Friends new PC

Hello everyone! So my friend is getting a new PC and I convinced her to drop her old IMac for a real machine. She enjoys gaming, mostly MMOs like WoW and SWToR and I want to make sure she gets a solid PC that will require little maintenance on her part, will be dependable over a the long term, and run the games she enjoys playing at a high level.

Budget: She is looking to keep it under $2,000.00, so a solid budget, but I'd like to see it well under there and close to 1,500-1,700.

Expectations: Looking to play WoW and SWToR along with new MMO's at maximum settings. Keep maintenance to a minimum. Long-term viability for playing games with little upgrading preferred.

Usage: Mostly gaming on MMO's like WoW and SWToR.

Special Needs: None really, just keep it simple for her since she doesn't have a huge tech background.

Specifications:
I was thinking of the ODE level 2 with some slight modifications.

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master Storm Stryker

Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i5 4670K 3.40 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Z97-C (Intel Z97 Chipset)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair CX750M
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition) (note - She wants this to be simple and the combo of SSD + HDD was more than she wanted to deal with. So I dropped it to a single HDD. Her currently computer has a 500gb hard drive and still has 300gb's free so 1TB should be plenty.)

Storage Set 2: - No Thanks

Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 2GB (Includes PhysX) (note: I downgraded from the GTX 770 for the cost difference since the reviews I read said the 760 was a very good card, should she be getting the 770 instead?)

Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance

H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans) (Note - is this worth it vs the LED fans?)

Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Boost Graphics Card(s): - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)

Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

Thank you for the advice, we'll both be watching for your updates. I really want her to get a good PC to replace her mac so she can enjoy true gaming on a solid performance computer! Thanks guys!

-Edaar

Originally posted by Ariktu If she is not going to be upgrading at all I would just go with the vanquish level 4. It is alot under your budget but will play the games you mentioned very well plus it has an SSD drive and the GTX 770. Then use the savings to buy a nice monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Here's another way to go. Your build with the case you want, larger psu, the gtx 770 , no SSD if that's really important, and changed the cpu to non-k, meaning no overclock plus dropped to stage 1 air cooler to keep the cost lower.    The stage 1 cooler is more than enough.

Config # 980437.          Cost $ 1562

Your build with adding the gtx 770 keeps overclock but gets close to max budget.

Hope this helps.

I have so many questions that I'd like to ask to help ensure a great gaming experience on your friend's Digital Storm PC, but I'll try to narrow my scope and hope for the best.

I concur with the other recommendations for a Vanquish II level 4 machine for the best gaming machine for the budget that you have.

While running Windows from the SSD with the Download, Game, and some Library files placed on the HDD will give the best performance, it may be a bit daunting for anyone who is not already familiar with Windows. Once set up, there is little or no maintenance involved, but getting it set up may require the help of someone with a bit of Windows installation and configuration experience.

I suggest that you ask Digital Storm to set up Windows in the desired configuration so that as the game and personal files (library and downloads) grow, they will grow on the HDD.

If that suggestion is not practical, another option is for Digital Storm to install Windows on the SSD and once the new machine arrives, an experienced Windows users (hint, hint, nudge, nudge) can move the Download and Library folders to the HDD and help install the games to the HDD. ((This is what I did on my Slade.))

A third option is to have Digital Storm install Windows on the HDD and then treat the SSD as a data drive. I do not recommend this option as few, if any, games or data files gain a performance advantage from residing on an SSD.

Best of luck and please keep us posted.


Edited by Theokritos - 23 May 2014 at 1:19pm

I am not sure what she would feel would be an upgrade issue with the Vanquish II case (really the Corsair 230T). It can take up to 3 5.25", 4 3.5" and 4 2.5" drives. It comes with 3 fans installed 2x 120 upfront and 1x 120 rear. It can get 2x 120mm/140mm on the top and 1 120mm/140mm on the bottom. It can take a mini-ITX, Micro-ATX or ATX motherboard.

I would expect the biggest issue with DS doing upgrades would be the cost of shipping it back and forth.

Edited by danjw1 - 24 May 2014 at 6:12am

Originally posted by Edaar09 ... The SSD-HDD combination. I agree that the SSD - HDD set up is better performance but my friend would rather have a single drive to make things easy for her (I was hoping to wait until SSD prices had dropped further and get a single large SSD but her imac is dying faster than expected). My concern with the combo is that she would have to constantly order the games to download or install on the HDD while the default would be the SSD. To make it simple I was going to have a single HDD so everything would go there instead and then she could upgrade to a large single SSD later when the prices dropped. ... One question: Will that set perform all downloads and installations automatically to the HDD drive without her having to change any drive locations? I want it to be an easy plug and play as much as possible for her (that's what she is looking for) We looked at the vanquish lvl 4 but she does want the option to do upgrades in the future, preferably by having someone else do the upgrades, which is the reason for the case choice and not going with the vanquish II since the cooler master is a full sized vs the vanquishes mid-size. ...

The answers to your technical questions are fairly easy.

Installing the OS on an SSD with the games and other personal files on the HDD means having some duplicate pathing for the games. It would be necessary to change the default installation path of a game from the SSD to the HDD but afterwards the updates go where the program is installed. If the pathing on the HDD is an exact duplicate of the pathing on the SSD then it is usually only necessary to change the drive letter to install new games on the HDD. Again, any maintenance goes where the program is already installed so no fiddling with paths unless one is doing a complete uninstall of the old and an installation of the new program.

As for the size of the case, unless your friend plans on adding additional graphics cards, sound cards, or other specialty cards, a mid-size case works fine so long as the case and motherboard are matched. Unless your friend plans on rebuilding her machine in the future, a larger case is probably not needed.

Now for a non-technical consideration. Based upon what I've read, I'm concerned that your friend may not be comfortable in a Windows environment. If so, OS X may very well be the best OS for her. My wife flat out refuses to have anything to do with Windows or a desktop or a notebook for that matter, but she readily works with her iPad and iPhone. If your friend, as my wife, has a disinterest in digital delights then you may be better off helping her chose hardware options for her next OS X machine. *** Technology is rational, understandable and eventually easy. Relationships are none of the preceding, but are the most important factor. ***


Edited by Theokritos - 24 May 2014 at 4:18pm

I spoke with my friend and she said she is fine with the SSD/HDD combo after learning more about what it would mean for her and installations. We are leaning toward the Vanquish II lvl 4 now since she is ok with that. Just a few questions:
1) Is the difference in the cpu between the i5-4950 and 4570, the 600w vs 750w, and full size vs mid size case worth the increase of $300-400?

2) In the picture of the Vanquish case it shows a blue LED on the front. Is that just for show on the picture or does the case actual come with Blue LED fans?

3) I was going to have her go with the Windows 7 OS. She wants a windows based platform because she is tired of the mac compatibility issues. She uses a windows OS at work so she is used to dealing with windows and I've always had a lot of good experience with Windows 7 vs the Windows 8 platform. Is there any big reason she should go with Windows 8 over 7? And could I get more detail on how the 8.1 is similar to OS X pls?

Thanks everyone! Your input has been a huge help and she is really excited and looking forward to ordering her new PC in the next day or two :D

-Edaar

Originally posted by Edaar09 ...2) In the picture of the Vanquish case it shows a blue LED on the front. Is that just for show on the picture or does the case actual come with Blue LED fans?   -Edaar

Thanks everyone for the advice and help! My friend ordered her new PC, a Vanquish 2 lvl 4 and it arrives Friday. She is very excited and used the saved cash to buy a logitech G710+ she has wanted for a while. Thank you again for all the help!

-Edaar

Your friend made a great choice.   

Congrats     and pics and review would be nice if she can.