Advice for buying a gaming PC!

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Hey, you didn't even include speakers in your own build! Plus, Octane isn't really any better than the Devastator, so you're just wasting $33
.
Anyway, it's your money and your choice!

1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x AMD FX-Series X8 8300 3.3GHz Processor, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8300WMHK
1 x XFX R9-280A-TDFD, Double Dissipation Edition AMD Radeon R9 280 933M
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard
1 x EVGA 500W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA5005003, 12cm fan
1 x SCYTHE Katana 3 SCKTN-3000A White Box, 754/939/AM2/AM2+/AM3

$1709

Here is my rig

And here is the gear:
1 x ACER V236HLBd 23", IPS panel, Resolution: 1920x1080, Diagonal
1 x CoolerMaster Devastator keyboard + mouse combo, US layout, RED LED

$429

You have good speakers too, check out these ones $100, for example:
http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?products_id=16721
Or maybe something like this
http://www.bestbuy.com/product_info.php?products_id=14173

I actually did include them, take a closer look!
Genius SW HF2.1 1205.

I heard Octane is much better, and it even comes in 7 different colors if I'm not mistaken 😁

Roger Mitchell4 said:I put it there, take a better look.
genius sw hf2.1 1205.

I heard Octane is way better, plus it comes in 7 different colors if nothing 😁

The only real difference is the color swap... and honestly, who cares?$33 meh, they're both membrane keyboards, so there's zero difference...

Robert Rodriguez2 said:the only real difference is the color scheme... and honestly, who cares about that? $33 meh, they are both just membrane keyboards, there's no actual difference...

I'm reading reviews saying the scroll wheel on this thing starts squeaking after two days, and that the left click either sticks or fails to register entirely.
It isn't $33 rather $8.25, right in the middle of the action $87 😁

Did you realize that, if we set aside the sticky threads, this is actually the most active discussion in the entire desktop PC subforum? 😬

Timothy Kim60 said:Did you guys realize that, excluding the pinned threads, this is actually the most read and most replied-to thread in the entire Desktop PC subforum? 😬

HAHAHAHAHA, and it only took 10 months! 😁

Finally got my hands on this PC! Huge thanks to everyone for all the help.

So, what did he end up going with?

David Sanders4 said:So, what did you end up grabbing?

FX 8300
-2x4GB Kingston HyperX 1866
-970A-DS3P
-AMD Radeon R9 280
-EVGA 500W Power Supply
-Western Digital WD Green WD10EARS
-Zalman Z3 Plus

Dell 22-inch Monitor
CM Storm Octane
Genius HF800A

Nice, how much did you end up paying for it?
Also, give me the lowdown on that Octane combo. What’s the verdict on the mouse—how is the lighting, the typing feel, and the noise levels?

David Sanders4 said:Nice! How much did you end up paying???
Also, let me know how the Octane combo is holding up. What about the lighting, typing feel, and noise levels on the mouse?

$6,800.
It's an amazing deal for the price. I am absolutely loving the design! The lighting is great too—I find myself messing with it constantly. The keyboard isn't noisy at all, or maybe I'm just hard of hearing when I'm gaming! The mouse feels good in my hand, though it feels a tiny bit light to me.

Honestly, for $87 it's a fantastic combo.

Hey there—I'm looking to pick up a new motherboard, processor, graphics card, power supply, and some RAM (thinking I'll grab one 8GB stick now and add another in a few months). I’m planning to hang onto my current case (a Thermaltake V3) and my Western Digital WD Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5 drive; I'll probably pick up an SSD down the road. I also have an Intel E97379-001 CPU Cooler for LGA1155/1156 - OEM—if that doesn't fit the new setup, just let me know and include a new cooler in the quote.
I've got about $500-$$1833 to work with here. I'd prefer to pay cash—does anyone know where I can find a good cash discount? Also, does that discount still apply if I'm doing COD? If I can snag a deal, I might try to stretch the budget to $600 by adding some peripherals, so the total would end up being right around what I originally planned to spend. Thanks in advance!

Paul Perez87 said:Hey, I'm looking for a new motherboard, processor, graphics card, power supply, and RAM (thinking about grabbing one 8GB stick now and adding another in a few months). I'll keep my current case (Thermaltake V3) and my Western Digital WD Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" drive; I'll pick up an SSD later. I also have an Intel E97379-001 CPU Cooler for LGA1155/1156 - OEM, unless that doesn't fit the new setup, then include a new cooler in the offer.
I have about $500-$$1833 to spend. I'd prefer to pay cash, so does anyone know where I can get a cash discount? Also, would that discount still apply if I chose cash on delivery? If there's a discount, I might try to stretch the budget to $600 by adding some peripherals so the total stays within what I can afford. Thanks in advance.

You didn't mention what you'll be using the PC for, though I assume it's mostly gaming. There isn't really a "cash discount"—prices are usually higher when you use credit or financing, so the "cash price" is basically just the standard discounted rate. Here's a suggestion:

1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, s1150, Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2 xDDR3
1 x Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (3.20GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Box
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Corsair, 1600MHz, CL11, Value, CMV8GX3M1A160C11
1 x EVGA 500W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA5005003, 12cm fan
1 x Gigabyte GTX970 WF3 OC 4GB GDDR5, GV-N970WF3OC, 256 bit,

$1879 admin.us

I went a little over budget, but I honestly think this is worth it. That GPU is a massive jump compared to anything lower in the hierarchy, making it a genuine "best buy" among high-end cards. Also, that HDD is pretty slow—it's just a storage drive, so I'm guessing your system feels sluggish. You should grab an SSD as soon as possible to speed things up; it'll make the PC fly... 🙂 And you won't need to upgrade the RAM if you're just gaming.

Thanks for the suggestion—I’ll most likely go that route. I'll probably pick up the SSD toward the end of next month, so I'll just be patient until then.

Paul Perez87 said:Thanks for the tip. I’ll probably pull the trigger on that. As for the SSD, I'll grab it toward the end of next month; I can wait until then.

That build Smartic put together is basically a steal if you're looking to game at 1080p or even 1440p. You won't regret it.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:The setup Smartic put together for you is honestly a total steal if you're looking to game at 1080p or even 1440p. You're in good hands there.

Smartic? 🙂

Adam Moore3 said:Smartic? 🙂Like some kind of joke?

Excuse me, 😬 ☕what even is that?

A friend is looking for a new PC with a budget of $1333 max.

He found this setup for $1266.

CPU: AMD Athlon ii x4 860 k 3.7
Motherboard: FM2 motherboard : A68H soc
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX 950 2
Memory: 8GB DDRIII
Hard Drive: 1TB HDD
Case: Knight
Optical Drive: DVD-RW Dual Layer, SATA
Power Supply: Antec 500W
Audio: 5.1 channel audio
Other: PCI-express, SATAIII, LAN 10/100MB/1000MB

Is there anything better for this price, or is this a decent deal?

Cash or card?

You can do way better for that kind of money...

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 (3MB Cache, 3.80 GHz), s1151
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-D, s1151
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4GT OC, 4GB GDDR5, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort
RAM: DDR4 8GB (1x8GB) PC3-17000 2133MHz CL15 Crucial, CT8G4DFS8213
Hard Drive: Toshiba 1TB, P300 High-Performance, 7200 rpm, 64MB cache, SATA 6Gb/s, HDWD110UZSVA
Case: MS KNIGHT midi tower case without PSU, MBO: ATX, mATX. 2X 5.25" external slots, 3X internal slots
PSU: 400W FSP Fortron/Source Hexa+, ATX 2.4, PPA4004900

A much more powerful setup for $1317 bucks (eBay)

EDIT: I left out the optical drive, that's another $43 or you can snag a used one on Craigslist for $17...

1 x GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GDDR5 4GB/128bit
1 x MS Helios 3 Case, Black, 1x12cm+1x8cm fan
1 x 500W Power Supply, ANTEC VP500PC ES, ATX 2.4, 120mm fan
1 x Adata DDR3 8GB 1600MHz, AD3U1600W8G11-B, bulk
1 x AMD FX X6 6300 (3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+) tray
1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+, R2.0, 4+1 Phase, 125W CPU
1 x Toshiba P300 1TB HDD, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x LC-CC-95 CPU Cooler, Intel/AMD, 90mm 4-pin

Total: $1370
futura