Desktop PC for the home

Oh well, you could always go to the movies and nostalgia hard…

[NSFW]

eeerrr….

maybe not.

I second gofasterstripes. Looks to be a huge waste of money and bad value. BigEaredBiker has hit the nail on the head with his partpicker thing.

I don’t think MovieBob liked that movie.

https://vimeo.com/10829255

I think I really should post the original short film Pixels is based on, it’s only fair.

Any decisions, Quirrel?

I’d still budget for a grand. There is playing games and then there is gaming.

I wouldn’t want to spend any serious gaming time whilst using the specs that have been posted up.

IMO a new build should be a PC that has the ability to last 4/5 years without further upgrading….unless you like the constant money pit that comes from wanting latest and greatest

FWIW, I have a 4 year old i5 2500k and a 780GTX….that doesn’t even play everything on ultra at 1440p. I’d love to see what your playing on Ultra in your Core2 machine Quirrel

http://m.hexus.net/tech/news/graphics/84911-amd-radeon-r9-nano-cards-reportedly-shipping-retail/

This might be relevant, depends on how much it’s going to cost.

You’re doing this at an interesting time….

My god, some of you must get in a right tiz when a new stem that is 25grams lighter than the one on your bike is released 😆

You do not need to get into playing the latest games at 100fps on ultra settings at resolutions above 1080p. Especially if you would be happy gaming on a console.

If you enjoy tinkering with hardware and drivers settings that’s one thing (like Gofasterstripes and I do) but I doubt you get anything extra game play wise playing at 1440p @ 120 fps compared to playing at 1080p at 50fps with a few shiny bits switched off.

Both the latest AMD APU’s and Intel CPU’s have half decent graphics built in. There are plenty of videos on Youtube of gamers playing Battlefield 4 with decent frame rates at 720p on them. That is enough if all you want is something more versatile than a console.

There is playing games and then there is gaming.

Isn’t this the equivalent of “there’s riding a bike and there’s mtbing” or similar to differentiate between people on a £500 bike and those on £3k+ ego chariot?

As pointed out, you can play games on consoles and those that do don’t seem to need the performance specs being spaffed about in order to enjoy them. But then that’s probably just ‘playing games’.

You do not need to get into playing the latest games at 100fps on ultra settings at resolutions above 1080p.

Yeah, but it’s a great way to meet girls 😛

It’s a great way to meet people who claim to be girls.

I put on my robe and wizard hat.

😆 Hello, Bloodninja.

Slight thread hijack, I have similar requirements to the OP (basically need a new PC, would like some gaming capability).

Can anyone see anything wildly ‘wrong’ with this?

http://www.cclonline.com/product/155645/NoMfgCode/All-CCL-Desktops/CCL-Elite-Hobby-Owl-II-Mini-Gaming-PC/CCL-EL-HOB2/

Looks good although I’d prefer an i5 processor for gaming.

Ta, my current machine is about 8 years old so I daresay even an i3 will be an improvement!

As before, if you are more concerned about gaming than overall response, swap the SSD for a better GPU.

Thanks – TBH it’ll mostly be used for WFH duties so I’m tempted to stick with the SSD.

I’m not likely to play anything very recent (maybe Far Cry 4, although I haven’t played 3), and nothing over 1080p.

Any further thoughts / advice gratefully received!

What is WTH?

Working from home?

Yup working from home

I’d love to see what your playing on Ultra in your Core2 machine Quirrel

That was me.

Was playing Planetside 2 but they **** the code in the ear and I had to drop a few things down to High to keep it happy, CPU gets run hard in that game. There are others I can run better, not sure what I can run GTA V at on story mode.

No decisions as of yet – still looking at what it will cost to build locally.

<My Scottish blood runs thick and spending cash is always tough – other than those odd spur of the moment things that catch me by surprise.

@MrBlond
That configuration doesn’t need a 600w PSU, if I were you I’d swap that for an i5 quad core. But you can’t do it with that build :/

I can make BigEareds pick but can’t get the X4 online, AMD FX-8320 Eight-Core 3.5GHz Black Edition AM3+ (FD8320FRHKBOX) is available.

Works out at 500 quid with 8.1 so I should be able to haggle it down in the shop a bit.

the FX-8320 works out about twice as much as the one in BigEars setup.

Why can’t you get the x4? It’s on Amazon? A more powerful CPU wouldn’t be a bad thing, it never is 😀

Just thought I’d share this. Rather lower budget than we’re talking about here but it’s done everything I’ve wanted so far perfectly well

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cheap-gaming-pc-suggestions-please

Out of interest, is there an online benchmarking app to see how it performs relatively?

Benchmark with 3dmark. There should be 4 tests you can compare results for: Ice Storm, Cloud Gate, Sky Diver and Firestrike.

I’d like to wade in with a big thread hijack if you will permit.
I’m looking for a new work from home CAD station that will run Revit. The crux is it needs to be cheap as chips. I’m not into any high end rendering it will just be usd for basic model building and autocad. Every time I go near a Cad forum they talk about getting top end graphics cards and the best cpu money can buy but I’m not convinced I need any of this?

Anyone on this thread know where I can get a seriously cheap station to run this…. I need a decent sized monitor also.

A secondhand setup based on the same desktop CPU/mobotherboard my 5 y/o machine is. Then, a reasonable workstation GPU. Have a Google for systems containing parts like this:

i7 920 (or Nehalem series i7)
X58 chipset
6-12 GB ram
AMD/ATI Firepro 5900

Those machines were released several years ago but are still very powerful.

You could also use those parts as a base point benchmark anything that fast or faster will be OK. Any other parts you find which are faster will be fine (Google a review that compression them to the parts I listed).

What you must have is lots of RAM, and a real workstation GPU (Quadro or Firepro)

So how’d it go?

I hate not having a resolution!

Meanwhile:

😀

having just been told i am getting a bonus, resolution is approaching faster and possibly more powerful.

Hitman is out soon as well

I’m just replacing a system that, fundamentally, is from 2007. It’s had some cheap components and at least 2 budget gpu upgrades but it’s still pretty capable- haven’t found anything it won’t run though obviously top graphics options have been out of the question for a few years. Admittedly, it was an absolute monster when I first built it… I was tempted to put another GPU in it and a watercooler, and make it last out a decade but that’d be pushing it I think 🙂

Overall power required depends so much on your screen size and res but PC enthusiasts get so carried away. 1080p and high settings are more than doable on a strict budget, they take you into the diminishing returns on spending. I’m just doing a refresh of mine- basically everything but the drives, fan and power supply- and it’s costing me about £350, built around a G3258 and an R9 380. It’s not going to be mighty but it’ll be plenty capable and it’s got upgradability. To build it from scratch just as a box, I’d be spending £500 probably.

The trouble with secondhand is it’s just completely bewildering, it’s hard enough to pick components from the latest stuff. Especially with constant namechanges etc. If you go that route then a full system from an enthusiast who’s upgrading to the latest and greatest is probably the best option. But midrange kit moves fast so even then often prices for old, formerly topend kit are quite high compared to new, midrange stuff that performs comparably.

Overclockers forum is good!

GrahamS – Member

I think you’re missing his point that he is still happily playing games on his Xbox 360 TEN YEARS after it was first launched.

Compared to that the upgrade cycle on gaming PCs is painfully short.

Eh, that’s because the 360’s not had any progression- it can’t do anything today that it couldn’t do 10 years ago, just like a 10 year old PC. If you were happy with that restriction on PC it’d be the same, it’s just that PC games move on whereas console games stay restricted to their platform.