new comp

[CIRCUITzach]

wat do you guys look for when shopping for a new computer. not the brand. but like laptop desktop. how many gigs etc.

[PTswim41]

one of the things i look for is how much RAM the computer has. good new computers usually have around 4 gigs of ram

[Shiv]

zach, since u already have a laptop, i'd go for a really cheap dell desktop with a long warranty. thats just IMO, because DELL support is redic good

[CIRCUITzach]

i have to write a final essay on buying a new computer. any more things peoples?

[sumfan4]

if they let you watch porn

[182sins]

graphic card (brand of that card, it can be important), processor (brand, how many cores, frequency), hard drive (if it's a bad hd you can loose all of your data), ram, and motherboard (how many usb ports, integrated soundcard, etc). Dunno if it helps.

[Boni]

Haha, I don't buy computers. Only n00bs buy computers.

I buy components and then build it myself. If you do it my way you'll need.

- Motherboard (Make sure you're motherboard can fit in your case, ie. a ATX will not fit in a mATX case.
- Processor (Check if the motherboard supports the processor socket)
- Memory (4GB+Check if it's compatible with the Motherboard)
- Power Supply (800W should do you fine)
- Hard Drive (SATA-2 I'd suggest, SDD if you're a rich kid).
- DVD-RW Drive (Again SATA-2 and I don't recommend a Blu-Ray drive right now)
- Graphics Card (Optional but good to have)
- Sound Card (Again, Optional but good to have if you have something like 7.1)
- Chassis (Coolermaster or Antec)

Lastly you'll need an operating system and since it doesn't cost you a penny I'd go for Ubuntu 64-Bit and if you can afford go for Windows 7 64-Bit too.

[Max]

I think you should summarise your essay with.. "or just buy a Mac"

Or seriously, Intel processors, more expensive but better performance. AMD processor, cheaper but not as good. Boni had some nice points.

[Bobbyjames]

just go into a computer shop and tell the chump at the desk to sell you the best computer.

[FuckT41182]

Haha, I don't buy computers. Only n00bs buy computers.

I buy components and then build it myself. If you do it my way you'll need.

- Motherboard (Make sure you're motherboard can fit in your case, ie. a ATX will not fit in a mATX case.
- Processor (Check if the motherboard supports the processor socket)
- Memory (4GB+Check if it's compatible with the Motherboard)
- Power Supply (800W should do you fine)
- Hard Drive (SATA-2 I'd suggest, SDD if you're a rich kid).
- DVD-RW Drive (Again SATA-2 and I don't recommend a Blu-Ray drive right now)
- Graphics Card (Optional but good to have)
- Sound Card (Again, Optional but good to have if you have something like 7.1)
- Chassis (Coolermaster or Antec)

Lastly you'll need an operating system and since it doesn't cost you a penny I'd go for Ubuntu 64-Bit and if you can afford go for Windows 7 64-Bit too.

yeah I built my own one too ...and the fucking best part is that you don't need to do anything ...just write on some PC forum and ask people there to build it for you :D and some of them are pretty good in what they're doing so they like their job and they appreciate when you ask...

[silverdolphin]

what I think are important :
ram - I have a 4gb ram laptop & it's really fast
hard drive - ( 2 drives ) 300gb or more combined
graphics card
& of course the price, the comp/laptop's specifications should be worth the price.
I hope I didn't forget anything ..

[Simon]

Haha, I don't buy computers. Only n00bs buy computers.

I buy components and then build it myself. If you do it my way you'll need.

- Motherboard (Make sure you're motherboard can fit in your case, ie. a ATX will not fit in a mATX case.
- Processor (Check if the motherboard supports the processor socket)
- Memory (4GB+Check if it's compatible with the Motherboard)
- Power Supply (800W should do you fine)
- Hard Drive (SATA-2 I'd suggest, SDD if you're a rich kid).
- DVD-RW Drive (Again SATA-2 and I don't recommend a Blu-Ray drive right now)
- Graphics Card (Optional but good to have)
- Sound Card (Again, Optional but good to have if you have something like 7.1)
- Chassis (Coolermaster or Antec)

Lastly you'll need an operating system and since it doesn't cost you a penny I'd go for Ubuntu 64-Bit and if you can afford go for Windows 7 64-Bit too.

Also:

- Motherboard
(Make sure it has all the ports/connectors/slots/features you need and that it supports enough memory and an appropriate CPU)

- Processor
(Go for the ones with high performance/clock ratio's, 3GHz is not necessarily faster than 2,5GHz, reviews will help. Also depending on what you do, choose at least a quad(4)-core CPU these days for desktops, especially for videoediting and other tasks that require you to handle A LOT of data and also some games like GTA4 run much smoother with 4 cores. If you don't do much more than writing, surfing the web, watching some videos, play a simple game every once in a while and want to save some money, you can also still take a cheaper dual-core CPU. I don't even know if they still make single-core CPUs anymore, don't even think about it)

- Memory
(nothing to add here, 4GB+ and motherboard compatibility, may be look into the clock speeds a little, but they don't matter too much as long as they are officially supported)

- Power Supply
(800W should do you fine? NO DON'T YOU DO THAT, BAD BOY! - Never go for the cheap noname supplies with high nominal wattage like "800W Super Quiet Quality Gamer Power Supply". They are usually made of very low quality parts and have a high risk of failing way below their nominal power, possibly damaging other components and are often not that quiet either. Go for true quality manufacturer and 300-500W should be enough, depending on the graphics card. If not, the overpower safety function let's you know by shutting your system off. Some good examples: be quiet!, Cougar, Corsair, Seasonic, Enermax, OCZ, Tagan, Coolermaster)

- Hard Drive
(SATA-2, 7200rpm, 1TB or 1.5TB sizes are the ones with best space/price ratio at the moment, I think. SDD drives are very expensive but also extremely fast, they are like very big USB sticks without the slow USB part and inside the computer)

- DVD-RW Drive
(nothing to add: any SATA-2 DVD-RW from LG, NEC, Samsung, etc. would be fine)

- Graphics Card
(integrated video unit of the motherboard, if it has one, can be enough. Very much depending on what you need in terms of video outputs and graphics power for games, look into reviews like this)

- Sound Card
(again very depending on what you need, for me the motherboard integrated sound is enough since it supports even 5.1 and I don't need anything special)
- Chassis
(should have the ports you need to access a lot in the front/top/side and all the features and room you need for your components. Coolermaster or Antec are good examples but there are a lot of other good manufacturers like Gigabyte or LianLi. For me it comes down to a mix of looks and functionality.)

[Boni]

Haha, I don't buy computers. Only n00bs buy computers.

I buy components and then build it myself. If you do it my way you'll need.

- Motherboard (Make sure you're motherboard can fit in your case, ie. a ATX will not fit in a mATX case.
- Processor (Check if the motherboard supports the processor socket)
- Memory (4GB+Check if it's compatible with the Motherboard)
- Power Supply (800W should do you fine)
- Hard Drive (SATA-2 I'd suggest, SDD if you're a rich kid).
- DVD-RW Drive (Again SATA-2 and I don't recommend a Blu-Ray drive right now)
- Graphics Card (Optional but good to have)
- Sound Card (Again, Optional but good to have if you have something like 7.1)
- Chassis (Coolermaster or Antec)

Lastly you'll need an operating system and since it doesn't cost you a penny I'd go for Ubuntu 64-Bit and if you can afford go for Windows 7 64-Bit too.

- Power Supply
(800W should do you fine? NO DON'T YOU DO THAT, BAD BOY! - Never go for the cheap noname supplies with high nominal wattage like "800W Super Quiet Quality Gamer Power Supply". They are usually made of very low quality parts and have a high risk of failing way below their nominal power, possibly damaging other components and are often not that quiet either. Go for true quality manufacturer and 300-500W should be enough, depending on the graphics card. If not, the overpower safety function let's you know by shutting your system off. Some good examples: be quiet!, Cougar, Corsair, Seasonic, Enermax, OCZ, Tagan, Coolermaster)

I never said anything about make or model, I just stated that 800W would do most people fine, the only exception would really be if you max out your PCI-e and PCI slots like me with SLI.
This is my PSU: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176419

Btw, Core i7 with 12GB RAM is full of so much win.

[Simon]

I know, I just needed to shout that out because people usually go for these timebombs once they hear a big number and look for the cheapest one.
And an 800W PSU is really unnecessary for most users. Even a good 600W can be enough for enthusiasts with Multi-GPU systems. Most people don't even need more than 300W. Most gamers are good to go with 400-500W.

You waste energy (and pay a higher price) if you have a much bigger supply than you need, because of the decreasing efficiency at lower loads. So in your case 800+W seems appropriate, but not for the average PC user.

[Jake]

Btw, Core i7 with 12GB RAM is full of so much win.

Fucking. Well. Signed. + 2x 128GB SSD RAID 0 = 8 seconds to boot windows.

Out of lazyness i never build my current PC.

As for power supplies. Always buy modular ones if you're going for a windowed case. And tbh, go for about 100W more than what you need. They tend to wear down overtime. and that way if you want to add another hard disk, change gfx card ect, you should have plenty of room for it.

[Boni]

Btw, Core i7 with 12GB RAM is full of so much win.

Fucking. Well. Signed. + 2x 128GB SSD RAID 0 = 8 seconds to boot windows.

Out of lazyness i never build my current PC.

As for power supplies. Always buy modular ones if you're going for a windowed case. And tbh, go for about 100W more than what you need. They tend to wear down overtime. and that way if you want to add another hard disk, change gfx card ect, you should have plenty of room for it.

Though that blow up?

[patenttiftw]

I found this shitloaf from the dumpster. Works fine!!

[Jake]

Btw, Core i7 with 12GB RAM is full of so much win.

Fucking. Well. Signed. + 2x 128GB SSD RAID 0 = 8 seconds to boot windows.

Out of lazyness i never build my current PC.

As for power supplies. Always buy modular ones if you're going for a windowed case. And tbh, go for about 100W more than what you need. They tend to wear down overtime. and that way if you want to add another hard disk, change gfx card ect, you should have plenty of room for it.

Though that blow up?

One of the dimm slots did, alienware replaced it tho. so all is good