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"I need a new PC!" 2010 Edition

You already have a gaming desktop?

Then get a Macbook Air.

Its in your price range, it can actually deliver "good enough" gaming on the go (think modern UE3 and Source games at native resolution delivering ~30fps on a mix of medium and low settings, i.e. better than your current MBP), its a huge upgrade in performance over a netbook, its got fantastic battery life, it comes with an SSD as standard (don't underestimate what a huge difference this can make) and its super portable. If I had the cash I'd already own one.

The touchpad on even the 11" model craps all over anything on a Windows notebook and OSX ensures you get the most battery life out of the components.
 
brain_stew said:
You already have a gaming desktop?

Then get a Macbook Air.

Its in your price range, it can actually deliver "good enough" gaming on the go (think UE3 and Source games at native resolution delivering ~30fps on a mix of high and low settings), its a huge upgrade in performance over a netbook, its got fantastic battery life, it comes with an SSD as standard (don't underestimate what a huge difference this can make) and its super portable. If I had the cash I'd already own one.

The touchpad on even the 11" model craps all over anything on a Windows notebook and OSX ensures you get the most battery life out of the components.
The Air really is decent for gaming? I had no idea. Jesus! :lol

128GB/256GB seems awfully small if I am going to be dual booting though :O
 
brain_stew
Hello friend! Have you heard the good news about Mac gaming?
(Today, 04:04 PM)
Reply | Quote

You seem hell bent on selling him a Mac even though they only carry two notebooks that even scrape the upper end of his budget.

PS I can't imagine a 1.4GHz dual core processor and 256MB of shared video memory are gonna run starcraft 2.
 
brain_stew said:
You already have a gaming desktop?

Then get a Macbook Air.

Its in your price range, it can actually deliver "good enough" gaming on the go (think modern UE3 and Source games at native resolution delivering ~30fps on a mix of medium and low settings, i.e. better than your current MBP), its a huge upgrade in performance over a netbook, its got fantastic battery life, it comes with an SSD as standard (don't underestimate what a huge difference this can make) and its super portable. If I had the cash I'd already own one.

The touchpad on even the 11" model craps all over anything on a Windows notebook and OSX ensures you get the most battery life out of the components.
This is the performance I get on my M1530, which is why I'm moving to a desktop. Why would you spend $1000 on a secondary computer?
 
Mairu said:
The Air really is decent for gaming? I had no idea. Jesus! :lol

128GB/256GB seems awfully small if I am going to be dual booting though :O

People are recommending the Air for gaming? I'm getting confused, then scared, then angry. The air is shit for gaming. Integrated graphics are integrated.
 
poppabk said:
brain_stew
Hello friend! Have you heard the good news about Mac gaming?
(Today, 04:04 PM)
Reply | Quote

You seem hell bent on selling him a Mac even though they only carry two notebooks that even scrape the upper end of his budget.

PS I can't imagine a 1.4GHz dual core processor and 256MB of shared video memory are gonna run starcraft 2.

It does, the 320m is the best integrated graphics chip on the market. Some benches at Anandtech:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3991/apples-2010-macbook-air-11-13inch-reviewed/10


Apple simply make the best notebooks on the market and their OS absolutely spanks Windows 7 in terms of battery life. If you're buying a portable machine and you wnt to do some amount of gaming then its very difficult to ignore them.
 
Shambles said:
People are recommending the Air for gaming? I'm getting confused, then scared, then angry. The air is shit for gaming. Integrated graphics are integrated.

I'm not recommending it for gaming.

He wants a machine that can play Starcraft and Source games but gaming isn't a priority since he already has a gaming desktop. The Air meets that requirement.

The 320m is very capable for what it is, its faster than a low end discrete GPU in actual fact. There really shouldn't be a stigma attached to integrated graphics these days.
 
He already has a gaming desktop...I agree with stew on this one. Build something usable, with great battery life and portability. You want something to complement your gaming desktop, not replace it.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the price you pay for a high performance gaming laptop is too high (price, bulk, battery life, heat).
 
ChoklitReign said:
This is the performance I get on my M1530, which is why I'm moving to a desktop. Why would you spend $1000 on a secondary computer?

Portability, obviously, and that's why you should choose a machine that is "best in class" in that area while still delivering "enough" performance for some light gaming. There isn't any Windows laptop that is comparable to the Air in its pricerange. You're either going to compromise on portability, battery life, build quality, screen quality or gaming performance, there's no Windows machine with that exact mix of price/performance/battery life/portability and its no real surprise since OSX delivers such better battery life than Windows.

I'd recommend something like a Vaio Z but that's way out of his budget. Maybe waiting for a Zacate based machine would be a smart choice but that'll offer less performance than the Air, its still probably enough and something worth bearing in mind but I don't expect Zacate based machines with decent build quality, 5+ hours of battery life and SSDs to be in the ~$500 range either.
 
What about a Dell? You can get a 2.5GHz i3 with a GeForce 420M for like $850. (14")

He says he'll be doing programming...therefore I assume he's on a campus with lots of access to power outlets. We can possibly eliminate battery life as a concern.
 
TheExodu5 said:
What about a Dell? You can get a 2.5GHz i3 with a GeForce 420M for like $800.

He says he'll be doing programming...therefore I assume he's on a campus with lots of access to power outlets. We can possibly eliminate battery life as a concern.

The XPS 14 is a machine worth looking at, I agree. It just depends where on the curve of perforamnce vs. battery life + portability he lies. If you've already got a decent gaming desktop, I'd be naturally inclined to assume you lean towards a machine like the Air but if you really do need the extra performance then its something worth looking at.

I don't think any portable machine is capable of delivering a decent high end gaming experience while not tethered to the wall, clocks will be compromised and/or battery life will drop off a cliff. This is why I always would tend to aim for "enough" performance for light gaming on the go and then prioritise battery life, portability and build quality above all else.


Something like a HP Envy 14 might be worth a look.
 
spermatic cord said:
Going to build a computer for the first time. Going to go with this:

http://i.imgur.com/gdc1C.png

Anything changed recently that I should know? I'm going to go with the 1TB

Should mention I want to play Heroes of Newerth at high everything. Maybe some Black Ops at 1900x1200.
The combos in that build are no longer available. If you are willing to stretch your budget to ~$600, you can opt for this:

Athlon II x4 640 $99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
Cheap Mobo + gtx460 768mb $223 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.534591
4GB(2x2GB) 1600 Ram + 600W 80+ Modular PSU $130 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.549138
Cooler Master HAF 912 + 1TB Samsung F3 HD $120 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.543371
Asus 24x DVD Burner $19 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

If you are ordering soon, you can also use the promo codes found here: http://promotions.newegg.com/neemai...NEFL110410-_-EMC-110410-Index-_-E0D-_-VGA#VGA
You can get 10% off all graphics cards and hard drives
 
Okay. I'm getting really excited (:D) about the prospect of getting an Air, but if you happen to know, at what point am I going to be hurt by the limitations of the 320M & a Core2Duo?

I have no desire to be running games at max settings on something like a laptop for the amount of money I'm willing to pay but I'm just curious as to where I'll be hitting a wall on what I can do with it (just in terms of gaming)
 
I need a decent cheap-ish fan replacement for a 9800 GT. My current one is making nasty grinding noises but it's a perfectly good card and I'd like to give it to my brother when I get my new rig.

Any suggestions?
 
brain_stew said:
The 320m is very capable for what it is, its faster than a low end discrete GPU in actual fact. There really shouldn't be a stigma attached to integrated graphics these days.
I would think the CPU would also cause problems. I have a C2D, 2.0Ghz, and a lot of games are bottlenecked at the CPU.
 
Mairu said:
Okay. I'm getting really excited (:D) about the prospect of getting an Air, but if you happen to know, at what point am I going to be hurt by the limitations of the 320M & a Core2Duo?

I have no desire to be running games at max settings on something like a laptop for the amount of money I'm willing to pay but I'm just curious as to where I'll be hitting a wall on what I can do with it (just in terms of gaming)

Thats better than my 3 year old Macbook Pro and it runs L4D2 and Trine perfectly(only games i have on mac)
 
I may be getting a midrange'ish computer before the end of the year. I was thinking of a quad core i5 and a Geforce 460. But is it worthwhile considering an AMD cpu (Phenom)? Their forward compatible sockets is tempting (get an AM3 motherboard and CPU now and get a AM3+ CPU without having to upgrade the motherboard later.
 
Pimpbaa said:
I may be getting a midrange'ish computer before the end of the year. I was thinking of a quad core i5 and a Geforce 460. But is it worthwhile considering an AMD cpu (Phenom)? Their forward compatible sockets is tempting (get an AM3 motherboard and CPU now and get a AM3+ CPU without having to upgrade the motherboard later.

Wasnt it said 8 Core bulldozers wont work on AM3 boards? AM3 is pretty much stuck to 6 cores.
 
Mairu said:
Okay. I'm getting really excited (:D) about the prospect of getting an Air, but if you happen to know, at what point am I going to be hurt by the limitations of the 320M & a Core2Duo?

I have no desire to be running games at max settings on something like a laptop for the amount of money I'm willing to pay but I'm just curious as to where I'll be hitting a wall on what I can do with it (just in terms of gaming)

As long as high end games continue to use technology compatible with the PS3 and 360 you should be fine.
 
Pimpbaa said:
I may be getting a midrange'ish computer before the end of the year. I was thinking of a quad core i5 and a Geforce 460. But is it worthwhile considering an AMD cpu (Phenom)? Their forward compatible sockets is tempting (get an AM3 motherboard and CPU now and get a AM3+ CPU without having to upgrade the motherboard later.

They're not forward compatible anymore.
 
mescalineeyes said:
StarCraft 2 runs like absolute dog-shit on the 320m.
That is, unless you're content and running at a healthy mix of low/medium.

Macbook Pro refresh is due in the coming months, I'd wait.

The MBP isn't a $1k computer and the 13" model isn't going to be refreshed anytime soon unless Apple are going to start bundling a discrete GPU with it (and they won't).
 
mescalineeyes said:
StarCraft 2 runs like absolute dog-shit on the 320m.
That is, unless you're content and running at a healthy mix of low/medium.

Macbook Pro refresh is due in the coming months, I'd wait.
Really? It seemed to run ok on my 4yr old mbp with low settings, and that has a radeon x1600 :|

There is no way I am going to get another MBP though. Too expensive :/ Air seemed like a good balance between performance and portability (and not going with a windows laptop since I haven't seen anyone suggest something other than that dell ;p)
 
brain_stew said:
The MBP isn't a $1k computer and the 13" model isn't going to be refreshed anytime soon unless Apple are going to start bundling a discrete GPU with it (and they won't).

It still won't run it substantially better than his current computer. I've tried playing SC2 on the current 13" Macbook Pro, and unless you are running Windows on it to play StarCraft, I wouldn't even bother, unless you don't care about what it looks like at all.
 
Mairu said:
Really? It seemed to run ok on my 4yr old mbp with low settings, and that has a radeon x1600 :|

There is no way I am going to get another MBP though. Too expensive :/ Air seemed like a good balance between performance and portability (and not going with a windows laptop since I haven't seen anyone suggest something other than that dell ;p)

45fps at native resolution and low settings on the 11" MBA:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3991/apples-2010-macbook-air-11-13inch-reviewed/10
 
Shambles said:
The M11x is the one exception of the turd that is Alienware. They are just as overpriced as Apple except they are a hell of a lot uglier. The only reason the M11X is decent is because of power consumption and form factor, performance wise in its price range it is still quite lacking. You're better off at looking at products from companies like Asus, Acer and MSI.

I cant wait for a new M11x. Same form factor... maybe fit in a nice high quality 12'' display, update the CPU, and you might have the perfect gaming laptop!
 
mescalineeyes said:
have you seen StarCraft 2 at low details? also, 45 fps in sc2 ... you might as well just not bother. As soon as shit hits the fan you'll be chugging along with <30.

Yeah there's going to be some nasty dips in framerate when things start getting busy. Even the best integrated chip is pretty pathetic. Sure it might be up to twice as fast as the HD4200 but that's not saying a whole lot. For far less than 1000$ you can pick up a laptop with an i3 chip that does pretty damn well for power consumption, is more powerful, has an integrated video on die that you use normally for reduced power consumption, along with a 5730 or the such that will run circles around the air.

And in running SC2 CPU matters just as much as GPU.

K.Jack said:
Any GPU which requires you to run at absolute minimum settings hit the wall yesterday.

Only because you are reading the wrong thread.

Don't worry, he's not reading this one either as he's been recommended brands to look at. People are free to throw their money out the window.
 
If he wants to go for performance, he can probably find something with a mobile equivalent to the 5670 for around $1k.

ChoklitReign said:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3985/three-550w-psus-for-different-prices/14
Does this OCZ-bashing review have any merit? My current $600 build has a $40 difference between an OCZ-brand PSU and RAM combo and an Antec PSU and Corsair RAM (no combo). Are luxury brands worth the money or should I buy the best bang for the buck brands on a budget?

If you're going for a budget build, I think OCZ is definitely the best PSU to get. I don't think it's worth blowing $100+ on a PSU in a $600 build.

That being said, there is a certain merit in getting a good case and PSU, as they can be reused in subsequent builds.
 
ChoklitReign said:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3985/three-550w-psus-for-different-prices/14
Does this OCZ-bashing review have any merit? My current $600 build has a $40 difference between an OCZ-brand PSU and RAM combo and an Antec PSU and Corsair RAM (no combo). Are luxury brands worth the money or should I buy the best bang for the buck brands on a budget?
It's in spec and works. Often goes for like $20 or $30 AR. It's definitely not the worst you could do.
 
So what are the differences between ATX and Micro ATX other than size and expansion slots? I hear that since Micro ATX is smaller, there is more heat being generated within a smaller area which can make getting an ATX over Micro ATX more beneficial. Thoughts?
 
Have a question:

I have a c2d e8400, w7 32bit, 4gb ram, and 6870. I've been playing Batman with everything maxed at 1080p except for 0xAA(using MLAA), and of course, physX off. I'm playing with vsync/triple buffering on and it's 60fps most of the time, however, there are spots where it drops a bit below that, mostly in the outdoor areas. Are the drops because of my old cpu? And should I just assume that whenever a drop in fps happens it's because a cpu bottleneck? I want to know if upgrading to an i7 will fix this, or at least help.
 
ChoklitReign said:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3985/three-550w-psus-for-different-prices/14
Does this OCZ-bashing review have any merit? My current $600 build has a $40 difference between an OCZ-brand PSU and RAM combo and an Antec PSU and Corsair RAM (no combo). Are luxury brands worth the money or should I buy the best bang for the buck brands on a budget?

It won't compare well to an $80 Corsair unit but it won't damage your components and it'll cost you all of ~$30. Its the best you can get for that sort of pricerange and imo the way to go when spending $600 or less. If you're getting a $1k rig, then by all means, get something better.
 
Okay PC GAF, I'm looking for something.

A new pc to rock ultra high 1080p graphics, but also, to run Hackintosh.

I would like to keep as much as possible of my current build:

Antec P180 (great case, huge, classy, and silent)
Asus M2N E mother board
AMD x2 4200+ (zalman)
3gb ddr 2 ram
X1900 GT (zalman)
HDD 250gb and 320gb.

But I guess I can throw everything and just keep the case (that I love) can't I ?. I can't even keep the Zalman fans.

RAID 0 HDD for gaming. Lot's of improvement ? For Hackintosh ? (mostly heavy photo and video processing ?)

So from here: a build than can handle PC gaming and be compatible with Hackintosh the best it can. Where can I go ? (price range, 600 to 800, depending on what you offer)
 
burgerdog said:
Have a question:

I have a c2d e8400, w7 32bit, 4gb ram, and 6870. I've been playing Batman with everything maxed at 1080p except for 0xAA(using MLAA), and of course, physX off. I'm playing with vsync/triple buffering on and it's 60fps most of the time, however, there are spots where it drops a bit below that, mostly in the outdoor areas. Are the drops because of my old cpu? And should I just assume that whenever a drop in fps happens it's because a cpu bottleneck? I want to know if upgrading to an i7 will fix this, or at least help.

More than likely, although UE3 isn't a particularly CPU heavy engine.

You'd definitely benefit from getting a cheap second hand C2Q and OCing it.
 
UnluckyKate said:
Okay PC GAF, I'm looking for something.

A new pc to rock ultra high 1080p graphics, but also, to run Hackintosh.

I would like to keep as much as possible of my current build:

Antec P180 (great case, huge, classy, and silent)
Asus M2N E mother board
AMD x2 4200+ (zalman)
3gb ddr 2 ram
X1900 GT (zalman)
HDD 250gb and 320gb.

But I guess I can throw everything and just keep the case (that I love) can't I ?. I can't even keep the Zalman fans.

RAID 0 HDD for gaming. Lot's of improvement ? For Hackintosh ? (mostly heavy photo and video processing ?)

So from here: a build than can handle PC gaming and be compatible with Hackintosh the best it can. Where can I go ? (price range, 600 to 800, depending on what you offer)

If you want a fast HDD setup get an SSD + ~1TB HDD. Using RAID 0 with mechanical drives is a disaster waiting to happen and not a patch on an SSD anyway.
 
brain_stew said:
If you want a fast HDD setup get an SSD + ~1TB HDD. Using RAID 0 with mechanical drives is a disaster waiting to happen and not a patch on an SSD anyway.

I never had any HDD failure. RAID 0 isn't safe ? SDD cost a lot... Fast HDD are a better (cheaper) choice than RAID 0 ?
 
BTW, with the Coolermaster HAF 912 out now...I don't think I'd get any other case for a budget build. It really can't be beat. If anyone is even considering something like an Antec Three Hundred, spend the extra $20 for the HAF 912.
 
UnluckyKate said:
I never had any HDD failure. RAID 0 isn't safe ? SDD cost a lot... Fast HDD are a better (cheaper) choice than RAID 0 ?

Then you're extremely lucky, don't expect to be able to ride that luck forever more especially if you're going to use a RAID 0 setup and halve your reliability over night.

A nice SSD really isn't any more expensive that two fast mechanical drives these days and they're a whole world apart in terms of performance and reliability.
 
My friend just bought himself the parts to make a new PC. He has run into a problem though. He told me that he set everything up but when he hit the power switch "it turns on for a split second and the fans and fan lights would turn on, but only for a split second" I am going over his house tomorrow to help him, but what can be some of the causes GAF?
 
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
$18.99


COOLER MASTER Elite RC-330-KKR1 Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply

$54.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

$64.99


AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
$99.


Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-3G(1.37 lbs)
$64.99

::OCZ Fatal1ty Series Power Supply - 550-Watt, PCI-Express, SATA, ATX(
$64.99

GeForce GTX 460 Video Card - 768MB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, Dual DVI, Mini HDMI, SLI, DirectX 11, Fermi

$169.99

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate


Total ~$576


What do you guys think? Trying to go for budget gaming around 720p 60 fps(is it enough for 1080p gaming). Will this be good enough?
 
spermatic cord said:
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
$18.99


COOLER MASTER Elite RC-330-KKR1 Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply

$54.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

$64.99


AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
$99.


Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-3G(1.37 lbs)
$64.99

::OCZ Fatal1ty Series Power Supply - 550-Watt, PCI-Express, SATA, ATX(
$64.99

GeForce GTX 460 Video Card - 768MB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, Dual DVI, Mini HDMI, SLI, DirectX 11, Fermi

$169.99

$20.00 Mail-in Rebate


Total ~$576


What do you guys think? Trying to go for budget gaming around 720p 60 fps(is it enough for 1080p gaming). Will this be good enough?
You need a motherboard...
You can also combo some items to get a better deal
Use this build if you like. It has most of the same parts as yours but this includes a motherboard and stays around the same price:

Athlon II x4 640 $99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
Cheap Mobo + gtx460 768mb $223 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.534591
4GB(2x2GB) 1600 Ram + 600W 80+ Modular PSU $130 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.549138
Cooler Master HAF 912 + 1TB Samsung F3 HD $120 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.543371
Asus 24x DVD Burner $19 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

If you are ordering soon, you can also use the promo codes found here: http://promotions.newegg.com/neemai...NEFL110410-_-EMC-110410-Index-_-E0D-_-VGA#VGA
You can get 10% off all graphics cards and hard drives

Total: ~$580 S/H included and you get a free game
 
I wonder if this is fake.

I have 4 GB DDR3 1333 Kingston in my desktop and now I bought another 2GB stick.

However, the new stick is smaller than the other two, but seems to have all the connectors.

img00067201011060337.jpg

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/441/img00067201011060337.jpg

The one in the top is the one I think is counterfeit.

They do have the same model numbe (KVR 1333D3N9/2G), as you can (try) to see below (shaky hands =/)


img00068201011060338.jpg

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4676/img00068201011060338.jpg

img00075201011060339.jpg

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/1122/img00075201011060339.jpg

Gaf, what is your verdict?

Edit: Whoa, didn't want to ruin the page.
 
luiztfc said:
I wonder if this is fake.

I have 4 GB DDR3 1333 Kingston in my desktop and now I bought another 2GB stick.

However, the new stick is smaller than the other two, but seems to have all the connectors.

img00067201011060337.jpg

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/441/img00067201011060337.jpg

The one in the top is the one I think is counterfeit.

They do have the same model numbe (KVR 1333D3N9/2G), as you can (try) to see below (shaky hands =/)


img00068201011060338.jpg

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/4676/img00068201011060338.jpg

img00075201011060339.jpg

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/1122/img00075201011060339.jpg

Gaf, what is your verdict?

Edit: Whoa, didn't want to ruin the page.
Don't worry some sticks are just shorter in height, mine are both short and smaller like the one above
 
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