PC build thread

Windows, Mac, DOS, and all those-other personal computing platforms
User avatar
Ziggy
Moderator
Posts: 14913
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:12 pm
Location: NY

Re: PC build thread

Post by Ziggy »

marurun wrote:Consider 8 GB RAM if you want this to make it 10 years. Software is only going to get bigger, especially for interacting with the web.
I was thinking about it, only because 4GB is really the bare minimum you want these days. Also, the on board graphics is gonna steal some of it. 8GB just seems excessive though, even 10 years from now, but they don't make 3GB sticks. The 8GB kit of the same G.Skill set isn't too much more though. And if one stick ever goes bad, reverting to 4GB is a LOT better than 2GB. If I don't have to get an optical drive, like I said, the price would stay the same. Yeah, I think I'll go with 8GB.
marurun wrote:The PSU looks good, rates well, but I did see a couple comments in the reviews that make me wonder. You can never tell with on-line reviews, though. There's a Thermaltake that's a couple less (before rebate, $12 cheaper after) that's also 80Plus Gold that probably would also work.
That's the problem with online reviews, it's hard to judge. I'm not exactly sold on Thermaltake, though. For a few years, I was using either Thermaltake or Enermax. I had a number of Thermaltakes die, so I haven't been using them.
marurun wrote:I noticed the case you chose is out of stock. Dunno if that means there was a model change or this is a temporary thing.
Guh, I know. It just went out of stock today. Hopefully it's just temporary, as it's the perfectly cheap case. I don't wanna have to roll the dice on another ~$35 case that I never examined in person before.
marurun wrote:Have you ever considered a slower, 5400 RPM internal drive? They do slow things down a little, but I have found the slower speed imparts a little extra reliability. Then again, they may be harder to find these days for less money.
The price difference just wasn't there. And actually, if you go to NewEgg right now, look under internal WD HDDs, filter New and NewEgg as the seller, and sort by lowest price first, this drive is the cheapest available. Actually, the 250GB version is $3 cheaper, but yeah.
marurun wrote:A Gigabyte motherboard could possibly shave some $$ off the mobo costs. They've switched to solid caps across almost their entire line as part of a focus on improving durability, and they have some nice, simple lower-end options.
For some reason, I was finding it really hard to pick out a motherboard. As you were saying about online reviews, they're hard to judge sometimes. For the PSU, they don't scare me off because I know that most people only review when it's bad, and for every one of those there's probably 10 people that didn't have a problem, and SeaSonic has a solid reputation right now. But for whatever reason, those kind of reviews REALLY scare me with motherboards. And EVERY motherboard has those types of reviews.

Normally, I'd go with a Biostar board (this one looks pretty perfect) but picking out a motherboard this time around became a game of which one has the least amount of bad reviews. EVERY single board has multiple "died in x months" reivews, I've never seen THAT many before. Usually there's at least 1 or 2 boards that have several hundred positive reviews, just overwhelming the negative ones.
fastbilly1
Site Admin
Posts: 13775
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 7:08 pm

Re: PC build thread

Post by fastbilly1 »

Ziggy587 wrote:
isiolia wrote:The Q6600 based system I built my mom for Christmas in '07 is still working perfectly well.
Ah, an 8 year old computer you built is still working perfectly fine! :P
Mine runs Depth and Witcher 2 fine
User avatar
Ziggy
Moderator
Posts: 14913
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:12 pm
Location: NY

Re: PC build thread

Post by Ziggy »

Any one have any thoughts on whether or not I should get them Win7 or Win8.1? My only thoughts are that they'll basically just be using it for web browsing so it wont matter much, but 8.1 should have a little longer product life cycle.

I was thinking about even going with Ubuntu to save them the $100, but I just don't know. I'm a Linux noob, although Ubuntu is easy to work with from my past experiences. And who knows if they'll come home from Wal Mart with a $30 printer and wonder why the installation instructions don't make sense. :lol:

Thought?
User avatar
isiolia
Next-Gen
Posts: 5785
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 1:52 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: PC build thread

Post by isiolia »

Windows 7sp1 is already on long term support, isn't it? I'd think either way they'd want to update to 10, so might as well go with 8.1. Too bad you can't get 8.1 with Bing without actually being an OEM, to save the cost there.
User avatar
noiseredux
Next-Gen
Posts: 38148
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:09 pm
Contact:

Re: PC build thread

Post by noiseredux »

7 or 8 can be updated to 10 for free when it comes out, so I guess either is cool. Don't go Linux for someone who's never used Linux though.
Image
User avatar
Ziggy
Moderator
Posts: 14913
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:12 pm
Location: NY

Re: PC build thread

Post by Ziggy »

noiseredux wrote:7 or 8 can be updated to 10 for free when it comes out, so I guess either is cool. Don't go Linux for someone who's never used Linux though.
That's what I read from multiple sources. That 7 or 8 can be upgraded to 10 for free during the first year. But is that REALLY true? I don't ever remember that happening with a new Windows OS before...
User avatar
noiseredux
Next-Gen
Posts: 38148
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2008 1:09 pm
Contact:

Re: PC build thread

Post by noiseredux »

It is true.
Image
User avatar
BoneSnapDeez
Next-Gen
Posts: 20148
Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 1:08 pm
Location: Maine

Re: PC build thread

Post by BoneSnapDeez »

Seriously considering upgrading my PC. My main motivation is because I want PCSX2 to run smoother. :lol:
User avatar
MrPopo
Moderator
Posts: 24194
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:01 pm
Location: Orange County, CA

Re: PC build thread

Post by MrPopo »

Ziggy587 wrote:
noiseredux wrote:7 or 8 can be updated to 10 for free when it comes out, so I guess either is cool. Don't go Linux for someone who's never used Linux though.
That's what I read from multiple sources. That 7 or 8 can be upgraded to 10 for free during the first year. But is that REALLY true? I don't ever remember that happening with a new Windows OS before...
It's never happened before, but it's happening this time. It's in Microsoft's interest because it gets a lot of people off of the older OS's so they don't have to spend as much time and resources to support them.
Blizzard Entertainment Software Developer - All comments and views are my own and not representative of the company.
User avatar
Ziggy
Moderator
Posts: 14913
Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:12 pm
Location: NY

Re: PC build thread

Post by Ziggy »

Hmm, so if either can upgrade to 10, then I think I'll go with 7 for them. Only because I'm super familiar with 7 so I'll have an easier time setting it up, it'll make no difference to them, and it'll make no difference once it's upgraded to 10 anyway.

Are there any details on how this free upgrade is gonna work? Get a key code online and download an ISO of Win10? I'd settle for nothing less than having a full install disc with a key code, so re-installs are easy if ever needed.
Post Reply