Can this $700 prebuilt be beat?

[Aerodactyl]

Hello all, about to invest in a new gaming desktop. Debated building it myself going off of Chaud's computer setup of the month, but seeing as there hasn't been one in a while I looked at some prebuilts. What I am wondering is if it is possible to get a better value, buying my own parts and putting together? Now mind you, I did try but it wasn't long but most times I exceeded the price with less components.

So basically, can you all reassure me this computer I am about to purchase here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883227595 is a good value and will play WoW wonderfully? Or, if not can you point in the direction of another good PC parts store and/or recommend me a build? For those not wanting to check link here is the specs of the comp I am considering:

iBuyPower NE654X($669)
AMD FX-Series FX-8320 (3.50GHz)
8GB DDR3 1TB HDD
Windows 8.1 64-Bit
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 2 GB

Also, here is the monitor I'm looking at. An Acer, never tried the brand before. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009484

[Deleted]

The problem is the o/s. 700$ including o/s isn't easy to beat as a price unless you have your own copy already. But that means nothing if the pc you are looking isn't any decent for the price to start with. Even with that the pc you linked is really on the low end. No name hdd and even worse, no name psu. I would try to save abit more and get something decent than wasting money on something that isn't good to start with, imagine in a couple of years.

I would look at something like the following as a base:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.90 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $769.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-27 02:10 EST-0500


After that you can add an aftermarket cpu cooler and an hdd:
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

edit: About the monitor. It is decent but its rather small. Have a look at this, similar priced but more appropriate sized:
Acer H236HLbid


edit 2: As far as if it can be beaten:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.90 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $640.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-27 02:26 EST-0500

[Kagthul]

Stay away from AMD CPUs, particularly for any game that is single-core performance capped. (This includes WoW) Their IPC is terrible, and they routinely get beaten like a drum by Intel CPUs at the same price point or lower. And that prebuilt has a GTX 750? For 700$ you're getting ripped off.

The only thing i'd do much differently than Kost's builds up there is to ditch the SSD in a budget build. The lack of storage space (256GB) vs the performance gain (not a single solitary frame per second) vs getting 4x the space (1TB) for less than half the money (about 39.99 for a 1TB 7200RPM drive) just doesn't make sense in a budget build.

Other than that, Kost's builds look solid as a rock.

[Fascinate]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16883220798R

[Squeezus]

Saying not to go with an SSD simply because it won't gain an advantage in WoW is pretty short sighted. In fact I would say an SSD should be required in nearly every setup, no excuses. The gains they provide in nearly every other facet of computing is nothing short of amazing. If you need more storage it isn't like you can't get a couple TB for under 100 bucks whether that is added on or bought a few months later when the money is saved up. And in a lot of situations someone who is either upgrading or building new already has a storage worthy drive in their old machine they can move over.

[Vash The Stampede]

Saying not to go with an SSD simply because it won't gain an advantage in WoW is pretty short sighted. In fact I would say an SSD should be required in nearly every setup, no excuses. The gains they provide in nearly every other facet of computing is nothing short of amazing. If you need more storage it isn't like you can't get a couple TB for under 100 bucks whether that is added on or bought a few months later when the money is saved up. And in a lot of situations someone who is either upgrading or building new already has a storage worthy drive in their old machine they can move over.

Faster frame rates vs loading the game up faster. Also SSD's are not very big to begin with, and you almost always need a mechanical drive anyway. So no, SSD's aren't always required. Nice to have but if you're on a low budget then no.

[Denkou]

If OP has an old HDD that he can re-use (maybe pull one from his current computer) then that would be ideal. Grab a small SSD for the OS and programs/games you use often (WoW) and have a HDD for all your other files like music and movies.

[Aerodactyl]

If OP has an old HDD that he can re-use (maybe pull one from his current computer) then that would be ideal. Grab a small SSD for the OS and programs/games you use often (WoW) and have a HDD for all your other files like music and movies.

Unfortunately not. Been using a macbook pro for a couple years now so no desktop to salvage. Cool Anjunabeats avatar, btw.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16883220798R

This one is actually really impressive...surprised I didn't see it when I looked. Definitely a good value there, considering I would have to get my own copy of windows...Still going to weigh some options over the week. Thanks for the input guys.

[Vash The Stampede]

This one is actually really impressive...surprised I didn't see it when I looked. Definitely a good value there, considering I would have to get my own copy of windows...Still going to weigh some options over the week. Thanks for the input guys.

I have to admit, for that price it ain't bad. It is an open box item so I would think twice. I adjusted Kostattoo's build to be a bit cheaper and it includes Windows 8 along with a optical drive. Prebuilt computers are great for those who are afraid to put together their own PC but building it yourself is still better.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.79 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($136.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $669.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-27 23:29 EST-0500

[Kagthul]

Saying not to go with an SSD simply because it won't gain an advantage in WoW is pretty short sighted. In fact I would say an SSD should be required in nearly every setup, no excuses. The gains they provide in nearly every other facet of computing is nothing short of amazing. If you need more storage it isn't like you can't get a couple TB for under 100 bucks whether that is added on or bought a few months later when the money is saved up. And in a lot of situations someone who is either upgrading or building new already has a storage worthy drive in their old machine they can move over.

I have 2TB of games on my drive right now. There's no SSD in existence that can meet my needs for a reasonable price, and considering the "gains they provide in every other facet of computing" that you can use them for (you cant use them for editing on a non-professional budget - not nearly enough space) amounts to about 2 minutes of saved loading times over the course of an entire day, no they aren't worth it for a budget build and never will be.

[Denkou]

Unfortunately not. Been using a macbook pro for a couple years now so no desktop to salvage. Cool Anjunabeats avatar, btw.

Thanks, you're the first one that's recognized it

Anyway if you do decide to build your own system and don't know whether to get a HDD or SSD, you have one of two logical options:

1.) Get a cheap HDD. I don't know how flexible you are in regards to your budget but a HDD will be a lot cheaper than an SSD for substantially more storage space. You can get a 1TB HDD for around $50, currently you can get a 240-256GB for $100 give or take which is widely considered to be the "sweet spot" in terms of bang for your buck price/storage.

2.) Bite the bullet and spend the extra $50 to get an SSD, which will help your machine boot up much, much quicker as well as make loading times virtually nonexistent. If you can live with having only 240-256GB of storage for a few weeks or a month or two, you can always buy the HDD later and add it to your system, since it is only $50. If you buy the HDD first and decide to add an SSD later you would (ideally) want to reinstall your OS and WoW onto the SSD, which isn't difficult but can be kind of an inconvenience to do so.

It all boils down to what you do with your system and how much space you need. Personally, all I do is browse the internet and play one or two games. I don't download any movies or music or large files, so even a 256GB SSD by itself would be more storage space than I need (although I would still tack on a 1TB HDD, just because its so cheap). Of course, some people have multiple 2TB+ HDDs and still manage to fill them all up, so it just depends on what you use your system for, really.

[Deleted]

Right, 2tb of games... and you play what all of them? No, you just got them storaged and even then you are the exemption.

As far as the ssd to hdd comparison needs. Is the ssd a must have or non go thing? No you can be alright with an hdd you will just not get that awesome responsiveness from the system an ssd can provide. Also its much easier to get a good sized ssd to start with (240-256gb) and put your o/s in it and your 5-6games, some music etc. You can save 50bucks/euros in 2months time and get that hdd for storage. If you start with hdd tho you would have to reinstall the whole lot again from hdd to ssd, too much hassle imo. If someone needs that much storage to start with you probably have storage drives either internal or external already. If you don't then you probably didn't need it to start with.

[Kagthul]

Right, 2tb of games... and you play what all of them? No, you just got them storaged and even then you are the exemption.

Your total inability to remove your own anecdotal experience from the situation does you no credit at all.

Not everyone lives places with unlimited Bandwidth. You cant just delete games over and over and re-download them. Considering some games are heading north of 60GB (Wolfenstein: THe New Order being one) 2TB of games isnt as much you seem to think it is.

Not everyone uses their computer solely for gaming and nothing else. Some people have 2-3-4TB collections of video and audio (my personal audio collection is over 3TB - because lossless, but that is stored on a NAS setup - not everyone can afford a home NAS).

People use their computers for more than an OS and 4 games. Sooner you realize that, the better.

As far as the ssd to hdd comparison needs. Is the ssd a must have or non go thing? No you can be alright with an hdd you will just not get that awesome responsiveness from the system an ssd can provide.

Overselling SSD's again. My computer cold boots from a 7200 RPM drive in just shy of 26 seconds. Is shaving that to 13 seconds going to matter? No. 13 seconds a day saved isn't going to matter in the long run. Dont get me wrong, theyre a great luxury item if you cant wait 1.2 seconds for a window to open and have to have it open NAO. Average user - particularly in a budget build, simply does NOT care.

Also its much easier to get a good sized ssd to start with (240-256gb) and put your o/s in it and your 5-6games, some music etc. You can save 50bucks/euros in 2months time and get that hdd for storage. If you start with hdd tho you would have to reinstall the whole lot again from hdd to ssd, too much hassle imo. If someone needs that much storage to start with you probably have storage drives either internal or external already. If you don't then you probably didn't need it to start with.

Um.. no.

Just upgraded my business partners personal gaming rig to an SSD (bought himself an early birthday present) from a 10,000RPM drive. Here's how the install process went:

Put in drive.
Download drive utility from manufacturer website (no DVD drive on this rig; otherwise - Insert DVD that came with drive)
Run utility.
Clone OS to SSD.
Reboot.
Done.

Entire process took 15 minutes.

Some hassle.

[Deleted]

You missed half the point. IF you already have that much stuff 2-3-4tb you already have storage drive(s) man... I said it already, ssd in not a requirement, but its cool if you can fit it in the budget to start with and get the hdd later. Its fine if you think otherwise, your opinion is respected, no point trying to argue to convince me when i see the matter differently.

[Kagthul]

Keep in mind, im not saying "never buy an SSD".

But if you're on a budget - there is ALWAYS somewhere else you can spend that money to get actual better performance other than an SSD.

I will probably add one to my own system (which is not a budget system) when my 10,000RPM drive gives up the ghost.

- - - Updated - - -

You missed half the point. IF you already have that much stuff 2-3-4tb you already have storage drive(s) man...

And you are again making the assumption that you can take the old computer apart. That will not always (or even the majority of the time) be the case.

[shise]

Your total inability to remove your own anecdotal experience from the situation does you no credit at all.



Some hassle.

Sorry but he is correct. You do not use/need 2TB of games. Anyways, if you do, you can still have an HD to store tose you rarely use and the na DDS for the real deal.

But anyways, if you are used to have HDD ll your life I guess it is harder to realize the huge difference it does.

[Kagthul]

Sorry but he is correct. You do not use/need 2TB of games.

... who do you think you are that you get to tell me what i use or need? Talk about unfounded arrogance.

Lets try this again: You live in Europe, where bandwidth is high and not capped. I (might) live in Canada, where there are only two internet providers in the entire country that collude on prices and cap bandwidth at less than 200GB per month for even the best plans, and charge exorbitant rates per GB after that 200.

Now, as it happens, i DONT live in Canda, but almost 200 million people do. Or i could live in a part of the US where my "High Speed" internet options are 3G wireless cards (1.5Mbps) or DSL (1.5Mbps-5Mbps).

Or i might live in any number of other places in the world that aren't Europe where bandwidth is cheap and unlimited that makes constantly deleting and re-downloading games completely non-viable.

And we're also completely ignoring the fact that a lot of these people HAVE THINGS OTHER THAN 3-4 GAMES ON THEIR COMPUTER.

Anyways, if you do, you can still have an HD to store tose you rarely use and the na DDS for the real deal.

Thats the point you're missing - in a budget build, YOU CANT HAVE BOTH. Because its a budget build, and you cant waste money on redundant hardware. You're trying to get the most gaming performance, and saving 70$ to put towards a better GPU (and gaining 4x the storage) will ALWAYS be a better buy.

But anyways, if you are used to have HDD ll your life I guess it is harder to realize the huge difference it does.

More baseless assumptions.

SSD in my laptop? Check.
SSD in my daily-driver Mac Mini (actually 2x of them in Raid 0, even, so its even faster)? Check.
10,000RPM Raptor in my Gaming PC. Check.

More SSDs in daily use than non SSDs - Check.

The gains simply aren't what you're trying to portray them to be in daily computing.

At BEST you're saving, if you sit at your computer all day, a few minutes of aggregate time. Less if you dont load/unload data all the time - if you're sitting in one game or application that has already loaded the majority of its assets, you're seeing NO gain of any kind.

Every benchmark in the world will support what im saying. even if an SSD cuts every load from the the hard drive in half, you're talking a few minutes of saved time per day, at the absolute best, cutting most tasks from 1-2sec to 1sec.

Unless you're doing massive file movement or editing, which, again, we've covered - you're not doing that on even an enthusiasts budget. If you're doing that - you're a professional with a workstation class computer and so far outside the realm of this conversation its not even worth discussing.

[Vash The Stampede]

Right, 2tb of games... and you play what all of them? No, you just got them storaged and even then you are the exemption.

Yea I mean who does that. <.< >.>

But yea I have a 2tb full of games. Most of which are games I switch between. Any bad game I play gets uninstalled immediately due to space. But yea new games are like 50GB per game.

[Lathais]

Saying not to go with an SSD simply because it won't gain an advantage in WoW is pretty short sighted. In fact I would say an SSD should be required in nearly every setup, no excuses. The gains they provide in nearly every other facet of computing is nothing short of amazing. If you need more storage it isn't like you can't get a couple TB for under 100 bucks whether that is added on or bought a few months later when the money is saved up. And in a lot of situations someone who is either upgrading or building new already has a storage worthy drive in their old machine they can move over.

This is true, unless you are on a budget. I would much rather pick up a $40 drive over a $100 SSD and put that $60 into a better GPU. Are you saying you'd rather have an SSD instead of a better GPU? That's what it sounds like. When on a budget it literally comes to a choice of one or the other.