Before buying PC please ask our advice first!

Hello to all the lovely people on this thread :smile:

I'm looking to buy a new PC as I'm giving my current one to my mum :tongue:

I do want to be able to play most games at max specs and be able to play around with PS/3DS Max and what not as well :smile:

Probably gonna build my own but I've been out of the loop for 4 years so haven't been keeping up to date on parts and what not. I've got a budget of around £1500 :smile:

I already have an OS.

Reply 9725

phoebe230253

Hello!

I'm planning to buy a laptop for Uni this September and I will be studying architecture, I was wondering what laptop recommendations would be good other than the mac book?

Thanks :smile:

! Xxxxxxxx

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Reply 9726

Original post by elephantay

Hi guys

Im lookin to get a laptop for uni in sept thinking on sony vaio s series, howevee cant help but feel they are over priced, any advice/recommendations would b appreciated.

Will mainly be using it for assignments, watching tv/movies and web surfing

Hi, seems like quite basic usage.............any features you'd like?
budget?
is your preference the vaio s? and where have you been looking at for the vaio?

Original post by Revent

Hello to all the lovely people on this thread :smile:

I'm looking to buy a new PC as I'm giving my current one to my mum :tongue:

I do want to be able to play most games at max specs and be able to play around with PS/3DS Max and what not as well :smile:

Probably gonna build my own but I've been out of the loop for 4 years so haven't been keeping up to date on parts and what not. I've got a budget of around £1500 :smile:

I already have an OS.

Hi,

hmmm, do you need to build right now? As the new haswell chips are coming out along with a new chipset........and the new gtx7xx series from Nvidia is slowly coming onto the market.

Does budget include things like screen, etc?

Original post by phoebe230253

Hello!

I'm planning to buy a laptop for Uni this September and I will be studying architecture, I was wondering what laptop recommendations would be good other than the mac book?

Thanks :smile:

! Xxxxxxxx

Posted from TSR Mobile

For architecture, from Apple, Macbook pro range only .......
You can also definitely pick up other very powerful laptops at the same price range, but usually lower priced, better spec, as well built, but usually heavier and not as good looking.

Before buying, ask the department about the software you'll be using, so it gives a better idea.

Reply 9727

Original post by Iqbal007

Hi,

hmmm, do you need to build right now? As the new haswell chips are coming out along with a new chipset........and the new gtx7xx series from Nvidia is slowly coming onto the market.

Does budget include things like screen, etc?.

That was quick! Well I guess since the haswell chips are coming out soon, I'm not in a particular rush :smile:

I'll need to get a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers with at least 8GB of RAM because I'm on 6 atm and it doesn't quite do it for me and can get very slow. An SSD isn't necessary but I guess if it could be fit in, would be great! :lol:

Also, let's just say £1800 is my upper limit but I'd like to keep it lower if possible :smile:

Reply 9728

Andy_J

11

Original post by Revent

That was quick! Well I guess since the haswell chips are coming out soon, I'm not in a particular rush :smile:

I'll need to get a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers with at least 8GB of RAM because I'm on 6 atm and it doesn't quite do it for me and can get very slow. An SSD isn't necessary but I guess if it could be fit in, would be great! :lol:

Also, let's just say £1800 is my upper limit but I'd like to keep it lower if possible :smile:

It would probably be worth waiting for haswell and a 760ti or 770 to come out. With your budget there is really not reason not to get a 120gb or 240gb SSD and then a 1tb secondary HDD.

Reply 9729

Original post by Andy_J

It would probably be worth waiting for haswell and a 760ti or 770 to come out. With your budget there is really not reason not to get a 120gb or 240gb SSD and then a 1tb secondary HDD.

Hmm that 770 looks like a beauty :drool:

Currently on a replacement GPU (a msi 6850 cos my old one died :frown:

)

Oh I'm definitely going to be over clocking my build as well. Forgot to mention that! :smile:

Not sure if I want to OC the GPU yet but the CPU definitely so guess will need a great cooling system as well :tongue:

Sorry, I'm so picky and specific and stuff :colondollar:

Reply 9730

Original post by Revent

That was quick! Well I guess since the haswell chips are coming out soon, I'm not in a particular rush :smile:

I'll need to get a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers with at least 8GB of RAM because I'm on 6 atm and it doesn't quite do it for me and can get very slow. An SSD isn't necessary but I guess if it could be fit in, would be great! :lol:

Also, let's just say £1800 is my upper limit but I'd like to keep it lower if possible :smile:

Well I suggest you come back around July earliest, they are currently being shipped. Also I would wait also for performance and overclocking, etc benchmarks...........as this models focus is on integrated graphics and in particular power efficiency especially for laptops, like serious amount.

Do you use a monitor to actually check the ram usage? There are other factors, have 2 x 4gb 1600mhz+ dual channel are pretty fast, ram prices have also risen.

Your budget should be fine, unless you want the top of the range graphics card, as currently the favourite is the gtx670 which plays everything, the new gtx770 would be a rebadged 680 but better and should be around £400ish.

Reply 9731

Original post by Iqbal007

Well I suggest you come back around July earliest, they are currently being shipped. Also I would wait also for performance and overclocking, etc benchmarks...........as this models focus is on integrated graphics and in particular power efficiency especially for laptops, like serious amount.

Do you use a monitor to actually check the ram usage? There are other factors, have 2 x 4gb 1600mhz+ dual channel are pretty fast, ram prices have also risen.

Your budget should be fine, unless you want the top of the range graphics card, as currently the favourite is the gtx670 which plays everything, the new gtx770 would be a rebadged 680 but better and should be around £400ish.

Hmm...I don't care too much about efficiency and what not :tongue:

I just want performance even if it comes at a higher electricity usage and stuff (if that's what you're talking about by efficiency! :eek:

)

Well I do some 3d stuff every now and then, but I use Photoshop quite a bit and deal with very large images (6000x4000 pixels ish) so some extra RAM comes in handy :smile:

I'm not CRAZY about a top range graphics card, so if I can get something cheaper that will run everything fine, I'm cool with that providing it runs for a few years :smile:

Reply 9732

Original post by Revent

Hmm...I don't care too much about efficiency and what not :tongue:

I just want performance even if it comes at a higher electricity usage and stuff (if that's what you're talking about by efficiency! :eek:

)

Well I do some 3d stuff every now and then, but I use Photoshop quite a bit and deal with very large images (6000x4000 pixels ish) so some extra RAM comes in handy :smile:

I'm not CRAZY about a top range graphics card, so if I can get something cheaper that will run everything fine, I'm cool with that providing it runs for a few years :smile:

Yeah, its reduced, though not sure on overclocking, etc so wait till its out and wait a few days for people to give feedback.

Oh ok, the issue is ram prices have gone crazy high :s-smilie:

GTX770 should do fine.....

Reply 9733

Original post by Iqbal007

Yeah, its reduced, though not sure on overclocking, etc so wait till its out and wait a few days for people to give feedback.

Oh ok, the issue is ram prices have gone crazy high :s-smilie:

GTX770 should do fine.....

Oh okay, fair enough. Will post back in a couple of days then! Thanks :biggrin:

Reply 9734

Original post by Revent

Oh okay, fair enough. Will post back in a couple of days then! Thanks :biggrin:

Ignoring the processor,motherboard and gpu..........you can still have a look around other parts.

Like cases, recommend the Corsair 300R.

Reply 9735

Original post by Iqbal007

Ignoring the processor,motherboard and gpu..........you can still have a look around other parts.

Like cases, recommend the Corsair 300R.

How good is it at noise cancelling? :tongue:

I'd like something a little quiet! My Antec 900 is pretty noisy at the moment! I guess that's the price I have to pay to get 5 fans :lol:

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Reply 9736

Original post by Revent

How good is it at noise cancelling? :tongue:

I'd like something a little quiet! My Antec 900 is pretty noisy at the moment! I guess that's the price I have to pay to get 5 fans :lol:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Well to be fair, its not, that particular case is about airflow, which it seriously is good for.

Check the Coolermaster Silencio series, Antec P183 V3 and finally the Fractal Design R4 in particular are pretty decent.

Reply 9737

Original post by Iqbal007

Well to be fair, its not, that particular case is about airflow, which it seriously is good for.

Check the Coolermaster Silencio series, Antec P183 V3 and finally the Fractal Design R4 in particular are pretty decent.

The Antec P183 V3 :drool:

That sounds perfect! What do you think of watercooling? I don't know much about it as I have a heatsink for my CPU at the moment.

Case: I think the Antec P183 V3 is a beast. Looks amazing.
DVD Drive: Some cheap one will suffice I guess :tongue:

Cooling: Water? Heatsink?
RAM: 8GB minimum I guess :tongue:

Oh I also wanted to ask on behalf of a friend because we're all starting uni in September and he needs to get a laptop. He's got a budget of £500 and wants to really just be able to do uni work and play COD and AC games. Some help with that would be really appreciated! :smile:

Thanks so much!! Or do you think he'd be better off getting a PC?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 9738

Original post by Revent

The Antec P183 V3 :drool:

That sounds perfect! What do you think of watercooling? I don't know much about it as I have a heatsink for my CPU at the moment.

Case: I think the Antec P183 V3 is a beast. Looks amazing.
DVD Drive: Some cheap one will suffice I guess :tongue:

Cooling: Water? Heatsink?
RAM: 8GB minimum I guess :tongue:

Oh I also wanted to ask on behalf of a friend because we're all starting uni in September and he needs to get a laptop. He's got a budget of £500 and wants to really just be able to do uni work and play COD and AC games. Some help with that would be really appreciated! :smile:

Thanks so much!! Or do you think he'd be better off getting a PC?

definitely check this out as well http://www.ebuyer.com/394667-fractal-design-define-r4-titanium-pearl-case-fa-ca-def-r4-ti

Check make sure there is enough fan slots, especially in the right places and check out the reviews and performance, in particular the temperature as silent cases tend to hold a bit more heat. Especially make sure theres a good intake fan and good exhaust fan.

Custom is good, the other ones, well they can be a bit noisy, but quiet, only issue is that it takes up a fan slot on the case.
It depends on whether your overclocking and what you expect, as heatsinks have catched up to watercooling.

Which AC games?
And he should understand that desktop performance will be better, though a laptop is pretty good when computers aren't available at uni, etc.

Reply 9739