Last summer I bought a really nice laptop (holy crap my last blog was before I got it), it's an MSI GT70 2pe-890us Dominator Pro.
I'll list the basic specs because I can't find a good page listing them (and the model normally comes with an i7-4800MQ so I got lucky):Processor: Intel i7-4810MQ (2.8ghz w/ turbo to 3.8)RAM: 12gb DDR3Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce GTX880MHard Drive: 1TB 7200rpmAnyway, I tell you all this because I am planning to build a desktop in a couple months and need help figuring out how to do it. In an ideal world I'd want to be able to record recent games at max settings 1440p 60fps so that's the kind of power I'm looking for. Although I'd really rather avoid spending the premium price to own this years latest and greatest graphics technology unless it's actually worth the price. If nothing else I want it to be a decent step up from those laptop specs.The only problem is, I'm only vaguely familiar with building computers and choosing the best parts. For example, I know I should have an SSD for Windows to boot off of but I don't know anything about motherboards =pI could keep typing more nonsense now but I think it'd be easier to see what (if any) suggestions I get and work from there.edit: I guess I should mention that I already have a monitor/mouse/keyboard/etc so I only need to worry about the computer itself.
Do you have a budget in mind?
Not really, I'm willing to spend a fairly large amount of money as long as it's reasonable for the power I'm getting.
I know its not building it yourself, but FWIW, I used http://www.digitalstormonline.com/ to get my current computer. Its a monster. You can pretty much choose every part. The nice thing about it is that they build it, then benchmark it and put it through some rigorous tests to ensure itll work fine.
They actually caught that my cooling unit wasn't going to be sufficient, and upgraded it for free. They just called me and let me know. Good people.Recording games at max settings at 1440p 60fps sounds rather pricey. Most single GPU setups can't even play the damn things at that resolution. I'll drop some resources that I used when figuring out what to buy:
Logical increments - It'll give you a list of parts depending on your budget. Focused on gaming PCs.Reddit's buildapc sub - Forum for getting feedback/suggestions/etc. on what parts to get.PC Part Picker - An amalgamation of features; pick your build parts and get automated notes on compatibility/whatnot, browse others' builds by parts, get feedback on your build, etc.PC Part Picker was great. It's what I used for my PC.
I used PCPartpicker, CPU/GPUBoss, benchmarking websites, forums based around part picking (Unaligned's reddit link should do fine), and comments on the actual item listings on each site (Amazon, Newegg, etc.)
Without a budget, it's hard to make suggestions - there are tons of configurations that can be built with specific ideas in mind (IE Getting the biggest bang for your buck all around OR buying core components with the long haul in mind (ie 6 or 8 core i7 + higher bus speed motherboards + 1TB or larger SSD) and just buying mid range memory and gpu)I set a budget of $600 3 years ago because I was broke and took 3 months to get all of the parts because I used PCPartPicker's price tracker to make sure I was getting the best deal on each item. Oddly enough, I can still run every new game I've purchased at max settings… but I haven't tried GTAV yet (which will probably only run on low to mid on my machine looking at the system requirements)
I've had the money to get a new system but I keep realizing that I barely ever push what I have to it's limits.What are your specs Acid?
This is my current build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6ycQ7P
That's what I ordered, but I already had 2 500 GB HDDs so I have 1.5 TB internal and 1 TB portable USB 3.0THIS is what I'd recommend for a budget beast under $700 with today's specs: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XsPvFT