Prebuilt Vs Build It Your Own? - Topic

Looks pretty good. Couple of questions.

1) Could I do that build with Windows 7 instead of 8? I think I actually have an extra Windows 7 Liscense somewhere, though i'll have to download the iso.

2) Is that graphics card necessary? Can you tell me the pros and cons of it? I really don't know much about the current hardware in machines and was hoping I could get some info from you knowledgeable people.

3) What are the major differences from an i5 processor to an i7? Is it worth the extra investment?

Thanks!!

And just to show you this is what i'm upgrading from.

This post was edited by bobgabe45 on Mar 8 2015 12:52pm

Rapture

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#15

Mar 8 2015 01:30pm

Quote (bobgabe45 @ Mar 8 2015 02:51pm)
Looks pretty good. Couple of questions.

1) Could I do that build with Windows 7 instead of 8? I think I actually have an extra Windows 7 Liscense somewhere, though i'll have to download the iso.

2) Is that graphics card necessary? Can you tell me the pros and cons of it? I really don't know much about the current hardware in machines and was hoping I could get some info from you knowledgeable people.

3) What are the major differences from an i5 processor to an i7? Is it worth the extra investment?

Thanks!!

And just to show you this is what i'm upgrading from.

http://i.imgur.com/qWslgwR.png

1. Yes you can use windows 7 or 8.
2. Not necessary. It's a very powerful card and one of the best one's available. However if you are only gaming and on a budget, I would suggest at the very least spending more on your GPU than your CPU, because GPU is the most important for gaming.
3. To put it really plainly, the i7 is just a much more powerful processor. It's not necessary unless you are going to be doing something like video encoding/non gaming-high CPU tasks.

In my opinion, as someone who looks for the best performance for dollar, i would suggest only upgrading your PC and not replacing it.
Your CPU isn't terrible and I would bet that all of your problems you listed could be fixed if you changed out your GPU, added a CPU cooler [should be quieter than the stock] and adding an SSD.
If that's an option, let us know and we can put something together. If you replaced/added those 3 things you would be gaming max settings, easily and quietly.

Toilet

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#16

Mar 8 2015 01:33pm

you already have w7, just use the license you are currently using.

bobgabe45

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#17

Mar 8 2015 01:49pm

Quote (Rapture @ Mar 8 2015 01:30pm)

1. Yes you can use windows 7 or 8.
2. Not necessary. It's a very powerful card and one of the best one's available. However if you are only gaming and on a budget, I would suggest at the very least spending more on your GPU than your CPU, because GPU is the most important for gaming.
3. To put it really plainly, the i7 is just a much more powerful processor. It's not necessary unless you are going to be doing something like video encoding/non gaming-high CPU tasks.

In my opinion, as someone who looks for the best performance for dollar, i would suggest only upgrading your PC and not replacing it.
Your CPU isn't terrible and I would bet that all of your problems you listed could be fixed if you changed out your GPU, added a CPU cooler [should be quieter than the stock] and adding an SSD.
If that's an option, let us know and we can put something together. If you replaced/added those 3 things you would be gaming max settings, easily and quietly.

I appreciate that point of view. The problem is the case on this one is small and I couldn't update the cooling system to something adequate. Also my wife needs a work computer that isn't a laptop so it's not like i'm actually getting rid of this one.

Then again what do you think doing those changes would cost me? Please note that the motherboard and case are kinda small so i'm not sure I would even be able to do all of those things.

WWI

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#18

Mar 8 2015 01:59pm

Quote (bobgabe45 @ Mar 8 2015 12:51pm)

I personally would have kept your current build, overclocked your processor and ram then gotten a new graphics card and possibly new motherboard.

Rapture

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#19

Mar 8 2015 02:06pm

Quote (bobgabe45 @ Mar 8 2015 03:49pm)
I appreciate that point of view. The problem is the case on this one is small and I couldn't update the cooling system to something adequate. Also my wife needs a work computer that isn't a laptop so it's not like i'm actually getting rid of this one.

Then again what do you think doing those changes would cost me? Please note that the motherboard and case are kinda small so i'm not sure I would even be able to do all of those things.

You can pick your budget.
But 240 gb ssd is $90 [$60 for 120gb] [on average]
New card, anywhere from 100 to 330 dollars. They will all out-perform the 6000 series.

If your PSU is weak, that may need to be changed, if it does, would expect 40-50 dollars.

So if you picked a 150 dollar card, youd be spending about 300, with no cooler [although im sure low profile coolers exist at a budget, i just dont know of any to recommend.]

This post was edited by Rapture on Mar 8 2015 02:11pm

ForTheMathematics

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#20

Mar 8 2015 03:14pm

I could recommend a prebuilt... Given it's at least a DECENT deal, and that you can tell what internals it has. Since if you get a decent CPU/RAM/etc, but the GPU is shitty and you upgrade it anyway... Now you need to calculate watts, and upgrade PSU... And it's not long before you may as well have built it.

But if you can determine this won't be a problem, go for it. But then you have to research parts........ and now you might as well build it

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