Help build 60 gaming rigs?

L

livid

n00b
Joined
Mar 14, 2009
Messages
5
Just like to say hi, and introduce myself a bit... I'm a long timer lurker of the forum, however this if my very first post. Just wondering if I can get a hand on building 60 PC's, as this place is a huge wealth of knowledge and capable of doing it a lot better than me...

I have looked at a few setups however I been out of the loop on desktop hardware for a few years now, so I'm not entirely sure what is needed. And due to the circumstances one wrongly ordered part can be very costly

I'll answer the sticky about builds to get it going, if i miss anything sorry...


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Where do you live?
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Click to expand...


1. Gaming 95% of the time

2. Cheap as possible 60 PC's adds up fast, would like it to play any game for the next two years only.

3. Canada, Would like to use NCIX (or the cheapest place available) it would be nice to get everything from one place, to make things easier

4. Everything, monitor 22" wide screen (would like speakers built in but not needed), hd 500gig, dvd-rom, geforce video card preferred, prefer WinXP, Would like the most efficient power supply (lowest wattage for the PC that will not cause any issues )

5. None

6. No

7. monitor 22" wide screen (would like speakers built in but not needed)

8. Would like to in 2 - 3 weeks

9. Whatever works, nothing fancy

10. No


I'm sure I missed a few things, its been a pretty long day of laying tile!

Thanks for all your help
 
livid said:
Just like to say hi, and introduce myself a bit... I'm a long timer lurker of the forum, however this if my very first post. Just wondering if I can get a hand on building 60 PC's, as this place is a huge wealth of knowledge and capable of doing it a lot better than me...
Click to expand...

Why do you need 60 gaming PCs for? Is this for a business?
 
Sounds like a LAN center to me!

Wouldn't an OEM system builder be easier then 60 custom machines? I mean, thats ALOT of builds and time...and what happens if you get like 20 bad mobos etc etc?
 
yes it is for a business

I'm looking for something cheap to purchase, thinking custom was the way to go in that regard. I know some companies offer assembly services.
 
You could try one of the many boutique builders with a barebones systems.

60 is a lot of computers to build on your own, and they might do a bulk discount or something.
 
MightyDiomed said:
You could try one of the many boutique builders with a barebones systems.

60 is a lot of computers to build on your own, and they might do a bulk discount or something.
Click to expand...

Have any recommendations in Canada?

I'm kinda see what is the best way to tackle this...

I see it going one of two ways, using a leasing company that will provide 60 PC's in 24 month terms, which would give me a two year refresh

or

Out right buy all the PC's and do my upgrades as needed, would likely want to have something that i can upgrade two years down the road... ie) i7 processor for future expansion.

However in the end I guess i still have the same question of generally what kind of system would meet these requirements regardless if i lease or buy...
 
Call Dell or some other big OEM and work out a contract, you'll spend a lot less money, get CTO/BTO service, and it'll be cheaper than you might think. Nobody local in your area could possibly match what a big OEM can do, and 60 machines is something none of them would pass up.

Contact the sales departments for Dell, HP, etc... they'll set you up and it'll be faster and easier in the long run.
 
Last thing a LAN center needs are boutique rigs. If you're in BC I'm surprised you haven't talked to NCIX directly.

CPU - E5200
Mobo - One with good Canadian RMA policy
Ram - Cheapo
GPU - 9800GT
HD - 500GB? 80 - 160GB sounds better. You're not gonna let ppl BT are you?
...
Gonna stop. This would prolly be a kinda of a bad place to ask cuz' AFAIK you're gonna want cheap components, but the half the recommendations you're gonna get here are gonna be about quality = more $, more $ = more time to recuperate costs (rate's like $2 an hour). And if you're in Vancouver, take a trip to espot and see what they're using if you haven't been there (who hasn't!?). Don't wanna get into your bizniz plan, but I dunno a single LAN center that's survived long enough... : \
 
What would generally be a well equip system for the requirements i'm looking for? I don't want anything that's going to be overkill and at the same time have a system that won't meet par two years from now. I guess really what I would need to know is which CPU / RAM / video card combo would be best
 
E5200, ram is not exactly a big purchase or requirement, 8800GT/9800GT. Also depends what games you're going to be offering. Most places I know people are still CSing, BFing, L4D, SC, WC3, D2, WOW.. Haven't seen people play Crysis rofl at a lan cafe. And should the business run long enough to see SC2/D3, those games won't require high end hardware knowing Blizzard's past history and [presumed] stance on access to all players, not just those with uber comps.
 
I like building computers as much as many here on [H], but 60 computers for a business? I'd much rather buy them all from Dell or HP. It'll certainly save time and headaches; and possibly money too.
 
MightyDiomed said:
Make sure you have Starcraft, thats all you need. :)
Click to expand...

+100

I would vouch for 9800GT but it seems the cheaper 9800GT (below $100) are not life time warranty anymore.

The lifetime warranty are around $130 range with XFX and BFG. Might as well get a GTS250 (aka re-badge 9800GTX) for the same price from XFX.

You spend a bit more but at least you will save a lot in the long run.
 
Cept it's for a lan cafe. I can't think of a situation where a group of cool kids going to one and expect to get their Crysis lan on. $30 more for 60 computers (and since it's Canada, they cost more) = $1800 more, which equates to ~900 hours at a rate of $2/hr to recuperate the costs. Meanwhile, the lan cafe needs an income stream to pay its operating expenses and outstanding liabilities. So while $30 more may not seem like much, 60 of them is kind of another story. Just crossing fingers that the business plan/proposal is less sketchy than the OP's knowledge in parts esp in this tougher time.
 
well I get the point in buying in bulk to get cheaper prices. It probably would work out very much cheaper buying like that, identical systems across 60 machines. Continuity, efficiency, troubleshooting, economical are all good words that strike me when I think of the benefits of going this route.
 
Alright, I think budget should be the primary concern, and then match the system to the budget, rather than the other way around. "Cheap as possible for any game for the next two years" sounds fine but who knows what'll be available in two years... generally if you're trying to future-proof an investment, you have to spend more... Unless you're willing to go low end now and upgrade later.

Honestly, you could probably get away with onboard 8300 or 9400 graphics to start, 2 gigs ram, an entry dual core cpu and maybe even run everything off a server and have either network booting or very small hds for each PC.

Actually, you'd probably need to run a networked server just for licence management. Unless you're willing to pay for 60 copies of every decent game that comes out, or try to remember which system has it installed.
 
e5200+cheap mobo+2x1gb ram+ radeon 4670 (decent card for 19-22" monitors)

PSU maybe antec earthwatts 380 ?
 
I would be careful using Dell or HP for gaming machines, "They'll pack power with a fast core 2 CPU and a hot ATI 3850 graphics card for all your gaming needs!"

A smaller shop like http://www.pugetsystems.com/ will be able to give you the best gaming performance at the best price.HP/Dell sells consumer desktops and overcharge for graphics cards and don't even offer higher end models.

Also, at times you can get Dell Vostro (business series) PC's for incredibly cheap, around 5-600 that have a nice cpu/hdd/memory. You would just need to drop a $200 gpu in and have a nice gaming machine for cheaper than probably anything else you can buy online.

If your buying mass quantities of systems and plan on having 17 or 19" monitors, expect to game around 1280x1024 or 1440x900 or so. A ATI 4850 512 is really cheap and would a good gpu for that level but I don't know if it would last 2 years though. You would have to get maybe a 4870 1gb but that's back up to $200 just for the gpu. Either way, if you're going lower resolution a faster cpu in the end is going to be as equally important as GPU. If your going high end resolution like 1920+, put the extra money into a gpu.

As for an OS, even though I am a Vista fanboi, I think for your type of operation, getting XP Pro on there would be the better bet for an OS. You should also have a disk imaging program liscense. When you get the machines in, and everything running the way you want it, copy a disk clone to a separate HDD. Reason is your going to have to leave your systems as Administrator for gaming machines for updates etc., and your systems are goign to get messed up by people screwing with settings. With a disk clone you just plug the second drive in and pull a fresh image over and the system is back to default in 10 minutes.

As for your internet connectivity, a T1 should be good. Some phone companies have plans where you only pay for like 1/2 a T1 but it has capabilities to run at T1 speeds if you need it. Then you only pay extra for what you used over 1/2. This might help keep the cost down for slow times of the year (summer).
 
Thanks for all the info, I'm taking bits and putting together a plan. Currently what i'm looking at...

CPU E5200 - $109.61
Mobo - Most cost effective
RAM - 2GB DDR 800 - 34.99
HD - cheapest 160GB - 60.00
GPU - EVGA E-GEFORCE 9800GT 600MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ - $155.65
Power supply - ensure what the lowest I can go is still
Monitor - LG W2242TQ-BF 22IN Widescreen LCD Black 2MS - 194.99
Speakers - Most cost effective
Keyboard / Mouse - Most cost effective
Case - Most cost effective
DVD - Most cost effective

I have all licensing / software sorted out. Due to being out of the loop for so long i'm having difficulty sorting out the desktop hardware, which is one of the largest start up costs...
 
enginurd said:
Lease 'em. Easier, refresh every so often, support, etc.
Click to expand...

In a nutshell, for what its worth - this is the best suggestion I've seen.

While I fully support your venture, and would be lying to say I wasn't jealous about not being part of such an business, I feel that I should add my 2 cents (if its even worth that anymore) to state that you could be facing a support nightmare.

60 PC's while small on paper, is hundreds of parts in reality. In addition, if you truly need 60 functional PC's, I would suggest ordering parts for 70, even 80 isn't unreasonable. DOA is your worst enemy. Nothing like working very carefully and ensuring you're not dropping parts, scratching motherboards, breaking cables, to get everything in *just* right...and it doesn't power on. Just as bad...the infamous beeps, no display, HDD's not detecting, among other PC Building error messages.

This is no knock against your PC building skills - but I've yet to see anyone who can make DOA hardware magically start working.

So, as you're building you find that you have RAM bad here, MB Bad there, HDD's faulty, Vid cards bad...how do you know they're bad until you turn it all on? In the end, does ordering 60 PC's worth of parts translate into 60 functional PC's with no DOA/RMA involved? Ever had a critical part go bad after 1 week...2 weeks? I have...now you're down a PC again, unless you have spare parts in house.

By ordering in bulk from a place that is built to output PC's, your savings comes in the man hours NOT used in building, troubleshooting and waiting for RMA's. This should also come with support. Meaning, the PC place should have turned the machine on, memory tested it for 24 hours, and if they're good - preloaded your OS with drivers for you.

In the end, as the PCs fail, you'll either have the part in house to swap/replace, or have a swapout/repair agreement with your PC vendor. Then, from here, as parts are no longer available or need to be upgraded, all you have to do is edit your "default build" with the vendor, and THEY can do the work of putting in the new hardware/cases/drivers.

In the end, I hope your venture works out! I look forward to reading about your success :)
 
Definitely lease if you can.

Do you really need 60 PC's? While I'm not the biggest LAN goer, I have a really hard time believing you are going to have half that many people in the business at any one time. Maybe consider leasing like 30 PCs at first, and then get 30 more if demand shows the need.
 
lowteckh said:
Eww? I'd rather listen to people's annoying wow background music than put on cans full of people's gunk.
Click to expand...

+1. Maybe you could buy a ton of cheapo headphones and sell them there. I wouldn't want to wear public headphones, but I also wouldn't want a room full of counterstrike sounds full blast.
 
vicaphit said:
+1. Maybe you could buy a ton of cheapo headphones and sell them there. I wouldn't want to wear public headphones, but I also wouldn't want a room full of counterstrike sounds full blast.
Click to expand...

A lan cafe needs headphones unless you want to hear counterstrike Ak47s all day. I've been to a few lan cafe's, nothing is more annoying than everyone blasting their speakers loud enough to hear footsteps in cs. HEADPHONES HEADPHONES HEADPHONES.

Just get headphones with leather type muffs, so that the customer can wipe it with a napkin themselves. Cloth headphones are a no no.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top