Author Topic: Buying a Gaming / Blu ray Viewing Desktop (Read 2072 times)

Osmo · « **on:** March 29, 2011, 10:41:55 PM »

Hi....

I need a good PC. I have a budget of £400-£500... Mainly for gaming, blue ray watching and a little photoshoppin.

I have been browsing for about a week and hand picked 3 so far, here's the links, please tell me what you think... thank you.

http://www.ginger6.com/crysis-gaming-p-36139.html

This one looks like it's been geared for gaming. I'm just abit worried about the CPU... why do the below ones have i3/ i5 and this one made for gaming crysis 2 hasa AMD?

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/medion-akoya-e4325-d-08027521-pdt.html

I quite like this one...

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/225761

I'm not sure whether I trust this website.

Please need expert opinions for free, thanks!

EDIT: I don't want to build a pc and I don't need a blu ray drive

TMRNetShark · « **Reply #1 on:** March 29, 2011, 11:09:57 PM »

Building your own computer is significantly cheaper than buying a pre-built one.

You can get Phenon II cores instead of the crapper Athlons. As for Intel side, i3's are not as good as Phenon II's and i5's will probably run you a bit more money.

Best combo...
Phenon II 955 (or 965)
Any mobo you want (with PCI-Express 2.0)
ATI 6850 (or 6870)
Memory is cheap as hell, get 6 gigs

Combine that with a BD drive, that'll run about $650 USD or around 400 pounds. It'll be a upper-decent computer that'll last you at least 2 years with new games and such.

Lupin · « **Reply #2 on:** March 29, 2011, 11:15:21 PM »

From this thread:

(click to show/hide)

Freedom Kira · « **Reply #3 on:** March 29, 2011, 11:57:16 PM »

BTW, for Blu-Ray watching, you need a read speed of at least 2X. Which shouldn't be a problem, as the slowest (cheapest) reader I could find read at 4X.

Just FYI, because it took me a while to track down that info.

Osmo · « **Reply #4 on:** March 30, 2011, 09:31:39 AM »

Quote from: TMRNetShark on March 29, 2011, 11:09:57 PM

Building your own computer is significantly cheaper than buying a pre-built one.

You can get Phenon II cores instead of the crapper Athlons. As for Intel side, i3's are not as good as Phenon II's and i5's will probably run you a bit more money.

Best combo...
Phenon II 955 (or 965)
Any mobo you want (with PCI-Express 2.0)
ATI 6850 (or 6870)
Memory is cheap as hell, get 6 gigs

Combine that with a BD drive, that'll run about $650 USD or around 400 pounds. It'll be a upper-decent computer that'll last you at least 2 years with new games and such.

Thanks for that. But I don't have the time to build a pc.
Money isn't the issue here, time is, sure I got a budget but that's how much I prefer to spend on a pc.
So I'd rather just buy a desktop thats all ready built. I was hoping you could give me an analysis of the three I posted? Like I'm still unsure... or post from websites you think are good place to buy one...

vuzedome · « **Reply #5 on:** March 30, 2011, 12:14:53 PM »

Your first option is your best choice. If you're gonna pick from those 3, go with the crysis.

Osmo · « **Reply #6 on:** March 30, 2011, 12:52:11 PM »

Quote from: vuzedome on March 30, 2011, 12:14:53 PM

Your first option is your best choice. If you're gonna pick from those 3, go with the crysis.

Why?

Lupin · « **Reply #7 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:05:46 PM »

Quote from: Osmo on March 30, 2011, 12:52:11 PM

Why?

It has the fastest drive and the best video card of the three setups.

Osmo · « **Reply #8 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:28:45 PM »

Quote from: Lupin on March 30, 2011, 01:05:46 PM

It has the fastest drive and the best video card of the three setups.

Say for instance...
I want to buy the second one.. and then buy I really good graphics card to put in it afterwards. Would that work out better?

Freedom Kira · « **Reply #9 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:32:45 PM »

Er, wouldn't that drive you over your budget? What card are we looking at here?

By the way, the 5400RPM boot drive is gonna bottleneck you like there's no tomorrow. If you have extra cash, it's probably better spent on an extra SSD to use as a boot drive. $100 (around 70 GBP) will get you a good 40GB (watch out for the ones that don't go up to 280 MBps R/270 MBps W).

Osmo · « **Reply #10 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:34:54 PM »

Quote from: Freedom Kira on March 30, 2011, 01:32:45 PM

Er, wouldn't that drive you over your budget? What card are we looking at here?

It would. Because...for now I need something for movies and then maybe in a month I'll start gaming...
I don't knoooo
I DONT KNOW!!!!!!

I don't know what cat yet, will prolly spend about £100 max on it

vuzedome · « **Reply #11 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:35:32 PM »

Quote from: Osmo on March 30, 2011, 01:28:45 PM

Quote from: Lupin on March 30, 2011, 01:05:46 PM

It has the fastest drive and the best video card of the three setups.

Say for instance...
I want to buy the second one.. and then buy I really good graphics card to put in it afterwards. Would that work out better?

The first one has everything, awesome case, good graphics, excellent ram.

xShadow · « **Reply #12 on:** March 30, 2011, 01:47:15 PM »

Quote from: Osmo on March 30, 2011, 01:28:45 PM

Quote from: Lupin on March 30, 2011, 01:05:46 PM

It has the fastest drive and the best video card of the three setups.

Say for instance...
I want to buy the second one.. and then buy I really good graphics card to put in it afterwards. Would that work out better?

... Why would you buy a premade one just to replace the stuff in it?

As for your i5 & i3 vs AMD question: keep in mind that the AMD is a quad core. I think those i3 and i5 computers you linked to are both dual core types.

So, out of all of those you linked to, spec-wise the first one is probably the best.

I don't understand the time and not money thing though. You realize that time=money, right? What you save in money will save an equivalent unit of time that it took you to make it (in some way), which can probably be used to build that computer. >_>;

Well, unrelated time/money stuff aside: as far as building: as long as you know how to screw screws in and connect a few cables, you can easily build a computer in a period of some hours. Start it up, install an OS (you can do this unattended), and then install some drivers. Once you get it running, that time you invested making it will never have to be spent again. It's a one time investment, and it's getting easier and easier. You would probably spend longer looking for the parts, but that's about the same as the amount of time you'd spent looking for a prebuilt one that would exactly suit your purposes.

Which are gaming and blu-ray. You need something that has good graphics capabilities and a blu-ray drive, specifically. It really depends on how much you want to game, and how much you want to watch movies...

TMRNetShark · « **Reply #13 on:** March 30, 2011, 02:19:08 PM »

Quote from: Osmo on March 30, 2011, 09:31:39 AM

Thanks for that. But I don't have the time to build a pc.
Money isn't the issue here, time is, sure I got a budget but that's how much I prefer to spend on a pc.
So I'd rather just buy a desktop thats all ready built. I was hoping you could give me an analysis of the three I posted? Like I'm still unsure... or post from websites you think are good place to buy one...

Physically building a PC takes like 10-15 minutes. Installing the OS and all your other programs is inevitable time comsuming part of getting a new PC (pre-made or self built). Do the smart choice and build your own computer and save some money. You will save money over all three of those computers while still getting a significantly better computer. Each one of those computers has a bottleneck somewhere that you wouldn't have building your own computer. If the 10-15 minutes in building your own computer is too much, I would (regrettably) say go for the 1st one cause it actually has a quad core.

Lupin · « **Reply #14 on:** March 30, 2011, 02:54:41 PM »

Quote from: Osmo on March 30, 2011, 01:28:45 PM

Quote from: Lupin on March 30, 2011, 01:05:46 PM

It has the fastest drive and the best video card of the three setups.

Say for instance...
I want to buy the second one.. and then buy I really good graphics card to put in it afterwards. Would that work out better?

If you were to go this route, I'd pick the third one instead. Its processor is better than the 2nd and costs less.

The second one isn't worth the price in my opinion. The 1st one has a dated mobo. The 3rd one has crappy graphics and hdd.

DIY > 1st choice > third choice > 2nd choice

With that money, you can buy a phenom II x4, an 890G board, 4gigs ram plus the other needed parts. I'd rely on the onboard graphics at first then buy a good video card when I need to game.

Proin Drakenzol · « **Reply #15 on:** March 30, 2011, 03:01:09 PM »

Quote from: xShadow on March 30, 2011, 01:47:15 PM

As for your i5 & i3 vs AMD question: keep in mind that the AMD is a quad core. I think those i3 and i5 computers you linked to are both dual core types.

But both the i5 and i3 are hyperthreaded, which means they're just as capable of multithreading as the Phenom II. And they overclock better (not that you'd OC an i3). And many of the i5s outperform the Phenom II quads by a handy margin.

[EDIT]Get the first one. You don't want an Acer and as someone else mentioned the 5400 RPM drive is way too slow, you want at least 7200 RPM.

xShadow · « **Reply #16 on:** March 30, 2011, 04:01:54 PM »

Quote from: Proin Drakenzol on March 30, 2011, 03:01:09 PM

Quote from: xShadow on March 30, 2011, 01:47:15 PM
As for your i5 & i3 vs AMD question: keep in mind that the AMD is a quad core. I think those i3 and i5 computers you linked to are both dual core types.

But both the i5 and i3 are hyperthreaded, which means they're just as capable of multithreading as the Phenom II. And they overclock better (not that you'd OC an i3). And many of the i5s outperform the Phenom II quads by a handy margin.

[EDIT]Get the first one. You don't want an Acer and as someone else mentioned the 5400 RPM drive is way too slow, you want at least 7200 RPM.

I didn't say that they were worse, I just stated that they were dual core, not quad core types, and that the AMD was quad core.. which means it has at least similar performance, though it's not one of the much-lauded iX's. Combined with the fact that most of the other stuff about it is better, it's the obvious choice.

Osmo · « **Reply #17 on:** March 30, 2011, 07:14:17 PM »

Quote from: Lupin on March 30, 2011, 02:54:41 PM

the second one.. and then buy I really good graphics card to put in it afterwards. Would that work out better?

If you were to go this route, I'd pick the third one instead. Its processor is better than the 2nd and costs less.

The second one isn't worth the price in my opinion. The 1st one has a dated mobo. The 3rd one has crappy graphics and hdd.

DIY > 1st choice > third choice > 2nd choice

With that money, you can buy a phenom II x4, an 890G board, 4gigs ram plus the other needed parts. I'd rely on the onboard graphics at first then buy a good video card when I need to game.
[/quote]

"Graphics
Intel HD Graphics with1.70 GB of video memory"

This is from the specs from the third one.. I'm not sure what it means. Does it mean that I won't be able to add a graphics card in there?

SupraGuy · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2011, 07:39:42 PM »

Actually, about the only real concession I'd make for blu-ray is the display, and that's not a problem these days. Most monitors seem to be capable of HDCP/1080p.

My only complaint is that for Blu-ray playback, it's gotta be Windows, though that's pretty much what a gamer system will be anyways.

I built an AMD 965 based system a while back (the 965 was top of the pile at the time) and am still perfectly happy with it. It's got an ATI 67xx series graphics card in it, which is still more than good enough. 4G of RAM (Still running a 32 bit OS since that gives me the easiest time with drivers and the like) and a BD-ROM drive. A couple terrabytes for HDD, cause disk is cheap.

It's still plenty adequate for gaming, and serious overkill for watching movies. I think that even with all the DRM crap it only sort of stresses 2 CPU cores. (It uses somewhat less overall total CPU when everything is ripped to H.264 in a matroska container. Go figure.)

Osmo · « **Reply #19 on:** March 30, 2011, 07:47:57 PM »

Oh god... Please stop with the PC building replies... Like I said I don't have the time. I'm under time constraints right now... I need something that will last me for atleast a year and can play any game I want to play, no restrictions, I want to experience PC gaming at it's best prolly... I know I don't have that much money... If I see something I like I will go for it...