It's another tech post, another talk about my latest hardware addition however I think this might be a first for me. Instead of a cheap work desktop turned into a gaming "thing", instead of a laptop with extra power, or a iMac or even a strange console like Alienware rig, I have actually build my first PC. Before I dive into the PC I want to go over the history a bit.
I've been playing computer games since forever, I was a die hard windows user till university where Apple made a big play in my life (and still is, typing on a mac for this post) however I've always been playing games with what I had, never on a machine made to actually push games. I had a stint as a console player near end of high-school till about mid-university which was the most gaming thing I had probably bought at that point. I have to say I've impressed myself with my love for the gaming industry, and PC's yet never actually built or had a machine that could really capitalize on gaming. It wasn't till this year, playing PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds did I feel I need a new machine, I was feeling myself hitting wall with that games, and others which I noticed for decent frames I had to keep lowering settings. It was time to build a machine.
I knew I didn't need top of the line, I needed a decent GPU something that could basically play games as high on a 1080p monitor with a few things possibly dialed back. I set my eyes on a gtx 1070 knowing it was well known as the perfect gaming card for almost everyone. I also knew CPU's were not much of an issue so was looking at a Skylake i5 (3.4ghz I think). Both of these were going to give me something I never had, power to throw at a game and not even really think however fate decided something else.
Instead due to a deal (and possibly a system error) I ended up with a gtx 1080, a beast of a card that was overkill yet due to the error was only $50 more then a 1070 at the time. I had to dive in. With my 1080 in hand I decided I needed a machine to match. So I ended up with something a little different.
CPU: i7 7700k (4.2Ghz)
GPU: GTX 1080, 8GB of vram
RAM: 16GB of 2400 dram4
Storage: M.2 960 pro 256gb
Case: NZXT h440
The motherboard and other parts are pretty much bare bones (motherboard being enough to overclock but nothing special)
This is compared to my Alienware
CPU: i3 2.9Ghz
GPU: 860m 2gb vram
RAM: 8gb (laptop ddr3 ram)
Storage: 256 GB SSD
It's amazing to see how far things have some in only 2 years. As well being such a pc gamer, I can't believe it took so many years for me to build a dedicated PC. Looking at what I have been playing on in the past I am impressed I survived for so long and finally back to a desktop PC.
Building the PC was an experience, it actually went easier then I thought it would but still, I learned so much more since the last PC building experience I had was a refurb Mac rebuild, and a transplant PC to a new case. Actually placing the CPU, and wiring every piece was truly an experience and makes me look at my PC with a smile knowing I had built the whole thing.
I have to say everyone who likes PC tech should build a PC at some point, it forces you to understand what is needed, as well as furthering a connection with the machine. At the end of it all, I still am amazed I know have a PC more powerful then most others, games start at ultra settings without a blink, I have more frames in almost every game then I can think of. PUBG plays smooth like butter for such a early game, and few others I have played in the past that have chugged almost are impossible to control since such a drastic shift of speed.
At the end of it all I am happy, the investment into a such a long lasting hobby is worth it, and I feel better moving into the future of games now. After 10 years I have finally looped back to owning a desktop PC again, It feel as if going back in the past while stepping into the future.
I've been playing computer games since forever, I was a die hard windows user till university where Apple made a big play in my life (and still is, typing on a mac for this post) however I've always been playing games with what I had, never on a machine made to actually push games. I had a stint as a console player near end of high-school till about mid-university which was the most gaming thing I had probably bought at that point. I have to say I've impressed myself with my love for the gaming industry, and PC's yet never actually built or had a machine that could really capitalize on gaming. It wasn't till this year, playing PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds did I feel I need a new machine, I was feeling myself hitting wall with that games, and others which I noticed for decent frames I had to keep lowering settings. It was time to build a machine.
I knew I didn't need top of the line, I needed a decent GPU something that could basically play games as high on a 1080p monitor with a few things possibly dialed back. I set my eyes on a gtx 1070 knowing it was well known as the perfect gaming card for almost everyone. I also knew CPU's were not much of an issue so was looking at a Skylake i5 (3.4ghz I think). Both of these were going to give me something I never had, power to throw at a game and not even really think however fate decided something else.
Instead due to a deal (and possibly a system error) I ended up with a gtx 1080, a beast of a card that was overkill yet due to the error was only $50 more then a 1070 at the time. I had to dive in. With my 1080 in hand I decided I needed a machine to match. So I ended up with something a little different.
CPU: i7 7700k (4.2Ghz)
GPU: GTX 1080, 8GB of vram
RAM: 16GB of 2400 dram4
Storage: M.2 960 pro 256gb
Case: NZXT h440
The motherboard and other parts are pretty much bare bones (motherboard being enough to overclock but nothing special)
This is compared to my Alienware
CPU: i3 2.9Ghz
GPU: 860m 2gb vram
RAM: 8gb (laptop ddr3 ram)
Storage: 256 GB SSD
It's amazing to see how far things have some in only 2 years. As well being such a pc gamer, I can't believe it took so many years for me to build a dedicated PC. Looking at what I have been playing on in the past I am impressed I survived for so long and finally back to a desktop PC.
Building the PC was an experience, it actually went easier then I thought it would but still, I learned so much more since the last PC building experience I had was a refurb Mac rebuild, and a transplant PC to a new case. Actually placing the CPU, and wiring every piece was truly an experience and makes me look at my PC with a smile knowing I had built the whole thing.
I have to say everyone who likes PC tech should build a PC at some point, it forces you to understand what is needed, as well as furthering a connection with the machine. At the end of it all, I still am amazed I know have a PC more powerful then most others, games start at ultra settings without a blink, I have more frames in almost every game then I can think of. PUBG plays smooth like butter for such a early game, and few others I have played in the past that have chugged almost are impossible to control since such a drastic shift of speed.
At the end of it all I am happy, the investment into a such a long lasting hobby is worth it, and I feel better moving into the future of games now. After 10 years I have finally looped back to owning a desktop PC again, It feel as if going back in the past while stepping into the future.
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