Skyviper 1,101 Posted April 5, 2016 It's been nearly ten years since I last bought a computer or touched one. So I'm out of the game completely with all of this new gear out. The last time I built one. With my time as limited as it is I figured I should just go ahead and buy one out right. Having said that I have my mind set on a few rigs. But to me they look (spec wise) the same. I'm not sure which has enough or which is just overkill. ... though I wouldn't mind a bit of overkill. Pricing on these are okay for me but it's what it's the tower than I'm concerned about I don't want to get screwed any more than what I already am (I know it's cheaper to build your own). So here we go: First Contender: Base price of $700 (shipping fulfilled by Amazon) **A little outside my comfort zone** CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA3100A Gaming Desktop - AMD FX-4300 Quad Core 3.8GHz, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB HDD, 24X DVD, AMD R7 240 2GB, Windows 10 Home Second Contender: $580 <---Liking this for the price range [GAMER'S PICK] SkyTech Shadow Gaming Computer - Ultra Gamer Desktop PC AMD FX-4300 3.8 GHz Quad Core, GTX750TI 2GB Graphic Card, 1TB Hard Drive, 8GB DDR3, 24X DVD | GENUINE WINDOWS 10 PRO 64-bit Third Contender:$489 <---Liking this one too for the price range CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA880 Gaming Desktop - AMD FX-4300 Quad Core 3.8GHz, 8GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB HDD, 24X DVD, NVIDIA GT 720 1GB, Windows 10 The Angel: $630 <----(pushing my comfort zone but hoping it may be worth it in the long run) [GAMER'S PICK] SkyTech Archangel Gaming Computer - Ultra Gamer Desktop PC AMD FX-6300 3.5 GHz 6-Core GTX750TI 2GB Graphic, 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive, 8GB DDR3, 24X DVD | GENUINE WINDOWS 10 PRO 64-bit There really aren't any vendors in my area that sell these kinds of things. I mean I have a Staples and Wal-Mart nearby. There are "computer" stores but I don't trust them. I am open to suggestions if none of these will do. Getting a gaming computer wasn't something I wanted to do but a colleague at work suggested I get one after he heard what I was wanting to do. Video production, med level gaming, and writing lots of writing. He suggestion did make a lot of sense ... that awesome video of Fallout 4 did the trick too. Seriously I am needing more computing power for the things I would like to do. And by the way speaking of video production. Is anyone here (I think we may have a lost thread about this) but is anyone here familiar with video editing software that will not break my tiny budget. I do not wish to pay a monthly subscription either for the software. Thank you all for your time. And hopefully this is the year I can get a new system. Hopefully. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShinKazama88 9 Posted April 5, 2016 I've always been an Intel guy so here's my suggestions: CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXi8600A Gaming Desktop - Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz CPU, 8GB DDR4 RAM, NVIDIA GT730 2GB, 1TB HDD, 24X DVD+-RW, Win 10 Home http://amzn.com/B012OU6I04 $799.99 CybertronPC ViperX1 Black Gaming Desktop - Intel i5-4430, 8GB DDR3, NVIDIA GeForce GT610, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 http://amzn.com/B00KMXUIPM $649.99 Hope this helps. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fubar512 1,350 Posted April 5, 2016 Skyviper, Your second contender is the way to go. It appears to offer a lot of bang for the buck. As for the others, the R7 is a bit dated, you'll not get a substantial boost with more than 8 GB of RAM at present (you can always add more), and you'll probably never see any increase in performance with more than 4 physical cores in just about any title that I can see you running. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Gunrunner 314 Posted April 5, 2016 Yep, out of your choices, Number 2 is the best value for money, Number 4 might shave a few seconds in video editing depending on the task and video software used, but it's not worth the money in my opinion. Avoid Number 3 as the GT 720 is an underperformer for a gaming rig nowadays. Number 1's R7 240 is an old model now, it can't compete with the GT 750Ti, it's barely better than the GT 720, it's the least value for money of the four. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Erik 1,812 Posted April 5, 2016 #4 best bang for buck imho and I'd throw another 4 Gb minimum of memory in each of those machines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+1977Frenchie 1,038 Posted April 5, 2016 Was on the same boat 3 months ago... Find in my towm an affordable PC at 900.00$ CAD but not with the graphic performance i wanted. I shopped a lot and finally made my choice on this baby : Alienware X51 R3, i7-6700 processor, 16Gb RAM DDR4, GTX960 2Gb DDR5, 2To HDD, 256Mb SSD I bought it on special at 1299 CAD and it runs like a charm for SF2 and also GTA V. On the bad side, it's a console type PC so don't expect to upgrade anything but i love this machine. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyviper 1,101 Posted April 17, 2016 Hey what about this one? CyberpowerPC Gamer Ultra GUA3600A Gaming Desktop - AMD FX-8320 Octa Core 3.5GHz, 16GB DDR3 RAM, 2TB HDD, 24X DVD, AMD R7 250 2GB, Windows 10 Home$689 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ShrikeHawk 384 Posted April 17, 2016 Thirdwire doesn't use multi-threading as far as I know. So you'll never use more than one CPU at once. Better to get fewer cores and greater speed. No. 2 is still your best I'd say. The graphics card is decent. You'll need that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fubar512 1,350 Posted April 17, 2016 Thirdwire titles do utilize multithreading. What they don't utilize is hyperthreading, nor do they make effective use of more than two cores. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyviper 1,101 Posted April 17, 2016 Hey, I really appreciate all the input everyone has been providing. This isn't a decision I'm taking lightly either. I'm also thinking about certain titles as well as the future. As in the next 10-15 years. I'm a believer in making a decision today for a greater tomorrow instead of making a great decision for today and having a horrible tomorrow. DCS Flaiming Cliffs Mass Effect Andromeda Fallout 4 Remember Me Those are the titles on my mind for entertainment Work end I want to process better videos in a timely manner. For instance It took 30 minutes last night to wrap up a project. That's just one half. I will now be spending another 30 minutes to an hour uploading that project this morning. *of course some that is internet speed too. I'll be getting it faster soon* Video processing wise I want to be able to knock stuff out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sixstrings 111 Posted April 20, 2016 (edited) The best bang for the buck has to be building one yourself. Don't be intimidated by the process , it's very easy and strait forward . I researched numerous websites and one of the best i've found is http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/ is the most detailed and helpful. You can then spend your money saved on better hardware. Just save the amount to be spent and purchase all hardware at the same time. This way you have factory warranties for any part found defective during or after build. Edited April 20, 2016 by sixstrings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+NeverEnough 78 Posted April 20, 2016 Skyviper, this article might be helpful giving you some additional input on what components are most suitable for your application: http://techreport.com/review/29453/the-tech-report-system-guide-december-2015-edition Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FuzzyFassbender 0 Posted April 20, 2016 (edited) When you need a little help in determining the performance of a particular CPU or GPU, use the site below. Both the CPU and GPU tabs have a "Search" to find a particular model. http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/ Personally I'm not too enthusiastic on AMD (CPU or GPU). You can save money but you could be kicking yourself down the road. Edited April 20, 2016 by FuzzyFassbender Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sixstrings 111 Posted May 10, 2016 Stay away from AMD and stick with Intel and Nvidia . The new GTX1080 FE is one bad*** video card !! DDR4 memory and 1TB or greater SSD's are dropping in price for what you get. Hopefully will have mine built by this fall. Does anyone have a spare $1000 just laying around ? Please send to me. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyviper 1,101 Posted May 10, 2016 My new system came and so far it works very well! Aside from Windows 10 and a loud CPU fan I'm getting used to it. And the lights are my favorite color too. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fubar512 1,350 Posted May 11, 2016 My new system came and so far it works very well! Aside from Windows 10 and a loud CPU fan I'm getting used to it. And the lights are my favorite color too. So, which system did you wind up with? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyviper 1,101 Posted May 11, 2016 The Cyberpower PC Gamer Ultra. For several reasons. 1. The other shippers just gave me a general week I could expect delivery. I didn't like that part at all. I didn't want to be at work and risk someone stealing my new computer. Neighbors work just as much as I do. 2. I was thinking about the next 10 or so years down the road I wanted to be able to get system that i know will hang in there for a while. (true all things are outdated in a year but my last rig is still kicking so I'm hoping this will do the same) 3. Income tax check wasn't as bad as I thought it was so I was able to spend a little extra. I still spent more than I wanted to however some adjustments to my plans were made so in the end everything worked out fine as far as budget went. I was wanting to get another piece of furniture for my office. In the end it wouldn't have been a good fit. So not having to buy that piece of furniture opened up a little more wiggle room. 4. I'm really looking to beef up my video production. So the less time I have to spend for the system to process a video the better. I've been looking at various programs that help with video production too. 5. Going along with video production. I'd like to be able to do smooth screen capturing for review purposes if needed in the future. 6. The system I wound up buying from Amazon was about $400 less than a similar system (made by the same manufacturer) being sold on another website. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
