Listen, guys, this whole thing with the PC case is becoming a massive headache, for heaven's sake. It’s better to just leave about $167 extra in the budget so she can pick one herself. Why on earth would we waste our nerves over 😬
Anyway, I've finally settled on these specs for her build:
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 1x8 GB - she claims she doesn't need 16GB 🙄 🍿 But fine, whatever, it's easy enough to add more later, along with an SSD. MBO: GIGABYTE GA-B85M-DS3H-A GPU: Gigabyte GTX 950 HDD: Seagate 1TB 64MB Cache PSU: Corsair CS450M
We're looking at roughly $500 here, which leaves plenty of cash left over for her to grab whatever monitor or case she actually likes. And maybe some fancy lights if she's feeling the urge.
So, gentlemen, my sincere thanks for all the advice and for pointing me in the right direction regarding what to look for when assembling this bucket of bolts. Don't take it personally that I ended up doing things "my way" in the end, but orders came from the top, and there's nothing I can do about that. 🙂
If I need anything else from you lot, I'll be in touch.
Wow, I have to say, I was honestly left a bit stunned by those recommendations. I had no idea that Xeon-i chips were even an option alongside Haswell, Skylake, and the rest. I always assumed they were strictly reserved for servers. If anyone doesn't mind, could I get an explanation as to why a Xeon might be a good call here?
Regarding the CPU cooler, it’s actually not a bad choice at all. I completely overlooked one of the most important factors when I was listing my needs: silence. That's on me. For what it's worth, I'm running an LC-CC-95 in my own rig right now and I'm pretty happy with it.
We hadn't initially planned on jumping up to 16GB of RAM, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have the extra headroom. Her 3D modeling work isn't incredibly demanding right now, but who knows what the landscape will look like in three or four years? We need this PC to last. We'll hold off on the SSD for now then.
The motherboard looks good to me. Same goes for the HDD. I'm not entirely sure if we'll pull the trigger on a drive, but since it's cheap, it might be worth grabbing just to have it on hand.
The power supply caught my eye too. The quiet operation and the modularity are 👍
Now, the case... that's where things get a little complicated. The girl is very visual about these things, so she’s set on specific cases that catch her eye. Personally, I wouldn't have any issues with the CM Silenc—I'd probably sell a kidney for that case—but she's a different story entirely. So, let's keep hunting for cases to see if anything else hits the mark, though she likely won't want to shell out more than about $150 for the same thing.
The monitor situation is basically the same headache as the case. She's got her heart set on those Samsung and Dell models and she just won't budge 😬
A girl is looking to buy a PC and is planning to drop about $2500 (though she might go up by a few $67 if we decide to upgrade certain parts). She needs a monitor (24", FHD, IPS) and the actual "tower."
The PC will be used for work in programs such as: Maya 3D, iClone 6, Blender, Adobe Premiere, and After Effects. That said, she likes to mess around with gaming every now and then, so the rig should be adequately equipped for that too.
To be honest, I haven't been keeping up with hardware trends over the last few years, so I'm honestly a bit lost on which direction to take. Should we go with Intel or AMD? We were also thinking about waiting a couple of months before buying an SSD if that extra cash could be better spent on a superior GPU or processor.
We have some rough ideas of what this setup might look like, but nothing is set in stone yet; everything is subject to change:
CPU: ? MBO: ? GPU: GTX 950 or GTX 960 (depending on what fits the budget and what makes more sense given the software requirements mentioned above—I'd appreciate your thoughts on this) RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury 1x8 GB 1866 MHZ (we can easily add another 8 GB later if it turns out to be necessary) HDD: Toshiba 1TB SSD: ? PC Case: Bitfenix Nova Midi (Window) PSU: ? (though I suspect someone would find something sufficient for $150)
Monitor: Samsung or DELL
As I mentioned, the absolute limit is $2567. It’ll be a cash purchase. Your valued suggestions can come from any store across the US since everything will most likely be ordered and paid for via COD. It isn't even an issue for us to drive over to a major city like Chicago to pick things up. And no, all components don't need to come from the same retailer. Feel free to mix and match.
stormydriver1 said:PC headphones, just to keep my head from exploding, haha... I mean, strictly for home use, but they need to be incredibly soft so my ears don't start aching 🙂 so I'm not sure, is $100 - $50 enough? Can you actually find something decent and reliable in that range? 🙂
Could you be a bit more specific here? What exactly does an "acceptable price" look like to you—give us at least a ballpark figure? And are we talking about in-ears or over-ear headphones? Come on, give us a hand here 🙂
To be completely honest with you, I’m also finding myself more drawn to the look of the Storm Ceres, but since Plantronics keeps bragging about their tech...
Correction. I got a little lost in my own head there and ended up giving you the wrong info. Just go with the Storm Ceres; you won't regret it. 🙂
I’ve seen people debating those two models on other forums for ages, and honestly, the consensus always seems to land on the Bose QuietComfort.
If I end up offloading my current pair, I am absolutely grabbing those Bose QuietComfort ones... because from what I hear, people can't stop raving about them. 🙂
Look, just grab the Logitech G600. The G700 is pushing your budget a bit too far, and honestly, I've heard it’s a total brick in terms of weight—not exactly what you want for long sessions. At the end of the day, the G600 has a button layout that mirrors the Razer nag, so you probably won't spend forever struggling to get used to it. 😉
Is this Corsair any good? I know for an extra few bucks I could just grab a CX430, but I'm specifically looking at this particular model. According to this review, the power supply itself is decent enough, though they mention it uses lower-grade capacitors and that voltage regulation could be better. Anyone here actually used one? Any praise, any complaints, or anything else to share?
Regarding that keyboard... look, if you've got the patience for it, maybe try checking some other local retailers near you to see if they can track it down. It seems like it's pretty much out of stock everywhere right now, which is just typical, isn't it? Anyway, it's a seriously high-quality mechanical board. I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews about it. Even though I haven't personally made the jump myself—I'm a bit slow on the uptake sometimes—everyone else seems to swear by it. Moving from a standard membrane setup to something mechanical? You'll feel the difference immediately. It's night and day. 😉
It's going to push your budget up by maybe another 100-$50, but honestly, I think it's worth every penny. But hey, it's your money. Your call.
P.S. Those prices are from Links, so expect things to be a little pricier there...
Either that, or you should start hunting around for some used gear—maybe a GeForce GTX 4850, a 5770, a 6750, or something along those lines. The catch is they’re all going to cost you more than the 4850 or the 5570.
But look, if I'm being totally honest with you... unless you're some hardcore, die-hard gamer, that 4850 is probably going to do the job just fine. 🙂
Timothy Kim60 said:That BenQ—honestly, the price is killer, and it even has DVI, which you almost never see at that price point nowadays.
Sorry for going offtopic here, but why is it like this today? Not to sound weird, but why do monitors seem to lack DVI outputs lately? My old monitor from late 2007 actually has a DVI port. Does that mean back then, even entry-level stuff was considered higher end? Why isn't DVI being put on budget monitors anymore? 🤷 Thanks in advance for any insight. 🙂
Lawrence Murphy68 said:Alright folks... this is my first thread. 😛
I'm picking up a "new" PC this week with these specs: Core i7 2.93 GHz processor; 4 GB RAM 750 GB HDD Windows 11 Now I just need a GPU... some guy offered me a Radeon HD 4850 or an RD HD 5570 1 GB... look, I don't really know much about computers, but Gamma Debt says the 4850 is 32% better than the 5570... 🤣
What do you guys think?
What do you mean "new" PC? You say new, but you mean used, right? 😁 Because looking at that processor name, nothing about this looks new to me. 😬
Regarding the graphics cards, is the same guy offering those to you as the one selling the PC, or someone else? And what's the damage? Honestly, you might find something smarter on Craigslist... assuming you don't absolutely have to buy everything from the same person. 😉
Right now, I'm stuck with an NVIDIA GeForce 210. It’s just some HTPC card the guys at the repair shop threw in there while they were fixing my old 7300GS after it decided to spontaneously combust. They only picked this specific one because my motherboard was such a complete disaster—it supported absolutely nothing and everything all at once—so this was basically the only thing that would actually fit.
Let's be honest here, you can't play anything remotely decent with this junk. Moving up to a Radeon HD 3870 would be a massive leap forward, but since I'm going to be spending the money anyway, I might as well aim for something a little more respectable than this bottom-of-the-barrel stuff.
As things stand, though, I won't be picking up a new card until September. 😢 But hey, if my situation changes, I might pull the trigger sooner. 🙂
EDIT:@Timothy Kim60/">@@Timothy Kim60 No, no... you totally misunderstood me. This isn't an HTPC setup. The case is just a standard midi tower. I was simply pointing out that the card itself is a low-profile HTPC model.
Right now, I've just been grinding MW2 multiplayer and LoL, though I'm itching to jump into something like BF3, Max Payne 3, or maybe even GTA V—assuming my rig can actually handle it if I get it on PC.
The thing is, I’m still stuck using this ancient 19" monitor capped at 1280x1024 resolution, so honestly, I don't even *need* a high-end GPU right this second. But, I’ll probably end up grabbing a decent Full HD monitor pretty soon anyway... they're dirt cheap these days, so why not?🙂