New PC Recommendation

[Rhaegar]

Hi everyone! My hard drive just died and I decided to get a new PC. Can I get a recommendation? Budget is $1,500 to $1,600. I pretty much need everything new except for speakers, mouse and keyboard. Games I'm playing/will be playing include Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, Guild Wars 2 and Skyrim.

For comparison, here are my current PC's specs.

MS Windows XP Home 32-bit SP3
AMD Phenom II X4 920
4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz
BIOSTAR Group TA790GX 128M
DELL SP1908FP (1280x1024@60Hz)
HIS Radeon HD 6850
244GB Seagate ST3250620AS (SATA)
ATI Function Driver for High Definition Audio

1) Not sure if I should reuse my GPU or get a new one. I prefer Nvidia cos of PhysX and I seem to run into fewer problems with their cards than with AMD.
2) Looking to go with Windows 8 for my OS
3) Won't be overclocking as I'm quite noob when it comes to that.

Here's my current build I picked out from PCThemes. Most pyobably I'll be getting everything there and assembling there as well.

CPU & Mobo: i5-3570 & ASrock B75M-DGS @ $346
Ram: G.Skill 1600mhz value ram 8GB @ $77
ODD: Samsung DVD RW @ $25
HDD: Hitachi Enterprise 1TB @ $99
SSD: Plextor M5P 128GB @ $159
GPU + PSU: MSI GTX 660 Twin Frozr with Seasonic S12II @ $399 Bundle at PCThemes)
Case: Sharkoon T28 @ $89
OS: Windows 8 64-bit OEM @ $163
Monitor: Dell U2312HM @ $255

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Hi everyone! My hard drive just died and I decided to get a new PC. Can I get a recommendation? Budget is $1,500 to $1,600. I pretty much need everything new except for speakers, mouse and keyboard. Games I'm playing/will be playing include Bioshock Infinite, Borderlands 2, Guild Wars 2 and Skyrim.

For comparison, here are my current PC's specs.

MS Windows XP Home 32-bit SP3
AMD Phenom II X4 920
4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz
BIOSTAR Group TA790GX 128M
DELL SP1908FP (1280x1024@60Hz)
HIS Radeon HD 6850
244GB Seagate ST3250620AS (SATA)
ATI Function Driver for High Definition Audio

1) Not sure if I should reuse my GPU or get a new one. I prefer Nvidia cos of PhysX and I seem to run into fewer problems with their cards than with AMD.
2) Looking to go with Windows 8 for my OS
3) Won't be overclocking as I'm quite noob when it comes to that.

Here's my current build I picked out from PCThemes. Most pyobably I'll be getting everything there and assembling there as well.

CPU & Mobo: i5-3570 & ASrock B75M-DGS @ $346
Ram: G.Skill 1600mhz value ram 8GB @ $77
ODD: Samsung DVD RW @ $25
HDD: Hitachi Enterprise 1TB @ $99
SSD: Plextor M5P 128GB @ $159
GPU + PSU: MSI GTX 660 Twin Frozr with Seasonic S12II @ $399 Bundle at PCThemes)
Case: Sharkoon T28 @ $89
OS: Windows 8 64-bit OEM @ $163
Monitor: Dell U2312HM @ $255

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

Going to a different shop just a few units away and a floor will get you something much better.

And please try out Windows 8 before deciding on it as it runs on a very radical and different UI that can be annoying to some.

CPU+MB: Intel Core i5-3470 + ASRock B75M-DGS @ $302
RAM: ADATA Premier DDR3-1600 CL11 8GB @ $63*
GPU: PowerColor HD 7970 3GB @ $499*
Performance likened to a GTX 680.
Comes with free Bioshock Infinite and Crysis 3 game with AMD Never Settle Reloaded coupon.
SSD: Plextor M5S 128GB @ $125*
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB @ $81*
ODD: Samsung 24X CD/DVD Writer [OEM] @ $21
PSU: FSP Raider 550W [80 Plus Bronze] @ $78
CASE: Cooler Master Elite 311 [USB 3.0] @ $59
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit [OEM] @ $110
DSP: Dell UltraSharp U2312HM 23" LED [eIPS] @ $250

Total: $1588

Buy + Build at Best Buy Computers, #05-21.

*System bundle discounts

P.S: Next gen Intel Haswell featuring new CPU socket LGA1150 will be arriving in 2 months' time.

 

[Rhaegar]

Thanks, Moneyface!

I'd like to go with Windows 8 for the better performance throughout and the tighter security. Anyway, the Metro UI can be easily ignored so it's not too bad.

Let me look at the rest of the stuff you recommended. Generally speaking, it looks like your focus is on a much better GPU card, right?

PS. I'm looking at the price list and your recommendations and I'm not sure how the bundle pricing works. How are the various parts bundled?

 

[MoneyFace =p]

Thanks, Moneyface!

I'd like to go with Windows 8 for the better performance throughout and the tighter security. Anyway, the Metro UI can be easily ignored so it's not too bad.

Let me look at the rest of the stuff you recommended. Generally speaking, it looks like your focus is on a much better GPU card, right?

PS. I'm looking at the price list and your recommendations and I'm not sure how the bundle pricing works. How are the various parts bundled?

Windows 8 doesn't provide any sort of perceivable performance improvement you want to see and you will not be able to get rid of encountering Metro UI which is tightly integrated into the overall UI, even if you've installed Start8.

Yup the rest pretty much should suffice the mainstream users like you, but a highest tier card will definitely improve your gaming experience. And you can make use of the spare $12 as buffer fund for any chassis that you had your eyes on.

Bundled pricing only takes into effect when you buy everything from them, usually PC chassis itself.

 

[Rhaegar]

Okay, thanks! I should be going down to Sim Lim this Wednesday. Thanks for all your help!