(Part 2) Best desktop computers according to redditors

My dude, I'm being legit with this, If it's just going to be an email, photo and video center with the occasional taxes, why spend so much time and money? Just get a cheap prebuilt and call it a day.

It'll save them hundreds, do what they need and keep you from being blamed for everything bad happening.

Here cheap Optiplex with 1 tb of storage and 8 gigs of ram and Windows 10

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_a3L2Cb03B269F

• Intel j1900 x86 quad core 2-2.4GHz
  
• Memory 1 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1333 up to 8GB
  
• 1 SATA III
  
• 1 mini-PCI (Wifi optional)
  
• 1 mSata (mSata disk optional)
  
• 4 Intel WG 82583 NICs/lan/ethernet 10/100/1000
  
• Watchdog Timer 256 Level, Programmable
  
• 1 VGA
  
• 2 USB 2.0 ports
  
• Size: 134mm 126mm 36mm
  
• Fanless (the aluminium alloy case is the heatsink)
  
• 2 or 4 available holes for antennas/jacks/..., power button, 2 leds
  
• Chipset ? (waiting for answer)
  
• UEFI AMI BIOS MX25U6435FM2I-10G (appears to be supported by flashrom ctrl+f MX25U6435E/F )
  
• 10W
  
• DC 12v
  
• 1 CPU fan connector (PWM?)
  
• 1 SATA power connector (4 pins, needs adapter)
  
• Audio ALC662 (no, according to reseller)
  
• GPIO (no, according to reseller)
  
  The aluminium alloy case serves as the CPU heatsink, I've seen this design before and it works pretty well. See also https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-scooter-computer/ for a similar design.
  
  Found it on aliexpress, took the risk and ordered one. Should arrive soon.
  
  If there is any interest I'll update and post a review of it.
  
  If I really really like it and there is interest I may organize a group buying (to buy from the manufacturer and ship at lower cost).
  
  
  Bought it from http://www.aliexpress.com/item/WAP-Cheapest-mini-computer-wholesale-high-quality-min-pc-industrial-4-LAN/32591339399.html (cheapest I could find, without ram/wifi/disk)
  
  Available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/products-barebone-J1900-Industrial-computer/dp/B019Z8T9J0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457891371&sr=8-1&keywords=qotom
  
  Available on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/12v-mini-pc-windows-7-QOTOM-mini-pc-with-4-NIC-port-J1900-mini-pc-2G-1T-8G-SSD-/262293070861?hash=item3d11e2a40d:g:~NMAAOSwCQNWgkUS

This has better specs for the same price

​

but I guess the RGB does give you 20 extra fps in games.

Very similar deal to what was recently posted from CYBERPOWER on Amazon. You give up multicolor RGB, water cooling, and a 2TB HDD. You get $50 off, single color RGB, 1TB HDD, and a faster CPU (3.2GHz v 3.7GHz)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GG62872/ref=s9_acsd_bw_wf_a_BTSmainw_mdl

Inventory:

pfSense:
Snort, pfBlockerNG, OpenVPN, Squid, ClamAV, Default deny ingress/egress FW, etc.

ZOTAC ZBOX NUC

Kingston 120GB SSD

Crucial 8GB DDR3L RAM

ESXi Hypervisor:

Skull Canyon NUC

32GB DDR4 RAM

Samsung 950 Pro 512GB M.2 SSD

Virtual Machines I'm currently running.

Splunk - Receives my FW, DNS, Snort, and OSSEC logs. I have dashboards to filter this data.

Snorby - Also receives my Snort logs. I like this a little better than Splunk as I can view packet contents.

OSSEC - I used this for file integrity and endpoint monitoring on my servers and desktop. Functions as a host based IDS.

Nessus - I use this every once in a while to see if there are any open holes. Otherwise, I just use nmap and iptables to close everything off.

Unifi Controller - for managing my AP.


Wireless:

Ubiquiti Unifi AP-AC Lite


Switch:

TP-LINK 8-Port Gigabit L2 Switch

RetroPi + Monitor:

RPi3

10.1 Inch IPS HDMI Monitor


My VMs, configs, and files are backed up to a HDD I keep offline. I'm thinking about adding a NAS into the mix for somewhere around 200-400 dollars. Low energy consumption preferably if anyone had any recommendations. :)

intel nuc sounds perfect for you

I think this one is the best atm https://smile.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V?sa-no-redirect=1

https://www.newegg.com/p/1VK-0001-4S7R8?Item=9SIACAGA170269

Here's another option with more RAM and a better CPU in the same price bracket. Either would be fine for Minecraft. Good luck! You're a good parent.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7010-Minitower-Desktop/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=desktop+PC&qid=1570391136&sr=8-13

Here's another similar option for less as well.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-ProDesk-600-G1-SFF/dp/B07BCGW85X/ref=sr_1_19?keywords=desktop+pc&qid=1570391462&sr=8-19

Here's a pretty thrifty option with a 4th gen i5. Ultimately, this is what I'd go with. If you're savvy, toss an SSD into them later on the cheap.

No.

First off, $50 for a mono, unpowered speaker? No thanks.

Second, ceramics have terrible acoustic properties; there's a reason that both musical instruments and speaker enclosures are usually made out of metals, woods and plastics: they sound better. I'm not sure of the exact physics behind it, but I believe the plasticity of the materials gives them a wider range of frequencies. Glasses and ceramics are very brittle and, I believe, will tend to have a very narrow range of harmonic frequencies. This is why glasses and ceramics tend to only be used in instruments that make a single frequency: jugs and bells.

If you want unpowered mp3 speakers, I'd recommend these Sonys.

If you want great sound for under $50, get a Logitech or Altec Lansing powered 2.1 system like this or this.

If you want to save up for a top of the line set of speakers, you can store your money in one of these handy ceramic pigs. Nowadays it's probably safer than a real bank.

Type|Amazon|3rd Party New
:---|:---|:---
Lowest|$799.00 on Sep 06, 2018|$1,049.99 on Aug 28, 2018
Highest|$1,399.00 on Jul 16, 2018|$1,299.11 on Aug 19, 2018

3C link

*****
I am a bot; please send comments/questions to github issues

github

Links to products from where they were originally bought.

NUC

Monitor

MX500

[RAM](https://www.microcenter.com/product/610173/crucial-32gb-ddr4-2666-(pc4-21300)

Keyboard


Mouse

UPS

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1506619487&sr=8-8&keywords=vr+ready+1070 829.99 with free shipping

There is a market for this type of NUC, especially as an alternative to a console, it would turn your TV into a full blown gaming PC. I use mine as my office PC since I don't want a full blown PC case since i move things around a lot. It is upgradable as far as RAM and storage goes as well. Also, this looks more like introductory pricing, as you can see, its predecessor launched in the mid $700s and was significantly less powerful: https://camelcamelcamel.com/Intel-NUC-mini-NUC6i7KYK-Core/product/B01DJ9XS52 and now goes for around $500. Reading some of the customer reviews for its predecessor reveals some of the use cases, and people are pretty happy with the form factor: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-mini-NUC6i7KYK-Core/dp/B01DJ9XS52#customerReviews There are 193 reviews, so I am guessing Amazon sold a few thousand.

NUC6i7KYK...

I've now installed about 2 dozen of these puppies. And plan to deploy another dozen or two within the next year.

It's a fantastic work terminal, mini-server, cluster-node. I can't recommend enough that if you go this route, you get a Samsung 960 Pro as the primary SSD. 960 Evo could also work for a workstation that won't be doing any server or VM hosting roles. So much of system performance these days is bottle necked by primary drives. The NUK6i7's biggest strength is the 2x PCIe capable M.2 slots.

A minor downside for "3 to 4 1920x1200 monitors" is that you'll need some dongles or daisy chains to get more then 2 monitors. The plus here is that the Thunderbolt3 port and miniDisplayPort gives you quite a few options for display adapters. The setup I use with it and setup others with usually involves 2-3 Ultrawide LG displays. Personally use 2x 25" Ultrawide stacked on top of each other on my left as tertiary monitors and a 29" Ultrawide as my primary.

Reasons not to go with the NUC6i7.

• At some point might want a GPU. The Iris Pro 580 still leaves a lot to be desired for dedicated GPU tasks.
  
• You want or want to expand to 2.5" SATA storage.
  
• You want to Overclock.
  
• You want a 6+ core beast of a workstation.
  
  We run a pure Windows shop. So I can't vouch for the Linux drivers on the NUC6i7 specifically. Though in the past Intel NUCs have have solid Linux support when I tried (Ubuntu and RHEL) with 2nd or 3rd gen NUCs.
  
  
  Here's our typical build, usually comes in @ $1100-$1200 depending on price fluctuations:
  
  
• $580 - NUC6i7
  
• $220 - 32GB 16x2 2133MHz CL13 RAM - Went with the 2133MHz CAS 13 instead of the 2400Mhz due to cost and availability when I first started experimenting with the NUC6i7.
  
• $340 @ 512GB / $620 @ 1TB 960 Pro - Choose your capacity as needed. 512GB should be around $350 but is in short supply at the moment.
  
  
• $130 @ 250GB - Need to drop to the 960 Evo if you want 250GB. - Killer value with PCIe performance compared to SATA M.2 Drives.

The same computer with a 1070 is $830 on amazon right now. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XJeRzbZ2M9PBY

Hey there, Kramjam. I am in the midst of the same process looking in a similar price range. I am sick of always being disappointed in my gaming experience. I have used budget(ish) laptops and am now switching over to pre-built desktops for some true gaming with room to easily grow as gaming evolves. I thought it'd be helpful to write out my top choices.

I have found some good deals and have listed them. I am debating waiting until after Thanksgiving to see if there are any better offers. I have to decide soon, I guess!

This HP Omen 7700 GTX NVIDIA 1070. $1055.55 on Amazon now. It's the lower end of my spectrum but I think a great value. I am looking at 1080 and 8700 ideally but this is a mighty fine desktop and a huge jump for me. The brand name is helpful here too. Don't know about wifi connect.

I am leaning towards the iBUYPOWER 8700k GTX 1070 Ti. $1,399 Amazon. Great reviews, good value, and nice add-ons. I don't need a lighting remote but that's neat to have. Liquid cooling is also pretty cool (ha!). Good specs, good price, nice accessories, can't complain.

ABS 8700 GTX 1080. $1349.99 Newegg. This almost made it an easy search for me. GTX 1080 plus a great price. My biggest concern is reliability. A few bad reviews on Newegg scared me off and I think this is even their in-house brand. The customer service seems good enough from some research but I would rather not have any problems at all. If you want to roll the dice, I think this is the best value you can find. They also do a 1060 and 1070 for lower prices as you should see in the link. This is it's bigger, badder brother running 1080Ti and 8700k at $1,749.99.

​

cyberpowerpc AMD Ryzen 2700 but NVIDIA RTX 2070. $1,449 Amazon. I having been leaning Intel so not a fan of AMD. This system is 3.2 GHz 8 core whereas the Intel 7700, like in the HP Omen, is 3.6 GHz 6 core. But an RTX 2070 in a prebuild desktop for only $1,449 is ridiculous from my research. It's overkill for what I am using now and I would like a better processor but I thought I would put it here for you.

cyberpowerpc Intel 8700k NVIDIA GTC 1070 Ti. $1,549 Amazon. Same stats as the iBuypower but for $150 more. I guess I like the design more than the i.b.p. but I'd rather save the $150. Maybe post-Thanksgiving will shake this price down??

SKyTech 8700k GTX 1080. $1,549.99. 1070 Ti is $1,499.99. Amazon. Looks great in terms of specs, reviews, even looks and add-ons. I would choose this over the cyberpowerpc above. Has some more customizable options too. But based on our budget, I think you would be better suited for the HP Omen or the iBuypower.

Tl;DR

The HP Omen and iBUYPOWER options listed are my two top choices but all of these made it to my final list. I think another $350 for a better processor, slightly better graphics, and better add-ons makes the iBUYPOWER worth it. Even if the name is terrible...

I hope this helps! Please share any of your insights as well.


Edit: I included the differences in specs most important to me. All have at least 240 GB SSD and some have 2 instead of 1 TB of HDD. All of 16 GB of memory and Windows 10.

Not sure why they'd throw a 9900K with a 2070... i mean the price isnt God awful... but if you want to save some money I'd go with THIS ONE... quite a bit cheaper and still has a 2070... will fare just fine for the greater majority of things.

​

Edit: the one thing that I'd be careful with on this one is the RAM that it comes with... seems to come with 2400mhz ram... not sure how much you know about RYZEN but RAM speed matters a lot more for them compared to Intel... If you go for this computer... I'd probably take the ram out and sell it and throw in something like this. The processor will run MUCH better with that ram and youll probably only have to spend about $40-$50 more after you sell the ram that the computer comes with

iBUYPOWER Pro Gaming PC Computer Desktop Intel i7-9700k 8-Core 3.6 GHz, Geforce RTX 2070 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, 240GB SSD, Z370, Liquid Cooling, WiFi Ready, Windows 10, VR Ready (Trace 9230, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_igolDbVQ6DJA1


Thoughts on this one boys? My brother has been holding out for a good prebuilt deal

Priced at $1199.99 down from $1649.99


Edit: Sale price stock is sold out now

PFsense
.

https://www.amazon.com/Qotom-Q190G4-Celeron-Processor-Barebone/dp/B019Z8T9J0/ref=pd_sbs_147_5/143-2671636-0541201?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B019Z8T9J0&pd_rd_r=XMGVWW8ANATWM8Q7BSVP&pd_rd_w=Zt2iy&pd_rd_wg=gy1xM&psc=1&refRID=XMGVWW8ANATWM8Q7BSVP

or...

Load PF sense on a Dell R210 with a quad core cpu, 8GB ram and a four port nic (6-1gb nic's total)
As small or as big as you need. I LOVE PFsense

Intel NUC for a Windows machine could be good.

Intel NUC BOXD54250WYKH1 Intel 4th Gen Intel Core i5-4250U with Intel HD Graphics 5000 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZDLNWO/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_X39xub0C7XSHA

Besides the SSD, how does something like this compare to a more standard build like you’ve provided?

How good of a deal is that Asus prebuilt?

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=lp_16352389011_1_18?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1502747601&sr=1-18&th=1

This is a better deal at the same price ($799)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D5S3LZM

Is this prebuilt worth its price? iBUYPOWER Pro Gaming PC Computer Desktop Intel i7-9700k 8-Core 3.6 GHz, Geforce RTX 2070 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, 240GB SSD, Z370, Liquid Cooling, WiFi Ready, Windows 10, VR Ready (Trace 9230, Black)

$1,199

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

are there any remotely modern nano-itx boards? i've modeled a whole portable computer case with a lid/monitor assembly, but mini itx is just too big, and a proper small form factor motherboard would help a lot

a nuc would do it but it would make it kinda lame, less of a diy proj and more just taping one thing to another

probably still what i'll end up doing, and dude its 200 off now and i want to grab it but im gonna stay strong

e: finished a rough mockup with my custom compact battlecruiser keyboard, nuc, this panel, and some small speakers. total internal dimensions about 3" thick, 12" long, and 16" wide. that's actually like, chunky laptop size. totally feasible...and not even that expensive

this one is vastly better.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D5S3LZM/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-FX-8320-vs-AMD-Ryzen-7-1800X/1983vs3916

It's another builder, but this is probably what he was talking about.

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Trace-9220-Overclockable-Motherboard/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=sr_1_3?crid=29IK4QLFUF0MA&keywords=rtx%2B2070%2Bdesktop&qid=1559172462&s=gateway&sprefix=rtx%2B2070%2Bdes%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-3&th=1

This pc is same price but better do to overclockable cpu and a board that supports it

if you can stretch 50 bucks this would be better

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Trace-9220-Overclockable-Motherboard/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=sr_1_3?crid=29IK4QLFUF0MA&keywords=rtx%2B2070%2Bdesktop&qid=1559172462&s=gateway&sprefix=rtx%2B2070%2Bdes%2Caps%2C124&sr=8-3&th=1

If you don't mind spending an extra 10 bucks check these out: M-Audio Studiophile AV30

If you are looking to save some cash then I think these could do the trick: Altec Lansing VS2621

I hope you find what your looking for and always read the reviews.

Bare bone Lenovo ts140 with i3 for 220.
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4000HUX-i3-4130-Computer/dp/B00F6EK9J2

Or bare bone with Xeon e3 for 329.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FE29IWK/ref=pd_aw_sims_3?pi=SL500_SS115&simLd=1

I use an Intel NUC as my media server/center. About 6" square, sleek, quiet, low power, and cool.

This is $339 on Amazon, and the other components don't add up to $750... I'm coming up with around $550 to buy everything new. You may want to adjust your price.

Something like this would fit the use case: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019Z8T9J0/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1500226539&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=fanless+mini+pc

foxreymann -

I don't think the "light bulb" has gone on for you yet. Cisco is gonna cost $$$. You don't like Ubiquity which is fine. Mitrotik will have a learning curve.

Your best bet here is PFSENSE!

Just spend $250 and get the fanless Intel Quadcore w/ 4x1Gbps interfaces:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIVQI3M?psc=1

You'll be able to setup load balancing or failover of your internet connections (I'm guessing you have 250mbps on one connection but the other is probably a much slower backup?).

It really depends on your Internet speed.

The D525 is ancient tech. Serviceable as pfSense? Sure, but not for a lot of bandwidth and/or plugins. I mean, the J1900 or N3250 Qotom mini PCs will be twice as capable at almost half the cost. Skip the Supermicro.

The R210ii are really the sweet spot. More computing power than you really need, but only idling in the 20-30w range. The list is pretty long of cheap and capable R210iis.

I would probably get the R210ii, get an ODD drive bay and drop a tiny SSD in it. I still run my pfSense off a USB stick, but I don't have much logging happening.

The protectli works well.
Here's the Amazon link
I bought the storage and RAM as a bundle, but an mSATA drive is what you want as the unit runs pretty warm. Keep it away from anything that is heat sensitive.

FreeNAS is great! It's been around for years, and ZFS is rock solid. I'm using the SSD as an L2ARC, and I've segregated all storage traffic to a separate subnet across two NICs on all servers, which makes a huge difference!

I do recommend finding a case that will keep the spinning drive noise to a minimum and putting money into RAM over a faster CPU.

oVirt works well. I'm not running the "self-hosted" engine. I tried it, but there's some glitch that prevented me from moving that VM from one host to another. I find that I don't need that flexibility anyway.

Let's go with an optiplex
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vEh0CbEN87DKA

Slam a gpu in there https://m.newegg.com/product/N82E16814202283?m_ver=1

And a new PSU
https://m.newegg.com/p/pl?d=corsair%20cxm%20450w&N=-1&SortType=8&m_ver=1

Take this information and run it through pcpartpicker and /r/buildapc to have everyone check for compatibility. We need the hive mind for this one.

For $425 USD, that's a really shitty CPU it comes with. Get this much newer and better i5-7400 for the same price. They'll play low end games but barely, you could possibly throw in a dedicated GPU at some point later on (depending on how easy the power supply is to replace.)

I have a few ThinkServer TS140s with 16GB of RAM (each) running around 6 VMs each (Ubuntu, Debian, Server 2012). Low power draw and quiet as shit.

Sounds like you want a NUC.

I just purchased a NUC i5-4250u, 8GB of RAM, WiFi adapter and threw in a 128GB SSD for the OS/XBMC.

Cost is $455 on Amazon (minus the SSD).

Throw on a 4TB USB 3.0 External HDD and you have an amazing HTPC/Media Center. It's a full PC with Intel HD 5000 graphics, meaning, if you wanted to, you could play WoW on lowest settings at 40 FPS (I checked) and LoL on medium settings at 60 FPS (I checked).

For a bluray drive, I purchased an external LG bluray/dvd/cd drive from Best Buy for $69 (it's was on sale, not sure if it's still going on).

The models that end in "H" all support 2.5" drives:

i5 - http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BOXD54250WYKH1-Core-i5-4250U-Graphics/dp/B00HZDLNWO/

i3 - http://www.amazon.com/Intel-DisplayPort-i3-4010U-Consumer-BOXD34010WYKH1/dp/B00HOJAVDG/

Celeron - http://www.amazon.com/Intel-DN2820FYKH-Celeron-N2820-support/dp/B00HVKLSVC/

Edit: Nevermind my recommendations... You said on the cheap. Just get an old Windows PC.



====================================
Raspberry is gonna be slow. Stay away.

Sounds like you are gonna need a Windows PC to do all that without a fuss.

I'd go for one of these but they still need memory, OS and a storage drive.

For HDs: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HZDLNWO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1420117092&sr=8-1&dpPl=1&dpID=41RYI9FbYkL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

For SSD: http://www.amazon.com/Intel-D54250WYK1-i5-4250U-Processor-Power/dp/B00H3YT8CC


http://www.amazon.com/Asus-VM60-G106M-ASUS-Barebone-System/dp/B00LHYG44Y/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1420118442&sr=1-4&keywords=Vivopc

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkCentre-M73-Desktop-10AY001RUS/dp/B00FNQMNCE/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1420118442&sr=1-10&keywords=Vivopc

What really makes a big difference in the price is its condition. If it is used, and say three years old, then its price is much less because things will begin to fail. If it is new, it is not a bad rig, but you said it is an i5-7200 but that is a laptop cpu, so knowing which i5-xxxx it is really affects the price.

I would end up going with something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/M32CD-Desktop-Windows-Keyboard-Mouse/dp/B014QVM2KO/ref=sr_1_24?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1497714275&sr=1-24&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289793011%2Cp_36%3A2421880011

Then upgrading the GPU when I saved up a little bit more. It has a really nice CPU in it, and in the future you will be able to upgrade it to an I7. It is a solid machine. Once you get a GPU in there, it will run awesome. You should idealy upgrade to a 1060, for about 250 or so. And get a new power supply, at at least 650w.

You can buy this computer (-graphics card) for $434.99 USD with free shipping right now.

http://www.amazon.com/M32CD-Desktop-Windows-Keyboard-Mouse/dp/B014QVM2KO

To monitor all devices (tablet, laptop, etc) you will need an actual firewall or proxy server, not just a typical ISP-provided consumer modem/router/access point combo device. You would also need to move your wireless access point behind the firewall, so that wireless activity is tracked.

Your topology would look something like this:

Internet -> Modem -> Firewall -> Devices (access point, etc.)

In the new topology you could use your existing FiOS-G1100 as either the modem or the access point, but not both. To act as a modem only it would have to be put in "bridge" mode (disabling firewall functions and wireless AP). To act as an access point only, it would have to be put in "AP only" mode.

The firewall will basically be a mini PC (ex. Qotom Q190G4, Q355G4), running firewall software such as pfSense or Sophos XG. Yes, for a networking novice, there is a tremendous learning curve involved in setting up a true firewall. It wouldn't hurt to find a local professional who could assist you.

For a somewhat lesser learning curve, there are router appliances such as the Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite which offer better-than-combo-device firewall capabilities in a less daunting user interface.

I have a set of qotom j1900 based PC's running in our machine shop (needed fanless with built in wireless).

They have had zero issues in the dusty and oily environment. Especially considering the cost.

These two might pique your interest:

http://www.amazon.com/Celeron-processor-onboard-display-serial/dp/B0148KG3SK/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1453309328&sr=1-1&keywords=qotom

http://www.amazon.com/products-barebone-J1900-Industrial-computer/dp/B019Z8T9J0/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1453309328&sr=1-11&keywords=qotom

I've had to contact qotom (they accidentaly sent 2gb in a 4gb model) and they were super quick to respond with slightly broken english. However they just sent me a 4gb dimm and told me to keep the 2gb one. No problems so far.

I'm debating replacing family PC's with these. They are plenty snappy on Win7 with the SSD that comes with them, and the amount of ram included (I go for the 4gb.)

Qotom has a variety of builds, depending on your needs. Just check amazon.

If you're up for a challenge and you dig low power draw low cost, you could try espressobin (just google it). The toughest part is finding a case; I had to order one from a vendor that prints from designs on thingiverse. (I'd advise going with ABS plastic, not PLA, if you go this route.) By the time you buy espressobin, a 32G sdcard, a power supply, and a case, you're out about 135 or 140 bucks.

I actually just bought the espressobin + bits and pieces myself; everything's here but the case, which I'm still waiting for. Full disclosure: no HDMI out on espressobin, so if you're not okay with needing to go serial console, it's not going to be for you. And since I haven't built it yet, I don't know what the performance will be like (though I'd confidently put it up against even high-end consumer gear on spec, given that it's similar CPU to what's in a Netgear Nighthawk, and given how well plain Ubuntu did versus various devices in my tests at Ars Technica). Still... it's a gamble. Ya feelin' lucky? =)

Other than that, literally just look for Celeron builds from Qotom on Amazon. The one I purchased most recently is still available; I make no guarantees it's the absolute best model to buy right now, I literally just dug it out of my order list, but it still shows available at $170 after shipping. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B019Z8T9J0/ You'll spend around $300 total after adding RAM and an SSD to one of these, depending on what exactly you opt for there.

Qotom also has i3 and i5 versions of the same machine available, for about $100 to $150 more. If you want the extra muscle. You won't likely need the extra muscle if all it's going to be doing is acting as a router, of course, but sometimes more firepower is more firepower, right? =)

I7 6770. They run almost $600 without RAM or SSD.

I just bought the following. I put PFsense on it. Nice little box. I bought 8 gigs of RAM and a 120 gig SSD with it.




Firewall Micro Appliance With 4x Gbe Intel Lan Ports for PFSense barebones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIVQI3M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0fIHxb55225FK

The role of computers in a business is to help a business make money.

If/when something goes wrong with one of these computers, you are going to be held responsible for fixing the issue because it's "your fault" because you built them. Any lost productivity, business, and money will be blamed on you.

Cover your ass, avoid this headache, and just buy prebuilts:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KLSMWVA/

If you really want to go the extra mile, use the Windows serial that comes with the PC to do a clean install so that they don't have any preinstalled junk.

If you have any old computers, I would recommend trying Plex out on that first since it should run fine as long as the CPU has a Passmark Score above 2000.

But if you really want new, plug and play hardware then Amazon has a basic PC for about $350 USD. It has enough USB ports to plug in all your external drives, though I would recommend consolidating to just one external drive for simplicity. Comes with an Intel i3 which has a Passmark score of 5847 which means it should be able to handle 1 transcode stream just fine. Also has an ethernet port so you can plug it directly into your router.

Really good price for a PC you can upgrade in the future with a couple internal drives and an SSD if you wanted.

At that budget getting something like this is your best option
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1521933934&sr=1-1&keywords=desktop

and then put a gtx 1050 or 1050ti in it
https://pcpartpicker.com/products/video-card/#c=379,380&sort=price

If you're interested in buying a pre-built PC, this is the one I just purchased to run Rift. Has an RX580 and I'm not sure you can build a PC with similar specs for the same price right now. It's also has a large case so easily upgradeable in the future.

It seems to be pretty popular because every other day when I check it out it shows "Temporarily Out of Stock" so people are scooping them up.

I would say you priced it well. https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V

Ill normally look through Reddit's where they discuss PC Deals for friends who don't want to build a PC.

​

Desktops are much cheaper but you'll also need a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. (Desk and Chair optional.)

Cities skylines does much better with a nicer CPU then a GPU.

​

Here's a Reddit for you:

https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestapc/

​

Here's a link for a gaming PC i found on that Reddit:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D5S3LZM/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32/


Posted without the referral link.

iBUYPOWER Pro Gaming PC Computer Desktop Intel i7-9700k 8-Core 3.6 GHz, Geforce RTX 2070 8GB, 16GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, 240GB SSD, Z370, Liquid Cooling, WiFi Ready, Windows 10, VR Ready (Trace 9230, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LyRRDbN4XYACA

Found one on amazon for the same price with a i7-9700k and Rtx 2070 super https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=cm_cr_othr_mb_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8#cm_cr_carousel_images_section

Get an external hd for backups of you don't have one already.

Check this channel and get something nice.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCss3QxegBkF8BAetIo0qXA

Midrange extreme value. 580 dlls.
Rx 480 or others
R5 2600
16gb ram.
https://youtu.be/p9daTy901MA

My high end pick; 1380 usd.
I7 9700k.
Tb nvme ssd
16 ddr4
Rtx 2070.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=psdcmw_13896597011_t1_B07KSXZFY7




I would set 1070 performance levels as standard. (1070 is cheap and bang for buck, but maybe consider an rtx with 8gb vram if you have the money)

if your gpu is already nice and want nicer then go for an rtx.

but want to know your old setup. I mean if you want upgrade define what's old, man.

What's your budget? I would go for a 3rd gen r5 or r7. R7 ir you are hard multi tasker.

I rather have multiple pcs on my pipeline. One for art one for coding. Multiple monitors and transfer files over lan.

8gb minimum. 12 would be ok. But if you can go to 16gb dual channel. Really good for multi tasking.

Plus you pc has to have resemblance to what the player is going to play. Unless you plan to use it as a server.

Minimum unity reqs are Like really low. Because it can simply develop for mobile. And use very primitive everything.

Minimum solid recommended id say
Sandy i3 or I5 2400 cpu.
4gb ram.
Gpu .. a 1060 or rx 480 just because it's so cheap used nowadays. (120 usd) or a 1050 for 75 dlls.

For refence a gt 1030 could work just fine for mobile.



Normal recommended I'd say
R5 1600 - 2600 if Intel at least 8th gen.

8gb ram would do but really 12gb if you want to have multiple programs running.
16 gb for perfect value and commodity.

A mobo with at least 4 ram slots.

Rx 480 8gb or rtx 2070 pref. Get lots of vram preferably.

Ssd obviously for OS and important unity projects.

If you really want to build it yourself watch techdeals yt channel.

Check jason weibman for the best unity tutorials.
Unity 3d college on YouTube.

He has the BEST paid unity course too. But if you want to learn unity in a professional effective way. Now you know were. He was a .net Dev too, then got into gamedev.

Cheers mate.

For Dolphin, CPU (processor) matters more than the GPU (graphics card). Ideally, you could get a desktop with a high end CPU and a low-mid end GPU for the best results for the price.

This should be ideal for your price range: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXiVR8060A2-Desktop-i5-7400-7200RPM/dp/B01MT0781S/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1503301433&sr=1-8&keywords=gaming+desktop

This one is a little cheaper, can't vouch for AMD GPUs on Dolphin though: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXiVR8020A3-Desktop-Graphics-802-11AC/dp/B071NG75BW/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1503301433&sr=1-5&keywords=gaming+desktop

Sure. Got it from Amazon. It looks like it's currently out of stock, so you may want to shop around or find another one with similar specs. But this is the one I got. Completely happy with it, although I could do without all those red lights. Tend to leave the PC on overnight, and was worried that they'd keep me awake, but it's fine. Just took a bit of getting used to. :)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071NG75BW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

>There's going to be a time where we see people rave about a future AMD CPU paired with an Intel GPU which is wild

I mean Intel did a thing with Vega Graphics.

Linus Tech Tips Video: Intel's Coolest CPU, thanks to AMD

Intel's NUC with AMD graphics is your solution. The 65 Watt version is $700, while the 100 Watt version is $800. The 100 Watt version should be chosen if it is supposed to be fast.

It can connect 6 displays and has seven USB ports without hubs. It has a card reader. It has Wifi/Bluetooth and 2 HDMI ports.

It is compact and easy to carry or mail around for support. It is basically a desktop-replacement laptop without a display, a keyboard, and a trackpad.

Intel Machine NUC8i7HVK Radeon Graphics

The above is a barebones system. It will need a pair of DDR4 SODIMM memory sticks, M.2 storage, and a Windows 10 license.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
Memory | Kingston - HyperX Impact 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory | $140.13 @ Amazon
Storage | *ADATA - XPG SX6000 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $79.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit | $114.39 @ OutletPC
| | Total (before mail-in rebates) | $359.51
| | Mail-in rebates | -$25.00
| Total | $334.51
| | *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria |

.

I think the NUC will be much easier to support then any other solution. The total cost is about $1160 for the 100-Watt version built and ready.

First 5 Things to Do with a New PC Build

Have you considered maybe getting a NUC? It's a small computer that would be easy to move around. This is a high end example of one.

Intel NUC 8 Performance-G Kit (NUC8i7HVK) - Core i7 100W, Add't Components Needed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BR5GK1V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IDjUCbGDDA1DJ

It does have dedicated graphics so it can do a little bit of games but there are cheaper ones without it. ( Since you said you didn't want to game on it )

I have the Hades Canyon NUC ( https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V/ref=sr_1_3?crid=GM07KLWPS826&keywords=hades+canyon+nuc&qid=1555074370&s=gateway&sprefix=hades+canyon%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-3 ) but I don't game and stream at the same time off of it. I added 16gb ram and a WD Black M.2 500gb stick to it and I use it as a secondary dedicated streaming PC which wasn't the original reason for buying it. I'm actually working towards selling it and building a PC more meant for streaming when the new Ryzen line comes out because I want to push out as much quality as I can. I have a fiber connection so the PC is the bottleneck.

​

That aside.. As a dedicated streaming box with an HD60s hooked up feeding from my gaming PC, as well as a CamLink to my mirrorless camera, I've been able to have it going at 'fast' preset for 810p/60fps @ 6,000 bitrate and the CPU usage ranges between 40-70% in StreamElements OBS. I used to try pushing it to medium, 720p/60fps @ 6,000 bitrate and that would constantly be around 80-90%+ CPU and crash the whole system at times. Both scenarios is usually streaming more visually active games with a lot of screen movement.

​

Certainly you can be less aggressive with the quality output and I'm sure something like this can handle some lightweight gaming on it. I'd be shocked if it couldn't handle both streaming and something like Runescape at the same itme.

That was true 8 years ago. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve built multiple machines for myself and family members but with the GPU prices still high due to crypto and RAM prices still high due to whatever the world is causing it pre-builds can often beat the price you can build it for since they deal in bulk.

/r/BuildAPCSales often has quality prebuilt sooo up.

Don’t get me wrong build your machine if you have the means and the capabilities but nowadays you’ll be neck in neck if it’s cheaper or not if you catch a good sale.

For example: https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Desktop-Graphics-View21-035A/dp/B07D5S3LZM

This was $800 recently. $899 now. At $800 you’ll be hard to beat that price by building, paying for shipping, Windows key, keyboard and mouse, etc yourself.

$1200 for a refurb unit? hell no. Used 10xx series GPU are actually being dumped on ebay now so you could get a sweet deal on them. Saw a used 1070 going for $230.

here is one that is almost the same but with a shittier GPU and 128mb less storage.

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Desktop-Graphics-View21-035A/dp/B07D5S3LZM

here is a custom build with much better specs for the same price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor | $318.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | Asus - PRIME B450M-A/CSM Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | $76.61 @ Amazon
Memory | Team - T-Force Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $139.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Crucial - MX500 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $88.99 @ Newegg Business
Storage | Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $58.99 @ SuperBiiz
Video Card | Zotac - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Mini Video Card | $423.00 @ Newegg
Case | Cougar - MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case | $39.99 @ B&H
Power Supply | EVGA - BQ 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $39.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1186.55
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-18 21:50 EDT-0400 |

if you do go prebuilt, this is a pretty solid deal. If you want it today, you're best off buying the prebuilt and a ssd. For the most part, you need sales on parts to beat this deal. Rough part match up for the prebuilt. I honestly would say this is pretty worth it.

This is a better computer and cheaper
iBUYPOWER Elite Gaming PC Desktop AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 3.6GHz, AMD Radeon RX 580 4GB Graphics, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, 120GB SSD, Win 10 Home 64-bit, View21 035A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D5S3LZM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rvTJBb4WADPDJ

I don’t know much about specs but it’s a pretty good gaming laptop 8gb ram etc but I just got this pc —> https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-Master-GMA1394A-Gaming-GeForce/dp/B07GG62872/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr2_1?keywords=CyberPowerPC+-+Gaming+Desktop+-+AMD+Ryzen+7+2700X+-+16GB+Memory+-+NVIDIA+RTX+2070+8GB+-+2TB+HDD+%2B+240GB+SSD&qid=1563598470&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr2



I would like to play zero cailber, gorn, blade and sorcery,



Feel cool playing games


The fact that it just doesn’t work I’ve probably watched over 200 videos on tutorials that all didn’t work I’m looking for something that doesn’t have problems setting up




At least 4000$



The pc I just got 8

Hey hey, just coming back to ask you a question... What do you think of this setup?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GG62872/ref=s9_acsd_bw_wf_a_BTSmainw_cdl_4?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=AS7FYKC4NZ2W6SX5ADA6&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=433e8818-d272-4fe1-982e-e584e87386b1&pf_rd_i=15201447011#customerReviews

It is currently a promotion for black friday on amazon, and I think it would be better for the price.
The price established above for the parts we picked in this thread seems to be achievable via a couple of rebate coupons, which I don't have access to since I am ordering this computer from Central America, hence the price actually goes around 1200.

So: 1200 for the one we've built so far, or, 1200 for the one on the amazon link above... which would be best?

Thank you so much for reading, I appreciate your help, you've been awesome and kind to give some of your time to help someone out, I appreciate it.

If you search the main thread by newest, it was posted 32 mins ago.

Here's the direct link; I'm not sure how to link a post in the main thread:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GG62872/ref=s9_acsd_bw_wf_a_BTSmainw_mdl?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=TMNR58W597MPNSKX1PSP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=a34ff480-29b2-45a3-b23a-ba109e23a881&pf_rd_i=15201447011


EDIT- Link to post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/comments/9zswwi/prebuilt_cyberpowerpc_rtx_2070_liquid_cooled/?utm_source=reddit-android

Hey Fwast, thanks a lot for your reply! I will def. look into the hardwareswap option (not sure if it's reliable or not). Another option could also be eBay. Not sure if you would be able to help me with this but the 2 desktops i am looking into are:

​

1)https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32

​

2) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J1W2NHB/ref=sspa_dk_hqp_detail_aax_0?psc=1

​

Do you have any opinions about those 2?

The Amazon search page for all that is RTX is being deflated by a third party. I don't like third party sellers, but is this likely a scam to seem like a Thanksgiving deal?

Upon further inspection, he's also listing prebuilt PCs

Happy Thanksgiving (:

SkyTech Blaze II seems to be the best one for eSport games on Amazon, it can also run modern AAA titles but it's really future-proof when it comes to eSports. It has a Ryzen 5 2600 and a GTX 1660 which are plenty for League of Legends, Overwatch and CS:GO etc. I'm going to buy it myself.

The GTX 1660 build is really good for the price especially that it's currently on discount for $679. Anything more powerful would be similar to this GTX 1070 build which is slightly above your budget.

What did you pay for this thing? FX-6300 is from 2012 (and was horrible already in 2012). This computer is worth MAYBE $200 on like a really really good day. Return it immediately and get something decent. You can do way better for $700.

Here are some computers that are 100x better than what you bought for $700ishhttps://www.amazon.com/CyberpowerPC-GXiVR8060A7-i5-9400F-GeForce-802-11AC/dp/B07PKXQBHN/ref=sr_1_1?fst=as%3Aoff&pf_rd_i=16225007011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=74069509-93ef-4a3c-8dca-a9e3fa773a64&pf_rd_r=A5M9DR8SH9GQ29T2JEBH&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_t=101&qid=1563760328&refinements=p_36%3A2421882011&rnid=2421879011&s=computers-intl-ship&sr=1-1

​

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Desktop-Processor-Graphics/dp/B07Q3G3B67/ref=sr_1_2?fst=as%3Aoff&pf_rd_i=16225007011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=74069509-93ef-4a3c-8dca-a9e3fa773a64&pf_rd_r=A5M9DR8SH9GQ29T2JEBH&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_t=101&qid=1563760328&refinements=p_36%3A2421882011&rnid=2421879011&s=computers-intl-ship&sr=1-2

​

https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Blaze-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07RHBLV7F/ref=sr_1_7?fst=as%3Aoff&pf_rd_i=16225007011&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=74069509-93ef-4a3c-8dca-a9e3fa773a64&pf_rd_r=A5M9DR8SH9GQ29T2JEBH&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_t=101&qid=1563760328&refinements=p_36%3A2421882011&rnid=2421879011&s=computers-intl-ship&sr=1-7

Not very well imho, esp. if you are interested in flight/racing sims. You are better to stick with Intel/Nvidia imho. You get what you pay for. Something like this would probably be much better;

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFYUUQ1RlZUNUxTTFImZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA0OTg0MDUxNFZJT0Q2WDdZS0VDJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwNjk4ODEyM1lST1NHQkVPQUNMJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfZGV0YWlsMiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC Desktop, Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6GHz, NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super 8GB Graphics, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCI-E NVMe SSD, WiFi Ready & Win 10 Home (SLC8260A2, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_9W0ODb1TAE03Q


Good for its price .. because of 2070 graphics card. You may need to add additional storage as this only comes with 1TB ssd . I know how big those Premiere files can get

Yeah, or if you’re lazy like me you could get this:

a build on amazon

But if you’re not in a rush, I would wait till Black Friday for better deals

Altec Lansing speakers! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025VKUQQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_zEjBDb3Q6V13Q

Well I said we could if you wanted, but thinking about it now, there are much better ways to put that $800 to use. Rather than blowing money on high-end processors and graphics cards that won't even be used, we can put money into amenities that will make the computer more enjoyable to use. Catering to the user is very important here, that being your girlfriend who will only use it for schoolwork and some very light gaming. Look at this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor | $129.99 @ Microcenter
CPU Cooler | Corsair H60 54.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $54.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | Asus A85XM-A Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard | $76.24 @ Amazon
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory | $59.50 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk | $184.99 @ NCIX US
Wireless Network Adapter | Rosewill N600PCE 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter | $24.99 @ Amazon
Case | Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case | $49.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply | EVGA 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $29.99 @ NCIX US
Monitor | Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor | $119.99 @ Microcenter
Keyboard | Cooler Master Storm Quick Fire Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard | $59.99 @ Newegg
Other| Altec Lansing VS2621 2.1 Channel Speaker System| $39.00 @ Amazon
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $829.66
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-18 22:52 EDT-0400 |

changelog:

• APU solution to kill two birds with one stone. Powerful enough for what she needs, cheap enough to cut major costs.
  
  
• All-in-one closed-loop CPU water cooling to keep things nice and quiet.
  
  
• Nice motherboard with USB 3.0 for super-quick file transfers.
  
  
• 8GB of 2133 superduper speedy RAM. Normally this would be considered a waste of money, but since APUs use system RAM for VRAM, higher clock speeds actually translate to performance increases.
  
  
• Instead of going with a traditional SSD/HDD combo, I opted for a single SSD instead, so everything will be ridiculously fast. Its 250GB, which should be enough for any schoolwork and what few games she plays. Unless she stores massive videos and stuff on her drive, I'm fairly sure 250GB is fine. This drive is fucking nonsensically fast. Hello <10 second coldboot times.
  
  
• a/b/g/n wifi adapter, it's fast enough for your internet connection and your future internet connections. That's all you need to know.
  
  
• EVGA is a solid company, and their PSUs are very very nice. 500W is enough.
  
  
• Swagitty-ass Dell IPS monitor. Veeeeerrrryyy nice.
  
  
• Though one of the top-level comments warned against keyboards that have "gaming" in the name this one is actually really nice. Mechanical too.
  
  
• Picking speakers on PCPP is iffy business because of how little the selection is. These speakers I added as custom parts because I am using them right now and can confirm that they sound exquisite. And for the asking price, you can't pass them up.
  
  For $800 here's something that's amazing to use and all about speed everywhere. Functionality is there too, you're on top of technology with SSDs, USB 3.0, SATA3, IPS, a/b/g/n wifi, 2133 RAM... its all here.
  
  This build is ready to take upgrades too. AMD is ball's deep in the APU game, and it's becoming a priority for them based on their popularity. the new Kaveri APUs are on their way, promising mad performance upgrades for the same price (~$130) so you can just grab that when it arrives and plop it in. While intel jumps from socket to socket every other second, AMD is long renowned for its socket longevity. The FM2 socket will be here for a while, but if you need something to up the power before Kaveri arrives, APUs have an interesting little feature called Radeon Dual graphics (nee Hybrid CrossFire). This features lets you plop in an ultra-cheap Radeon 7750 or a practically-free Radeon 6670 to CrossFire with the internal graphics, bringing a nice little performance boost.
  
  But hey, if you really wanted that $600 build, sure, we can do that too.
  
  PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
  
  Type|Item|Price
  :----|:----|:----
  CPU | AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor | $129.99 @ Microcenter
  Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-HD2 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard | $43.99 @ Newegg
  Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | $41.99 @ Amazon
  Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $59.98 @ Outlet PC
  Wireless Network Adapter | Encore ENEWI-1XN42 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter | $8.98 @ Outlet PC
  Case | Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $28.23 @ Amazon
  Power Supply | EVGA 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply | $29.99 @ NCIX US
  Monitor | Dell S2240M 60Hz 21.5" Monitor | $119.99 @ Microcenter
  Keyboard | Logitech K100 Wired Slim Keyboard | $9.98 @ Outlet PC
  Other| Altec Lansing VS2621 2.1 Channel Speaker System| $39.00
  | | Total
  | Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $512.12
  | Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-18 23:57 EDT-0400 |
  
  This is probably the cheapest I can go without feeling bad about making your girlfriend use it. I exaggerate a bit, but it's really miles and miles behind the other one, and i really feel you should just put in the extra few hundred to make it as enjoyable and functional as possible. The $800 build doesn't have any minute differences that only an anal-retentive spec-freak would notice; these are largely perceptive differences. It doesn't just look faster in theory, it feels faster because it is faster. And a lot faster at that. If you feel you're not up for either extreme, just pick and choose what you want from either build.

I'm not sure a 2.0 computer speaker will give you the low end that is required for electronic. I would go with a 2.1 set like this from altec lansing. I've not heard this set but others I have sounded great.

1. Go with a 1tb mechanical drive and a 256gb SSD or other size.
   
   
2. Get a different keyboard. You could pick up a CM Storm Quickfire for even less than that and get mechanical switches.
   
   
3. Go with this power supply. It's similarly priced, more efficient, and fully modular which will save you a lot of frustration.
   
   
4. If you want a 2.1 speaker system, this Altec Lansing system is much more cost-efficient and still delivers a clean sound.
   
   With the money saved off the options stated above, you might be able to upgrade to a 980,or a Saphire 390. Either of those cards will get you even more performance, but the 390 gets much hotter iirc. You can absolutely run those games at 1080p High/Ultra. I have that cooler on the 970 and it cools very well even when I have my overclock enabled.

These are the speakers: https://www.amazon.ca/Altec-Lansing-VS26212-1-Speaker-System/dp/B0025VKUQQ


And thank you!

They're just some random Altec Lansing speakers. $30 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025VKUQQ/?tag=sp432-20

So, if you can swing a little bit of extra cash:

This is down to 397 from 450. Quad core xeon, but does not include a harddrive. You can grab a 1TB (if that is sufficient) for 60 bucks.

All three compared.

It's also incredibly quiet, and my kill-a-watt says it likes to idle at 20.8 watts, load is allegedly 50W but i have not yet gone up to watch while it's transcoding.

Get the Lenovo TS140

I've been shopping too, and I can't find a better deal than the ThinkServer TS130.

The CPU alone is $225, so for $100 you get a case, PSU, motherboard and 4gb of ram.

Another 16gb of ram is $180 roughly.

Intel xeon e3 thinkserver, add a few more sticks of ecc ram, a few wd red hdds and /r/freenas and you've got one hell of a plex machine and then some.

Why not consider one of these? I'm debating the same or buying a refurb workstation that I can load up with esxi to use for plex and my home lab.

Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FE29IWK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1426522495&sr=8-3&keywords=thinkserver&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?

I would get the Xeon version: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FE29IWK/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1426522495&sr=8-3&keywords=thinkserver&pi=AC_SY200_QL40

Edit: also buy the RAM separately. It's cheaper than the upgrade options.

M.2 is a specific form factor of mSATA drive.

e.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G1R21224&cm_re=m.2-_-20-167-170-_-Product

There is a slightly larger NUC which holds a standard 2.5" drive.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZDLNWO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2UBDPA458OZVB&coliid=I1FAIE4LLATCMZ&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HZDLNWO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the 4th gen i5 version with a 2.5" slot.
The one without works too but they were about the same price and there are alot more choices for 2.5 drive over mSATA (probably does draw more power though)

The only thing to remember about NUC's is at least currently they don't play nice headless. Unless you are using Microsoft RDP all other applications have issues (there are work arounds but it is an issue to be aware of it your were thinking about windows)
I installed both Ubuntu and Windows and both worked well. Ubuntu had no headless issues.

Edit: Added headless problem info

Thanks for replying.

How about this: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXi10200A-Desktop-i7-7700-7200RPM/dp/B00IMOND82/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485619865&sr=8-1&keywords=gxi10200a

This pc should be able to run mostly any game you throw at it. As well give you the ability to upgrade the graphics card a few years from now. https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXi10200A-Desktop-i7-7700-7200RPM/dp/B00IMOND82/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499602238&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=gaming+pc&psc=1

I assume you don't want to build it yourself. If so, I would recommend trying to find a good prebuilt, esp since with the graphics card shortage you will have a difficult time finding a standalone mid-ranged card.

Some options: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXiVR8020A2-Desktop-i5-7400-802-11AC/dp/B01NBL8BER/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499701908&sr=1-2&keywords=gaming+desktop

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXi10200A-Desktop-i7-7700-7200RPM/dp/B00IMOND82/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499701908&sr=1-11&keywords=gaming+desktop

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-AM002i-Desktop-Gaming-PC/dp/B01N2RLS05/ref=sr_1_20?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1499701908&sr=1-20&keywords=gaming+desktop

http://www.microcenter.com/product/471280/Aspire_AT3-715A-UR11_Desktop_Computer

http://www.microcenter.com/product/473972/IdeaCentre_710-25_Desktop_Computer

BEST DEAL: http://www.microcenter.com/product/475437/G314_Desktop_Computer

http://www.microcenter.com/product/474127/G221_Desktop_Computer

http://www.microcenter.com/product/474288/G151_Desktop_Computer

Within your budget and based on the tasks at hand you have to get done, this CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXi10200A with the new and powerful 7th gen i7 quad core processor , 6 GB GTX 1060 Graphics card, fast 128 GB SSD plus 1 TB HDD storage space would do a very good job for you.

this 😂😂😂

Looks like they shipped with DDR3, which was more common for pre builts and laptops at the launch of skylake. Seems like an OK deal vs building new right now especially with high RAM prices.

https://www.amazon.com/M32CD-Desktop-Windows-Keyboard-Mouse/dp/B014QVM2KO

If you find yourself wanting more power you can upgrade to a 1050 Ti and probably sell the 750 Ti for $60 or so.

You could just get this $430 Asus desktop and add a $110 video card. They're both#1 best seller on Amazon in their respective categories.

Or if you prefer Windows and are okay with less space this is an option.

Smaller? Look at the MSI Cubi - there were a few on sale earlier this week on Slickdeals. Get the i3, a $70 120GB mSATA, and a $110 2TB drive, you'd be out maybe $450 total.

[ASUS Desktop Computer M32BF-R05 A10-7800/8GB/1TB] (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00VLFD05A/ref=psdc_565098_t2_B00NMUYRUO)


[ASUS M32CD Desktop Core i5, 8GB, 1TB, Windows 10] (http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B014QVM2KO/ref=psdc_565098_t1_B00VLFD05A)


Edit - [Acer Desktop Computer Aspire T ATC-605-UR1X Intel Core i5 4460 3.2 GHz 8 GB DDR3 1 TB HDD] (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883101216)

Better to buy it barebones. I spent less than that and have a 256G SSD and 8G RAM in mine.

You want to get a processor that supports aes-ni. That will allow SSL acceleration (opnvpn) and is also being required as of pfSense 2.5 and up.

I would choose this machine and purchase an unmanaged switch for your devices.

Hope that helps!

2nd edit; I was am an idiot... OK, Here you go. Under budget and should do what you need....

You can use this Zotac Barebones PC w/ the Celeron N3150 processor that supports AES-NI. Add some RAM and a SSD. Finally a Managed 8 Port Switch.

1st edit; Did not realize that I linked a celeron ( thanks u/suziesamantha ) as I thought it was a j1900 processor and then realized that the bay trail's also don't have aes-ni support. Sorry for the wrong information. The router I built is based on the Atom Rangley chip. You can use this link to help find aes-ni support.

My UTM went from a Dell 780 sucking 100w and virtualized it to my ESXi, as well as whatever my 48GB of RAM will run while sipping a lovely 150w. Lately, like my previous post said, I've been looking at one of these. Throw in an 8GB stick and a 250-320GB spinner and you have one hell of a UTM for $250.

Oh yeah headless can work out fine, assuming you have a bit of experience and won't fuck it up completely ¯\(ツ)/¯

As far as I'm aware, ESXi is completely headless with no control from the host at all. If I were to irreparably fuck up the settings, to the point I cannot connect (Say I tried setting up another DHCP server or disabled the internal one) I'd need to re-wire the host, and whatever client I'm using to connect.

As far as I can tell it's all genuine, here is a similar (stripped) version of the same device, but on American amazon. Lots of good reviews. And while it will probably last me the rest of my life, as Saskatchewan's fastest possible speed on fiber is 260Mb/s and I don't see it ever hitting >1Gb/s, it's still $260 with shipping. But yeah I'll probably grab it if another user doesn't find a cheaper router.

I've been looking at the J1900 and based on discussion I've read at arstechnica and another site, the Quad core J1900 is not the best choice for routing performance, because single threaded performance is not as good as the dual core 3215U box. Routing as it exists in linux can't really take advantage multiple cores.

There are two models from Qotom, the Q190G4 with the Intel Celeron Processor 3215U Dual core (2M Cache, 1.70 GHz, Broadwell), and the Q190G4-S02 with Intel Celeron Processor J1900(Quad-Core 2M Cache,2 GHz, up to 2.41 GHz, Bay Trail). The 3215U is what I am going with because I will need at least 150mbps after turning QoS on, with some future headroom, so I want to focus on routing performance. Running multiple busy servers and/or handling more than one maxed out VPN connection will likely be speedier on the J1900.

Dual Core, faster routing
https://www.amazon.com/Qotom-Q190G4-Celeron-Processor-Barebone/dp/B019Z8T9J0/

Quad Core, slower routing
https://www.amazon.com/QOTOM-Q190G4-S02-products-Barebone-J1900-Industrial/dp/B01KX9OU58/

What about this?

for $200 all in you get 4 Intel Nics and a 4 core CPU. Add an M.2 SSD and you are still under $250.

Yes, that one specifically can't do AES-NI.
I actually went with this one with 3215U:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019Z8T9J0/

Why not a barebones like... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019Z8T9J0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for $136.00 USD - ships from China I believe.

Discussed on pfSense forum... https://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=114202.0

Can definitely be worth it.

So NUCs use laptop/mobile CPUs. If you're doing office work and 2D gaming they're pretty neat. cpu.userbenchmark.com can help with comparisons.

Most NUCs use a 15w mobile chip. (Chips with a "U" at the end of the name) Mobile 6-th and 7th-gen CPUs are 2 core 4 threads, for the i5 and i7. These are like slower versions of the desktop pentiums in a way. These are slower than the i5-4460.

You can also find NUCs with i7-****HQ chips. These are 4 core 8 thread, 45w chips. These will perform... actually better in some cases than the i5 4460. The more expensive NUCs with the HQ CPUs also come with faster "iris pro" integrated graphics, which still isn't enough for modern 3D games except at 720p low/medium settings

Truthfully I'd recommend a cheaper model cause it's all you need, though this i7 model is on a pretty crazy sale right now.

There are some really nice Micro ATX cases out there, The Silverstone Raven RZ01 jumps to mind. Corsair has their new Bulldog as well. You can get a full sized graphics card in these, water cooled etc.. But honestly those are still pretty large machines.

I mean if you are driving around and you can keep it in your trunk or something then they might work. But if you're flying then I would go with a laptop or something similar.

I actually got so tired of having to take my work laptop and my gaming laptop out while I was traveling that I just travel with my work laptop now.

You might be able to get away with something like an INTEL NUC:

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC6i7KYK-Mini/dp/B01DJ9XS52/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473862036&sr=8-1&keywords=Intel+Skull+Canyon+NUC6i7KYK

I would set the graphics down to low for the 25 main raids, because I know my R9 390 gets crushed sometimes if there are ton's of people on the screen.

But even then, if you're raiding seriously you should probably get a decent gaming laptop.

check out "intel NUC"

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC6i7KYK-Mini/dp/B01DJ9XS52

This is a good deal: 20% off Intel NUC6i7KYK Skull Canyon https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC6i7KYK-Mini/dp/B01DJ9XS52

Something like this might fit your requirements. It's a bit older/slower CPU than others have suggested, but is still a quad-core celeron, has 4x intel NICs, and only draws about 11 watts:

with ram/msata ssd - $359

without ram/ssd - $200

I actually bought one of those through Ali Express recently. Other than it being a giant pain in the arse to get a credit card to go through... it was a fine transaction.

You can get that unit on Amazon though.

I worked through this guide to set up the OS (not pfSense although pfSense is totally fine to use!)

There are a lot of small j1900 machines out there with multiple nics, for example https://www.amazon.com/Firewall-Micro-Appliance-Gigabit-Barebone/dp/B01GIVQI3M/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_469_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BQPMYE25AA9C9EZF1DA3

Maybe something like this? It's powered by the J1900 platform everyone's been talking about.

Gigabyte Mini Barebone System

It includes a case, motherboard, and CPU. You'll need to provide your own RAM and a boot drive. You could then run an external USB drive to get your 1TB of storage.

If you think you might want to build your own router at some point, consider getting one with a few extra NICs so that you can run PFsense on it instead down the road:

ProtectCLI Firewall Micro Appliance

Then why not use something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GIVQI3M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got this a few months ago:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GIVQI3M/ref=oh_aui_i_d_old_o0_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That+msata ssd+ram and it's amazing.

Fanless, feels rock solid, nice and fast and responsive. No regrets.

Yeah, you can grab one with a i5 for around 165 from Amazon(with their return policy if you get a dud)

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7010-Minitower-Desktop/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp?keywords=desktop&pd_rd_i=B01K0GNUOG&pd_rd_r=85a0fa40-746d-4c1c-9c46-39fb27945591&pd_rd_w=n1kO7&pd_rd_wg=UJz63&pf_rd_p=a6d018ad-f20b-46c9-8920-433972c7d9b7&pf_rd_r=6H74399BS6RZ37QGP3WN&qid=1568715571&refinements=p_36%3A6000-16000&rnid=2421879011&s=pc

Note this is the "Mini tower" version, I'm unsure if the SFF versions can physically fit a graphics card without contortions.

​

You can then get a PCIe power only 1650 for 160(better card than the 1050ti I'd originally recommended, I didn't realize they were this cheap)

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GeForce-128-Bit-Support-Graphics/dp/B07QR2YFTX/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=1050+ti&qid=1568715841&s=electronics&sr=1-11

​

And a 240GB boot SSD for 32.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-BX500-240GB-2-5-Inch-Internal/dp/B07G3KRZBX/ref=sxin_2_ac_d_pm?ac_md=2-0-VW5kZXIgJDUw-ac_d_pm&keywords=ssd&pd_rd_i=B07G3KRZBX&pd_rd_r=51848549-d7c7-4c54-bb31-f0dd303465eb&pd_rd_w=Sr2TS&pd_rd_wg=4hAhR&pf_rd_p=eeff02d5-070a-45ea-a79e-d591974b877e&pf_rd_r=NEP4PME17QCX3B19K43A&psc=1&qid=1568716032

​

So 357 for everything. Now, this is all straight from Amazon itself. I'm sure a bit of ebay could knock a significant chunk off, especially the tower. You could also thrift/craigslist and grab something for less.

​

For about 100 more you could build a decent modern system with a clear upgrade path.

[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Rgk6Mc)

​

Type|Item|Price

:----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TX4NnQ/amd-ryzen-3-1300x-35ghz-quad-core-processor-yd1200bbaebox) | $59.70 @ OutletPC

**Motherboard** | [ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RD97YJ/asrock-b450m-hdv-r40-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b450m-hdv-r40) | $64.89 @ OutletPC

**Memory** | [Patriot 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/VDc48d/patriot-8gb-2-x-4gb-ddr4-2400-memory-psd48g2400k) | $34.99 @ Amazon

**Storage** | [Team L3 EVO 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gH2rxr/team-l3-evo-240gb-25-solid-state-drive-t253le240gtc101) | $28.88 @ Amazon

**Storage** | [Western Digital RE4 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KzTmP6/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd1003fbyx) | $35.49 @ Amazon

**Video Card** | [MSI Radeon RX 580 8 GB ARMOR OC Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TTfmP6/msi-radeon-rx-580-8gb-armor-oc-video-card-rx-580-armor-8g-oc) | $159.99 @ Newegg

**Case** | [Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dwsKHx/rosewill-case-fbm01) | $29.99 @ Amazon

**Power Supply** | [EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kCtQzy/evga-br-500w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-100-br-0500-k1) | $45.98 @ Newegg

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |

| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $489.91

| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00

| **Total** | **$459.91**

| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2019-09-17 06:37 EDT-0400 |

Results of a random amazon search. Pair that with a decent monitor (1080p monitors can typically be found for ~$100) and you're set.

Edit: I mean don't forget keyboard/mouse/speakers but those can be found for cheap.

TLDNR; Without having more info on what I described in the first paragraph. I'd say just buy a couple 10TB Easystores on sale ($180ea) and use your current SBCs and smaller server setups. After I wrote all of this I saw that you are from AUS(I think), so no clue if you can get close to $18 per TB in your area, but prices are coming down every year so sometimes better to just save $$$. It is super fun to think about a new and more powerful setup, plus buying it and putting it together, but as you can see I've done a lot of this thinking already. You are also probably feeling guilty that you have to make use of all your 2TBs, but lots of little HDDs do require more electricity to power up and cool. You need storage density and you cant get around that. Upgrade to 10TB and use the 2TB as a cold storage (backup). You are at a heck of a crossroads because the cost to go from SBCs to a "Proper" server plus buying storage isnt a cheap one. Currently there are limited stepping stones, but more powerful SBCs and Ryzen Embedded are here and on the way so wait if possible. Either way you go, you will spend more money and use up storage faster than you planned... The more powerful SBCs arent always cheap either, once you factor in cost of: memory card, power supply, case, possible heatsink/extra heat sinks, a fan, etc. Their lower price starts creeping into the middle range...


What brand, how many, and how long have the 2TBs been powered on for? It sounds like you are currently swapping out the 2TBs for others depending on what you want to watch and on which HDD it is? Do you have any projected storage numbers and what is your current and future budget? You mentioned that you have a small dedicated server? Is that another SBC or what is with that setup and how many sata ports? I'd forgo the transcoding ideas and nix buying any sort of new "Server" options. Focus on reusing what you have or going with a "Used" setup, so you can start saving that money for when 8TB or 10TB Easystores go on sale.

IMO for a true new build you'd want to price in ECC RAM, UPS, and I personally prefer a case that has hot swap access to HDDs. The Rosewill that meemo linked cant be beat for the price especially since it comes with 7 fans, but it requires extra steps to access the HDDs (internally only), which may be fine for you. There is Mediasonic (JBOD version only) that you could plug into your SBC, but that technically isnt hot swappable either, plus it is USB 3.1 to USB-C which isnt the worst but it isnt the best... I know you wanted to get away from SBCs, but if you disable transcoding there are some SBCs that use SATA to SATA connections that are very viable. Any SBC or standalone storage that uses USB is a potential risk, since USB can suffer connection issues when doing rebuilding, parity, and scrubbing maintenance (same if your power goes out, hence a need for UPS). Helios4 is a time restricted option, since they only open up orders once or twice a year (they are currently taking orders). *I saw a post saying that since the Helios4 is a 32bit processor, so it is limited to 16TB volumes. You get 2GB ECC + 4x SATA and I believe you can use any HDD size with that (double check tho), so 4 separate 10TB volumes (4x$180sale=$720+tax), not including parity... I'm not sure how the 32bit and the 16TB volume limit effect drive pooling... I gotta research more into that. I'm not familiar with the UnRaid, FreeNAS, or the other options that you mentioned, but OpenMediaVault4 has MergerFS drive pooling and Snapraid plugin, you could run 3x storage HDD and 1x parity or you could forgo parity for now. If you prefer Windows (You can also run omv4 on windows in a VM) there is Stablebit Drivepool (Not free) for pooling and then Snapraid (not completely novice friendly) for parity. Depending on the HDD type you could reuse the discarded Easystore enclosures and put your 2TB drives in there (still USB connection). If they are a different brand (non WD/HGST) I think you have to desolder something on the Easystore board? I lost the link on how to do that. You could also just keep the 2TB as cold storage backups, but that still carries a risk, but it's cheaper. You could also get 2nd Helios, but for about the same price you could use that money on a 10TB. That would replace 5x of your 2TB drives... Not too mention the extra electricity to power and cool 5x drives vs 1x drive... As you can see, storage density starts coming into play here, big time.
UPS https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00429N18S/
Mediasonic https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078YQHWYW/
Helios4 https://shop.kobol.io/collections/frontpage/products/helios4-full-kit-2gb-ecc-3rd-batch-pre-order?variant=18881501528137
https://www.reddit.com/r/DataHoarder/comments/as17od/helios4_batch_3_available_for_preorder/

There are other SATA SBCs that you could use and you could also do a janky setup and put the SATA SBCs inside a hot swappable case like this Silverstone one. There are other cases, but this is the only name that came to mind. This case also doesnt have any power supply or fans to cool the HDDs so there will be extra cost there, plus you'll need a power supply, PLUS a way to turn on your power supply (with a power board), since that SBC setup wont have a motherboard. You can also make your own "Dumb" JBOD HDD enclosure and connect that to your mini server. Another option to SBCs is the ASRock cpu+mobo line: J3455-ITX, J4105-ITX, annd J5005-ITX. The issue with this that it appears you are still limited to 4x SATA or other variations of these boards have a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot at x1 or x2 transfer lanes/speed instead of x8 or x16... Also you have to factor in the price of ram and a mini PICO power supply. There is a subreddit+website that focuses on used parts for cheap server setups, but you might want to verify the power consumption of those setups when they are idling. With the NAS killer option, you gotta make sure all of the parts are still available on ebay or refurb sites, plus make sure you have time to build your setup to verify everything is working plus stress test it before the return window closes to weed out any weak used parts.
Silverstone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAELTAI/
HDD enclosure option https://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-5-25-Inch-3-5-Inch-Hot-swap-SATAIII/dp/B00DGZ42SM/
Power Board https://www.amazon.com/Super-Micro-Computer-Supermicro-Cse-ptjbod-cb2/dp/B008FQZHZE
J3455-ITX https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-157-728
https://www.serverbuilds.net/nas-killer-v30/

Another option if you really want transcoding and a more powerful "Server" would be a Dell Optiplex 7010, which are used business computers that are "Refurbished", but I think they just take them from that company and wipe the hard drive, nothing else. The Minitower Desktop version is roomier than the slightly cheaper SFF (SmallFormFactor) version, which might be important if you want to swap out the power supply, watch the youtube video to get an idea of what you are getting into. Since a cheap power supply is a weak point plus a potential hazard I'd recommend swapping in a new power supply, but you could risk it with its current power supply. Everything else should last for a good while. You'll also need to install a HBA card. You can get Genuine used cards that were in good working order or you could get a new knock off from China. Both options are viable, but personally I prefer the used option. Theartofserver, ebay seller, also has a youtube channel, so I purchased from him, but I have also purchased from other sellers and got good working parts (I think Ebay still has the most honest and accurate rating system out there?). Since the Optiplex doesnt have room for internal HDDs then you are left with a few options with various HBA cards (internal vs external), expander cards, and adapter setups (SFF-8087 to SFF-8088). If you want it to look "Proper" there will be a lot of wasted money on 2x adapters (1x Optiplex + 1x external HDD enclosure) and an extra SFF-8088 cable between the two. I'd just go janky with it and get a longer reverse breakout cable of 3.3feet (4x SATA to 1x SFF-8087), which should be long enough to go from your external HDDs setup into the Optiplex case and internally connected to the HBA card, like the popular 9201-8i. The janky part being that you'll have the reverse breakout cable snaking directly into each case, instead of plugging into an adapter in the back.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K0GNUOG/
https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-Internal-Breakout-SFF-8087/dp/B018YHS9GM
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-LSI-6Gbps-SAS-HBA-LSI-9201-8i-9211-8i-P20-IT-Mode-ZFS-FreeNAS-unRAID/162958581156
Single adapter https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816133055
Double adapter https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GPD9QEQ/
SFF-8080 cable https://www.amazon.com/Norco-Technologies-C-SFF8088-External-SFF-8088/dp/B003J9CZCK/

> 4gb ram, nvidia 920m, intel pentium 3825u

not gonna happen. here:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7010-Minitower-Desktop/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1537794019&sr=1-9&keywords=dell+optiplex

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Support-Graphics-04G-P4-6253-KR/dp/B01MF7EQJZ/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1537794043&sr=1-2&keywords=1050ti

If you can go a bit over your budget, this is a pretty capable PC:

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-Master-GMA4800A-Desktop-7200RPM/dp/B06Y5Z471S/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1497103302&sr=8-8&keywords=gtx+1070+pc

If not, this is pretty okay as well:

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-Trident-VR7RC-020US-Desktop-i5-7400/dp/B01NAP5T5V/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1497103366&sr=8-11&keywords=gtx+1070+pc


I would still highly recommend building your own, it's a fun process and you learn a lot about computers along the way, and save quite a bit of cash too. But these aren't half bad PCs for what they cost.

EDIT: This one is at the neck of your budget and pretty great as well - not as great as the $1200 one, the i5 here is probably bottlenecking the 1070, but this is still very, very fast: https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1497103302&sr=8-2&keywords=gtx+1070+pc

Well lets take a look

here is a okay system at amazon i5 7xxx, 1tb, 256 ssd, 8gb ram , rx 480. 800 ish bucks

here is a i5 6400 with 1tb drive, 8gb of ram and 1070 gtx also from amazon

With either of those I would get a better psu like a 520 watt plus SeaSonic and maybe upgrade some ram to 16gb also maybe get an ssd for one that doesn't have an ssd.

Also here is a parts list build to because why not.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor | $196.29 @ SuperBiiz
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler | $28.89 @ SuperBiiz
Thermal Compound | Arctic Silver - Ceramique 2 Tri-Linear 2.7g Thermal Paste | $3.44 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | MSI - B350 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX AM4 Motherboard | $99.99 @ Newegg
Memory | G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $138.99 @ Newegg
Storage | SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $84.99 @ B&H
Storage | Toshiba - P300 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $61.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card | $269.89 @ B&H
Case | Cooler Master - MasterBox Lite 5 ATX Mid Tower Case | $47.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply | SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $39.99 @ SuperBiiz
Case Fan | BitFenix - BFF-BLF-14025B-RP 47.7 CFM 140mm Fan | $6.56 @ Amazon
Case Fan | BitFenix - BFF-BLF-14025B-RP 47.7 CFM 140mm Fan | $6.56 @ Amazon
Case Fan | BitFenix - BFF-BLF-14025B-RP 47.7 CFM 140mm Fan | $6.56 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $992.13
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-27 01:00 EDT-0400 |

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K1JWCAK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Seeing as that one was out of stock, I bough this one on sale a while ago and upgraded with 8 more gigs of ram and an ssd and its been amazing. Same tower.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K1JWCAK/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

---

Never forget to smile again | ^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

If you really want a prebuilt then this is pretty unbeatable for value. Just add on an $80 250GB SSD if you want one. While an i5 6400 is a bit disappointing for that price point, good luck getting a GTX 1070 for a similar price.

Desktop

Monitor

Keyboard/Mouse

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KLSMWVA/ref=psdc_13896597011_t1_B01N5SXZY8

Even cheaper i3.

If you want a Budget GPU, it'll be hard to put a windows OS in there. So I can come up with this build
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor | $57.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $39.98 @ Newegg
Memory | Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory | $21.75 @ Directron
Storage | Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $42.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | PowerColor Radeon RX 460 2GB Red Dragon Video Card | $74.98 @ Newegg
Case | Zalman ZM-T4 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $29.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply | $28.89 @ OutletPC
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $336.57
| Mail-in rebates | -$40.00
| Total | $296.57
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-04 20:41 EST-0500 |
But without a GPU (running with the integrated that comes with the pentium)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor | $57.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $39.98 @ Newegg
Memory | Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory | $21.75 @ Directron
Storage | Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $42.99 @ Amazon
Case | Zalman ZM-T4 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $29.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply | EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply | $28.89 @ OutletPC
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $88.58 @ OutletPC
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $340.17
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| Total | $310.17
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-04 20:41 EST-0500 |
You can fit an operating system in there. You might be better off getting a prebuilt desktop than building one though, I recommend this one
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideacentre-300-Computer-90DA00LPUS/dp/B01KLSMWVA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480902284&sr=1-1&refinements=p_36%3A20000-35000
Has a better processor than what you could possibly build just from pcpartpicker.
That's my opinion though. Somebody will probably come through and blow my build out of the water. LOL

the GPU base clock is 200mhz. and the boost clock would run it....but being a 15w chip it won't cut it for long without thermal throttling.

I'd just buy something like this if i were you, or a certified refurbished unit for like $150-200. if you want to build a pc you could, but this will run the game fine on integrated.

Hard to do OW for anything less than $550

• $449 Acer Aspire Desktop, 7th Gen Intel Core i5-7400, 8GB DDR4, 2TB HDD, Windows 10 Home
  
  
• $80 Gigabyte Radeon RX 550 D5 2GB This card does NOT require external power/it will run off the PCI bus. Simply plug it in. Download drivers. Restart. You playing Overwatch at medium settings 1080p at about 60fps.
  
  
• Review of 550 with overwatch
  
  If you are going to play more graphics demanding games and willing to spend more but still don't want to upgrade the power supply then I suggest going for a 1050ti 4GB (currently $130 but often goes on sale below this / check /r/buildaPCsales) which will run games like Witcher 3, the Division, Ark Survival, Ashes, GTA V all at about 50-60fps on medium to high settings and will run Overwatch at high to ultra. Your mileage may vary depending on game.

Would this work?
Buy this pre built -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071DM6TWMref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_63ZKAbM1WYDP7

Then stick a gtx 1050 in it?

http://www.amazon.com/Altec-Lansing-VS2621-Channel-Speaker/dp/B0025VKUQQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1396164901&sr=1-1&keywords=altec+lansing

Here you go. I've had them for 3 years, I use them occasionally with my desktop PC for gaming/music listening/movie watching. They sound quite well, and the bass is decent. There are a ton of more helpful reviews there though!

Hi all, I am considering buying the Micca MB42X. Unfortunately being in Canada I get a little shafted on the price: $133 on Amazon, and the recommended amp is another $100. I could actually get the LSR305 for less after factoring in needing to buy cables and then taxes.

I currently have an Aune T1 connected to my computer with Sennheiser HD558s which I removed the foam from. I also have cheap Altec Lansing (https://www.amazon.ca/Altec-Lansing-VS26212-1-Speaker-System/dp/B0025VKUQQ) speakers hooked up, but they are currently around my TV so I don't do any critical listening with them, just gaming and Netflix. This is just to give an idea of what I have listened to before.

These would initially be for my small bedroom, though I would not be opposed to moving them around if they sound good or if I expand later. My living room is pretty open and probably too big for them unless I just used them as near field computer speakers. Computer is in the living room, not the bedroom.

I have two big questions:

1 - Is there a budget-but-good receiver that you guys recommend to allow upgrades and expandability more so than just buying that amp might? Such as adding a turntable or using for home theater later etc. Not sure if would want 5.1 or 2.1. 2.1 if it stays for bedroom but not against 5.1 if I was to later use it for home theatre. Is there a "not THAT much more than the amp" option I could think about? Ninja edit: With better than Class D?

2 - For the price that the MB42X plus amp cost in Canada, is there potentially a better option? As I said I can get the LSR305 for less. The PB42X isn't even listed on Amazon.ca... I've seen people say that some Pioneers etc might be better if you're not getting a good deal on the Miccas. I am also confused about why active speaker wattage is so low compared to passive+amp, but was gonna ask that question in the tech support thread.

Thanks!

Hi, sorry for asking the same question other are asking but i have this speakers. Would this card make a difference?

I bought these for my build: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025VKUQQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The only issue is that the power switch for everything is on the subwoofer lol. I'm no audiophile but I'd notice if some frequencies were significantly louder than the others. I think these are great. If you wanna be extra thrifty and save $3, buy it used - like new from the amazon warehouse. I'd say get them if you cant live without a sub

I have these Altec Lansing VS2621. And I really enjoy them. Great sound and
bass

This is the server I'm using. I added 8 gigs of ram (12 total), this video card, and a 3TB Hard drive.

Lenovo Thinkserver from Amazon. The first review goes into a lot of detail on how well this works as a PLEX server, so you might be interested in seeing that to help you decide.

If you are in the US, amazon has them on sale.

Cool. How hot does the box get? I have one of these http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4001LUX-E3-1225-Processor/dp/B00FE29IWK with 32GB of ECC ram in it. Would you be interested in a trade + cash? It's basically brand new.

I saw these recommended. Not sure the differences between xenon and i3

Think server
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4001MUX-E3-1225v3-Desktop/dp/B00FE2G79C

This one I chose i3 + 8gb ram for 279.
http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4001LUX-E3-1225-Processor/dp/B00FE29IWK

Will these stream 4k?

I JUST finished a build with one of these. I needed a system to practice basic security techniques and gain experience with new tools. Running ESXi right now, and I freaking love it, and cant recommend this highly enough.

I went for the one without the HD for $330 on Amazon, and bought a RAID (1) card for two 1TB WD Blacks. I could have probably spent a bit less on this build, but everything ended up totaling a tad over $1K after I bought the RAID card and 32GB of memory. I recommend you also get it from Amazon. If you have problems with it, amazon is much more hassle-free than ebay will be, and buying a 500GB HD isn't that much extra.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4001LUX-E3-1225-Processor/dp/B00FE29IWK

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-70A4001LUX-TS140-Server/dp/B00FE29IWK/

But I haven't even unboxed it yet, so I have nothing to offer in terms of reviews or feedback.

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkServer-70A4001LUX-E3-1225-Processor/dp/B00FE29IWK

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16820148770

Edit didn't realize there wasn't a hdd

Here is the mobile version of your link

Barebone system, Passmark near 7,000 for $329.00

Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 70A4001LUX 5U Tower Server 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon E3-1225 v3 Processor, 4 GB ECC RAM
---
Just needs hard drives, OS (Linux), and more RAM depending on usage.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FE29IWK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2TC87EJKQMY9O

Here is the mobile version of your link

I have plenty of devices that don't play mkv natively, not just apple . The higher quality videos suffer and need to buffer often. Streaming is a pain.

My solution to this is to buy a device to run plex and do the transcoding. I haven't done it yet, but I am planning on getting something like an Intel-NUC or Apple Mac-mini and connecting my Synology to if for back-end media storage. Then it doesn't matter which Synology you get and you are never limited to only "play" models.

This is the model I'm using with Yosemite:
Intel NUC BOXD54250WYKH1 Intel 4th Gen Intel Core i5-4250U with Intel HD Graphics 5000 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZDLNWO/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_XwrAub0CB4RJV

I have the Core i5 NUC. I use it for some dedicated servers 24/7 that's why I got the beefed up one. Also keep in mind if you get a 2 bay NAS and use both drives as storage and none for redundancy - if any one of those drives crashes ALL of your data is lost and cannot be recovered!

1. I'm the only person in this sub that bothered to reply. You might want to try being marginally less of an ass, if you have the ability.
   
2. The only solution as of Jan 2015, is an Intel NUC featuring a MiniDisplayPort (like one of these ) and a MDP-->Dual-DVI adapter (like one of these ). I've searched for alternatives, and there's simply nothing in the landscape.
   
   The good news is, if you can get a device featuring MDP and a display featuring DisplayPort, you can use one of these to drive it, without needing an active adapter. It's cheaper and more reliable than any of the active adapters I've been able to find (Monoprice's MDP-->Dual-Link active adapter failed me within a year).

Overpriced, 4GB of RAM isn't enough for VMs, and it's DDR2 memory which means the server as a whole is quite old

This would be nearly as good for performance and use a lot less power

Yeah, after having to struggle with a Celeron machine 5-6 years ago, I avoid them like the plague.

I currently have this sitting in my shopping cart.

Alright, the biggest issue you may have is needing a CPU powerful enough to transcode your content for the remote users.

I have a Synology NAS, a DS214Play (http://global.download.synology.com/download/Document/DataSheet/DiskStation/14-year/DS214play/Synology_DS214play_Data_Sheet_enu.pdf) with two 4TB Western Digital RED NAS drives configured in RAID1. RAID1 basically gives me a mirrored copy of my single drive, in the event that one drive fails.

I also installed a DX513 Expansion Unit (https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DX513) to my DS214Play in order to get additional space. That unit has two 4TB WD RED NAS drives running the same RAID1 configuration.

The DS214Play is actually powerful enough to run PleX but will usually buffer on software transcoding. An option you do have with Synology is to use their own native applications, which are similar to PleX in some regard. I used to use DS Video (Synology's version of PleX) extensively, till something broke and it no longer worked on my Samsung TV. What's cool is that DS Video is available on iOS, Android, via web interface on a laptop, Roku, and Samsung Smart TVs.

The Intel NUC I have an i5 model running Windows 10 on an SSD with 8GB of RAM. The passmark score is 3463, which is good enough to transcode a 1080p stream. The newer NUCs are even more powerful than mine: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HZDLNWO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

What I really like about my setup is the very low power consumption, and the low profile nature of it all. The NUC is sitting in my living room on the same TV stand as the Xbox One, cable box, etc. and the NAS is on the bottom shelf of the same stand, plugged into a dedicated wired router. All my content is saved on the NAS, and the NUC basically does nothing except run PMS.

Intel i5 NUC BOXD54250WYKH1

HGST Travelstar 2.5-Inch 1TB

Crucial 16GB (2x8GB)

Had for about 3 months, bought for a homelab that never really panned out.

✓ (I think I am doing this right)

Okay thank you so much for the advice. Which prebuilt system would you recommend? I have been looking at the following; (the cheapest option would be best, but I'd really like to be able to stream games as well so I don't mind compromising price for that)

-https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXIVR8020A4-Desktop-i5-7400-7200RPM/dp/B0747W15QL/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518725225&sr=8-3&keywords=gaming+desktop&dpID=51n3tUIpoSL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

-https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Ultra-Gaming-Desktop-AM900Z/dp/B073RKHY2H/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1518721735&sr=1-4&keywords=ibuypower+gaming+desktop

https://www.amazon.com/CyberpowerPC-GXi10200A-Desktop-i7-7700-7200RPM/dp/B00IMOND82/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1518725225&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=gaming+desktop&psc=1

-https://www.amazon.com/HP-Desktop-Computer-GeForce-880-010/dp/B0718ZGQNY/ref=sr_1_7?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1518725000&sr=1-7&keywords=hp+omen+desktop&dpID=41nf2xuF90L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

-https://www.amazon.com/880-Performance-Desktop-i7-8700K-Windows/dp/B0792XZP57/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1518721615&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=hp+omen+desktop&psc=1

but maybe you know a better prebuilt?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel - Core i7-7700 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor | $289.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | Gigabyte - GA-B250M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $81.49 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | Team - Vulcan 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $97.99 @ Newegg
Storage | SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $83.88 @ OutletPC
Storage | Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $39.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | MSI - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING X Video Card | $334.98 @ Newegg
Case | Corsair - SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case | $39.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $67.98 @ Newegg
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1066.29
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| Total | $1036.29
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-07-11 14:44 EDT-0400 |

If you don't feel like building this comes with Windows which would be another $85

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXi10200A-Desktop-i7-7700-7200RPM/dp/B00IMOND82/

hi, im new here and i just have a few questions.

between:
https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXi10200A-Desktop-i7-7700-7200RPM/dp/B00IMOND82/ref=sr_1_33?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1498820325&sr=1-33

or

https://www.amazon.com/CybertronPC-Rhodium-950-Gaming-Desktop/dp/B01CSE0TVK/ref=sr_1_49?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1498820898&sr=1-49

which is better for games like Overwatch or PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds? and which will be also good for future games. thanks

I'm not an expert, however I have seen 1060 6gb + i7 7700 prebuilts for only 100 or so more.

This

Thank you so much for the detailed response! Yeah, I've put together quite a few Frankenstein computers in my day, and I know I could build one without issue. It's just the time factor for me. I will keep your parts suggestions in mind though. I'm not buying for a couple weeks and I could always be swayed in that direction.

Does this look better though?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IMOND82/ref=psdcmw_13896597011_t3_B01NBLH6JF

That is better but do you know if it really is a 1-2 month wait for it? Would it be worth it? And how would this stack up

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IMOND82/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1496787723&sr=8-11&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gaming+pc

Okay thanks bro. So I'm doing my final bit of research and wondering if I just bought this setup on Amazon..how close it would be to yours. Amazon computer CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme GXi10200A Desktop

Really appreciate the help mighty. Here is the PC I got:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IMOND82/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It has no VGA hookups, so my only option is HDMI or DVI, but I'm not sure I'm getting that to work right. I plugged the HDMI portion into my monitor and the DVI portion into the PC and it's not picking anything up. Here are my monitors:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CPCIPSU/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/M32CD-Desktop-Windows-Keyboard-Mouse/dp/B014QVM2KO

> How is it working with 6th gen? 6th gen is DDR4

Magic? I don't know that level of detail to be honest -- I assume Asus grabbed a motherboard compatible with both and I just added to it. The core box I started with is this box if you want to see more details

Here's my desktop setup. Cheap but powerful setup should allow you to get a badass 4k monitor too.

http://www.amazon.com/M32CD-Desktop-Windows-Keyboard-Mouse/dp/B014QVM2KO

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B015DXHEAW/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00SN6VN7W/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Someone from another post here suggested this asus prebuilt pc from amazon not too long ago. for $430.00 on amazon thats a great deal for an i5 skylake platform.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3xfm62/console_peasant_needing_advice_on_prebuilt_ibp_pc/

Does any think that this Gigabyte 1060 6G would fit in this prebuilt case?

my mother in law wanted a pc for her son, to use it for homework and i bought her that on M32CD for $400 almost the same that in the video, but without the gpu. it depends on your needs, you won't be able to upgrade in the future without having to buy a new case, psu etc..

Get this, it's cheaper and I technically have the same exact PC (except I have an AMD A10 w/ 750Ti I put in it).

But to answer your question, it should provided there is a cable for the SSD.

If you really want to do it, maybe you can look into seeing if there are computer labs around to get you by and give you enough time to get a more capable machine? I guess I think it would be a shame for you not to pursue something you might very well love because of equipment. We all start on less than optimal equipment.

With that being said, it's not just a surface pro or nothing. You just went to the top of the line with that choice.

You might consider a lesser laptop (i5 at least with large amount of RAM) or even a desktop?

For example, here is a mid grade laptop for $449 at amazon that has an i5 processor and 8GB of ram. It's no Surface Pro, but it should get you by. I understand this is still a shit ton of money for a student possible, but it is half of what you were planning to spend.

Here is a desktop (without monitor) for under $500. Very upgradable in the future!

Also perhaps it would be wise to look at Newegg.com and build your own desktop machine. You can save a ton of money, get exactly what you need, and they are pretty easy to put together.

and this is a great traditional option, with Win 10, standard memory and all that
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B014QVM2KO/ref=sr_1_1_olp?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1454076478&sr=1-1&condition=used

get a office prebuilt with a alot of them come with strong CPU's like i5's etc, then make sure the motherboard support a r9 280X and a extra ram kit and he should be good to go. just dont get ANYTHING that says ''ultimate GAAAYYYMER PC'' on it. etc something like this EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014QVM2KO just replace the PSU with a evga 500b cost like 30 bucks and install the GPU and he will be good to go. with a legit win 10 copy, a i5 6400 (its meh for gaming) a 1tb hdd and 8gb of ram

Honestly, the $100-$150 price point is going to be very difficult to beat -- I'm not aware of any machines at that price point myself. We generally consider it a good deal to beat $400 to the lowest end boxes we use (we require gig throughput), which is a bit more than what you are able to get away with.

We did find these great machines for $190 apiece recently -- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014113N70 -- We're not using them as firewalls, but in terms of the specs they'd do just fine for gigabit throughput.

Looks like this is a close cousin for a different arrangement of ports that might be more suited to pfSense for $170: http://www.amazon.com/products-barebone-J1900-Industrial-computer/dp/B019Z8T9J0

As others have suggested, the official hardware is great and also gives back to the project.

That being said, I have been doing some testing with a Qotom j1900, 4x intel gigabit nic machine and have had good results. It pulls very little power, is inexpensive, and there are no moving parts. Note that you will have to provide your own ram/ssd if you use the link above.

It's a chinese mini PC (x86) running pfSense.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019Z8T9J0/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

OpenVPN is kinda computation intensive so I would not expect too much from small ARM devices like yours.

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-NUC6i7KYK-Mini-BOXNUC6I7KYK1/dp/B01DJ9XS52/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468792618&

You should be able to find them on Newegg and Amazon at a minimum today. Demand has been high, so they may be backordered.

As others have mentioned, it's pretty tough to do. Any hardware you buy that you fit into it will be at a very high premium. This Gigabyte brix looks really promising with a GTX 950, but it's not available yet. It also will probably be at a very high premium (Between $700-$1000) and that is just a bare bones rig.

Then there is this NUC which is only $600 and has Iris Pro 580 graphics which should be roughly equivalent to a GTX 945M. So it will be underpowered compared to the Gigabyte brix. But you can get it now, and you're getting top of the line integrated graphics performance. Those are the only real options I see you having with this build.

Those NUCs can be pretty powerful. I wouldn't doubt if they have thousands.

Just buy an intel nuc that has an i7, for example this one which was my first result when i searched for it. $580

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-Kit-NUC6i7KYK-Mini/dp/B01DJ9XS52

that is all about the passmark it will have.
you can get a intel nuc skull canyon with a i7-6770HQ,
32 GB ram and a 512 GB ssd for a 870$ (you can lower the ssd and the amount of ram to make it cheaper.)

What about a Zotac mini PC with a 1060 and Core i5 for $1000. You still need to add the RAM and the storage but it's still pretty good value for a no brainer solution.

There's also the NUC Skull Canyon which will keep you under $1000 with RAM and storage. It comes with an Intel GPU but a pretty powerful one. It's also compatible with eGPU via Thunderbolt 3 USB-C so it can be expanded in the future with a real GPU.

I'm running the server off of my imac but want a dedicated machine just for Plex. What do you recommend? I'm considering the Nighthawk X10 from Netgear or an Intel NUC.

It is probably fine, but better yet buy the previous generation NUC for half the price:

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-mini-NUC6i7KYK-Core/dp/B01DJ9XS52/

GTX 960M, i5, $800
R5 M335, i7, $650
Iris pro 580, i7, $690

vLANs themselves don't really have bandwidth benefits; they reduce broadcast domains, and they can simplify QoS I find it unlikely that you have a broadcast domain problem. QoS necessity is totally dependent on bandwidth and usage.
 
I'm not sure what the minimum hardware would be for the performance you need. Personally, my network is built on Lenovo TS140s (E3-1225v3) with used quad port Sun NICs and Chelsio T2 10GBe adapters. I can push a LOT of packets, but don't have a great idea of minimum performance. Also, I have no experience at the moment with pfSense, working with Sophos, Vyos, Sonicwall and HP products mostly.
[Something like this would be intereseting] (https://www.amazon.com/Firewall-Micro-Appliance-PFSense-barebones/dp/B01GIVQI3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485580586&sr=8-1&keywords=network+appliance)
[pfSense hardware guide] (https://www.pfsense.org/hardware/)
 
Your existing hardware is a box I've toyed with using for a portable appliance a couple of times. The edge router, internal router setup is common; it separates duties and provides some sense of security. Level of security is arguable, but we'll leave that for now. The big Ubiquiti routers I mentioned are nice because they get you almost all the performance/features of high-end layer 3 switches in a fairly low cost. I'd pick the Edgerouter Pro; bump up the CPUfor about a 5-10% cost increase. A number of cheaper layer 3 switch options don't perform the same way. I know Mikrotik CRS devices have abysmal routing features while being extraordinarily good deals for basic layer 2 functions. On the other hand, I've verified that the Edgeswitch 48 can at least route 10Gbps. Unsure of the cheap dlinks, DGS-1500-20 looks interesting if it performs
 
If you are just a performance fiend, the sale price Xeon E3 servers, combined with network cards with offload capabilities, will just wreck anything else you'd likely want to afford. Barring that, I think the Edgeswitch/Edgerouter options are probably going to outperform anything else in the affordable range. The Dlink I linked above might actually be the cheapest option, but I haven't managed to verify it's routing performance.
 
Apologies if I've just muddied up the waters on the process; I'll review my post when I'm not falling asleep. In the meantime, do you have any definition of performance you're looking to improve? I'm sure we can point you in the right direction, but as I stated, VLANning alone won't see any significant performance enhancement.

I needed one in a hurry about a month ago and the Qotom model was showing a long delivery time so I bought this similar system instead. I am fairly certain it is the same system just sold under a different name. I threw in 8GB RAM and a Transcend 64GB mSATA which brough my total cost to around $265.

They work extremely well, rock solid with great throughput. My only complaint is they seem to run a little hotter than I would like.

Unless the Atom C line has been sorted out, I'd suggest a Celeron J3455 build as a decent perf/watt point. They're cheap and fairly powerful - I believe ASRock has one for ~$60. Tag a pcie dual nic card on, whatever for storage (unless you want squid), 2-4gb ram and you're good to go.

A lot of these low end SoC's and Pentiums are more than sufficient for pfSense. Compare them against a middle of the road core2duo as a benchmark for a basic pfSense box. Need VPN, Snort, Squid, whatever? hike it up accordingly.

E: here's a barebones box: https://www.amazon.com/Firewall-Micro-Appliance-Gigabit-Barebone/dp/B01GIVQI3M

Honestly, I'd go with Cisco SG series switches. You can get them pretty much as big or as small as you want, they have both Web GUI and CLI, generally much more affordable compared to enterprise level switches, and they have POE capabilities as well.

If you are going to be using Proxmox or Untangle (my preference is Untangle) for a router/firewall, you really don't need the Edge Router, since they will fulfill your layer 3 needs. Instead, you can save that money and get a PoE enabled switch, probably with a lot more ports.

As far as hardware for Proxmox/Untangle, you can get something like this and have plenty of processing power for whatever ISP connection you have.

Check out pfsense with something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01GIVQI3M/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1505001255&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=pfsense&dpPl=1&dpID=41OvNDM8FPL&ref=plSrch

This was my response before

You clearly underestimate how long 2 hours really last. If you're playing a game, getting really pissed off and not enjoying your time after 1 hour, it would be reasonable to not want to own the game anymore. You mentioned PC games running worse than consoles. Even if that were true, you could just refund the game until the company optimizes it much better (which is what people did when Arkham Knight came out; and W.B Games actually listened to them)

I'm sorry I didn't cite my sources last time. So I'll do it this time https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/10/game-stop-shares-fall-after-second-quarter-profit-and-revenue-miss.html https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/09/10/gamestop-store-closings-2019-retailer-closing-up-200-stores/2279343001/ https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/06/08/how-much-did-gamestops-sales-fall.aspx

"Where are these companies that make PCs that will stomp console? Never mind it’s in fantasy land" I dunno man. NZXT BLD and OriginPC seem pretty real. Also a prebuilt PC with an RX 580 and a Ryzen 7 2700 CPU only costs about $650 https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Desktop-Processor-Graphics/dp/B07Q3G3B67/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=gaming+PC&qid=1568421808&s=gateway&sr=8-6

Oh I can't ever accept that I'm wrong? I'm sorry, I guess the word objective just completely disappeared from the english dictionary. I guess Better Framerats, Graphics, Upgrade-able hardware, free online, convenience, options, freedoms don't exist to you. Also, don't compare me to liberals. The liberals you're thinking of are completely closed minded.

• Permalink
  
  [–]to Donger-Lord sent 22 hours ago
  
  The fact that you have to use ad hominem attacks in your rebuttle clearly shows how emotionally attached you are to your stance on this subject.
  
  
• Permalink
  
  [–]to Donger-Lord sent 21 hours ago
  
  I know you're probably not the biggest fan of me, but if you ever change your mind about PC gaming, then here's an alternative to building your PC or buying a $600 prebuilt. Get a PC like the Dell Optiplex 7010 which actually has no proprietary parts as far as I'm concerned https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7010-Minitower-Desktop/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=sxin_3_sxwds-bovbs?keywords=dell+optiplex+7010&pd_rd_i=B01K0GNUOG&pd_rd_r=05da0e7d-1fb9-45c2-ac21-d8943f19ee8d&pd_rd_w=zQkzL&pd_rd_wg=Mou8g&pf_rd_p=b866bc3b-cfe5-45c1-897c-a8525a3335d9&pf_rd_r=5DFECSZRTKW3165Y70EN&qid=1568423180&s=gateway
  
  Then what you can do is replace the PSU inside of it with a 3rd party PSU from EVGA, Corsair or Seasonic. Make sure that it's either 80+ or 80+ bronze certified at the very least. After that, you can add pretty much any GPU (the RX 570 4gb is definitely a recommendation) and there you go. You can basically play any game at 1080p60 medium-high settings. An rx 570 is only about $130-150 and a psu like the one I mentioned is about $35-50.
  
  Hope I have helped at least a little bit.
  
  
• Permalink
  
  [–]to Donger-Lord sent 2 hours ago
  
  So what? Did I win the argument? Were my points stupid? Is there nothing more to respond to?

Dell Optiplex 7010

There is a link to the pc. I am new to this so I don’t know what to look for.
Also can I expect similar performance out of the RX 570?

Something like this is a ton better: https://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pavilion-Gaming-Desktop-Tower-AMD-Ryzen-5-2400G-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-1050-Graphics-1TB-HDD-8GB-SDRAM-DVD-Mouse-Keyboard-Shadow-Black-Green-LED-Light/755857361?findingMethod=wpa&tgtp=1&cmp=15510&relRank=1&tax=3944_3951_132982_1231068_1224739&pt=sp&adgrp=16495&bt=1&plmt=1145x345_B-C-OG_TI_2-20_HL-BOTTOM-NY&wpa_qs=O8l5Q7UDLeFQomP-VyteKLsbf-3FHzyaCOQq1ZUrnZJZGGlcX5OokGXGVNTzijntmqyesCZMemhY8n960MdGiJVPZPLk6G6e7oLSAhZoSJk&bkt=&mLoc=bottom&pgid=pc-computer&isSlr=false&itemId=755857361&relUUID=5244512e-f6da-48b7-a62d-90317645a953&adUid=0da30d70-eb24-42fc-82fe-72cd1504938a&adiuuid=4f79b7d5-6466-4fb3-90a0-8a57ea55b084&adpgm=wpa&pltfm=desktop

But I could see getting a cheaper tower and the buying a 1050 gpu and putting that in. In this case it has the 1050 and 8 gig ram.

Maybe something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7010-Minitower-Desktop/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=sr_1_40?ie=UTF8&qid=1543247737&sr=8-40&keywords=pc+computer

Like this? https://www.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-7010-Minitower-Desktop/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_147_bs_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&refRID=VREQTYKEMCEPNXTFCQ1S&th=1

It really depends on what you are needing it for. If you're looking for just a general good deal then there's usually refurbished ones that businesses or schools upgraded from that you can either find locally or online.

Here's one I recommend to a lot of the customers at my work to run their point of sale server
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K0GNUOG/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_SfH5CbMYHRXAV

Try to be more specific about your price range and usage, and maybe I can suggest something else.

What kind of gaming are you interested in, and what kind of workloads do you realistically think you'll do?

Above, someone listed a build for $400, but its missing monitor and keyboard and mouse, that's not really going to work. It would be better to get something like a refurbished Dell with a 3rd Gen i5, and add a GPU.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-i5-3470-vs-Intel-Celeron-G3900/2771vsm86156

Amazon as an example

Even Better with an 3rd gen i7 and a small ssd.

You can likewise buy used GPUs as well. I don't know the used market very well, so hopefully someone can point you in that direction.

The benefit here or something like this, is it comes with a windows licence. Currently and generally those are about $100 by themselves, or 20-25% of your budget, unless you were looking to set sail or use a sketchy site. With an older prebuilt, you can find documentation and even build guides on installing GPU for your particular model. Absolute extreme work around is getting an PCI extension cable to pull the gpu out of the case.

Limitations with this is an older GPU of an SKU level will not be as resilient long term. I'm actually finally no longer exceeding recommend spec on new video games running the 4th gen i7 (it's been solid), so latest and greatest this will not do, but latest and low or medium specs at 1080 should be fine for the next few years.

If you're interested in upgrading components as you go, going with a prebuilt like the used Dells above will not be advisable as they tend to not keep standards, but if you're comfortable to do so, do it. I would recommend adding a swear jar instead: everytime you daydream about parts or complain about low textures or slow parts, add some change or dollar to a jar. Eventually you'll save up enough money and resentment to buy the things you think you want but don't fill that emptiness in your soul any more than what you have.

I'm really curious what kind of budgeting or miracles are you performing to sell a prebuilt to buy a Macbook? Outside of specific programs that run better or exclusively on Mac, even buying a used Mac meant a premium of what the hardware can do.

TLDR: PC gaming is like buying a boat: far more expensive than you think going in, there's always something to spend more money on. And the days where you really feel the sun and the wind and the water are far fewer than you realize when you spend the money.

Dell i7-4790 with 8GB Ram

Dedicated computer. The link shows an i5, but I received an i7.

BV-Tech POE switch

4 Reolink RLC-410's

BI is the full licensed version.

I bought this for $779 in September. ASUS Core i5 Performance Gaming Desktop [G11CD-WB51] GeForce GTX 1070, 8GB 2133Mhz DDR4, 1TB HDD, Intel Core i5-6400 Quad Core 2.7GHz processor, VR Ready https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_uAKDAb56RQTCT

Put a 512gb SSD and 8gb more ddr4 memory. All in total I am in it for about $900 and it runs great.

I have seen it close to that price again from time to time both on Amazon and other retailers.

Only get a laptop if portability is important. Otherwise desktop is cheaper. I have had good luck with Asus products such as:

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1497733480&sr=8-6&keywords=asus+vr+pc+1070

I have one of these. They https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504024561&sr=8-2&keywords=asus+pcwork great and the price is great with a gtx 1070 in it

This one has a proper desktop i5 cpu and a gtx 1070 for slightly over 800: https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK

I have zero experience building a PC but really want to make the switch from consoles for this game. How would this pre built deal on amazon stack up? Thanks.

ASUSG11CD-WB51

Hmm here's a 1070 and i5 for $780

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK?

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1505649428&sr=8-2&keywords=gtx+1070+pc

Here's one with an i5 and a GTX 1070 :) You save ~$200.
I got a ryzen 1600 and GTX 1060 instead. :) I'm proud of it.

This is probably your best bet

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01K1JWCAK/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1485623726&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gtx+1070+desktop&dpPl=1&dpID=41a1eNB0mVL&ref=plSrch

As a i5+1070 combo would be better than an i7+1060

Really hard to beat this deal for the price at $785 (obviously lesser specs but its almost 1/2 the price with the same GPU):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01K1JWCAK/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1511134883&sr=8-1&keywords=ASUS+Core+i5+Performance+Gaming+Desktop

Even if he can't build his own machine, a monkey could add a ram stick and an SSD (not needed but possible future upgrade).

This machine has the same GPU but with i5-6400 instead of i7-7700k... and guess what? At 1080P Resolution, You'll get nearly identical performance in nearly every case for $785 versus $1299. Toss in a 250gb ssd for $40 and another 8gb of ram for $40 and you an incredible machine only you saved $450.

So, I am looking at this pc it is 1000 on amazon.

goodbuy?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K1JWCAK/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Do you mind if it's a desktop? If not
desktop

If I cut the SSD which I'm leaning towards doing, are there any advantages to buying this and making it over just purchasing this?

I like this one as it's cheaper. Cheaper the better. I looked at this one and noticed a similar PC. I see that this is a little behind in specs but for the price difference, would you say it could be worth it? Does the Acer have anyhing exceptionally better?

Im sorry, But at that pricepoint a prebuilt PC will be a ripoff, any reason why you can't build one.

I would suggest getting a decent prebuilt PC and sticking in a GTX 1050/1050ti

Edit: found this

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideacentre-Desktop-Computer-90DA00LPUS/dp/B01KLSMWVA/ref=sr_1_10?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1498177427&sr=1-10&keywords=Desktop+computer.

Stick in a gtx 1050 and you'll be good to go, and still under budget.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KLSMWVA/

Full tower, so you can manually upgrade it later if need be. Would run the game on medium-high~ish detail.

I'm currently looking at this model. It's for very basic family use: Word (which I know I'll have to buy Office to get it), business affairs, basic internet surfing, e-mail, YouTube. And that's about it. Nothing too major.

I'm confused about Worksword. I think Works was phased out but we currently use the Worksword template unless otherwise specified to the person/s we're sending a specific document to. So I don't know if PC's come with Worksword anymore. I think they do.

While this is heathanous here, something with a modern i3 and then a GTX 1050 would do better for less.

The 460 and the 1050(Ti) are all cards that will rarely have issues with being slapped into a prebuilt.

They would prefer a desktop. Someone suggested

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/dell-inspiron-3650-desktop-intel-core-i3-8gb-memory-1tb-hard-drive-silver/4826902.p?skuId=4826902
and
https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-Ideacentre-300-Computer-90DA00LPUS/dp/B01KLSMWVA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481004452&sr=8-1&keywords=core+i3+6100+desktop

I don't necessarily want to build because they would like it in 1-2 weeks. Their old one was a built computer my friend put together for me... windows vista. I gutted the parts... but dont have a case, OS, mobo, cpu, and ram.

Looking around on Amazon you can get this Lenovo computer for $329 which covers all of the minimum specs except for the graphics card but you can get this Radeon HD6450 which should cover you on that front too.

Hope this helps get you started somewhere at least. Also, I should mention I play on PS4 as well and my knowledge of computers is mediocre at best so take this with a grain of salt.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01KLSMWVA/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481227752&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=i3+desktop+windows+10+8gb&dpPl=1&dpID=418o8f0UHZL&ref=plSrch

On second thought, is it even worth building? Isnt this essentially the same?

What do you think about this? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N5SXZY8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_CDZqzbWX87JHY

Yes to both, but don't go anywhere near that Alienware. If you're set on one of these two, do your self a favor and get the HP.

But it's still not a great system for the price. I found basically the same system for $350 less on Amazon. With the money you save, you can buy a 6gb version of the GTX 1060 (the best buy system has a 3gig model), and still have $100 left in your pocket.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i5-7400-Windows-TC-780-AMZKi5/dp/B01N5SXZY8/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1496749192&sr=1-5&keywords=desktop+computer

This is the one he is looking at. I wanted to see if there was a build that he could put together that would be better.

Does it make any sense to buy this PC and then install my GTX 1060 GPU? The GPU is the only thing I have left from my old PC build, and it works fine... and I figure that at this price, the rest of this build is good enough for me.

Does that make sense?

Okay, so this is my first time with a PC and a desk. Right now I have a PC with no modifications (yet), and an Astro headset for my Xbox. Also an Xbox one,and some speakers.

I want to improve my setup for gaming.

I am looking at a new keyboard

Also a mouse

A mousepad

Some headphones

And a gpu

Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

My guess, based on your responses so far, is that you have had bad experience with laptops because you bought something off the shelf because the price was right instead of it being what was best for what you wanted. If that is the case, no matter how much better the linked system is than your current laptop, you would see only negligible improvements. The reason is that all in ones, like cheaper laptops, don't have any room for air flow, and no options for custom cooling. So, all of your components will get hot more easily, and your performance will suffer.

If you're totally against a custom, then I would look at something like this https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i5-7400-Windows-TC-780-AMZKi5/dp/B01N5SXZY8/ref=sr_1_24?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1492193601&sr=1-24&keywords=ibuypower
with an Asus 23" gaming monitor for ~125.00, you're looking at close to the same price. I don't recommend acer, but this would give you better results than what you linked.

My favorite PCMR memory is getting my first serious PC.

It was two parts, this computer and an EVGA 1050Ti 4GB card.

It was a stressful time, trying to put in the card, but once it clicked in, I was ready to go! Still have this desktop to this day and it's going strong!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01N5SXZY8/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1498665843&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=desktop

I have this one, 70 fps on med-low settings 720p

Hi, I just bought a Prebuilt PC, the ACer Aspire https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1519074342&sr=1-5&keywords=acer+aspire

I have put in a Graphics Card, and was wondering If I could slot in a M.2 (I think thats what its called) SSD, or if it is incompatible with Acer's software. There is a slot to insert it, but im not sure that it is compatible. Thanks.

Really difficult to recommend building a computer over taking a pre-built presently. The inflated RAM and GPU prices are harsh enough, if your Windows license is non-transferable it's practically a no-brainer if you're on a budget.

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM/

https://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-DisplayPort-Dual-Link-Graphics-ZT-P10500A-10L/dp/B01M4MIU94/

As of this writing, you could buy the former and plug in the latter for a total of $505 or so. It should render most games comfortably playable on 1080p with good settings.

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-580-023w-i5-7400-Graphics/dp/B077S27YLP/

If you're looking for something a fair amount stronger, there's the HP 580-023w rocking an i5-7400 and GTX 1060 for $680 (and no hunt for a decent price GPU necessary).

It's only really around the $900+ mark that building yourself should really become a consideration in my opinion.

damn, this is starting to go a bit over my head. What's the benefit of a say, ITX or MATx system over a pre-built amazon budget PC...just size?

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=zg_bs_565098_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=GN0WG68FQST9BWTXYQWK

This or this? Id probably pick a lower end computer to reduce power consumption costs.

This one could work and last without being too expensive. There's an i5 version for about $100 more, I wouldn't consider it necessary for web browsing and such but that'd be up to you. It would be smart to eventually add an SSD and move Windows onto it to make everything run a lot smoother, you can get one for under $50.

If you go with something else, generally what you want to pay attention to is the CPU (i3, etc.) and RAM. For the RAM, you want DDR4. If it has DDR3 it's old hardware that won't last as long. For the CPU, i3 i5 and i7 are deceiving and don't mean all that much. If it says it has less than four cores pull the breaks, if they make it intentionally difficult to figure out what generation the CPU is pull the breaks. We are currently on the 8th generation (i3-8100 for example) with the 9th generation coming out soon. I came across a few listings that kept sneakily advertising the computer had an i5 with 3.20 GHz. Sounds powerful enough, right? Nope, it was an i5 650. 1st gen. Slow as molasses.

In your opening post, it said that the laptop you were looking at was $500. For $400, you can get this basic PC.

​

Then for another $129, you can slip this basic 1050 into it. (I'd recommend getting a 1050 ti if you can, but you'll be fine with the basic 1050 if your budget is that tight)

​

So for just another $30 above what you were looking to spend, you can get a waaaaaaay more bang-for-your-buck AND you'll be able to upgrade components later if you so wish (maybe another stick of memory, the processor, the graphics card). If you go with a laptop you'll be getting way less performance for your dollar AND you'll be stuck with it as-is; no upgrades in your future unless you just replace the whole thing.

​

Hope this helps.

​

the new case is a NZXT Source 210




here’s the PC from acer: https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?keywords=acer+desktop+i3+8100&qid=1558474481&s=gateway&sr=8-13

$500 is a little low if you want something that is more future proof as far as gaming goes. At that price, you're going to have lower end power supplies, entry level to mid range parts, or older parts.


That said, here are 2 that might work.


[ASUS Desktop Computer M32AD-US072S Intel Core i5 4th Gen 4460 (3.20 GHz) 8 GB DDR3 1 TB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 Windows 8.1 64-Bit] (https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883221401)


or


[Acer Aspire Desktop, 7th Gen Intel Core i3-7100, 8GB DDR4, 1TB HDD, Windows 10 Home, TC-780-ACKi3] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me=) for this you might want to install a graphics card like a RX 460 or GTX 1050 for gaming.


similar to what Austin Evans did in this vid
[Should You Upgrade a Prebuilt Gaming PC?] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J81h1dHNwDk)

These three are solid deals and newer generation Intel processors.
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1520361433&sr=1-1&refinements=p_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER%2Cp_36%3A2421880011

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i5-7400-Windows-TC-780-ACKI5/dp/B073YHNPC6/ref=sr_1_2?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1520361433&sr=1-2&refinements=p_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER%2Cp_36%3A2421880011

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Pavilion-Desktop-Computer-570-p010/dp/B06XGMLQPY/ref=sr_1_3?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1520361433&sr=1-3&refinements=p_6%3AATVPDKIKX0DER%2Cp_36%3A2421880011

Better than the archaic AMD ones at the same price. I don't know why none of AMD's new ryzen lines are showing up anywhere though. A tower with the new ryzen 2200g/2400g would be a great all around desktop even doing mild gaming.

I built one just cause but be warned the older boards may not have the newer bios for AMD's new APU's
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/X3gkLJ

Both Dell monitors have 1 DP and 1 VGA port.

The Acer Aspire has 1 HDMI port and 1 VGA port.

Therefore, you can use the VGA port for one of the monitors and get an HDMI->DP converter for the other monitor. The adapter will change the HDMI signal from your PC to a DP signal.

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-E2416HM-G0RH1-24-0-Monitor/dp/B01LY59FT7

"Connectivity : DP and VGA"

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM?th=1

"1 - HDMI Port, 1 - VGA Port"

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-Desktop-i3-7100-Windows-TC-780-ACKi3/dp/B071DM6TWM/ref=sr_1_6?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1506281448&sr=1-6&keywords=i3+7100

I was looking at the i3 7100, is this a good option? can i just pop a 1050ti in there and be good to go? Thanks!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071DM6TWM/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1517875430&sr=8-8&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=acer+aspire

I didnt have a choice but gor this prebuilt

The challenges I faced was mainly the cost of trying to get a gaming PC and the goal I am aiming next is playing good AAA games at high quality and without lagging.

You can get a PC that can play any game in existence for $700. The vast majority of them on high or even ultra graphics, on most monitors, including yours. If league is your main game, even on max graphics settings, you will see literally no difference whatsoever between this and a $700 PC like this one: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXiVR8020A3-Desktop-Graphics-802-11AC/dp/B071NG75BW/ref=dp_ob_title_ce?th=1

This is the build you get if you want to play every possible game simultaneously on 3 4k displays for the next several years. Even then, you only need a CPU strong enough to make full use of the graphics card. Any more is a waste for gaming. And very few games will see a significant benefit, from more than 8 gb of ram.

If your education and bills are being entirely paid for by someone else, go ahead. If not, this seems like an incredibly wasteful purchase.

Actually im sorry but i cant, want me to send you the link of the pc?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NG75BW/ref=twister_B01N7RWESK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The build u/Ryan_JK posted is a solid deal. This one would be slightly better since it comes with WiFi, but it is out of stock.

Ok, so the most upvoted comment is definitely really useful. But this is a 719.99 PC which will run most games at ultra 60fps at 1080p. Unfortunately, i have the old version of this pc, but this one is an upgraded version and is much better than mine. Its a pre-built, but the value is a lot cheaper than you building the pc yourself.

CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR GXiVR8020A3 Desktop Gaming PC (Intel i5-7400 3.0GHz, AMD RX 580 4GB, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB 7200RPM HDD, 802.11AC WIFI, Win 10 Home), Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NG75BW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6W5HzbJNSFQ41

Please consider taking a look at it. You definitely wont be disappointed with it.

I have this PC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NG75BW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_cfBNAbXX32GTS
Only thing different is that I have 12 gb of ram, and actually about WoW, it's fine, it's only in really populated areas the fps goes down, so I think it's normal.

If you would be interested in building a PC to get more bang for your buck go to /r/buildapc and ask them to make a build for you. Otherwise id recomend this or maybe this prebuilt PC, they would be more than enough to run Overwatch around the highest settings at 1080p.

¿Por qué el Ryzen 5 1600? ¿Piensas crear contenido, hacer streaming o algo que ocupe tantos núcleos?, Porque la verdad si solo lo piensas usar para jugar, te conviene mejor comprar un i3 7100 o un i5 7400.

Otra cosa realmente la quieres armar, es un poco tedioso e incluso difícil si no tienes experiencia. Te podría salir mas barato comprar una pc ya armada:

https://www.amazon.com.mx/Gamer-Ryzen-1600-Nvidia-1050/dp/B071WST7K1/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503408344&sr=8-2&keywords=ryzen+5+1600+pc+gamer

https://www.amazon.com.mx/CyberpowerPC-gma3000-5-1400-3-1060-3-GB-7200-RPM/dp/B06Y92RJZZ/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1503408344&sr=8-2-fkmr2&keywords=ryzen+5+1600+pc+gamer

https://www.amazon.com.mx/CYBERPOWERPC-GXiVR8020A3-Desktop-i5-7400-802-11AC/dp/B071NG75BW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1503408935&sr=8-5&keywords=i5+pc+gamer

Here another prebuilt for good measure
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071NG75BW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494714708&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=cyberpower+rx+580&dpPl=1&dpID=51q6Vz8rjjL&ref=plSrch

What I did was buy the $700 Cyberpowerpc deal on Amazon, and upgrade components when I have the money/time.

I bought this same build, but with last gen components ( mine was i5 6400 and AMD RX 480). It's an awesome computer that plays VR at default settings.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071NG75BW/ref=psdcmw_13896597011_t1_B01MT0781S

I'm not sure cause the pc is coming in the mail on thurs and I was just making sure my monitor would work with it. It's my first pc and am really not to fond of computer parts. Heres the link to it if you want to check it out.pc

A bit big but had it for awhile, runs everything well. Only thing that stuggled at urtra quality was Titanfall 2 due to 4gb vram. You could get the RX 580 8gb version instead of 4gb version if that's a concern.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071NG75BW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1502795731&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=cyberpowerpc&dpPl=1&dpID=51q6Vz8rjjL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

Is this the one?

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V

Is $699 a good deal?

I'd probably recommend getting an Intel NUC8i7HNK or if you can afford the extra, the Intel NUC8i7HVK if you truly want something in the same size range as a Mac Mini.

Intel NUC8i7HNK @ $998.17 or Intel NUC8i7HVK @ $1153.35

Crucial 16GB DDR4-2666 SODIMM @ $173.00

Crucial 500GB MX500 M.2 SATA SSD @ $108.99

Total : $1280.16 for the NUC8i7HNK, $1435.34 for the NUC8i7HVK.

The Mac Mini has a volume of 1.38L, the Intel NUCs have a volume of 1.22L (technically smaller than a Mac Mini). If you take the other suggestions here, the In-Win Chopin has a volume of 4.45L^1, the Silverstone SG13 has a volume of 11.45L, the Raijintek Metis Plus has a volume of 13.37L, and the Raijintek Ophion EVO has a volume of 18.92L. It should also be noted that the In-Win Chopin cannot take a GPU, as it has no space for any PCIe cards.

1. In-Win inexplicably advertises this chassis as 3.3L, but the dimensions are 244x84x217mm, which is 4.45L.

If you care about having a small clever form factor the Intel Hades Canyon nuc is what I'd recommend. Can customize its ram and SSD, these have vastly superior onboard video.

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V

https://smile.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR3HCZ3/
or
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07BR5GK1V/

2 x https://smile.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC4-21300-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B071KNKBQ1/

https://smile.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-500GB-2280SS-Internal/dp/B077SQ8J1V/

or you can get inwin chopin and put amd 2400g in it

If that’s the case I’d go with the skull candy nuc Intel NUC8 VR Machine Mini PC Kit NUC8i7HVK with Radeon RX Vega M Graphics https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BR5GK1V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_wdXMBb5M3R6P1

i picked up a XG35QV open-box for $530 to get a feel for what size UW might work for new office/desk.

I go through gaming phases but mostly use my machine (intel nuc NUC8i7HVK w/8th Gen Intel Core i7 8809G & Radeon RX Vega M GH 1Ghz 4GB mem graphics) for 3d modeling, video editing, and coding.

the obvious long-term solution will be a wall-mount (it arrives tomorrow), but until I get my keyboard + monitor height just right, and build my standing memory-foam-pad, I can't be sure of the exact height, so don't want to install a wall mount just yet

Does anyone have a suggestion for a monitor, preferably with less of a gamer-vibe (my office space shares with the guest room, so to please the SO), that has a lower-profile stand? this one is pushed back as far as it can go and the screen still starts about 12" from the wall.

also open to suggestions in general on the best 35" to buy/wait for. i prefer buying open-box on amazon for 30+% off but appreciate the importance of a quality monitor and will spend the $ for new, if it's the best option/value.

finally, is the xg35qv a good value for $540? what should I have purchased instead if not (stand irrelevant)?

Super late reply but its the intel hades canyon nuc!

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-NUC-Performance-G-Kit-NUC8i7HVK/dp/B07BR5GK1V/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1PNLNQ42LKMA2&keywords=intel+hades+canyon+nuc&qid=1572925736&sprefix=intel+haders%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-3

In case anyone else finds this post. This is the best option I've seen so far and it puts the Alpha to shame.

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1527005047&sr=1-1&keywords=hades+canyon

Sorry for formatting ahead of time, I'm on mobile.

This one I found on Amazon isn't bad. It's got an ssd and generally all-around good hardware. Only drawback imo is the 4gb rx 580, but that shouldn't be that big of a problem, especially for the games that you are playing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D5S3LZM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VdR-Bb3VHE9S6

Also, do you play on using ethernet or wifi? The build that I have linked does not include a wifi adapter, although they are fairly cheap and easy to install. You could even go with a USB adapter if you really wanted to, but I would recommend an internal adapter.

With the budget of $1,000 building a good system + monitor+ keyboard + mouse + copy of Windows + etc....

At that price point you may want to look into a prebuilt.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D5S3LZM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_-uc.BbW1EMPGW

Speakers:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002FU5QM0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Bxc.BbN3T3251

And a monitor:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GF2ZR8G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_swc.BbYJP0F6G

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Desktop-Graphics-View21-035A/dp/B07D5S3LZM/ref=mp_s_a_1_54?ie=UTF8&qid=1549048251&sr=8-54&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=gaming+pc

yes you did. you could get a pc with almost equivalent specs for 799 right now (+8gb ram/ +4c/8t cpu/ -10% gpu perf/ -10% single core cpu perf). for the price of 1750, i would expect a 8700k/1080ti

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Desktop-Graphics-View21-035A/dp/B07D5S3LZM

It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users.
I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click!


Here is link number 1 - Previous text "PC"



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^Please ^PM ^/u/eganwall ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^Delete

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D5S3LZM?tag=slicinc-20&ascsubtag=0b99c5f0bf5f11e88c82a6d63f35ac300INT

$799

You can spend a little more and get this:

r/https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Beast-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07GC7FTDB

​

Only issue is 8GB, so buying another 8G will cost like maybe $70 or so, but you get 2700x and 1080 instead of 1070.

​

Ibuypower also has a promotion for $799 but only comes with rx580 4G, but comes with 16G with 1800X.

​

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Desktop-Graphics-View21-035A/dp/B07D5S3LZM

​

Both are good deal with pretty decent spec.

If you ask a question, and someone answers it correctly, reply with a thank you, but include this checkmark: ✓ ( or if you cannot enter Unicode, use !check instead )

This will score the user whose comment you replied to a 'point'. Currently the points will unlock special flair that will show in all Daily Simple Questions threads.

This should be working, hopefully

In case you missed it, click here for yesterday's Daily Simple Questions thread.
There may be some questions still unanswered! Below are a selection of questions with no replies. See if you can help them out.

If you don't want to see this comment click the little [-] to the left of my username to collapse this comment.

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> Probs a stupid question but, What is the best way to clean my monitors screen without damaging the anit-glare or panel?, My monitor is a Benq Zowie XL2430. Thanks in advance.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efo7ixl/

----

> Does anybody know how to prevent Windows defender from using 40% of my ram at all times? I have tried many things, from disabling realtime scan, changing the event schedule, scanning for threats, and excluding itself from its searches, all the way to trying to disable it in regedit, and nothing has worked. Disabling it will totally prevent it from using my cpu, but it will always use 40ish percent of my ram no matter what. Does anybody know how to fix this, or just end the whole task completely? If the latter, could somebody suggest and alternative threat protection that has a smaller footprint?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efoap4z/

----

> Should I buy a prebuilt? And if so, how is Cyberpower vs iBuyPower? I know I want a 2070 and a 2700 but I am honestly unsure if I should build my own. I am looking at getting one of these two:
>
> CyberPower PC
>
> iBuyPower
>
> ​
>
> I want to know if their build quality is good and which one does a better job at proving actual support (I remember LTT did a video about the different prebuilt companies but I am more concerned in prompt service, like how they were able to resolve your actual hardware problems, i.e. bad fan or bad gpu etc.)
>
> ​
>
> I looked similar stuff/same stuff (the things I could find closest to) for the iBuyPower build on PCPartPicker and it basically came to about 100 bucks cheaper, without the OS and that is still me having to put everything together. I honestly don't mind building a PC but the idea of saving all my time and just spending a little more money is very very alluring. Any suggestions? Am I being a fool by even thinking about doing this, I know it's not a very PCMR thing to buy prebuilts but the price seems right and the idea of building it sounds like it isn't worth it just to save like 100-200 bucks.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efob6et/

----

> So I'm looking to build a work pc for uni next year and I'm gonna be using fairly taxing programs (rhino, revit, twinmotion, etc,). I have an idea of what I'm gonna need specs wise, but I kinda wanna go AMD for the CPU and maybe GPU, and I was wondering if the Vega 64 is still worth it considering it's age. I was only going to go for a 1080 if I went Nvidia, just for budget reasons. So I was wondering what would be more appropriate for what I need, or if I should go for something completely different.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efp3o8f/

----

> Ryzen 2600X or 2700 for ~50 € more (2600 is not available in the sale I'm looking at)? Mainly Gaming with the occasional Stream for friends, including Webcam and running other programs in the background.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efp66sl/

----

> So I recently got an Arokh Y-2 mouse, and I'm trying to rebind one of the buttons on it to work like the Alt keys on my keyboard. The problem is that when I use the software for it to Alt in one of the options, it instead defines it as Alt+ (i.e. it's looking for a 2nd button press to go with the Alt) which kinda works but then won't "let go" of Alt, essentially acting as if I'm still holding Alt down even though I've let go of the button; but if I use a different part of the menu given to push one of the buttons on the keyboard as the button I want, it doesn't work at all.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efp6f6b/

----

> Can someone help me with an emulator? I want to play Super smash bros. I have dolphin installed but I have trouble getting a game on there. If you could help, that would be great.

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efp7fot/

----

> Hey, greetings, my friend just got a wireless bluetooth controller (MadCatz ps3 controller) in a garage sale that can't be connected via USB, just wondering if there's a way to set it up to play on the PC, the controller can only be turned on and we can't seem to find a pairing button. His PC seems to "find" the controller but fails to "recognize" it. I read the PDF manual and it says that it came with a usb adapter to connect to the ps3. Is there a way to connect it to the PC or is he just screwed?

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efpdcr5/

----

> Howdy, I'm looking to buy a 32 inch curved monitor. I was looking at the Asus VA327H, and was going to purchase from Newegg. Does anyone else have any other suggestions? I would prefer 27 to 32 inch and my limit is $300, movies and some light duty photo editing will be its primary uses. thanks!

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efprj1o/

----

> Ok so I have an asus b350 f motherboard and the rgb works but when I go to aoura sinc it doeant show up so its stuck at rainbow. I have all my drivers installed and their uptodate. Full specs: 500gb samsung ssd, g.skillz trident z 16 gb ddr4, gtx 1070 founders edition, ryzen 1700x, evga liquid cooler, evga 750 wt g2 gold

/r/pcmasterrace/comments/ampufg/daily_simple_questions_thread_feb_03_2019/efprtlf/

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Should I buy a prebuilt? And if so, how is Cyberpower vs iBuyPower? I know I want a 2070 and a 2700 but I am honestly unsure if I should build my own. I am looking at getting one of these two:

CyberPower PC

iBuyPower

​

I want to know if their build quality is good and which one does a better job at proving actual support (I remember LTT did a video about the different prebuilt companies but I am more concerned in prompt service, like how they were able to resolve your actual hardware problems, i.e. bad fan or bad gpu etc.)

​

I looked similar stuff/same stuff (the things I could find closest to) for the iBuyPower build on PCPartPicker and it basically came to about 100 bucks cheaper, without the OS and that is still me having to put everything together. I honestly don't mind building a PC but the idea of saving all my time and just spending a little more money is very very alluring. Any suggestions? Am I being a fool by even thinking about doing this, I know it's not a very PCMR thing to buy prebuilts but the price seems right and the idea of building it sounds like it isn't worth it just to save like 100-200 bucks.

How about $1500 on a PC from Amazon?

This is the one I went with

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GG62872/ref=s9_acsd_bw_wf_a_BTSmainw_mdl?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=TMNR58W597MPNSKX1PSP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=a34ff480-29b2-45a3-b23a-ba109e23a881&pf_rd_i=15201447011

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GG62872/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_XCl-BbK2363MQ


If you’re looking at that other PC for $1,000, you should check this one out that’s $1,200. For $200 more, you get a slightly worse CPU, but insanely better GPU and twice the amount of storage for both the SSD and HDD. The difference between the 1060 3GB and 2070 8GB GPUs alone is ~$300+. You don’t really want a GPU with 3GB of VRAM nowadays. I understand if this is out of your budget range, but it presents a much better value.

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-Master-GMA1394A-Gaming-GeForce/dp/B07GG62872/ref=mp_s_a_1_24?ie=UTF8&qid=1550800544&sr=1-24&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65


Or this.


https://m.newegg.com/products/N82E16883227879

Both have extremely similar performance but the one from Amazon is liquid cooled, what it really comes down to though, is whatever you think looks better.

I may have to use the thing for a few months, maybe save up for a bit and then swap to a better monitor. I want to aim for something like 144hz, 1440p, IPS, G-Sync. I think I may be looking at the 500-600 range for something like that. In theory I could return the monitor to cut 280 off the price but I really don't have the extra cash laying around right now, and I saw nothing in the 250-300 range that had all those. I could have missed it, of course. Honestly it might have been better to just keep using my old 60hz monitor, I don't really have any games I currently play that need a new monitor until Borderlands 3 comes out but. I'm not even sure I need that powerful a monitor, I don't play PvP games. I just know that my old one had serious problems with anything even remotely dark, so much so that I could be playing cave or night areas practically blind and no setting on the monitor ever seemed to help.

I bought a new premade with the Prime Day sale, so it wasn't just a GPU upgrade. This one, in case you would like a reference: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07GG62872/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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I have been interested in building a computer for a while now, but wasn't qute sure how worth it it was and am usually a pretty busy person. Today I came accross this deal on amazon: (Ibuypowerpcdeal), and as such am kinda looking for some sort of litmus test. Would building my own PC be cheaper, more expensive, comparable to this If i wanted the same or comparable specs? Would the quality be the same? Etc. Any advice or help would be most appreciated!

I'd suggest this instead (sorry apparently it sold out):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=as_li_ss_tl?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-4&pf_rd_r=8B2GJW1ASV6R21ZZE7JY&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=06e82be3-68aa-4d3a-9d5e-cf37d12730f4&pf_rd_i=15201447011&linkCode=sl1&tag=vergeprimeday19-20&linkId=154de7812b37c61c2faeb62bd379ced1&language=en_US

It's a 9700k with liquid cooling, and 2070 for $1200.

EDIT: Sorry looks like it sold out sometime. I'd suggest aiming for the cheapest 9700k + 16Gb ram + GTX 2070 or better you can get. For that much money you should probably be trying to get a 2080 or 2070 super.


As per this video https://youtu.be/ikBYHYsdhhE?t=1015 9700k is currently the best gaming ONLY value/dollar.

I found these two: https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-Supreme-SLC10200CPG-i9-9900K-GeForce/dp/B07J1W2NHB/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvp?crid=2YQ4MLKL6E9S2&keywords=prebuilt+gaming+pc&pd_rd_i=B07J1W2NHB&pd_rd_r=3f802a19-105f-406f-96d8-305677f2e681&pd_rd_w=MMXZq&pd_rd_wg=39VLV&pf_rd_p=a6d018ad-f20b-46c9-8920-433972c7d9b7&pf_rd_r=AEA8P5WFS3CEKAPP8V1J&qid=1563208993&refinements=p_36%3A140000-150000&rnid=386442011&s=electronics&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&sprefix=prebuilt+g%2Celectronics%2C172

The first one is better value for the price (your saving around $250).

The second one is right around the price you'd pay to build it yourself and has better specs (i9 9900k and more SSD space).

Pick your poison.

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1564934535&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011&s=pc&sr=1-1 would this work for higher end games?

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?hvadid=77653059526453&hvbmt=bb&hvdev=m&hvqmt=b&keywords=gaming+pc+intel+i7&qid=1558449543&s=gateway&sr=8-4
Close

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32 this is my computer although i got it from costco, and they dont seem to have it anymore. I was able to control the lights on the cooler and in the system just fine from the bios and the polychrome software until i updated the boards bios a while ago. Now when i open the poly chrome software, it says "Access violation at address 0055E5A8 in module 'AsrPolychromeRGB.exe'.Read of adress FFFFFFEC" and wont open. Ive tried different version of the software, but nothing works.

In this vein, though, thoughts on this PC?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J5RPC32/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It seems like it's underpriced compared to PCPartPicker. Price might be a glitch.

Please forgive my noobishness here, but to my very untrained eye, it seems like this pre-built Prime Day deal has basically the same or better parts for a bit cheaper? I mean the 1 TB SSD sounds like an upgrade, but that's not exactly the most important part of the rig, right? Please tell me if I'm wrong here, it doesn't seem like this can be the case.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J5RPC32/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

​

Is this worth it?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J5RPC32/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Yup! Ended up going with this build:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J5RPC32/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and this monitor:

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-27-gaming-monitor-s2719dgf/apd/210-arcj/monitors-monitor-accessories

This actually was $300.00 flat on the Dell website a few days ago but I just checked and it's $300.00 at Best Buy still. I was able to price match at Frys. Pretty damn good deal.

You need $700+ for a decent PC, like this one for $749. Anything cheaper looks really bad, unless you manage to find a good deal somewhere else.

You can drop $100 off that price if you are willing to build it yourself.

You can cut cost and get just as good of a processor by buying an AMD ryzen processor. Ryzen 2600 performs just as well as a majority of I7's out there. However 32GB is a must.

​

You can get some pretty decent ones on amazon, if your not into building your own.

With I7 level processors you won't really get better bang for your buck than with a Ryzen CPU.

​

Like this listing here:

​

https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Blaze-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07RHBLV7F/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=ryzen%2Bskytech&qid=1566628263&s=gateway&sr=8-9&th=1

​

You will however have to upgrade the RAM.

​

Renders really fast.

This is the pc

https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Blaze-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07RHBLV7F

This one has a GTX 1660 and would have a bit more performance, if it's worth it to you:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RHBLV7F/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_7PdBDb42WYBEA

There's also one with a 1660ti but it seemed like too much of a price increase over the regular 1660

Now I need to decide if I just buy this below https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Blaze-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07RHBLV7F/ref=as_li_ss_tl?keywords=SkyTech+Blaze+II+Gaming+Computer+PC&qid=1573566582&s=electronics&sr=1-2&linkCode=ll1&tag=leon098-20&linkId=de4a1066671c0227d65b039c3cd96ad5&language=en_US
It seems like the Amazon one might have a what ever power supply and I need to buy more RAM.
Or build myself one base of what we discuss in here. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Nj2hyk

I found these 2, but for the life of me I couldn't find one with 16GB or RAM.

$710 - CYBERPOWERPC - i5-9400F, B360, GTX 1660, 8GB (1x8GB, 2400), 240GB SSD, 1TB HDD, WiFi

$660 - SkyTech - Ryzen 5 2600, GTX 1660, 8GB (1x8GB, 3000), 500G SSD, WiFi

I'm leaning towards the Ryzen pc. I like the faster memory, and while it has less storage, I personally would prefer the larger 500GB SSD over an 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD combo.

One thing to also keep in mind is that it is a single stick of memory. Having 8GB of RAM in dual channel (2 sticks that are 4GB each) is better than single channel (1 stick that is 8GB), but having a single 8GB stick means that in the future, if you do decide to upgrade to 16GB, you will be able to run the most ideal RAM setup for gaming (2 sticks that are 8GB each)

​

For reference:

1 stick of RAM that is 8GB 3000 would cost around $30-40. It's a large margin cause ideally you want to buy the same model that is in your current rig so they match. While it isn't required, running RAM at the same speed and latency (and same DRAM cache modules) is ideal.

1-2TB HDDs are around $30-50

​

Both of these are also very easy to install.

https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Blaze-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07RHBLV7F/

​

looking through amazon that seemed like a pretty good deal.

I recently purchased this PC and it runs great imo.

https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Blaze-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07RHBLV7F

This is a much better deal https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-Desktop-Processor-Graphics/dp/B07Q3G3B67/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=gaming+pc&qid=1571615867&sr=8-6 if you have a bit more go for https://www.amazon.com/SkyTech-Blaze-Gaming-Computer-Desktop/dp/B07RHBLV7F/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?keywords=gaming+pc&qid=1571615867&sr=8-13

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07RHBLV7F
It's really good for around $750 and it would do you great

damn I was gonna buy it today but its sold out, I found something that looks similar but I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at, mind taking a look?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07RHBLV7F/ref=psdcmw_13896597011_t1_B07RL4K6CN

From the pre-built I got: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07RHBLV7F?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Came with one 8gb stick from Ballistix, got it when it was 660 (so pretty good deal for me along with the dell 24in monitor that's been here) I've been playing mostly apex tbh lol but damn not gonna lie it looks alot better on my pc then it does my ps4. (Have it at max settings and get around 100 fps) Going to mostly be playing light games like Apex and streaming going to stay with other triple A titles on console so I haven't pushed it to it's max, however these two PC's might go harder considering they have better specs and can be pushed more. I just wanted peeps to know that the company is pretty decent with builds if you wanna buy a pre-built or go to their website and pick parts so they can build it how you want (considered that first)

Here's another option to consider. I just bought this. I haven't unboxed it yet but it will be a big upgrade from what I have.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RHBLV7F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Supreme Liquid Cool Gaming PC Desktop, Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6GHz, NVIDIA RTX 2070 Super 8GB Graphics, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCI-E NVMe SSD, WiFi Ready & Win 10 Home (SLC8260A2, Black) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_41yHDbEJNN41Q

These are good deals https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B07TRPGRB6/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&qid=1574637397

for $1169

​

https://www.amazon.com/CyberpowerPC-Supreme-i7-9700K-GeForce-SLC8260A2/dp/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=2070+super+9700k&qid=1574637519&sr=8-1

for $1377

​

https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Element-9260-i7-9700F/dp/B07V34QQ3C/ref=pd_cp_147_4/137-1960775-7687407?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07V34QQ3C&pd_rd_r=d241fd98-67b0-4067-88d3-d254d097e589&pd_rd_w=SJXU9&pd_rd_wg=XoJ0G&pf_rd_p=0e5324e1-c848-4872-bbd5-5be6baedf80e&pf_rd_r=PV1WSR9NNXNKR5MSADQ1&psc=1&refRID=PV1WSR9NNXNKR5MSADQ1

for $999

This pc I was looking: https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-Supreme-Liquid-Microsoft-Student/dp/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_es_US=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&keywords=Pc+2070&qid=1573708711&sr=8-1
Also the laptop I was looking (2070): https://www.amazon.com/Valkit-Bandas-1-654-unidades-inoxidable/dp/B07QVRVP73/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_es_US=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=2JV8ZOMHVAIQ0&keywords=aero%2B15&qid=1573708742&sprefix=Aero%2B%2Caps%2C216&sr=8-2&th=1

Sorry if this is hijacking, but do yall think this would be good for endgames?

Some people don't want to build, and that's fine.

I'd probably get this one with your budget and tat leaves a good chunk for some nice peripherals.

https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-Supreme-i7-9700K-Graphics-SLC8260A2/dp/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=gaming+desktop&qid=1571556160&sr=8-6

Sorry if this is the wrong thread, but I'm looking to get a new pc, and saw this on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VFFCQ6L?pf_rd_p=183f5289-9dc0-416f-942e-e8f213ef368b&pf_rd_r=37KJMF7G5GFVQVCGHAKE

What do you guys think about the spec and price, just looking for something to game on and what not.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VFFCQ6L/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_PCDTMC_3c1_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-2&pf_rd_r=FKGJ396TEK3FC7PEESP3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=cc6ce7f4-6826-447b-95fb-77ea81ceedc8&pf_rd_i=565098

This is the one I had my eye on. If it makes a huge difference I game at 1440p @ 75 FPS most often.

Also, thanks for the help man.

> I need to upgrade my CPU (to prevent bottlenecking),

Correct. But, if you're playing at 4K or high 1440P, you might scrape by a bit further.

> I saw this deal https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VFFCQ6L.

Only downside (assuming decent PSU, board, and cooler) is the 2400mhz RAM speed.

And, "1 year parts warranty" is a scam. Every part bought yourself should have about 3+ years.

> I did some quick math and basically upgrading with a new psu, mobo, cpu, and gpu would be around the same price point as this prebuilt.

With Intel and Nvidia, pretty much. But, why would you need a new PSU and case?

> I thought the point of pcgaming was supposed to be cheaper as you go along since you can upgrade, which makes me REE.

If you want a cheaper option similar in performance (ignore the red banner): https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hgB6Xv

Reasoning:

• https://old.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/cbsdbf/ryzen_3000_zen_2_meta_review_1540_application/
  
  
• https://old.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/ch42mt/radeon_rx_5700_5700_xt_meta_review_5130/
  
  
• Ryzen 3600 vs Intel 9900k GPU scaling.
  
  Caveats:
  
  
• https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/d06pab/out_of_the_loop_what_is_currently_going_on_with/ez9olcm/

I haven't upgraded my PC in a while. My current PC has a i7 4th gen and gtx 980 alongside miscellaneous.

I wanted to upgrade my GPU to a RTX 2070 Super, but I need to upgrade my CPU (to prevent bottlenecking), which requires me to upgrade my mobo for CPU compatibility.


I saw this deal https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VFFCQ6L.

I did some quick math and basically upgrading with a new psu, mobo, cpu, and gpu would be around the same price point as this prebuilt.


I thought the point of pcgaming was supposed to be cheaper as you go along since you can upgrade, which makes me REE.


My question is should I upgrade individual parts or just pull the trigger on this?

I was looking at this ThinkServer:

> Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 70A4001LUX 5U Tower Server (3.2 GHz Intel Xeon E3-1225 v3 Processor, 4 GB ECC RAM, No HDD, DVD-ROM, No OS) Black
>
> by Lenovo
>
> Link: http://amzn.com/B00FE29IWK

There is a cheaper i3 version available (linked on that page), and one with a 500gb hard drive.

I would recommend using VMWare ESXI to virtualize some of your stuff so you can move it around more easily.

Hard drives: One smaller drive of any type, but SSD would be the best if expensive choice, to run your OS. For your media storage, WD Reds, size of your choice.

Honestly, you might as well just buy a desktop and an ultraportable laptop. Here's a decent option if you don't want to build a PC yourself:

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Desktop-G11CD-WB51-GeForce-processor/dp/B01K1JWCAK/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1504341020&sr=1-2&keywords=1070

With the GTX 1070, you'll be able to handle pretty much any game at 1080p at 100+ FPS. Invest the rest of your money into a decent ultraportable like a UX330UA or something so you have something that's portable and won't run out of battery before you get to class. Unless you really need something portable and powerful, a desktop + laptop combo will be better 9/10 times.

Usually, with a budget like that, you want to go with a prebuild. Here is a nice option: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KLSMWVA/ref=twister_B01M4HGMFW?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
It is a bit over budget, but it will do what you need it to do.

CYBERPOWERPC Gamer Xtreme VR Ready GXiVR8020A3 Desktop Gaming PC (Intel Quad Core i5-7400 3.0GHz, AMD RX 580 4GB Graphics, 8GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB 7200RPM HDD, 802.11AC WIFI, Win 10 Home), Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NG75BW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_KA.OzbB2D1JQ4

Getting a laptop for gaming is legit pointless unless you can not fit a system in your house:this is $200 more but its recommended

If you can get a desktop then what most people recommend is this + acer monitor

Is this a joke? With this you’ll be lucky to run most games at 30fps on 1080p. This ones a bit out of budget but could probably be the best performance you could get at this price for a prebuilt

Amazon price is $856.76

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BR5GK1V/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_UYSZCb0PRAD2Y

As u/prutseratwork stated, the pfSense store is where the official pfSense boxes are sold. I don't think that those would really meet your "ungodly amount" criteria. They are insanely expensive for what you're actually getting. Not to say that supporting the team isn't a good cause, because it is. It's a very good cause. But when you need a solution and money is tight, the official store may not be your best option.

pfSense is based on FreeBSD, which does support wifi. However, its use is generally discouraged, because it's trash. If you want to use pfSense, you should also have a separate access point. Note that you can (and likely should) use your existing router for this. You would simply disable the firewall on your current router, making it a switch with built-in wifi, and insert pfSense into your network directly after the modem. So, Modem > pfSense > old router.

Not having the technical ability to build a system is going to be a problem. Your cheapest option is to buy a system that is pre-built, but doesn't come with an SSD or memory. You'll have to purchase those separately and install them yourself. You need to ask yourself if that is going to be too much work - because if so, pfSense is not for you. It's going to be a lot of work and learning.

Pre-built systems (you install SDD, memory, and pfSense)

https://www.amazon.com/Firewall-Micro-Appliance-Gigabit-Barebone/dp/B01GIVQI3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498485157&sr=8-1&keywords=qotom

https://www.amazon.com/Barebones-Firewall-Intel-Ports-Celeron/dp/B01MEGSMRZ/ref=sr_1_21?ie=UTF8&qid=1498485291&sr=8-21&keywords=qotom

I bought a Qotom box a long time ago for about $150. It had 4 Realtek ports, though. Intel is definitely the preferred solution.


If none of these sound good to you, look into Ubiquiti Security Gateway.

> https://www.amazon.com/iBUYPOWER-Computer-Desktop-i7-9700k-9230/dp/B07J5RPC32/
>
>
>Posted without the referral link.

Oh shit i didn't even realize.. i linked the Amazon link i was already looking at (my first post here)

Was considering this until i saw the same Archangel Gaming Desktop on amazon for roughly the same price. Then realized that the shipping wouldn't arrive until nov 29. Is there something I'm missing?