Help Me Build My PC Catch-All

MannishBoy wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

Thanks for letting me know. that means that I will probably grab the extra real estate and start with 1920x1200.

As panels are being cut more for video resolutions (1080p), the 19x12 screens are getting pricey. I guess it depends on the use case. For entertainment, 1080p is probably OK. If you do productivity stuff or a lot of browsing vertically scrolling sites, you might appreciate the extra rows.

When I work at home it involves reading text and word-processing, and frequent referring from one to the other. Being able to put two pages next to each other is a definite bonus for me. I saw some 24" monitors that were 1920x1200 and will definitely put that as the central point in my upcoming build.

mudbunny wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

Thanks for letting me know. that means that I will probably grab the extra real estate and start with 1920x1200.

As panels are being cut more for video resolutions (1080p), the 19x12 screens are getting pricey. I guess it depends on the use case. For entertainment, 1080p is probably OK. If you do productivity stuff or a lot of browsing vertically scrolling sites, you might appreciate the extra rows.

When I work at home it involves reading text and word-processing, and frequent referring from one to the other. Being able to put two pages next to each other is a definite bonus for me. I saw some 24" monitors that were 1920x1200 and will definitely put that as the central point in my upcoming build.

Ah, so you really need TWO 19x12 panels to be really productive.

MannishBoy wrote:
mudbunny wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
mudbunny wrote:

Thanks for letting me know. that means that I will probably grab the extra real estate and start with 1920x1200.

As panels are being cut more for video resolutions (1080p), the 19x12 screens are getting pricey. I guess it depends on the use case. For entertainment, 1080p is probably OK. If you do productivity stuff or a lot of browsing vertically scrolling sites, you might appreciate the extra rows.

When I work at home it involves reading text and word-processing, and frequent referring from one to the other. Being able to put two pages next to each other is a definite bonus for me. I saw some 24" monitors that were 1920x1200 and will definitely put that as the central point in my upcoming build.

Ah, so you really need TWO 19x12 panels to be really productive. :)

That would require me getting rid of the upper part of my desk and doing a lot of shelf installing on the wall. It is very, very tempting to do it. It will all depend on how much my build costs with 1 monitor and for 2 monitors.

Well, I'm ready to kick my machine. Got the new Psu installed and still receiving a message when I try to boot up with the new gpu.

97% of the system memory tested ok.

What the heck.

You could always rotate the 16:9 screen to be 9:16.

Scratched wrote:

You could always rotate the 16:9 screen to be 9:16.

Then get 3! You'll effectively have 3240*1920. That's some screen real estate!

I'm in the market for a new gaming laptop.

I travel every other week and I'm looking for a portable machine that can play last year's games.
My budget is $1,200 and I would like to stay below 8 lbs because I will have to carry my gaming laptop with my work laptop.

I've had my eye on an Alienware M14x and was wondering if there are any other comparable gaming laptops in that range.

I liked the Asus G75VW or similar when I looked at Microcenter. There's a version that hit about $1,200 when I was looking. Solid construction, nice keyboard and screen, nice specs. The one I linked is a little higher-end but should point you in the right direction.

I didn't buy one so I can't vouch for actual performance, but they review well, it seems.

Usually you can go with an Asus or other brand to save some money and they will perform well. Alienwares usually cost a couple hundred extra bucks. My guess is that a $1200 Alienware could get outperformed a bit by a $800 or $900 laptop that was a bit more cheaply made. Having said that, a lot of us on here have bought the Alienware laptops. In my book, it's worth the extra 200 bucks (or slightly less performance) for the very solid construction, no bloatware, and Steam pre-loaded. For me personally, I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop. You don't get that with an Alienware. They're sort of like the macbooks of gaming laptops. I love my M11x R2.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

For me personally, I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop.

I agree with this statement. However, they take about 2 seconds to pull off, and generally don't leave much if any residue. Took them off my Yoga as one of the first things I did when I unboxed it.

MannishBoy wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

For me personally, I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop.

I agree with this statement. However, they take about 2 seconds to pull off, and generally don't leave much if any residue. Took them off my Yoga as one of the first things I did when I unboxed it.

The Windows and Intel stickers always looked like they wouldn't come off without a fight. I never tried to persuade friends with them to try, though. I stand corrected on that point.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

For me personally, I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop.

I agree with this statement. However, they take about 2 seconds to pull off, and generally don't leave much if any residue. Took them off my Yoga as one of the first things I did when I unboxed it.

The Windows and Intel stickers always looked like they wouldn't come off without a fight. I never tried to persuade friends with them to try, though. I stand corrected on that point.

They are easy because they're pretty thick and metallic in most cases. So if you're careful, they don't tear once you pry a corner lose with a finger nail. I always pulled them off any work laptops I had to use for any period of time.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop. You don't get that with an Alienware. They're sort of like the macbooks of gaming laptops. I love my M11x R2.

You can't stand stickers, but you can take the bright lights and glowing red eyes on Alienware laptops?? o.0

Citizen86 wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop. You don't get that with an Alienware. They're sort of like the macbooks of gaming laptops. I love my M11x R2.

You can't stand stickers, but you can take the bright lights and glowing red eyes on Alienware laptops?? o.0

Those glowing lights don't chafe your forearms.

McIrishJihad wrote:
Citizen86 wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop. You don't get that with an Alienware. They're sort of like the macbooks of gaming laptops. I love my M11x R2.

You can't stand stickers, but you can take the bright lights and glowing red eyes on Alienware laptops?? o.0

Those glowing lights don't chafe your forearms.

If you turn everything white, it's fairly normal.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
McIrishJihad wrote:
Citizen86 wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I can't stand the damn stickers they put on the palmrests every pretty much every laptop. You don't get that with an Alienware. They're sort of like the macbooks of gaming laptops. I love my M11x R2.

You can't stand stickers, but you can take the bright lights and glowing red eyes on Alienware laptops?? o.0

Those glowing lights don't chafe your forearms.

If you turn everything white, it's fairly normal.

you can also turn almost all of them off. I have the M11x R3 and the build quality is pretty phenomenal. My kid once knocked it off the coffee table face first with the screen fully open, a really easy way to destroy the hinges, and other than an edge of the screen popping out, it was fine.

I need some guidance. I posted this in the thread about trying to upgrade to triple screens, but I'll post it here, too. I am upgrading my video card and it just came in the mail today. It looks as though it has a 6-pin and 8-pin connector, but my current/former card has only a 6-pin connector and I don't see an 8-pin connector anywhere in my mess of cables. Does this mean I need a new PSU? Can it run with just the 6-pin connector? Will it blow up? HELP!

MountaineerWR27 wrote:

I need some guidance. I posted this in the thread about trying to upgrade to triple screens, but I'll post it here, too. I am upgrading my video card and it just came in the mail today. It looks as though it has a 6-pin and 8-pin connector, but my current/former card has only a 6-pin connector and I don't see an 8-pin connector anywhere in my mess of cables. Does this mean I need a new PSU? Can it run with just the 6-pin connector? Will it blow up? HELP!

You need both! Most PSU's have 6 pin connectors that have like 2 pins hanging off the side that you can attach if necessary. Don't try and run the 6 pin through the 8pin slot.

Gaald wrote:
MountaineerWR27 wrote:

I need some guidance. I posted this in the thread about trying to upgrade to triple screens, but I'll post it here, too. I am upgrading my video card and it just came in the mail today. It looks as though it has a 6-pin and 8-pin connector, but my current/former card has only a 6-pin connector and I don't see an 8-pin connector anywhere in my mess of cables. Does this mean I need a new PSU? Can it run with just the 6-pin connector? Will it blow up? HELP!

You need both! Most PSU's have 6 pin connectors that have like 2 pins hanging off the side that you can attach if necessary. Don't try and run the 6 pin through the 8pin slot.

Guess I better start looking for a new PSU then!

As mentioned in the initial thread by PSOplayer, there are 4-pin Molex to 8 pin adapters. Still, I know you were sort of pushing the limits of your PSU, so that might not be the best idea if it didn't include any 8 pin connectors. I don't know enough about it to be certain. If you do end up just getting a new PSU, Corsairs and Seasonics are good. You don't want to skimp on the PSU.

I might have gone a little bit overkill. There's a computer shop here in town and the owner had a Corsair HX1000W he wasn't using so he sold it to me for $120. I don't think I'll be needing that PSU calculator for a while lol

PC Part picker list! http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MGDP

I'm working on a potential workstation. I've had my work/game laptop for a year and a half, but since I'm working from home now, I feel like I could use a desktop with more power and upgradeability. Basically I do web development, a lot of front-end but also some back-end PHP work as I learn more.

I'm considering plopping an i7 3770k in there in the future, as well as a video card that would handle perhaps 3 monitors. I'm thinking about a 27" 2560x1440 with either 2 19" widescreens on each side, or 2 17" 4:3 monitors on the sides. I think it'd be a pretty slick setup

I'm going all out on the RAM because I use VM's on a daily basis.

I'm also not sure about the SSD right away, as I'm assuming they will continue to drop a bit, but since I've had an SSD in my main computer for over a year, not sure if I could go back to a regular HDD. If I wanted to save some money or wait for SSD prices to drop though, I have an old 500gb HDD I could use in the interim, or possibly swipe the 120gb Corsair SSD from my laptop if I'll be using it less.

So... how's that setup look to the goodjer friends? I don't really have a set budget, as right now it's a little more window shopping than hitting the buy button.

Also, I sort of wish I had jumped on this.

Also, this sort of scares me.

The Samsung 840 (non-pro) 250 GB SSD is $147 after a $30 discount in cart at Buy.com/Beach Camera/Rakuten.

Pretty good price there. I suspect it's a one day sale that will go off tonight.

Citizen, you could put two of them in that box for less than that 500GB drive. Maybe even RAID them. Wouldn't be a huge savings, but I thought I'd post it just in case somebody's looking for one that size. I'm tempted.

MannishBoy wrote:

The Samsung 840 (non-pro) 250 GB SSD is $147 after a $30 discount in cart at Buy.com/Beach Camera/Rakuten.

Pretty good price there. I suspect it's a one day sale that will go off tonight.

Citizen, you could put two of them in that box for less than that 500GB drive. Maybe even RAID them.

They had done this a week or two ago with the 840 500 GB for $259... it sold out ridiculously fast.

Nvidia has launched the 650ti Boost, which holds its own against the more expensive HD7850. Very good deal for mid-range gaming.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/...

Thats not a bad idea Mannish. I've been using laptops for quite a few years now, I sort of forgot I can cram more than two drives into a PC. Sweet!

MannishBoy wrote:

The Samsung 840 (non-pro) 250 GB SSD is $147 after a $30 discount in cart at Buy.com/Beach Camera/Rakuten.

Was able to put it in my cart, but sold out by the time I went to click "place my order"

I have a moratorium on game purchases until the backlog is cleared up a bit, so for the foreseeable future, the most intense games I'm going to be running are Skyrim, Guild Wars 2, Fallout 3 NV, and maybe Planetside 2. My work machine (a three year old MacBook Pro) can kind of run those at reasonable quality, but I want something better. I was looking at the Logical Increments site, and wondering what build could run those games at better-than-reasonable quality. Would the "Very Good" build be enough, or could I go even lower?

I also have an Antec Sonata from an old computer I built about seven years ago. Reckon I could reuse that? It was a great case.

... should have specified that 1680×1050 is just dandy.

Enlighten me the differences between the "pro" and "non pro" versions of the Samsung 840 please?

other than stats, am I really going to FEEL a performance difference in everyday use?

or this just matters for bulk / large file copies/transfers?

ESA - I believe it was the type of memory used in the SSD, and the Pro has a slight boost in speed. The takeaway - you probably won't notice if you're coming from spinning HDDs.