PC gaming

[brehme1989]

Yes I know 2k can get me a good one but I want to see any other options that I may have missed.

My intention is to go for an SSD with a second HDD.

And I'm looking for the best processor in the market as I don't want to lag behind.

I find it funny and ironic that most standard PCs I find have i5 and 8GB RAM and cost even more than my 7 year old laptop which has an i7 and 12 GB RAM..

My aim is to go for i9 or the AMD equivalent. Found a tower which costs 1,800 excluding the monitors (which I'll need at least two of, ideal is 4). And I want those to be the same quality and I don't want the cheapest ones out there and I know these cost at least around 150-200 each for the decent quality ones. Keyboard and mouse are irrelevant, can find them for 20 euros and I also have the Bloomberg one just in case.

I do play some games but most are old ones like Red Alert 2 and Age of Empires 2 or less demanding ones in terms of graphics such as Football Manager.

 

[Harpsabu]

Yes I know 2k can get me a good one but I want to see any other options that I may have missed.

My intention is to go for an SSD with a second HDD.

And I'm looking for the best processor in the market as I don't want to lag behind.

I find it funny and ironic that most standard PCs I find have i5 and 8GB RAM and cost even more than my 7 year old laptop which has an i7 and 12 GB RAM..

My aim is to go for i9 or the AMD equivalent. Found a tower which costs 1,800 excluding the monitors (which I'll need at least two of, ideal is 4). And I want those to be the same quality and I don't want the cheapest ones out there and I know these cost at least around 150-200 each for the decent quality ones. Keyboard and mouse are irrelevant, can find them for 20 euros and I also have the Bloomberg one just in case.

I do play some games but most are old ones like Red Alert 2 and Age of Empires 2 or less demanding ones in terms of graphics such as Football Manager.

Aoe2?? The new one or HD? I love that game. What's your ELO?

 

[brehme1989]

What's even the ELO? I don't play online if it's related which I assume it is. I just play single player, mostly customizing random shit just for fun. But it's been a long while since I last played. Origin also doesn't load up Red Alert 2 now for some reason and I don't know why It just starts syncing and then poof, nothing.
I have both versions but the HD version is the one I used the most due to system requirements.

I am anticipating the Age of Empires 4 game though, figured it'd be out by now but it's going to be like Gran Turismo in PS4 apparently, ie. not coming out

I mostly play Europa Universalis 4 and Imperator:Rome these days. Waiting for Crusader Kings 3 to be launched as well from the same developers.

 

[Harpsabu]

What's even the ELO? I don't play online if it's related which I assume it is. I just play single player, mostly customizing random shit just for fun. But it's been a long while since I last played. Origin also doesn't load up Red Alert 2 now for some reason and I don't know why It just starts syncing and then poof, nothing.
I have both versions but the HD version is the one I used the most due to system requirements.

I am anticipating the Age of Empires 4 game though, figured it'd be out by now but it's going to be like Gran Turismo in PS4 apparently, ie. not coming out

I mostly play Europa Universalis 4 and Imperator:Rome these days. Waiting for Crusader Kings 3 to be launched as well from the same developers.

Ah yeah elo is basically just like your online rank. It's a fun game online you should give it a go sometime. Really difficult though but the community is mostly great.

 

[syrus]

A.O.E as in age of empires ?? Man that game cost me some serious university study time. ( Showing my age )

- - - Updated - - -

Yes I know 2k can get me a good one but I want to see any other options that I may have missed.

My intention is to go for an SSD with a second HDD.

And I'm looking for the best processor in the market as I don't want to lag behind.

I find it funny and ironic that most standard PCs I find have i5 and 8GB RAM and cost even more than my 7 year old laptop which has an i7 and 12 GB RAM..

My aim is to go for i9 or the AMD equivalent. Found a tower which costs 1,800 excluding the monitors (which I'll need at least two of, ideal is 4). And I want those to be the same quality and I don't want the cheapest ones out there and I know these cost at least around 150-200 each for the decent quality ones. Keyboard and mouse are irrelevant, can find them for 20 euros and I also have the Bloomberg one just in case.

.

That's all good in all , but before you start chucking £££ into graphics cards, add and processors make sure you get an decent Motherboard.

 

[brehme1989]

Obviously, the Motherboard is key. Felt that bitch ~15 years ago when my laptop collapsed and ever since the Motherboard is always my priority.

Nobody knows of any international e-shop? I know several local ones in various countries but most do not ship internationally.

 

[syrus]

Obviously, the Motherboard is key. Felt that bitch ~15 years ago when my laptop collapsed and ever since the Motherboard is always my priority.

Nobody knows of any international e-shop? I know several local ones in various countries but most do not ship internationally.

Go for a Asus board have always been rock (excuse the pun) solid for me.

 

[Wobblz]

I'd just buy a Macbook Pro with that budget you're having. No need to over-complicate it.

 

[brehme1989]

I'd just buy a Macbook Pro with that budget you're having. No need to over-complicate it.

Not interested in hipster machinery

 

[nurko]

Not interested in hipster machinery

Being someone that has long shared that opinion, then switched to Macbook Pro, used it for 2 years and then again switched to Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon (work reasons), I would say you might reconsider.

Although, it would be better to buy Macbook Pro 16 inch due to better keyboard.

 

[Wobblz]

Not interested in hipster machinery

Ah, unsurprisingly you hold yet another strong (possibly baseless) opinion on something.

I've used PCs my whole life but always worked on iMacs/Macbook Pros at the places I was employed. Yes, they are more expensive and they have that hipster stigma attached but if you can afford one it is an extremely well built and designed machine that works without fail and is delightful to use. Go to an Apple store and see for yourself, if you haven't tried interacting with Apple products.

Let's not forget that hipsters buy iPhones and EarPods, overpriced status symbols. Macbook Pros, iMacs and Mac Pros are actually well respected work machines.

 

[brehme1989]

Lol I know. They are great but they're just not for me.

They're not compatible with neither the Bloomberg nor the Eikon (Reuters/Refinitiv) terminals so it's a huge problem for me.

And I don't want a laptop since I need something stationary and possibly up to 4 screens. Their iMac is really good, but also not for me.

Apple computers are great for guys in design and the artisty type and can be great for people who just want a simple computer that gets to the internet without many problems, but that's not me. I'm quite uncomfortable with Apple products in general, find them confusing to navigate.

 

[Wobblz]

Yeah, I get it. If you need specific software that only runs on PC, then by all means, Macs are beyond useless for your purposes.

About the screens - check out ultrawide screens. Maybe two stacked on top of each others would deliver a better experience than four separate ones.

 

[brehme1989]

Actually didn't think of that. A couple of friends have those wide screens and they seem quite nice. Will check it out, from my understanding these things can be found at relatively good prices at 300 euros or something, whereas a normal screen can cost 180 euros or so.

Are they actually selling it like that?

 

[Wobblz]

Nope, it's actually a bit tricky to stack displays like that. You'll need a monitor arm or two and those are a whole different purchase - different brands and ways to mount them. Actually you'll need a monitor arm in all multi-display configurations. Even trickier for four different displays that have to be mounted in a particular way. Of course it all depends on your desk space and needs.

At this point I'm even thinking it's cheaper, per inch, to get an ultrawide monitor. The matrix itself is probably the cheapest part of the bundle. All the inputs, buttons, packaging, cables and circuitry that makes out the rest of the display probably cost a lot more to manufacture. So you should be getting more screen estate for the money. Haven't researched it that deeply though.

This guy has some interesting videos on the subject.

 

[Fapuccino]

I use Macbooks cause I'm forced to because of certain software, but they are overpriced crap. You can get much better specs for less.

Especially these atrocious butterfly keyboards. I have 2-3 keys that are fucked <2 years in.

 

[Wobblz]

Specs =/= performance, especially in Apple's case where they write their own OS. Keyboards are a horror story tho, I agree.

 

[nurko]

Specs =/= performance, especially in Apple's case where they write their own OS. Keyboards are a horror story tho, I agree.

I can confirm this, it goes well beyond RAM and CPU numbers when it comes to Macbook Pro or even Air. In our company, we compared 2017 Lenovo laptop with on paper better specs and 2015 Macbook Pro 15' for different software development purposes including running huge number of automated tests, unit tests and building and running large projects. Macbook Pro performed up to 5 times better in some areas.

 

[syrus]

The Mac OS is frustrating as fuck
If you like the hardware from apple .. just install VMware and run a dual boot.

Personally I rather build my own workstation
And for laptops I am running a Asus Zenbook no complaints at all

 

[Fapuccino]

Specs =/= performance, especially in Apple's case where they write their own OS. Keyboards are a horror story tho, I agree.

Oh bollocks. There's only so much you can optimize by making your own OS/hardware. Third party applications will bloat the shit out of your computer.

They make this argument for their phones too, but you can't tell me an iPhone with 4GBs of RAM is equivalent to a 16 GB Samsung phone.

I can confirm this, it goes well beyond RAM and CPU numbers when it comes to Macbook Pro or even Air. In our company, we compared 2017 Lenovo laptop with on paper better specs and 2015 Macbook Pro 15' for different software development purposes including running huge number of automated tests, unit tests and building and running large projects. Macbook Pro performed up to 5 times better in some areas.

Were you running apps designed for different native environments? That might have been your problem. A MacOS app is not a Windows app, despite them having the same name and being made by the same company.