Help with gaming desktop

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#944722 3-Dec-2013 13:47

A normal hard disk is platters spinning really fast with a read/write head. An SSD is memory chips, no moving parts, so much lower latency and faster data throughput.

With a 120GB SSD you'd put your OS, programs, and games on the SSD, and all other data like photos, videos, and documents on hard disk. Of course you need a backup for everything, preferably offsite. Every disk fails, SSD or spinning, the only question is when.

timmmay

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#944726 3-Dec-2013 13:51

I wouldn't bother with hybrid drives personally. They may let the computer start more quickly, but won't do much else for you, depending on the size of the flash cache.

Ragnor

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#944742 3-Dec-2013 14:07

Feignz:

I've looked at Playtech, but their computers seem over priced for what you get.

With both Playtech and Computer Lounge if you give them a target budget and ask for a quote they will cram in good value, better than their "list" prices.. but yeah overall I prefer Computer Lounge too.

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#944908 3-Dec-2013 18:13

think of a normal spinning drive as a large warehouse stacked left right up down and you have ONE worker using ONE ladder.

you can only get one thing at a time. if the next thing is up, you are in luck he can run up and get the next thing. if the next thing is in the other corner he will have to run to the other corner and so on. so if your warehouse is a mess and you want to get 1 thousand things, well, go make a coffee and watch the news.

he has a slavemaster which orders him to get things in sequence. if the 2nd thing on the list is on the far corner and the 3rd thing on the list is right next to him he is not going to get the 3rd thing next to him he needs to go to the far corner then come back to get the 3rd thing. imagine if 1000 things are messed up like that ...

SSD - a large warehouse with a JEDI who can grab anything, anywhere, anytime, it aint matter if it's a mess, you want it now, he gets it NOW. no running around.

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#944911 3-Dec-2013 18:15

caveat, different SSDs have different JEDIs some are faster. but none of them need to move.

the other fine print - the solo guy in the warehouse only moves if his wheels are spinning. if the hard drive is not spinning he needs to spin it first before getting anything for you.

to give you an idea

very fast hard drive can read and write at around 120megaBYTEs (don't confuse with bit/ 8 bit = 1 byte) per second if the guy in the warehouse is taking or putting the things right next to each other (which it won't 99% of the time). otherwise expect maybe 30MBps or 10MBps on a really bad courier run.

the fastest SSD currently could do around just under 600MBps on a good run, but that is rarely the case, so between 300-400MBps on a bad run, maybe down to 40-130MBps on the worst day from hell.

SSDs cost money. so if you want to save all your game data files on SSD and all your songs and movies etc that are not often used on the other hard drive.

timmmay

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#944919 3-Dec-2013 18:39

Great analogy. Perhaps the SSD one could be you have a teleport that can grab packages from ten (or whatever) different shelves at once, almost instantly.

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#944924 3-Dec-2013 18:46

Yes a jedi with arms that teleports is a better way to see it

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Feignz

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#945056 3-Dec-2013 23:51

@timmmay and joker, I'll go for a SSD for sure, plus HDD's aren't expensive, and thank you for your help :)

Spoke to someone from Computer Lounge, they recommended http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/systemdetail.asp?sysid=48&systypeid=4
And add a 1TB HDD, and downgrade to win 7 pro.

I was looking at this PC originally, but I thought they may of been able to come up with a better build.

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#945063 4-Dec-2013 01:15

Feignz: @timmmay and joker, I'll go for a SSD for sure, plus HDD's aren't expensive, and thank you for your help :)

Spoke to someone from Computer Lounge, they recommended http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/systemdetail.asp?sysid=48&systypeid=4
And add a 1TB HDD, and downgrade to win 7 pro.

I was looking at this PC originally, but I thought they may of been able to come up with a better build.

I dont get it

The system details in the middle and system specs at the bottom are completely different

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#945069 4-Dec-2013 04:53

joker97:

I dont get it

The system details in the middle and system specs at the bottom are completely different

Looks like someone updated the specs in the bottom table but not in the fancy marketing part, if you click the configure button the parts match the bottom table.

timmmay

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#945079 4-Dec-2013 07:22

That's pretty poor that their page is inconsistent, someone should tell them. Both sets of specs are probably ok, but knowing which one it is would be nice.

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#945093 4-Dec-2013 08:20

re computerlounge system - just a few points

- the i5 4670K is overclockable AND has hyperthread (is 4 cores = 8 threads)
the i5 4440 has NO hyperthread (4 core = 4 thread = basically and i3)

I suggest you ask for 4570 i5. I believe to properly overclock the 4670K you need a motherboard that facilitates it. not all mobos have the ability to do it?

- can someone comment on the Seagate SSD ... I am pretty sure it's not one of the best, but is it good enough?

other than that I have no idea if the proposed graphics card is good enough for your "want to play everything at the highest settings

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#945095 4-Dec-2013 08:21

your monitor is 1080p or 2680?

sidefx

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#945103 4-Dec-2013 08:42

joker97:
- the i5 4670K is overclockable AND has hyperthread (is 4 cores = 8 threads)
the i5 4440 has NO hyperthread (4 core = 4 thread = basically and i3)

I suggest you ask for 4570 i5. I believe to properly overclock the 4670K you need a motherboard that facilitates it. not all mobos have the ability to do it?

The 4670K is quad core and overclockable, but has no hyperthreading. You don't need HT though, especially on a quad core. There are i3s with HT but you're better off getting a quad i5 without HT.

That mobo should be absolutely fine for overclocking (anything based on Z87 should be) and you shouldn't have much trouble getting 4.4+Ghz from a 4670K, but if you will overclock get a 3rd party cooler. Coolermaster 212 EVO is a good choice for the money - I'm running a 4670K at 4.5Ghz on it and temperatures are fine.

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#945201 4-Dec-2013 10:31

My monitor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096

Sent a message to Playtech, they said go for this http://www.playtech.co.nz/afawcs0139235/CATID=709/ID=21898/SID=903534381/productdetails.html
Plus you get a copy of Bf4.
- $1,899.00

Computer Lounge said
http://www.computerlounge.co.nz/systems/systemdetail.asp?sysid=48&systypeid=4
But upgrade to the GTX770.
- $1,849.95

Assuming the parts on Computer Lounge are the ones listed at the bottom, is there anything you'd change?

And which is better for my $?

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