Desktops or laptop? - Page 2

peanut · 21-11-2023, 13:48

I ended up getting mine from PC Specialist. My last one from them lasted 9 years so I couldn't argue otherwise.

That said the case I picked states that it can have 3 SSDs on the back and 1 3.5" HHD but the cabling for the ICUE Commander etc makes it pretty much impossible to add any internal drives which I ain't happy about. So now relying on the 2x NVMe's and using external caddies for SSD drives and external mechanicals. Pretty crap really as the case is an iCUE 5000T which at the time cost close to £400.

So my advice if you do buy a pre-built from somewhere like PC Specialist, add the drives as part of the build and don't rely on installing your own afterwards. Cases aren't like they used to be.

But the actual running of the PC is excellent, but for the price I paid for it that's exactly what I should expect and nothing less. The RTX 4090 OC breezes through anything you throw at it even at 4k. So I do recommend them overall.

Jaymoss · 21-11-2023, 13:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanut

I ended up getting mine from PC Specialist. My last one from them lasted 9 years so I couldn't argue otherwise.

That said the case I picked states that it can have 3 SSDs on the back and 1 3.5" HHD but the cabling for the ICUE Commander etc makes it pretty much impossible to add any internal drives which I ain't happy about. So now relying on the 2x NVMe's and using external caddies for SSD drives and external mechanicals. Pretty crap really as the case is an iCUE 5000T which at the time cost close to £400.

So my advice if you do buy a pre-built from somewhere like PC Specialist, add the drives as part of the build and don't rely on installing your own afterwards. Cases aren't like they used to be.

But the actual running of the PC is excellent, but for the price I paid for it that's exactly what I should expect and nothing less. The RTX 4090 OC breezes through anything you throw at it even at 4k. So I do recommend them overall.

What is stopping you re cable managing it?

The images on the corsair site has the commander above the SSD caddies and the cabling for them running below. Dunno what PC specialist has done. Can you not just have the ssds floating in the space behind the PSU ?

peanut · 21-11-2023, 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

What is stopping you re cable managing it?

The images on the corsair site has the commander above the SSD caddies and the cabling for them running below. Dunno what PC specialist has done. Can you not just have the ssds floating in the space behind the PSU ?

Basically I'd have to strip it right down, everything is tied tightly and to get to the PSU it has to be all undone. Not only that they've tied the cabling into the caddie holders too. So not a job I'd really want to do as it's not straight forward.

The commander has a lot more wires that the site shows. For some reason the case has LED strips on the top of the case both sides, both front sides and both bottom sides as well as top internal fans, LED memory, LED front facing fans etc. Those I didn't really expect to get when I ordered it. It's Blackpool illuminations or a teenager's wet dream, lol. I can't stand them and they're all off as default.

It's not what I expected from the case, but it's manageable with externals. No matter how much hard drive space I have internally I'll always end up using externals anyway. I just need to learn to delete stuff. lol.

peanut · 21-11-2023, 16:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

Can you not just have the ssds floating in the space behind the PSU ?

That's something I haven't thought of and will see if it can be done, so thanks for the idea, will be giving that a go.

Dude111 · 22-11-2023, 04:14

I have used laptops and they are too small,they hurt my eyes,etc..........

My dad has a mac and sometimes I use it........

Mr K · 23-11-2023, 18:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dude111

I have used laptops and they are too small,they hurt my eyes,etc..........

My dad has a mac and sometimes I use it........

Surprised you don't go for for an abacus Dude, far quicker than these computer things.

Far more more fun can also be had with a stick and hoop than any computer game.

tweetiepooh · 24-11-2023, 10:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr K

Far more more fun can also be had with a stick and hoop than any computer game.

And I thought this was a family friendly site.

Dude111 · 24-11-2023, 16:32

It is buddy

Taf · 24-11-2023, 19:52

Our daughter's 8-year-old gaming PC literally blew up. So she designed one on Cyberpower's site and just got me to pay for it. £2400. She did try PC Specialist, but it was far more expensive.

Stephen · 24-11-2023, 20:16

Personally I have been Mac since 2009 opening an iMac then a Macbook Pro since 2012.

However when deciding on an upgrade Macs have got crazy expensive for what you get.

A decided to switch back to a Windows machine. However I'm not a fan of prebuilts as they don't always use the best components and some will use their own custom motherboards etc making them harder to upgrade over time.

So I decided to build my own again after last building one in 2004. I set a budget and then looked into which CPU etc to go for Intel or AMD. I was looking mostly to use for gaming as I'm fed up with the consoles now, they are basically PCs now.

So £2090 later I got a really mid to high spec PC that I can upgrade when I need to. Latest AMD Ruzen 7 7700 CPU, 32GB DDR5, 2TB NVME SSD and an AMD 7900XT GPU. runs all the latest games with all the bells and whistles far better than an xbox or PS5 can.I went for an AMD Radeon GPU as you get for more for your money and cheaper than the Nvidia equivalent.

So my opinion is if you want value for money try and spec out a PC for your budget, buy parts and build yourself. Yes more work but it's more satisfying and you get to know the components and, then in a few years you can replace components or add memory to it, extra storage etc and it will last a lot longer than a prebuilt.

Link to my build specs and photos.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/b/gcNPxr

---------- Post added at 20:16 ---------- Previous post was at 20:13 ----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dude111

I have used laptops and they are too small,they hurt my eyes,etc..........

My dad has a mac and sometimes I use it........

Maybe you just need a larger screen laptop or a newer own with a high resolution and high frame rate display.

Mr K · 24-11-2023, 20:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taf

Our daughter's 8-year-old gaming PC literally blew up. So she designed one on Cyberpower's site and just got me to pay for it. £2400. She did try PC Specialist, but it was far more expensive.

Should have got her a Sinclair ZX Spectrum (48k). All the fun you could possibly want.

Dude111 · 25-11-2023, 00:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen

Maybe you just need a larger screen laptop or a newer own with a high resolution and high frame rate display.

Thank you buddy,you could be right...... (Make it 800x600 like my desktop is)

Stephen · 25-11-2023, 03:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dude111

Thank you buddy,you could be right...... (Make it 800x600 like my desktop is)

What on earth? My smart watch has a better resolution than that. Most new standard laptops or even PC monitors have 1920x1080(1080p FHD) or 2560x1440(1440p QHD) as standard now. 800x600 is like 1995 era resolution.

heero_yuy · 25-11-2023, 08:09

My oldish laptop ( HP Pro book 450 ) has a 16" 1080 screen and is quite usable. It also has an HDMI output that can be fed to a much larger screen.

Hom3r · 25-11-2023, 09:40

My Sony VAIO is 10 years old and still working, but when I get back to working when I stop being a full-time carer I will get a gaming rig, which I will get my nephew to build for me, he built his own rig.

He also bought himself a Windows 11 Asus laptop and put a Linux on it.