New Gaming PC?

So I have had the same gaming PC since 2008. It was an HP Blackbird with 2 GTX 280s in SLI mode, watercooling system, all the bells and whistles. I guess since it was so high-end back then, it has been pretty good at running games of fairly recent vintage (like Skyrim) at 1080p and high settings. I think it might be time to get something new, though. It has been a long time, but I usually buy something from Alienware, Falcon Northwest, etc. I know very little about computers and don't stay abreast of the latest tech. I think I am tired of SLI, as it is always a little buggy, you have to be careful with drivers, Best Buy can't replace your videocard, etc. So does anyone still use the boutique manufacturers, and who would you recommend? Looking for desktop, not laptop. Thanks!

I'll be short and not very informative.

1. If you don't have to (if PC still didn't fart beyond repair), do not go for new machine/upgrades till next year's second half. New tech GPUs are expected to appear which will mean massive pricedrops on current GPU technologies. It doesn't stop there. New intel's SSDs at least 6 times faster than current ones should emerge which will mean massive pricedrop on current SSD technology.

2. For a time being, avoid Skylake processors like a plague. Not because I have something against them, those are great CPUs, but are not some huge leap. It's just… Google for "skylake" and "bendgate". Till CPU bending with 3rd party cooler scandal gets sorted, grab any good "old" i5 or i7, K version if possible.

3. SLI or crossfire? Some say this some say that, I say in 2016. noone will care. The reason? DX12. Also you can check it up on google, on independant test happened that nvidia card paired with AMD card runs faster than two nVidia GPUs or two AMD GPUs. For unknown reason of course, but since we can't be sure what caused this "symbiotic" effect, the best option possible is not to buy two cards yet, but just one for the moment. Because… We're still waiting for DX12 games, ain't we?

4. Finally, Alienware? Or something else? Desktop PC?
Just don't. Combine parts by yourself. That's the only way to get "best bang for buck".

PS4, easy and cheap. Joxer approved also I believe.

Are you crazy?
Do not buy that garbage.
About a week ago I've seen spectacular headlines "Sony unlocked 7th core for developers!", I mean... wtf?!

Just don't.
You want The Witcher 3 in all it's richness.
You want all FO4 mods.
You want to be able to backup sole savegame that can go corrupted in MGS5.
You want to enjoy the only free MMO that isn't pay2win: League of Legends.
And you want all those candy indies that will never ever appear on consoles.

Adamant. http://www.adamant.com/

Bought my latest desktop from them and they not only custom built it, they include a 3 years parts AND labor warranty on it, so I'm covered for 3 years. Already they have made good on that promise. They are also very low-priced yet high quality. I paid around $1350 shipped for:

i5 4690 3.5 ghz cpu
16 gb ram
geforce 970 gpu
windows 10
dvd/rw drive
asus motherboard with several usb 3.0 ports and plenty of usb 2.0 ports
soundblaster recon3di soundcard
special case fan from a top brand of fan manufacturer (which I can't remember the name of.)
etc.

They built it for free, shipped it to my door and it's been great ever since. Would recommend them to anyone. They are based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Thanks for these thoughts. I did a bit of research and think this will be far tougher than I thought. I hadn't heard of the following:

1. 120 hz vs. 60 hz - lots of debate as to whether a gamer can tell the difference, but many swear it is important to get the framerate up and get a monitor that can support 120 or 144 hz. I'm guessing my current monitor can't.

2. 4k resolutions, or 1440p for a lesser experience - hard for me to imagine better than 1080p is necessary.

3. VR (Oculus Rift, etc.) - I assume this will need a massively powerful rig to run.

4. And I guess the trend towards SLI has only increased since 2008. In the past, I have had to turn off SLI in some older games in order to not have problems.

I'm definitely not savvy enough to build my own rig. My goal is always to order the most hassle free computer that is as future-proofed as possible, and cost is not a major concern, since this is my only hobby. I used to order a new one every three years, but the consolization of gaming caused my 2008 computer to stay up to date far longer than earlier tech curves. Sigh... now I'm not sure if I should just wait or not.

Almost completely agree to joxer:
Wait for now. If you buy a PC today you basically wasted 2 years of time. Because you have absolutely no advantage of buying a PC now over a PC 2 years ago as NOTHING happened. Except of more 700€+ graphics cards and SSDs got cheaper. As joxer said skylake isn't much of an improvement yet.

Next year we'll have:
Nvidia: Pascal Generation
AMD: Zen CPUs
Intel: New Broadwell-E CPUs, Kabylake CPUs
And maybe even the new Intel SSDs.

And if you want to usw VR just look at the recent minimum system requirements for Elite Dangerous in VR:
http://vrfocus.com/archives/26034/frontier-reveals-vr-minimum-specs-elite-dangerous-horizons/

OS: Windows 7/8/10 64 bit
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Quad Core CPU or better / AMD FX 4350 Quad Core CPU or better
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 980 with 4GB or better
Network: Broadband Internet Connection
Hard Drive: 8 GB available space

While right now this is high end, I am pretty sure that with pascal that will be some average gamer PC

1. Get good monitor, yes, in games insist on at least 60hz and lot less - it's PC not bloody phone advertised as "a console"

2. If your display is 100 feet away from you, go for 4K. If you're not playing games from bed, any resolution is good. Keep in mind that higher resolution, less or no need for antialiasing.

3. Forgeddit. It's modern illusion that in the end won't work as intended and will be abandoned by games industry like Kinect. Instead of making people dizzy with horrible and dumb "games" it'll end up being used as military simulator and most heavily in medicine for lecturing and as control during operations.

4. It's not a standard yet and I believe it'll never be. And unless you're really going for 4K, I see no practical reason to pair two GPUs with current games on the market. Better yet, name me one game that stated SLI as minimum or recommended spec. Oh, there's none? I thought so.
Even today many games don't care nor support SLI. Also many games don't care nor support widescreen - doesn't mean you *should* get widescreen because some more games do support 21:9 unlike in 2008.

Thanks everyone for the information and discussion. As always very informative. Pity adamant aren't here in Oz. A any local recommendations ?
I don't have the skills to construct own and series of hand surgeries means acquiring them is, how was it described, ah yes, "contraindicated"

I think waiting makes sense, because it looks like a lot of new tech is coming next year. But you can always still buy now, and have a great computer that will last for a long time. Anyway, just wanted to say I recommed mythlogic computers highly, they are an outfit in Michigan. They carry laptops and desktops too. They build the machine custom made to your choices for the components. They cost a bit more, but you get what you pay for. They have great customer service and warranties, they build high quality stuff, and stand behind their work. I guess I sound like a commercial but I still love the high end gaming computer they built for me some months ago, no problems at all and I'm a very happy customer. www.mythlogic.com

joxer said:

1. Get good monitor, yes, in games insist on at least 60hz and lot less - it's PC not bloody phone advertised as "a console"

2. If your display is 100 feet away from you, go for 4K. If you're not playing games from bed, any resolution is good. Keep in mind that higher resolution, less or no need for antialiasing.

Click to expand...

You have it backwards. 4K is more of a benefit the closer you are to the screen not the further away you are.

I'd wait as well on a monitor and new PC. 144hz ips, gsync, 16:9, etc. will be better, more available and more affordable in a year and pascal will be around to handle 4K properly.

AS for 120Hz vs 60Hz monitor. If you want stereoscopic 3D, for instance using NVidia's 3dvision, you need 120Hz,

For games that support it, the visual experience is very nice, IMO. I play LOTRO using 3DVision, and Moria looks much more overwhelming. NB! Many games support 3dvision only partly. I don't for instance play Skyrim with it, as shadows seems out of place, especially in-doors.

pibbur who looks really nice and sexy wearing those 3d glasses. And who admits that most people, especially those who have met him, himself included, will question the "sexy" part.

If money isn't a concern, get a 55" 4K 120hz display.

Seriously, everything looks good on one of these. If you get at least the Geforce 970 you can do some 4K gaming as well together with viewing 4K video online.

Not to hijack this thread but I will as well be looking for a new system this up and coming year.

If I go get away from gaming laptops can I get a completely wireless system? Keyboard, mouse and monitor.

CelticFrost said:

Not to hijack this thread but I will as well be looking for a new system this up and coming year.

If I go get away from gaming laptops can I get a completely wireless system? Keyboard, mouse and monitor.

Click to expand...

There are wireless monitor gadgets out there, and I believe they work well for 1080p video. But I would be suspicious of their performance in terms of latency and higher resolutions.

You can.
While wireless M+K is no biggie, wireless monitor is sorta exotic stuff.

If your monitor has HDMI port, in fact in that case I'd suggest using TV instead of monitor - you can use a wireless dongle (chromecast, ezcast or roku).

To follow up on my original thread here, it sadly looks as though my video card can't possibly make it to next year. It will run like a champ once the computer is warm, but when I first turn it on it will crash frequently - today it's been a half hour and not working, even though I played Skyrim all day yesterday. I think I have to bite the bullet and get something new. Would you advise the i7 processor and the Nvidia GTX 980ti? I see there is also a Titan that costs like 1K more, but it actually does slightly worse on Passmark's tests. I also would appreciate advice about whether I should go SLI or not. Maybe I should go (sort of) cheap and only spend 2 or 3k total and then worry about a new one in a couple of years. I have a huge backlog and don't need to play the absolute newest games right away.

If you are only playing on a regular screen, so without 4k resolution I'd probably go with a rather cheap solution depending on your budget. Up until the 970 prices are reasonable. 980 is less cost effectife and it gets worse after that.
So I'd either buy a 970/980 and keep it for a couple of years or buy a 950/960 and replace it next year with a pascal card.

Regarding CPU the question is what you are aiming for. I don't think you could bring a i7 6700K (424.90€) or a i5 6600K (254.90€) to it's limits in any game with the best graphic cards you can have. So unless you are heading for some heavy processing software like video editing tools or whatnot, the 170€ extra on the 6700k are probably wasted. Actually in that case the cheapest Haswell-E processor i7-5820K would probably be the more effective choice (414.90€). Or you could consider buying a CPU for the old socket 1150 CPU like the i7-4790K (349.90€) which brings same performance to the table as skylake for a better price. Really depends on preference. If you consider upgrading again next year anyways I'd go with a cheap i5-6400 (199.90€) and a good socket 1151 board z170 (capable of overclocking) and then replace it with a Skylake refresh (Kabylake) processor next year.

Because again, next year brings:
-New generation of GPUs which includes:
NVIDIA with Pascal

AMD with Arctic Islands

-New generation of CPUs which includes:
Intel with Kabylake (Socket 1151)
Intel with Broadwell-E
Amd with ZEN