greystar21
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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Hello all,
My laptop isn't cutting it for gaming anymore, and my computer is so dated it isn't funny. So...I need a decent gaming rig for around $1,000.
I was looking at a Asus laptop for $1200 on Newegg ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834230028 )
I was also looking at this stand alone computer ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229269 )
Im not sure I want to build....it's been about 8 yrs since I helped build my computer, and Im on the edge as far as should I/shouldn't I build.
If I could build and spend considerably less money, then I will, but Ive been out of the game too long to know what to get & what goes with what (mobo+cpu, etc).
Any and all help is appreciated!
Thank you
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Ravynmagi
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227378
This is going to be nearly as good, for over almost $250 less money. The CPU is going to perform about the same for gaming since most games won't really use the Hyperthreading in the i7. And the 6870 is on par with the GTX 560. The hard drive is only 1TB.
I also like that this system uses a full sized ATX motherboard, gives you more flexibility to add extra cards later.
Be careful about the power supplies. The may say 700 or 800 watts. But you should treat them like 500 or 600 watt PSU because they are very cheap. So not recommended that you add a second video card to these types of systems unless you replace the power supply first.
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greystar21
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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Ravyn, you are the bomb! I was literally going to PM you to get your thoughts on what I should get.
Let me take a look at this further!
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greystar21
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Subject:
Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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My old CRT monitor isn't going to work with this- not because the monitor is bad (the picture is fine!), but because we moved and I no longer have room for something as bulky as a CRT.
I looked at Newegg and found this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236052
Looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227378, I am trying to see what else I will need.
Aside from a monitor, I will also need a wireless adapter as this is going into our Master bedroom rather than the living room where the router is located. The highest rated adapter on Newegg is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704045. Hopefully there won't be any issues with Win 7 or the motherboard, as one of the reviewers is having an issue with it.
I have a sound system & subwoofer. All I plan on doing is playing games on this thing...will the on-board sound adapter be adequate?
Thoughts?
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greystar21
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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Does it make sense to spend the extra $100 on http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227382
Is it worth the money to go from an i5 core from the previous system discussed to a i7 core?
This system also has double the ram. The video card is NVidia though...how are they doing these days? Years ago, they were head to head with ATI.
The specs according to a user review are:
Motherboard: ASRock P67 Pro SE
Video card: Sparkle GTX560(PCI-E)2048mb
Power supply:Xion 700 Watt
DVD R/W Drive: LiteOn IHAS124
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 9YP154-304
Memory: 16GB Adata DDR3 1333 (4x4gB)
Thoughts?
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Ravynmagi
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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Regarding the i5 vs i7 systems.
That i7 system looks pretty decent for only $100 more. Looking at these both closely I'd say it comes down your opinion on the cases.
The i7 and 16GB RAM probably not going to do that much to improve performance. But for only $100 I'd probably go for it. However I I don't really like the case that comes with the i7 system, it looks cheaper. It's smaller, has room for fewer fans, fewer hard drives, and the baby blue accents are a bit ugly.
But cases are really subjective. Someone else may like the case being smaller and the looks.
I like the i5 case, because it has two 120mm fans in top, has 8 drive bays divided into two pairs of 4 bays each cooled by a 120mm fan. So this has room for 6 fans. While the other case is limited to 3 fans and 5 drive bays. The i5 case also has some interesting LED lighting in the front which may or may not turn someone off.
It's close though. Both systems are nice. If you like the i7's smaller case, then I'd say it's worth the extra $100.
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Ravynmagi
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Subject:
Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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I haven't really looked at monitors in a while. I tend to just stick with Dell. But I hear good things about ASUS. And the reviews seem good.
Just a quick thing about monitors. There are basically three types of panels. TN, MVA, and IPS. TN are the cheapest and most common monitor panel. They have very fast response times, but if you look at the from off angles the picture fades badly. It's not a problem if you are sitting infront of the monitor really. Contrast on these monitors is acceptable, but less than other panel types.
IPS are the most expensive, have very good colors, contrast, and viewing angles. They are a bit slower, but these days fast enough that it's a non issue. These monitors usually cost 3 times as much as a TN monitor.
MVA (also PVA) are the middle child. Better quality than TN, less than IPS. And cost about twice as much as TN and less than IPS.
Sadly manufactures usually don't call attention to what kind of panel the monitor uses. You'll have to do some research. But the price usually is a big clue.
The ASUS is definitely a TN at that price. And most people find these completely suitable for gaming and everyday use.
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Ravynmagi
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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I got nothing on the wireless USB network adapter. My house has LAN wiring throughout. I can wire an ethernet jack in my bathroom if needed. 
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Acidspits
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Subject:
Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Asus-VS248H-P-24-LED-LCD-Monitor-16-9-2-ms/6052677/product.html
I recommend this monitor. Just got it for Christmas, and it is one of the top rated monitors on Newegg.
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greystar21
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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I dislike the look of the case as well, if it wasn't for one of the reviewers to state that it didn't look as bad IRL compared to the picture, I wouldn't have given it another thought.
Is the extra $100 for the additional RAM, the processor and the Geforce card? Is the graphics card essentially the same as the Radeon?
Did any of the parts/manufacturers listed cause you any heartburn? Some I had never heard of, such as the maker of the gfx card.
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Acidspits
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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I've never owned a Xion or Sparkle product, but I would say everything else sounds good. As far as the Sparkle video card, it shouldn't matter as they don't really differ from the reference cards that Nvidia provides.
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Ravynmagi
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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greystar21 posted:
I dislike the look of the case as well, if it wasn't for one of the reviewers to state that it didn't look as bad IRL compared to the picture, I wouldn't have given it another thought.
Is the extra $100 for the additional RAM, the processor and the Geforce card? Is the graphics card essentially the same as the Radeon?
Did any of the parts/manufacturers listed cause you any heartburn? Some I had never heard of, such as the maker of the gfx card.
Ignoring the cases, I would spend the extra $100 for the better CPU, memory, and graphics card. Because at the very least I'm sure I'd add more memory eventually anyway.
Both graphics cards should have about the same performance. I favor the Nvidia for marginal reasons. For a single mid range card, both of these reasons probably will not have much real impact. But Nvidia is quicker to release updated beta drivers for new games. This isn't too important for a single card as these drivers are mostly need for their SLI profiles. But they sometimes add 5 to 10% more performance for single cards too. Also I like the cooler on Nvidia cards. AMD coolers are less efficient and nosier. I think it's a non issue on mid range cards because they output much less heat than high end cards, so either cooler will probably be fine and quiet enough anyway.
As brands. ASRock makes the motherboard. It's actually pretty decent. Not ASUS, Gigabyte, or MSI good. But ASRock is owned by ASUS and is their lower end brand and has lately been doing some decent things with their motherboards.
XFX makes the Radeon 6870 card in one of the systems. I love XFX, great customer service. I have no idea who makes the GTX 560 in the other system.
The power supplies in both are naturally nothing to write home about.
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Ravynmagi
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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Acidspits posted:
I've never owned a Xion or Sparkle product, but I would say everything else sounds good. As far as the Sparkle video card, it shouldn't matter as they don't really differ from the reference cards that Nvidia provides.
Ah, the GTX 560 is from Sparkle? That's a Taiwanese company, you'll likely have to deal with a third party contractor in the United States for customer support. Chances are you might even have to pay a service fee if you ever need to have the card RMA'ed. Though you may never need to do this. And since the card is purchased with a prebuilt iBuypower PC, I imagine you'd go for them for support or RMA service anyway at least for the first year.
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greystar21
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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Ravynmagi,
Speaking of warranties, do you have any experience with Newegg warranties with regard to prebuilt systems?
I have the following option:
Service Net Desktop PC Onsite Extended Warranty Plan
Desktops serviced via onsite repair or by authorized repair facility if applicable. All shipping charges are covered.(more info)
1 year: $79.99
2 year: $125.99
Is this worth it?
Also, what you said earlier is striking home with regard to the case. It appears to have one on the back & top, and according to one reviewer, one on the bottom? That makes no sense at all! Is that enough airflow, as I am used to having one on the side as well. (this is for gaming)
I have no idea how long it will take Newegg to get the original system (1st discussed) back in stock. It's been over 5 yrs since I bought anything from them.
Im trying to think of other negatives for the smaller case...
If my thoughts are in order, the pro & cons of the smaller case build (2nd one discussed) are:
Pro's: better CPU, 2x the RAM and a slightly better graphics card
Con's: Less airflow (but by how much?), inability to expand the system further or as much as possible.
I may be simplifying this, but I like the idea of a larger case for airflow more than anything. The probability of me upgrading parts on a yearly basis is not very good. I might upgrade the RAM, depending how the 4x4gb RAM sticks that come with the 2nd system performed (if I went with that system), and at some point I would put in a Blu Ray drive.
So I guess at this point I am stumped at how much worse the airflow would be for the 2nd system compared to the first, and whether or not it would make that much of a difference.
Thoughts?
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Ravynmagi
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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I haven't dealt with their warranties. For me I usually skip the warranties and take my chances. For $80 it sounds like you are paying for the convenience and time savings of having someone come to your home to fix/replace the issue. I'd probably just take my chances and deal with maybe a $15 to $30 shipping fee if I had to RMA something to the manufacture instead. Usually everything should come with at least a 1 year manufacture warranty for free.
As for the cases. If you are not overclocking the CPU, not going to put in a second video card, then the smaller case will probably provide sufficient air flow. If it doesn't, you can spend $30 for three Scythe Slipstream fans.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185059
Though an advantage of having more fans is that you can use lower RPM fans and keep things quieter as well. But the Slipstream fans are pretty good and don't add too much noise.
Regarding RAM. You should have no need to replace the memory for performance. There is very little performance gained from faster memory these days on the Intel platform.
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greystar21
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Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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Ok, I just saw something that doesn't make sense, and I need another opinion. I was looking at the motherboard and where I would put the wireless adapter I need to purchase with the machine (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127218).
If you look at the side picture of this system (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227382) with the side panels off, so you can get a good look at the motherboard.
Then compare it to this picture of the motherboard itself (http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/fullimage.php?image=31622), what I see is that the PSU is covering the three remaining PCI-e slots.
Unless the two pictures are of two different ASROCK motherboards, for the computer in question, I do not see any additional PCI-e slots.
Are you seeing the same thing, or am I missing something?
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JRave2002
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Subject:
Laptop not cutting it- need a gaming rig for around 1k
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They are different motherboards.
The one in the Ibuypower system only has 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (PCIE2 @ x16 mode; PCIE4@ x4 mode) and 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots.
The motherboard image you linked has 1 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, 3 x PCI Express 2.0 x1 slots, and 3 x PCI Slots.
Sadly I can't find info about what MB is in the Ibuypower system. It seems they send off old/outdated models to Newegg and other sites and remove them from their website. I can't find Gamer Supreme anywhere to look up possible parts.
It looks like the wireless card is PCI-e 1x. If thats the case, you can install it above the videocard after looking at the image of the motherboard. The 2nd PCI-e is covered by the video card cooler.
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greystar21
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It looks like Im back to square one...it's not on Newegg anymore.
Great...now to find another system. Any and all help is appreciated!
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greystar21
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Edit:
Thoughts on this: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=851786&CatId=1886?
Now Im paying more for less it seems. Is this worthwhile?
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greystar21
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Sweet, check this out... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1277082&Sku=SYX-1113
Thoughts on this one compared to the other post above?
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greystar21
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Ok, it's back on the market (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227382).
Can ANYONE tell me where the additional PCI-e slots are located?
I need to connect at least one D-Link PCI-Express Wireless adapter, and from what i can see from the pictures, it does not give any room for upgrading.
I need someone with tech knowledge to take a look and tell me whether or not I am crazy, or if in fact the GPU is taking up all the slots available.
THANK YOU!!!
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