Getting a new desktop, suggestions on what i have so far?

[d3drocks]

I am currently typing this on a dying desktop computer. its not that the parts are out of date (well, they are a bit), its that its showing signs that its going to die. every fresh install of windows does not handle very well. it does not shut down without needing to hold the power down, and its getting slow accessing one of its hard disks. over the past few years, I've had to format it a few times, because windows would just not start.
as well, my linux installs are not always doing so well on this machine either. I've had it busybox a few times in the past, and I've had it just crap out on sound for no reason (windows is now doing this, and linux is not anymore. its weird).

so far, I'm looking at an alienware computer. I was originally going to build the pc myself. i found that it wasn't much cheaper for the hardware i was looking at (i was gunna work with an i7 980 cpu, but quickly dropped that due to price of the cpu+motherboard. as well, I calculated the savings of the same CPU alienware/dell offors, as well as a similar motherboard, and the savings were not worth it to spend the time building and troubleshooting), and having a complete pc shipped to me will be more convenient while im in school (unlike most, I actually do study and work my arse off for my grades. gotta make the most of college, ya know?)
parts im looking at:
i7 2600
windows 7 pro
875 watt power supply
liquid cooling system
8 GB of ram (which i will up to 16 a few months after i get the computer, when i can afford it).
Nvidia gforce gtx 560 ti
Sound Blaster X-Fi
1 tb HD (I will go to 2-3 TB after a few months)

I'm kind of tempted to do SLI with 2 GTX 460s, but im not 100% sure i will. doing so means I would have to drop the sound card (im potentially dropping the soundcard anyways).

at some point afterwards, I will pick up a TrippleHead2Go system to set up 3 monitors easily (im currently on 2).
can anyone suggest any modifications to this setup?

i can see this being a pain in the ass :p. on top of that, if i stop using an evochron registration on 1 computer, I'd need to find out if i can move that same key to a new one.

[Viper]

Hello d3drocks

That's quite an impressive list you got there. But if I can give you a piece of advice:
Ask yourself what it is you're gonna use the new computer for, do you really need it to be as spiced up as that for the purpose you're getting it for? I'm betting you're going to use it for gaming (correct me if I'm wrong), in which case I think it's gonna do the trick just fine. But you might wanna reconsider a couple of items, such as a the liquid cooling. Liquid cooling requires extra maintenance, or you can get algae in the system, which will clog it up reducing its performance greatly, and if you don't clean it you will end up replacing the lot. Besides the air based cooling systems you can get nowadays are just as good, and a lot cheaper. (just a bit more noisy I guess) Also, do your components really require such a power supply? That's a pretty heavy one and if you have your computer running a lot you will end up with quite a power bill.
Last, I would recommend against getting an Alienware PC. I can't speak of experience here, but I know some people who were extremely disappointed with their customer service. And when things break down unexpectedly and you want to make use of the warranty, you will need them.

Personally I don't use the computer as often as I used to anymore. So when my old one needed replacement, I went for a simple box that was on sale at that time. It just has a simple MSI motherboard, AMD Athlon dual core and for the rest it came with pretty standard stuff. I just replaced the vid card with a NVidia GeForce 220GT and added some RAM (now still 'only' 3Gig) and I ended up with something that does what it's supposed to do for the purpose I use it for, and still I saved a lot of money. I then spent some money on a good keyboard/mouse combo, got the Logitech MX5500 Revolution, and bought an Acer 24" LED screen, things that in my view pay off in the end. My simple air based cooling system keeps everything between 39 and 45C.

The thing with computers is, you think you are getting a really hot one and spend a lot of money on it, and a year later you learn that regardless of how much money you spent on it, it is already outdated again. That's how it goes with computers.

In the end you gotta do what you want yourself mate. If you're going with that list, I'm sure you will have a pretty kickass computer, and it will run Evochron Mercenary just fine, and then some.

That's my 2 cents. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a lot of fun with it and don't regret any of your decisions.


~ Viper.

[Edited on 8-23-2011 by Red Viper]

[d3drocks]

Hello d3drocks

That's quite an impressive list you got there. But if I can give you a piece of advice:
Ask yourself what it is you're gonna use the new computer for, do you really need it to be as spiced up as that for the purpose you're getting it for? I'm betting you're going to use it for gaming (correct me if I'm wrong), in which case I think it's gonna do the trick just fine. But you might wanna reconsider a couple of items, such as a the liquid cooling. Liquid cooling requires extra maintenance, or you can get algae in the system, which will clog it up reducing its performance greatly, and if you don't clean it you will end up replacing the lot. Besides the air based cooling systems you can get nowadays are just as good, and a lot cheaper. (just a bit more noisy I guess) Also, do your components really require such a power supply? That's a pretty heavy one and if you have your computer running a lot you will end up with quite a power bill.
Last, I would recommend against getting an Alienware PC. I can't speak of experience here, but I know some people who were extremely disappointed with their customer service. And when things break down unexpectedly and you want to make use of the warranty, you will need them.

Personally I don't use the computer as often as I used to anymore. So when my old one needed replacement, I went for a simple box that was on sale at that time. It just has a simple MSI motherboard, AMD Athlon dual core and for the rest it came with pretty standard stuff. I just replaced the vid card with a NVidia GeForce 220GT and added some RAM (now still 'only' 3Gig) and I ended up with something that does what it's supposed to do for the purpose I use it for, and still I saved a lot of money. I then spent some money on a good keyboard/mouse combo, got the Logitech MX5500 Revolution, and bought an Acer 24" LED screen, things that in my view pay off in the end. My simple air based cooling system keeps everything between 39 and 45C.

The thing with computers is, you think you are getting a really hot one and spend a lot of money on it, and a year later you learn that regardless of how much money you spent on it, it is already outdated again. That's how it goes with computers.

In the end you gotta do what you want yourself mate. If you're going with that list, I'm sure you will have a pretty kickass computer, and it will run Evochron Mercenary just fine, and then some.

That's my 2 cents. Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a lot of fun with it and don't regret any of your decisions.


~ Viper.

[Edited on 8-23-2011 by Red Viper]

hey, thanks for that. these days alienware = dell, and dell has been really really good to me. ive had parts replaced in dell computers by their customer service overnight, and with only 5-10 minutes total with customer service (including hold times). as well, my brother has had good luck with alienware. i realize that in the past they weren't that good, but now that alienware is just a dell brand, and dell does everything, it does not seem so bad.

I am building a high end gaming machine, because I do play games, but it will be my only decent computer for the next 5 or so years. I know it wont hold up for too long, but i plan to move in the spring, and when/if that happens, I won't be getting a new pc for a while (changing parts shouldnt be a problem).
i want the large power supply, so changing the videocard will be easy, and i wont have to worry.

liquid cooling is the only option for this computer it seems (i would not have paid extra for something like that)alienware puts it in by default. dealing with algi should be as simple as using a little bit of anti-freeze. I also do audio recording/mastering (this will be one of the main functions of the computer), so the reduced noise will be nice.

I haven't considered getting a decent keyboard and mouse yet. you bring up a good point in investing in them. i usually don't pay more than $6 - $10 for a keyboard or mouse (which explains why some of the letters on my keyboard have faded completely off ). I'll look into that Logitech MX5500 Revolution.

for monitors, I currently have 2 LG Flatron E2250s (they are LED). I'll probably get a 3rd, and toss this desktop out (keeping the hard drives and potentially the videocard of course).

for my current use (and for school) I'll need alot of ram. I do virtualization of linux, solaris, BSD, windows etc. a 1 VM can eat 2 GB of ram on its own.

thanks for your input. I'm going to reconsider the power supply based on what you've said.