I just don’t care any more. Can someone just tell me what to buy? Desktop + video card to play games for the next 3+ years (my old system was a Vostro dual core and an 8800GT, lasted quite a while) reasonably well? My only request is that the video card have HDMI out, since I might want to hook it up to my projector. Oh, and an SSD would be nice for the boot volume.
Thanks!
H.
techbargains with a sufficient psu (500w+) + hd6870.
the dell xps 8100 has a 350w psu i think.
the dell inspiron 580 comes with a 300w psu.
so most cheap boxes you will need to up the psu.
Do what that other guy just got recently.
$1500 seems pretty high, though. I was thinking $700 machine, $200 card, $150 SSD. Not gonna happen?
H.
Yeah, you know, the guy. With the thing. And the stuff.
No you can do that easy. I didn’t get the SSD on this machine but I did it for 900. Yeah its only an i5 but I bought it a year ago so I would assume you could do the same with an i7 now.
Honestly I would wait till you can get the 6870 though as it seems like it might hit a pretty sweet spot.
Does your projector handle the sound, too? If not, you could probably get away with a DVI-to-HDMI adapter or cable. And that may open up your choices of video cards.
Yeah, DVI-HDMI transfers digital signals exactly the same, apparently. I wouldn’t think of no HDMI as a dealbreaker.
as long as the HDCP transfers ok… (I don’t know, does it always?)
You don’t want the projector handling the sound. Dinky speakers at best, crappy DSP if any. You want to go straight to amp.
Ah, didn’t know those adapters existed, I have a proper receiver system for sound. Off to the market!
H.
I’m all about the 6870 and something to drive it, I did run my 8800GT on a Dell stock PSU for years, so I’m trying to find a system with a fast dual core chip, as suggested in another thread. What system do you have?
H.
Or look at this beast: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227215R
The 5850 is a serious card, no?
H.
Or get something like this and throw a 6870 at it, maybe SSD down the road:
Have you checked Cyberpower or a similar vendor? I think you can probably get, say, a Core i5 system with HD 6870 & 60GB+ SSD for ~$1,000.
yeah don’t waste time on a refurb.
Close, but not quite. Around $1150 once you throw in the OS and upgrade a bunch of minor things.
I think I’ll probably just go the refurb route, Seems like I can get a machine that will last a couple of years for $700, then a video card in a year or two for a few more years.
H.
I was also looking at the open box items, but it looks like I can configure for nearly the same price. Of course now I’m back to having to figure everything out . . .
H.
get a new $500-700 pc and toss a $200 video card at it. (+$50 psu)
Gah. There’s a 600$ Cyberpower open box at Newegg for $220 less than the exact same system new. I’m scared to buy anything open box, but that’s a great deal. It even has a good video card that would last me another year or two. What say you?
H.