Hardware & Technical PC on a budget advice thread

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    Votes: 4 66.7%
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    Votes: 2 33.3%
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    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    6
I think it will definitely boost interest in OR that is for sure, and if the net result is a cheaper OR setup then I am all for that - currently it is a bit too expensive for me!

Kro
 
PC Upgrade: considerations.

Hi everyone,
first and foremost I'd like to admit I'm not sure this thread is good here, but I've seen similar questions asked in the past so...
Any moderator, please feel free to move it somewhere else if so you wish.

Now, unto us.

My machine is not bad, at all.
It quite does satisfy all the Alpha requisite and then some, but having received a sizeable bonus for Christmas I really thought that it would do no harm investing into my rig. (I.e.: My wife allowed me to do so :eek:)

My actual stats:

GPU: GeForce EVGA GTX 660 Ti SC 2GB DDR5
CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme CPU X9650 (4 CPUs) @ 3.20 GHz
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Rampage Formula
Memory: 4 GB DDR2
<--- Weak link, 2 decks of different brands, not the fastest stuff
OS: Windows Ultimate 7


Now, my idea was to just upgrade the Memory to 16GB but lo and behold, being DDR2 (the only kind supported by Motherboard) I can only get to 8GB.

That got me thinking. I got basically 2 ways to upgrade.

Just get a bigger Case and shove in new 8GB of fast memory, some 128 GB SSD, create a RAID of 1TB HDDs (3 was my idea- I already have 1) and a sizeable new GFX Card (a 780 Ti Maybe...).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reasoning:
CPU and MOBO are still efficient, hard to find a game that nowadays uses full 4 cores. Fast RAM, new GPU and SSD would be a good compromise.

OR

Invest in the future.
Get a brand new Motherboard, CPU and 16GB of DDR3 Memory + a SSD.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Reasoning:
CPU and MOBO more futureproof, largest single expense. I can still slowly bring in smaller stuff in the following years.
 
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Sir.Tj

The Moderator who shall not be Blamed....
Volunteer Moderator
I've moved your thread over to the hardware section as you'll probably get more advice here. :smilie:
 
It all comes down to money.

I'd probably put 8Gb of RAM in and upgrade the graphics card, then look at it again in a year or so.

Money no object: get a new machine! :)
 
Thank you very much for the input.
LOL the poll was a complete disaster! :D

Anyway, I think I've made up my mind.
;)

Thank you again.
 
PC equipment advice

Hi,

I haven't really played any computer games for years and years and don't own a PC (I have a MacBook Air and a Mac Mini, neither of which are even vaguely adequate for gaming). I always promised myself that when Elite 4 got made, I would buy a new PC to play it on. That time has come.

Can anyone give me some general advice about:

1. What level of PC is necessary (could I just go and buy something at PC World or would I have to build one).

2. How many monitors do you chaps envisage using to play E:D, and what size are they?

3. Do I want a special mouse? A joystick? Anything else I haven't thought about?

Thanks for any pointers.
 

Sir.Tj

The Moderator who shall not be Blamed....
Volunteer Moderator
Hi jbt,

Loads of info in the hardware section on pc specs.
 

Philip Coutts

Volunteer Moderator
I would strongly advise against buying from PC world but that's just me. If you let us know what kind of budget you are looking at then we can give you some realistic advice.
 
If you are in the UK, buy the latest edition of PC Gamer. They have a page showing their latest recommended build for a PC under £1,000.00. It is updated most months but is a good place to start for buying a PC with a good balance between power and cost.
 

Philip Coutts

Volunteer Moderator
If you are in the UK, buy the latest edition of PC Gamer. They have a page showing their latest recommended build for a PC under £1,000.00. It is updated most months but is a good place to start for buying a PC with a good balance between power and cost.

What in the name of the wee man is this!? A sensible post from oss133, I need to sit down......good advice imo.
 
Philip,

Anything up to £1,500 would be bearable but I don't need to spend all of that if a decent machine can be procured for less.
 
You'll be able to build or buy a beast of a machine for under £1000.

Are you happy building yourself? (Last one I built took 3 hours, and I was taking my time because I'd not done it for a couple of years).

Will it just be for Elite: Dangerous?
 

Minti2

Deadly, But very fluffy...
This is the one i bought for ED, my first time getting a custom PC, but i needn't have been worried, great service and advice, but more importantly Fantastic Gaming PC.

Had no problems(two months almost now) and Alpha runs a dream on it.

Not saying you need to go for this one in particular, and you may want to add/take away certain parts, but if your looking for a good PC specialist company this one gets regular 5* reviews.

Dark Reign £979.00

http://www.dinopc.com/shop/pc/gaming-pcs-computers.asp

X52 pro...recommended flight-stick...but look around for good price, dont pay more then £125

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saitek-Flig...e=UTF8&qid=1390503604&sr=8-2&keywords=x52+pro


These are just my thoughts, others will give good advice to :)
 
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Rog: If I can avoid building one myself I would be happier. I don't need it for anything other than playing Elite.
 
That "Dark Reign" looks quite good.
You could of course customize it a bit, like change the stock CPU cooler to that Zalman unit.
 

Minti2

Deadly, But very fluffy...
That "Dark Reign" looks quite good.
You could of course customize it a bit, like change the stock CPU cooler to that Zalman unit.

Funny its one of the things i asked about when i phoned them before ordering, but that and another item they said i should be fine leaving as is, for what i wanted the PC to do(they didnt want my extra money lol)

It could be worth doing, but for me no problems, and so quiet to!
 
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