Hey all! About to upgrade from laptop to my first ever desktop (at the worst possible time) and would really appreciate some advice. I'm from Spain.
ETA: I used the template recommended in the pinned post, but I think the links got it marked as spam. Will comment below with build details.
Why Are You Upgrading: Laptop (GL502vs, with GTX 1080 8GB, and 16GB of RAM) is ten years old and I worry component prices will keep rising. Certain games cause a hard graphics crash with artifacts, which may be drivers or a hardware issue.
Budget: 1500-2000€ after shipping
Approximate Purchase Date: before the end of April
Use Case: Solo gaming (big games with pretty graphics, see below), occasional video editing/converting (which my current rig can already handle), general browsing.
Parts to Upgrade: Full build
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Your Monitor Resolution and desired frame rate: 1920x1080, 60+ FPS (never played on higher Hz so don't know if I will notice the difference)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts? Will try to avoid Amazon if poss, but only within the range of sanity. Working with Amazon prices for now.
Parts Preferences:
Additional Comments:
Heat management is paramount. Spain and my town especially have been getting a lot hotter in the past 10-15 years and our buildings are not equipped to handle the new summers. This is about my OWN comfort: I spent all last summer with a headache, so I'll spend a little more if it means the system acts a little less like a radiator.
Quiet is nice, if I can get it.
I play a lot of older/indie games, but also want to catch up on the last 7-8 years of big games with pretty graphics (had to delete the specific names because the post was marked as spam). Couple of strategy/sim games but not my main focus.
...but I'm patient enough to skip games that my system can't handle.
Older software and freeware, mostly. Adobe PS CS5, Sony Vegas HD Platinum, MS Office 2010 yes really.
ETA: I used the template recommended in the pinned post, but I think the links got it marked as spam. Will comment below with build details.
Why Are You Upgrading: Laptop (GL502vs, with GTX 1080 8GB, and 16GB of RAM) is ten years old and I worry component prices will keep rising. Certain games cause a hard graphics crash with artifacts, which may be drivers or a hardware issue.
Budget: 1500-2000€ after shipping
Approximate Purchase Date: before the end of April
Use Case: Solo gaming (big games with pretty graphics, see below), occasional video editing/converting (which my current rig can already handle), general browsing.
Parts to Upgrade: Full build
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Your Monitor Resolution and desired frame rate: 1920x1080, 60+ FPS (never played on higher Hz so don't know if I will notice the difference)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts? Will try to avoid Amazon if poss, but only within the range of sanity. Working with Amazon prices for now.
Parts Preferences:
- AMD CPU (more energy/heat-efficient, I believe); AMD graphics card (cost-efficient).
- I picked 1 stick of 16GB DDR5 as I believe most games do fine with just that, and I can buy a second stick when/if sanity returns. Also don't want to lock myself into DDR4 and then have to resell CPU / motherboard next time I want to upgrade.
- 5.25" drive bay to potentially install a CD/DVD/Bluray drive
- I/O panel: at least 2 USB ports (3+ ideal but damn near impossible to find), audio out, USB-c ideal
- monitor no larger than 24", good colour accuracy and blacks
Additional Comments:
Heat management is paramount. Spain and my town especially have been getting a lot hotter in the past 10-15 years and our buildings are not equipped to handle the new summers. This is about my OWN comfort: I spent all last summer with a headache, so I'll spend a little more if it means the system acts a little less like a radiator.
Quiet is nice, if I can get it.
I play a lot of older/indie games, but also want to catch up on the last 7-8 years of big games with pretty graphics (had to delete the specific names because the post was marked as spam). Couple of strategy/sim games but not my main focus.
...but I'm patient enough to skip games that my system can't handle.
Older software and freeware, mostly. Adobe PS CS5, Sony Vegas HD Platinum, MS Office 2010 yes really.
