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Author Topic: whats the best computer out there?  (Read 2921 times)

Ricky

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #15 on: November 02, 2010, 07:57:30 pm »

sigh...

im starting to hate computers


OKIE DOKE

lets skip the whole desktop deal.. lets move on to my laptop

my laptop can handle graphics and all, from what i remember, either 2 or 4 GB of RAM, but i never use it because it gets too hot, doesnt hold a charge, and makes too much racket

ive think ill just make my laptop permanently desk-bound though

so.
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Makbeth

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #16 on: November 02, 2010, 08:13:59 pm »


and lets assume money is not a problem...and lets set the price bar with  300-600$




That's the funniest thing I've read this week.

I had to search pretty hard to spend just $2,500 on my new machine instead of $4,800.


Seriously though, what you've written so far definitely suggests that researching parts, pricing, and compatibilty is not something that occurs naturally to you, so don't build one yourself, you're only asking for trouble.  Either get a premade machine or talk to someone who builds PCs for a living.  There's always one within walking distance even in blink-and-miss-it towns like I live in.  Tell them what you want and they'll build it for the best price, and it'll usually be cheaper than the premade ones.

I can tell you right now that I wouldn't consider any machine less than $1,000 a gaming machine.  You may be able to play this year's games on minimum settings, but you'll just have to get a new one next year.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2010, 08:27:48 pm by Makbeth »
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Tellemurius

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #17 on: November 02, 2010, 08:21:04 pm »

damnit just save $5k and buy a sager.

Makbeth

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #18 on: November 02, 2010, 08:32:12 pm »

It's not for gaming, it's for 3D animation.  But the requirements coincide nicely.   :)
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Diso Faintpuzzles was born in 120.  Although accounts vary it is universally agreed that Diso was chosen by fate as the vanguard of destiny.

In the early spring of 143 Diso began wandering the wilds.

In the early spring of 143 Diso starved to death in the Horn of Striking.

Ricky

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #19 on: November 02, 2010, 08:40:19 pm »


and lets assume money is not a problem...and lets set the price bar with  300-600$



:O
 
i just said that to get the best awnser out of you guys.. which was some supercomputer and some other thing
 
maybe i should just be content with my crap-fer-PC
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Makbeth

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #20 on: November 02, 2010, 08:48:08 pm »

Well, you can build a really nice workstation for $15,000 and still have lots of room for improvement.  It's not about saving up for the best there is.  The best is out of reach unless you're a veteran special effects studio or university.  It's about finding the best you can for the money you have, and the small-business PC builders are great at that.  Seriously, just find one on Google Earth and go talk to them.  They'll tell you what you can get for your money better than we can.  You stand a good chance at getting a decent machine from one of them.  Look for "PC", "PC repair", "Computers", stuff like that.  Call them and ask if they do custom builds.  Then ask if they'll do a consultation for free (if they don't, move on to the next one you can find).  Tell them what you want and the maximum you're willing to spend, and they'll find the best deal they can.

The parts for my new machine totalled between $4,200 and $4,800 when I looked online at NewEgg and other retailers, and even major custom PC retailers.  The PC shop down the street managed to whittle that down to $2,300.  Some of the less important parts are used or from eBay, but the markup is much less.
« Last Edit: November 02, 2010, 08:53:29 pm by Makbeth »
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Diso Faintpuzzles was born in 120.  Although accounts vary it is universally agreed that Diso was chosen by fate as the vanguard of destiny.

In the early spring of 143 Diso began wandering the wilds.

In the early spring of 143 Diso starved to death in the Horn of Striking.

KaminaSquirtle

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #21 on: November 02, 2010, 08:50:23 pm »

I had to search pretty hard to spend just $2,500 on my new machine instead of $4,800.
:o  Now that's QUITE a beast!  I thought my $1500 rig was powerful!  Out of curiosity, what are the specs?


and lets assume money is not a problem...and lets set the price bar with  300-600$



:O
 
i just said that to get the best awnser out of you guys.. which was some supercomputer and some other thing
 
maybe i should just be content with my crap-fer-PC
Nah, man, I'm sure we can find you something.  If you're just looking for something to play nappy:TW on min graphics, I'm sure we can find something for ~$500.  As long as you can use an old monitor, mouse and keyboard.

I agree you should go for something premade, which does limit your flexibility.

Nappy Total war recommended specs:

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7
Processor: 2.6 GHz Dual Core CPU
Memory: 2 GB RAM (XP), 4 GB RAM (Vista/Windows 7)
Hard Drive: 15 GB
Video Card (graphics): 256 MB DirectX 9.0c shader model 3 compatible GPU Multiplayer Functions
Sound Card:
DirectX: DirectX 9.0c

That shouldn't be too expensive to meet.  I do admit I'm not familiar with today's prices, especially with premade and lower end rigs, but surely we can meet those for under $600?

He's not looking for a gaming machine/serious workstation, just a step up from a Athlon X2 4200+/1gb ram/probably miserable gfx card.  Right?
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Ricky

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #22 on: November 02, 2010, 08:56:14 pm »

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Makbeth

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #23 on: November 02, 2010, 09:08:27 pm »

Those specs were about $900 two years ago.  Should be below $600 by now for sure.  Again, I think it's much better to buy a machine that can play next year's games, but if that's what you've got... well, I've been there before and that's what you gotta do.

@ KaminaSquirtle Actually it's been so long since I ordered it I forgot (bad mobo had to be returned and then newegg confused it with someone else's, ugh!).  Let me see...

MSI X58 Pro-E motherboard
i7 980 hex-core 3.33 GHz 12MB cache 64 bit processor
12 GB triple channel DDR3-1333 RAM
1GB ATI Radeon HD 5870 GDDR5 video card

And the storage and burners, etc.
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Diso Faintpuzzles was born in 120.  Although accounts vary it is universally agreed that Diso was chosen by fate as the vanguard of destiny.

In the early spring of 143 Diso began wandering the wilds.

In the early spring of 143 Diso starved to death in the Horn of Striking.

Ricky

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #24 on: November 03, 2010, 08:35:20 am »

so how would i go about accquiring those bits and bobs?

and what do you mean by storage ect?
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Muz

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #25 on: November 03, 2010, 09:01:10 am »

I love mid-range computers. They could handle almost anything you need, and twice the price of what they'll be in 6 months :P
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Retro

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #26 on: November 03, 2010, 09:02:01 am »

I hear Deep Blues are pretty good if you're into chess.

Ricky

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #27 on: November 03, 2010, 11:53:22 am »

ok, went to walmart with dad

did some searching

foundan acer aspire
intel pentium processor
6GB RAM
1 TB hardrive
3.0 GHz 2MB cache
forget all the details..

for 500 bucks
good buy?
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Makbeth

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #28 on: November 03, 2010, 12:53:26 pm »

so how would i go about accquiring those bits and bobs?

and what do you mean by storage ect?

Oh, sorry, I was describing my own machine to KaminaSquirtle. 

Don't worry about finding the individual parts yourself, let the PC guy do that for you.

The machine from Wal Mart looks fairly decent.  I don't see any description of the video card.
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Diso Faintpuzzles was born in 120.  Although accounts vary it is universally agreed that Diso was chosen by fate as the vanguard of destiny.

In the early spring of 143 Diso began wandering the wilds.

In the early spring of 143 Diso starved to death in the Horn of Striking.

Makbeth

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Re: whats the best computer out there?
« Reply #29 on: November 03, 2010, 01:40:02 pm »

What I found for that name and those specs is a desktop machine.  It doesn't have a video card and you'll need one for graphics.

A primer for what the parts do:

Motherboard:  The base circuitboard that all the other components plug into.  It serves as the infrastructure for the PC, carries signals between parts, controls the signal traffic, and is also home to the extreme low-level programming (called firmware) that exists before any OS like Windows or Linux is installed.  All the ports on the back of the case are part of the motherboard.  The motherboard itself doesn't do all that much in terms of performance, but the number and type of sockets on the board do determine what kind of processor, video card, and RAM you can have on the machine, and how many of each.

Central Processing Unit (CPU, or just processor):  This is where operations are performed on data, and one of the most important factors in determining PC performance.  Processors with a higher frequency (today measured in GHz for any decent machine) tend to be faster.  Can have more than one processor core to handle multiple tasks in parallel for programs that are coded to make use of that feature.  The more calculations per second, the more heat is produced.  In a poorly built or maintained PC, these can overheat and become damaged over time, although the days when they'd melt themselves are gone (I think), so cooling the CPU is a major priority in a high-performance machine.

Video card:  A self-contained miniaturized computer with its own processor and memory, whose sole purpose is to handle the rendering of data into visual output for the monitor so the main processor doesn't have to.  Your video card's capabilities will have a far greater effect on frame rate than any other part of the PC.  These are also an overheating risk on performance machines.  Sometimes a separate card, sometimes part of the motherboard (the latter is almost never very good, you should always use a separate card for graphics).  The processor that handles the graphics is called the Graphics Processing Unit or GPU.

Hard drive: Where your data is stored permanently (we hope).  Usually a set of magnetic disks that work much like CDs or even record players, but with much higher data density.  Very sensitive to vibration when spinning, as the read-write head is less than a hair's width above the disk.  Contact between the two tends to erase chunks of data, sometimes the ones that allow your computer to boot up.  For this reason, some companies will fire employees who repeatedly move their PC cases while they're powered on.  Newer drives try to protect against this, and laptops are the best at it for obvious reasons, but still, impact of any kind while running is a BAD THING.  I speak from heartbreaking experience.

Random-Access Memory (RAM):  If the hard drive is your long-term memory, RAM is your short-term memory.  This is a place where data that's being used to do stuff can be temporarily stored and accessed much, much faster than what's on the hard drive.  Any time you see a loading screen or notice, the data is being transferred from the hard drive to RAM so that the information can be used immediately.  Any open files you have on your computer are contained in RAM.  Unfortunately, RAM is a volatile thing and will get cleared or reallocated if the computer is powered off or if something interrupts the process that is using it, which is why your unsaved data is lost in a program crash.  Saving files is the process of writing what's in RAM to the hard drive.  If RAM runs out, the program will either crash or begin using the hard drive as if it were RAM, at which point the program slows down considerably.

Hopefully that helps you have a better idea of what you want.

One more thing on the subject of cooling:  At least twice a year, but preferably every other month, open the case of your machine and carefully vacuum the dust out (unplug it first).  Be careful not to discharge any static electricity onto the motherboard (easily avoided if you frequently touch any grounded metal object, which can even include the metal frame of the PC case depending on where you've got it).  This simple step will make your PC last much longer.  Most cooling fans rely on a set of closely spaced copper fins to draw heat from the components, and over time dust accumulates at the edges of the fins and keeps the air from the fan from passing through, making the fan nearly useless.  At this point your components will start running somewhere between 80 and 150°C (170-300°F) and self-bake.  So, get that dust out of there.  Pay special attention to dust accumulated in and around fans.  Not very many casual users do this and it's usually why their machines stop working after a couple of years.  It happens to Xboxes too.  My roomate had a box that started getting red lights 20 minutes into each play session.  We opened it up, vacuumed it out, and it works great now.
« Last Edit: November 03, 2010, 01:54:46 pm by Makbeth »
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Diso Faintpuzzles was born in 120.  Although accounts vary it is universally agreed that Diso was chosen by fate as the vanguard of destiny.

In the early spring of 143 Diso began wandering the wilds.

In the early spring of 143 Diso starved to death in the Horn of Striking.
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