Build or buy?

M

MIPS64

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Sep 1, 2012
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My mom wants to get my dad a new computer for Christmas, but all he really does is play some online golf game called Shot Online. My initial reaction was just to buy something like this:

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd?oc=fdcwgs101dhw7&model_id=xps-8700

I hesitate to buy the next model down to to onboard graphics but it's $150 less.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-3847-desktop/pd?oc=fddort201hw7&model_id=inspiron-3847-desktop

So for curiosity sake, I'd like to know if I could squeeze a little more power if I were to build for the same price?

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Shot Online golf game

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$750 + tax

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

USA

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.

Case, power supply, CPU, mobo, RAM, hard drive, OS

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Keyboard, mouse

6) Will you be overclocking?

No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

24, 1080p

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

In the next week or so

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

No

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

No, Win 7 is desirable
 
Sounds like a perfect job for one of the small NUC boxes or something similar (gigabyte brix?)

The onboard graphics of an Intel 4k series (or higher) should be more than enough for an online game like that. ditto with AMD and their A<X> series chips, a A6/A8 or higher should work a treat.

The NUC has the advantage of being VESA mountable so you could hide it behind the monitor.
 
Get the i3 variant instead... Then you just need the RAM, drive, and Windows 7 OEM license
 
Is that going to be enough? He currently has a Core i3 in his laptop and the game is sluggish and choppy. He has Intel HD 3000 graphics. I already reformatted his system once and I just installed Windows and drivers to make sure nothing else was causing issues and there was no real performance increase.
 
I'd build a budget microATX Pentium or i3 system with a 120-256GB SSD and a GTX 750ti, personally.

MoBo: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H ($75) or Asus Vanguard B85 ($100)

CPU: Intel G3258 ($70) or i3-4150 ($100)

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 1.35V 2x4GB ($85)

SSD: Crucial MX100 256GB ($110)

PSU: Antec BP550 ($60)

Chassis: Fractal Core 1000/1100 ($40) or Rosewill Line-M ($40)

GPU: eVGA 750ti ($130)

OS: Win7 Home Premium 64bit ($100)


TOTAL: $670-725

(there may be combo deals and/or rebates which would lower the price further)
 
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but all he really does is play some online golf game called Shot Online

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

Shot Online golf game
Click to expand...

lol
 
MIPS64 said:
My mom wants to get my dad a new computer for Christmas, but all he really does is play some online golf game called Shot Online. My initial reaction was just to buy something like this:

http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8700/pd?oc=fdcwgs101dhw7&model_id=xps-8700

I hesitate to buy the next model down to to onboard graphics but it's $150 less.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-3847-desktop/pd?oc=fddort201hw7&model_id=inspiron-3847-desktop
Click to expand...
Yeah, no way in hell is that XPS system worth an extra $150. That video card is effectively the same as the onboard video in terms of performance. Big rip-off there.

MIPS64 said:
So for curiosity sake, I'd like to know if I could squeeze a little more power if I were to build for the same price?
Click to expand...
I recommend this:
$100 - Intel Core i3-4150 CPU
$72 - ASRock H97M Pro4 Intel H97 mATX Motherboard
$70 - Kingston HyperX FURY HX316C10F/8 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$110 - Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
$60 - Seasonic G Series SSR-360GP 360W PSU
$92 - Windows 8.1 64bit
-----
Total: $504 shipped.

If there are two parts I would recommend buying now, it would be the CPU and RAM as those are the lowest prices for those two parts I've seen in quite some time. It is missing a video card but I'm guessing that the onboard video is enough. My guess as to why you're seeing stuttering on your dad's laptop is because the laptop COre i3 CPUs are clocked significantly lower than the desktop Core i3 CPUs. In addition to the higher clock speed, there's also 5% IPC increase as well plus the faster onboard video. So the above setup should handle Shot Online just fine. But there's still plenty of room to add a video card if you feel like more performance is needed. Seriously get that COre i3 4150 NOW!

In case you're wondering what the differences are between my setup and DejaWiz:
1) Far higher quality and more efficient PSU. Your dad doesn't need anywhere near a 550W PSU.
2) Cheaper RAM. I don't think the lower voltage and the slight and not even noticeable performance increase from dual channel RAM is worth the extra $15.
3) The H97M has a higher chance of support for that particular COre i3 CPU and it's cheaper as well.
4) Windows 7 is closer to its end of support than Windows 8.1 is. IF the system is going to be kept for a long time, might as well buy the newer OS now.

Yes it is missing a case as that's something you (or your mom or dad) should choose since tyhey're the ones that's going to be looking at it for the next few years. I recommend these cases however:
$55 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R Windowed ATX Case
$63 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case
$100 - Antec 1100 V2 ATX Case
$100 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Arctic White ATX Case
$100 - Phanteks “Enthoo Pro Series“ Black ATX Case
$110 - Corsair Vengeance Series C70 Gunmetal Black ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$116 - Thermaltake Chaser A71 Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Graphite Series 730T ATX Case
$120 - Corsair Obsidian Series 450D ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$133 - NZXT Phantom 530 Black Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 750D ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$152 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case

mATX:
$90 - Corsair Obsidian Series 350D mATX Case
$105 - Fractal Design Arc Mini mATX Case
$130 - Silverstone TJ08B-E mATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-A04A Silver mATX Case
$140 - Lian Li PC-V354B Black mATX Case
$160 - Lian Li PC-V354A Silver mATX Case
 
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^ some good points for comparing and contrasting our builds, dangman. No way in hell I would ever recommend a shoddy budget MoBo like an ASRock, though. There are far superior H97 options from Gigabyte, MSI, and Asus for not much more in cost.
 
You shouldn't have to settle for i3 $700-750

http://www.costco.com/.product.100131027.html?&EMID=B2C_2014_1125_ComputerSolo_computers

Processor & Memory:
Intel® Core i7-4790 Processor 3.6GHz
16GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz RAM

Drives:
1TB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive
DVD-RW (Writes to DVD/CD)

Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows 8.1 (64-bit)

Graphics & Video:
4GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 Graphics
Monitor Not Included

Communications:
Dell Wireless-N 1703 + Bluetooth® 4.0
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN

Audio:
Integrated 7.1 with Waves MaxxAudio® Processing

Keyboard & Mouse:
Dell Wired Multimedia Keyboard & 6-Button Laser Mouse

I/O Ports & Slots:
6x USB 3.0
4x USB 2.0
Multi-Media Card Reader

AVI Ports:
Combination headphone / microphone jack
RJ-45
HDMI
 
DejaWiz said:
^ some good points for comparing and contrasting our builds, dangman. No way in hell I would ever recommend a shoddy budget MoBo like an ASRock, though. There are far superior H97 options from Gigabyte, MSI, and Asus for not much more in cost.
Click to expand...

I use to feel the same way too about AsRock but after the recent HardOCP reviews and my own experiences with AsRock, I don't have any real hesitation now in recommending them.
 
Dangman said:
I use to feel the same way too about AsRock but after the recent HardOCP reviews and my own experiences with AsRock, I don't have any real hesitation now in recommending them.
Click to expand...

Be that as it may, I still feel they are corner-cutters through and through.

Like I said, there are far superior H97 options available from more widely trusted brands. Hell, here's a Z97 Gigabyte that I would say is a decent balance of features, quality, and price...and not much more in price considering the jump in chipset, realistically.
 
DejaWiz said:
Be that as it may, I still feel they are corner-cutters through and through.

Like I said, there are far superior H97 options available from more widely trusted brands. Hell, here's a Z97 Gigabyte that I would say is a decent balance of features, quality, and price...and not much more in price considering the jump in chipset, realistically.
Click to expand...
I'd have to disagree with that recommendation: He's not overclocking so the extra money for that Gigabyte isn't justified.
 
Dangman said:
I'd have to disagree with that recommendation: He's not overclocking so the extra money for that Gigabyte isn't justified.
Click to expand...

I suppose my mentality on that is you get all the Z features and it's far easier to drop in any i5 or i7 (including K SKUs) and not have to worry about replacing the MoBo. The lifespan of this system is going to far outlast anything most of us would deem acceptable. If not, well, it's still not that much more in cost.
 
DejaWiz said:
I suppose my mentality on that is you get all the Z features and it's far easier to drop in any i5 or i7 (including K SKUs) and not have to worry about replacing the MoBo. The lifespan of this system is going to far outlast anything most of us would deem acceptable. If not, well, it's still not that much more in cost.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make much sense: There's only two differences between the H97 and Z97: Overclocking capability and the ability to support multiple GPU configs out of the box. There's nothing inherent to the Z97 platform that would make it do better in terms of CPU upgrades.

It's a $32 difference in cost between the Z97 you recommended and the H97 I recommended. That is not "much more in cost".
 
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