Want To Buy PC Today - Is Any Of These Three Worth It?

mamaz

Hi all,

Due to college being mostly at home I am looking to get a PC to work from because I'd prefer to have it at home and then the laptop for when (if ever) I go to campus for classes. I also want to be able to play Minecraft and Escape From Tarkov. That is all I will use the PC for.

I am studying software dev and Visual Studio or else VirtualBox for Linux Mint would be the heaviest apps I'd use (IntelliJ too I guess) so for the ones that have 8gb ram I would buy another 8gb of ram to make it 16gb.

The PC's are in price descending order and I will do my bit to save a click

1: https://www.komplett.ie/paradigit-home-amp%3b-office-ryzen-7-3700x/80054922/product/11878

€1099 - has a Ryzen 3700x, 16GB ram, 1 TB NVMe SSD and AMD RX 570 (4GB only...)

2: https://www.komplett.ie/lenovo-ideacentre-g5-90n900bvmh/80057631/product

€899 - has Intel Core i5-10400F processor, 8GB ram, 512 GB SSD and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 - 6 GB

3: https://www.komplett.ie/lenovo-ideacentre-g5/80057646/product/11878

€749 - same specs as #2 except it has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER - 4 GB

If I were to buy one of these today - which would make the most sense for my needs? Ideally would have for the rest of college (2 more years) and just for Minecraft and EFT. Cheers

Edit: Just an afterthought - would a gaming laptop like https://www.currys.ie/ieen/gaming/pc-gaming/gaming-laptops/acer-predator-helios-300-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-gtx-1660-ti-1-tb-hdd-256-gb-ssd-10213452-pdt.html suffice?

Citrus_8

mamaz wrote: »

Hi all,

Due to college being mostly at home I am looking to get a PC to work from because I'd prefer to have it at home and then the laptop for when (if ever) I go to campus for classes. I also want to be able to play Minecraft and Escape From Tarkov. That is all I will use the PC for.

I am studying software dev and Visual Studio or else VirtualBox for Linux Mint would be the heaviest apps I'd use (IntelliJ too I guess) so for the ones that have 8gb ram I would buy another 8gb of ram to make it 16gb.

The PC's are in price descending order and I will do my bit to save a click

1: https://www.komplett.ie/paradigit-home-amp%3b-office-ryzen-7-3700x/80054922/product/11878

€1099 - has a Ryzen 3700x, 16GB ram, 1 TB NVMe SSD and AMD RX 570 (4GB only...)

2: https://www.komplett.ie/lenovo-ideacentre-g5-90n900bvmh/80057631/product

€899 - has Intel Core i5-10400F processor, 8GB ram, 512 GB SSD and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 - 6 GB

3: https://www.komplett.ie/lenovo-ideacentre-g5/80057646/product/11878

€749 - same specs as #2 except it has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER - 4 GB

If I were to buy one of these today - which would make the most sense for my needs? Ideally would have for the rest of college (2 more years) and just for Minecraft and EFT. Cheers

The first question is what's your monitor size, refresh rate and resolution? It has to match the GPU to avoid a money waste.

I'd avoid prebuild PC - they're normally with cheaper parts and gives less options to upgrade in future, in case you want to change a monitor or something...

JoyPad

I would take the second one, because it has the best GPU.
I would add more RAM and more disk space, and it's a solid machine for the required load.

mamaz

Cheers for the reply, I use a Dell d2721h - I edited after you replied wondering if a gaming laptop might be the sweeter option. Would only be for 1080p gaming I've no interest in 4k etc

mamaz

JoyPad wrote: »

I would take the second one, because it has the best GPU.
I would add more RAM and more disk space, and it's a solid machine for the required load.

Yeah I'm thinking it'd be the one - I'm wary the PSU could be a bomb though is the only thing

Citrus_8

mamaz wrote: »

Cheers for the reply, I use a Dell d2721h - I edited after you replied wondering if a gaming laptop might be the sweeter option. Would only be for 1080p gaming I've no interest in 4k etc

This is unfortunately not a gaming monitor. It's an office monitor. Anything larger than 25inch but only 1080p resolution gives a poor image output. On top of that it's just 5ms.

For 1080p gaming you need 24 or 25inch VA or IPS, definitely not 5ms, but rather 3 or 1ms and definitely not 60Hz, but something closer to 144Hz, ideally, but at least 75Hz at minimum. Of course, depends on games, but what's the point in having an ok gpu if a monitor is not even capable to work with that gpu. Gpu would be overkill.

27inch monitor should be in 1440p for gaming.

mamaz

I mean, does that REALLY matter? I'm in no way a serious gamer anymore - those days of wanting a 1ms BenQ monitor are long gone. I just chill and play games now so I wouldn't really be overly fussed. Plus I'm sure if that bug ever came back I could easily buy a new monitor and put my Dell one vertical for programming.

I'd want an ok GPU so it can just run games tbh and is somewhat future proof. Are you saying to go with option 3 due to my monitor so?

AlmightyCushion

mamaz wrote: »

I mean, does that REALLY matter? I'm in no way a serious gamer anymore - those days of wanting a 1ms BenQ monitor are long gone. I just chill and play games now so I wouldn't really be overly fussed. Plus I'm sure if that bug ever came back I could easily buy a new monitor and put my Dell one vertical for programming.

I'd want an ok GPU so it can just run games tbh and is somewhat future proof. Are you saying to go with option 3 due to my monitor so?

It matters if you think it matters. You can game fine at 60Hz there is nothing wrong with it. Sure a higher refresh rate might be nicer but 60Hz is grand. Personally I wouldn't use a 27" monitor with a 1080p resolution. I wouldn't find it an issue in gaming but I would for general use, but once again if it's fine for you then that is all that matters. Stick with the monitor you have. You can always upgrade it later.

Citrus_8

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

It matters if you think it matters. You can game fine at 60Hz there is nothing wrong with it. Sure a higher refresh rate might be nicer but 60Hz is grand. Personally I wouldn't use a 27" monitor with a 1080p resolution. I wouldn't find it an issue in gaming but I would for general use, but once again if it's fine for you then that is all that matters. Stick with the monitor you have. You can always upgrade it later.

It depends on games. Fps and gpu is important for racing while for strategy or simulators cpu is more important.

Lumen

Get #2.

Do NOT buy a gaming laptop. The battery life will drive you demented.

Citrus_8

Lumen wrote: »

Get #2.

Do NOT buy a gaming laptop. The battery life will drive you demented.

Exactly, and it starts running hot fairly quickly - after less a year it will start sounding like a windmill. Also, thermal paste should be reapplied every 18 months...

mamaz

Okay so #2 is an 'okay' buy and I will just buy more RAM and probably a 1TB HDD for storage?

Lumen

mamaz wrote: »

Okay so #2 is an 'okay' buy and I will just buy more RAM and probably a 1TB HDD for storage?

Yeah, 16GB is a reasonable minimum spec for a dev machine, particularly when you're running VirtualBox and/or IntelliJ.

Get SSD not HDD (just in case that wasn't a brainfart), as for capacity, whatever you think. It's obvs not a big deal to add more later so I wouldn't fuss over that too much if you're on a budget.

mamaz

Oh I was thinking HDD because it already has 512 SDD? So like for 'cold storage'? Or is it just not worth buying HDD anymore, I guess I wouldn't have any files like that anymore it'd be all programs.

Lumen

IMO SSD is cheap enough now that the hassle of mixing SSD and HDD and organising data appropriately isn't worth the relatively small cost savings, unless you have some kind of extreme use that would cause issues with wear.

I think my last SSD (1TB) was about 100 euros. Now it's not very fast, but I'd rather have that than any HDD. I've been running home and office NASs for the last few years and drive failures are much more common than I'd expected.

mcsean2163

I recommend looking here

https://pcpartpicker.com/

mamaz

Lumen wrote: »

IMO SSD is cheap enough now that the hassle of mixing SSD and HDD and organising data appropriately isn't worth the relatively small cost savings, unless you have some kind of extreme use that would cause issues with wear.

I think my last SSD (1TB) was about 100 euros. Now it's not very fast, but I'd rather have that than any HDD. I've been running home and office NASs for the last few years and drive failures are much more common than I'd expected.

That's a fair input alright yeah.

Okay, so final input for a contender - https://www.pcspecialist.ie/computers-for-next-day-delivery/1130/ For €75 extra is this machine more worth it? It looks it to me.. Or is the 2060 better than the RX580?

Edit: RAM is poor on this machine about 1000mhz slower than I'd want ugh am I just better off waiting a couple months and sticking it out with my Matebook

mamaz

mcsean2163 wrote: »

I recommend looking here

https://pcpartpicker.com/

The hassle of sourcing a GPU is what's making me go prebuilt tbh

Lumen

mcsean2163 wrote: »

I recommend looking here

https://pcpartpicker.com/

Buying separate components doesn't really make much sense right now unless you're upgrading. An RTX 2060 is at least €350 if you can even find one.

Lumen

mamaz wrote: »

Or is the 2060 better than the RX580?

The 2060 is in a different class altogether.

mamaz

Right, screw it. Im gonna email them and ask how long it'll take to ship to me.

Cheers folks

corks finest

Citrus_8 wrote: »

This is unfortunately not a gaming monitor. It's an office monitor. Anything larger than 25inch but only 1080p resolution gives a poor image output. On top of that it's just 5ms.

For 1080p gaming you need 24 or 25inch VA or IPS, definitely not 5ms, but rather 3 or 1ms and definitely not 60Hz, but something closer to 144Hz, ideally, but at least 75Hz at minimum. Of course, depends on games, but what's the point in having an ok gpu if a monitor is not even capable to work with that gpu. Gpu would be overkill.

27inch monitor should be in 1440p for gaming.

Ignoramus here ref pc tech, is there a 4K monitor available for pc-PS4 gaming,, I've a son who's 18 soon, studying for his leaving and was thinking of purchasing a decent monitor(or 4k tv for him - gaming purposes mainly )
Thank you

kavsmdf

Hey guys,

Sorry to jump in and hijack the thread, but my GPU failed yesterday and I couldn't find much online to replace it with so came here for answers, which I got! What bad timing for my card to fail!

Sorry again to hijack but is the 2nd option OP put worth the money in general? Or just because there is a shortage of GPUs its an option?

Im not a big computer guy, mainly just use it for WoW these days. Thanks!

JoyPad

kavsmdf wrote: »

Sorry again to hijack but is the 2nd option OP put worth the money in general? Or just because there is a shortage of GPUs its an option?

Im not a big computer guy, mainly just use it for WoW these days. Thanks!

It depends a lot on what you play, and how badly you want it.
If you want a computer today, and a 2060 will be sufficient for the games you play, then it's a solid option.

If you need a better GPU than a 2060, then it's no good to you any way, so not worth buying it.

Finally, if you can wait, the bang-for-buck should be better when the market settles down. How long that will be, nobody knows.

mamaz

Yeah I'm the victim of basic economics at the money if Demand > Supply then Price ++ basically.

I want it now and the supply isn't there so I'm paying, probably 200 extra? Maybe more? for my demand. I've waited a couple months already and don't want to wait until summer (assuming supply picks up then)

Worst comes to worst, I'll sell it off for a loss when I go custom at some stage. Something I'm perfectly okay with and have already accepted and worked into my plan!

Some people would be sickened by all this but tbh.. who gives a rats!

SeanW

I would suggest the first option. Not only do you get the most RAM, the CPU is good, and a 1tb SSD, but Paradigit are more of a PC assembler than a manufacturer.

Not familiar with Lenovo but companies who manufacture PCs like Dell very often have customised architectures, their own standards for various parts (e.g. PSU, motherboard, case, none of it will conform to industry standards like ATX or m-ATX), meaning that if you need to replace or want to change something, especially one of those three, good luck.

Paradigit on the other hand are more an of assembler. They basically take the same parts available to the DIY market and build computers from industry standard components. So if you (for example) want to buy a new graphics card but your planned card will draw more power than is advisable for your power supply, with a Dell you're up the creek without a paddle because the PSU is designed specifically for that machine. With the Paradigit model, if you had the same problem, you would simply get the best standard-ATX PSU for your new configuration, replace it in your machine, hook it up your new graphics card and off you go. The same is true of many other types of upgrade or repair needs that you might encounter. The Paradigit case (Corsair Carbide 100R no window edition) also offers front panel support for 2 5.25 inch devices. So if you want to add an optical drive or a 5.25 card reader in the future, you'll be able to do that with that machine, but not with the others.

Citrus_8

corks finest wrote: »

Ignoramus here ref pc tech, is there a 4K monitor available for pc-PS4 gaming,, I've a son who's 18 soon, studying for his leaving and was thinking of purchasing a decent monitor(or 4k tv for him - gaming purposes mainly )
Thank you

For PC - depends on what GPU, CPU and PSU are in the PC.
For PS4 the original max resolution is 1080p. Using it with a 4k tv has no real benefit. But PS4 Pro support 4K.

If you don't have a PC or PS/Xbox and are looking to buy, a question is what games would be played and what a person who'll play likes more - PC or console gaming.

Prices unfortunately this year are very high and will stay as long as supply and demand will be disbalanced.

corks finest

Citrus_8 wrote: »

For PC - depends on what GPU, CPU and PSU are in the PC.
For PS4 the original max resolution is 1080p. Using it with a 4k tv has no real benefit. But PS4 Pro support 4K.

If you don't have a PC or PS/Xbox and are looking to buy, a question is what games would be played and what a person who'll play likes more - PC or console gaming.

Prices unfortunately this year are very high and will stay as long as supply and demand will be disbalanced.

He's playing his PS4 games via our smart tv(Samsung 4K)
As theres only one TV in the house and my pc packed up, I'm looking for a decent gaming jobbie, not top of the range as bobs atm aren't great, games I used like are Cod -wolfenstein - world at war etc etc.

Like a decent 4k monitor for him to move him upstairs away from the TV, do you think it'd be cheaper and better to get a 4k TV like we have for him or buy a monitor.
(monitor would need to be 4k)

Thanks

Citrus_8

corks finest wrote: »

He's playing his PS4 games via our smart tv(Samsung 4K)
As theres only one TV in the house and my pc packed up, I'm looking for a decent gaming jobbie, not top of the range as bobs atm aren't great, games I used like are Cod -wolfenstein - world at war etc etc.

Like a decent 4k monitor for him to move him upstairs away from the TV, do you think it'd be cheaper and better to get a 4k TV like we have for him or buy a monitor.
(monitor would need to be 4k)

Thanks

If he's a console player - get a monitor for him. If he's a PC player - get him a PC. All depends on what he prefers to play on.

I personally don't like console gaming because I play strategy and simulation games which have limits and cannot be played with mods and assets on console - only PC. This is just a personal preference.

corks finest

Citrus_8 wrote: »

If he's a console player - get a monitor for him. If he's a PC player - get him a PC. All depends on what he prefers to play on.

I personally don't like console gaming because I play strategy and simulation games which have limits and cannot be played with mods and assets on console - only PC. This is just a personal preference.

Thank you