Computer advice

[Leahbender]

So basically I've been saving up for almost a year and have acquired around $900 to buy a new pc. The thing is I know next to nothing about computer hardware, specs, different models etc. So I'm wondering if any of you can recommenced me a computer that fits my price range? I need it to be able to handle frequent gaming (minecraft, tf2, skyrim ect) as well as videos, music, and other media stuff, without overheating or slowing down.
Any recommendations?

 

[Fiestaguy]

First point. It's cheaper than it all looks. I've seen a lot of people buy a graphics card for €300,- which I myself, have bought for only €25,-. Note that when it's over €100,- online, it's probably available at your local hardware store thrice as cheap.

Specific specs? I can't really tell you much. Just make sure the graphics driver supports OpenGL 2.0 and 3D rendering, but that should be logical.

Next: Buy only what you need. You might find a processor which can handle a metric fuck ton of RAM while you may only need a metric heck ton of RAM if you know what I'm saying.

Last: Note that some drivers may need several different parts. For example, there's a video driver for €30,-. But to use it your computer needs some sorta special internal plug that costs around €60,-. Make sure that you have it and that it's really needed.

Again: These are general tips of what I know. I can't really recommend any specific graphics drivers or anything too technical. Sorry.

EDIT: >Implying that you build your PC with separate parts. This is generally cheaper, more customisable and fun! A lot of hardware stores add an additional €200,- or so to their computers just for the heck of it.

>>Second thing, you might want to keep in mind: For windows you need a license. A windows 7 license can range from €49,99 to €149,99.

>>> Third edit: Don't go buggering about paying for antivirus software: Microsoft Security Essentials is completely free.

 

[Velzerat]

A great community that should be able to help you a lot more than Blocktopia is /r/buildapc and /r/buildmeapc. Oh, by the way, I definitely recommend building your own- It's a lot cheaper than getting a pre-built one. It's not that difficult either, almost as easy as building something out of Lego.

I'm not sure what country you live in, but I'm going to assume you live in America. In this case, here's a few great PC's around the $900 range, not including monitors, keyboards or mice:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pxTMXL ($595.77, I'd suggest a $120 SSD)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DnNzpg ($751,29, SSD recommended as well)

Also, check out this website: http://www.logicalincrements.com/. It's amazing. Also a nice guide for people outside of the USA.

Here's a few general tips:

- Don't buy i7. There's no point, a lot of people buy it because i7>i5 but you won't ever need it.
- Don't get 4k monitors. Most games don't support it, most monitors aren't even 60ghz, and they're very expensive right now. 1080p 60ghz is probably your best bet.
- One of the best "buy it for life" mice is the g400s. It's pretty expensive, around $70, but will last you a long time. I've been using it for some time now and absolutely love it. Allows you to change your DPI as well.
- Get an SSD, at least 120GB. Use it for your OS and most-used software (e.g. steam) and games (e.g. Minecraft & Skyrim). It's a lot faster than a HDD and makes a gigantic difference.
- Use Windows 8.1. It gets a lot of hate, but apart from the goddamn awful Metro design, it's a huge improvement over Windows 7.


Here's a list of essential or very good software. Check it out and use your own judgment:



Winrar (some people prefer 7zip or similar. 30 day trial but you can still use it after that.)
Teamviewer
Google Chrome (Firefox is nice as well but Chrome generally has more addons. IE isn't as bad as people say it is but I'd still recommend Chrome or Firefox)
Skype
iTunes
Quicktime
VLC Media Player (Or Media Player Classic. Use one of these as your main media player, they're a lot better than the default)
Java
.NET
Silverlight
Air
Shockwave
Paint.NET (Image editor. You've got GIMP as well, you should decide which one you want)
Malwarebytes (the new GUI looks very scammy now, but it's amazing)
Spybot
Adobe Reader (or an alternative PDF reader, like the one listed below)
Sumatra PDF
Google Drive
OneDrive
Dropbox (a little note about cloud storage services: I'd recommend Google Drive over OneDrive, Dropbox, Box, etc., more free storage + google docs)
Everything (A better search thingy)
Bittorrent (qBittorrent is probably better and without ads)
CCleaner
Imgburn
YTD Video Downloader (download youtube vids)
Microsoft Office
Spotify
Audacity
TreeSize (See what's using up all your space)
Prey anti-theft
Bitdefender anti-virus (best antivirus IMO)
Clover (just give it a try. it's fucking amazing)
Notepad++
Duplicate Files Finder (never used this that much, but it's supposed to be great)
Less Msiérables
Virtual Clone Drive (IIRC no longer needed on windows 8 as it has this by default)
Classic Start (fuck metro)


ALSO, use Ninite to install a lot of software at once. It's fucking amazing.

Here's one of the greatest "How to build a PC" videos as well:
(part 1 of 3)

Can't think of anything else right now, but I hope this helped.


If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask.

EDIT:

dont get a cheap psu, you will regret it.
Don't screw it shut till you are sure it works. It angers the PC gods if you show such hubris.
Don't use hydrogen peroxide.
If it's your first time building, have the day clear. Could take some time.
Lots of awesome monitors and a good mouse will make you happier than just about anything else. again, g400s is amazing.
A mechanical keyboard is great if you have the money for it. Look into it, http://www.logicalincrements.com/ has a pretty good section about it as well.

EDIT2: check here for more info

http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1s52pl/what_is_the_1_newbie_mistake_when_building_a_pc/[1]
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/yyu0x/bapc_what_were_your_first_build_mistakes/[2]
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1vo53z/what_mistakes_did_you_make_when_building_your/[3]
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/x7jv1/what_is_the_dumbest_mistake_youve_made_during_a/[4]
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/15h2me/build_help_what_are_the_mistakes_a_beginner_can/[5]
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/141fqe/your_mistakes/[6]
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1uz2e2/what_do_you_regret_after_building_your_pc/[7]
http://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1b66te/1_tip_for_first_time_builders/[8]

Sources: my experience & reddit



EDIT3:

Quote from fiesta: >>>> Third edit: Don't go buggering about paying for antivirus software: Microsoft Security Essentials is completely free.

Don't. MSE was amazing back in the time but these days it's just not enough. Get bitdefender, it often has free trials. A good free antivirus is Avast (it gets a lot of hate but it does the job). Also, honestly... You don't need an antivirus if you're careful enough. As long as you know your way around the internet & don't do stupid shit, you should be absolutely fine.

EDIT4:

If you don't yet, you should probably use Chrome extensions. I'll post some of the ones I use on here, check them out and see if you'd like them! However, don't get too many as it'll lag your browser. I'll bold all the extensions which are definitely, really, essential.

Adblock Plus (blocks advertisements)
AlienTube for YouTube (replaces youtube comments with reddit thread comments if available, suddenly you can go to YouTube without getting cancer)
Auto HD for YouTube (self-explanatory)
Chromebleed (tells you if a site is still affected by Heartbleed)
Enhanced Steam (makes Steam a lot better, huge recommendation)
Gif Delayer (delays playing gifs until they are fully downloaded)
Hola Better Internet (Access websites blocked in your country, company or school. For example, a video is blocked in your country? 2 clicks with hola and you can view it!)
HTML5ify (Forces websites like Amazon and Youtube to give you HTML5 media instead of wrapping it in Flash)
HTTPS everywhere (Forces websites to give you HTTPS instead of HTTP if available)
Imgur to gfycat (replaces animated gifs throughout the internet with gfycat optimized HTML5 videos, which load faster among other things)
imgur uploader (Right-click uploading of images and screenshots anonymously or to your imgur account.)
Linkclump (Lets you open, copy or bookmark multiple links at the same time.)
Netflix Enhancer (Show trailers, IMDb/RT ratings, and much more, on the Netflix page. )
Personal blocklist by Google (Blocks domains/hosts from appearing in your Google search results)
Reddit Enhancement Suite (a group of enhancements for browsing Reddit , fuckign amazing)

EDIT5: Here's a nice reddit thread which should be able to help you with choosing windows 7 or windows 8: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/177us7/windows_7_vs_8/.
I would not recommend using a linux distro, as most games aren't compatible with them. I wouldn't recommend using mac either simply because mac is shit)

EDIT6: another vs thread, this one for i5 or i7: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/1nuhv1/i5_vs_i7/

 

[Leahbender]

Thanks for the help (although I don't understand mostof the computer lingo) I should probably mention I'm definitely not going to build my pc, just want to get a premade one.

 

[Velzerat]

Why not? Here's a few reasons why you should consider building your own:

- Premades are expensive and overpriced. You'll pay hundreds of dollars more for something that isn't very well optimized, with $900 you'll probably get something that would cost you around $500 if you'd build it yourself... which is a lot of money.
- They're easy to build. There's a lot of guides on the internet as well, and even if you do screw up you probably won't cause any permanent damage to your parts.
- Pre-mades often include shitty parts. A lot of people don't know a lot about computers and will just think "oh, nice, 16GB ram and i7??? this pc is a beast!" while the manufacturers include cheap & shitty coolers or VRAM. (often also crap psu, bad case, other dodgy stuff)
- Because of the above thing, it's very easy to get screwed over by a pre-made.

Anyway, I've never bought a pre-made in my life so I can't recommend any good ones, especially at that price range. Good luck though! (also what's your reasoning for going with a pre-made?)

EDIT: An amazing and more detailed explanation telling you why you should never buy a pre-built from /r/buildapc:

Why should I build a computer instead of buying a prebuilt computer?

• First and foremost: if you build your own computer you will save money. A prebuilt computer will always be more expensive than a computer that you build yourself due to the cost of assembly. If you are willing to assemble the computer yourself you will forgo that cost and any other markups added by such companies. Prebuilt computers may appear cheaper on paper; however, this is often due to companies using cheap and/or poor quality components.
• You get to pick all the parts and know that they are going to be of high quality. There is also a greater selection of parts to choose from, allowing you to customize your computer to a much greater extent than any third-party company can offer.
• Prebuilt computer companies are notorious for installing bloatware on their computers that can drain your system's resources, making your computer much slower. This software can be removed, but many times requires several hours to do without a complete system wipe. In those several hours even a novice could assemble an entire computer from scratch.
• While a prebuilt computer may have a warranty for the entire system, if you purchase from the right companies your individual components can have warranties that are much longer than any prebuilt computer, including (in some cases) lifetime warranties.
• While it does require a fair bit of knowledge to pick out the appropriate parts and assemble a computer doing so is a very fun and rewarding experience. This benefit should not be underestimated. If you choose to build your own computer you will learn quite a bit in the process about computers in general and how to replace various components and solve general computer issues.

 

[Leahbender]

Let me reiterate: I know nothing about the technical aspects of computers. zilch. zero. nada.
I'm a high school student and don't have the time, expertise, or space to build something that complicated. It may seem easy to you, but it's too much of a daunting challenge for me. It would be optimal if I just bought a premade one
Anyways, thanks for your advice. If I cant find a suitable model I might look into building one. Unlikely though.

 

[Velzerat]

As you're going with a pre-made, I'll try to give some tips about buying one.

First of all, you should try and find a local computer (repair) shop, which isn't owned by a big company like Best Buy, Newegg, etc. as those are usually dodgy and have shitty parts in them. A local shop tends to be more personal and not aimed at ripping you off. Try and ask if you'd be able to tell them which parts you want (you could take some pre-mades from my first post of this thread) and ask them if they'd build it. This way you've still got quality control and can be 100% assured that your build won't have any dodgy parts in it.

A second tip is to pay a lot of attention to the specs of the pc, pre-mades are often targeted at people who do not know a lot about computers, and thus they will include a lot of buzzwords, false information or even exclude parts. If they don't mention the GPU or video card or similar, don't even bother. You should not trust them at all in this case. You could, of course, replace the dodgy parts, but that will void the warranty.

I'd recommend having a look at /r/suggestapc and maybe posting in it as well. It seems to be inactive, but perhaps some friendly redditors would be able to help you.

Would still like to stress about how easy it is to build a pc (easier than you'd expect, anyway- Anyone can do it, it just takes a few hours/a day and some motivation, even if you don't know anything about computers) and when buying a pre-made you'll have a computer which is hundreds of dollars more expensive, performs worse, and has less warranty than one you build yourself. You've also got an insanely big chance of getting ripped off and getting a dodgy pc. I spent a few hours earlier today trying to look for a good pre-made in the USA- but I couldn't find any.

However, I understand your decision to go with a pre-made, and I won't try to convince you to build a PC any further. I do hope you'll be able to find a good pre-made, good luck!

 

[Fiestaguy]

Quote from fiesta: >>>> Third edit: Don't go buggering about paying for antivirus software: Microsoft Security Essentials is completely free.

Don't. MSE was amazing back in the time but these days it's just not enough. Get bitdefender, pirate it, whatever. A good free antivirus is Avast (it gets a lot of hate but it does the job). Also, honestly... You don't need an antivirus if you're careful enough. As long as you know your way around the internet & don't do stupid shit, you should be absolutely fine.

Sorry but, MSE works like a charm. Probably better than Avast! imo >.>

 

[Velzerat]

Sorry but, MSE works like a charm. Probably better than Avast! imo >.>

I have to disagree here. Yes, MSE was amazing a few years ago, but these days it's only a shadow of what it used to be. Software like bitdefender, kaspersky antivirus and yes, even Avast, is a lot better. Hell, even Microsoft itself has admitted this, and it's exactly what they want. They want to be kind of the "foundation" for other software to build on, which makes the third-party software a way better alternative:

"We’re providing all of that data and information to our partners so they can do at least as well as we are," she said. "The natural progression is that we will always be on the bottom of these tests. And honestly, if we are doing our job correctly, that’s what will happen."
She added that Microsoft wants "everyone to do better than us because we know that makes it harder for the bad guys".
(source)

MSE also continues to fail the AV-TEST certification:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Mi...-Malware-Certification-Bitdefender,19452.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AV...ty-Essentials-Double-Failure-0-Day,20524.html

tl;dr I'm not calling MSE bad because that's my opinion, but because I have good sources and reasons for it. I recommend Bitdefender, Kaspersky or Avast instead, although just having Adblock installed and being careful should do the job as well. MSE isn't a good antivirus, it's actually pretty bad, but that's what Microsoft wants.

EDIT: words

 

[Leahbender]

Thanks for the advice! I live near a few local computer type stores so I will definitely look into that, as well as reddit.

 

[Fiestaguy]

I have to disagree here. Yes, MSE was amazing a few years ago, but these days it's only a shadow of what it used to be. Software like bitdefender, kaspersky antivirus and yes, even Avast, is a lot better. Hell, even Microsoft itself has admitted this, and it's exactly what they want. They want to be kind of the "foundation" for other software to build on, which makes the third-party software a way better alternative:

"We’re providing all of that data and information to our partners so they can do at least as well as we are," she said. "The natural progression is that we will always be on the bottom of these tests. And honestly, if we are doing our job correctly, that’s what will happen."
She added that Microsoft wants "everyone to do better than us because we know that makes it harder for the bad guys".
(source)

MSE also continues to fail the AV-TEST certification:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Mi...-Malware-Certification-Bitdefender,19452.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/AV...ty-Essentials-Double-Failure-0-Day,20524.html

tl;dr I'm not calling MSE bad because that's my opinion, but because I have good sources and reasons for it. I recommend Bitdefender, Kaspersky or Avast instead, although just having Adblock installed and being careful should do the job as well. MSE isn't a good antivirus, it's actually pretty bad, but that's what Microsoft wants.

EDIT: words

Does it keep my computer free from viruses?
YES
Those are all arguments I have to make regarding if MSE is good or not.

 

[Edgar Harford]

Does it keep my computer free from viruses?
YES
Those are all arguments I have to make regarding if MSE is good or not.

You could say Norton protected my computer from being infected by viruses...

You could also say my now sluggish computer was being infected with Norton.

Death to all humans

 

[Leahbender]

So I'vd been doing some internetting and I came across this: https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=995475
Thoughts?

 

[Velzerat]

Leahbender

Don't use the free McAfee extra, it's pretty terrible. I recommend adjusting your build for an SSD, as well (120GB shouldn't cost -too- much). It really does make a big difference, and requires no defragmentation (among a huge list of other things)!

Apart from that... Honestly, I don't think my knowledge about computers is big enough to give thoughts about other aspects of the build- I'd really, really recommend posting something on /r/buildapc or /r/buildmeapc to have people review it. They know a lot more about PC's than me, and they'll be able to help you a lot more. I'll try to help with other questions I'm able to answer, if needed, however.

(One more thing: Keep in mind your build (as far as I can see) does not include a monitor, headphones or mouse. If you want a decent monitor & mouse, you'll probably have to pay another $100 (i recommend the g400s as a mouse. It's pretty expensive, but i'd call it the ultimate gaming mouse. 2 side buttons, very "buy it for life"-esque mouse).

EDIT: Oh, and expect to have some bloatware on your PC. This is pretty normal, comes with most pre-built desktops & laptops. Things like "Start Speed-up", "Smart Restarter", "Samsung Software", etc. Might not be on your PC if you're lucky. Most of the time the bloatware isn't -that- annoying, but I figured I'd tell you.

Fiestaguy

The thing is, although MSE does protect you from viruses, it doesn't do that very good. As I said in my previous post, and as you can see in the article I posted, it doesn't protect you from all viruses. I'll try to make a little analogy.

Let's say someone would offer you a wooden helmet or diamond helmet on RoF, what would you pick? If I compare this analogy to your decision, it seems like you'd pick the wooden one. I mean, as you said, it protects you. That's the only argument you need to justify it's good.

Wooden helmet = Protection
Diamond helmet = Better protection

MSE = Protection against viruses
Most third-party anti-virus software = Better protection against viruses.

Of course there's a few antivirus software that won't be better than MSE, or will even be inferior. I'm thinking of Norton, McAfee, etc.

Why stick with MSE when there's better, more protective software out there?

Anyway, I don't want to turn this into an argument. If you really want to use MSE, continue to do so. Honestly, as I said in one of my previous posts in this thread, I don't think you really need an antivirus as long as you have adblock installed and know how to use a computer.

EDIT: as you pointed out, wooden armor doesn't exist. Meant leather armor. Still, my point stands.
EDIT2: Removed all references to (encouragement of) piracy in my posts.

 

[Fiestaguy]

Wimali wooden helmets don't exist lel

It's not really an argument. It's just that MSE has kept me safe on a same level as all other antivirus software.

 

[Leahbender]

Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll just have to shell out another 150 for the mouse and monitor lol.

 

[std1997]

Adblock Plus (blocks advertisements)
AlienTube for YouTube (replaces youtube comments with reddit thread comments if available, suddenly you can go to YouTube without getting cancer)
Auto HD for YouTube (self-explanatory)
Chromebleed (tells you if a site is still affected by Heartbleed)
Enhanced Steam (makes Steam a lot better, huge recommendation)
Gif Delayer (delays playing gifs until they are fully downloaded)
Hola Better Internet (Access websites blocked in your country, company or school. For example, a video is blocked in your country? 2 clicks with hola and you can view it!)
HTML5ify (Forces websites like Amazon and Youtube to give you HTML5 media instead of wrapping it in Flash)
HTTPS everywhere (Forces websites to give you HTTPS instead of HTTP if available)
Imgur to gfycat (replaces animated gifs throughout the internet with gfycat optimized HTML5 videos, which load faster among other things)
imgur uploader (Right-click uploading of images and screenshots anonymously or to your imgur account.)
Linkclump (Lets you open, copy or bookmark multiple links at the same time.)
Netflix Enhancer (Show trailers, IMDb/RT ratings, and much more, on the Netflix page. )
Personal blocklist by Google (Blocks domains/hosts from appearing in your Google search results)
Reddit Enhancement Suite (a group of enhancements for browsing Reddit , fuckign amazing)

i never knew any of these existed until now and it's like the internet has suddenly become a lovely place again.

 

[Hunter]

i never knew any of these existed until now and it's like the internet has suddenly become a lovely place again.

currently searching for firefox equivalents of the ones not already installed