Re: Alienware --
I'll also be needing a new computer soon and figure I'll just get a gaming one for DA:I. I'm ignorant about computers and certainly can't build one myself but I was originally eyeing Alienware just because of name recognition frankly. What's wrong with Alienware exactly? Someone stop me from making a huge mistake!
Re: Alienware --
I'll also be needing a new computer soon and figure I'll just get a gaming one for DA:I. I'm ignorant about computers and certainly can't build one myself but I was originally eyeing Alienware just because of name recognition frankly. What's wrong with Alienware exactly? Someone stop me from making a huge mistake!
Alienware is ridiculously overpriced and skimping on quality wherever they can to maximize their profit margin.
You can give me any Alienware PC and I can almost guarantee I can make a better system for the same money, or the same system for less.
Alienware is ridiculously overpriced and skimping on quality wherever they can to maximize their profit margin.
You can give me any Alienware PC and I can almost guarantee I can make a better system for the same money, or the same system for less.
I figured. I'm looking at this from MSI, it seems pretty reasonable:
http://www.bestbuy.c...aptop&cp=1&lp=1
2GB VRAM is more than enough for up to 1440p resolutions. DirectX VRAM usage tops out at around 1.5GB, the rest is preloaded assets or leftovers, practically datajunk.
Only Mantle can actually use more VRAM and for that you require AMD GPUs, which historically come with more VRAM to begin with.
watch_dogs in particular is a very bad example, because the game is suffering from insane video memory leaks and no amount of VRAM can solve that problem.
In my case, I run a heavily modded Skyrim that uses up pretty much all of of my 2GB. But again, bad example considering Skyrim is horribly optimized even without a bunch of fancy shaders and textures.
I figured. I'm looking at this from MSI, it seems pretty reasonable:
http://www.bestbuy.c...aptop&cp=1&lp=1
plus, a 5400 rpm HDD. Ugh.. Have fun memorizing those loading screens.
Re: Alienware --
I'll also be needing a new computer soon and figure I'll just get a gaming one for DA:I. I'm ignorant about computers and certainly can't build one myself but I was originally eyeing Alienware just because of name recognition frankly. What's wrong with Alienware exactly? Someone stop me from making a huge mistake!
I personally think that alienware is not very good value. You can get more bang for your buck elsewhere. I live in Ireland, so I'd recommend the UK company PC Specialist. Sorry to not know anyone on your side of the pond! However, there must be plenty of companies over there that make custom systems at a good price.
I figured. I'm looking at this from MSI, it seems pretty reasonable:
Do you absolutely need a laptop?
If no, tell me your budget, what you want to use the PC for and what exactly you need and I can search for recommendations. I already know I can make a faster PC rig for 700 bucks than what that laptop can dish out.
Do you absolutely need a laptop?
If no, tell me your budget, what you want to use the PC for and what exactly you need and I can search for recommendations. I already know I can make a faster PC rig for 700 bucks than what that laptop can dish out.
Well I guess not absolutely, no, but I'd prefer it over a desktop -- mainly because I'd like to take it to cafes, libraries, etc. to work from or take it with me when I travel (I guess I have my old laptop for that, but it's on its last legs). One of the main priorities is running Inquisition on as high-performing a machine as possible. Other than that I basically use it for standard Micorsoft office, email, internet, streaming movies, tv, reading the news, posting on forums etc. I'd prefer to keep it under $1,000 and will absolutely go no higher than $1,200-$1,300. Are laptops more expensive than desktops?
Thanks for your help btw!
As others have said we really need to know if you need a monitor, operating system, kb+m or if you want to do any overclocking. But I came up with something anyway.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bnnrRB
I'm also gonna explain my choices a little as well.
CPU: i5 4670K
I've seen loads of people recommend I7s but for gaming there really isn't much point seeing as most modern games are GPU bound. You would be much better off, and see higher frame rates spending the money saved by getting a I5 over a I7 on a better GPU. Also as its a K variant it can be overclocked, so if you feel the performance is starting to slip in a few years time you can up the clock speeds a little and hopefully gain a decent performance boost.
CPU Cooler: Dark Rock Advanced C1
Now you can't have a K series CPU and not have a good cooler for it. Although i'm not sure if this is even available in the US but I personally love this cooler mainly for its looks and its quietness but it doesn't perform much better than the CM Hyper 212 evo. So if its not available or you don't care about looks then just grab that instead.
Mobo: MSI Z87 G45 Gaming
I haven't had any personal experience with this motherboard but i've heard good things from reviews and it comes with all the essentials at a reasonable price point.That being said, its not the best overclocking motherboard ever so don't expect to be hitting 5GHZ on it if you do decide to overclock.
RAM: Patriot Viper 8GB
Not much to say about this, RAM is RAM so feel free to swap this out for any other kit if you want. I would stick with 8GB though. Games struggle to use more than 5GB from what i've seen. Anyway if you feel 8GB is lacking then you can always add another 8GB down the line.
SSD: Samsung 840 evo 120gb
I own one of these and it's bloody fantastic, just shove the operating system and your most used programs on this and you're good to go.
HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda
Well you have to have somewhere to put all your games.
GPU: Gigabyte R9 280X
I chose this over the Nvidia 770 because DAI running on the frostbite engine is likely to get AMD Mantle support which should offer a nice performance boost over the Nvidia counterpart. The 3GB Vram also makes it a good choice from a future proofing perspective as well seeing as modern games are getting close to using more than 2GB at 1080P. If you really don't want to go AMD the Nvidia 770 isn't bad either, I just think it's a touch overpriced for what it is.
As a side note Nvida is supposed to be launching the 800 series in November so it might be worth waiting and seeing what that's about before buying.
Case: Fractal Design Define R4
From what i've read in reviews this is one of the best ATX cases on the market right now, I personally love its looks and the sound dampening material will keep noise to a minimum.
PSU: Corsair CSM 550W
Contrary to popular belief you really don't need more that 550w for a single GPU system, especially with Haswell being so power efficient. You could up it to the 650w Version if you feel uncomfortable with that wattage though. As for the PSU itself Corsair have proven themselves to be one of the more reliable companies alongside Seasonic so I wouldn't be concerned about it blowing up or anything. The 80+ Gold efficiency will keep energy bills relatively low as a bonus.
OS: Windows 7/8 Your choice
Monitor: I don't really know much about this, I just put it there so you could get an idea on the pricing.
Note: Sorry if for any spelling mistakes, Dyslexia's a ******.
Edit: Oh god I just saw how long this post is... I think I might have got a bit carried away 
Well I guess not absolutely, no, but I'd prefer it over a desktop -- mainly because I'd like to take it to cafes, libraries, etc. to work from or take it with me when I travel (I guess I have my old laptop for that, but it's on its last legs). One of the main priorities is running Inquisition on as high-performing a machine as possible. Other than that I basically use it for standard Micorsoft office, email, internet, streaming movies, tv, reading the news, posting on forums etc. I'd prefer to keep it under $1,000 and will absolutely go no higher than $1,200-$1,300. Are laptops more expensive than desktops?
Thanks for your help btw!
My PC advise is don't get any graphic card lower than Geforce 670 or 760 in Nvidia GPUs. Or lower than AMD Radeon R9 280.
The power should be over 800W (for more safety). I have burnt 3 powers in the last decade, so I suggest it this way.
Also Core i7 is overrated. Get the better models of Core i5.
The power should be over 800W (for more safety). I have burnt 3 powers in the last decade, so I suggest it this way.
No.
Getting a PSU with too much wattage is exactly the reason why your PSUs blow up. They only work efficiently if they are stressed to 80% load or more (hence the 80+ certification). If you have a 800W PSU but your system draws only 450W, you will have terrible efficiency and that will lower your PSUs life expectancy. If you then have a poor quality PSU on top of that, you'll burn through them at a costly rate.
I generally recommend PSUs made by SeaSonic and FSP (used by Corsair, SilverStone and Be Quiet! for example).
Getting a PSU with too much wattage is exactly the reason why your PSUs blow up. They only work efficiently if they are stressed to 80% load or more (hence the 80+ certification). If you have a 800W PSU but your system draws only 450W, you will have terrible efficiency and that will lower your PSUs life expectancy. If you then have a poor quality PSU on top of that, you'll burn through them at a costly rate.
Just a few things to remember:
Do not ditch your power supply. Running into PSU issues is probably the most infuriating thing. It might also be a good idea to make sure it is modular.
Always make sure your motherboard is compatible with everything else.
That's not true at all. 80+ is saying that it has 80% efficiency at 20%, 50%, and 100% load conditions. Your computer is not drawing load at all times. That would be a silly waste of energy. Nothing you do like that is likely to shorten the life of your PSU unless you try to overload it or overheat it. However, as capacitors age, they degrade, so you typically want to add a bit of wiggle room as well depending on your expected load power draw.
Huh, you never stop learning.
That also means I'll have to come back at a couple "engineers" in a tech forum ...
Huh, you never stop learning.
That also means I'll have to come back at a couple "engineers" in a tech forum ...
Is there such a thing as "too much power"?
Generally, no. A power supply only puts out as much power as needed by the system's components. In some cases, an 800W power supply may actually use less power from the wall than a 500W power supply, depending on the efficiency of the units. Often times, buying an "oversized" PSU is a good choice due to it's ability to perform even under higher temperatures, a quieter fan because the unit is delivering a lower percentage of it's total capability and considerable system upgradability without having to worry about having enough power when upgrading a graphics card, adding a graphics card for SLI or additional hard drives.
Even though this seems to be largely resolved, I am going to put in my two sense on this subject.
It depends on the kind of "strategy" you want to use, the types of games you want to play, and how your budget will go in the future.
For myself I treat a computer as 4 different parts:
1. Mobo+CPU+Ram
2. Video Card+Hard Drive
3. Case + PSU
4. Peripherals
Instead of doing a big buy for my computer I typically just rotate through the different areas and I stay not at the top of the game but in the midish high region. And some things you are able to keep up without too much issue.
I for example bought a Coolermaster Stacker 830 (it was ~250) 8 years ago and still use it for all my new system builds, only thing that I miss really on it is USB 3.
Anyways just a random thought to consider going forward.
Generally speaking I would buy:
Intel for Proc
Asus for Mobo
AMD for Video card (if you are asking for DAI)
Corsair for PSU (All except their builder series is actually made by Seasonic)
Ram doesnt matter that much
Samsung for SSD
WD for Platter Drive
Generally speaking I would buy:
AMD for Video card (if you are asking for DAI)
Have AMD drivers been better as of late? My experience with them, though it's been a couple years or so, was a lot of frustration.
No.
Getting a PSU with too much wattage is exactly the reason why your PSUs blow up. They only work efficiently if they are stressed to 80% load or more (hence the 80+ certification). If you have a 800W PSU but your system draws only 450W, you will have terrible efficiency and that will lower your PSUs life expectancy. If you then have a poor quality PSU on top of that, you'll burn through them at a costly rate.
That is not what the 80+ certification means.
A PSU that is 80+ certified simply means the PSU will be at least 80% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load.
What you just said doesn't make any sense at all. You will never burn out a PSU by NOT stressing it. While your PSU is a bit less efficient when your computer is not drawing too much power (like when it's idle), BUT it only draws as much power as it needs thus making the low load efficiency argument pretty much irrelevant.
Retour en haut
