putting it together installing drivers/solf making errors here and there.

I need advice on which to get, I'm not a big expert on computers, I'm planning on picking one up from Tiger Direct here. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati....asp?CatId=114

My spending limit I'm setting at 1200USD. I'd love to get one which may run GTA IV very well, if not great, doesn't have to be perfect. Windows 7 is also a requirement, though I'm no expert with video cards or processors or pretty much everything, so I can never truely decide what is the best bang for my buck and it's the wrong when I try to make my own I fail at making one work as well as I wanted or hoped, sometimes not even near. Oh I'm most experianced with NIVDIA product so one would be nice. xD

**Ishan** · December 03, 2010, 07:02 PM

The link that you attached doesn't have any 6800series card on it so i would advise you to build it yourself as these are very good in performance and can easily run GTA4, and if a Nvidia Fan then going with a rig having GTX460 in SLI is a good option as 470 & 480 have heat issues and are expensive.

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 07:04 PM

After looking at them I may have to go over my limit out of the ones available... scary.

This is the only one that does not scare me which is under my price limit I set.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...erPage=10&body

Originally Posted by Ishan

The link that you attached doesn't have any 6800series card on it so i would advise you to build it yourself as these are very good in performance and can easily run GTA4, and if a Nvidia Fan then going with a rig having GTX460 in SLI is a good option as 470 & 480 have heat issues and are expensive.

Oh... ho well would it run GTA 4? XD

**Ishan** · December 03, 2010, 07:19 PM

At what resolution you are going to play GTA 4?

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 07:26 PM

Originally Posted by Ishan

At what resolution you are going to play GTA 4?

Well I'm not a high resolution junky. Even today I prefer very low resolutions as I believe performs is most important over quality of graphics so I always turn down if I have to as long as it stays in the 1000+by 700+ range. Saying that I can easily get away with something less powerful normally. I'm so used to low resolutions it's kinda funny I shrug and ask people why they should go higher? hehe

Really debating though if you say the 460 is good then perhaps, Not a big fan of SLIing video cards. Gah they're so cruel, I think I only found two on there with SLIed 460, oh well I have an entire weekend to decide. I did not think it would be this expensive.

They're really annoying me with harddrives, why would I want a 1TB harddrive, 3TB!!!!!!? 12gb ram!? xD I mean I still have two old 80gbs on this one I built.. and a 3rd multi media one of 250gbs. None of them are near full.

Wait why are you trying to get me to get a 460 when I just found a video with someone maxing out GTA IV on like 1680 x 1050 without SLI using a 260? xD

Last Edit: So sad a lot of the low end ones interest me a lot but their processors are hardly want I want then again I've seen some games run very well with dual cores still even more resent ones. xD

**mrcrusty** · December 03, 2010, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by Lumina

Well I'm not a high resolution junky. Even today I prefer very low resolutions as I believe performs is most important over quality of graphics so I always turn down if I have to as long as it stays in the 1000+by 700+ range. Saying that I can easily get away with something less powerful normally. I'm so used to low resolutions it's kinda funny I shrug and ask people why they should go higher? hehe

Really debating though if you say the 460 is good then perhaps, Not a big fan of SLIing video cards. Gah they're so cruel, I think I only found two on there with SLIed 460, oh well I have an entire weekend to decide. I did not think it would be this expensive.

They're really annoying me with harddrives, why would I want a 1TB harddrive, 3TB!!!!!!? 12gb ram!? xD I mean I still have two old 80gbs on this one I built.. and a 3rd multi media one of 250gbs. None of them are near full.

Wait why are you trying to get me to get a 460 when I just found a video with someone maxing out GTA IV on like 1680 x 1050 without SLI using a 260? xD

iBUYPOWER.com

Went to the custom Intel configuration and it came up with this:

1 x Case ( NZXT Guardian 921 RB Gaming Case - Black w/ Red Light )
0 x Case Lighting ( None )
0 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction ( None )
0 x iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion ( None )
1 x Processor ( Intel® Core™ i5 760 Processor (4x 2.80GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
0 x iBUYPOWER PowerDrive ( None )
1 x Processor Cooling ( Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (Intel) - Standard 120mm Fan )
1 x Memory ( 4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand )
1 x Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 - 1GB - Single Card )
1 x Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA )
1 x Motherboard ( ASUS P7P55 LX )
1 x Motherboard USB / SATA Interface ( Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface )
1 x Power Supply ( 550 Watt -- NZXT HALE90 / 80+ Gold )
1 x Primary Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
0 x Data Hard Drive ( None )
1 x Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
0 x 2nd Optical Drive ( None )
0 x Flash Media Reader / Writer ( None )
0 x Meter Display ( None )
1 x Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
1 x Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
1 x Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit )
1 x Keyboard ( iBUYPOWER USB Keyboard - Black )
1 x Mouse ( iBUYPOWER Internet Mouse - Black )
0 x Monitor ( None )
0 x 2nd Monitor ( None )
1 x Speaker System ( iBUYPOWER 2.1 Channel Stereo Super Bass Subwoofer Speaker System )
0 x Headset ( None )
0 x Video Camera ( None )
1 x Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
1 x Rush Service ( Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out by 12-17-2010 )

$1032 USD all up. Maybe more for shipping and the like.

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 07:44 PM

Originally Posted by mrcrusty

iBUYPOWER.com

Went to the custom Intel configuration and it came up with this:

$1032 USD all up. Maybe more for shipping and the like.

Wow that is very cool.... That is pretty much what I'm looking for atleast the primary things I know about, which is only about 5 lines out of those two dozen lines. Tiger Direct has failed me.

**Ishan** · December 03, 2010, 07:44 PM

You're using 1024*768 resolution then there is no need to buy a GTX 460, lower ends Cards can also do it then.
But crusty has already answered and given you the best PC you can get and with it you can also run all the latest games etc.
Have fun now.

Though you should become a high resolution junkie it's awesome.

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 07:49 PM

Originally Posted by Ishan

You're using 1024*768 resolution then there is no need to buy a GTX 460, lower ends Cards can also do it then.
But crusty has already answered and given you the best PC you can get and with it you can also run all the latest games etc.

Yes I noticed I'm quite glad. I have until the end of the weekend to decide really, but this computer is well getting run down, can not even run GTA IV on it anymore even on lowest settings after they updated it a few times, it oddly worked better on this computer on release than it does now, I used to be able to run on medium settings literally almost as good as a PS3 or 360 version of GTA IV graphic wise, though Fallout 3 runs well if I turn many things i find needless down, if not off.

Originally Posted by Ishan

Though you should become a high resolution junkie it's awesome.

But it is so expensive. xD

By the way Mr Full House Card Avatar man..... hehe Mr Crusty, how do I find the custom config, I'm not used to that website? XD

Hurray If ound it never mind Mr Crusty!!!

Does case matter a lot? XD So many of the ones on there are rump ugly too fancy. xD

**Ishan** · December 03, 2010, 07:56 PM

Originally Posted by Lumina

Yes I noticed I'm quite glad. I have until the end of the weekend to decide really, but this computer is well getting run down, can not even run GTA IV on it anymore even on lowest settings after they updated it a few times, it oddly worked better on this computer on release than it does now, I used to be able to run on medium settings literally almost as good as a PS3 or 360 version of GTA IV graphic wise, though Fallout 3 runs well if I turn many things i find needless down, if not off.

Well now you can Over kill any game with this rig.

Originally Posted by Lumina

But it is so expensive. xD

Lol Yeah but fun comes with a price.

Originally Posted by Lumina

By the way Mr Full House Card Avatar man..... hehe Mr Crusty, how do I find the custom config, I'm not used to that website? XD

It's pretty easy go in Desktop?Custom Configurator>Intel Or Amd etc>Lastly Customization, nothing confusing.

And case does matter it's the breathing system of your PC components proper air intake and exhaust helps in keeping the temps in control and prevents overheating of the rig.

**mrcrusty** · December 03, 2010, 07:57 PM

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Intel...7_Configurator

And adjust the parts as you like. With the GTX 460 though, at that puny 1024x768 (

), you'll be fine with maximum settings for everything.

Try connecting the comp to your HDTV. Tried playing Third Age the other day. 46" 1080p. Consider mind blown.

Even older games like Grid looked amazingly awesome on it.

Originally Posted by Lumina

Does case matter a lot? XD So many of the ones on there are rump ugly too fancy. xD

Sometimes it matters, but 99% of the time, it's a matter of looks.

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 08:05 PM

Why do they have smaller Capacity Harddrives which cost far more? I'd rather have two 250gb harddrives than 1 single 500gb harddrive safety reasons I have had a harddrive poo on me, and I love keeping my important stuff on the 2nd. xD

**mrcrusty** · December 03, 2010, 08:06 PM

You mean the Solid State Drives (SSDs)?

They are different to normal, mechanical drives. I'm not much of an experts on SSDs (ask MM), but let's just say, they are like hard drives on steroids.

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 08:14 PM

Originally Posted by mrcrusty

You mean the Solid State Drives (SSDs)?

They are different to normal, mechanical drives. I'm not much of an experts on SSDs (ask MM), but let's just say, they are like hard drives on steroids.

Oh well, I guess maybe I can stick my 250gb harddrive on my old PC on it when I get it, it may be compatable It is farely new just over one year was a SATA something? forgot. xD

Might as well get a monitor to.. hehe maybe I will get that at an actually store though. I have one of those old nice... cub shaped fellows still, dramatically restricts my max resolution to.. xD

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 08:23 PM

Dunno how he got it cheaper than me but it said I could not use a 550w power supply with the 460.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Cost: $1,085.00

Eww they ship only through Fedx... I much prefer US mail or UPS. xD

**mrcrusty** · December 03, 2010, 08:34 PM

It's a PSU. The 650w gives you room to SLI, but you will run fine with a single graphics card on a good 550w.

The site inflates the requirement because the generic power supplies they use to measure power use cannot provide the wattage it claims to. Their 600w power supply may only be able to provide 450w safely, for example. If you don't like to overclock, I'd even say that a quality 450w power supply would be fine.

550w is good for 1x graphics card + light to medium overclocking on both the GPU and CPU.

Still, $1085 is still under budget, and the 650w gives a little more legroom if you think you'll need it down the line.

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 08:41 PM

Mousing over the final button to order.... so cruel, throw out that 1000+ USD or not to... hee hee

Not looking forward to Windows 7 sadly, though it is about time to upgrade finally I completely stepped a side when Vista came out since I never saw it worth getting at all. Though seeing the AVG thread with issue with Vista/7 I'm worried I love AVG! Their newest version is so demanding compared to the last but it's quite better none the less though the forced updating is the only thing I hate about it, randomly doing something and I see it in the corner auto updating, and I find no option to tell it not to auto update. xD

**mrcrusty** · December 03, 2010, 08:43 PM

Lol, no wonder. I don't have the 2011 version, still use the old one. Was thinking, what's up with all this auto-updating? I don't have that.

**Lumina** · December 03, 2010, 08:47 PM

Might have to get my hands on an older version of AVG then, I do enjoy the new features on the 2011 version it's still great for Windows XP I guess. xD

woot ordered now lets see if Fedx breaks it! They damage a lot of goods we ship from work to our customers.... so much so we hardly use them anymore, UPS isn't much better sometimes.

AWESOME! Checked Email to confirm that it was sent and today Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Episode 02 was also shiped from Rightstuff.com. HURRAY Took them a month!! I was on backorder so many people bought it up like candy, i'm not the only person who wants it! xD