The Stonehearth PC Building Workshop (Formally "Is this a Good PC for Stonehearth")

General Discussion
21

Wow, I’m actually not disappointed at all!

I tried a few machines and here are the numbers:

  • Tiny old netbook (Intel Atom, 2GB RAM, Integrated GPU): doesn’t run (what a surprise!)
  • Dell XPS 17 (1st gen Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, nVidia GT 555 with 3GB RAM): ~175 FPS at default screen size, ~100FPS at 1920x1080 :smile:
  • Home-made desktop (Intel Xeon 6core, 40GM RAM, old nVidia GT 210 with 1GB RAM): ~20FPS at default screen size
  • Alienware M17xR4 (3rd gen Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 7970M): ~300FPS at default screen size (with BETA driver, release driver yields ~100FPS) and ~150FPS at 1920x1200
  • Alienware M17xR4 (same machine but with Intel Integrated HD 4000 graphics): ~85FPS at default screen size and 50FPS at 1920x1200

So if your GM 630 comes anywhere near the performance of my GT 555, you’re good (with room to spare, I think).

This is obviously not the real game yet, so figures will vary, but you can compare relative performance between the machines. From what I can tell, the CPU doesn’t play a large role in these numbers here. It might do so with a really slow GPU though.

Oh, and:

This is too much fun to leave it for long :grin:

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22

you sir, are a machine… and yes, that was a slightly intentional pun…

excellent work! and i imagine this has put @Valiance’s fears to rest… :wink:

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23

Being the person who loves to save money, I see that as a very bad deal for a laptop. But, it should be able to run stonehearth.

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24

I never even been able to play a game with more than 30 FPS, this is a dream!!

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25

I believe the XPS 15 you’re looking at also has the Intel Integrated HD 4000 graphics. Even that goes above 30FPS on this demo at full-screen :smile:

At the risk of going off-topic: You can find a similarly specced machine (same or beter CPU, GPU, screen resolution, RAM, HDD, warranty) for less? I’d honestly be curious which brand and store.

26

My custom built desktop is a little close to that things hardware, so here is my specs (I mainly am just using this as an excuse to show off my hardware). I will only toss in the items that could affect performance.

CPU: Intel i5 3470K (3.3 GHZ)
GPU: Radeon HD 7870 (2GB, 1100MHZ, GIGABYTE)
RAM: 4GB DDR3 (1300MHZ) Replacing this, I will let you know how much of a difference 4gb has on the game, I expect very little
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black (1TB)

I run the game on fullscreen with everything turned on (I also went into the config files and moved it up to 8x AA) and I can run it at about 200FPS.

Here is my issue with that laptop. Lets take a look at the price. 800 bucks?. A question I always ask myself when looking at a device is, how much would it cost ME to build this?

In the case of that laptop, lets take a look. (If you don’t care, you should still look, you might learn something)

Windows 7 System builder disks: $99.00
6GB Laptop RAM: ~$50.00
500GB Laptop HDD: $77.00
GPU: $63.00
Optical Drive: ~$20.00
Wireless card: $50.00
Battery: $19.45
Motherboard: ~$40.00

As for the laptops casing, keyboard etc.

Screen: ~$40.00
Keyboard: ~$8.00
Casing: ~$18.00

Total: $684.45

So, right off the bat, we see a $115 profit for dell. But, what else have we lost? For the same amount of cash, you could build a desktop better than mine (Part of the reason I listed my parts). But instead, you get something that won’t really come close to it.

I may seem a little too harsh, but you gotta be picky if you want to be happy when you come to electronics.

EDIT: Left out the CPU on the list, but I did include it in the total. Just in case you are curious, the CPU is a Intel i5M which is generally about 200 bucks on a good day for sales.

EDIT 2: Game debate (Usually very reliable) has released predicted specifications here http://goo.gl/H7emez. Just something to take into consideration

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27

He was kinda motioning towards buying an already built PC, and I’m pretty sure everyone here knows that companies are quite devious when it come to the :moneybag:. And also I personally know that building a PC is far more inexpensive than buying one pre-built. This time around I’m being lazy and just want something to use for now, and upgrade by hand later.

28

Yes, you can find better parts for less. For laptops? Not sure. I build desktops. I don’t need a laptop when I can just remotely connect to my desktop network with a modded Chromebook and have a better/cheaper experience. If you want me to go into more depth on desktop parts I would be happy to. I build computers for fun, it’s a strange thing to be interested in.

29

Another tech fanatic! I knew we had something in come as soon as you said: [quote=“LordNevs, post:28, topic:3743”]
with a modded Chromebook
[/quote]

30

Oh, but I am interested.

The parts you list are indeed comparable, but do I miss a CPU? And, most people cannot build their own laptop. I have built desktops and servers and repaired and modded laptops, but even I (considering myself an advanced user) will not build myself a laptop.The time spent sourcing the parts doesn’t offset the ‘profit’ I’d make.

Building a better desktop for the same money is obvious, but if a user needs a laptop (to work at school or an office and also at home), that option os no longer an option. For most regular users the deal this thread started with seems to me like a good one.

I find this discussion quite interesting, but will not pursue it further as I fear we might derail the thread. Thanks for your insights though, seriously.

31

Put the CPU in the bottom with an edit, the price was included in the total though, and I brought the argument up because it seemed like he was planning on using it for gaming. A lot of consumers now a days forget that the desktop exists and is ideal for gaming. As stupid as it may sound, you could probably ask anyone at my high school what a desktop is and they would think of the crappy dell desktops from 2001 that you can find in most offices. Not the high end PC’s by alienware, and the idea of building a computer seems so complex and difficult. Makes me think of what things I see as difficult that are actually very easy…

32

Yes, I’ve seen the update, thanks!

That depends on what you’re doing. I sometimes work remote, but for my taste that is a bit too slow. I’d rather have the raw power with me. That’s also convenient when I temporarily lose connectivity. But to each their own!

It seems we’re all kindred spirits. All of my machines (including every notebook I have ever owned) were modded at some point, generally sooner rather than later.

I swapped the screen in the XPS 17, replaced more CPU’s than I can remember. RAM, HDD. SSD upgrades are done blindfolded :smile:

Oops, now I start bragging. This cannot be right!

I think we’ve got that covered anyhow :grin:

33

It can get slow, but I have found that if you hardwire your device to a network using CAT 6-7 cable, you get a pretty good connection. Worst case scenario would be a bit of screen shredding while gaming remotely. For browsing though, it’s always nice and speedy. Video renders quickly too.

34

well, if nothing else, this thread has given me two new resources to abuse ask for assistance in purchasing my next desktop…

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35

No need to hide @SteveAdamo, you and @Geoffers747 are free you abuse the creative resources/powers of this community at all times!! (Even though that would be a terrible, cruel, and mean thing to do)

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36

I would be happy to assist. But you need to convert team Radiant to communism so that we all have the power to abuse each other. I think it is a fair exchange.

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37

I was joki…joking… :cold_sweat: I don’t think I like that idea…

38

For slightly less, I can give a personal recommendation to my baby:

I have slightly different stats on my own, with my processor producing 2.6GHz but has Turbo Boost to get it up to 3.2GHz. I do only have 4gb of RAM on mine, however I ran the graphics test with no problems or lag.

To be honest, these are basically the same things just from Dell or Acer. I just thought it was something that could factor in with both offering a 1 year warranty, however Acer, as far as I could see, being the only one to allow you to purchase an extension to 3 years. Without this warranty, the Acer’s cheaper. With it, about the same.

The Acer does have a bigger screen (15.6" to 14.6"), which in my eyes is good, I like my screens larger. However seeing as it’s a laptop, you might want yours slightly more portable, although the Dell does technically weigh more.

One last note is the keyboard; the Acer’s keyboard has been in places described as cramped. I think the Dell has actually got a very similar size of key, however the reason it doesn’t go anywhere near as close to the edges is the lack of a number pad, having just numbers above the letters, whereas the Acer offers both.

39

Yep. That’s me alright. I really need a new desktop or laptop to replace the five year old computer with Windows XP I’m using right now. sigh

I guess the PC is good enough, but for all I know, Dell has gotten a reputation for making bad PC’s and awful customer service, well, at least that’s what I heard. For all I know, they could actually make good computers.

40

If you’re looking for a laptop wait till the Kaveri AMD APUs hit the market, they’re going to be the best bang for the buck. They boast the power of a 7750 shared on the steamroller die.

If you’re looking for a cost effective gaming rig I would say an 8350 and squeeze all the cash you can out on the graphics cards. Many PC gamers will shout get the i5-2770k but it’s really not such a big improvement from the 8350 that AMD offers and you save more cash on the mobo and cpu if you go amd. Plop in 8gb of ram a 650watt power supply 80bronze rated. Try to get a hybrid hdd if possible for speed+size i saw some for 100 for 1TB. Then juice the rest into whatever graphics card you want.

Possible build below:

Case- Thermaltake Commander MS-I VN40006W2N Snow Edition System Cabinet - Newegg.com

Mobo- ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - Newegg.com

CPU- AMD FX-8320 Vishera 8-Core 3.5 GHz (4.0 GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W FD8320FRHKBOX Desktop Processor - Newegg.com

HDD- Seagate ST1000LM014 1TB SATA 6.0Gb/s 2.5" Laptop SSHD Bare Drive - Newegg.com

Memory- Mushkin Enhanced Stealth 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996988S - Newegg.com

PS-Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7,i5" Power Supply - Newegg.com

This is all around 615.00 USD plus you would need to add a video card and OS. Used an 8320 to cut 40 bucks off the 8350. Bottom line is there are plenty of options, and if you go with bundles you can score an even better deal. Just a matter of where your bottom line is.

As for laptops right now, this seems to be the best balance of price/performance in my opinion