Something I've always had trouble with is keeping up with the technical specifications of computers and the various components. I know Newegg and Tigerdirect offer some of the cheapest parts around, but in general my knowledge of which parts and specs are superior is sadly limited and I'm not sure how to go about improving it.tl;dr how does /tek/ keep up with the latest, the greatest, and the cheapest when it comes to hardware?
A while back, some people on 4chan's /g/ kept a list of recommended hardware, from motherboards to headphones. They'd update it monthly or so. If they're still doing that, I'd start there.
ah 4chan... answer to and source of all my problems
Hardwarecanucks for me and Tech PowerUp! though one of my favorite writer/reviews is leaving TPUBut ultimately, Google-Fu
I am mighty interested in buying a desktop in the near future and would like to know which future game requirement should I use as the base for my new desktop (I might use my 32' as the monitor). Is the requirement for Starcraft 2 or Diablo 3 out yet or is there a better game to use as base? An FPS would be better right?
>>572http://www.geeks3d.com/They have decent benchmarks
Thanks, man...
Found it. It's geared towards gaming PCs but since gaming is one of the most common high-end uses of PCs, it should work for just about everything.
>>591I went to Microcenter with the list today, (found out one of my parent's friend from Church works there, small world...) And I was able to find most of the pieces easily, or at least adequate replacements, (they said bringing the list was a really big help so that the search could be more narrowed down.)Now, about the case. ...I can't say I'm a big fan. I know cases are not really important when it comes to aesthetics, but it just looks... dumb. Is there any way you guys know to make it look a little more interesting?
>>616So what do you like? More minimalistic stuff? And as someone who got the CM690 as the case for their first custom build, I'd say to find one you're really happy with even if you have to spend more. After all, the case is one of the few things that will last multiple builds over several tech generations and is the only part you'll really be seeing on a day to day basis. If I could do it all over again, I'd make my first priorities my case and PSU.
PS more personal experience advice: when you're working with the case, push and pull everything with gradual pressure around what you're doing when you can't figure it out and it doesn't say anything in the manual because there is a mechanism and using force will just break shit, yes even metal D:
>>623Forgot my namefag last time.Anyway, I was gonna set it up myself, but the guy I was talking about earlier offered to help set it up for me without charge. And based on how clumsy I am with delicate objects, (I broke the RAM stick last time I tried to upgrade it,) I'm just gonna let him do it, and just take notes this time.
>>624Cool, that's a good idea.