Me neither, been Intel for over a decade now.
Hmmmm, it looks like Fry’s Electronics can also build PCs, and there’s one down the street. I’ll have to check that out.
The problem with low end video cards, from what I can tell, isn’t the raw performance but the RAM. Many seem to come with 2 or 3GB, and most games even running at 1080 seem to want at the very least 4, if not 8. High faluttin’ texture packs seem to demand 16.
Too expensive IMO. Anything over $2,000 should come with a 1080 or probably a 1080 Ti.
Dude, for 3k you could get a helluva system AND a high end g-sync monitor.
Absolutely. For 3k you should save money on the PC and get a 144hz 1440p IPS monitor. It would have a vastly bigger effect on the quality of the gaming experience than any spec bump.
Part of the problem is the i7. You could go i5 or i3 and spend the extra on video instead. You could also drop down to 16GB of much faster memory while saving money.
I just configured an Alienware Aurora with i5 8600k, 16 GB 2933 memory, 1080ti, 256GB NVMe boot drive, 1TB secondary for just under 2k. Not advocating Alienware, just showing you should be able to get plenty of machine for 2k
Can you guys point me to these configurations you have in mind for these PC and monitor combos please? If you have a moment and don’t mind, please? I need all the help I can get.
Ohhhhhhh, Fry’s charges $90 to put the PC together if I buy all the parts here’s. That’s a notion.
But . . . that’s the fun part!
Exactly , putting it all together and then wondering why it doesn’t boot is part of the experience!
This was the Aurora. Again, not advocating it (I’m sure you can get a better deal). Note I didn’t realize they required liquid cooling for the processor (stupid) which pushed the price slightly above 2k
Here’s an XPS as close as I could get to the same config (2666 memory and regular 1080) for 1500.
I like the XPS 8930 that @Misguided linked, I just doubled the RAM / Storage and bumped up the CPU and Win 10 to PRO. $2100+tax.
But I want liquid cooling as we have no AC and it can get hot here. So with 32GB of ram, it’s about $2,400.
The reason to go with liquid cooling is because it can be quieter and the coolers take up less space. It’s not actually going to make much of a heat difference. Although I can’t speak for whatever stock air cooler is part of that system.
For raw cooling exhausting air out of the case at a faster rate is more important.
That was liquid cooled already. Why on earth do you need 32GB ram?
So wait, does that mean more fans?
Hahahahah “need”. ;) Seriously though, I wanna bulk this thing up now so I don’t have to later. Am I being silly?
Ok, well, you could do 32GB at 2666 and still have plenty left for a sweet monitor, like:
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Predator-XB271HU-2560x1440-Display/dp/B0173PEX20/
That, I can personally recommend, as can others here. Might be something newer, though.