Buying a new computer

[Reth]

I think you should buy a mid level mac mini... Low power draw, quiet, discrete graphics, runs everything, and if you buy one that's refurb, you'll save a lot of money. Upgrading the ram yourself to 8gb will be cheap and takes under 60 seconds.

No. It will struggle with recent games because of the insanely high resolution compared to the hardware you get with it. Your gonna have to lower the res, which defeats the purpose. They're just not meant to game on.

That, and to get it to run most games your gonna have to buy Windows 7 and boot camp it. Not worth it IMO.

And Borric, that computer will definitely last you 5 years. No worries.

 

[NBG]

I am waiting for this one to hit the market. Man I can't stand the wait!!!

ASUS TAICHI Ultrabook Rocks Two Displays (video) | GadgetReview

 

[Borric]

The kit I mentioned above came with:

• MSI Z77A-G45 Intel 7 Series Z77 Motherboard
• Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50 GHz Quad Core Unlocked
• MSI DH-24AAS-17 Internal DVD Writer
• Corsair Vengeance 8GB Desktop Memory

I purchased two extra items at the time I ordered the system:

• Corsair Vengeance 8GB Desktop Memory (for a total of 16GB)
• Intel BXRTS2011LC High Performance Liquid Cooler - 120mm Fan, 2200 RPM Max, 74 CMF, 35dBA Max, 150mm Radiator

Including shipping costs, I spent $930. This system rated at 5.9. Only because of the hard drive. The CPU and RAM both rate at 7.7 and the on board video graphics and gaming graphics both rate at 6.5.

I have also ordered a new SSD:

• OCZ Agility 4 AGT4-25SAT3-256G 256GB Internal Solid State Drive - 2.5" Form Factor, SATA III, 6Gbps, TRIM, Ndurance 2.0 Technology

Which should arrive in the next few days. The cost of the drive, including shipping is $189.99.

In a week or three, I am going to order a video card:

• Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 100312-3L Video Card - 2GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0(x16), CrossFireX Ready

I am seriously considering buying two of the above video cards. The cost of the card is $199.99.

If I buy just the one video card, I will spend a total of around $1320 ($1520 if I go with two video cards) on a computer that I HOPE will last me for 5 years. Once I have all of the parts together, I will install the EC and let you know how it works.

Got the SSD. All I can say is WOOOOW! Damn fast. It brought the Drive rating up to 7.6. Overall, without the graphics card, which I am ordering tomorrow, the system rating is a 6.5, limited by the graphics. Once the card is in, I will install the new client and give it a review.

On a side note, the 1TB drive that came with the kit quit working after I swapped drives around... It has lost the ability to read/write. GParted wont even see it as a drive. I will be sending it back.

 

[Saint of Killers]

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX250OCK23GM - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - Foxconn A9DA AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Internal DVD Writer 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model SH-222BB/RSBS

Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (11192-22-20G)

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

$530 with a full OEM version of Win7 Pro. If you already have an OS you can knock off $140 from the price.

As mentioned earlier, Newegg isn't always the lowest price on an item. The trick is though to check Newegg frequently and watch for their deals on items. Newegg is constantly knocking $20, $30, $50 or more right off the top of the price of an item with no rebates. Add-in rebates and frequent "Free Shipping" and you can easily save $100 and more if you exercise some patience.

For any computer build using new components, you'll be hard pressed to do better than $400 but you should be able to build a decent $400 computer that can run most modern games and definitely can run the EC.

As to the components I linked to, I highly recommend Western Digital, NZXT cases, G-Skill, Sapphire Tech and Samsung. You can add $30 for a Phenom II CPU and $15 for 8GB ram. My personal choice for motherboards runs more to Gigabyte & ASUS but Foxconn is a capable manufacturer of budget boards.

-----------------------------------------------------
*Discontinued - Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX250OCK23GM - Processors - Desktops

*Out of stock -Newegg.com - NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Any suitable replacements for those 2 items?

 

[Reth]

-----------------------------------------------------
*Discontinued - Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX250OCK23GM - Processors - Desktops

*Out of stock -Newegg.com - NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Any suitable replacements for those 2 items?

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX260OCGMBOX

Newegg.com - Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan

These two would do just fine. Not sure what the price point was on that CPU, but it shouldn't be too much more.

I'm using that case myself and it can fit a 6870 GPU in there fine.

 

[Saint of Killers]

Is this ASRock motherboard superior to the Foxconn? I looked at the specs, and it seemed to be much better, but I'm pretty clueless when comparing to be honest. Seemed like more bells and whistles, and ports, but no HDMI port:

ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Foxconn A9DA AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - Foxconn A9DA AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard

The ASRock is $84.99, but also comes with 8gb of RAM for free:
Team Xtreem Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313080

The Foxconn is $64.99 and Ezekiel suggested matching it up with 4gb of this RAM $22.99:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT

It's $39.99 to get the 8gbs of G.Skill RAM.

I'd prefer the 8gb of RAM, so the Foxconn + 8gb G.Skill RAM would be $104.98 vs the $84.99 for the ASRock + Xtreem 8gb RAM.

I apologize ahead of time if my links aren't working.

 

[Ezekiel Zane]

It looks like that NZXT case is back in stock at the moment.

The ASRock motherboard has a newer chipset and supports more memory. Also ASRock has a good company history and is currently ranked as the 3rd largest motherboard manufacturer in the world. ASRock is/was also a spinoff of ASUSTek.

The ASRock board also has 2 USB 3.0 ports and an eSATA port which the Foxconn board does not. Also the ASRock board supports AMDs newest Bulldozer CPUs. That add some future proofing to the ASRock purchase. The 8gb memory is icing on the cake. Be sure to notice though, if you hadn't already, that the ASRock board does not have integrated graphics.

CPU

65 watt Dual-core $64.99
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX260OCGMBOX

95 watt Triple-core $69.99
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX450WFGMBOX

Hope this helps.

 

[Saint of Killers]

It looks like that NZXT case is back in stock at the moment.

The ASRock motherboard has a newer chipset and supports more memory. Also ASRock has a good company history and is currently ranked as the 3rd largest motherboard manufacturer in the world. ASRock is/was also a spinoff of ASUSTek.

The ASRock board also has 2 USB 3.0 ports and an eSATA port which the Foxconn board does not. Also the ASRock board supports AMDs newest Bulldozer CPUs. That add some future proofing to the ASRock purchase. The 8gb memory is icing on the cake. Be sure to notice though, if you hadn't already, that the ASRock board does not have integrated graphics.

CPU

65 watt Dual-core $64.99
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX260OCGMBOX

95 watt Triple-core $69.99
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX450WFGMBOX

Hope this helps.

The last 6 feedbacks on the ASRock gave it really bad reviews; right down to being a real pain to install. I think I'd rather have an integrated graphics card also, so I'll play it safe and stick with the Fox I guess.

It's definitely worth the $5 increase in price for the AMD Athlon II x3 450 Rana over the 260 Regor in your opinion right?

 

[Saint of Killers]

Okay, done deal. Thanks again for your help. I went with most of what you listed, but opted for a power supply that was a little more expensive, but had much happier customers. Also went with the 8GB of RAM instead of 4. I'll just shop around to upgrade the rest of what I need: better mouse/keyboard/monitor, and I'll grab Windows 7 Pro elsewhere since it was $139.99 at Newegg.

1 x ($69.99) AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX450WFGMBOX​

$69.99​

1 x ($69.99) Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-550 550W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply​

$69.99​

1 x ($64.99) Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - OEM​

$64.99​

1 x ($64.99) Foxconn A9DA AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s ATX AMD Motherboard​

$64.99​

1 x ($64.99) SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (11192-22-20G)​

$64.99​

1 x ($39.99) NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case​

$39.99​

1 x ($39.99) G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT​

$39.99​

1 x ($18.99) SAMSUNG Internal DVD Writer 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model SH-222BB/RSBS​

$18.99​

1 x ($-9.75) DISCOUNT FOR PROMOTION CODE​

$-9.75​

Subtotal: $424.17
Tax: $0.00
Shipping and Handling: $18.17
Total Amount:
$442.34

 

[Reth]

Looks good Saint. It'll run EC silky smooth.

Oh, and they have Windows 7 OEM edition which only lets you link it to one motherboard, it's only $100. Long as you keep the same motherboard/HDD (not entirely sure on the HDD part) you can upgrade the other parts with no worries of having to buy it again.

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

 

[Saint of Killers]

Alright, so unit should arrive tomorrow or the day after. I'm wondering if I should just youtube on how to assemble a computer myself (so I can say I built my own computer), or enlist the aid of an experienced friend because more than likely a part or two won't work, and he'll help me identify the problem quicker since it's all new ground for me.

 

[Reth]

Alright, so unit should arrive tomorrow or the day after. I'm wondering if I should just youtube on how to assemble a computer myself (so I can say I built my own computer), or enlist the aid of an experienced friend because more than likely a part or two won't work, and he'll help me identify the problem quicker since it's all new ground for me.

Newegg has a real in depth 3 part video on putting together a computer. I'd watch all 3 before you start just to get the basics. But if you have a friend who know's what they're doing, that'll help too.

Part 1:

 

[Saint of Killers]

Newegg has a real in depth 3 part video on putting together a computer. I'd watch all 3 before you start just to get the basics. But if you have a friend who know's what they're doing, that'll help too.

Part 1:

Great videos. Thanks Reth!

I was all stoked this morning. My package arrived, I watched the videos, and then realized the only thing that hadn't arrived yet was the tower.

 

[Borric]

Well, got the video card yesterday and installed it last night. It improved my system rating.

I also installed the EC. For the most part it was very smooth. It did "hiccup" once in a while. It seemed to be related to houses/vendors. I'm kinda disappointed that it doesn't run better. I play some other games that worked flawlessly. Are there tweaks to the client I should do? And what about Pinco's UI? Ive heard good things about it.

 

[Reth]

Well, got the video card yesterday and installed it last night. It improved my system rating.

I also installed the EC. For the most part it was very smooth. It did "hiccup" once in a while. It seemed to be related to houses/vendors. I'm kinda disappointed that it doesn't run better. I play some other games that worked flawlessly. Are there tweaks to the client I should do? And what about Pinco's UI? Ive heard good things about it.

The EC will always hiccup around houses and vendors, IMO. Your PC is way above specs according to the Windows score.

 

[Borric]

The EC will always hiccup around houses and vendors, IMO. Your PC is way above specs according to the Windows score.

Its fairly bad. I tested it for about 2 hours last night. In the wilderness or desert with no house/buildings its very smooth. As soon as I go into a town or into and housing area, it get real skippy. I do like the look of most things (paper doll/character, mounts not included), but with it being so choppy, I cant say I would use it everyday. I am running it "out of the box" install. I am going to check other forums for any advice on tuning it. I would hate to think I have to start turning off things in the client.