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**Mhurron** · 12-17-2008, 04:32 AM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

A - Feba doesn't know what he is talking about, especially regarding Vista.
B - If you have to ask these things, that system is significant over kill. Save some money and get some older parts.
C - I've never liked Biostar.
D - Who in the hell is Cyberpower?

**Feba** · 12-17-2008, 05:06 AM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

1 - Get InformIT: Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 18th Edition - $47.99 . You can probably go a couple editions older if you want to save some cash. Your local library might have it if you're really cheap. Read it. There's a lot to read, but you will appreciate it by the time you finish.

2- Build your system from the ground up. Newegg.com has very good prices much of the time; and also very important they have great customer service.

3- No, I didn't. http://www.ffxionline.com/forums/com...ows-vista.html . From everything I've heard, Vista is pretty decent now that SP1 is out. Personally, I loathe it due to many, many missteps Microsoft has made with it, and if I needed to run Windows software, I'd opt for XP. However, these are largely due to personal things; if I had a Windows computer, I would want to run a program which I've heard does not work well with Vista (and on which development is dead). I also prefer buying lower end hardware generally, and MS's choices with Vista has made it a huge step backward there. Also tied to lower end hardware is price, and Vista is simply obscene. Overall, there's really nothing Vista does better than XP that would validate all of the other flaws in it for me. If you don't have a problem with Vista, though, it's not like it's going to eat your computer.

4- See 1 and 2. If you want to build your own computer, build your own computer. Otherwise you're better off buying something OEM.

P.S. : OEM deals can be spectacular. I've ads offering very nice looking computers; 4GB RAM, quad core processor, top of the line video cards, for under $600. And I'm pretty sure they weren't black friday exclusive.

P.P.S : Nowadays, I am of the opinion that you will get more out of how you interact with the computer than the power you have in it, generally speaking. Having a very nice keyboard, mouse, and monitor has made me much happier than having a more powerful graphics card or more RAM. However, I'm the sort of person who loves the Wii, and doesn't really play many PC games. But if your main interest is EVE online, I can tell you that my old 2.4GHZ P4, 512MB RAM, Geforce 4 PC was able to run it alright. Unless you intend to run the DX10 client (and probably even then, I haven't seen the specs) whatever you're planning on putting into a new computer is probably too much.

EVE eats screen space for breakfast. You'll almost certainly have a better experience if you cut out a graphics card in place of having another monitor. If you're thinking of a 1000+$ PC, you'd probably be better cutting that in half and spending it on monitors. Large, high res monitors and EVE online go together like peanut butter and jelly. You probably cannot have enough space to juggle windows in EVE.

Examples:

**Jarre** · 12-17-2008, 10:48 AM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Take it from me tipsy the Blue LED's and lighting get anoying after a time, I disconnected my blue LED's on my case as when using at night it got reflected on the screen (even with my new LCD).

Monitor is toooo small. for a widescreen to be able to see anything you need 22" minimum. Its mainly to get a good vertical height.

also Memory is cheap I would have upped it to 4gb (no point any more if your using XP)

as for the HD situation. if you want a really quick gaming machine then i would have gone with a 10,000rpm raptor drive as main system drive with a SATAII 500gb or 1TB HD.

**Durahansolo** · 12-17-2008, 11:29 AM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Nice monitors Feba. I need to get a widescreen one, when I got my first real job 3 years ago I bought a 19" square monitor *Should've kicked in the extra bucks to get WS lol.*

**TheGrandMom** · 12-17-2008, 12:20 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Ok huge glaring issue and I haven't even read past the case specs yet............

FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY WATT PSU!? Good god man thats too low! (EDIT: Ok I got lower in the specs and see they add on a 600w PSU. But does that mean they credit you for the 420w PSU? If not, you better make sure they give you that 2nd PSU because it's yours bought and paid for!) I would have went with the silver or blue case personally. Black is overdone.

FYI, I'm with Jarre. Ditch the cathodes. Annoying as hell after a while ESPECIALLY if they flutter.

1st EDIT: 2 fans? or is that 3 fans? What size are the fans? Seems like a lot of heat sources in that case for 2 fans.

2nd EDIT: Ya, gonna go with Mhurron on the mb. Wouldn't buy a Biostar if it was the last mb on the face of the earth. Shit ass customer service and crappy products. Make sure you get an extended warranty for at least 3 years on this system if you buy it.

3rd EDIT: Jarre with XP Home he can't do 4gbs of ram. He could go with 3gbs since it would utilize between 2.8 and 3.2 depending on hardware.

4th EDIT: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO . . . you're going with a lot of WOW factor (not the game) and then you use crappy ass on board audio!? ESPECIALLY when you are buying speakers! Lordy...

5th EDIT: Ok those crossfire graphics cards are decent but let me give you a piece of friendly advice.......they run HOT! I know, I have a pair. I should say soon to be HAD a pair because I didn't cool my system well enough and now one card has heat damage. This goes back to 1st EDIT.....2 fans?

6th EDIT: And why are you buying a UPS unit from them? Honestly, go shop around and buy yourself a better one somewhere else. Don't add all the little doo dads on because you don't need them. Instead of that stinking UPS, get yourself some freakin decent audio.

7th EDIT: And ya, like Mhurron said..........Who the hell is CyberPower? And why in the hell did you decide to go with them?

8th late EDIT: I thought about this and don't go buying a monitor from this place if you buy the computer. There are so many great deals out on the internet for monitors right now. Here is an ASUS 19" for $90 after rebate:

Newegg.com - ASUS VW193T Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1 (ASCR 1600:1) Built in Speakers - LCD Monitors

A Samsung 19" thats $120 after rebate:

Samsung SyncMaster 923NW Widescreen LCD Monitor - 923NW - Buy.com

And with the end of the fiscal year coming up there are going to be some kick ass sales on electronics (computers and monitors) in January/February/March.

Here are a couple of my sites I look for deals on:

Ben's Bargains - Bargains, Coupons, Freebies

dealnews.com: Find the best deals on computers, laptops, HDTV, iPods, and MP3 players

And my last and final point is............. EXTENDED WARRANTY For people who are not computer literate, it is an ABSOLUTE MUST for them to have an extended warranty on a computer. (Unless you have family/friends willing to fix your computer for you. And think about this LONG AND HARD because they come and fix it at their lesiure and not in a time frame like a business does. So if its not that important how fast it gets done, then family and friends are great.) Consider how often you will be buying a new computer. For me, I update every 3 years so a 3 year extended warranty works well for me. For other people, 5 years is a more appropriate timeframe. Yes, the warranties aren't cheap but neither is getting your computer repaired. $40 an hour labor plus parts adds up really damn quick. So one little fix could equal your warranty and that means you can only have one little thing go wrong with your computer in that 3 or 5 years to be even. Even though I build my own desktops, I don't touch laptops and I have one with an extended warranty. Two years after I had it, the video card went out. My $135 extended warranty paid for itself because the repair was $300.

**Durahansolo** · 12-17-2008, 12:32 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Originally posted by TheGrandMom View Post

Ok huge glaring issue and I haven't even read past the case specs yet............

FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY WATT PSU!? Good god man thats too low!

FYI, I'm with Jarre. Ditch the cathodes. Annoying as hell after a while ESPECIALLY if they flutter.

1st EDIT: 2 fans? or is that 3 fans? What size are the fans? Seems like a lot of heat sources in that case for 2 fans.

Originally posted by Tipsy

POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts Power Supplies (Nzxt PP600 Watt Power Supply-SLI Supports)

I think the 420W was the spec of the original one that comes with the case.

Speaking of LEDs, My CoolerMaster Case has a bright arse one over the power button. I had to cover it up so I wouldn't blind myself while I was sitting at the computer. Its bad enough that I have like 7 Blue LED cooler fans on the inside.

**Feba** · 12-17-2008, 12:51 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Originally posted by Durahansolo View Post

Nice monitors Feba.

Oh, they're not mine, I got them off GIS, just to show how much screen space EVE eats for breakfast. I personally have a single Dell widescreen (16:10) for my desktop; which I'm actually planning on moving down to my TV (A 50" Samsung) later today. Not totally sure what I'm going to do with my two old monitors.

**Mhurron** · 12-17-2008, 01:12 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Originally posted by TheGrandMom View Post

4th EDIT: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO . . . you're going with a lot of WOW factor (not the game) and then you use crappy ass on board audio!? ESPECIALLY when you are buying speakers! Lordy...

A lot of recent onboard audio, except the basic stereo, is just as good as any other consumer audio card. Unless you know that audio chip is going to suck, stick with the onboard. You can always add a sound card later.

**TheGrandMom** · 12-17-2008, 01:13 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Ok so I decided to check out this customization on CyberPower. So I picked out a base and went into customize. Well color me surprised to see so many case selections available! Then I had to chuckle because they snag you good. Every single case offers a lowly 420w power supply. If you are clicking on one of their gaming setups, there shouldn't even be 420w psu's offered, imo.

Also noticed this, you do not have to go with the Biostar mb either. Be happy.....be very happy. Go with an Asus or MSI but stear clear of Biostar.

**TheGrandMom** · 12-17-2008, 01:16 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Originally posted by Durahansolo View Post

I think the 420W was the spec of the original one that comes with the case.

/slap I said I read further down in the specs and saw the addition of another psu.

Originally posted by Mhurron View Post

A lot of recent onboard audio, except the basic stereo, is just as good as any other consumer audio card. Unless you know that audio chip is going to suck, stick with the onboard. You can always add a sound card later.

He's not computer literate or he'd be going to Newegg or TigerDirect and building his own. If he wants good sound, he needs to get it now.

(Dang it, I wish the forum would auto merge mod posts too. ><)

**Raydeus** · 12-17-2008, 02:46 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

Originally posted by Feba View Post

Man this one really makes me want to get 2 additional monitors and an extra video card. But the hell I want to spend even more money on tech/gaming stuff.

Damn you Febar!

PS > Is that EVE then? That's a LOT of info going on and still looks like the guy actually needed more room for other stuff. XD

**TheGrandMom** · 12-17-2008, 02:51 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

I don't think there is a geek among us that wouldn't want an awesome setup like that. If I cleared off the 360 and PS3 from my desktop I could actually fit 2 more monitors on the side of my 26". /drool

**Raydeus** · 12-17-2008, 03:08 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

(Hmmm.) Now that I think about it I could probably get something similar really cheap using my old card and 2 used monitors or something.

Problem would probably be finding apps where I would actually use all that screen real state, which is why I don't have a setup like that already in the first place.

Man, controlling techie tendencies is tough work. <_<;

**Feba** · 12-17-2008, 03:10 PM

Re: Customizing a gaming PC (Not LAPTOP, this time_!

yes and yes, ray. One benefit of FFXI's hideously outdated GUI is that they at least manage windows well. That is, there aren't any fucking windows. Everything fits neatly in place. You don't have to drag things all over the place constantly in order to have a usable GUI.

But I cannot think of any app that eats window space more than EVE. Hell, I would probably run out of space to put apps on a desktop before I ran out of EVE windows to juggle.

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