Finally joined the Dark Side: PC Master Race

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

They have a handful of configurations for the 8700. Mine came with the i7-4790, 12GB DDR3 1600mhz, big fan on the big heatsink, wireless network/bluetooth card, built in 8-in-1 memory card reader (no longer need CF card dongle) and also came with a new multimedia keyboard and mouse. Making those additions still brings it to about $1100. Except it's a mish mash of random parts from who knows where that I have to put together myself.

I make the same argument that I do about not building more rifles. When I set out to build my first AR-15 after buying an $1100 factory one, I wanted to build a mid-level semi-nice basic rifle for about $1000. When all was said and done, I spent over $1400 (nearly $2500 if you include bipod, optic, and optic mount). Yeah, I got what I wanted, but it was a nightmare waiting, piecing things together, troubleshooting little things that didn't fit or didn't work quite right. When all was said and done, it didn't shoot any more accurately than my original rifle anyway (and with non-match ammo, not much different from my buddy's $700 M&P15 Sport). Sure it looked cool and had all the tactical accessories, but I really didn't gain anything other than what it looked like and the name brand of each piece.... and it certainly wasn't cheaper.

The second rifle I built suffered a catastrophic part failure due to a poor quality component (bolt head sheered off at the lugs, destroying the bolt and damaging the barrel). Was bought and assembled while I worked at a gun store and bought most of the stuff under massive discount and had them help with any issues. When I told the boss about the bolt, he immediately just gave me a new one (NiB plated, no less), but the damage had been done to the barrel. They tried to fix it twice (and I had to wait for time at the range to test if it was still malfunctioning), but nothing helped. In the end, I had a barrel-shaped paperweight and had to buy a brand new barrel. Luckily he gave me a good discount, but it was still out of pocket. It shoots good now, but I always worry in the back of my mind what else is going to go wrong.

I had the experience, learned what I needed to, and figured I never needed to do that again. I'll leave it to the professionals to design, build, test, and make sure everything works as a complete unit from the factory. Then I can come in and swap out a few pieces here and there (if I even need to) and enjoy all the fruits of their labor with my little bits of customizing. Best of both worlds really. At least in my opinion.

I made some changes and added the CPU and 16GB of ram, mouse and keyboard, and it's still around 1050. HSF isn't needed since you're not upping vcore or overclocking.

The parts aren't random, so don't sell yourself short. You know what they are and you know what you have. It's not a big deal, and we're not talking about square peg into a round hole here. Nothing makes these companies special. All of their parts come from the same factory that the parts you can buy and build do. Furthermore, you actually don't know what they're putting into your computer. I mean, you have an idea, but what kind of motherboard is it? What kind of power supply is it? Who's the OEM for their cases? What CFM and dB level are the fans rated at?

Hopefully you'll have a great experience with Dell. They were decent to me when my monitor started acting up, and replaced it after I finally got fed up and sent an email straight to Michael Dell. I had a few horror stories working tech bench on stuff we sent it, but it goes that way with every manufacturer. Unfortunately sometimes they just don't get it too. A friend of mine has a Dell system that came factory equipped with an R9 270. It has a 450W psu. The system isn't stable. On paper it should just barely be able to run that card. In reality it doesn't have enough wattage on the +12v rail, and he's told them that, but they keep sending him a new PSU that won't work until he finally went out and bought another PSU that would. Thankfully Dell is good about allowing people to upgrade parts in the box they purchased. Some manufacturers are stupid and will void your warranty for adding any hardware.

You can't really compare a computer to a rifle though. Especially when you get into really high performance builds, the lower cost of entry means you can spend more on components and it will run better than a comparable off-the-shelf purchase. This time, not a big deal. I can get it being worth a couple hundred bucks to put together a computer. That's about what I'd charge if I were building one, though most of the time I just do it for a friends and family discount of free, since it's something I enjoy.

Like I said, I'm not trying to talk you down or say you made a bad purchase. I hope it gives you many hours of awesomeness. If you become addicted though and are ever in the market for an enthusiast-class build and want some guidance or help building just give me a shout, and I'll save you about a grand as I did with a coworker when he decided to take my advice and not buy another Alienware.

[cfusionpm]

I'm sure it's a lot easier these days (built PCs a lot in late 90s early 00s) but it was definitely not fun back then. Usually what I'm talking about is IF something goes wrong (and it usually does), troubleshooting is the pain. Figuring out what went wrong, why, whether it was a defective part, which part, is it the driver, is it the cable, is it this is it that, do I have to drive back to the store, do I have to mail something back, does that store offer return policy, do I have to pay shipping, etc. I'm sure a lot of stuff has improved in terms of compatibility and reliability, but I have no desire to deal with those headaches again just to save a few bucks.

This is my second Dell XPS, with my first box lasting me a comfortable 7+ years. And even now, there's nothing wrong with it, it's just slow by today's standards (Core2Quad Q9450, 8GB ram, original 8800GT was fried and replaced with a GT 550 Ti). That box now lives in the living room on the big TV as a web browser and media station.

That being said, I've got several more hours into Crysis 3 and have found my ideal settings at a lower res (1600x1024) because that means I can max every setting, including MSAA, and get about 30-40fps. At 1920x1200, I'm lucky to break into the 20s with everything maxed. Watch Dogs runs at a silky smooth 50-60fps with everything on high at 1080p. Maybe I'll build the next one years from now, but I think this new machine will do me just fine for the casual amount of gaming I do these days.

[tzhu07]

The last generation of consoles that I owned was the GameCube/PS2 era.

When I switched over to PC, it just made a lot more sense, plus PC games are discount far more frequently than console games. Steam is also very convenient.

[n2oinferno]

THE STEAM SALE IS COMING! (or, rumored, the 19th)

[King Tut]

Time to make up your own online currency and start mining it.

[tahdizzle]

Just me, but building a gaming PC makes having an xbox redundant and not a ps4.

Just me though.

[Shagaliscious]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

THE STEAM SALE IS COMING! (or, rumored, the 19th)

I'm more geared up for Steams remake of Gauntlet.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQky7Tl84sk"]Gauntlet- PC/Steam HD Game Trailer - YouTube[/ame]

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by Shagaliscious

I'm more geared up for Steams remake of Gauntlet.

Oh man I had forgotten about that. It's at the top of my must buy list, having wasted a ton of money on Gauntlet Legends in the arcade. Have they given a release date yet?

Originally Posted by tahdizzle

Just me, but building a gaming PC makes having an xbox redundant and not a ps4.

Just me though.

How? There are Xbox exclusives just like there are PS4 exclusives.

[tahdizzle]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

How? There are Xbox exclusives just like there are PS4 exclusives.

How many x box exclusives are not on pc vs ps4 exclusives not on pc?

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by tahdizzle

How many x box exclusives are not on pc vs ps4 exclusives not on pc?

How many PS4 titles run on a shoddy, slow, unreliable network with a controller that I hate?

Besides, the only worthwhile PS4 exclusive title is MLB The Show. And I'm not dropping $500 to play one game!

[tahdizzle]

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

How many PS4 titles run on a shoddy, slow, unreliable network with a controller that I hate?

Besides, the only worthwhile PS4 exclusive title is MLB The Show. And I'm not dropping $500 to play one game!

Subjective.

Didn't answer the question

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by tahdizzle

Subjective.

Didn't answer the question

Doesn't matter, really. I got the system 8 months ago and have been enjoying all my games over that 8 months. And I will continue to enjoy them and others onward. There are only a few PS4 exclusives, and most are generic 3rd person action adventure games or quirky indie titles I don't care about. I've played Uncharted and Last of Us on PS3, they were good, but I feel I could get the exact same experience watching a Let's Play video online. Nothing on the near horizon stands out to me. Except maybe Forza Horizon 2. :P

As for gaming on a PC, depends on the title if I will buy it for PC or X1. I generally despise playing online PC games because of the combination of trolls, hackers, griefers, and way-too-obsessed opposing teammates that seem to have more training than Navy Seals. The a-holes and over-obsessed clans do exist on XBOX Live, but in significantly less numbers compared to the "let's actually have fun" crowd. I'll likely keep buying my online shooters on X1 and limit PC to single player campaigns and any graphical showcase titles like Crysis or Watch Dogs.*

Long story short, I don't have a big desire to buy a PS4, nor do I regret buying an X1 by any means. Besides the games, it's pretty sweet to record game clips with voice commands, then immediately mix them into a montage and upload to youtube. And I must be one of the few people who uses and enjoys the Fitness Kinect app that's free for Gold. No exclusive title for PS4 is a system-seller for me, and I'll have to probably wait a few years before a library of content I'm interested in is available. MLB The Show is the only thing close to getting me to get a PS4 and that's only because I'm a diehard Yankees fan and the game is fantastic (roommate has it along with a PS4).

*Speaking of Watch Dogs, y'all see this?? http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=390114
No word from Ubisoft yet, but the general consensus is they had to nerf the PC version so it would be more "in line" with the console versions. This fan-provided patch unlocks the effects and details originally shown back at the 2012 E3 demo.

[Shagaliscious]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

Oh man I had forgotten about that. It's at the top of my must buy list, having wasted a ton of money on Gauntlet Legends in the arcade. Have they given a release date yet?

September 3rd is what they are saying right now.

[n2oinferno]

Originally Posted by tahdizzle

How many x box exclusives are not on pc vs ps4 exclusives not on pc?

There's an incomplete list for last gen over on Wikipedia.
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_exclusives_%28seventh_generatio n%29"]List of video game exclusives (seventh generation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

I mean, really if you want to make that comparison this gen so far, the PS4 is full of indie games that were available on PC first.

Here's current
[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_exclusives_%28eighth_generation %29"]List of video game exclusives (eighth generation) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

Each has their own large set of exclusives. If you want to go off of that, everyone should forget the PS and Xbox and just buy a Wii U.

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

How many PS4 titles run on a shoddy, slow, unreliable network with a controller that I hate?

Besides, the only worthwhile PS4 exclusive title is MLB The Show. And I'm not dropping $500 to play one game!

Zero. Since you said you don't hate the DS4.