Opus' computer buildathon 2013!

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Opus
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Opus' computer buildathon 2013!

Post by Opus »

My computer died tonight and I need a new one..If anyone would like to build me one and send me a link to it on what ever website they like to use I'd appreciate it. I was planning on 2 boxing plus I play more games than just EQ so it's gotta be halfway decent. My budget is around $700 or so so nothing TOO pricey. Thanks in advance to all the computer savy people who know a good build
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Post by Alsmack »

The budget box on the Ars System Guide fits your purpose pretty well.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/07/ ... july-2013/

I would personally go with an nVidia card (Noir would have best recommendations for price/performance in your budget). I would also try to get the best i5 i could afford, instead of the i3.

You might also need some additional disk space, so obviously choose that wisely; I'd add a several terabyte 7200rpm regular hard drive to compliment the SSD. Drop the peripherals if you already own them. You should be roughly in buduget.
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Post by Rapitiss »

Opus do you feel comfortable putting together a system yourself?

Can you reuse your windows license from your dead box?
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Post by Rapitiss »

Opus do you feel comfortable putting together a system yourself?
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Post by Opus »

Thanks smack. And rapitiss I don't feel comfortable at all putting together a machine by myself, at all. And by"windows license do you mean my version of windows7? So I don't have to buy another? I don't know that either
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Post by Alsmack »

I might suggest going with a prebuilt then. I configured one here that would probably 4 box, if not 6 box, just fine

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/BTS_Inte ... l/w/185222
Case 1 x NZXT Source 210 Mid Tower Case-Red
Case Lighting 0 x None-
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction 0 x None-
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion 0 x None-
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i5-4670 Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)-
Processor Cooling 1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [Intel]-Standard 120mm Fan *FREE Upgrade to Corsair H55 Liquid Cooling*
Memory 1 x 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GT 640 - 2GB-
Motherboard 1 x MSI B85 G41 -- 2x PCIe 3.0 x16, 2x USB 3.0, HDMI-
Power Supply 1 x 500 Watt - Corsair CX500 V2-
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 128 GB Corsair Force GS SSD-Single Drive
Data Hard Drive 0 x None-
Optical Drive 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
2nd Optical Drive 0 x None-
Flash Media Reader / Writer 0 x None-
Meter Display 0 x None-
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard-
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)-
Operating System 1 x Windows 8 + Office 2010 Trial [Free 60-Day !!!]-64-bit
Keyboard 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard-
Mouse 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse-
Monitor 0 x None-
2nd Monitor 0 x None-
Speaker System 0 x None-
Video Camera 0 x None-
Case Engraving Service 0 x None-
Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service-
Rush Service 1 x Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee)-No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days
Subtotal* $903.00 (plus tax & shipping)
I'd personally choose quite a few different components if I was self building, but I wouldn't stay under $1000 then. The base box was 799 just above your budget.

I assumed you'd be able to bring over your old HD for additional storage space. To save money you can

-downgrade to HSF (it was only $10 to go to Corsair Liquid Cooling with their back to school special)
-downgrade from an SSD to a normal hard drive (sacrifices quite a bit of speed)
-remove windows from the build, use your old copy if you bought a retail copy or have the key + CD from your old machine (this will save $60 period)
-remove their mouse and keyboard, use the one you have
-bump the processor down to a i5-4430

with those changes, I got it down to $701

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/BTS_Inte ... l/w/185223
Case 1 x NZXT Source 210 Mid Tower Case-Red
Case Lighting 0 x None-
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction 0 x None-
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion 0 x None-
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i5-4430 Processor (4x 3.00GHz/6MB L3 Cache)-
Processor Cooling 1 x Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink-
Memory 1 x 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module-Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 - 4GB-
Motherboard 1 x MSI B85 G41 -- 2x PCIe 3.0 x16, 2x USB 3.0, HDMI-
Power Supply 1 x 500 Watt - Corsair CX500 V2-
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s-Single Drive
Data Hard Drive 0 x None-
Optical Drive 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive-Black
2nd Optical Drive 0 x None-
Flash Media Reader / Writer 0 x None-
Meter Display 0 x None-
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard-
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)-
Operating System 1 x None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only-
Monitor 0 x None-
2nd Monitor 0 x None-
Speaker System 0 x None-
Video Camera 0 x None-
Case Engraving Service 0 x None-
Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service-
Rush Service 1 x Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee)-No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days
Subtotal* $701.00 (plus tax & shipping)
Pretty sure Ylyrra bought an ibuypower PC and likes them. May ask her about her experience with them. I've recommended them for a while now, but have never personally dealt with them.
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Post by Ylyrra »

Yes, I bought from Ibuypower - very smooth experience. Only hiccup was apparently a cable came loose during shipment and it wasn't booting. I called their tech support and they walked me through several different steps until we found that one and the technician was very nice and patient. This was a few years ago and she still runs like a champ.
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Post by Opus »

My current pc was bought from ibuypower. I've had it for a year. I loved it up until the power supply exploded..
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Post by Opus »

Thanks a ton alsmack, that's exactly what I needed.My zero knowledge of Computers means I just needed someone to build me one with my budget..I'll be saving for and ordering it ASAP heh. I'll be getting like 730 back from my old landlord from my security deposit. So there that money goes hah
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Post by fazin »

I could build it very easily but dunno where you live heh but sounds like you got the matter in hand.
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Post by Pathius »

I just used that site to build a fake one for myself, told myself to be realistic and it still came out to $5000 :(
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Post by Opus »

fazin wrote:I could build it very easily but dunno where you live heh but sounds like you got the matter in hand.
I live in Binghamton, NY
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Post by Alsmack »

If you use their default PSU it's a little underpowered. I updated it to a decent brand and a bit more power. I'd highly recommend if you've got someone close that can help, just try to replace the PSU and see if your computer works.
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Post by Opus »

I really don't have anyone near me with any sort of computer knowledge sadly.
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Post by Nathanar »

Power supply is easy to replace just a few screws and then plugging in the new stuff to exactly where you unplug the old stuff from. You could do the connections one at a time keeping the new power supply out of the case until each connection from old power supply is replaced ( do each connection/plug one at a time). Once everything is connected, screw the new power supply in!
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