Need to Buy a New Computer Little Lost -- Advice Appreciated

Marnan

Marnan

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I'm a guy in his 50s. The only game I play is Everquest (intermittently). Ideally, I like to box six at once. My computer died totally and completely. I only buy a computer every five or six years.

So I'm looking to spend $500 to $800. I'm hearing about SSD now, but haven't ever had one. I have no idea what graphics card to get. I'm hearing that the 4th Generation I5 is a good choice for a CPU. I like snappy. It gets hot as hell where I live and then a bit hotter. My last computer had a problem with overheating, I'd like to try to avoid that if possible.

I'll probably shop on Ebay. If anyone can throw out some basic buzzwords that I should be looking for in terms of what is in the computer I buy, I'd appreciate it. I've got a monitor since that didn't die.

Once I buy this computer, I'm going to run it as long as it runs what I need and as I don't play anything but EQ (oh and I'm an amateur photographer and use Photoshop a lot).

Thanks. Appreciate the help.

Oh yeah, Windows. Most likely Windows 10.
 
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You want to six box with minimal lag so min so you want to have enough CPU cores and RAM for each instance.

CPU: You want a quad core. i5 is ok but i7 is better
RAM: You want at least 8 gig. 12 is better. 16 would be best.
GPU: At least 2 GB of RAM - newer the better.

I personally would stick with Win7 or Win8 for at least another 6 months as they work the kinks out.

Solid state drives are great. Cut windows start time in half. Other applications will some seem benefit but not nearly as drastic. At your price range it will probably be hard to get a solid machine with a SSD.
 
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CPU: i5 is plenty for EQ so I wouldn't drop big bucks in an i7
RAM: I'm running 16GB and 6 boxing. I use about 50% of my RAM, so that give you an idea on how much you need.
GPU: If you're only playing EQ, you don't need to drop a lot of money here. Mid-range is fine. I like Nvidia so I'd recommend maybe the Geforce GTX 750 Ti. This is very fair in price and more than you'll need for EQ. Even less than this would be fine.
SSD: I'd highly recommend an SSD. Samsung has been coming down a lot recently. You can throw in a 250-500GB one for your OS and EQ. Have a cheaper Harddrive for storage or even external.

That's my two-cents...
 
If you go i5 make sure its a quad core i5.
If you go SSD for main drive get at least 256 GB drive.
 
Forgot to comment on cooling...
I live in one of the hottest climates in the world, so I know what you mean. Spend a little extra on the case that has a good cooling system, intake and out-take. Do a little research on the case to check it's rating. Besides that, I spent a little extra and bought a liquid cooling system for my CPU which was about $100, but I don't think that's necessary if you're not overclocking.

Summary, just spend a little more on a better heat-sink for your CPU. Don't have to spend over $50 for sure. Don't use a stock heat-sink...
Buy a nice case that has a good cooling system.
 
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Thank you Camden and Dewey. Really appreciate the advice and it gives me a way of evaluating my next computer purchase. Definitely want an SSD drive for fast booting, probably I'll try and hit 12GB of memory. Will go quad core for sure.
 
For $800 I would roll an AMD system for sure. Pickup a 128gig SSD( I perfer Samsung great drives) I only have my OS and EQ on my SSD then I have a 1tb for storage.
 
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Personally, I would go with Intel processor, but that's just my 2c - to each their own.

As far as i5 vs i7, yes i7 will be better (higher clocks, more cache, etc.), but i5 will do the job for you. If you go with something recent (e.g. broadwell (5th gen) or skylake (6th gen) ) then it will have 4 cores, other wise (like Haswell et. al.) can have 2 or 4. The 4 core is a bit better, but the 2 core has HT, so you'd still be OK - i.e., if 4 core, it doesn't have HT, but dual does.

Anyway - joo have fun with your project. :)

htw
 
jarori43 said:
GOto www.partspicker.com and Play around with building a sysem that fits your needs like:

AMD FX-8320, EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost, Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window - System Build - PCPartPicker

Jar
Click to expand...

For someone who hasn't built a machine before picking out all the parts is pretty scary. For example in your build you have a $125 case. I have a Fractal Design case and I love how easy they made it to put stuff in with out getting cut like with the cheap $40 cases.
 
If I spend 100+ on a case it damn well be a full tower for ease of putting it together and FAR superior over a mid case.
 
dewey2461 said:
jarori43 said:
GOto www.partspicker.com and Play around with building a sysem that fits your needs like:

AMD FX-8320, EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost, Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout Edition w/ Window - System Build - PCPartPicker

Jar
Click to expand...

For someone who hasn't built a machine before picking out all the parts is pretty scary. For example in your build you have a $125 case. I have a Fractal Design case and I love how easy they made it to put stuff in with out getting cut like with the cheap $40 cases.
Click to expand...

If your going to build it yourself, post all the parts, and we can tell you if you have everything right, or if you are missing something.

The process really isn't that hard, if you ever get stuck, there are hundreds of youtube videos which will help or again, there are so many nerds like me here that have done thousands of builds who can steer you in the right direction.
 
Clownn said:
If I spend 100+ on a case it damn well be a full tower for ease of putting it together and FAR superior over a mid case.
Click to expand...

I have a Fractal R5 and to me it was worth the money. I don't swap drives that often but when I do its very nice to have the drives pointed out the side like the R5 does. The R5 also has a ton of cable routing. Everything fit nicely and didn't have rough edges like a lot of cheap cases.

I plan on reusing the case so it should be good for 10 years.
 
I personally prefer light weight cases as I dust out my cases once a month, my old Thermaltake full tower case weighs ~30 lbs and thats not including the components (psu by itself is kinda heavy). So lugging around ~40 lbs of weight up and down the stairs and out of the house is not a fun thing.

I usually go with mid tower and don't mind blowing upto $120 on a good case, I just recently purchased a Fractal Design mid tower for whenever I decide to do my next big upgrade. Only thing I was specifically looking for was if it could handle EATX, 280mm fan (plan on getting a corsair h100i), and good airflow from front to back (fan positioning).
 
Really appreciated the advice. Ended up spending a little under $600. It's got 16GB, 2GB graphics drive, SSD, nice case, good cooling, and a decent 4 core i7 processor. Shd easily handle EQ and my other needs. This conversation was very helpful, because I didn't even know what questions I needed to be asking. I buy computers so rarely and once I get it, I pretty much stop thinking about it.
 
aspire2008 said:
I personally prefer light weight cases as I dust out my cases once a month, my old Thermaltake full tower case weighs ~30 lbs and thats not including the components (psu by itself is kinda heavy). So lugging around ~40 lbs of weight up and down the stairs and out of the house is not a fun thing.
Click to expand...

LOL you're describing me! The neighbors hustle their kids back in the house when I'm on my front porch blowing the dust out of several PC's, causing gray clouds of finely-cut computer dust to float down the road. Worst thing is when I accidentally bang the heavy case against the bannister, sending a chip of paint flying. The wife doesn't like that at all... :mad:

The value of blowing out your cases regularly is very understated. I'm inclined to do this "regularly" but with several computers, inherent laziness and a tendency toward forgetfulness, sometimes I don't get to each case regularly enough and it's mind-boggling how clogged the vents and fans can become. Astounding that the machine still even runs. Computers can be very forgiving...
 
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I have one of these to vac my computers and it works pretty well.
 
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