I'm, buying a new computer soon. I'll use it for surfing the web, watching Netflix, maybe playing a few older computer games. (We're talking three years old or older.) Any recommendations?
Help me pick a computer, please!
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Ok.Queen Michael said:
Have a particular case style you'd prefer? There's Mid-Size for under desks, Full Size if you'd like to one day mess around inside the case and need the room for fat hands, and 'Living Room' cases that are more like consoles, and trade internal space for a nicer, more minimalist look that look better when hooked up to TVs in common areas (As well as being easier to manage, size wise)?
EDIT: Oh, and a budget would be nice.
My budget's $700-800. and I guess mid-size or "Living Room" would be the best.AccursedTheory said:
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Are you willing to build it yourself or do you want pre-built?Queen Michael said:
You can get a pretty decent gaming PC for $800 if you're willing to put in the work and put it all together.
http://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-AG6-710-70001-Desktop-Windows/dp/B0124YJPZA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00
Thats the $800 version of what I bought a few weeks ago. Someone else can confirm if it's decent or not. I went with the 970 graphics card and i7 core processor.
Thats the $800 version of what I bought a few weeks ago. Someone else can confirm if it's decent or not. I went with the 970 graphics card and i7 core processor.
Building is actually not very hard, the hardest part is choosing the single parts.
But I understand the wish to just buy a finished one.
http://www.amazon.com/2016-Vostro-Business-Flagship-Graphics/dp/B01CRK5WIA/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1461442959&sr=1-11&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289793011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817224011%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A3012497011
This one looks not bad, I'm just unsure about the graphics card, but it only fits into the budget since it's currently on sale and you shouldn't buy a computer on a whim. Definitely take your time and compare different pcs and their components. A decent computer should then last several years.
But I understand the wish to just buy a finished one.
Did a cursory look at the gtx950 core i5 version. Seems decent.DudeistBelieve said:
http://www.amazon.com/2016-Vostro-Business-Flagship-Graphics/dp/B01CRK5WIA/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1461442959&sr=1-11&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289793011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817224011%2Cp_n_feature_seven_browse-bin%3A3012497011
This one looks not bad, I'm just unsure about the graphics card, but it only fits into the budget since it's currently on sale and you shouldn't buy a computer on a whim. Definitely take your time and compare different pcs and their components. A decent computer should then last several years.
What I learned when making the purchase. The 980 graphics card is the best out there. The 970 is a tier below that and games are just now barely starting to use it's full potential. You can get away with less than that, I would think.Queen Michael said:
Just don't want you to do what I did and end up buying a unit that is graphically overkill vs the xbox one/ps4. Oh sure 60 frames per second is nice but 30 is still very playable.
Yeah, luckily I don't have to have a new computer right this second, so I can afford to read up on my options.Neonsilver said:
Pretty good deal at $789:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883230103
Comes with a SSD for much faster boot and load times, a R9 380 graphics card (ranked as the best budget graphics card by PC Gamer), 8GB of RAM and a powerful i5 Skylake processor. Honestly, your budget is too large for just web surfing, Netflix and occasionally playing some older games. $700-800 USD can get you an entry level gaming rig.
At $599, this one might make more sense:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883798488
It has largely the same components as the other PC, except it has the weaker GTX 750 Ti graphics card. Not that great of a card for recent games, but it will certainly play 3 year old games on high to ultra presets without any problems. The power supply in this computer is only 250W and cannot be upgraded, so you likely wouldn't be able to upgrade your graphics card in the future.
EDIT:
Another good deal for an entry level gaming PC ($789):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883798520&cm_re=gtx_960-_-83-798-520-_-Product
Again, basically the same components with a different graphics card. It comes with a GTX 960 which usually performs on par with the r9 380.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883230103
Comes with a SSD for much faster boot and load times, a R9 380 graphics card (ranked as the best budget graphics card by PC Gamer), 8GB of RAM and a powerful i5 Skylake processor. Honestly, your budget is too large for just web surfing, Netflix and occasionally playing some older games. $700-800 USD can get you an entry level gaming rig.
At $599, this one might make more sense:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883798488
It has largely the same components as the other PC, except it has the weaker GTX 750 Ti graphics card. Not that great of a card for recent games, but it will certainly play 3 year old games on high to ultra presets without any problems. The power supply in this computer is only 250W and cannot be upgraded, so you likely wouldn't be able to upgrade your graphics card in the future.
EDIT:
Another good deal for an entry level gaming PC ($789):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883798520&cm_re=gtx_960-_-83-798-520-_-Product
Again, basically the same components with a different graphics card. It comes with a GTX 960 which usually performs on par with the r9 380.
I built my current pc three years ago and I have a gtx 660 ti. It still works quite well, unless you intend to play with uhd graphics. So the 980 or 970 is definitely not necessary.DudeistBelieve said:
If one can live with less than the highest graphics settings, one can save a lot of money on it. But in my opinion it's better to invest more in a good graphics card (good not the best, 200-300?) and adjust the settings when it starts to get old.
This seems a good choice. It doesn't even come with that large of a pre-built tax, probably because it's not a huge brand you're dealing with. The biggest problem with it is that it comes with the 2GB version of the R9 380 instead of 4GB. But instead of that you're getting 2TB extra hard drive space.Higgs303 said:
Still, if you want pre-built for a reasonable price I doubt you'll find a better price-quality deal than this one. It comes very close to the PC I picked out parts for a few weeks ago.
Yea, I noticed the 2GB of VRAM as well. I'm not entirely sure if it matters all that much for 1080p gaming. This video suggests that the 2GB version of the 380 will perform roughly 2-4 fps slower on average than the 4GB version. The minimum FPS drops are a little more noticeable at a 6 FPS difference.Cowabungaa said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESeFXwGfBsI
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That's a pretty good deal. The processor is a little weaker than I would want, and the graphics card is 2GB of vram, but all in all it's a pretty solid gaming PC, and would play current titles fairly well not even to mention ones that are a few years old.Higgs303 said:
I would read up on the quality of the exact components a little more, but in terms of raw specs I don't think you'd get much better for the OP's budget.