Had to buy a GAMING computer tower....well, sort of "had to"
Locust Fork
Member Posts: 31,994 ✭✭✭✭
My computer shut down unexpectedly the other day…..wouldn't let me log in, said I had attempted too many times even though I had not. So, a few days passed and it happened again this morning. My brother said it sounds like a hardware issue and he'd look at it when he has time. For now, my trust in this machine is gone, so I ran out this morning to buy a replacement.
It turns out the days of runing down the road and buying a tower is gone….you can buy sets of "stuff" with the monitors, crappy keyboards and such. You can order something….but in stock the only towers they have they call GAMING machines. Its so they can charge you more. Its got a better video card, bigger hard drive…..but the MAIN thing is the ridiculous tower with the clear side, so you can see the fancy lit up guts of the thing.
I'm somebody now guys……
Comments
Too late, but you could've had a refurbished business machine from Woot! or NewEgg.
Can I ask where you went that only had gaming-grade PC towers available? That sounds really odd, but it's not that I don't believe you: I'm just curious.
Well, now that you've got power you might as well use it. Need help setting up a Steam account? I've got a number of recommendations based on genre.
There are only two places within driving distance of me that had desk top computers "in stock"…..either Best Buy, or Sams. A little further out and I could go to Office Depot, but none of them had anything other than bundle deals in stock with the keyboard, monitors and such included (that I do not need.) The cheapest bundle was $800 at Sams….but for $900 I could get the gaming computer. For what its worth I'd rather have the gaming tower over the bundle machine for that price difference.
My brother has been after me HARD to play Starcraft for as long as I can remember. I don't play on my computer though…..he and my husband both do. I have too much work to do all of the time on my machine. When I'm done working I really want AWAY from my desk.
I don't suppose I could ask for pictures? I'm a real fan of gaming PCs, and I'm interested in seeing what $900 gets you even if it's what's called a "prebuilt".
I'm going to assume you mean Starcraft 2 there, or are your husband and brother hardcore enough to still be playing Starcraft 1?
I get you, either way. I mean I'm the complete opposite, I come home from my desk job to stare at my home PC all night, but I get it.
https://www.samsclub.com/p/cyberpowerpc-gamer-supreme-liquid-cool-slc6600sam-w-intel-core-i7-13700f-2-1ghz/P03021056?xid=plp_product_2
It shows $1100 on the website, but it was $900 in the store….I think they are getting rid of this model.
Heck, you could have had Forge's grandson build you one!
I should have a backup machine at the ready for when things go down here….but if I did that my machine would last until the end of time.
And I thought I was doing good with an Nvidia 1050Ti card. A 4060? Ooooeeee! I could finally run DCS without the side of the tower glowing orange.🤣
The last time I was in a little computer store around me that specialized in gaming machines he had liquid cooled machines! B.T.W. Kasey, you have been "somebody" for many of us for a long time.
Awwww…..you are too sweet.
I have noticed a very big difference with this one and my last machine. Its a LOT faster in every way. I'm pretty happy.
The switch over was quick too because everything is on the cloud. I just had to log in and it was all there.
Just looked over the spec sheet and honestly? For $900 you ended up getting a pretty solid machine. If they were trying to get rid of these, it's probably due to the 4000-series RTX graphics card. It's not a bad card (it's great!) but the 4000 series ended up being only a marginal improvement over the 3000 series cards that came before it, so people who had a 3000 series card didn't see a reason to upgrade and those who didn't have a card in the first place went for the cheaper 3000 series, so now Nvidia is trying to liquidate its remaining 4000s. At least, that's what I've been told but can't validate, so take this with a grain of salt.
I see this is your first taste of potent computing power, and am reminded of recently where my parents borrowed my $2000 laptop to do their taxes on and were shocked at how much better it ran than the computers they were used to. Well, if you ever want to put your new horsepower to the test, you know who to message.
I will keep you in the loop if I ever jump off into computer gaming. I've always played console games….just my little favorites, not "all" games that come out. Our internet is some of the worst speeds you'll ever see, so nobody really expects to play online who lives out here. Right now I'm killing time with Picman games….finished beating the 1st and 2nd versions recently…about to start the 3rd, then the 4th version. I always kick back to Zelda and Skyrim when I have a lot of spare time. Right now every moment is filled with work….tax season is always busy.
Why does it seem to me that all these messages are in Greek?
It's not Greek, @yonson , the 'R' is silent.
LOL @NeoBlackdog I was thinking the same.
Neo, I concur. Your logic is inescapable.
The 3000 series cards might be only marginally slower at the lower echelons. Comparing a 3090 to a 4090 isn't even close.
Along with gaming, I also do rendering, and do work for Folding@home project. My single 4090 does more work than my pair of 2080's and the 3090 COMBINED!
The 4000 series cards are supposed to be the flagship until late 2024 they say, maybe even '25 before the 5000 series come out.
I always build a very high end PC (HEDT) and use it for 5+ years but do a Nvidia graphics card refresh with every generation. My current system only has a water cooled CPU
But in the past, I have had water cooled systems cooling all major parts including CPU, GPU, memory, and even the power supply (shown below)
Locust, I think you got a great deal it would seem.
If all the bling turns out too much for you, fans can be easily swapped out and other LED's turned off or unplugged. I was into that stuff for a very brief time. Now, I like them understated and minimal lights.
Its on a shelf nobody can even see….so I don't really care about the lights and such all that much. It is pretty cool looking though. My brother spent a small fortune building a computer when he sold a house he had planned on renting that didn't work out all that well. That was the first "official" gaming computer that I saw with all the crazy lights. He is the head of I.T. for an elevator company and does play computer games.
I haven't downloaded teamviewer yet so I can get him to come in and tweak a few things for me yet, but I will do that and take him to dinner one day soon.
I have been happy with this computer….easy change over, no hiccups.
NICE!!!!
The image I had formed in my mind of you was just blown completely out of the water. Wow!
guess it has gone from a hobby to just a game now……..
Damn! That setup has a better cooling system than my Nissan.
Great now you will be playing call of duty instead of selling guns!
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
What image was in your mind for me? Now I am genuinely curious.
When I think of someone that knows computers as well as you sound like you know computers I just don't tend to think of 'gun people'. What you said up there^^^^ about this card and that card went over my head like a rocket. I know they're parts in the computer, but you sound like you could build one from scratch! Impressive!
LOL! We are all around you… i.e. IT/Computer professionals that are also in to guns…some of us just don't get too deep in to the computer queries etc. that come up on this forum because it is often funnier to read the non-pro answers folks post. Plus it often becomes to much like work trying to help folks that are often in over their heads…. just my humble opinion, but I can tell we do have many members that are in the industry and a lot of others that are the shade tree wanna-be types. Either way I'm here for the fun.
So you're tellin' me I'm surrounded by nerds? Is that what I'm hearin'?
Kidding guys. I have a lot of respect for folks that can keep these confounded machines on the tracks.
"So you're tellin' me I'm surrounded by nerds? Is that what I'm hearin'?
Kidding guys. I have a lot of respect for folks that can keep these confounded machines on the tracks."
yes @NeoBlackdog pretty much what I'm saying! LOL! in all seriousness, we have a few regular members that I know are techie types that some would call Nerds or they may prefer Geeks… However making a living in something that pays or in my case "paid" the bills to be able to retire and do other things like buy guns, tractors, land, and play at ranching/ farming whatever floats your boat doesn't necessarily define us as one thing, I have raised my own beef like you do and have some land and still grow hay for my friends that are anything from oil field workers to farmers using computers to guide their tractors to truck drivers and even some medical doctors and everything in between. Just cause I spent 30+ years in communications/IT industry doesn't mean I still don't do redneck crazy stuff! For example this is what I was doing when my phone beeped saying you had replied. Oh and yes beer was involved with the changing of the little riding mowers blades… LOL!
Oh and the first computer I built for myself in the early 80's required the use of a soldering iron and individual components (no FRUs available at the time) to kinda get back on the threads original concept. 😂
I've built systems like this. Of course it was my job for about 11 years.
And fiery auto crashes
Some will die in hot pursuit
While sifting through my ashes
Some will fall in love with life
And drink it from a fountain
That is pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I've been using computers since the Vic 20 and Commodore 64 era. I've been in the field since 1998 professionally and another 5 on the side before that. As a few longtime forum members may remember, I hurt my back and had to have multiple back surgeries. It was at that time when I realized I needed a lighter duty career and after thinking about what I had some skills and a reasonable interest in, I got into I.T. Now, I am a systems administrator where I don't work as much on desktops or laptops, but rather servers that affect our whole corporate network and to a lesser extent, the website.
I am definitely a high-tech redneck. Love the outdoors and simple life. I live in the country but work in the city. I hope to retire before usual time and move further into the remote parts of the country.
There was a night crew that was on here real late. Interstatepawn, Iconoclast, you and a few others. Don
Have been an AMD CPU user for a few years but decided to go back to Intel, excited for these parts to arrive tomorrow.
Also, in regards to building a pc, it's actually really easy. As in: if you can field-strip a gun or completely dismantle it for deep cleaning, you already have the skillset needed to put together a PC. You literally only need a screwdriver to put together all the separate components. I understand it can be overwhelming to get started, but if you know how to put a gun back together (receiver goes there, trigger housing goes there, bolt goes there…) you're just one youtube video away from learning where the PSU goes, where the motherboard goes, how to seat in a CPU, etc.
"in regards to building a pc, it's actually really easy."
Correct sorta, you are describing assembling field replaceable units (FRUs) not building… to go along with your gun analogy of field stripping cleaning and putting back together, unless you are starting with the raw, un-milled materials, you are not building anything just putting components together or changing parts. I learned back in the 80's that that would eventually happen in computers and other IT equipment which is why I switched my focus from the hardware side to the Operating system/security/networking/software side of things whilst still understanding and teaching admins the Hardware pieces also. Most things these days are not built, they are just assembled or reassembled by the end users…
My 2 cents, worth more than you had to pay😁
You are indeed surrounded by nerds of the best kind: guns and tech with the occasional recipe for BBQ.
🇺🇲 "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson 🇺🇲
@Ruger4me, I think that is splitting hairs a bit. By that definition, a vehicle isn't built since it is assembled using pre-made assemblies. Yes, compared to bread boarding a computer from scratch like one could do 35 years ago, it is assembled. But, that type of build isn't practical in this day and age except for things like the Rasberry Pi which are simple and low-end. Now things are so plug and play that it is simple (unless it messes up). It beats dip switches or jumper shunts.
Personally, I use the term built/build when something is created that didn't exist before with those materials. For instance, I built a shop, but I didn't shape the tin, forge the i-beams, or create the formula for the concrete. So by that definition, I assembled it. If it were a kit in a box like an entertainment center, I'd agree with you.
bambihunter well that kinda was my point of why I said correct sorta! If you want to say you built a shop I'm fine with that if you designed it, but if it was from a kit then you assembled it. My point was the referencing of the following " if you can field-strip a gun or completely dismantle it for deep cleaning, you already have the skillset needed to put together a PC." (bold added by me) comparing this to the first part of his post using " building a pc". yes splitting hairs and being nitpicky I know, but I was bored and this forum traditionally has to give the new folks a hard time for a short while to see if they can take it! In all seriousness we can build, assemble or tear a part whatever floats our boat. As long as no one is being mean constantly on purpose,