Finally joined the Dark Side: PC Master Race

[cfusionpm]

Well, I needed to upgrade my aging PC anyway, because things like Lightroom sorting and Photoshop edits were becoming quite taxing on my 2007-spec Dell XPS420. So about 2 weeks ago it was replaced by a brand new Dell XPS8700. I wanted to pick a configuration with the best processor and RAM I could get while getting the lowest end video card (as those are NEVER a deal from the factory, and factory RAM almost always takes up every slot, so upgrading requires replacing everything). Ended up with a configuration for $849 that gave me an Intel Core i7-4790 with 12GB ram and 1TB HDD. First order of business was a 250GB Samsung SSD to ghost over the OS to boot and host most software (sup 12-second cold boot). Then today, the mailman dropped off my Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, which I got off Amazon for $140 after utilizing a gift card and Amazon credit card reward points. In the meantime before delivery, I bought super cheap off Origin Crysis 3 (which came with a free copy of Crysis 2) and Dead Space 3. My 660 qualified for a free copy of Watch Dogs which is downloading now.

My eyes have seen the glorious light. It may have cost me $1140 when all's said and done, but this investment should get me at least as long as my old rig did. It may not keep up with the most current games, but gaming is completely secondary and a wonderful bonus for the time being.

Crysis 3 is a lot of fun and looks gorgeous. I have most of the settings maxed at 1080p with some of them scaled back to only High. I am blown away by the kind of quality of the image. I'm only getting about 20-25fps at that level, but that's perfectly adequate for playing through the campaign. I haven't tried DS3 or WD yet, but I'll give them some time when I get tired of drooling over Crysis 3.

I'm definitely not giving up my console gaming, and will still keep my X1 as primary PvP online gaming device. But this thing may keep me from wanting to drop cash on a PS4.... no matter how good MLB14 is!

[Giccin]

The master race. Wooo

[Luis_GT]

Why didn't you just custom build one? anyways... Great job finally seeing the light that PC is Master Race

[cfusionpm]

Because I've done it before and I didn't need the stress, headaches, and swear-inducing problems associated from gathering parts from multiple sources by multiple brands with fingers crossed that everything works together and nothing is broken after weeks of waiting for individual parts and hours of assembly and installation. In addition to a complete lack of any meaningful warranty or support.

Yeah, I'll let Dell do the grunt work and I'll take 15 minutes to plug in a video card and SSD.

[n2oinferno]

Aw man, I would've helped you plan the build to make sure it went smooth with no hitches. It's gotten even easier in the past several years to get everything up and running. But I'm glad you're happy with what you've got, and the 660 may be a slightly older card but it's no slouch!

I know in the past you said you didn't like messing with video configurations to make sure you were getting the best performance to looks ratio out of what you had, so you may want to grab the Nvidia GeForce Experience Tool. It analyzes your system specs and changes the game settings automatically to get you the best visuals without sacrificing performance. AMD has one as well, with Raptr and Gaming Evolved.

My new Corsair 450D case came in yesterday so I transplanted everything over from my CM690. Fantastic case, and lower temperatures as well. It'll probably be my go-to recommendation in its price range now.

[cfusionpm]

It can actually default to high or ultra on every game I've tried so far. The only one I messed with was crysis 3, which runs a couple on ultra and the rest on high. So there's not much to worry about there. Gaming was a secondary reason for getting the new PC, so if it doesn't stay up to top tier forever, that's ok. Plus the 660 only set me back $140 after amazon gift cards and reward points. Much better than a $300+ card AND a $100+ new PSU.

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

Aw man, I would've helped you plan the build to make sure it went smooth with no hitches. It's gotten even easier in the past several years to get everything up and running. But I'm glad you're happy with what you've got, and the 660 may be a slightly older card but it's no slouch!

I know in the past you said you didn't like messing with video configurations to make sure you were getting the best performance to looks ratio out of what you had, so you may want to grab the Nvidia GeForce Experience Tool. It analyzes your system specs and changes the game settings automatically to get you the best visuals without sacrificing performance. AMD has one as well, with Raptr and Gaming Evolved.

My new Corsair 450D case came in yesterday so I transplanted everything over from my CM690. Fantastic case, and lower temperatures as well. It'll probably be my go-to recommendation in its price range now.

This


It isn't 2006 where compatability was an issue, now a days there isn't much to it except matching cpu sockets to CPU's

[n2oinferno]

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by Luis_GT

This


It isn't 2006 where compatability was an issue, now a days there isn't much to it except matching cpu sockets to CPU's

I have no interest whatsoever in building from scratch. For the same reason I won't build another AR15 from scratch. It's really not any cheaper, I checked by sourcing parts. When you combine shipping for each individual item, it's maybe $50-100 cheaper. Which is well worth the time and effort saved. I've already built multiples of each already, and it's really not worth the extra work and maintenance that never gives you peace of mind. And if anything goes wrong, it's up to me to fix it out of pocket.

[Luis_GT]

Originally Posted by cfusionpm

I have no interest whatsoever in building from scratch. For the same reason I won't build another AR15 from scratch. It's really not any cheaper, I checked by sourcing parts. When you combine shipping for each individual item, it's maybe $50-100 cheaper. Which is well worth the time and effort saved. I've already built multiples of each already, and it's really not worth the extra work and maintenance that never gives you peace of mind. And if anything goes wrong, it's up to me to fix it out of pocket.

Maybe you suck at building PC's... I never do any maintenance on any of my 3 rigs, and my main computer is water cooled, and running 1GHz over base clock, and all 3 of them are on 24/7 mining bitcoins without any hickups... only maintance I've done to my main rig in the last 2 years was upgrade my GPU to a 290X and ram to higher spec 2400mhz 8gb pack.

[cfusionpm]

That's cool. I still don't gain anything from building it myself. I'll break it down in dollars: base XPS8700 was $849. My 250gb Samsung SSD was $148. My EVGA GTX 660 was $140. Totaling $1137. According to pcpartpicker, configuring that same setup would cost $1305 before rebates and $1256 after. In addition to not having a warranty or any kind of liability for the system as a whole.

So why would I want to build my own system?

[n2oinferno]

Just to clear this up, every part is warrantied when you build too. Often with lengths that you'll have to pay a company extra to get. Not saying building is any better, some people just don't even want to mess with it. I get it. Same way some people bring their car into the shop to have parts installed. We all have our reasons, be it time, money, or other priorities.

edit:

I'm curious. Did you selectively pick expensive parts when you ran through on PCPartPicker? I ran an XPS 8700 comparable build minus keyboard/mouse and came out to:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pxh2bv
Base Total: $918.89
Promo Discounts: -$31.39
Mail-in Rebates: -$45.00
Total: $842.50

[serialk11r]

If I wanted a desktop I would custom build just to avoid having to deal with manufacturer software and tossing out the crap mouse and keyboard it comes with lol.

That said, sometimes there are very good deals on prebuilt machines and I would not mind doing what you did.

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by n2oinferno

Just to clear this up, every part is warrantied when you build too. Often with lengths that you'll have to pay a company extra to get. Not saying building is any better, some people just don't even want to mess with it. I get it. Same way some people bring their car into the shop to have parts installed. We all have our reasons, be it time, money, or other priorities.

edit:

I'm curious. Did you selectively pick expensive parts when you ran through on PCPartPicker? I ran an XPS 8700 comparable build minus keyboard/mouse and came out to:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pxh2bv
Base Total: $918.89
Promo Discounts: -$31.39
Mail-in Rebates: -$45.00
Total: $842.50

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.