I need the COH/V's community opinion please...

[JnEricsonx]

As it pertains to getting a new gaming PC to keep playing this wonderful game.   I don't know anyone barring one person to ask about this and they're not talkative.   Looking to get a new PC from Best Buy because they offer a 18 month financing deal.  Now I've been told to wait, that costs are up, etc, etc.   I'll eat the extra 100-200 whatever because I'll have a year and a half.  Plus, some of the parts in my PC like the GFX card go back to 2009.   So, here's the ones I'm looking at.  I assume some people here know way more about PCs than me, so any suggestions as to which to get, which will probably allow me to try the Cel-Shading feature, etc.    Thanks for anyone helping me pick out my personal Christmas present:

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-element-mr-gaming-desktop-intel-i7-11700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-gtx-1660-6gb-240gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6475358.p?skuId=6475358

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-slate-mr-gaming-desktop-intel-i7-11700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-6gb-480gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6480908.p?skuId=6480908

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-slatemr-gaming-desktop-intel-i7-11700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-gtx-1660ti-6gb-480gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6477963.p?skuId=6477963

 

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-trace-mr-gaming-desktop-intel-i7-11700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-rtx-2060-6gb-480gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6465329.p?skuId=6465329

[A Cat]

Do you have any other games you like to play? Cox can be played on a potato and played on max settings on a toaster. 

[JnEricsonx]

28 minutes ago, A Cat said:

Do you have any other games you like to play? Cox can be played on a potato and played on max settings on a toaster. 

Well, there's some I've picked up, but they need newer PCs.   Hence my question.  🙂   I trust the people here to at least give me a idea as to which one of those PC's I should shoot for.  🙂

[Troo]

Hi @JnEricsonx

 

For COX, ram is going to be more important than an i7 chip. An i5 will work just fine. An SDD will also be helpful.

 

This is all I use, nothing spectacular. Cost $599, then upgraded to 32GB ddr4 (+$100-ish) and a f9 silent fan (+$12)

• HP Pavilion 690 Gaming Desktop
• Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9GHz upto 4.1GHz
• 8GB RAM (upgraded to 32GB for +$100-ish)
• 256GB NVMe SSD
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

 

This one will do very very well: Slate MR Gaming Desktop - Intel i7-11700F - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB - 480GB SSD + 1TB HDD

 

The GeForce GTX 1660 Super is a great card (cost to performance).

I'd still bump up the 16GB Memory, but that's me.

The i7 and SDD+HD are more than sufficient for COX and will do well for other games.

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by Troo

[JnEricsonx]

1 hour ago, Troo said:

Hi @JnEricsonx

 

For COX, ram is going to be more important than an i7 chip. An i5 will work just fine. An SDD will also be helpful.

 

This is all I use, nothing spectacular. Cost $599, then upgraded to 32GB ddr4 (+$100-ish) and a f9 silent fan (+$12)

• HP Pavilion 690 Gaming Desktop
• Intel Core i5-9400F 2.9GHz upto 4.1GHz
• 8GB RAM (upgraded to 32GB for +$100-ish)
• 256GB NVMe SSD
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

 

This one will do very very well: Slate MR Gaming Desktop - Intel i7-11700F - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB - 480GB SSD + 1TB HDD

 

The GeForce GTX 1660 Super is a great card (cost to performance).

I'd still bump up the 16GB Memory, but that's me.

The i7 and SDD+HD are more than sufficient for COX and will do well for other games.

 

Thanks for the info.   That was the one which SKU was 6480908  right?  I am by far more of a console guy, but as I'd said, my GFX card goes back to 2009.  Only reason looking at BB because they have a 18 month financing deal which ends in 2 weeks.

[Greycat]

Oh, good. Those actually look like they have mesh instead of just glass or acrylic in the front s you get actual airflow... well, the "slate" and "trace" do at least. There's been this annoying trend (that some are getting away from finally, at least) of going "Oooh, look, tempered glass... TEMPERED GLASS! And all the lights! Pretty!" ... which, sure, 'til you realize you're sealing a PC in a glass box and starving it of airflow - and thus cooling.

 

Regardless, while the 2060's newer, GPU wise, any of these should work. Ibuypower's at least using industry standard parts (unlike, say, Dell) so upgrading and such should be hassle free when you want to.

[JnEricsonx]

18 minutes ago, Greycat said:

Oh, good. Those actually look like they have mesh instead of just glass or acrylic in the front s you get actual airflow... well, the "slate" and "trace" do at least. There's been this annoying trend (that some are getting away from finally, at least) of going "Oooh, look, tempered glass... TEMPERED GLASS! And all the lights! Pretty!" ... which, sure, 'til you realize you're sealing a PC in a glass box and starving it of airflow - and thus cooling.

 

Regardless, while the 2060's newer, GPU wise, any of these should work. Ibuypower's at least using industry standard parts (unlike, say, Dell) so upgrading and such should be hassle free when you want to.

I'm guessing you're in agreement with Troo's suggestion?  I'm just happy to finally be getting people's opinions on what I'm looking at.

[Hew]

I have a 12 gig dell laptop with the fancy new intel graphics chip, and it works just fine with max all the things 😄

 

COH is definitely not the most, erm, computer stressing game out there.

[JnEricsonx]

2 minutes ago, Hew said:

I have a 12 gig dell laptop with the fancy new intel graphics chip, and it works just fine with max all the things 😄

 

COH is definitely not the most, erm, computer stressing game out there.

Oh I know, I'm just looking for a new general gaming PC, and the ones listed are my options.  🙂

[Sir Myshkin]

If you're comfortable upgrading RAM yourself (it's the least invasive upgrade you can make to a Desktop), there are a few options you can pick that provide improvements in other areas like better graphics cards in exchange for their configurations.

 

This build has a current generation chipset both in CPU and GPU, but only 8GB of RAM. A single stick can be purchased for ~$40, or you can easily get one of the packaged options from Best Buy (they sell them two packs) and end up with 24 GB of total RAM in your build:

• https://www.bestbuy.com/site/cyberpowerpc-gamer-master-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-5600g-8gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6600-xt-500gb-ssd-black/6479741.p?skuId=6479741

Here is an iBuypower option of the above that comes with 16 GB RAM and an extra 1TB HDD, but at a cost of $200 more. This ends up in the same price range as what you previously looked at, but gets you into a better graphics card without giving up any processing power. The Ryzen 5 5000 series processors are strong, and the 5600x is pretty much spec to spec on par with an i7-11600k.

• https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-slate-mr-gaming-desktop-amd-ryzen-5-5600x-16gb-memory-amd-radeon-rx-6600-xt-8gb-480gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6485757.p?skuId=6485757

This is a SkyTech build, a company that Best Buy has had a limited distribution deal with that increased significantly this year due to demands, so there's not a lot of track record on their site with them, but it has a good cost and spec ratio, and it also has a block cooler on the CPU instead of just a generic stock fan which is an added plus, most Intel builds often don't have very good stock fans.

• https://www.bestbuy.com/site/skytech-gaming-chronos-mini-gaming-desktop-pc-intel-i5-10400f-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-500g-ssd-16g-3200-memory/6489651.p?skuId=6489651

 

[JnEricsonx]

Thanks for the info. I'm a sucker for extra storage space though, and TBH, I'm terrified of installing anything myself.  A long time ago, a friend told me to reconnect the CD drive to my computer's mobo-and I wound up killing the comp.

[Techwright]

5 hours ago, A Cat said:

Do you have any other games you like to play? Cox can be played on a potato and played on max settings on a toaster. 

 

4 hours ago, JnEricsonx said:

Well, there's some I've picked up, but they need newer PCs.   Hence my question.  🙂   I trust the people here to at least give me a idea as to which one of those PC's I should shoot for.  🙂

 

I think what A Cat was shooting for here is that perhaps the comparative needs to be done against the newer games rather than CoH.  Since we don't know the newer games you have, I'd suggest checking the games on the site Can You Run It? which will provide both minimal and recommended requirements for the games.  Then compare those against your choices.  You may find that none of your choices might run a particular game, something we'd not be able to advise upon without full data.

 

Some odds and ends thoughts below, and my apologies if anything sounds like I'm talking down to you.  I always follow a maxim from a college teacher I had which begins with "Since the class is so large and there's a wide range of knowledge levels in play, I always assume I have to start at the level of the person who knows nothing..."

 

1.) If you're old computer is more than a decade out, keep monitor cables in mind when working with a new video card.  You may have to acquire a conversion cable if the new video card doesn't have the ports for the old cable.

2.) Consider other features besides the game's need.  Work toward future-proofing your computer, that is, if you're going to wait another decade before swapping, do your really want USB 2.0 ports or should it have USB 3.1 ports or...?

3.) The units come with Windows 11 Home.  Is that sufficient for you?  If your current computer is Windows 10 Home or Windows 7 Home, it probably is.  Personally, I always get the Pro versions, but I do a bit more than many other folks do.  Just putting it out there for consideration.

4.) To better understand video card, and to compare,  I like to nose around in PassMark's Videocard Benchmark.  For your aid, I've gone ahead and pulled up their comparison of the 4 cards in your list:

 

 

As to your 4 choices, referring to them by the video cards,  the GTX 1660 and the GTX 1660 Ti are nearly identical.  They currently sit in positions #90 and #89 respectively, with the "Ti" getting just a bit more oomph. That said, it also has 50% more in memory clock speed  (affects frames per second, resolution, basically the smoothness of your graphics). It's unit is $100 more and with that you also get another 240 gigs on the SSD.  If you've got the money, I'd personally cease considering the "vanilla" GTX 1660, and consider the "Ti" model worth that extra $100.

 

Now that I put that out there, I'm going to blow away the "Ti" option.  The GTX 1660 Super but has 75% more memory clock speed than the baseline GTX 1660 and 16.66% more than the "Ti". PassMark currently ranks the "Super" at #75 and the "Ti" at #89.  A quick glance at the two computers seems that they're largely the same except for the video cards, so the question is, do you want to save the extra $50 and STILL acquire a video card 14 ranks higher up on the video card list?   Unless there is some other difference between these two computers that I'm not considering, then at $50 cheaper, the GTX 1660 Super computer is clearly the better value.  (Note, I'm not considering aesthetics. Some people consider this when buying. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.)

 

That leaves a comparative between the GTX 1660 Super and the RTX 2060, or rank #75 vs. rank #57.  The comparison site suggest the "RTX" is about 9.4% better at handling 3D graphics.  I'll leave the research on these two to you, but it basically boils down to do you:  (A) want to save $150 or (B) acquire the best video card since we're uncertain how long the problem of acquiring affordable video cards will continue?

 

Actually, that's too simplistic.  One of the things you need to consider is the operating system.  The more expensive "RTX" system only uses Windows 10 according to the sales site.  The "Super" computer uses Windows 11 Home.  This won't be a concern for about 3.5 years, but as Windows 10 support ends on October 14, 2021, it might be worth considering.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Techwright

[Greycat]

7 hours ago, Techwright said:

 but as Windows 10 support ends on October 14, 2021, it might be worth considering.

 

... er... 202*5.*   :)  

[JnEricsonx]

My only other question is, as some have told me-is WAIT, because the prices for prebuilts, even the more middle of the road ones like what I'm looking at-are marked up too much due to the whole components/graphic cards situation.    I mean, is 1300 really that much higher than what it would be before all hell broke loose?  Or am I being told BS, and the price is pretty inline with what it would be?

[Techwright]

3 hours ago, Greycat said:

 

... er... 202*5.*   🙂

Right, right.  I had too little sleep when I wrote that.  🤣

[Snarky]

i am using a best buy rig from 2 years ago.  it is excellent.  omen 875   intel i7 9700 3.0 ghz, 16gb ram, 64bit, output to a 55 inch samsung tv  rig was around 900 on a thanksgiving sale.  tv was 650? i think

[Greycat]

2 hours ago, JnEricsonx said:

My only other question is, as some have told me-is WAIT, because the prices for prebuilts, even the more middle of the road ones like what I'm looking at-are marked up too much due to the whole components/graphic cards situation.    I mean, is 1300 really that much higher than what it would be before all hell broke loose?  Or am I being told BS, and the price is pretty inline with what it would be?

 

It's ... kind of hard to answer that.

 

I mean, they're higher than they should be, sure. The 1600 series is several years old. The 3060 series should, in theory, be taking its place (with the 16** being a decent budget card,) and the 3060 founders edition (straight from nvidia) has an MSRP/launch price of $399. If you can actually *get* one - and keeping in mind partners (MSI, Asus, etc.) would be selling a bit higher with custom bits - it's at least twice that, in most cases. (*Best* I've seen is about 150-175%.) So *ideally* systems running a 16** series card should be cheaper now.

 

Waiting *is* an option, sure, but last year I was expecting to have to wait 'til around now to be able to buy, and word seems to be "late next year" is a more realistic target, cryptominers aside, for being able to buy a card at a reasonable price.

 

There are a couple of things in the works, though, at least on nVidia's side - they're relaunching the 2060 (one generation back) with 12Gb RAM. It's older and uses a less in demand process for its GPU, so in theory they should actually be able to *supply* these (again, assuming cryptominers and bots don't just snatch them all up,) so prices there should potentially be reasonable, and it sounds like they're getting ready in a bit to launch (if at least on paper) the 4xxx series at some point - though whether that'll really make a difference... *shrug*

 

That said, OEMs like Ibuypower and the like are getting components straight from nvidia, asus, MSI, etc, not clicking refresh repeatedly on a store website. Are they getting bit by - or charging more because of - the supply? Eh, sure. Are the prices outrageous for these? Eh, not horribly.

 

Personally... since you're buying prebuilt, not building and getting severely gouged, I'd say take the advice on one of my mom's coffee mugs. "Life is short. Buy the shoes."

[JnEricsonx]

That's pretty much all I needed to hear.  FFS, most of the stuff I'd be playing on this is more RPGs and the like.  Most of my gaming is console, but I just wanted something better. I don't even have a PS5-between lack of  games I wanna play on it, and the fact that I don't need to sacrifice my soul to get one.

[Ironblade]

22 hours ago, JnEricsonx said:

That was the one which SKU was 6480908  right?

I would agree with that choice, also.  It was either that one or the one with the 2060 video card but I don't see what the second offers that makes it worth $150 more.

 

On a side note, definitely install CoH on the SSD.  My CoH directory is only 4.6 GB so you definitely have room for it.  A 480GB SSD is *BIG* (until you start talking about MODERN games).  I have a 480GB SSD for everything but my games and I'm only using 172GB.  For my games, I have a 2TB SSD which is 2/3 full.

 

On another side note, I was going to scream about financing through a vendor until I checked and saw that, if you qualify, the financing is interest-free for up to 18 months.  I had a friend show off his fancy stereo once and told me it was financed through the store at only 1.4%.  I looked at the fine print and saw it was 1.4% *PER MONTH*.  That's the kind of BS some places do.

[JnEricsonx]

I did the same deal with my tv last holiday season. Actually paid off the tv 6 months early so my card would be empty to get the PC.  That's why I focused on BB for the computer.

[Hyperstrike]

 

 

[Ukase]

12 hours ago, JnEricsonx said:

My only other question is, as some have told me-is WAIT, because the prices for prebuilts, even the more middle of the road ones like what I'm looking at-are marked up too much due to the whole components/graphic cards situation.    I mean, is 1300 really that much higher than what it would be before all hell broke loose?  Or am I being told BS, and the price is pretty inline with what it would be?

The thing about pre-made rigs and pricing is that it's entirely too easy to compare apples to oranges. One may have an SSD that's 1 TB, and the other may be an HDD that's 1/2 TB. 
One might have Dimm ram, and another may have an entirely different type of ram. One may be upgradeable - as in, you could opt to increase your memory, upgrade to the next gen of CPUs, so many damn differences between one rig and the next. 

My gut says, yeah, certain components, if you're buying them as an individual will be cheaper in a year or so. But the pre-made rigs...you're getting the cards (typically) at the manufacturer's suggest retail price. Over time, it's very rare for prices to go down. The manufacturers of these cards will undoubtedly look at sales and say, "Well, sales to non-crypto-currency miners has gone down, but we made 2x as much!"  (I have no idea if that's what the case actually is - that's just what I think they'll say, to justify an increase of their MSRP. 

In short, for a pre-made rig, buy it now, maybe catch something on sale for the holiday. 

[Togglesun]

I would like to compare such processor AMD Ryzen Threadripper 3990X VS Intel Core i9-9980XE  Here I found more information about it for example:

https://versus.com/en/search?q=amd ryzen threadripper 3990x vs intel core i9-9980xe

https://rankquality.com/en/processors/

https://versus.com/en/amd-ryzen-threadripper-3990x-vs-intel-core-i9-9980xe

I just wanted something better. Let's go on talking about it