I'm on the fence but was wondering if this would be a decent gaming machine? I know the video card is crap, but everything else looks good. Maybe 16 GB of memory. If not good - what is? http://www.techbargains.com/dell-xps-8700-deals#newsID435038 Dell XPS 8700 Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core HASWELL Desktop $649.99 Better Than Black Friday/Cyber Monday! Dell Small Business has the Dell XPS 8700 Intel Core i7-4790 Quad-Core HASWELL Desktop Computer for a low $649.99 Free Shipping after Coupon Code: "?73Z7R69RRG59K" (Exp Soon). Tax in most states. Normally sells for $1000 and this beats the Black Friday and Cyber Monday price for both Dell Home and Dell Small Business! Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz (Turbo Boost to 4GHz) Quad-Core HASWELL; 8GB RAM; 1TB HDD; DVD burner; 802.11n + gigabit + bluetooth 4.0; Windows 8; NVIDIA Geforce GT720 1GB; 1yr warranty
It's not bad. I'd watch what GPU you put in there. A 750 Ti would be a good match. It looks small, but it'll do 1080p with the best of em. 8GB of RAM is perfectly fine. If you have to ask whether you need the extra RAM, then you don't need it.\ Oh and check Slickdeals. It feels like that model gets some hefty discounts this time of year. At a glance, it looked like there was an old deal with a 750 Ti already installed. I'm not surprised that Dell decided to pair the 750 Ti with that model. EDIT Oh snap, dat deelz steel live. That's the one that I'd go for. You're not going to be putting a much larger GPU in there and you get your precious 16GB of RAM.
My problems is you never know what psu prebuilts have. So while that all works with the default configuration if you wanted to upgrade that graphic card which will most likely use 2-3 times as much power the build might shit itself. Building yourself a machine is usually a better idea just cause you know what you get. As far as actual deals go... if you really want 16 gigs and more hardrive space I'd probably go with the deal spartacus linked. If you don't think you need that and want something more beefier than a 750ti then getting what you linked plus a good psu and graphic card might be better. It's hard to tell really without knowing how much you are willing to spend on a computer. I'm finding myself needing more ram, I can't build big maps in ue4 with what I got.
It's a fine deal. Comes with a 430W PSU I believe. If you want to upgrade the GPU, use a 750 (it probably runs off board power) or some cheapo AMD card that doesn't require connectors.
Heyo, here's some custom builds that can can do a little better in some areas. First up is like the one you linked in your post, but trading an i5 for a the i7 so yoiu can get a better graphics card. http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Derpcentral/saved/wdJTwP CPU Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core $172.94 Motherboard MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 $44.99 Memory G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $120.98 Storage Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM $79.88 Video Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB $332.98 Case Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower $34.99 Power Supply Rosewill 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $54.99 Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $14.98 Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) $90.26 Wireless Network Adapter Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 $12.11 Base Total: $784.14 Promo Discounts: -$10.00 Mail-in Rebates: -$85.00 Shipping: $2.95 Total: $692.09 Next up is if you are willing to spend as much as for spartacus deal he linked, you can get a more solid psu and graphics card. Note you don't have to get the heat sink if you want to save 26$ and can save some on the mobo by another 30$ by getting some h81 mobo, just don't overclock the cpu. I'd keep the unlocked cpu, it's the same price really. http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Derpcentral/saved/TQLfrH CPU Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core $299.99 CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing $26.75 Motherboard MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 $80.98 Memory Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-2133 $119.99 Storage Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM $79.88 Video Card MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB $169.99 Case Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower $34.99 Power Supply Rosewill 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $54.99 Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $14.98 Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) $90.26 Wireless Network Adapter Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 $12.11 Base Total: $1061.92 Mail-in Rebates: -$78.00 Shipping: $0.99 Total: $984.91 Next up is roughly the same price but you get a much better gaming machine, swapping the the i7 for an i5 and trading up the 760 for a 970. http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Derpcentral/saved/wdJTwP CPU Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core $172.94 Motherboard MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 $44.99 Memory G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 $120.98 Storage Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM $79.88 Video Card Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB $332.98 Case Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower $34.99 Power Supply Rosewill 550W ATX12V / EPS12V $54.99 Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $14.98 Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) $90.26 Wireless Network Adapter Asus PCE-N10 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 $12.11 Base Total: $1017.17 Promo Discounts: -$10.00 Mail-in Rebates: -$55.00 Shipping: $6.93 Total: $959.10 Now you might be able to save cash by reusing stuff from your old computer, like the dvd drive if you don't really use it or extra hard drives, even the case if you don't want to use the old one at all. If you don't need wireless then don't get the wifi adapter either. If you have some extra copy of windows that's another 90$ saved too. If you want a smaller case the i5 builds can fit in one, that antec 300 is a solid case though which is why it's in there. Actually after making these few builds I'm kinda sad now, this is a lot more performance then what I got a couple of years ago.
Spartacus - good link/deal and reasonably priced with appropriate upgrades, LazyBum - nice build yourself deals - I like and will go through them all, Paradox - this thread is more on topic than anything you have ever posted. A gaming machine for a game we play - duh! PS - Paradox: I loved kicking your egotistical ass on Canyon. I told the team of nubs to switch to gren and I baited you to come out in the open, and you did, so predictable. Way to turn a sure win into a loss. Fastest COM kill ever with 20 rockets up your ass, when we had 200 resources, one rax, nothing else. Had you waited 1 minute your team would have won it. Never quit!
I did a quick calculation of LazyBum deal #2 vs Spartacus SlickDeal. I consider both great, and difference is that you build yourself with higher quality components for lower price, or buy ready to run with slightly lower component cost. I have MSDN subscriptions so no need to pay for OS - saves me $90 which drops LazyBum deal below Spartacus. I used http://pcpartpicker.com/ for the component costs - thanks LazyBum. I knew I'd learn something from you guys. LazyBum deal has better Video card, HD, PSU and some of the other components are name brand - vs Dell no name components. I can take off another $50 for in store pickup of cpu. I removed WiFi card since I am wired to my router - $12.11. Price now $802.
Ah, one thing my build didn't have was a ssd. I assume that 32 gig was gonna be a boot drive. You can get one as well, but 120 gigs are like 80$, wait no 256 gigs are going around 90$, that's crazy. The really cheap 32 gigs are like 40$. Still, if you end up leaving your computer on most of the day I'm not sure how much your gonna get out of a ssd. Oh, something I noticed rather late is bluetooth support, I don't think my build has that if you wanted that. Should also point out for most gaming and in general, that i7 is way more then needed, especially if you go with the 760 gtx. If you aren't doing a lot of heavily threaded stuff you should maybe downgrade to an i5 and get a more beefy graphics card. Though considering you can save 90$ take a look at the better cards though sadly I think you need more power if you wanted something like the r290x. That 970 gtx is really nice for the price to performance, but if you are gaming at 1080p I think you'd do fine with the 760 or something like a 280x.
Ya I left SSD off since the Dell didn't have it. I'd surely add that and most likely get a 250GB. This stuff changes so frequently and I don't keep on top of it. The sites you guys use are very useful for me to get back up on matching components. When not gaming I tend to have 20 different windows open, and 20 different URL's open for researching. Two compilers and debuggers running so lots of memory is good. No need for BT or any other wireless, I have that on the entertainment system, Stereo and laptops and when I run BT music to headset I stream from my phone. I currently do 1080p on a decent quad core laptop with a 27" display. That system has to move into development. This one could double as a server and the bigger SSD should speed that up. I bought an i5 for entertainment system Mythbuntu TV. It has a 128GB SSD, cloud server, and runs 1080p plus DVR on a 65" LED TV. I have another 55" SONY Bravia 1080p LED TV sitting idle that would be a ridiculous gaming machine. Would the 60hz refresh rate suck? The 65" has 120hz. Nothing higher than 1080p yet or planned until my Samsung dies. Under a grand is ideal for this, going over that makes me want to wait or pick stuff up as it goes on sale.
The thing about tvs as far as I know is that they have a much larger input delay, so actions in game won't feel as instant as they should. I don't see a reason to really shoot past 60hz, only because most people won't even be hitting 60 fps if they are trying to max things out on newer games, or at least not much past. You might with your fancy new computer though. I forgot you do the programming thing, so I can see why a fancier cpu might be neat. If you include a ssd I don't think you could do much better for under 1000$ though if you stick with the i7. The i5 build would do better for gaming in the sense that if you ever changed to a higher resolution that computer would still do real well, but it is kinda overkill at 1080. The 760 will do just fine for a lot of stuff, just don't expect to exceed 60 fps in everything with it. Also http://www.logicalincrements.com/ is a great place to base gaming builds off of, it keeps up to date with what's going on.
Finally, someone else who understands the need for 16GB of RAM! I run so much shit, my computer idles at around 7GB in use.
Ya and what Lazy is saying is that gamers do not need a powerful CPU, put the cost savings going from i7 to i5 towards a better video processor. Very informative stuff here - thanks all. Lazy - one thing I'm sure frustrates you is that many people won't take your good advice, but that is because they are afraid to buy the wrong thing or it's easier to just buy a fully configured machine. Back when a 386 motherboard cost $1500 I always bought my own clone. Funny you rarely hear the many motherboards out now called clones. Old Fart story: But in the early days of Windows Intel owned everything. AMD came along and stirred the pot, then everything was copied. I wish I kept my first 8088 computer that I paid $5500 for. It ran at 4.77 mhz, I bought the elephant hard drive (dual bay high) and a whopping 10 MB. Not GB - MB! Optionally you could buy two 360K Floppy drives. Amber or Green monitor - no graphics, all text. And there used to be a kick ass text game called EMPIRES where you moved your X's and O'x around a text map to fight and take over islands. There was little need for a modem, but eventually it drove social media through local bulletin boards. I ran two phone lines and a BBS. We hosted files and message boards. Wolfenstein proved that gaming could drive technology and video cards took off. Then came Command and Conquer, Warcraft, Red Alert, Total Annihilation, Unreal Tournament, Quake. I used to drag my tower case to a buddies basement to play games since the modem was too slow. We'd setup meets with 50 or so guys in cities within a few hours from home and play all weekend.
