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My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help?
    #18422169 -

I've had an Alienware M17 series laptop for a while now.  It has a Geforce 560M graphics card, with plenty of RAM, but the system has begun to act spaced out.  I'm prompted by chkdsk most times I reboot, and am pretty worried about losing some data, since I don't have network storage yet.  I'm thinking of converting one of my mid-tower PCs that are collecting dust into a NAS, though power consumption and noise are not optimal in that scenario.

Anyway, this has all lead me to consider wading back into the market for a customizable desktop.  Ideally I would want to be able to run one (or maybe two) of the new nVIDIA Titan graphics cards and lots of RAM on a motherboard and with a power supply that can make use of all the extra speed. 

since I got this laptop, it has only been moved a few times.  Especially since components are starting to fail (probably due to heat), it seems like a good idea to switch over to a desktop system with a long cable for the monitor and a wireless mouse & keyboard.

I've had a lot of trouble figuring out where to find the best deal on a case/power supply/motherboard barebones combo that I can add RAM and an SSD and a Titan graphics card to.  It would be even better if I could find someone who builds the machine I want without hugely inflated prices, but in past experience I've found that upgrading a PC myself saves a lot of money.

Thanks for the tips! 

At least I got around to finishing Bioshock Infinite before this laptop started giving me hard drive errors!


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"A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism." - Carl Sagan

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: the spiral] * 1
    #18422171 -

pm shroomism/azoth (or is it az0th?), hes our resident computer genius!


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R.I.P. WoodRuss67, Todcasil, TheMerryIguana, The Rompus, Lord Senate.
[/url]

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: Soulidarity]
    #18422192 -

Soulidarity said:
pm shroomism/azoth (or is it az0th?), hes our resident computer genius!


These forums may have changed in many ways over the years, but the significant population of tech-savvy shroomerites has never waned. 

Plus, I figured crowdsourcing this question would be better than relying on just one or two opinions.  Surely there are people familiar with many hardware types around here; I greatly value any and all input!

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: the spiral]
    #18422194 -

sure, there is plenty, but shroomism really is the guy to speak to. he knows his stuff!

first thing i guess is you need to work out what your budget and purpose is for the rig??


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R.I.P. WoodRuss67, Todcasil, TheMerryIguana, The Rompus, Lord Senate.
[/url]

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: Soulidarity]
    #18422207 -

If you got the money, ibuypower.com is the place to go. More bang for your buck. Alienware is something you should get if you are rich. And even then it's still over priced.


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This is my favorite song of the week


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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: Soulidarity]
    #18422219 -

Budget-wise, I want a top-of-the-line gaming rig without having to pay a crazy Alienware-ish price for it.

I happen to have an "old" (really depends on one's definition of old, but I'd have to switch out the motherboard) case that has a large power supply and built-in liquid cooling.  I would have to change out some heat-sinks, which wouldn't be free, but it wouldn't be technically difficult.  Tearing everything out would be a real pain (I have a giant scar on my right index finger from that damn case when I was assembling the liquid cooling). 

I don't know whether a new motherboard will fit properly in my old liquid cooled rig.  I also have an air cooled, more recent desktop, but it's loud and power hungry.  It can't live next to my bed, which is where I plan on putting my new gaming PC.

Shroomism certainly knows his stuff, but I wouldn't bother him with it via a PM when there's the pub to help with (and lambast) my question.  I guess it's the same reason why, when I talked to ythan on FB when the security issue cropped up a while back, I ended up feeling bad for bothering him because I'm sure he was absolutely inundated at that moment in time. 

That's where the crowdsourcing comes in.  I'm very grateful for any and all advice here!  I read most of the reputable tech blogs, but even they tend to be outdated regarding this specific question.  That's why I posed it here!

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: YSHServant]
    #18422224 -

YSHServant said:
If you got the money, ibuypower.com is the place to go. More bang for your buck. Alienware is something you should get if you are rich. And even then it's still over priced.


Thanks for that link.  I'm checking out some of the rigs now.  So far, it seems pretty reasonable.

And yes you are correct about Alienware.  I was happy about my purchase for maybe three months.  Then I realized I had paid way too much for the hardware, and a premium for having them assemble it.  That's a big reason I'm looking to avoid making the same mistake over again.

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: the spiral]
    #18422272 -

the spiral said:
YSHServant said:
If you got the money, ibuypower.com is the place to go. More bang for your buck. Alienware is something you should get if you are rich. And even then it's still over priced.


Thanks for that link.  I'm checking out some of the rigs now.  So far, it seems pretty reasonable.

And yes you are correct about Alienware.  I was happy about my purchase for maybe three months.  Then I realized I had paid way too much for the hardware, and a premium for having them assemble it.  That's a big reason I'm looking to avoid making the same mistake over again.


Honestly, I would just save up for a next gen console. I'm getting the PS4. I know you are probably going to kick me in the nuts for this post.. but oh well. :smile:


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This is my favorite song of the week


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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: the spiral]
    #18422276 -

ibuypower.com is good but you could probably build it yourself. Newegg, tiger direct, amazon all have parts on sale, you could come up with a pretty good rig without spending a fortune. Speaking of fortunes, what kind of budget do you have??


--------------------
My trade list
malicom said:
"Banana's emit radiation. In fact banannas are the standard in detecting solar radiation. The radiation read from a bananna tells scientists how active the sun was during the growing season. Make sure to steer clear of bananas too."
seekaytea said:
"I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin."
Wiccan_Seeker said:
"Your knowledge on male-on-male rape and willingness to engage in fantasy regarding the matter is commendable."
eminemvs.slimshady said:
"I want to know if they are active and magic or not. And if they are not active, can i pick them before they are active and then they will become active or do they have to grow till they activate?"

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: YSHServant]
    #18422285 -

YSHServant said:
the spiral said:
YSHServant said:
If you got the money, ibuypower.com is the place to go. More bang for your buck. Alienware is something you should get if you are rich. And even then it's still over priced.


Thanks for that link.  I'm checking out some of the rigs now.  So far, it seems pretty reasonable.

And yes you are correct about Alienware.  I was happy about my purchase for maybe three months.  Then I realized I had paid way too much for the hardware, and a premium for having them assemble it.  That's a big reason I'm looking to avoid making the same mistake over again.


Honestly, I would just save up for a next gen console. I'm getting the PS4. I know you are probably going to kick me in the nuts for this post.. but oh well. :smile:


The PS4 and the XBoxOne can't match a good gaming rig, and especially considering that I have spare parts, I might be able to do this for less than the price of buying either console.

After all, the XBox and the PS4 are computers running a rather restrictive operating system.

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: the spiral]
    #18422290 -

the spiral said:
YSHServant said:
the spiral said:
YSHServant said:
If you got the money, ibuypower.com is the place to go. More bang for your buck. Alienware is something you should get if you are rich. And even then it's still over priced.


Thanks for that link.  I'm checking out some of the rigs now.  So far, it seems pretty reasonable.

And yes you are correct about Alienware.  I was happy about my purchase for maybe three months.  Then I realized I had paid way too much for the hardware, and a premium for having them assemble it.  That's a big reason I'm looking to avoid making the same mistake over again.


Honestly, I would just save up for a next gen console. I'm getting the PS4. I know you are probably going to kick me in the nuts for this post.. but oh well. :smile:


The PS4 and the XBoxOne can't match a good gaming rig, and especially considering that I have spare parts, I might be able to do this for less than the price of buying either console.

After all, the XBox and the PS4 are computers running a rather restrictive operating system.


Agreed.  I'm a computer gamer.  All my friends have consoles but none of their stuff looks as clean as a computer.  I also like the fact that if you want you can make a Beast with a PC, and a good gaming PC should last a long time these days, as games are designed around a console, game tech doesn't advance as quickly as say back in the early 2000's.


--------------------
OP is now RP!  Read about it here!


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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: YSHServant]
    #18422300 -

That's the only reason i'm buying a PS4. I can't afford to build a decent gaming PC.


--------------------
This is my favorite song of the week


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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: rew736]
    #18422319 -

rew736 said:
ibuypower.com is good but you could probably build it yourself. Newegg, tiger direct, amazon all have parts on sale, you could come up with a pretty good rig without spending a fortune. Speaking of fortunes, what kind of budget do you have??


My budget is: best gaming PC I can build or purchase at a fair price.  I essentially need a motherboard that is fast enough and has enough slots for the latest graphics cards and RAM.  I'm not opposed to buying a new system (case, power supply) with the motherboard, if it makes sense economically, but I'm guessing that it'll probably be cheaper if I just repurpose one of my unused cases.

My overall point is that I'm very receptive towards any and all advice.  This laptop is fading quickly!

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: the spiral]
    #18422327 -

The next PC I build will need to be ground up, as I have no desire to dismantle my current watercooled PC.  My next PC will be watercooled as well.  Never going back to air.


--------------------
OP is now RP!  Read about it here!


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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: Maverick]
    #18422342 -

Maverick said:
The next PC I build will need to be ground up, as I have no desire to dismantle my current watercooled PC.  My next PC will be watercooled as well.  Never going back to air.


Liquid cooled cases are really expensive!  I bought mine as a kit and assembled it and it was still crazy expensive even doing it that way.  Why would you not just upgrade your liquid cooled case with new parts?

That's what I'm mostly considering at this point.  That case required a 1000 W power supply though so despite the liquid cooling it might be way too loud.

Who makes the best value liquid cooled PC cases these days?

Edited to add: I've long wanted to build a PC that is cooled by a mineral oil bath, which doubles as a fake aquarium.  Toss in some fake robot fish and fake plastic aquatic scenery.  Do parts fail much more quickly with that kind of setup? I would be very surprised if they didn't.

Edited by the spiral (06/15/13 07:58 AM)

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: the spiral]
    #18422376 -

Beware when you buy watercooling kits, they can have problems, I don't really like watercooling kits,  sometimes the kits mix metals and that causes galvanic corrosion.  I buy each waterblock specifically for whatever videocard or CPU I'm using.  It's expensive no matter what, I think I invested about $350-$400 in the watercooling system (CPU block, two GPU blocks, reservoir, pump and radiator plus tubing and connections).

Here's the thing about it though that makes it worth every penny.





My idle temps on the CPU used to be around 50C, my idle temps for the videocards averaged 60C.  They reached 70C+ temperatures, the CPU would reach 65-70C as well.  Idling is always about room temperature.  At that moment though it was winter, I had the window open with a fan to cool the room even more so my room temp was 7C.  The CPU was under 100% load in that picture (was doing a CPU heat test).  The 27C is the average case temperature, my radiator is mounted on the outside of the case for maximum cooling.


--------------------
OP is now RP!  Read about it here!


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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: Maverick]
    #18422417 -

I think capacitors would absorb the mineral oil and that would almost certainly screw with their lifespan.


--------------------
My trade list
malicom said:
"Banana's emit radiation. In fact banannas are the standard in detecting solar radiation. The radiation read from a bananna tells scientists how active the sun was during the growing season. Make sure to steer clear of bananas too."
seekaytea said:
"I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin."
Wiccan_Seeker said:
"Your knowledge on male-on-male rape and willingness to engage in fantasy regarding the matter is commendable."
eminemvs.slimshady said:
"I want to know if they are active and magic or not. And if they are not active, can i pick them before they are active and then they will become active or do they have to grow till they activate?"

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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: rew736]
    #18422426 -

What mineral oil?


--------------------
OP is now RP!  Read about it here!


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Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: Maverick]
    #18422433 -

Quote:
Edited to add: I've long wanted to build a PC that is cooled by a mineral oil bath, which doubles as a fake aquarium.  Toss in some fake robot fish and fake plastic aquatic scenery.  Do parts fail much more quickly with that kind of setup? I would be very surprised if they didn't.





--------------------
My trade list
malicom said:
"Banana's emit radiation. In fact banannas are the standard in detecting solar radiation. The radiation read from a bananna tells scientists how active the sun was during the growing season. Make sure to steer clear of bananas too."
seekaytea said:
"I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin."
Wiccan_Seeker said:
"Your knowledge on male-on-male rape and willingness to engage in fantasy regarding the matter is commendable."
eminemvs.slimshady said:
"I want to know if they are active and magic or not. And if they are not active, can i pick them before they are active and then they will become active or do they have to grow till they activate?"

Extras: Filter Print Post Top
Re: My laptop isn't such a great gaming rig anymore... help? [Re: Maverick]
    #18422502 -

Maverick said:
What mineral oil?





--------------------


"A celibate clergy is an especially good idea, because it tends to suppress any hereditary propensity toward fanaticism." - Carl Sagan

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