re: Need Help Building a PC - Gaming Edition

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under no circumstances are you to take the above advice. ever.

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I'm very happy with my computer.

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While this is true there are other things to consider.
1. Its fun to build
2. you can a good knowledge of how it works making it easier to fix yourself later if needed
3. the components will have warranty
4. you can get a better value plus do a better job putting it together than trusting someone else to.

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Yeah, I got my machine for a very good price. $900. With all I had in it, I probably could have built it for around $600, but I was a little nervous about that. Next time, I think I'll be building my own computer, or HTPC.

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in cases where a person is unable or unwilling to put it together themselves, they are much better off just finding someone they know to put it together for them. even if its for a flat fee, its a better value than the markup % companies like alienware and ibuypower have.

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I would hope avoiding alienware and ibuypower would be a no-brainer.

I will be building more for reason #2. I always do things myself (repair car, woodwork, etc.) mainly because I like to know how it works so I can fix it in the future if I need to.

I think I almost have it nailed down to what I am looking at getting. I will post here when I decide for sure for any last minute critiques or suggestionas you guys may have.

I really would like a Steam Box type of computer next. Sooooo........depending on what Steam does, and how much their machine will cost, I may look into building one in the future.

Yeah that's terrible. When I was doing builds as a side business, I might charge $100 for a basic build, from choosing the parts to loading and optimizing Windows, plus a stress test to make sure everything was good. For more involved builds with high-end parts, custom loops, overclocking, case mods, etc. the price went up but was still pretty damned reasonable for the time I was putting in.

overclockability
Drivers/Software Utilities to optimize performance
Customer service/RMA procedures
Failure rate
Available custom cooling solutions
Color of particle board

Same 'chipset', an AMD radeon chipset.. different manufactures. MSI or Sapphire for instance

Generally, they all performance similarly, though.

safe to assume that, yes

7970s are way out of my league so im certainly no expert but others will come along and comment on specific Manufacturers shortly im certain.

I recommended the 7950 if that's what your referring to.

Sometimes yes but from what I have seen powercolor is a decent brand.

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quick question. two 7950's, think it will run bf4 at 1440p all settings maxed?

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I'm going to assume that by "run BF4" you mean run it at a consistent 60fps (I never accept any less). It's possible, with AA off (so, not technically maxed out). Even still I'm not sure. BF3 required some high-end cards of its time for flawless 1440p performance.

But, the good news is: Antialiasing is unnecessary and unnoticeable at 1440p, so you can turn it off on pretty much every game.

How detailed you can set BF4 will depend on how well or shittily the game is optimized for the hardware at launch, and of course AMD/Nvidia's drivers.

Also, on brands: Only because I'm a watercooler, I hate any brand that locks the voltage. I have no use for them. I also have no use for any brands with proprietary PCBs. It's why I have stubborn fanboy-ish loyalty to MSI for AMD cards. They are generally excellent overclockers with reference PCBs (for full-cover waterblocks), unlocked voltage, and dual bios.

If voltage control, bios flashing, and full-cover blocks are not a concern for you (or heavy overclocking in general), then you're probably safe buying the one that's on sale. With a few exceptions, all the brands have an equally terrible RMA process.