Any PC builders, overclockers, enthusiasts out there?

[Bm101]

Warning. If you have no interest in what goes on inside a pc... Probably best to move along rather than waste valuable moments of your life reading this one...

Rather than go into lots of detail on the initial post I'll post some background to my situation and see if there's anyone who can advise. Can post spec details later if so.
I used to do a fair bit (by average standards) of PC gaming. Pew pew pew. I do a lot less these days what with the kids and stuff. I also took up woody stuff a few years back... and tbh I'd rather spend any limited free time doing that these days.
However I still enjoy a game now and then though I tend to just have a quick half hour or so I do want the option of playing going forward.

I bought a PC Specialist built rig about 9 years ago. Decent spec at the time. SLI gtx 580s yada yada.)
But I can't run win 10. And I can't run any nvidia drivers past about 5
years ago. It blackscreens and I have to go to bios etc etc etc. Learning my lessons I kept the stable drivers and stayed with win7. Not an issue till Microsoft started pumping out its end of the world update to Win10.
I suspect my lad was on my pc and rather than call me as instructed he pressed the update later option... Next morning I was BSOD'd.
A week or 3 of trying to sort it and frustration trying to find the stable driver version and I've accepted the inevitable. I will scalp the old pc for parts to sell and buy a new one on monthly interest free. To be fair the old one doesn't owe me owt.
Pc specialist again or other sellers? Worth me putting links to the pre built options and anyone can advise on options?
I'm thinking that the pre built options are stable and we'll thought out. Just not sure about where to draw the line on spec v's performance these days. Pc specialist were good at the time but any knowledge is good when buying new gear before I talk to them or another recommended builder.
Not interested in self building to be blunt. Life is just tooooo short. Not my thing.
Looking about a grand. Ish. Less is always preferable if it's fairly future proof and readily upgradable.

Cheers guys. Any help or advice much appreciated.

Regards
Chris

 

[CHJ]

I've always had good service and advice from Scan Office PC's, Laptops, Gaming versions at various times.

Like everywhere, things can go ridiculously stratospheric price wise if you go for the 'like to have' but I've never had a problem with adequate spec. from them.

Most systems have a self select section for additional options.

 

[Logger]

I don't mind the odd game, but wanted to be able to use for work, so went with a gaming laptop. Without boring all, I7, 16gb ram, 4gb Nvidia graphics card, 250 ssd and 1tb hdd. It is a lenovo and it runs games at full speed without any overclocking

I got it from CEX second hand (exchange shop) for £550, and it comes with 2 year warranty. I then got a 27 inch screen and gaming mouse from them.

In fact, we buy all our phones, tablets, even a sat nav from there and they are great. We have a shop near us, but i bought laptop online.

I will probably keep in a couple of years, then sell back to CEX and upgrade.

Website

https://uk.webuy.com/

 

[Trevanion]

I bought my last one from CyberPower, as like you, I couldn't be arst to build one to save a little bit on price. I probably could've built one but I wouldn't have a clue where to start and I'd have 0 warranty if something went wrong. Ordered what I wanted, It arrived in the post in a few days, put all the essential pieces together, no faffing about trying to learn where a "quantum leap protractor" or whatever goes. It's been good so far and can recommend the company .

 

[thetyreman]

I used to be really into it in my 20s, made some ultra high end computers, I would strongly encourage you to reconsider self building, it isn't as intimidating as it sounds and is far chepaer, but thesedays (unlike when I was doing it) there are some really good pre built well put together options, I much prefer overclockers to scan even though they are a bit more expensive, they are 1000 times better at customer service and I can guarantee you if you speak to them they will be well worth it, give them a ring, I have no affiliation with them but I have been very unhappy with scan on more than one occasion, the main problem I have with them is where they list parts as in stock when they simply are just not in stock, they have a massive systems and warehousing problem and it's just not worth the hassle.

 

[Bm101]

Many thanks guys. Im going to give pc spesh a bell and have a preliminary chat. I'll get back to you after that and post up some specs etc. Its deadly for adding shiny on. Im constantly telling myself to stop being an eejit and its not the next Mars Landing im building for.

(Ben. I get your point about building. I knew a few guys who were bang into it when I was clan gaming but its not for me mate. I want to drive a car fast not know how to repair one on the hard shoulder. Shallow? Possibly. Honest? Definitely. )

 

[Rich C]

We have Scan stuff at work, it's decent. I've bought a fair bit off then over the years personally as well and not had any issues, even when I had to send a full order of motherboard, memory, etc back because it all became faulty in the first few weeks.

Don't skimp on the graphics card, and it's recommend a decent sized SSD if you can, they'll make the most difference to usage.

 

[LancsRick]

Drop me a PM Chris, built my own stuff since I was a lad, overclocking etc all that stuff.

 

[Dibs-h]

I want to drive a car fast not know how to repair one on the hard shoulder.

I used to also want to drive fast (years ago) but also know how to repair them as I could just about afford the car but not pay someone to fix it should I have problems. LOL

The fast habit has gone but the repair habit has stuck, especially given what labour costs at garages.

Onto PC's - I used to build years ago, but don't game so that habit died.

Have a look at cclonline.com - they do gaming PC's and a custom build configurator. No connection to them other than having been a customer over the years for various bits & pieces.

 

[Droogs]

This will cover all you want for the next few years and will play anything at a decent res and fps

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk-gam ... de-og.html
case is meh but you could upgrade it later by using your woodworking to make a nice new one

 

[Bm101]

Cheers Droogs. That's kind of the advice I was after. Bare minimum spend to get a good performance for the forseeable. Looks and lights etc are not an issue. I want a bloody work van lol but not a 70s Commer, I want a modern van with a decent stereo and and air con, electric windows and powered steering. Bit of bang off the lights when you need it.


Also. Many thanks to all contributing. It's all valued knowledge and experience.

 

[nev]

Sorry to hijack the thread but do any of you pc nerds :wink: know where i can find something similar to this. I need to replace a disintegrated one on one of the machines (not a computer) in work.
Basically I need to clip in an 80mm fan into a 92mm square cut out in (maybe 1mm) sheet steel.

I have only been able to find this one in the US.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Droogs]

these might save you some hassle Nev
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/air-cool ... mm-pc-fans

might be able to mount one of these direct

 

[rafezetter]

This will cover all you want for the next few years and will play anything at a decent res and fps

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk-gam ... de-og.html
case is meh but you could upgrade it later by using your woodworking to make a nice new one

Ok a few questions if you consider buying that rig:

What resolution are you going to play at?
1080p using a TV
1440p using a monitor
or higher resolutions right up to 4k

For general gaming the 1660TI has some drawbacks - lower mem: 6gb compared to 8GB of a 1070 and older different architecture.

Also I bought a 1070TI just before the bottom fell out of the GTX market #-o - RTX 2060/70/80's are now quite reasonable on price and obviously have better future proofing.

However another question - do you want to play more modern games or do you have a collection of games piling up (like most gamers do) that DOES NOT require a more recent card. You could skimp on the card a little and upgrade it later when the RTX prices have dropped again. (I'm sure you know this but it's always worth repeating).

Overclockers.... not had so much fun with them over the years (peoples mileges vary but I had to resort to making a court claim against them when they were unable to provide tracking for an expensive graphics card I had to RMA which "disappeared" while in thier care, yet they REFUSED to accept or acknowledge was thier fault) - I much prefer Novatech and have used them for many years with my self builds. A retail built machine does come with a warranty, but the internet is rife with people having issues with vendors when making a claim on a warranty, and some will downright obfuscate (lie) in order to make you pay for either expensive repairs or an upgrade.

Personally a PC warrenty isn't worth the paper it's printed on when it comes from a big chain store retailer. The smaller the company the better.

Although I'd echo a self build doesn't take that long and you can get the best components you want - I've not bought a retail made rig for 23 years - because you just know there's been some cost saving (profit gaining) done someplace. I'm also pretty proud to state I've not had a single failure, with many (most infact) of my gaming rigs being sold on for more moderate use after a few years - I'm pretty picky about what I buy.

If you lived closer I'd offer to build it for you or I'm back down in surrey mid November.

(oh and Windows 10 is the spawn of the devil - just like windows ME) I'll stick to win7 as long as I can thanks, windows 10 is almost the sole reason for the massive upsurge in Linux users.)

google "linus tech tips" if you want info on a specific part or general info - he's covered pretty much every type of PC hardware for the last decade at least including some crazy stuff like a 64 core** (yes you read that right) AMD processor.

** standard number of cores in a home based CPU for those that don't know is 8. = oh and it's $7,000. Just the CPU chip.

Oh BTW BM101 - play anything I might know? (chances are I do, but some people play some weird games)

 

[Rich C]

(oh and Windows 10 is the spawn of the devil - just like windows ME) I'll stick to win7 as long as I can thanks, windows 10 is almost the sole reason for the massive upsurge in Linux users.)

Downside of Windows 7 is no directX 12. That may be an issue or not depending on the type of gaming. If buying an RTX card bear in mind that raytracing in directX requires DX12 which means Windows 10.

google "linus tech tips" if you want info on a specific part or general info - he's covered pretty much every type of PC hardware for the last decade at least including some crazy stuff like a 64 core** (yes you read that right) AMD processor.

** standard number of cores in a home based CPU for those that don't know is 8. = oh and it's $7,000. Just the CPU chip.

Standard is 4 cores (8 threads), no? That's what the steam hardware survey says at least. 4 or 6 are plenty for now unless you have specific highly parallel workloads.

 

[orchard]

This will cover all you want for the next few years and will play anything at a decent res and fps

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ocuk-gam ... de-og.html
case is meh but you could upgrade it later by using your woodworking to make a nice new one

Ok a few questions if you consider buying that rig:

What resolution are you going to play at?
1080p using a TV
1440p using a monitor
or higher resolutions right up to 4k

For general gaming the 1660TI has some drawbacks - lower mem: 6gb compared to 8GB of a 1070 and older different architecture.

Also I bought a 1070TI just before the bottom fell out of the GTX market #-o - RTX 2060/70/80's are now quite reasonable on price and obviously have better future proofing.

However another question - do you want to play more modern games or do you have a collection of games piling up (like most gamers do) that DOES NOT require a more recent card. You could skimp on the card a little and upgrade it later when the RTX prices have dropped again. (I'm sure you know this but it's always worth repeating).

Overclockers.... not had so much fun with them over the years (peoples mileges vary but I had to resort to making a court claim against them when they were unable to provide tracking for an expensive graphics card I had to RMA which "disappeared" while in thier care, yet they REFUSED to accept or acknowledge was thier fault) - I much prefer Novatech and have used them for many years with my self builds. A retail built machine does come with a warranty, but the internet is rife with people having issues with vendors when making a claim on a warranty, and some will downright obfuscate (lie) in order to make you pay for either expensive repairs or an upgrade.

Personally a PC warrenty isn't worth the paper it's printed on when it comes from a big chain store retailer. The smaller the company the better.

Although I'd echo a self build doesn't take that long and you can get the best components you want - I've not bought a retail made rig for 23 years - because you just know there's been some cost saving (profit gaining) done someplace. I'm also pretty proud to state I've not had a single failure, with many (most infact) of my gaming rigs being sold on for more moderate use after a few years - I'm pretty picky about what I buy.

If you lived closer I'd offer to build it for you or I'm back down in surrey mid November.

(oh and Windows 10 is the spawn of the devil - just like windows ME) I'll stick to win7 as long as I can thanks, windows 10 is almost the sole reason for the massive upsurge in Linux users.)

google "linus tech tips" if you want info on a specific part or general info - he's covered pretty much every type of PC hardware for the last decade at least including some crazy stuff like a 64 core** (yes you read that right) AMD processor.

** standard number of cores in a home based CPU for those that don't know is 8. = oh and it's $7,000. Just the CPU chip.

Oh BTW BM101 - play anything I might know? (chances are I do, but some people play some weird games)

Some good points here. Build my own when the time comes, i like to know the quality of what's going in, and having warranty for the components too.

OP :
If Windoze isn't booting, give Linux Mint a shot on that pc, see how you like it, and whether your games are compatible via Steam.

 

[thetyreman]

+1 on sticking with windows 7 if you can, I bought the retail version of W7 ultimate back in 2011, it has served me well over the years.

 

[rafezetter]

Standard is 4 cores (8 threads), no? That's what the steam hardware survey says at least. 4 or 6 are plenty for now unless you have specific highly parallel workloads.

Sorry yes - You'd think I knew the difference by now eh :roll:

Raytracing isn't in mainstream gaming much at the moment - just as SLI was available years before games made use of it, that was an expensive mistake I made about 15 years ago.

Edit - I'm given to understand that Overclockers has changed ownership since my issue with them - infact almost on the heels of it, coincedence I'm sure, maybe, my issue was dec 2014 and they had new ownership in feb 2015 or thereabouts - which might explain why they didn't give a crap.

 

[Rich C]

I would expect to see raytracing picking up a lot in the next year or two. Unlike sli it doesn't need a specific expensive setup, all graphics cards going forward will have it, much like everything has shader model 5 now. It's early days, but unless you're buying a stopgap it's not worth getting something without it now I think.

 

[sammy.se]

I used to build my own PC's when I was younger. Mainly based on AMD Athlons and GTX graphics cards. I'm really out of touch now, but my son wants to build one.

Are there any good online resources that can bring me up to speed on motherboard standards, compatibility etc?

Also, what are the biggest pitfalls nowadays?

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