Octorok said:
With that in mind - I'm not some fool with more money than sense, and I thoroughly researched exactly what I wanted from a custom build (every last component), and I knew from the start that some of my components (*cough* the GTX 680 *cough*) were not performance-per-pound as good as something cheaper. That was really just future-proofing in exchange for more money. Right now, my CPU and GPU are wasting power. But, 3-5 years from now, I'd like to still be using the same machine, without tinkering with it too much.
I also knew that by not building it myself I was paying a hefty premium, both for the construction and overclocking, and the extra cost of not bargain hunting.
But when you think about it it's really not, future proofing I mean. Well, not cost effective future proofing at least.
The card costs 3x more than your average gaming card, and your average gaming card will run almost all games maxed out. An odd PC exclusive here and there or a exceptionally crappy port aside.
How long do you think the 680 will be able to keep it up? Even if you buy an average graphic card every 2 years, they would last at least 6 years for the price of the gtx680.
A dear friend of mine bought a high end Nvidia card a few years back,a Gigabyte OC edition, ended with a 75, 2 gigs memory, not sure exactly which one, it's been a while. He paid a good 400 euros for it, and he had to replace it a couple months before the 3 year warranty expired because it ran games worse than a 105 euro card of the current gen. Oh he was mighty pissed. He could have stuck with it for a while longer, but he's a graphics freak and playing games on medium to low settings is beneath him.
Now, I understand most people are not into computers all that much aside for using them, but my life revolves around them and it's kind of my job to know these things.
But this was about bragging rights, and in my book, not knowing something but being able to shovel money at it instead is nothing to brag about.
PS: Who the hell charges assembling a PC?:S
I mean, I do. But I don't sell the components I assemble. If you buy a custom built PC from a shop they are supposed to bloody assemble it for free:x