So my laptop blows..

[brendude13]

NotStan said:

brendude13 said:

NotStan said:

£400 should be fun, would that include a funky case on top too? I wouldn't mind dishing out that much for a decent rig tbh. But I think that likely means I'll have to move the PS3 downstairs as I barely have enough room on my table.

If I were to start building one myself can I has a hand in choosing the right components etc? Because I have totally no idea what motherboard, graphics card etc is best for its value.

I think in terms of actually assembling it I am capable enough to do so, but MAY or may NOT damage my components. How does warranty go on the components btw? A friend of mine had custom made for £1100, it broke twice already. First they had to replace the video card I think and now something else. So what I am getting it at, is if I had built one myself and something goes wrong with it, do I have some sort of warranty on the components still?

 

(Also that test failed me on low too, but I just switched to standard for teh lulz)

A £400 build could play Battlefield 3 / Crysis 2 on high settings @ 720p and 30fps, if you think that's overkill then tell us what you want your build to do and we'll recommend the right components. The build I'm working on right now is around £450, so I could just send you the list of all the components I'm buying, with the odd downgrade, if you want.

To find the right components, we will need to know if you will be running any CPU intensive programs or games, like FRAPS, video encoding software or Grand Theft Auto IV. We will need to know what games you want to run, so you don't buy a graphics card designed for Crysis 2 when you're only going to be playing Starcraft 2. Lastly we'll need to know if you want to future proof your machine. The rest of the computer can be built around those components.

Warrantly generally doesn't last long, it's the typical 1 year, but if you buy decent components and don't damage them they should last you a long time, me and my friends' PCs have lasted years without a problem.

Ok, I am an RTS fan. So mostly the games that I'll use the PC for would be RTS games that rarely make an appearance on consoles. Such games include Starcraft II, I've played SC a LONG time ago, but not very seriously. I want to try to, with my friend now. Ideally that computer should be able to handle SC. I do not want to play games like BF3/Crysis 2 etc on the PC as I'll likely purchase them on 360 to play with my other friends - lately I find lone gaming kinda boring, I think I am becoming a social gamer, which is like a murderer, who happens to be vegan.

I want the PC to handle recording at the same time, so if I were to share some of the game moments on YouTube whatever, I'd have the option to do so. So Fraps/Camtasia simultaneously with the likes of SC II would probably cover me for older RTS games (which I am more interested in). My monitor is 1080(I think) it's got an HDMI input so yeah, probably is.

Also it must handle the video edition,picture edition software but I guess it will if it can latest games?

Future proof it for hopefully a few years in advance at least for the next few SC iterations hopefully.

Also how hard is it to upgrade?

If you're only playing RTS games then I would have recommended a lower end graphics card, but after looking at the benchmarks for Starcraft 2 it is pretty demanding, the graphics cards that run Battlefield 3 at 30fps can only run Starcraft 2 at 60fps. I think you should get an Nvidia 550ti or ATI 6770 if you want a constant 60fps on your 1080p monitor, which should set you back around £90.

If you're going to be using FRAPS, a quad core is a must, that is the main reason I'm upgrading my PC, FRAPS criples your FPS if you're using a dual core. This also bumps up the price too. You could go for a newer i5 for about £145, an older i5 which uses an older CPU socket for about £115 or you could go with an AMD quad core for about £95. The i5's are better but you probably won't be taking much advantage of the extra power, for your budget, the AMD is perfect.

The rest of your system can be built around that and will come to around £400.

What do you mean how hard is it to upgrade? You mean installing the components?