Thinking about buying a new computer

Z

Zerozx

New Member
Okay, so I want to buy a new computer and at first I was considering whether to go with a pre-built computer from a major manufacturer such as HP, Dell, etc. or a customized computer from a company such as iBuyPower. I decided to go with the latter simply because I can customize it for my own needs and I'm able to stay in my budget. Before I get started, to the people who are going to tell me to build my own computer: yes, this seems like a great experience and I would love to eventually...but for now, no...I'm not going to do that.

Anyway, after almost two weeks of browsing, reading different articles about certain components, I think I've come up with a pretty nice system...but I'll leave that up to you guys and hopefully you'll give some good input, suggestions, etc... I plan to buy a monitor from a separate site such as newegg or Best Buy because it should be cheaper. By the way, would a 20" monitor with a maximum 1600 x 900 resolution be good for gaming? Is the 600W Power Supply good enough?

A brief summary of what I would use the computer for: occasional to frequent gaming anywhere from simple flash games to commercial games that you install from a disk (I'd like to be future-proof ;)), heavy internet browsing, instant messaging, watching YouTube videos, listening to music, and other miscellaneous things. You get the idea.

Here are the specs:
2010-02-03_1818.png

2010-02-03_1818.png
 
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I'd bump the video card up to a 5850, and if you want grab the free water cooling upgrade.

The motherboard could also use an upgrade. A 790GX one would be good.

Normally I'd say get a PSU from a good brand, but since there's a warranty on the whole system it's not that big of an issue.
 
Drenlin said:
I'd bump the video card up to a 5850, and if you want grab the free water cooling upgrade.

The motherboard could also use an upgrade. A 790GX one would be good.

Normally I'd say get a PSU from a good brand, but since there's a warranty on the whole system it's not that big of an issue.
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Sadly I don't think I'll be able to bump any of those specs up for now due to my budget. When shipping costs and the cost of a monitor is thrown into that $832, it'll be over $1,000 and that's maxing out my budget. For now I'm just trying to have a system that will do perform well and allow me to upgrade in the future. As long as I know I can upgrade, I'll do so when money allows. :) (I will be able to upgrade, right? for example, taking out the graphics card and putting a new one in)

So, having that knowledge, what do you think of the system? Think it'll get me by? and just a side note, by no means am I a "hardcore" gamer. I'm just hoping the 600W PSU is enough to support everything.

edit to add: about the water cooling; it's interesting but I think I'm going to hold off on that and stick with a traditional fan/heatsink cooling system. Call me old-fashioned...or afraid to have liquid inside my computer [afraid of a leak or something]. :P
 
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Drenlin said:
I suppose you'll be ok then

Still, the water cooling upgrade is free...why not take it?
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Sorry I didn't comment on that to begin with, here is what I edited into my previous post:
edit to add: about the water cooling; it's interesting but I think I'm going to hold off on that and stick with a traditional fan/heatsink cooling system. Call me old-fashioned...or afraid to have liquid inside my computer [afraid of a leak or something]. :P

and I do hope I'll be okay if I go with that system. As long as I can upgrade in the future I'm not worried.
 
The kit that comes with it is sealed shut...shouldn't be any leaks. It would help the noise levels down...

Still, to each his own. :good:
 
Drenlin said:
The kit that comes with it is sealed shut...shouldn't be any leaks. It would help the noise levels down...

Still, to each his own. :good:
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Eh, true. I suppose I'm just very hesitant because it's new to me. I would worry that it could be banged up from the shipping and I also wonder about maintenance on something like that...do you have to buy a special kind of liquid, or do you simply refill it with water? (I assume the water dissipates over a period of time)
 
Zerozx said:
edit to add: about the water cooling; it's interesting but I think I'm going to hold off on that and stick with a traditional fan/heatsink cooling system. Call me old-fashioned...or afraid to have liquid inside my computer [afraid of a leak or something]. :P
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I'm witcha there.

I've seen the pumps - and mounting hardware for liquid cooled systems - and I have zero interest in ever having one. Looks like a potential headache I'd rather never have to deal with. Air and fans with lots of metal fins for me :good:
 
The system that comes with it is sealed. It's a water block + pump that mounts where the CPU fan usually goes, attached to a radiator with a fan on it. You don't ever open it up. No need to add liquid or anything.

edit: like this:
corsair_h50_system.jpg



No harm in going with air though, if you're wary of it.
 
^ That's what I was thinking, but the machine is insured as a whole, so if it frys he's not out any money. He'll just have to remember to swap it for a good one before the warranty runs out, lol.
 
So would you recommend that I up the wattage to 650-700? Like I mentioned, I'm on a budget so right now it's a bit difficult to upgrade the components.

This is what I currently have: 600 Watt -- Power Supply SLI Ready

Here are a few of the choices it gives me:
650 Watt -- Casegears ECO-Element 80 Plus Certificated High Efficiency Power Supply SLI Ready [+$5]

650 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-650TX Power Supply SLI Ready [+$49]

650 Watt -- Thermaltake EVO_Blue W0307RU Power Supply SLI Ready [+$59]

and wow...silly me, apparently I overlooked the 700W PSU that would actually subtract $5...should I go ahead and switch to the 700W? here is what it says:

700 Watt -- Power Supply SLI Ready [-$5] (how is a 700W cheaper than the 600W :p)
 
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Zerozx said:
Anyone know of any 1920 x 1080 monitors that are fairly cheap?
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Keep a daily eye out at Fatwallet.com or slickdealz.net and sign up for Newegg's mailer - or Zipzoomfly, or Tigerdirect may have a mailer too. They will have 1920 x 1080 monitors 139-159 ish pretty frequently. If you combine Bing cashback discounts - and other offers you can sometimes get a really good price but they can disappear fast.

Here's a list of Fatwallet deals the last couple of months

I picked up my ASUS 22" HD monitor for $109 about 6 mo. ago - by combining a discount with rebate from ebillme checkout option.

Good luck :good:
 
With the self contained watercooling setups, there is almost no chance of a leak and will generally kill the stock cooling setup(although wont necessicarly beat a good aftermarket heatsink. However, you cant really argue with free)

For power supply, of those go with the corsair, those 600W and 700W of unknown brand are scary things. Cause if they blow and fry something like the HDD sure its under warranty but you would lose your data if you didnt back it up.

How much extra are they charging for that 5770 gpu? ANd how much is it to get windows 7 from them? Because sometimes its cheaper just to get the gpu and OS off newegg.com
 
bomberboysk said:
For power supply, of those go with the corsair, those 600W and 700W of unknown brand are scary things. Cause if they blow and fry something like the HDD sure its under warranty but you would lose your data if you didnt back it up.

How much extra are they charging for that 5770 gpu? ANd how much is it to get windows 7 from them? Because sometimes its cheaper just to get the gpu and OS off newegg.com
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I just searched for the GPU and OS on newegg and it's actually cheaper on iBuyPower.

Honestly, I've read no negative reviews in regards to their products themselves, but rather the condition of the case/etc. when it is delivered. Sounds like the people who handled it to its destination just threw it around. I doubt every single product is in a beat-up condition and I also doubt that an unnamed PSU screws up that often...I suppose I'll take my chances.
 
Is there an ideal resolution for gaming or does it really matter? The reason I ask is because it's becoming troublesome trying to find a 1920 x 1080 monitor that fits into my budget and is also by a well-known brand (I don't want to buy from some knockoff manufacturer). Someone told me 1920 x 1080 is ideal and that's why I've been searching for that resolution.

My current monitor is 17" and the resolution is 1280 x 1024 (here is my current monitor: http://www.buy.com/prod/hp-pavilion...x-tft-0-264mm-1280-x/q/loc/101/202575367.html ), so as you can see, a 20", 21.5", 22", etc... would be a tremendous upgrade for me...what resolution do you play your games at, and are you satisfied? I'm tempted to just give up trying to find the 1920 x 1080..
 
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