Computer Advice

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

Hey guys! Two topics - but on a similar subject - to follow...

Part 1

I need some computer advice. Many of you might now know that my previous computer has decided to not function properly anymore. (I'm currently using my old XP computer that i grabbed out of the basement.) Not having a computer isn't an option so I think I've found that might be a worty replacement.

Is this computer a decent deal? Give me some pros and cons because I'm ready to get back in the game. The most graphic intensive game I plan to play on my next computer is Star Wars: The Old Republic and the Mass Effect series. (I don't play the latest shooters like Call of Duty or Battlefield, for example.) I don't need a new monitor or printer/scanner as my old ones are fine. I also will take the blu-ray burner out of the old computer and stick it in one of the open bays on the new one. If the graphics card is a little weak, which reasonably priced replacement would you recommend for this build?

I also don't need a mouse or keyboard but if they are going to throw one in, so be it. I also do not want Windows 8. Windows 7 is the highest jump I'm willing to go for in OS. (My old computer was - *shudders* - a Vista.)

A quick response on opinions of the computer would be appreciated as I'd rather not miss a sale.

Part 2

My other question: could someone direct me to a very easy to understand guide of how to get information from one desktop PC to another? I'm usually not one to tinker inside the computer so this would have to be a dumbed-down type of guide. The old computer was Vista, the new one will likely be Windows 7 - if that helps you at all to help me.

Thanks for reading this wall of text!

[Malkior 476]

Response to Part 1: I have a 2.5 core CPU with 4 Gigs of Ram and  GeForce GT640 GPU. Since your proposed build has at least twice that (Except for the GPU which seems to be slightly below mine), I have a feeling that it will at least be adequate for what you're proposing.

 

The only problem I've had (which is actually a huge problem) is that my computer can't run TOR at all  and has a pretty significant ordeal running Mass Effect. I theorize that this is probably because of my significantly low RAM, but it could be the GPU. However, I can run Kotor 1 and 2 with little to no problems.

 

Part 2: I found a decent step by step guide on how to replace the hard drive. http://www.wikihow.com/Change-a-Computer-Hard-Drive-Disk I could follow the thing and it paraphrases the exact same steps I took, so hopefully it will be useful.

 

When following the guide there are two things not entirely explained. 1 a SATA connector is the type of cord hooking into the hard drive that looks like this

 

 

Note that it has an L-shaped plug.

 

An IDE is the ribbon type cord which is slightly older and requires jumpers on the back to be set to Master,Slave, or Cable Select.

 

The IDE natively uses the 4 pin Molex power cord

 

 

 

The most important thing for me was the stupid SATA power cord. When you plug in the bundle of power cords, there are a fair assortment of types. The one you'll want is either a proper SATA power cable or (as I painfully learned) a 4 pin molex which then requires a SATA adapter.

 

 

This cr4p can be a real pain in that no store sells them (except for Fry's if you're fortunate enough to have one nearby) so you typically have to order them online and pay whatever shipping which is typically more than the little power adaper's 5$ price...

 

So make sure the new computer you're transferring it to has the proper plugs and power cords.

 

 

 

...___ Continued

 

After you have the physical hard drive transferred, you'll want to find the installation software for your Operating System. If your hard drive is properly installed and is actually read by your Bios, you'll want to run the repair function of your OS disk. (Note: recovering data like this only works with XP. If you have a different OS you're wanting to use, you'll typically have to wipe the Hard Drive and re-install everything)

 

This part was tricky for me, so all I can do for this is refer to this line of text from the following site: http://www.geekstogo.com/forum/topic/138-how-to-repair-windows-xp/

 

If the Hard Drive wasn't the cause of the crash, the disk should repair your system and all of your programs should be fine. However, if your Hard Drive was damaged or corrupted beyond the reach of the repair disk, you may have to ask a professional to help recover it.

 

Programs typically can't be transferred from computer to computer, so you may have to re-install all of them anyway. That said, there's never any way to be sure; sometimes it works and sometimes not.

[Vriff 21]

That GPU will not be able run SWTOR without it looking like a powerpoint presentation, unless you have it in all the lowest settings, then it will still look crappy. Remember that SWTOR is truly horribly optimized. 

 

but it looks like an okay AMD build, but you may want to go with a bit better of a GPU, if money is an issue, choose AMD on your GPU also.

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

Thanks for the info guys. If you have suggestions for other PC desktops with Win 7, I am willing to hear about it. Remember that I am just looking for the tower.

[JK JA's Jaden Korr 30]

It looked pretty average, I'm not sure how good it will be for TOR. I am in the process of building my own computer now.It's a good option because:

1. You save money

2. You pick out every part to your specifications

3. Your gain lots of technical knowledge about how computers work.

 

That's just my 2 cents. Your computer looks like it might run TOR on medium settings if your lucky.

[VarsityPuppet 1,085]

Definitely Windows 7. 8 is just a bunch of bullshit.

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

I suppose I just don't have the time and patience to build a complete computer by myself. If anyone sees a deal out there on a computer that has Win 7, and can play both TOR and both of the KOTORs on Woot.com or elsewhere, shoot me a PM or drop a message in this thread. As I have my own mod I must get ready for coming up, speed is a factor.

[Vriff 21]

Windows 8 is faster than Win7, and you can make it almost exactly like Win7.

 

Do you have a budget for the system?

[MrPhil 58]

What's GPU, anyway? :S

[Mandalore 61]

GPU=Graphics Processing Unit

 

Windows 8 is terrible.

 

That processor is definitely really nice, I'll say that.

[MrPhil 58]

Windows 8.1 is actually a bit better than just 8. At least, now there's something instead of nothing, where there used to be the star button.

 

Also, W7 was a bit curvy. If you like things less round and more clean cut, square-ish, Win8's got that. And it has a bit less of a draw on ressources than 7 had.

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

Not going with Win 8 which I stated from the very beginning.

 

I might wait until the 15th to order a computer as I'll get my next check then. However, don't let that stop the flow of suggestions!

[Vriff 21]

I would recommend ibuypower.com if you don't want to build one yourself, but would still like to control the parts going into it.

 

and as I said earlier, and will continue to say, there's not really a difference between Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 after a google search and a few tweaks it looks and functions the same. It is faster, afterall.

 

My self build, for reference's sake:

 

CPU: i7 4770k Intel

RAM: 16 GB Vengeance Corsair DDR3

Primary Storage/OS Drive: 250GB Intel 530 SSD

Secondary Storage: 2TB Seagate Barrucuda

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150

GPU: Radeon R9 280X

Other:....unimportant stuff like blu-ray, fans, card readers, etc etc 

OS(es):Windows 8.1/Arch (Linux Distro)

 

It all depends on budget, if we knew your's it would probably help in finding a computer.

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

 

It all depends on budget, if we knew your's it would probably help in finding a computer.

 Assume for the sake of argument, I'm looking at a $1000 budget with a DEFINITE requirement on Windows 7.  What would you choose on ibuypower? You build should be able to play SWTOR with all settings to maximum.

 

(Any further commentary of Win8 will be deleted from this thread. I covered that I didn't want it more than once and so it's off-topic.)

[Vriff 21]

Assume for the sake of argument, I'm looking at a $1000 budget with a DEFINITE requirement on Windows 7. What would you choose on ibuypower? You build should be able to play SWTOR with all settings to maximum.

 

This is the options on the $799 AMD custom desktop. Final cost is $986, you could actually upgrade the CPU a bit and do deferred shipping (Won't get here until after Christmas) and get it for $2 cheaper with a better CPU, lol. Note: Some of these are sales so I'm not sure if they'll still be on sale whenever. (Ugh, the forum is seriously breaking the formatting.)

 

 

Case 1 x ARC 647 Gaming Case - Black

Processor 1 x AMD FX-8320 CPU (8x 3.50GHz/8MB L3 Cache)

Processor Cooling 1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - Standard 120mm Fan

Memory 1 x 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand

Video Card 1 x AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB - Single Card

Motherboard 1 x ASUS M5A97 R2.0 -- AMD 970

Power Supply 1 x 500 Watt - Corsair CX500 V2 - 80 PLUS Bronze

Primary Hard Drive 1 x 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Optical Drive 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black

Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Operating System 1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit

Keyboard 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard

Mouse 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse

Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service

Rush Service 1 x No Rush Service - Do Not Guarantee Christmas Delivery

[Sith Holocron 2,480]

Case 
1 x ARC 647 Gaming Case - Black

Case Lighting
1 x Cold Cathode Neon Light - Blue

Processor
1 x AMD FX-8320 CPU (8x 3.50GHz/8MB L3 Cache)

Processor Cooling
1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - Standard 120mm Fan

Memory
1 x 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand

Video Card
1 x AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB - Single Card

Motherboard
1 x ASUS M5A97 R2.0 -- AMD 970

Power Supply
1 x 500 Watt - Corsair CX500 V2 - 80 PLUS Bronze

Primary Hard Drive
1 x 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Optical Drive
1 x [12x Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive - Black

Flash Media Reader / Writer
1 x 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black

Sound Card
1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Network Card
1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Operating System
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit

Advanced Build Options
1 x Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound - The best interface between your CPU and the heatsinks

Warranty
1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service

Rush Service
1 x Deferred Delivery (Ships in 15-20 Business Days) - 5% OFF on systems over $999 (Must enter coupon code during checkout: defer)


Subtotal $1061  
Total Savings $-53.05
Ground Shipping $0
Total $1007.95