Good Computer?

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DaHeckIzDat
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Good Computer?

Postby DaHeckIzDat » September 29th, 2017, 6:58 pm

I was talking to my coworker about buying a new computer that can play games decently well, but won't break the bank. Not a gaming computer, exactly, but can handle games when I choose to play them. He told me I should looked for a PC with an i5 processor, and then showed me this. What do you more tech savvy guys think, would this be a good investment? https://www.walmart.com/ip/Refurbished-HP-8200-Desktop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i5-Processor-8GB-Memory-2TB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-10-Pro-Monitor-Not-Included/51872475

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Stalvern
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby Stalvern » September 29th, 2017, 8:38 pm

Pass. It only has integrated graphics, and it's apparently a pain in the butt to upgrade because of the weak power supply, cramped form factor, and badly outdated card slot. It'll get your mom on the Internet, but it's crippled as a game machine.

DaHeckIzDat
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby DaHeckIzDat » September 30th, 2017, 12:27 am

Are you talking about high end gaming, or all gaming in general? I don't mind if I have to crank my graphics down to get it to work. I'm looking at games like Player Unknown: Battlegrounds, and maybe some MMOs like Guild Wars 2.

ESauce
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby ESauce » September 30th, 2017, 12:32 am

I personally think that buying a computer with a ton of hard drive space (that one has 2TB) is a huge ripoff. Hard drive space is easily upgradable, even if you don't want to open up the pc you can get an external hard drive for cheap, and it's overpriced when you buy it included with the PC. I bought a computer with an i7 processor, 16GB or ram and 500GB of hard drive space for $400 two years ago, and computers with i5 processors and less ram, but just more hard drive space, were selling for more, which seemed ridiculous to me. Now I'm personanally not a PC gamer and I'm sure mine is not up to snuff as far as the graphics card goes, but I would say steer towards more ram and processor speed over hard drive space.

DaHeckIzDat
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby DaHeckIzDat » September 30th, 2017, 2:16 am

ESauce wrote:I personally think that buying a computer with a ton of hard drive space (that one has 2TB) is a huge ripoff. Hard drive space is easily upgradable, even if you don't want to open up the pc you can get an external hard drive for cheap, and it's overpriced when you buy it included with the PC. I bought a computer with an i7 processor, 16GB or ram and 500GB of hard drive space for $400 two years ago, and computers with i5 processors and less ram, but just more hard drive space, were selling for more, which seemed ridiculous to me. Now I'm personanally not a PC gamer and I'm sure mine is not up to snuff as far as the graphics card goes, but I would say steer towards more ram and processor speed over hard drive space.


Good to know. What do you make of the one I linked? Or was that your reaction? (see? this is why I'm asking for help, lol)

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ptdebate
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby ptdebate » September 30th, 2017, 8:38 am

I would say definitely do not buy that computer if you expect to do gaming.

What you should keep an eye out for is PSU wattage. If it is at least 330w, it can accommodate a graphics card.

Integrated graphics are sufficient only in the 6th or 7th generation core processors. I'm talking about Intel Iris and Iris Pro. Anything below that will not produce acceptable results for games like PUBG or Guild Wars.

So if it's not a 6th pr 7th gen i5 or better, it needs to have the wattage for a GPU (or, better yet, include a GPU out of the box).

If you buy your GPU separately, you will find the best value in a GTX 1050 Ti, which can be found for $130 on sale.

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Stalvern
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby Stalvern » September 30th, 2017, 4:03 pm

ptdebate's post says it all perfectly. I mentioned the weak PSU myself, but the actual numbers really put it into perspective: only 240 watts! And again, even if it did have an adequate PSU, good luck finding a card that'll fit.

There isn't a single point in this machine's favor for what you're trying to do with it, except that it has an i5. (If you'd like clarification on that, the i3 is significantly less powerful, and the i7 is overpriced for its marginal improvement in performance)

DaHeckIzDat wrote:Good to know. What do you make of the one I linked? Or was that your reaction? (see? this is why I'm asking for help, lol)

The first sentence specifically refers to it. And 2 terabytes is overkill whether it comes with the computer or not.

DaHeckIzDat
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby DaHeckIzDat » September 30th, 2017, 6:17 pm

Do you guys have any suggestions? I'd prefer not to spend more than $600, less than that if possible.
(on a semi-related note, why do Stalvern's replies keep disappearing?)

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Stalvern
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby Stalvern » October 1st, 2017, 12:14 am

DaHeckIzDat wrote:Do you guys have any suggestions? I'd prefer not to spend more than $600, less than that if possible.
(on a semi-related note, why do Stalvern's replies keep disappearing?)

Posts disappear when they're edited, as the new versions need moderator approval again.

As for positive suggestions, my past two computers have been laptops, so I'm not quite knowledgeable enough about current hardware to give you real specifics, but I'm sure that ptdebate can point you in the right direction. He's already recommended a GPU, and you knew coming in that an i5 would be the best CPU, so you already have a decent starting point. As for other basic specs, you want 8 gigs of RAM at bare minimum, and a 1 TB hard drive is your best bet for storage in 2017 (from personal experience, I recommend Western Digital and recommend avoiding Seagate).

Alucard1191
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Re: Good Computer?

Postby Alucard1191 » October 1st, 2017, 1:57 am

Ok... many people aren't talking about the basics. When you're talking about a gaming computer, the most basic things are this: Operating system, RAM, and video card. Get the basics down and you can make a computer for genuinely pretty cheap and over a period of time.

First off, what type of gaming are you wanting? If you're wanting to straddle modern and retro gaming, windows 7 is probably what you want, and if none of that matters, then windows 10 or 8 is fine if that UI doesn't drive you completely insane. (It annoys me, Cortana for example makes me want to scream. No matter how many times I click 'stop showing me shit' it keeps finding more things to pop up about.)

Anyway, RAM is one of those things I often find younger people (cue crotchety old man voice here) underestimate. Having a lot of ram can allow a slower computer to function well, and for the most part, RAM is much cheaper than CPU speed. 8 GB is the absolute minimum for modern day games, but I'd honestly recommend going 16+, if you're spending real money try to go for more than that. I find that having a lot of RAM just allows a computer to function better for longer periods of time. Computers age out constantly, but I find having a crap ton of RAM is a cheap way to keep a computer functional over a longer period of time. (I like keeping things running over long periods of time. I'm a cheap skate like that.)

Have a lot of RAM, a decent video card, and an operating system that works well with the type of games that you're trying to play, and you can very effectively build a good gaming computer for under 600 dollars. (Especially if you do things like go buy the extra accessories like monitors, mouse, keyboards, etc. 2nd hand. You can get perfectly working parts for a fraction of the cost new.)

Also, in general, if you want a machine you want to be able to upgrade, get a desktop just for convenience sake. Working inside of laptops is incredibly annoying. Everything is really small, and the individual replacement parts are more expensive than their desktop equivalents.


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