Thinking about a New PC, need advice.

Hey everyone, so it's finally time. Summer has come, and I have promised myself that I am finally getting an upgraded PC.

So, I'm thinking about buying the level 4 PC from Digital Storm. Here are the specs: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/vanquish-ii.asp

Scroll down to the bottom to get the specs.

Here's some things I need advice on. I am clueless to the world of computers, and what is a fair price and what isn't. My good pal Farcast gave me some opinions on it . Looking for a few more if possible.

Keep in mind that:
1. I don't want to build a computer from scratch. I have literally no knowledge of how and would not want to screw it up. While I'm sure I could probably build an equally powerful computer if not more powerful from scratch, for just as much if not cheaper...I'd rather just be safe and buy something already made by professsionals.
2: What I want to do with the machine: Play games like World of Warcraft on max settings. This is important, I really want to get into WoW but get the maximum experience out of it.
3: Probably the most taxing thing I would ever try to do on the machine is play Skyrim. Do you think this would be doable? I'd love to play a modded skyrim, if possible. This isn't a dealbreaker, necessarily, if it can't. That's just the most taxing thing I could imagine ever trying to do.
4: My pops is giving me 300 dollars towards it as a christmas gift he promised, so I am getting some financial help, . Obviously I don't wanna overspend too badly.
5: Basically, I factor in 2-300 of the cost acts as it already being built and ready to be shipped out immediately. So do you think the Vanquish level 4 is a good enough deal. To the point where it will do what I want?

Thanks so much for reading, and I will take everyone's advice into account!

 

Alright, so we both know that buying pre-built computers is overpriced as fuck. You're also going to get worse components than building it yourself. Tbh watch a youtube video or two and you'd know how to build a computer.

That being said digital storm/asus are my favorite gaming computer manufacturers, definitely go with them if you must.

 

Do you think that, in my case, that paying for the convenience of it already being built would be worth it to me?

Also, do you think that it would do what I want it to?

Thx for advice.

 

Why dont you want to build an computer? It gets much cheaper than buying an already build computer, they will give you an tutorial upon the purchase, it's not so hard.

 

It just seems like I'd probably still be paying a grand at least, and I don't really mind the extra 2-300 dollar cost as long as I know what I'm getting is as fair as I can possibly get buying pre-built.

I haven't completely thrown it out of the realm of possibility, but the Digital Storm PC seems to fit all my needs. I don't need the best of the best specs, just highly adequate ones that will suit my needs.

I won't be playing the top-tier games, by any means. Just need an in general, exponentially upgraded PC. I've had my fossil of a desktop since 2004!! So you can see any upgrade is a HUGE ONE!!

I feel like the lvl 4 has everything that I need, and then some.

I feel like this review in particular answers all my questions:
http://jcwigriff.com/2014/04/16/digital-storm-vanquish-ii-wows-with-price-and-performance/

 

I think in any case it'd be worth it to custom build, you'll save at least hundreds of dollars for watching a youtube video and a free afternoon.

If you can't do it find a techy friend on facebook or post a craigslist ad, I've built maybe 30 computers for guys on craigslist in my area.

Playing Wow and modded skyrim, of course. If you were to load it up with over 9000 hd texture packs and texture effects, etc it'd probably still do okay lol.

This is what everyone says until they build their first computer and realize how easy it really is and how badly they got screwed by a company. This is like buying $10 gas and saying, well its more convenient than driving another 3 minutes!


It'll probably be more than that, since they usually don't specify the power supply and exact motherboard they're using, so they'll cheap out on those as well. Price out each component and see for yourself. It may very well be $300, but I doubt it. More like $500 at least. Either way, once you realize it's going to take you maybe 1,2,3 hours the first time at worst spending the money isn't worth it unless you're a professional making AT LEAST $100+/hour.

A $600 custom computer could do those tasks, they aren't very computer intensive. It is always nice to have a little headroom though.

Even though its what you want, you could get what you want for like $800 instead and either bank the savings or spend the money on even more beastly components.

I mean digital storm makes good builds, like I said if you MUST buy a pre-built they're a good way to go but...

 

It's really that simple to build a computer? Like, seriously? Lol

And it'd really be that much cheaper? I was under the impression a build would maybe be 2-300 cheaper.

 

Build a PC. With $200-300 saved, you can definitely buy a mechanical keyboard (I'd recommend Cherry MX blue for gaming and the nice sound), a gaming mouse (Razer Naga for WoW) and a headset (Turtle Beaches do the job, but a nice $100+ headset can be more comfortable). Also, a padded/gaming chair is always nice, especially if you play 4+ hours a day.

 

Those do not seem horribly overpriced compared to other places. If you don't want to build your own I think that they would be fine.

 

Hmm I'll look into that, thanks man. Luckily, I already do have a really, really nice computer chair.

Cool, thanks for the advice dude!

 

And you can always upgrade the GPU very easily if that is a problem in a year or two.

 

Everyone finds building their first computer daunting, but in reality it's literally plugging shit in.

It takes time to do, so just take your time and I highly doubt you'll face any hardware issues.

 

But it does take awhile and can be stressful and annoying if something is broken. I do it because I really enjoy it. If I didn't I would certainly consider buying a premade.

 

it can be spooky at first, but i mean after doing one or two builds you just grow a nack for it, and if anything fucks up you have the knowledge to find the error yourself and not pay some scumbag $800 to tell you that your heatsink is messed up.

 

I do feel like it is a really, really neat skill to have. I just don't know if I'm ready to take that step yet. But maybe I should, tbh. I'll honestly weigh my options as the time approaches.

Some day I'll definitely be building my own. It might be soon.

Thanks for all the advice everyone, I appreciate it a lot.

 

If you do build your own, get advice before you buy.

 

I completely agree with the frustration if a part breaks, but I am yet to come across someone who has fucked up making their PC. Newegg or some other company which I forgot of, has a 3 part video on how to build computers on youtube. They are fantastic guides and if you watch them and follow their exact instructions, you should have no problems whatsoever.

In my history, the most terrifying part of building a PC was putting the CPU onto the mobo and closing down the notch while hearing a loud cracky noise. I didn't realise back then it was normal and shat bricks. But yeah, turned out it was fine.

 

My first experience was pretty shitty. My brother helped and it wouldn't boot and it was annoying as hell. It always takes longer than I remember to build and I always am in a rush because I'm a busy person. For some people it may not be worth it.

 

You don't need to know much about computers to build one, it's a bit like playing with Lego.

If you want to play some new releases with 60+ fps I'd go for a high end core i5 with 8gb or more of ram running at 2.3ghz minimum.

This basic setup seems to be the benchmark for mid level gaming.

 

I built a new machine about 3 weeks ago. My machine is a lot better than that level 4 and I spent under $1 000 on it. That's what type of savings you'd be looking at.