I want to get a custom computer

[Caesar15]

well, your laptop would need an intel chip to operate, another i3, or possibly 15 if they make those in a mobile version as well.

http://www.cpu-world.com/info/Intel/Intel_Core_i3_Mobile.html

according to that, you wouldn\'t be able to get that working anyways, different socket types, your laptop\'s i3 wouldn\'t fit in a motherboard meant for a tower.

Ahh dang it.

[Caesar15]

Meanwhile i ll be playing on my laptop, the problem is it is prone to overheating, anyone know any good laptop coolers?

[Ydoow]

[Caesar15]

I think you know what i mean.

[Ydoow]

I don\'t see the issue.

Keeps your laptop cool, keeps you cool, and Mountain Dew is but an arm\'s length away!

[bandit4910]

I think you know what i mean.

Cooler Master NotePal U3 Notebook Cooler with 3 Fans R9-NBC-8PCK-G

It would also help to know your laptops measurements...

[Amram]

http://thermaltakeusa.com/Products.aspx?C=1135

http://www.zalman.com/ENG/product/CategorySecond_Pic.asp?categoryname=Coolers&categorySecond=CAS5

I\'ve got a Zalman ZM-NC1000 and love the thing.

My sister is one of those people that won\'t spend money to get a quality item when there is plenty of budget alternatives to be had. She\'s killed 6 or 7 laptop coolers(bought at Walmart, Futureshop, and Bestbuy) since I got this one, and by now, spent alot more than I did. Cost me $40 Cdn.

Basically though, anything by Thermaltake, Zalman, or CoolerMaster should leave you with a good solid cooler that will be more than enough.

[Caesar15]

Okay, i decided jsut to customize a pc at costco.com so i need some help here, this is the lsit i currently set up, is it good? Yeah i know, its way over my previous budjet, but this is longterm

http://www.costco.com/CTO/HPProduct.aspx?prodid=10029569&whse=BC&topnav=&cm_sp=RichRelevance-_-categorypageHorizontalTop-_-PopularProductsInCategory&cm_vc=categorypageHorizontalTop%7cPopularProductsInCategory&model=A5U29AV%23ABA&configno=74f6d65b-4a4a-4c21-ace3-60bf8d9790ac

[cardgame]

Okay, i decided jsut to customize a pc at costco.com so i need some help here, this is the lsit i currently set up, is it good? Yeah i know, its way over my previous budjet, but this is longterm

http://www.costco.com/CTO/HPProduct.aspx?prodid=10029569&whse=BC&topnav=&cm_sp=RichRelevance-_-categorypageHorizontalTop-_-PopularProductsInCategory&cm_vc=categorypageHorizontalTop%7cPopularProductsInCategory&model=A5U29AV%23ABA&configno=74f6d65b-4a4a-4c21-ace3-60bf8d9790ac

For $850 that is horrible.

DDR3 VRAM?

Edit: well I did not notice the inclusion of a monitor, 'premium' keyboard, etc.

Nevertheless, you could do far better with something else, and I find it highly suspect that they do not mention the resolution on that monitor.

[Caesar15]

For $850 that is horrible.

DDR3 VRAM?

Edit: well I did not notice the inclusion of a monitor, 'premium' keyboard, etc.

Nevertheless, you could do far better with something else, and I find it highly suspect that they do not mention the resolution on that monitor.

I could? Well i need it to be a rpebult comp as my parents wont let me make a custom one.

[Ydoow]

This is the toughest part of your first custom computer, you kinda run in circles for what feels like ages, never deciding on something.

If you have a local PC shop in town, they could probably assemble the parts for you, or maybe supervise you or something. Who knows, just ask them.

Little local shops like that are generally very friendly/flexible unlike any Circuit City/Best Buy type of store.

[Caesar15]

This is the toughest part of your first custom computer, you kinda run in circles for what feels like ages, never deciding on something.

If you have a local PC shop in town, they could probably assemble the parts for you, or maybe supervise you or something. Who knows, just ask them.

Little local shops like that are generally very friendly/flexible unlike any Circuit City/Best Buy type of store.

Thing is i dont think i have any of those

[Caesar15]

Another question, can these cards run shogun 2 ultra graphics, if so, which one is the min i can go?

1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7450 [HDMI, DVI, VGA via adapter] [included] 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 [HDMI, DVI, VGA via adapter] [add $20.00] 2GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 530 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter] [add $51.00] 2GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 [DVI, HDMI, DP & VGA via adapter] [add $51.00] 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7670 [DVI, DP, HDMI, VGA via adapter] [add $71.00]

[Ydoow]

Um, well I got the Radeon 6850 and it seems to kick some serious ass.

I don\'t have shogun two though. You try googling some bench marking for Shogun 2 with this card, Radeon 6850 1gb DDR5 RAM

[Amram]

I think you\'d do better to customise from Dell.

first question is then, how important is OEM warranty to you? Seeing as how you were willing to self build, im assuming its not all that necessary? i wouldn\'t get it myself, its generally overpriced and not used enough imo. just replace the part and move on.

If warranty isn\'t important, my recommendation is to:

Start with a Dell Inspiron 620. All the same basic software choices. Step down to the i3 2120. in gaming your not taking a hit at all, they are almost identical if you cannot get all 4 cores humming away on the i5, and VERY FEW games can even occupy two cores fully.

Step the extended warranty down from 2 years, to one year. 12 months later anything that dies is overdue for an upgrade, even $100 parts will usually outperform whatever was in your system at this point.

Call and find out if the motherboard has 2 or 4 slots for ram. If only 2, then get 6Gb(included int he $690 price). if 4, then spec the system with 4Gb, and get the other 4 or 8 later in an upgrade. it\'ll be cheaper overall, and more importantly, cheaper now(-$60).

You come out at $690, but have two issues. A generic low end power supply that won\'t support a decent graphics card(almost definitely lacking the connectors), and integrated graphics. So, buy 2 upgrades at the same time. Note that you\'ll have the same issue with the Costco system. For one they give you a mere 300w power supply, you\'ll be very close to, if not beyond its limits when the system is busy. more, you will almost definitely lack the connectors for a powerful graphics card, and will be stuck with low performance parts, which co-incidentally is all they offer you as options.

This bundle is 216, bringing you up to $890, with a good solid PSU, and a more powerful graphics card than the original 6790 mentioned in this thread.

Through Dell you\'ll get far better support than through Costco, and you\'ll get at least equal if not better parts, and I almost guarantee the monitor will be superior. Buy the upgrades as well and you have a FAR superior system for your stated needs, for almost the same budget.

At least you\'ll come out about as good as the self build would have left you, but unfortunately +$300 higher cost in the end. Although originally we never factored monitor, mouse and keyboard, and this does include monitor, mouse and keyboard

to reply while this was types: Caesar15, none of those cards will perform as well as even the Radeon 6790 does, the Costco system, aside form using an i5 is actually inferior to the self-builds listed earlier in several ways, not least of which is graphics. they wouldn\'t do it all out in ultra, and i guarantee you, this Costco system won\'t either, it\'ll do worse, and nearly twice the cost. Those cards listed, except the 7670 are barely above integrated graphics.

Amd uses a naming scheme.

the first number lists your generation, newer generation cards generally perform better, or the same but more efficiently(less power used, so they are quieter, laptops can pack in power powerful GPU\'s, etc)

the second number is your main category. This ranges from 4 to 9. the differences from one category to the next are usually MUCH larger than those found between two generations. A 6870 will destroy a 7770. generally this is how much of the actual full (X9XX card) you have in the GPU. the lower the number, the more cut down the GPU is, how many cores it has.

the third number is another binning number, and lists the overall category of the parts you do have. the frequencies, cooling system, memory bandwidth, and other limitations apply here.

A 6790 will beat a 6770

a 6850 will beat a 6790

a 6850 will beat a 7770

a 6850 will likely just beat an 8650 when they get around to making one.

The Geforce 560 TI I mentioned is a middle ground between the 6790, and the 6870. it\'ll put you just just ahead of the 6850 at some things, and just behind on others.

[Caesar15]

Wow, you types all that for me? Thanks.

Anyway I ll do everything tommorow as I am on my iPod in my bed right now, $900 without a monitor?

[cardgame]

Do you need a monitor?

[Amram]

Wow, you types all that for me? Thanks.

Anyway I ll do everything tommorow as I am on my iPod in my bed right now, $900 without a monitor?

thats WITH the monitor, and almost certainly a better one than will come with the Costco system

[Caesar15]

Do you need a monitor?

Yah all I got is a laptop.

thats WITH the monitor, and almost certainly a better one than will come with the Costco system

Got me worried there lol,

I see your a fan of the i3, 4 i3 can do it you say for shogun 2? I don\'t know but wouldn\'t 4 i5 work better then the i3?

[Amram]

well, look at it as having employees.

the i3 is like a team of two good employees. if you only ever have enough work to keep one of them working, and the otherone sometimes has something to do, you probably don\'t really need the second guy, but he comes in handy now and then

Now hire two more guys, and your an i5. same abilities per guy, nothing new there, you just have two more of them. If you couldn\'t keep the two guys of an i3 busy, then you definitely can\'t keep even two of the guys in the i5 busy, yet you have two more sitting here doing nothing. if you can find a job that will put all 4 to work, or take on two large jobs at once, thent he i5 will DEFINTIELY get far more done, but gaming won\'t, not yet, and not for a long time yet I\'ll bet.

the i3, per core, is almost identical to the i5. if your on a budget, the cost difference means the i5 just isn\'t worth it. the increase the i5 has over the i3 is tiny, and at most tasks the i3 is quite capable of matching an i5.

as to being a fan of the i3, im a fan of whoever offers the most performance for the price, and the iX line is trashing AMD hardcore. for the money an i3 system is only a little more expensive, and FAR faster at most tasks.

btw, you can drop about $90 off the cost of the system if you are ok with getting a cheaper, probably lower quality monitor. you can find monitors on newegg for under $100, and the monitor Dell includes is a 23in for $180.

[Caesar15]

Well then, i3 for me! You helped a lot, do you have a steam? Cause I ll need tos Ed you messages all the time about my computer plans.

[Masochist]

I just bought all these parts myself for a new computer

Antec 900 gaming case - $99 ($20 rebate)

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB Memory - $45 (could drop to 4 GB for about $10-$20 cheaper and it would be fine)

OCZ Vertex 4 128 GB SSD - $149 (get a standard hard drive for half price and more storage)

Intel Core i5-2500K CPU - $205

Rosewill LIGHTNING Series 800w PSU - $149 (this one is flashy...cheaper ones available, also 800w is probably more than I need)

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H Motherboard - $189 (Once again cheaper models available that work just fine)

Wireless Adapter - $18

GeForce GTX 570 1GB Videocard - $299 (560ti is cheaper and would not be to far from this card)

That all said and done costs me $1135. I will be buying a larger standard hard drive for storage soon, using a DVD drive from somewhere (still searching...don\'t expect to pay more than $10), using my copy of windows on this comp, and using my monitor I have right now.

So in all I can pull this build off for around $1200. Dropping the SSD, getting the slightly cheaper RAM, motherboard, PSU, and Video card would easily put you down to the $900 range

I will even put up a suggested cheaper build in that range for you to get an idea.

Antec 900 gaming case - $99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) Memory -$30

Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint 500GB hard drive - $80

Intel Core i5-2500K CPU - $205

OCZ CS Series 750w PSU - $90

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard - $140

Geforce GTX 560ti 1GB Videocard - $250

That comes out to $894, has room for expansion, and can last you a few years on its own. That said you still need to have a monitor, keyboard/mouse, operating system, and DVD Drive. A wireless adapter would also be needed if you cant use an ethernet cable to connect to the router.

[Amram]

Well then, i3 for me! You helped a lot, do you have a steam? Cause I ll need tos Ed you messages all the time about my computer plans.

lol, that happens with most people I know. The curse of being an enthusiast, and letting others know it.

Im about to resume my work season, so im afraid i\'ll be incredibly difficult to get ahold of real soon here. I work seasonal, so during the work season pretty much all of my time is consumed with work and sleep, but then I get an off season, and pretty much the entire winter is free time for whatever suits me at that moment. Im always disappointed when that ends, I like it sooo much, lol.

email\'s a better bet to catch me, and i don\'t mind really

darkprev at hot mail com

gives me a reason to get caught up on developments, since I tend to fall behind until prompted

[Caesar15]

A bit expensive for my tastes, $1000 is a lot of money.

lol, that happens with most people I know. The curse of being an enthusiast, and letting others know it.

Im about to resume my work season, so im afraid i\'ll be incredibly difficult to get ahold of real soon here. I work seasonal, so during the work season pretty much all of my time is consumed with work and sleep, but then I get an off season, and pretty much the entire winter is free time for whatever suits me at that moment. Im always disappointed when that ends, I like it sooo much, lol.

email\'s a better bet to catch me, and i don\'t mind really

darkprev at hot mail com

Ah okaythat sucks I guess I send you a few messages if I got questions.

[Amram]

I just bought all these parts myself for a new computer

Antec 900 gaming case - $99 ($20 rebate)

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB Memory - $45 (could drop to 4 GB for about $10-$20 cheaper and it would be fine)

OCZ Vertex 4 128 GB SSD - $149 (get a standard hard drive for half price and more storage)

Intel Core i5-2500K CPU - $205

Rosewill LIGHTNING Series 800w PSU - $149 (this one is flashy...cheaper ones available, also 800w is probably more than I need)

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD5H Motherboard - $189 (Once again cheaper models available that work just fine)

Wireless Adapter - $18

GeForce GTX 570 1GB Videocard - $299 (560ti is cheaper and would not be to far from this card)

That all said and done costs me $1135. I will be buying a larger standard hard drive for storage soon, using a DVD drive from somewhere (still searching...don\'t expect to pay more than $10), using my copy of windows on this comp, and using my monitor I have right now.

So in all I can pull this build off for around $1200. Dropping the SSD, getting the slightly cheaper RAM, motherboard, PSU, and Video card would easily put you down to the $900 range

I will even put up a suggested cheaper build in that range for you to get an idea.

Antec 900 gaming case - $99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) Memory -$30

Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint 500GB hard drive - $80

Intel Core i5-2500K CPU - $205

OCZ CS Series 750w PSU - $90

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 Motherboard - $140

Geforce GTX 560ti 1GB Videocard - $250

That comes out to $894, has room for expansion, and can last you a few years on its own. That said you still need to have a monitor, keyboard/mouse, operating system, and DVD Drive. A wireless adapter would also be needed if you cant use an ethernet cable to connect to the router.

except he\'s already said he doesn\'t have the option of self building, it needs to be a OEM build. im sort of cheating and suggesting a self upgraded OEM build to counter its most significant flaws. but agreed, good solid systems, im a particular fan of the Antec 900 and 1200 series cases