Hello! My last PCSpecialist computer died last night (bought 2015, so not too shabby), which brings me back here. I suspect it's repairable, but it could be the prompt I need to upgrade. (It turns on for a split second, turns off, turns on, turns off, turns on, turns off, never boots. PSU? RAM? I'll test RAM tonight, but I have no spare parts.) [It died 10minutes into Alan Wake 2, 30minutes after updating the graphics driver, but it wasn't running particularly hot.]
I haven't a clue what the latest info is on 'good' and 'good value' computer parts are, so direly need help! I'd be grateful for any guidance all the way up to someone just telling me what to get!
I have already recently upgraded the graphics card, so ideally, I'd be aiming for a nice build with no graphics card at all that I can just swap the card into when it arrives. It's a Palit GeForce RTX 3070.
I do have a couple of harddrives that I'd like to swap across, or at least plug in long enough to get data off - one's an SSD, the other isn't. On the current (dead) PC I had to unplug the disc drive to plug in the extra harddrive as I didn't have enough plugs of the right type. So, er, I'd like a motherboard with enough plugs to plug things in, but at this point you can see I'm already stretching my understanding of what a plug is even called and what kind I need. I'm going to unplug things this evening to see whether the fault might be RAM, so if there's something I should be finding out when I do, please say!
Uses:
Gaming (occasional VR via Steam but rarely), Unity (basic stuff, I don't render, but do need an SSD to open it in under an hour!), day-to-day office stuff
Max budget:
I don't need a graphics card, so I'm hoping something sub £1300 (pref around £1000 [I mean the less the better, but this is what I can get up to]) could get me something that doesn't need upgrading for a few years. I don't need keyboard, mouse, speakers etc. Just the box with the brain.
Monitor:
My monitors are antique, but will eventually get upgraded the moment someone can persuade me to part with my weird ratio. I've a Syncmaster 2693 1920x1200 and a ProArt 248 1920x120.
I don't particularly care what it looks like - I prefer fewer lights and colours if possible but if the most suitable thing comes with colours, so be it. I have no opinions on the appearance of the case - but would like it as cooled as is optimal, and space for extra harddrives/whatever the appropriate number of fans is. I will need to open it up to clean it as my room can get dusty, so something that can be easily opened would be good.
I'll be running it on a LAN cable, but occasionally do need WiFi so I can hotspot from my phone when the internet goes down.
Ideally it would run reasonably quiet, but like 'normal' quiet - this isn't about not waking anyone up, but just making sure it's not annoying.
I'm more interested in stability than power, but am willing to get the parts that give it stability *and* power.
Sorry I've not posted a spec: I just don't know where to start! I did look at the Desktop Building Guide, but it listed some things I couldn't spot in the configurator, so maybe new things have come in? (Or maybe I'm being incompetent, it wouldn't be the first time, thanks ADHD.)
I haven't a clue what the latest info is on 'good' and 'good value' computer parts are, so direly need help! I'd be grateful for any guidance all the way up to someone just telling me what to get!
I have already recently upgraded the graphics card, so ideally, I'd be aiming for a nice build with no graphics card at all that I can just swap the card into when it arrives. It's a Palit GeForce RTX 3070.
I do have a couple of harddrives that I'd like to swap across, or at least plug in long enough to get data off - one's an SSD, the other isn't. On the current (dead) PC I had to unplug the disc drive to plug in the extra harddrive as I didn't have enough plugs of the right type. So, er, I'd like a motherboard with enough plugs to plug things in, but at this point you can see I'm already stretching my understanding of what a plug is even called and what kind I need. I'm going to unplug things this evening to see whether the fault might be RAM, so if there's something I should be finding out when I do, please say!
Uses:
Gaming (occasional VR via Steam but rarely), Unity (basic stuff, I don't render, but do need an SSD to open it in under an hour!), day-to-day office stuff
Max budget:
I don't need a graphics card, so I'm hoping something sub £1300 (pref around £1000 [I mean the less the better, but this is what I can get up to]) could get me something that doesn't need upgrading for a few years. I don't need keyboard, mouse, speakers etc. Just the box with the brain.
Monitor:
My monitors are antique, but will eventually get upgraded the moment someone can persuade me to part with my weird ratio. I've a Syncmaster 2693 1920x1200 and a ProArt 248 1920x120.
I don't particularly care what it looks like - I prefer fewer lights and colours if possible but if the most suitable thing comes with colours, so be it. I have no opinions on the appearance of the case - but would like it as cooled as is optimal, and space for extra harddrives/whatever the appropriate number of fans is. I will need to open it up to clean it as my room can get dusty, so something that can be easily opened would be good.
I'll be running it on a LAN cable, but occasionally do need WiFi so I can hotspot from my phone when the internet goes down.
Ideally it would run reasonably quiet, but like 'normal' quiet - this isn't about not waking anyone up, but just making sure it's not annoying.
I'm more interested in stability than power, but am willing to get the parts that give it stability *and* power.
Sorry I've not posted a spec: I just don't know where to start! I did look at the Desktop Building Guide, but it listed some things I couldn't spot in the configurator, so maybe new things have come in? (Or maybe I'm being incompetent, it wouldn't be the first time, thanks ADHD.)