Computers & DVD Gaming.

[Bini]

I need someone to talk with me about computers and DVD gaming. I don't mind if you Private Message me or post in thread. I'd just very much appreciate your time and knowledge regarding it. Note, I am limiting myself to what Best Buy sells (or at least any mainstream electronic store).

So I went to Best Buy yesterday and toured their desktops because those are the recommended machines for gaming. I told the guy there that for this computer I only plan to run 'The Sims 3 & 4' DVD-ROMS and not much else. I need something with a good graphics card and pretty quick processor. He pointed out 2 that he'd recommend out of their Best Buy selection but then continued to tell me that I needed to build a gaming rig if I wanted to go hardcore. That sounds lovely but I'm not interested in spending $3K+. My budget is definitely under $1K. (Which is actually more than enough for a good desktop these days as I've noticed drastic deflation in their costs, and huge inflation for all-in-one computers and computer/tablets). My understanding is that I need a good graphics card and quick processor to continue to run 'The Sims' games and maybe some other games as well. I have about 15 DVD-ROMS (plus more that I'll be getting in the next month), and on my current computer, they just run slow and the animations are choppy. My current DVD gaming computer is an ASUS that's about 5 years old that ran like a beast but is getting outdated, fast.

[jerome1232]

Look for a desktop with an nvidia gtx 460 or higher, better if it's a 500 series gtx, anything on the market will be fine if it has the right gpu. I would recommend looking online though, tigerdirect and newegg have great deals on pre-built computers.

[Bini]

Look for a desktop with an nvidia gtx 460 or higher, better if it's a 500 series gtx, anything on the market will be fine if it has the right gpu. I would recommend looking online though, tigerdirect and newegg have great deals on pre-built computers.

I'm looking into that site. What is the difference between GT and GTX? I think my current computer has a Nvidia GT 250 or something like that.

[jerome1232]

I'm looking into that site. What is the difference between GT and GTX? I think my current computer has a Nvidia GT 250 or something like that.

GT means it's for a standard desktop experience

GTS is the mid range card, (mine is a GTS 450, I play games fine with it, I picked it up for 27 bucks )

GTX means it's a gaming card.

Each generation increments 100, so 400's, 500's, and 600's are different generations of cards.

x40 and below (so 420, 530, 620 etc...) will be your GT, standard desktop cards.

x50 is usually the GTS ( 450, 550, 650, etc...) midrange.

x60+ are the gaming cards (480, 560, 680 etc...) The most recent generation is 700, a 500 or 600 series is going to be the most bang for your buck. I think a 400 series would be fine, but 500's are probably what you'll see on most decently priced gaming computers.

Edited September 16, 2013 by jerome1232

[jerome1232]

as an after thought, heck do you know the specs of your current computer? Outfitting it with a newer graphics card could be the ticket unless you are set on a new computer, ASUS's are pretty good.

[Bini]

I'm not sure what my exact specs are. I have attempted to clean it up a few times and that helps a bit but I don't feel that it's performing at its best. I am ready to upgrade to something a little better. I took some time and checked out Newegg but a lot of those desktops are creeping over the $1K marker. I really need to stay below that.

I went back to Best Buy and am thinking about another Asus. It's not their top of the line model but it's leaps and bounds better than what I have. The features list that it has NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 graphics. The two models below this one aren't even Nvidia cards.. Not sure I really want to go that route.

[Bini]

I'll post this in case anyone wants to comment. This is the model: M51ACUS006S at Best Buy and is about $800.

[LittleWyvern]

Check out this site. It's made for those who want to build their own computers (and building your own computer is a great way to squeeze more out of your budget, and it's super easy these days), but it's also a great guide on what hardware to look for for any price point. :)

[jerome1232]

Check out this site. It's made for those who want to build their own computers (and building your own computer is a great way to squeeze more out of your budget, and it's super easy these days), but it's also a great guide on what hardware to look for for any price point. :)

Very nice! I'll have to use that for my next build, I love the table.

[Bini]

So THAT'S what a Titan is! I went to a gamer's forum and asked a bunch of dumb questions and people kept chanting about these "titans". Now that is some serious hardcore gaming.

Thanks for that post. It will be helpful and certainly educational for me. 'The Sims' doesn't require a monstrous gaming rig to play smoothly but the better the graphics the better the gameplay.

[tubaloth]

GT means it's for a standard desktop experience

GTS is the mid range card, (mine is a GTS 450, I play games fine with it, I picked it up for 27 bucks )

GTX means it's a gaming card.

Or you can get an AMD graphics card too. that chart from that site lists those too.

You could probably shot around and maybe find something a little better. But that that Asus probably is good enough.

[embleau]

Pick Parts, Build Your PC, Compare and Share - PCPartPicker

Get the best deal on the parts if you know someone to build it for you.

[jerome1232]

Or you can get an AMD graphics card too.

Blasphemy!

But seriously, ATI/AMD drivers have been terrible for GNU/Linux platforms in the past, for that reason I don't even consider them. I don't know if the situation has improved since they [ATI/AMD] open sourced their drivers or not. Also unrelated to this post is that it just seems a lot more things are supporting Nvidia's CUDA tech.

If I was more idealistic rather than pragmatic I would go AMD, they are more supportive of free software lately.

Which is why I didn't mention them, I have no clue which ones are good etc...