New Desktop

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
Rapitiss
Officer
Posts: 5050
https://www.behance.net/kuchnie-warszawa
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:50 pm

New Desktop

Post by Rapitiss »

Ramlaum asked for some advice on getting a new desktop. His 10+ year old desktop finally died ...

Budget is ~ $1200. Maybe a bit higher if its a nice bump.

I looked at the machines from bestbuy and microcenter and so far the best one I found is:


https://www.microcenter.com/product/635 ... -gaming-pc
$1150 - CPU AMD 5600X 3.7 Ghz base clock - 16 GB ram / 2666 speed (really?) - RTX 3060 - 500 GB SSD

Its kind of sad that its only a 500 GB SSD instead of 1 TB but probably ok. I'm hoping the RAM is actually faster and its just listed at the 2666 spec.


The other machines from HP are ok but I don't like the that the front of the case is closed off with only a tiny set of holes in the side to let air in.

I don't want to suggest using a dell because they are notorious for using proprietary components.

Anyone have a better suggestion ?

I would be nice if its a local store ( Chicago area ) to make returns easier.

ps. He picked up an ibuypower gaming PC from bestbuy and had troubles with it out of the box. Driver issues and random shutdowns.
Twinkeltoes
Officer
Posts: 1064
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:26 am

Post by Twinkeltoes »

Judging from the P.S. he didn't love what he got. I'm in the same boat. I'm Looking for a PC. I've been using my lap top and it's working nicely but with more and more school work for engineering I'm using the lap top for what I bought it for....school. I "could" just get another lap top since it seems to be working fine, but I would think I could get a better performing PC that can be more responsive to all the multiple accounts I run for a similar price if not better. So any suggestions for that would be appreciated.

P.S. I am willing to wait for Black Friday/Cyber Monday says which are now basically month of November sales. not pressed on getting it, but it would be nice
<a href="http://eq.magelo.com/profile/860120" target="_blank"><img src="http://eq.sig.magelo.com/860120.png" border="0"></a>"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools"
Rapitiss
Officer
Posts: 5050
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:50 pm

Post by Rapitiss »

I follow the tech news and it is a good time to buy.

Crypto cycle is in the bust phase. There are multiple new generation CPU/GPU's being lunched this month, and overall PC sales are down which means excess inventory to sell.

Unfortunately, tariffs, inflation, etc. have increased prices.


In general I'm a big fan of microcenter. They are one of the few big tech chains still alive. Their PC's use fairly standard stock components which means that its easy to get replacement parts or swap out things later if you decide to upgrade later.

If you have a microcenter close to you, you can pick it up in person and avoid risk of it being damaged in shipping.


As far as recommendation for EQ / Boxing.

CPU Core/RAM = 1GB/core per character + 2 GB for the OS.
GPU ~ 1/4 to 1/3 of the overall price being the GPU - NVidia 3060 - 2070 - 1070/1080 are kind of the sweet spot of higher end GPU's.


https://www.microcenter.com/product/650 ... -gaming-pc

$1500 :

CPU: AMD 5700x - 8 core / 16 thread 3.4 ghz
GPU: NVidia 3060ti - very capable video card
RAM: 32GB - DDR4 3200 ram - sweet spot for ram.

Down side is water cooling. This is a personal preference. A lot of people have no problems.


For fun I did a PC Parts picker ( this is just a quick pick based on PC parts I've used before - would still need to verify compatability )

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QZvKMb

$1560

CPU: AMD 5900x - 12 core / 24 thread 3.7 ghz $385 - The 5700x is ~ $250 and probably would still be plenty.
GPU: Nvidia 3060 - $370 - These look like the still move fairly quickly.
CPU cooler is a NH-D15 air cooler. They are big and perform on par with the lower end water coolers with out the risk of ... water.
RAM: 32 GB - DDR4-3200 - $90

I used the Fractal Design Meshify for my last build and it is a very nice high airflow case. PSU prices are a bit higher than I expected across the board.
Rapitiss
Officer
Posts: 5050
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:50 pm

Post by Rapitiss »

The last build I did specifically for boxing as many EQ clients as possible was:

CPU: AMD 3950X - 16 core / 32 thread ~ $800
GPU: Asus Geforce 2070 ~ $400
RAM: 64 GB GSkill DDR4-3600
MB: Asus Prime X570-P
PSU: EVGA 650 Gold
SSD: 1TB WD Black NVME
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ~ $100
CPU Cooler: Noctura DH-16 Chromax black ~ $100

Total cost was $2300 which was easily 2x the cost of any machine I'd ever put together. On the other hand this machine is a BEAST when it comes to crunching numbers or running a ton of EQ clients.

It is also WHISPER quiet. Even under load you can barely hear the fans. Temps for both CPU and GPU under load are around 60 deg C.
Amadues
Posts: 65
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2021 8:59 pm

Costco

Post by Amadues »

I have seen some really good sales at Costco lately, that is if you have access to Costco.

https://www.costco.com/hp-victus-gaming ... 56482.html

https://www.costco.com/lenovo-ideacentr ... 51985.html
Twinkeltoes
Officer
Posts: 1064
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:26 am

Re: Costco

Post by Twinkeltoes »

Amadues wrote:I have seen some really good sales at Costco lately, that is if you have access to Costco.

https://www.costco.com/hp-victus-gaming ... 56482.html

https://www.costco.com/lenovo-ideacentr ... 51985.html
We have BJ's memberships but I have family that has Costco's I could get it from. However, when ever I've purchased any kind of electronics from either they tend to be lower end on the performance. Basically get the named brand but lower end version and think you're getting something upper end because of the brand. I tend to stay away from them unless someone who knows the stuff tells me otherwise.
<a href="http://eq.magelo.com/profile/860120" target="_blank"><img src="http://eq.sig.magelo.com/860120.png" border="0"></a>"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools"
Gibsalot
Posts: 137
Joined: Mon May 25, 2020 12:56 am

Post by Gibsalot »

thats basicly what i do i build in PC part picker my two go to places are Microcenter and Newegg , ill compair prices on both if its close ill always take microcenter over newegg simply becaue i can go there in person to pick up or return if i run into any issues ...... submit my order and set up a trip to Cincinnati Microcenter , almost always make a day of it and stop by the parents house and say hello while in town
Beldin Feldegast
Halaster themad
Twinkeltoes
Officer
Posts: 1064
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:26 am

Post by Twinkeltoes »

Ok, swung by Best Buy today and ended up purchasing a build. Still waiting on parts to come in and they'll put it together for me next weekish. I have time to change and or cancel the order if need be and they will price match for the next 60 days so as things go on sale for Black Friday as expected I can have them refund the difference which is huge (I'm expecting at least $250-300 back from sale prices). I also happen to have a Best Buy credit card so I'm getting 12 months 0 financing (possibly even 24 months if I call and request it).

After showing the rep Rapitiss' main boxing build and the dude totally geeked out over it I asked him to see what he could do for $1500ish (I went over but mostly due to 1) warranty, 2)I also got 2 monitors, 3) tax.

Best Buy Totaltech membership (extended warranty) - 199.99
Windows 11 Home USB Flash Drive - $139
Samsung - Odyssey Gaming CRG5 Series 24" LED Curved FHD FreeSync Monitors (x2) - $159.99 each
Samsung - 980 1TB Internal Gaming SSD PCle Gen 3 x4 NVMe - $89.99
Cooler Master - Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 120mm CPU Cooling Fan - 49.99
NZXT - H510 Compact ATX Mid-Tower Case with Tempered Glass - $53.99
CORSAIR - CX-M Series CX750M Semi-Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply - $69.99
CORSAIR - VENGEANCE LPX CMK32GX4M2E3200C16 32GB (2PK X 16GB) 3200mhZ DDR4 C16 DIMM Desktop
Memory - 89.99
ASUS - ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING AM4 Socket USB 3.2 AMD Motherboard - $179.99
AMD - Ryzen 7 5800x 4th Gen 8-core, 16 threads Unlocked Desktop Processor Without Cooler - $289.00
PNY - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3008 10GB XLRS Gaming REVEL EPIC-X RGB PCI Express 4.0 Graphics Card LHR with
Triple Fan - $729.99

The build itself was about $1700, another $200 for warranty, and $320 for monitors, after tax I paid $2400 total, hopefully I'll get some money back with sales next month. I typically don't do warranties but now I get to have GeekSquad put it together for me and if there are any issues I'm covered over most of it the next 2 years.

Thoughts?
<a href="http://eq.magelo.com/profile/860120" target="_blank"><img src="http://eq.sig.magelo.com/860120.png" border="0"></a>"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools"
Rapitiss
Officer
Posts: 5050
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:50 pm

Post by Rapitiss »

Good: CPU is a very good 8 core/16 thread part with decent motherboard with solid memory.

Bad: Horrible choice of airflow. PSU is non rated garbage. The GPU is good but overkill.

TLDR: Better to drop down to a 3060 TI and put the ~$350 into better case/PSU.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Case: Corsair 4000D AirFlow Mid Tower ~$105
PSU: Corsair CP-9020234-NA 750 W - Gold ~$125

Best buy doesn't have any of the `good` CPU fans so the Hyper 212 is what you get unless you go all in one water.

GPU: NVidia GeForce RTX 3060 TI 8GB - $400


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When you build a high performance computer you want very good airflow and good power.

The case should have an open 'mesh' front with 2x 120 mm fans or 3x 80 mm fans.

The NZXT - H510 is a closed front panel with little grills on the sides for air intake. This is a VERY bad case.

The Cooler Master - Hyper 212 - is a good cooler for the price, and I've used them before. There are better coolers out there like the Noctua or be Be Quiet line but best buy doesn't carry them so you're stuck with this as an air cooler.

The CX-M is a low end power supply (PSU). Normally a PSU has a label saying its certified bonze, silver, gold, platinum, titanium. Those ratings tell you how efficient the PSU is over the expected range of use. High end GPU put a lot of load on the PSU and having a low quality PSU can lead to 'BAD' things happening. Generally speaking the higher the ranking the better components the PSU has, and the better it will deal with power spikes.

The 3080's are known to push the power supplies hard.

The estimated power for the system is 550 W so you want ~ 750W PSU ( 30% head room ).

If you drop down to the 3060 TI the estimated power is ~ 400W giving that 750W PSU 45% head room.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

VERY BAD: NZXT - H510 Compact ATX Mid-Tower Case with Tempered Glass - $53.99
BAD: CORSAIR - CX-M Series CX750M Semi-Modular Low-Noise ATX Power Supply - $69.99

MEH: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 120mm CPU Cooling Fan - 49.99

GOOD: Samsung - 980 1TB Internal Gaming SSD PCle Gen 3 x4 NVMe - $89.99
GOOD: CORSAIR - VENGEANCE LPX CMK32GX4M2E3200C16 32GB (2PK X 16GB) 3200mhZ DDR4 C16 DIMM - 89.99
GOOD: ASUS - ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING AM4 Socket USB 3.2 AMD Motherboard - $179.99
GOOD: AMD - Ryzen 7 5800x 4th Gen 8-core, 16 threads Unlocked Desktop Processor Without Cooler - $289.00

GOOD: PNY - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB XLRS Gaming REVEL EPIC-X RGB PCI Express 4.0 Graphics Card LHR with Triple Fan - $729.99

--------------- options ---------------

PNY - GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB - $580
NVidia GeForce RTX 3060 TI 8GB - $400

Personally I think the 3080's are still way over priced.

The NVidia RTX 3060 TI at $400 is very solid. It will vastly out perform GeForce 2070 which has no problems running 20+ clients.
Twinkeltoes
Officer
Posts: 1064
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:26 am

Post by Twinkeltoes »

Thanks for the input. He suggested the 3080 as it would not have to be upgraded as soon as the 3070 would (he didn't mention the 3060) I'll call up later and swap that out for the NVidia RTX 3060.
I'm not sure if I need to purchase all the parts from there for GeekSquad to assemble it or not. I'm thinking I can but I'll confirm when I call to swap out the graphic cards. If I can get outside parts. Do you still recommend sticking with BestBuy's:
Case: Corsair 4000D AirFlow Mid Tower ~$105
PSU: Corsair CP-9020234-NA 750 W - Gold ~$125
and pick up a fan from someplace else (as I remember you telling me you hate water cooling) As it sounds like that is the only item you don't recommend out of the BestBuy Catalog
<a href="http://eq.magelo.com/profile/860120" target="_blank"><img src="http://eq.sig.magelo.com/860120.png" border="0"></a>"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools"
Rapitiss
Officer
Posts: 5050
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:50 pm

Post by Rapitiss »

From Phaolin:

https://www.scdkey.com/

Which version do you want?

There are many different versions of windows.

The "OEM" or "Bulk License" keys are often very cheap. $20-$30. The "key" is tied to your motherboard. Once activated it is locked to that board.

The consumer $120+ versions are tied to the user. In theory you can often upgrade to newer hardware and newer versions of windows when it comes out for free.
Twinkeltoes
Officer
Posts: 1064
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2009 1:26 am

Post by Twinkeltoes »

<a href="http://eq.magelo.com/profile/860120" target="_blank"><img src="http://eq.sig.magelo.com/860120.png" border="0"></a>"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools"
Post Reply