To build a desktop, or not to build a desktop?

[Origin Saint]

That, is the question, my friends. Let me explain my predicament.

I am currently a sophomore in university studying towards a 5-year Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering. For university, I obviously require a laptop, which I own. I bought a HP ENVY DV6-7214nr just before I started. I play a lot of games, and very often, typically every day or at least every other day for at least an hour or two, often more. My laptop can handle pretty much everything I've thrown at it, most of it in high-ish graphics as well, surprisingly enough.

But here's the dilemma. I have always wanted to build my own desktop and play games on it, given that desktops are so much more powerful for the same amount of money (or less) typically, and I obviously love computers and games. But at the same time, I need a laptop for my studies. While at university in between classes and sometimes I'll stay after my last class and play games in a Engineering lounge. If I were to make a desktop, I would have the issue of having separate save files and whatnot and then it just becomes a constant daily hassle back and forth to keep everything synced, I would imagine.

My degree is set up in such a way that I take courses every other semester, and participate in a co-operative employment position the semesters in between, which pays great money. I currently make $16/hr before taxes ($97 a day after taxes), and don't pay any rent or any bills because I live with family. The only thing I "need" my co-op money for is to help pay for the next incoming semester of tuition and fees, and in the event it doesn't quite add up, I'm not opposed to taking out a few little loans, as I'm already in the second semester of my second year and only have about $10k in loans, compared to most in my position who stay on campus having nearly $50k.

I know how to build a desktop, and I'm fairly well versed in choosing parts and whatnot, but I'm not sure if it's a good decision or not (financially, or in general). I want a desktop, but I need a laptop. I'm torn between keeping the laptop and building a desktop, or just saving more money and getting a $2k laptop so that it can perform to my liking.

So I'm asking for your guys' opinion on the matter, and hopefully ya'll can help a brotha' out! I would be willing to shell out about $1k for the desktop, if it's pertinent to anyone's advice. I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to read and respond in advance.

 

[Darren]

I'd get a desktop and a laptop. If I were you I'd keep what you have and save for a desktop. I love having a powerful dedicated machine at home while my laptop is very portable while still being able to play some games now and then if I want.

Any desktop you get would absolutely smear a 650M. I have a 740M on my laptop and it's just below a 650M. My desktop feels so much faster than my laptop in every way and you'll really enjoy the extra horsepower. I did the opposite of you in that I had a desktop first. Furthermore a 2K laptop is going to be anything but portable. Might be fast but it's going to be heavy and really crappy battery life. I get 5 hours of battery life out of my machine and wouldn't want much less than that for a machine to carry around campus.

As far as keeping stuff synced up I don't have much of a problem. If you get a desktop you'll game on your laptop a lot less. Most newer games support Steam cloud saves. An external HDD or a chunky USB drive would be a good companion. I'd hate it if I didn't have my external HDD.

Also, nice choice in major. Same as myself. How are you liking it?

 

[Origin Saint]

Yeah I'm enjoying the major quite a bit. Being a co-op gets a little boring because they don't really give me a whole lot to do where I work, but I have the foresight to know that if I stay here long enough to show I give a hoot, they'll start giving me some serious work more often. But all in all, I'm glad I chose the major for sure.

Mind having a look at the build I threw together a minute ago and telling me what you think? If I do end up building a desktop, I'll probably be doing it around Black Friday of this year, so keep that in mind when giving opinions on parts, as they may age a tad.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YFqPNG

EDIT: No case is included in the build because I bought a case a year or more ago to do a desktop build that never came to fruition. It's a Zalman Z11 Plus.

 

[Darren]

Looks pretty much perfect. You might be able to get Windows through your school for free or a discount. I can get any Windows OS for free back to I think XP or Vista.

If I were you I'd spend a bit more on a GPU if you can. 960 is solid for sure but a little more money would get you a good performance bump. Also you're going to want an aftermarket cooler to make use of the overclocking options with that chip/board combo.

 

[Origin Saint]

Got any specific GPU suggestions for not too much more money? Also, you just made me remember that I can get copies of Windows for dirt cheap at university! Thanks lol. I will eventually get a aftermarket cooler, maybe a Xigmatek Dark Knight or something along those lines, but I'm trying to get just what I need in terms of "extra" stuff off the bat so it doesn't destroy my wallet all at once.

Also, I was wondering this as well, would getting parts separately rather than buying the whole rig at once be a bad idea? I'm just wondering if I should go ahead a purchase a few things here and there as I go. If I did that, I would buy the MOBO, CPU and GPU together still because, warranties lol.

 

[Cisco001]

If the current laptop can handle everything you thrown to it, why do you need new one?

All you need is probably a monitor and keyboard which allow you play properly.

I personally would consider a upgrade/ new machine when I feel it slow /not capable to do the work I required

 

[Origin Saint]

Well it's more of a "want the better horsepower" situation. I will benefit from it a little. I personally like to play my games in 1080p with max settings if possible, and there's plenty I can't do that on. I'd also like to be able to install some significant mods for games like Skyrim, Fallout and Minecraft as well as being able to install a shader pack on Minecraft. The upgrade-ability of desktops also attracts me because it may be a big investment at first, but I can always upgrade singular pieces afterwards.

The laptop has handled a lot of what I've given it, but sometimes not too well, and it's showing it's age on newer gen games now. Coupled with the absolutely horrible cooling that my particular laptop has, it becomes a nuisance to game on.

I already have a whole computer desk, a Gigabyte Avia Osmium mechanical keyboard, a Razer Naga 2014, a Cooler Master SF-19 cooling pad and Logitech G430 headset, so I don't need peripherals lol. Like I said, just a matter of wanting the extra little horsepower and "future-proofing" compared to the laptop.

 

[Darren]

Yeah going off what you described you will be very happy when you get a desktop.

R9 280X would be the next step up on the GPU side and then after that a R9 290 or GTX 970. Check out the prices and see what's worth it to you.

 

[Origin Saint]

While I would really appreciate the extra oomph those card give, I don't think I would be willing to jump the price for them given the differences, but thanks for the suggestion! You have any opinion/suggestion for buying parts separately from the rig or not? Thanks for the help guys!

 

[C4C]

While I would really appreciate the extra oomph those card give, I don't think I would be willing to jump the price for them given the differences, but thanks for the suggestion! You have any opinion/suggestion for buying parts separately from the rig or not? Thanks for the help guys!

Not really.. It's a solid build, but I'm gonna say that the 280X (mid 200's) is worth the money compared to getting a GTX 970 (300-400's).. I max out every game with solid FPS.

 

[Darren]

Oh yeah I meant to mention that too. Things like PSU, RAM, and HDD tend to have pretty stable performance and prices so you can space those out without too much trouble. Your CPU, GPU, and Motherboard should definitely be bought within a few weeks of each other if you can.

Like you said prices are going to be changing and by the time Black Friday rolls around I bet you the AMD prices on cards will have dropped for this gen as the R9 3XX series is coming soon. You might end up being able to find an R9 280X for cheaper than a 960 at some point. My friend got a R9 290 last Black Friday for under 250.

 

[Origin Saint]

Thanks for the help and advice guys! Didn't expect to get so much assistance with this. The only thing that worried me about getting parts separately was the warranty running out before I even really use the part, but considering that if I'm going to do this build, I will be doing it before the end of November of this year, I don't think it would be a big deal.

So basically everybody here so far doesn't see any problem financially either? I hate to be that guy, but I don't want to end up in some stupid hole because I built a computer in college lol. It's really not a ton of money in comparison to university tuition and crap. I make about $1,940 a month with my co-op employment (which like I said, is every other semester). I'm not too worried about the whole financial thing, but I don't want to just drop a fortune into it seeing as how it isn't like I'm filthy rich and have no debt to look after eventually. Just in case anyone was wondering, the $10k in loans is all in Perkins loans and subsidized loans, that accrue no interest until 6 months after graduation so it isn't like that is going to compound up.

Keep the advice and suggestions coming guys, you're a big help!

 

[Darren]

I wouldn't take my financial advice for much salt but I honestly don't think you'll go broke off of this. It sounds like you have a fairly stable job that pays well and you've got your financials figured out pretty well otherwise. Also people in our major tend to get $55K+ jobs out of college at a 90+% rate so as far as loans are concerned you'll be capable of handling those once you're fully employed.

But again my financial experience isn't all that great and I'm just a kid in that regard.

Warranty wise, PSU's are typically DOA or will work fine for several years. That particular PSU I have used in at least 5 machines and is very well reviewed. All the ones I've used have been great. RAM typically has a lifetime warranty so that is of little concern. Motherboards also will either be DOA or working. Them failing part way down the line isn't all that likely. CPU's pretty much always work. I've never heard of a DOA CPU except for bent pins. GPU's are the most prone to needing RMA's so I'd definitely do that last. As you should anyway since prices for those fluctuate the most.

 

[ninjabubbles3]

If you are waiting for Black Friday, I wouldn't put together a part list right now. Broadwell is right around the corner, and the AMD 300 series is too

 

[Darren]

Subscribe to the discounts Newegg sends out. They're not quite Black Friday level discounts but when I was putting my machine together I managed to save over 50 bucks off of that from parts I already planned on buying. Over the course of a month I bought all my parts.

 

[Origin Saint]

If you are waiting for Black Friday, I wouldn't put together a part list right now. Broadwell is right around the corner, and the AMD 300 series is too

The only reason I'm putting together one now, is because I know for a fact that Broadwell and the 300 series are going to be more expensive than whatever it is I have in the parts list, and I'm not willing to go much higher than what I've already got in there, so the only real advantage I would get from those components being released is having the ones that I do want, go on sale. That said, thanks for the advice nonetheless.

 

[Darren]

Well that logic doesn't really work because the new stuff will move in to replace the old stuff in their respective price brackets. A 200 Intel chip for example right now would be slower than a 200 Intel chip that is released in between now and when you're purchasing.

Doing a parts list now is fine just don't set your heart on anything too strongly until you're down to actually purchasing it.

 

[Origin Saint]

Yeah, I understand that lol. The parts list is really just a guideline to get as close to as I can for an idea of price and performance. But at the same time, if the improvements in the similarly priced component aren't barely noticeable enough and the previous generation of the component gets a steep discount, I'd rather save the cash, situation depending. Like you said Darren, nothing is set in stone down until the moment I actually purchase something. That said, you've all given tremendous help with this.

 

[Darren]

Yeah I totally get where you are right now. Nice to watch the prices drop on something you want over the course of a few months.

 

[Origin Saint]

Yeah, and from the help of this thread I'll be watching my Newegg, Tiger Direct and MicroCenter emails more closely for the next 2 months for some of the less pertinent components to see if they go on sale, the rest can wait until I'm co-oping in November. Good part about that is, when I come back for the fall semester, they're giving me a raise to $16.50/hr instead. Not much, but you never know.

I did a thread about making a desktop a long time ago, maybe 2 years or so, and I'd like to apologize for those that helped then, considering I never actually bought anything but a case. Just didn't have the funds I thought I'd have and figured it best to wait, but this time, I'm pretty sure it's going to go pretty smoothly.