Computer Gaming Help!

[Questella]

Okay computer gaming nerds that have stayed current I'm looking for some assistance. I'm finally able to get a new computer, I have roughly a grand to spend. There's so many new things out there i dont even know what's what anymore.

I'm seeing MSI, Powerspec, Acer, Asus. HP I want nothing to do with they royally screwed me over once. This Micro Center - Computers and Electronics Samsung really caught my eye. Samsung has always done me right, I've had one Samsung laptop it's about 8 years old now still runs fine it's just too old to play World of Warcraft well at all, I average 4-12 fps soloing and raiding plus most Legion content it just freezes out. Other than that I've had 3 samsung cameras, several basic phones, my current smart phone (I had one other smart phone that was LG and it was straight crap) plus my son has had 2 samsung tablets (only had to get a new one because his dad ran over his with a shopping cart).

There's even more brands I've never heard of also, I've been looking through the Microcenter site since we'll probably have to go there, I tried looking at Best Buy but they told me to try Microcenter because they didn't really have anything gaming-wise.

I'm thinking laptop mainly for the portability bit it's not entirely necessary as I'll be able to clean off my current laptop and use it for like Internet and basic stuff just not gaming. Though it seems most towers run about the same price as a laptop plus I would need a newer screen, I have one but it's a bit dated but would work for now.

It's just quite scary to drop up too 1200$ on a computer I've been saving for for about two years. It's absolutely imperative that it lasts me at least 5 years, 10 preferably.

Should i just go with the Samsung Odyssey or keep looking? Help, hints, suggestions, any information you could throw my way please.

 

[Judge]

I haven't done much gaming in a long time, but if I was going to get a laptop primarily for gaming, I'd go with an ASUS.

I've been building all my desktop computers with ASUS motherboards since the late 90s. Wouldn't use any other manufacturer.

Republic Of Gamers | Notebooks | ASUS USA

 

[WildCat]

I've used ASUS and MSI in my PC builds and I can say without a doubt that I've never had a major problem with their hardware, especially ASUS. MSI has gotten a lot better as far as quality goes, about on par with ASUS - I refuse to use anything but a MSI video card in any build now.

Their gaming laptops are just as good, and at ~$1200 you should have no trouble finding one that'll run your games at acceptable frame rates. I don't use a laptop for gaming, never have, but if I were looking to buy one I would start with either of those two brands first.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I think you'll get more life out of a desktop computer personally. The advantage of them is that you can always upgrade parts of it if you choose. If you can't do it yourself, take it to a PC repair shop and have them upgrade the parts you want.

 

[Questella]

I think you'll get more life out of a desktop computer personally. The advantage of them is that you can always upgrade parts of it if you choose. If you can't do it yourself, take it to a PC repair shop and have them upgrade the parts you want.

I was thinking this, I know on my laptop I can't do any upgrading because how stuff is just embedded in the mother.

 

[Judge]

I think you'll get more life out of a desktop computer personally. The advantage of them is that you can always upgrade parts of it if you choose. If you can't do it yourself, take it to a PC repair shop and have them upgrade the parts you want.

Excessive heat eventually takes its toll on many a laptop. Especially one used for gaming.

With a desktop system you can run obnoxiously massive heatsinks on both your CPU and GPU and use plenty of quiet fans (under 21db) to keep your system running fast and cool for an optimal gaming experience.

 

[Questella]

The odds of me gaming outside of my house are slim to none, so it's sounding like go tower and clean up my current laptop for out of the house needs! :3

What about monitors/flat screen TVs, which ones should I check out? I'd love to play WoW on a smaller flat-screen tv!

 

[WildCat]

I think you'll get more life out of a desktop computer personally. The advantage of them is that you can always upgrade parts of it if you choose. If you can't do it yourself, take it to a PC repair shop and have them upgrade the parts you want.

This, which is one of the primary reasons I prefer a tower over a laptop. Not only that, but for about $1200 you can get higher performance than a laptop with just enough change left over for extras - most laptop GPUs are cut down versions of their desktop counterparts and won't have as much muscle to drive games at higher settings. If that sort of thing matters to you, that is

The odds of me gaming outside of my house are slim to none, so it's sounding like go tower and clean up my current laptop for out of the house needs! :3

What about monitors/flat screen TVs, which ones should I check out? I'd love to play WoW on a smaller flat-screen tv!

You could get a used 1080p screen - monitor or TV - and still have more than enough computer to run your games if you go the tower route. Just a thought, I don't know how big of a display you prefer but if you buy used instead of new you'll be saving some cash.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

What about monitors/flat screen TVs, which ones should I check out?

You want a PC monitor, not a flat screen TV. The reason being is that the spacing between pixels is usually quite significant compared to monitors. You'd find yourself having this screen door effect with most TVs.

Any monitor will go really. You can get a 1080p monitor dirty cheap nowadays. If you decide later you want to upgrade, look for a gsync or freesync (depending on your graphics card manufacture (gsync being Nvidia and freesync being a AMD card)). They have the advantage of eliminating FPS stutters and a fluid frame rate won't look so bad on a very high end game or an ageing computer.

 

[Questella]

This is the only Asus tower Microcenter has in my price range Micro Center - Computers and Electronics thoughts?

 

[Questella]

You want a PC monitor, not a flat screen TV. The reason being is that the spacing between pixels is usually quite significant compared to monitors. You'd find yourself having this screen door effect with most TVs.

Any monitor will go really. You can get a 1080p monitor dirty cheap nowadays. If you decide later you want to upgrade, look for a gsync or freesync (depending on your graphics card manufacture (gsync being Nvidia and freesync being a AMD card)). They have the advantage of eliminating FPS stutters and a fluid frame rate will look so bad on a very high end game or an ageing computer.

Haha see I'm so dated I assumed that flat screen TVs were just big computer monitors!!

 

[Judge]

This is the only Asus tower Microcenter has in my price range Micro Center - Computers and Electronics thoughts?

Better selection here, though many of them may or may not be in your price range.

gaming tower desktop computers, ASUS - Newegg.com

 

[Questella]

Better selection here, though many of them may or may not be in your price range.

gaming tower desktop computers, ASUS - Newegg.com

The thing is I'd really, really rather go somewhere and get it rather than have it shipped if possible. I'm too afraid of getting screwed trying to order something offline.

Plus my money is in cash, ack, I know but it's the only way I could guarantee it'll go to a computer. Also my mom has access to my bank account and this is on the down-low, top secret.

The only way I've ever been able to save for a thing has been stashing cash under my mattress. Lol That's not really where it is, that's like a saying, right? Some old dude was stashing cash inside a picture tube tv and he died and his family recycled the tv and when they were taking it apart they found tens of thousands of dollars, damn dude, they managed to return it to the family or so they claim.

 

[Questella]

This is the only Asus tower Microcenter has in my price range Micro Center - Computers and Electronics thoughts?

I'm trying to figure out, it looks like this meets and exceeds a bit the recommended specs for WoW World of Warcraft System Requirements plus upgrading in the future if desired shouldn't be too complicated, correct? I'd probably let someone else do it as I have no safe place to take a computer apart at my house.

I had one good tower once, a long time ago and my ex decided to take it apart idk why right on the shag carpet, fried the whole thing, it never worked again and I cried, b**tard.

 

[WildCat]

This is the only Asus tower Microcenter has in my price range Micro Center - Computers and Electronics thoughts?

How about this one if they have it in stock? It's cheaper and uses the same GPU, SSD and a hard drive (SSD is going to be used for boot which is a HUGE advantage), more RAM, plus a modest boost in CPU power: Micro Center - Computers and Electronics

That ASUS ROG is pretty solid for the price, but just from looking at the pics it's using a non-standard layout...reminds me of a laptop or HTPC. Looks like everything's cram packed into a case about the size of a gaming console, so I'm not sure about accessibility there...and you or whoever else may have hiccups when it comes to upgrading that machine in the future if the video card doesn't line up with the rear panel.

With the tower I just posted (similar to mine), everything's laid out neatly and there's plenty of space for airflow to reach the components and prevent overheating.

 

[Questella]

How about this one if they have it in stock? It's cheaper and uses the same GPU, SSD and a hard drive (SSD is going to be used for boot which is a HUGE advantage), more RAM, plus a modest boost in CPU power: Micro Center - Computers and Electronics

That ASUS ROG is pretty solid for the price, but just from looking at the pics it's using a non-standard layout...reminds me of a laptop or HTPC. Looks like everything's cram packed into a case about the size of a gaming console, so I'm not sure about accessibility there...and you or whoever else may have hiccups when it comes to upgrading that machine in the future if the video card doesn't line up with the rear panel.

With the tower I just posted (similar to mine), everything's laid out neatly and there's plenty of space for airflow to reach the components and prevent overheating.

I'm also liking it has a ps2 port, my keyboard is ps2 but I've had it forever and love it. (I have a ps2 to USB adapter for my current laptop) A concern is the vent screen holes on the back are quite large, I may need to add additional screening to help block pet hair from getting inside. I did think that Asus Microcenter had looked a bit weird and I couldn't even figure out where the cd drive was from their pictures.

The suggested monitor for it also looks dope! It's curved, is that a new thing? Interesting!

I'm liking all the suggestions and help, keep them coming! :3

 

[WildCat]

I'm also liking it has a ps2 port, my keyboard is ps2 but I've had it forever and love it. A concern is the vent screen holes on the back are quite large, I may need to add additional screening to help block pet hair from getting inside. I did think that Asus Microcenter had looked a bit weird and I couldn't even figure out where the cd drive was from their pictures.

The suggested monitor for it also looks dope! It's curved, is that a new thing? Interesting!

I'm liking all the suggestions and help, keep them coming! :3

I checked the specs and the ASUS didn't have an optical drive listed, so the answer to that would be a "no" I could already tell it didn't have one from the pics alone...the other one I posted has a DVD drive by default. Easy to upgrade that (right along with everything else in it) to a Blu-Ray drive in the future if you so desire.

I'm sticking to my guns on the bit about the monitor: BUY USED!!! Are there any pawn shops or similar places nearby? Seriously, you can get a decent monitor (or TV) for far cheaper...just make certain that it has inputs compatible with your video card (you should have HDMI and/or DVI inputs). If you want to buy brand new then...hey, it's your choice right? Throwing that out there, good luck with your purchase

 

[Questella]

I checked the specs and the ASUS didn't have an optical drive listed, so the answer to that would be a "no" I could already tell it didn't have one from the pics alone...the other one I posted has a DVD drive by default. Easy to upgrade that (right along with everything else in it) to a Blu-Ray drive in the future if you so desire.

I'm sticking to my guns on the bit about the monitor: BUY USED!!! Are there any pawn shops or similar places nearby? Seriously, you can get a decent monitor (or TV) for far cheaper, but if you want to buy new...hey, it's your choice right? Throwing that out there, good luck with your purchase

There are some pawn shops I can check out.

 

[nowwhat]

I wouldn't pull the trigger on either. Buying offbrand computers is asking for trouble. Behind the specs and price, are the cheapest possible components such as motherboard, RAM, and power supply. Powerspec seems to be Microcentre's inhouse brand, but I would not trust it. What's more, that Powerspec comes with Windows 7????? Ech. While I too, favor ASUS gear strongly, the machine you are looking at as no optical drive, insufficient RAM, and no magnetic Hard disk. Losers, both. I would wait a bit longer, and maybe pick up this
Micro Center - Computers and Electronics
one, and you can get a very good 1080p computer monoitor for under $150. It comes with keyboard and mouse, as well.

Why listen to me? I am a gamer, and have been exclusively using sytems I have built myself for over 15 years. I built machines to play Quake on.

 

[Questella]

I wouldn't pull the trigger on either. Buying offbrand computers is asking for trouble. Behind the specs and price, are the cheapest possible components such as motherboard, RAM, and power supply. Powerspec seems to be Microcentre's inhouse brand, but I would not trust it. What's more, that Powerspec comes with Windows 7????? Ech. While I too, favor ASUS gear strongly, the machine you are looking at as no optical drive, insufficient RAM, and no magnetic Hard disk. Losers, both. I would wait a bit longer, and maybe pick up this
Micro Center - Computers and Electronics
one, and you can get a very good 1080p computer monoitor for under $150. It comes with keyboard and mouse, as well.

Why listen to me? I am a gamer, and have been exclusively using sytems I have built myself for over 15 years. I built machines to play Quake on.

Ew I didn't even see windows 7, isn't it like 3 os's ago?