PC Tech Thread

Yep, ImgBurn

I don't think anyone's suggested this but I would use ImgBurn.

Also, I can't be arsed pricing parts I think I'm going to pull the trigger on that Fanless PC.

I feel the need the need for spe... a slightly warmer lounge room.

This one? http://www.quietpc.com/sys-a490s

I can't remember which one. I'm just going to throw money at the site until I see a "your order is complete" message. But yeah, I think I'll start with the sexy case version.

Yeah do it! That case is mint. If you go for the "non silent" one you get a better option for cards... and I think the fans on the 900 series only spin under heavy load (games) so in effect, silent... until you game.
http://www.quietpc.com/sys-serenity-umx

I do think I'll do what you or someone else said and spec. it without an external gfx card initially and then buy the better gfx card afterwards. It'll depend on how many sherries I've had before ordering.

To be fair, I doubt many folks need a GPU these days. My old Mac Mini was plenty good enough even for Design work and that was just a laptop CPU.

I could probably save the dosh and just buy an Xbox with it or some shit.

Yes, although I have recently gone from Xbox to PC due to Steam being free (Online gaming) and being able to play the same game over multiple devices Hackintosh/iMac/Macbook Pro.
If you are serious about wanting an Xbox I'm going to be selling mine very soon, just need to dig out all the games. Won't be after more than £50 for it. Prob less.

Nah, I don't have enough time to game. I get too little sleep as it is - any more toys and I'd be dead in a month :) I just meant that if I did suddenly get into gaming I'd probably be better off buying a specific machine for it. Another pub quiz tonight so pulling the trigger on this PC will be another day later..

I had a quick look at HP's offerings on the weekend and their fast machines are heading into the same price range as this Quiet PC and that's with a less tailored, less useful setup than the one I got. Thought about getting another laptop and using a docking setup but I hate the sealed nature of most modern laptops - once you've got it that's it. My old one copped a few upgrades but the one I bought my missus is pretty much done. Also I don't really carry it around so it's probably pointless. Maybe desk to sofa would be nice but I have other laptops for that already.

@hippy I thought we were helping you spend 2 grand :D
If you're spending anywhere between 1600 and 2k then the flat rate VAT bit means it's better to just spend 2k and get the tax back.

@chrisbmx116 I sold my Xbox recently. Put it up for a good price here and had a few people lowball, so ended up checking out what CEX would buy the games for, then having Game pricematch + £1 for each game, and pricematch + 10% for the console. 250GB Xbox 360 Slim with 18 games ended up at £110 trade in, so I got a Steam Controller, Steam Link and £25 Steam vouchers (which they sell in store at Game - hence being able to do the trade in price rather than cash price). Worth considering if you don't mind hanging about in the store for 30mins while they faff about testing things.

Yeah, I don't think I'll be happy knocking a few hundred off just because 'I don't need it'. I'll regret that in a year. So, I'll bump it up over £2k, that's not going to be an issue :) I just need to sit down and do it. Bit busy with stuff at the moment though.

Thats really good info actually... I think I have about 8 games. I have no idea what a decent price is really, what did you put your on at?
Hows the steam controller? I think I would pretty much want to do the exact same as you (apart from the link - although how is that out of curiosity?).

Quick side question for the better informed:
I've been out of the PC market for some time and my laptop just doesn't cut it anymore in regards of games and 2d/3d editing performance.

I'd like a small-ish sized desktop machine, capable of running current games on 1080p with reasonable settings (I don't need highest quality, but smooth performance on native resolution would be nice) as well as some minor 3D rendering capabilities and be able to do so for the next 1-2 years.

Any recommendations? Don't need highest spec, just something that works.

Put mine here for £75 and a couple of people wanted to split. Wasn't worth the hassle so I just looked to see what I could get for it. The cash price is crap at Game etc, but the trade in one seemed worthwhile when I could then get Steam vouchers etc.
Haven't used the link yet - was a bit of an impulse buy but will report back in a few weeks once I get around to it.

The controller is promising though. It'll take a little getting used to but you can configure it differently for each game (/use uploaded settings from the Steam community).
So far have played
Rocket League - no problems, I expect it'd be just the same as using an xbox controller.
Xcom - works surprisingly well with using one of the touchpads as a trackball and having the buttons/triggers/paddles as actions - enough to not need the keyboard or mouse at all.
Shadowrun - it's a mouse/keyboard RPG - and it works fine with the pad.

At the moment I'm trying to get 30mins turbo in each morning - nothing too OTT just light/medium spinning/active recovery etc. - and the steam controller looks like it'll let me play mouse games while I'm on it.
Still only a few uses of it, but promising certainly (and the thumb touch/trackpad thing is quick to get used to)

I built mine for around £300 and does everything you mention.
i3 4330. GTX 950. Samsung SSD.

Yeah, thats the kinda price I thought they would command. CEX offer £30 for one on its own. Might just go for that and get a Steam controller off them and give my games to a mate.

Do Game rather than CEX. They'll do the CEX trade in price plus 10%, and I don't think CEX have the Steam stuff in store, so you'd be stuck with cash price if you did CEX.
So could get morelike £50 trade in from Game vs £30 cash from CEX.

That sounds ace.
Is there a "recommended spec" page/list or something similar, as I have no idea what to buy.

I'm able to build it together though, so a parts build might work?

Got ya! Will do. Cheers.

@Murphys_Law this is my parts list, but, get a semi modular CPU. I have sooo many cables...

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/k4f93C

Wonderful, thanks. I'll probably build something similar.
Are you running SteamOS on yours?

Nope, OS X and W10, both running like a charm. Tempted to instal Steam but I think it might confuse the wife and this needs to be the most elegant and hassle free media consumption solution possible.

Probly better for now, as not all games on Steam run on SteamOS yet (I think so at least...)

What d'ya reckon to the Steam Link? Been wondering about taking a punt on one since they were announced but still haven't got round to it. Thing that puts me off most is reading that it only streams 2-channel audio, which is a bit shit.