Computer selection - please advice

[troutsqueezer]

Honestly, unless your needs are very specific, like extensive video processing or extreme CAD situations, my impression is you are over-thinking it. Any of the systems you have brought to light so far will likely do just fine for you. If you find a shortcoming in one component, you can always upgrade just that component. Just stay away from AMD processors (coming from a retired Intel employee and current stockholder)

 

[dmccarty]

OK, so my drama continues :laughing::laughing:....

I would tell you to buy the danged computer already!

Except I have not bought mine either! :laughing::laughing::laughing:

I do not like to spend money. No, I do not!

I have been tracking the price of the laptop I think I will buy and the price moves from 10-28% off list price. Usually 10-25%. Over the weekend, there was a sale that was 25% off that ended Monday. They extended the sale to the end of the month but the price was ONLY 20% off. :laughing::laughing::laughing: This allows me to procrastinate even more!

However, last night I was thinking of another reason to have the new system and I kinda, almost, sorta, maybe, wished I had ordered the systems over the weekend. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Sounds like the new store is going to work a closely with you to go over the exact components and specification you might need. That is good. I am still debating with myself on some of the features I want/need and these are not always easy choices.

Later,
Dan

 

[dmccarty]

Someone just sent me this link.

System Build - PCPartPicker It allows you to select components to build a system and it lists the cheapest place to buy the parts. You really have to know what parts you want to buy thought but you already have the list. I don't know if the price will help you but they components are rated which is interesting.

Later,
Dan

 

[ArtMech]

... my impression is you are over-thinking it...

But Dan says it's correct to go over the components :confused3:. Moreover nearly all the guys advise to think about each bloody computer part, nearly in each reply :confused3:. I don't like this job, but I'm just obedient to all of the nice advisers here. :confused3: Including you, Dennis. :confused3:

And still I do not regret! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Western]

Your making good progress and I agree about not needing the "K", that is for overclocking and you really wont need that with 4 cores. Also when using overclocks, your PC temps can be higher, so cooling becomes more important. Dont think you need the Overclocked VGA either..for what your doing.

Price looks far on that build. I would get the WIN 7 64 bit OS for sure.

 

[ArtMech]

Someone just sent me this link.

System Build - PCPartPicker It allows you to select components to build a system and it lists the cheapest place to buy the parts. You really have to know what parts you want to buy thought but you already have the list. I don't know if the price will help you but they components are rated which is interesting.

Later,
Dan

Your list is very helpful, I've checked each component to that list. My "final" :laughing: main parts' list yesterday was as follows:
1. Processor: Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I73770 - Newegg.com
2. Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com
3. Memory: Kingston HyperX 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX16C9/8 - Newegg.com
4. SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-128G Solid State Drive - Newegg.com
5. Hard Drive: Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX Internal Hard Drive - Newegg.com
6. Video Card: GIGABYTE GV-N66TWF2-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - Newegg.com
7. PSU: VS Series
But today I was friendly asked by a salesman to wait for 1.5-2 more weeks. Why? See just below, in the answer to Dennis.

Your making good progress and I agree about not needing the "K", that is for overclocking and you really wont need that with 4 cores. Also when using overclocks, your PC temps can be higher, so cooling becomes more important. Dont think you need the Overclocked VGA either..for what your doing.

Price looks far on that build. I would get the WIN 7 64 bit OS for sure.

Thank you But my salesman is going to go to the conference where the new generation of processors HASWELL will be introduced which will replace IVY BRIDGE family.
Haswell (microarchitecture) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Soon thereafter (max 2 weeks later) these new processors will be dropped in the market here, a guy confirmed. He said their cost insrease in about $25-$40 comparing to current Ivy Bridge price. Motherboard will be also different. So it's better to wait for the news to come.
Knowing nothing what can I do else, I agreed to wait. :confused3:

Dan, my final parts list yesterday is equalized to total suspense of order today. :confused2:

 

[troutsqueezer]

I worked on Haswell before I left Intel. I'm sure you realize that right on the heels of Haswell, already well on the path to production, is a host of processors even more powerful and energy efficient, right? As soon as you bite the bullet, there will be another, better product for sale. That's the nature of the business. That's one reason why I stated you might be over-thinking this.

 

[ArtMech]

I worked on Haswell before I left Intel. I'm sure you realize that right on the heels of Haswell, already well on the path to production, is a host of processors even more powerful and energy efficient, right? As soon as you bite the bullet, there will be another, better product for sale. That's the nature of the business. That's one reason why I stated you might be over-thinking this.

Dennis, how could I disagree with you? I'm sure you knew that coming. Same goes in car business. And in many others. It's a simple coincidence something new in IT came on at the time when I need to purchase it. You could see I was not hunting. I'm only a poor swimmer in a wildwater looking for a riverside rock to grab so to get out of it. :laughing::laughing:

 

[ArtMech]

Sorry guys for incorrect forecast. My salesman was very optimistic, but later on he has corrected the Haswell date of introduction here. Now it'll be June in my area. Motherboard issue is unknown yet.
One of the shops already has a desktop for sale I (would) need - i7-3770, GTX660, PSU750W... But I refused on behalf of Haswell. I'd be glad if you'll kill me if I'm wrong.
I'll keep you informed on the process as promised.

 

[dmccarty]

I ordered my laptop earlier this month and it showed up earlier than expected on Friday morning. I patiently waited until I was off the clock and got some other stuff done with the kids to open the box. Woo HOO!!!

Boy, did they $%^&*()_ up the system. The power supply has a two pronged connector that fits into the laptop. The laptop connection is round and the two prong plug will not fit. After a couple of hours talking to the company I realized that the laptop had the connection for a lower wattage power supply. I remembered that my old work supplied laptops had the round connector which were at least 65 and 135 watts. The new models are 170 watts. Looking at online reviews I found a photo that confirmed the connection should accept the two pronged plug so I have the right power supply but the laptop was not built correctly. :confused3::shocked:

HOW they managed to $%^&*() that up is worrisome. :confused2: After I realized what was wrong, I spent more time getting a return number. They scheduled a pickup at our house and said I would be sent labels to put on the box. Well, the email never was sent so I spent more time on the phone today getting the email then I took a bunch of photos of the problem and the system packaged up including the labels. What a PITA. We have bought quite a few laptops over the years from this company for our family and thankfully this is the only time there has been a mistake.

At this point I have wasted a good five hours dealing with this mess. Not really happy about that lost time since I had better things to do. Monday I am going to call up and see if I can get a new order for the same configuration with the price adjusted to reflect their FUBAR. I doubt I will get a price reduction but I am surely going to try. Interestingly, they would not allow me to escalate to a manager on Friday. We shall see what happens on Monday when I try to order a new system.

All in all, of the three things that go delivered on Friday, if one of them had to be messed up, I am glad it was the laptop otherwise we would have had some unhappy kids. I would rather have to deal with this nonsense than have my kids disappointed.

Later,
Dan