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[Cyrillus]

Hey guys. I realize this is not specifically gaming related, but I'm looking for a desktop computer for my parents to replace their aging Dell with a P4 2.6. They aren't really interested in gaming, but I'm looking to get them the best components I can for a budget of $400-500. They pretty much use the computer for email, web browsing, online banking, office documents, etc. Nothing gaming or even really video-related other than an occasional streaming video or downloaded video of their grandkids.

I've been looking through the Black Friday ads, and honestly haven't been too impressed with the sales on desktops in this range. They seem content with a desktop, but if a laptop is available that will offer more bang-for-the-buck they aren't opposed to that, but it seems unlikely. They would just need a tower, as they already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

I just saw this from TigerDirect, and honestly that seems like the best deal for the hardware I've seen so far, including the BF ads. Is there something better I should be looking for?

My parents have been eyeing the HP All-in-One from the Walmart ad because of the all-in-one space saving factor, but the specs don't seem great, with the E1-1200 CPU.

Is the TigerDirect deal as good as I think it is at this price range, or is there something else I should be looking for? Apologies if this is the wrong thread, I just figured there'd be more knowledgeable PC folks here than in the BF thread.

 

[Kipp]

I just saw this from TigerDirect, and honestly that seems like the best deal for the hardware I've seen so far, including the BF ads.

Dude. That URL.

 

[Cyrillus]

Dude. That URL.

What a terrible copypasta mis-hap. Thanks for the warning. The video wasn't even that good :-/

 

[Kipp]

What a terrible copypasta mis-hap. Thanks for the warning. The video wasn't even that good :-/

Hahaha. Luckily I'm not at work or something like that. Good thing I caught it first

Anyways, back on topic, that pre-built is probably just fine for your situation. You may be able to save a few bucks buying components separately on sale, but I doubt you'd save enough to make up for the time spent hunting for deals and ordering parts. It'd probably be good to get a second opinion from one of the regulars here though just to be sure.

 

[Cyrillus]

Hahaha. Luckily I'm not at work or something like that. Good thing I caught it first

Indeed, Sorry about that. Thankfully you have a more discerning eye than I did!

 

[Hazaro]

Hey guys. I realize this is not specifically gaming related, but I'm looking for a desktop computer for my parents to replace their aging Dell with a P4 2.6. They aren't really interested in gaming, but I'm looking to get them the best components I can for a budget of $400-500. They pretty much use the computer for email, web browsing, online banking, office documents, etc. Nothing gaming or even really video-related other than an occasional streaming video or downloaded video of their grandkids.

I've been looking through the Black Friday ads, and honestly haven't been too impressed with the sales on desktops in this range. They seem content with a desktop, but if a laptop is available that will offer more bang-for-the-buck they aren't opposed to that, but it seems unlikely. They would just need a tower, as they already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

I just saw this from TigerDirect, and honestly that seems like the best deal for the hardware I've seen so far, including the BF ads. Is there something better I should be looking for?

My parents have been eyeing the HP All-in-One from the Walmart ad because of the all-in-one space saving factor, but the specs don't seem great, with the E1-1200 CPU.

Is the TigerDirect deal as good as I think it is at this price range, or is there something else I should be looking for? Apologies if this is the wrong thread, I just figured there'd be more knowledgeable PC folks here than in the BF thread.

Any cheap tower bundle with a monitor that has an AMD A4/A6/A8 processor.

Seriously. Everything ships with 4GB of RAM and at least a 500GB HDD and any current CPU on the market will more than meet their needs.

 

[Data West]

16 GB would still be pretty unnecessary come next gen right? I should just keep 8 gb if I'm building a new computer?

 

[Hazaro]

16 GB would still be pretty unnecessary come next gen right? I should just keep 8 gb if I'm building a new computer?

Yes. You can always upgrade if you need to.

Although there might be some BF deals for 16GB of RAM for like $50

 

[beje]

Question: is there a chance that integrated sound cards nowadays (Realtek ALC892) are already outputting better sound quality than my good old Sound Blaster Audigy SE? I've been blindly clinging to it on my new build without thinking twice.

For reference, with a fairly good 2.1 system I could tell the difference with my old Asus P5Q integrated audio.

 

[woober]

I've been having crashing issues with my ATI 6950 video card and decided to do this neat little mod that I happened to come across that allows me to use a cpu water cooler on a gpu:

GPU w/ CPU water cooler mod

This is what the card looked like after modding (Note: This was when I had the custom bracket installed incorrectly since you see one of the prongs on the right extending way below the video card PCI-E pins. I reinstalled it correctly afterwards but didn't bother taking another picture.):

Here are the results after playing a round of DOTA 2:

Before:

After:

Can't believe I got a 40C drop. I guess that's why my PC kept crashing.

 

[2San]

I've been having crashing issues with my ATI 6950 video card and decided to do this neat little mod that I happened to come across that allows me to use a cpu water cooler on a gpu:

Can't believe I got a 40C drop. I guess that's why my PC kept crashing.

That's pretty cool. I'm guessing your pc is pretty silent now as well?

My 6950 unlocked to 6970(with matching clock speeds) runs quite hot(similar max temp as yours). My pc never crashes though.

 

[woober]

That's pretty cool. My 6950 unlocked to 6970(with matching clock speeds) runs quite hot(similar max temp as yours). My pc never crashes though.

Yeah, I'm not quite confident that it's my video card making me crash since I know those temps are normal. I'll just have to wait over the next few days and see if this mod does anything for me.

 

[Hazaro]

Pretty neat! A 6950 should be ok at 88C though. I'm sure it was a reference style blower and the noise is a lot better, yeah?

 

[woober]

Pretty neat! A 6950 should be ok at 88C though. I'm sure it was a reference style blower and the noise is a lot better, yeah?

Yes and yes. I'm quite happy with this mod! I might try and unlock the shaders and OC it now. The cool thing about the bracket used to install the cooler is that it covers a wide range of video card series from both ATI and nVidia. Hopefully I can carry this mod over to any future cards I'll be using.

 

[I_D]

About to take the plunge with a new tiny computer.

Was planning on waiting until next week to start buying stuff, but this caught my eye: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...sPerPage=10&body=REVIEWS#CustomerReviewsBlock

GTX560 ti for $180 (plus $30 rebate) is a pretty good deal, right?

 

[VisitableElf]

Hi guys,

Been wanting to build a PC to use for gaming on my 40 inch TV (using Steam's Big Picture mode)

I really want this PC to be super quiet too so any extra fan suggestions would be welcome.

How does this build look? Looking to spend around $2000 btw

CPU Intel Core i7-2700K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler
Mobo ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
RAM Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Storage 1 Intel 330 Series 180GB 2.5" Solid State Disk
Storage 2 Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
GPU Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card
Case Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply (for future proof purposes) Corsair Professional 1050W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (64-bit)

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/opMI

TOTAL = Total: $1782.16 CDN

Looks like I should be switching some stuff up. THanks for the heads up mkenyon!

 

[NervousXtian]

Why is this 7970 so cheap (comparably?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150596

 

[sixghost]

I'm ready to start ordering these parts in the next few days. I just wanted to get once last check to make sure nothing seems wrong.

Budget: $900-1000 + United States
Main Use: Gaming (5), PS2/Wii/SNES Emulation (3), HD Streaming (4), General Usage (5). Rate importance on a 1-5 scale. (5 Being highest)
Monitor Resolution: What resolution will you be playing your games at? 1900x1080
Are you buying a new monitor? Yes.
List SPECIFIC games that you MUST be able to play: Starcraft 2, Most Wanted, Total War: Rome 2, Football Manager, TF2. @ 60 fps
When will you build?: 2-3 weeks
Will you be overclocking?: Yes

Build
CPU: i5 2500k
Heatsink: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LE ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
RAM: Samsung 2x4GB DDR3-1600 MV-3V4G3D/US
GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R795WF3-3GD Radeon HD 7950 3GB
PSU: Antec BP550 Plus 550W
Case: HAF 912
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Monitor: Samsung S23A700D 120hz

This is the first time I've built a PC, so feel free to tear it apart if something seems wrong, I've picked most of these parts based on suggestions in this thread, the OP, and reviews.

 

[mkenyon]

Hi guys,

Been wanting to build a PC to use for gaming on my 40 inch TV (using Steam's Big Picture mode)

I really want this PC to be super quiet too so any extra fan suggestions would be welcome.

How does this build look? Looking to spend around $2000 btw

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/opMI

Unless you have a specific reason for including it, swap the 3770K for 3570K. Swap the Havik for something that works well with 120mm fans, like the CM Hyper 212+. The higher end heatsinks don't really help out IvyBridge procs.

So far, Samsung 830 > Crucial M4 > everything else. If possible, try to get one of those two drives. If there's a reason you like the Intel, it's a totally fine choice.

That PSU is ridiculous. For example, my build:

That's 3 OC'd 670s, a processor with three times the power draw of Ivy, a pump, 8 fans, two solid state drives, and 4 sticks of RAM on a 850W PSU. If you are planning on running a single card, get a nice ~550W PSU from the OP. You could even get a Seasonic Fanless PSU if you are concerned with noise.

For fans, if you want really high quality fans that push a good amount of air while remaining quiet, the Corsair AF120 Quiet Edition fans would do dandy. Low speed Yate Loon fans are a good budget choice too. Grab a single SP120 Quiet Edition to put on the Hyper 212+. Before buying the AF120s, see how you like the stock fans. I still have mine in the R4, they run nice and quiet and keep a giant overclocked RoG Matrix 7970 nice and cool.

Question: is there a chance that integrated sound cards nowadays (Realtek ALC892) are already outputting better sound quality than my good old Sound Blaster Audigy SE? I've been blindly clinging to it on my new build without thinking twice.

For reference, with a fairly good 2.1 system I could tell the difference with my old Asus P5Q integrated audio.

It could be. I think this is worth a solid google search, as well as a post in an Audio-oriented sub forum on some enthusiast site to be sure.

Why is this 7970 so cheap (comparably?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150596

Because the cooler on it is worse than reference.

 

[MrCunningham]

Why is this 7970 so cheap (comparably?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150596

From what I have seen the XFX videocards are always the cheapest in their respective classes. Apparently these Double D models have really poor coolers on them that make them rather undesirable. [EDIT] Already been answered . But yeah, XFX seems to be in the market of undercutting the competition in price by releasing GPU's with cheap components.

This is the first time I've built a PC, so feel free to tear it apart if something seems wrong, I've picked most of these parts based on suggestions in this thread, the OP, and reviews.

Looks like a good build to me.... the Case, CPU, MOBO, RAM and GPU all seem like good picks.

 

[NervousXtian]

Thanks guys, so looks like a decent 7950 is a better way to go for around 3 bills.

 

[Salsa]

talked to 670 RMA guy, told him im growing tired of fucking waiting. Told me he was gonna talk to the shipment guys tomorrow and tell me what's up, and if they dont give him a concrete date he offered to give me my money back.

so basically im back at square 1. Money on my pocket and NO single hardware store in my city seems to have a non-reference 670 in stock. Only thing that changed from this experience is that I lost 3 months.

im.. pissed

 

[tafer]

Welp guys, I'm sorry to ask you for your help once again, but I'm really clueless when it comes to PC monitors. (I normally use my TV)

I'm looking for something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HFCDLY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

In other words: 21-24'', VGA and HDMI/DVI inputs and around $150.
It is for software development, so I really don't care about color accuracy, refresh rate, etc.

-------

Oops and something else, I have seen some new SSD with PCI-e connections, what's your opinion on this stuff? I read they are super fast, but no idea how well supported they could be.

 

[Deadly]

I was wondering if this was worth it?
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=555358&CatId=3669

If not what's a good upgrade for about ~200 (below preferably). Going up from a gtx460

 

[mkenyon]

This is the first time I've built a PC, so feel free to tear it apart if something seems wrong, I've picked most of these parts based on suggestions in this thread, the OP, and reviews.

First time up to bat, nailed it out of the park. Looks great!

You are going to be seriously impressed by that 120hz screen. I'm looking at my S23A750D now (same panel) and my eyes are thanking me.

I was wondering if this was worth it?
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=555358&CatId=3669

If not what's a good upgrade for about ~200 (below preferably). Going up from a gtx460

7850 2GB.

talked to 670 RMA guy, told him im growing tired of fucking waiting. Told me he was gonna talk to the shipment guys tomorrow and tell me what's up, and if they dont give him a concrete date he offered to give me my money back.

so basically im back at square 1. Money on my pocket and NO single hardware store in my city seems to have a non-reference 670 in stock. Only thing that changed from this experience is that I lost 3 months.

im.. pissed

You can't RMA through NVIDIA/EVGA? Imports/customs thing again?

 

[Salsa]

You can't RMA through NVIDIA/EVGA? Imports/customs thing again?

no sir, just wait till one's available or bail till someone can travel and get me one

Jesus christ

Put your PC in another room, insulated box or get some ear plugs.

Shit makes noise. That's life.

eh, believe me when I say that if I sent it back for coil whine, it's because it was fucking intolerable coil whine, like the type where you're afraid of using it cause it's hard to believe everything's running fine when it makes that noise. Wish I could show you but i'd dare you to keep that shit. Keep in mind I pay $720 for a fucking videocard here, wouldnt you want it to be in proper working order? sorry for taking advantage of my customer rights

Not to mention the fact that I was exchanging it for a FTW card wich is what I paid for, and not a FTW LE wich are underperforming chips.

either way that complaint is irrelevant now since it's already done, not helping much sandman :/

 

[mkenyon]

Sorry Salsa

I wish there was a way for me to smuggle in a video card for you. Even if you can think of something like me shipping to someone just outside of Uruguay, and you go pick it up. Just let me know and we can make things happen.

 

[Deadly]

7850 2GB.

Anything nvidia?

 

[Salsa]

Sorry Salsa

I wish there was a way for me to smuggle in a video card for you. Even if you can think of something like me shipping to someone just outside of Uruguay, and you go pick it up. Just let me know and we can make things happen.

thanks bra, it's a shit situation for sure but I guess i'll deal. Will report back if I find anything locally

 

[Infinite Justice]

no sir, just wait till one's available or bail till someone can travel and get me one



eh, believe me when I say that if I sent it back for coil whine, it's because it was fucking intolerable coil whine, like the type where you're afraid of using it cause it's hard to believe everything's running fine when it makes that noise. Wish I could show you but i'd dare you to keep that shit. Keep in mind I pay $720 for a fucking videocard here, wouldnt you want it to be in proper working order? sorry for taking advantage of my customer rights

Not to mention the fact that I was exchanging it for a FTW card wich is what I paid for, and not a FTW LE wich are underperforming chips.

either way that complaint is irrelevant now since it's already done, not helping much sandman :/

that sucks man.

could you record the sound or something?

 

[mkenyon]

Anything nvidia?

They don't compare at the same prices, like not even close. On top of that, their future prospects look really ugly because of memory bandwidth issues.

I know this is a seriously lame hangup caused by terrible customer service and driver support 5+ years ago, but AMD is kicking ass hard right now. The 7970 is actually outperforming the 680 now thanks to improved drivers, the 7950 is better than the 670 in a lot of cases. These are cards that are $100 more. The $300 NVIDIA card, the 660Ti, is right around the same kind of performance as the 7870.

Get over the past hurdle and get with the new. Even Apple was a laughing stock at one point.

*edit* just because this is how the internet works with ad hominem thought processes, my main machine is running nvidia 670s. Have a 7970 in my secondary machine. I love good performing parts, not brands.

could you record the sound or something?

The kind of nasty coil whine he is talking about doesn't get picked up by microphones very well, unfortunately.

What kind of PSU are you running in that Salsa? What's the $ import max? I might be able to smuggle in a good PSU to you for testing purposes (have a few laying around).

 

[Salsa]

could you record the sound or something?

could but didnt, dont have the card anymore. I sent it pretty fast

 

[mkenyon]

could but didnt, dont have the card anymore. I sent it pretty fast

Ooooohhhhh, didn't get that part. Bummer.

 

[Salsa]

What kind of PSU are you running in that Salsa? What's the $ import max? I might be able to smuggle in a good PSU to you for testing purposes (have a few laying around).

Antec True Power 750, never had issues. I have a 850w thermaltake and I tested with that as well before sending it, same thing

 

[Whiteshirt]

Welp guys, I'm sorry to ask you for your help once again, but I'm really clueless when it comes to PC monitors. (I normally use my TV)

I'm looking for something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003HFCDLY/?tag=neogaf0e-20

In other words: 21-24'', VGA and HDMI/DVI inputs and around $150.
It is for software development, so I really don't care about color accuracy, refresh rate, etc.

-------

Oops and something else, I have seen some new SSD with PCI-e connections, what's your opinion on this stuff? I read they are super fast, but no idea how well supported they could be.

For $150, there's the LG IPS235. Its IPS and is VESA compatible so you can put it into portrait mode for coding, if you have the relevant mounting hardware.

As for your SSD question, don't bother with PCIe SSDs. SATA based SSDs are already lighting quick and they're cheaper than PCIe SSDs. Why do you even want one?

My favorite in the monitor department is the Samsung S23A700/750/950D. Near IPS colors and 120hz.

It doesn't have near IPS colours (whatever this means, IPS does not inherently have more vibrant colours than any other panel technology). It has better colour vibrancy than a lot of monitors because its extremely glossy. That's the only reason. Any other half decent glossy TN monitor won't look too different from it. The Asus VG236H doesn't look a whole lot different and actually has a working theatre preset if you like oversaturation.

 

[beje]

It could be. I think this is worth a solid google search, as well as a post in an Audio-oriented sub forum on some enthusiast site to be sure.

All the info I managed to gather around always tell the same: go integrated if you don't have a fancy sound system. I guess I'll have to do some tests by myself having both sound cards activated.

Another thing: is there such thing as improving the performance of a closed loop water cooler using a different fan? Which one would be recommended? I thought about Silverstone Air Penetrators because they have LED versions but I'm more or less clueless.

 

[Whiteshirt]

I think the best fan for radiators is still the Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-15s. To be honest though, I don't think the fan type will change all that much with a closed-loop cooler.

 

[TheFatOne]

Does anyone have any experience with OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs? Newegg is going to be selling the 120GB version for 49.99$, and I was thinking about buying it. The only problem is from what I read OCZ drives have some issues.

 

[Cow Mengde]

I was going to build my own, but last night, I saw an amazing deal I just couldn't resist. I bought an Acer from TigerDirect.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=isIkAyUyNbM-ZyiYVuVfL5guCUxHpIN0vA

Look at those stats!!! Besides the RAM being a little slow, everything is amazing, and it was only $450 bucks (it's back to 500 now). I don't think it would be possible to even build one with numbers like that for $450 with all the bells and whistles this has.

 

[Ledsen]

I was going to build my own, but last night, I saw an amazing deal I just couldn't resist. I bought an Acer from TigerDirect.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=isIkAyUyNbM-ZyiYVuVfL5guCUxHpIN0vA

Look at those stats!!! Besides the RAM being a little slow, everything is amazing, and it was only $450 bucks (it's back to 500 now). I don't think it would be possible to even build one with numbers like that for $450 with all the bells and whistles this has.

You'll want to get an SSD ASAP... that HDD is laptop grade, horribly slow. Also that GPU is much worse than the one in the $435 build in the OP. On top of that, you can be sure all the parts are as cheap as possible, ensuring you'll have to replace them when upgrading. I'd cancel it honestly.

 

[Cow Mengde]

You'll want to get an SSD ASAP... that HDD is laptop grade, horribly slow. Also that GPU is much worse than the one in the $435 build in the OP.

I know. I've been planning for and SSD upgrade either way. I also have a spare harddrive that's faster, and also a beefier PSU sitting there for when I slap in a real video card. My CPU is much beefier than the $435 build in the OP, so I win some and lose some. I don't think I came out too badly on this deal.

 

[longdi]

Does anyone have any experience with OCZ Vertex 3 SSDs? Newegg is going to be selling the 120GB version for 49.99$, and I was thinking about buying it. The only problem is from what I read OCZ drives have some issues.

yes ocz is bad ssd.
but for $50, could be worth the risk.

 

[Ledsen]

I know. I've been planning for and SSD upgrade either way. I also have a spare harddrive that's faster, and also a beefier PSU sitting there for when I slap in a real video card. My CPU is much beefier than the $435 build in the OP, so I win some and lose some. I don't think I came out too badly on this deal.

The CPU is great for the price, but none of the other parts are. Since you have some spare parts anyway, you could just buy a case, mobo, RAM, CPU and GPU and come pretty close to that price but have a better machine in the end. For example (from the OP)

i5 3570 $230
Source 210 $40
6870 $150
ASUS P8 $70
Biostar Z77 $100
RAM $41

That's $531 $561 and a machine that's leagues above that pre-built. I'm pretty sure you can still get Windows 8 for $15 so that's not a factor either.

edit: Wait, that ASUS mobo doesn't allow OC. So you'll have to get a more expensive one, say a $100. So add $30 to the price. Still very worth it IMO. $100 extra for a machine that's a beast in comparison. Or get a cheaper CPU and it's still much better but almost as cheap.

 

[Birbo]

The CPU is great for the price, but none of the other parts are. Since you have some spare parts anyway, you could just buy a case, mobo, RAM, CPU and GPU and come pretty close to that price but have a better machine in the end. For example (from the OP)

i5 3570 $230
Antec VP450 $37
6870 $150
ASUS P8 $70
RAM $41

That's $528 and a machine that's leagues above that pre-built. I'm pretty sure you can still get Windows 8 for $15 so that's not a factor either.

Where can you find this?

 

[Ledsen]

Where can you find this?

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/201...le-lets-anyone-buy-windows-8-pro-for-just-15/

assuming it still works.

 

[NervousXtian]

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/201...le-lets-anyone-buy-windows-8-pro-for-just-15/

assuming it still works.

Well, assuming he still has a Windows 7 full install disk sitting around as well, also that's pretty much scamming MS.

So, realistically add at least $90 to the build on the front page for a full version of 8.

 

[longdi]

I think MS wants us to scam them to boost their lower than expected Win8 sales.
You could even use a pirated iso and activate Win8. There is no better explanation for such a security lapse.

But they closed this hole....for now.
They did re-opened it for a short few days early last week...
so you can check back the windowsupgrade site often if you so desire win8

 

[Birbo]

http://thenextweb.com/microsoft/201...le-lets-anyone-buy-windows-8-pro-for-just-15/

assuming it still works.

But if this does work and I'm building a new machine, wouldn't I have to order the Windows 8 DVD for an extra $15 (not that $30 is a bad price mind you). And that would be a full version on the DVD and not just an upgrade, right?

 

[scogoth]

It doesn't have near IPS colours (whatever this means, IPS does not inherently have more vibrant colours than any other panel technology). It has better colour vibrancy than a lot of monitors because its extremely glossy. That's the only reason. Any other half decent glossy TN monitor won't look too different from it. The Asus VG236H doesn't look a whole lot different and actually has a working theatre preset if you like oversaturation.

LOL! Too funny. I would entertain a response but I'm at work on my phone.

 

[NervousXtian]

But if this does work and I'm building a new machine, wouldn't I have to order the Windows 8 DVD for an extra $15 (not that $30 is a bad price mind you). And that would be a full version on the DVD and not just an upgrade, right?

That's just an upgrade DVD, not full version.