I have 32GB of RAM and hit about 15GB when playing Red Dead Online with Discord and Firefox in the background (plus the usual Windows processes, background game clients, etc taking minimum resources). I’d definitely want 32GB over 16GB since I’m bumping against that line but 64GB seems excessive for most use cases. For future proofing, by the time you hit 32GB because of more demanding titles, it’ll be time to upgrade to DDR5 anyway.
That said, if people want to buy 64GB to have it, it doesn’t make no difference to me. There’s not much savings in buying larger assuming like-for-like memory – 16GB (2x8) of Crucial Ballistix DDR4-3200 is $95, 32GB (2x8) is $180 – so it feels like money better spent elsewhere, though.
Cool, thanks, it probably is time to make a spreadsheet of different things. My current case is something by Corsair that I inherited from a professor who bought it then left. Turns out it is about 8.5" wide, 17" tall, and 20" deep. All of those cases are a bit smaller, but the ~ 8" wide ones are just as fat, even if a bit shorter and shallower. I might be back to the Core 1000. I liked the 1100 better, but the side ports don’t work for me (unless I have them confused, and its the opposite).
My plan was just to use the stock cooler that comes with CPU. If I get a small case I might need to buy a low profile cooler, though.
I like the CK709 a lot, but I got scared off by the reviews saying people had to take a tin snip to it to get a cooler in there. If a low profile cooler solves that, then I’m probably good. That case looks nearly identical to the one used for the Dell Precision 3450.
At this point, I might be leaning towards the boring option of the Core 1000 with a Fractal Design 80 platinum power supply.
Right. My point is that, in six years when 32 vs 64 might matter, you’re going to be due for an upgrade if you’re the type utilizing that much memory. We’re not going to be using 32+ for gaming any time in the next few years. Maybe not in the next decade.
From what I’ve read, that can work. Certainly worth a shot.
It frustrates me that none of the HTPC micro ATX cases were the sizes I was hoping for. They’re all either under 4" tall or over 6" tall with no options in between. I’d love to see something like 5" tall and maybe 14" on each side. Plenty of room to work in but still a very small form factor compared to a tower desktop.
Then again, I guess technically that would be just a regular ATX case at that point, not a micro ATX case. So maybe they do exist.
My wife took the kids to visit her parents today and left me with a nice Sunday afternoon alone to my own devices. So what do I do? The football game I really want to watch is not till 4:05, so… a little guitar. Been weeks since I picked it up. Maybe more.
That lasts about 20 minutes, then…video games! I start out with Fallout 4, which I’ve gotten a little ways into. But I’ve just encountered a DeathClaw, (spoilered for @EllisDee), which I think I’m going to need to find a better weapon to kill.
So I switched back to Control, which I was stuck at when a horde of zombified security guards kept killing me. I finally cleared that level, and now I’m at the Executive Director suite or whatever where I jump over the railing into the big red-lit testing arena. And get killed. But something happened where I started thinking “I suck at this” to “shite, I…think I’m getting the hang of this”. I went back to the previously cleared area, and since this game gives you unlimited ammo (provided you wait a couple seconds between reloads) I just practiced running and shooting lamps off desks. Biinders are fun to shoot too, because a bunch of papers fly everywhere. God help me and my limited free time, I may be turning into a gamer
My thread-related followup point is, my new machine handled it like a champ- very smooth play, and stayed in the yellow temp zone, never the red, after some fairly intense gaming for a few hours. I did start to smell heated-up plastic fumes coming from it though…hope that’s normal!
Might as well add my questions. I’m thinking of upgrading my current machine. Even though it won’t save much money, I’d like to keep my current case and power supply ( ANTEC SONATA III 500 BK RT = 500 W)
Is this enough oomph for a modest gaming box (I don’t need to run the latest)
I’ve heard that newegg’s reputation has gone down, if so, is there a preferred parts supplier?
looking at AMD4 motherboards how do the number of USB headers related to USB ports that can be supported? – I have a lot of USB things (printer, webcam, mouse, joystick, ham radio, sometimes a SD card reader or thumb drive) (I still use a PS2 keyboard)
Even though integrated graphics may be enough for my modest needs, I’d prefer a graphics card – I assume even entry level ones are overpriced – anything reasonable out there? (My monitor’s resolution is 1680 x1050)
Whats my price range? $750? for motherboard, CPU (cooler?), memory, solid state drive (I want to keep my spinning Iron drive for speed uncritical things)
Suggestions welcome (even, just buy a prebuilt machine)
thanks,
Brian
A 500W power supply is probably sufficient for your needs.
I have not heard anything about NewEgg’s reputation going down. My experience with them in January building my own was flawless, though solost’s son’s experience with a prebuild was poor. That’s only two data points.
Headers on the motherboard are for connecting the front ports on your case. Each USB 2.0 header can power two front ports, as can each USB 3.0 header. Type C headers can only power one port per header.
For the question of how many devices you can connect, generally that’s more about the rear input ports on the motherboard’s I/O shield. Also, you can buy relatively cheap expansion cards ($30, maybe?) to add more USB ports if needed.
Newegg used to provide much better service. They got bought some time ago by some Chinese company and branched out into selling coffeemakers and car radios and the service side has suffered since. Sort of the same story as Monoprice.
That said, a video card is a video card whether you buy it from Newegg or Amazon or Microcenter or wherever. And it’s not as though Newegg is going to take your money and run or anything. They’re just not the same company they used to be.
Figure a motherboard is between $100 and $150, CPU is probably $225ish, but if you go AMD you can try the stock cooler, it might work for you. $70 per 16 GB of memory, and between $80 and $160 for the M.2 drive depending on size and speed. Altogether somewhere between $500 and $700 for your base parts.
For a video card, $200 will only match the performance of current AMD integrated graphics. $300 will beat it handily, but you’re only getting a 1050 TI or something similar. $400 will get you a 1650, which would be better than a 1050 TI if you never upgrade the video card. But if you look at it as a placeholder situation, a 1050 TI is a better buy.
Running 1050p, AMD’s integrated graphics would do okay. Not great, not good. A 1050 TI – which is what I have and I run 1080p gaming – does a fair job but also struggles. It’s clearly a placeholder, and it’s like 2-3x times as powerful as AMD integrated graphics.
A 1650 is a little faster than a 1050 ti, so it might be just a placeholder too.
The problem with placeholder cards is that there’s no guarantee that 3000 series cards will ever be sold at a normal price. That entire generation might just be lost.
I think of the relative speeds this way:
100% Intel integrated graphics
200% AMD integrated graphics
400% 1050 TI
500% 1650
1000% 3060
1200% 3060 ti
It’s a terrible time to build a PC, mainly because of the GPU market, which is a shame because building computers is normally fun times.
For a budget around $800, you’re probably best off with a prebuilt which will, if you’re lucky, get you a system with a GTX 1650. If you’re really lucky, it might be a 1650 Super. In a market where a 1050Ti goes for $300, you just don’t have the budget for a GPU from the last year or two. The good news is that if you’re gaming at 1680x1050, a GTX 1650 will probably do you fine. It’ll be an okay card for 1080p as well should you upgrade your monitor at some point.
I would stay away from prebuilts from Dell and HP if you want to self-upgrade in the future as they often have proprietary parts that make it a pain. You can keep an eye on r/BuildaPCSales and hope something great comes along or else just comb the usual online Amazon, Newegg, etc sellers until you see something you like.
Do you have a MicroCenter within 30 miles you could drive to? They do in-store pick up only.
Someone linked an $800 pre-built system with a 1650 in it from MicroCenter. They also offer a $1300 pre-built system with a 3060. The sale was $1200 but is now $1300. Still a pretty good deal.
Any interest in those? We can dig up the links if so.
Unfortunately the nearest MicroCenter is ~150 miles away. (Twin Cites MN) The $800 system does look tempting (I have the links) It just bothers me to rebuy a case, power supply, and OS.
The problem with driving that far is if you need repairs. It’s one thing to go buy it and bring it home. That’s like an adventure, it’s part of the upfront cost and you plan for it. Maybe make a day out of it, have some fun.
But if something goes wrong and you need to bring it in for repairs unexpectedly, being 150 miles away would be a major bummer.
I wonder why Micro Center only supports in-store purchases anyway. Seems kind of odd for a company that sells computers and computer parts in the 21st century to not offer online shipping.
There is an online store. If you go to their website, you can select it from the drop-down store selector. But many of the best deals are on store-only items. I’m guessing because they want to clear out an item but don’t want to hassle with figuring which stores to ship items out from. Also, of course, to drive traffic into the store for extra add-on purchases.
I think their selection has deteriorated over the last few years. I used Tiger Direct for years but don’t anymore and I see Newegg starting the same trend. The biggest problem with Newegg is their listing of specs is woefully incomplete.
), which I think I’m going to need to find a better weapon to kill.