Okay, my last desktop was an HP Omen, and it has been serving me well for the last five+ years. I'm looking at this one now, and want to ask a couple questions
First, any particular critiques for this configuration? (Also, looks like I can get about $250 off that price if I get a brand-new but open-box one)
Second, if I went with this, what kind of monitor should I be looking at? I have absolutely no clue what the newest tech is - 1080p vs 4k, for example. Recommendations?
Well, that's pretty much a beast that will handle anything. 64Gb is needed right now. 32 is still way too much for most games. 16 is still the fine (I have 32GB now but nothing really makes use of it)
Monitor wise: I've gone back to ultrawide again at 3440 x 1440 and most games look lovely on it. Work has lent me a curved one (obvs for work but I swapped out my flat one for it) and curved is so much better.
My only real comment is that I wouldn't bother with a magnetic drive anymore; I'd never install any software on one. I'd honestly rather have an extra 1tb SSD than a 2tb HDD. Maybe make sure the motherboard has extra slots for additional NVME drives. I don't think a 1tb main drive is enough storage space for modern games.
And yes, ultrawide is absolutely worth it. I would never go back to a standard widescreen. I have an RTX 3080 too, and I've not come across anything yet that it struggles to drive at 3440x1440.
My only real comment is that I wouldn't bother with a magnetic drive anymore; I'd never install any software on one. I'd honestly rather have an extra 1tb SSD than a 2tb HDD. Maybe make sure the motherboard has extra slots for additional NVME drives. I don't think a 1tb main drive is enough storage space for modern games.
And yes, ultrawide is absolutely worth it. I would never go back to a standard widescreen. I have an RTX 3080 too, and I've not come across anything yet that it struggles to drive at 3440x1440.
The site says there's a total of 3 M.2 connectors, so seems like I could get another? Also, I'd use the HDD because of my musical stuff - that would give me tons of headroom to live record, and for the bazillion samples I've collected over the decades (I even ripped all the sound files from my Bungie Marathon CDs, from the early 90s lol).
Thanks for the quick lesson on the monitor resolution! I've really got to get in front of a curved screen, I'm so doubtful that I'd like it but who knows? Sounds like you're really liking it, Dave
[edit] Are we talking 34" curved as a standard for ultrawide? Sorry for the noobish questions! This will probably be the gaming rig that gets me into the 2030s, so it needs to be rock solid and decent
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The site says there's a total of 3 M.2 connectors, so seems like I could get another? Also, I'd use the HDD because of my musical stuff - that would give me tons of headroom to live record, and for the bazillion samples I've collected over the decades (I even ripped all the sound files from my Bungie Marathon CDs, from the early 90s lol).
Thanks for the quick lesson on the monitor resolution! I've really got to get in front of a curved screen, I'm so doubtful that I'd like it but who knows? Sounds like you're really liking it, Dave
[edit] Are we talking 34" curved as a standard for ultrawide? Sorry for the noobish questions! This will probably be the gaming rig that gets me into the 2030s, so it needs to be rock solid and decent
Having slots for 3 M.2 drives is a real bonus, I have my OS on one 1Tb M.2 and another for games, with a 1Tb hybrid and 2Tb standard platter drive for other storage. If I had another M.2 slot on this mobo I would 100% add another.
Monitor-wise 34" is kinda the default just now. There are bigger options but 34" curved gives you a hell of an experience. I have an old Samsung 34" curved screen and it is just awesome.
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I hated my curved UW so much I sold it but I actually really like my curved 16:9. I do use it with a flat UW secondary which is a perfect mix for me.
Depending on how rich you are Soli, the current batch of OLED monitors sure do look real nice. I have been tempted but I think an actual new system should be my next upgrade, maybe in the new year.
A man who could tell more truth and eat fewer pies.
Another quick, silly question: Is the difference between a 3080 RTX and a 3090 RTX worth $800? It's two different manufacturers, and the 3080 setup has the 2TB HD that isn't present on the comparison system, though this one's SSD is "1TB PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe solid-state drive" so seems like an upgrade to the M.2? That's really the only difference, other than aesthetics.
Thanks all! They also have an AlienWare with a similar setup to the HP Omen in the original post, priced like the Skytech PC, and is a 3080 RTX, I think... I'm leaning towards the Omen because I can get a new, open-box one for $600 off, or thereabouts, which will more than pay for the AOC ultrawide curved screen I'm considering. But if the RTX 3090 is that big of an upgrade, I might just go for the Skytech after all. I can force myself to do a couple of overtime shifts at work and make up the difference
If Edwin's being an Edwin does he call himself an Edwin?
Would you not be better holding fire for a month or two what with the new chips out and ddr5 being a thing if you want future proofing. Plus with the new cards dropping you might get a better deal on a 30 series card.
I’ve been thinking about a new machine myself but I think I’m going to hold off till we’re a good bit into 2023 now.
A man who could tell more truth and eat fewer pies.
Would you not be better holding fire for a month or two what with the new chips out and ddr5 being a thing if you want future proofing. Plus with the new cards dropping you might get a better deal on a 30 series card.
I’ve been thinking about a new machine myself but I think I’m going to hold off till we’re a good bit into 2023 now.
You're right about all that, I'm sure. I do want to wait for Black Friday sales in November, at the very least. My main issue is that I didn't bring my PC with me, so I'm in serious gaming withdrawals! I know that's the worst position to put myself in for spending money, lol - but I'm trying to be patient! I wish I knew someone who could build the damned thing for me, I know it would be much cheaper, but it's just not an option.
If Edwin's being an Edwin does he call himself an Edwin?
Are all nvme mobos direct storage compatible these days? That’s one of those things I can see being a minimum requirement for a handful of games in the next few years.
A man who could tell more truth and eat fewer pies.
First and foremost, to see the full benefits of DirectStorage, you will need an NVMe SSD. You’ll probably want a PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 NVMe SSD, though, as games with DirectStorage are being developed with these kinds of SSDs in mind.
Would you not be better holding fire for a month or two what with the new chips out and ddr5 being a thing if you want future proofing. Plus with the new cards dropping you might get a better deal on a 30 series card.
I’ve been thinking about a new machine myself but I think I’m going to hold off till we’re a good bit into 2023 now.
You're right about all that, I'm sure. I do want to wait for Black Friday sales in November, at the very least. My main issue is that I didn't bring my PC with me, so I'm in serious gaming withdrawals! I know that's the worst position to put myself in for spending money, lol - but I'm trying to be patient! I wish I knew someone who could build the damned thing for me, I know it would be much cheaper, but it's just not an option.
TBH both of the PCs that you have linked to are absolutely awful value. Especially if you're in the US, where PC components are way cheaper atm. Have you never built a PC yourself? It's really not very hard, and there are loads of videos on youtube that guide you through everything in detail.
Also, what do you want to use this computer for? If it's just gaming, then getting a top tier i9 isn't really worth it over the 'mid' tier CPUs.
If I were to spec something out for you with parts as they are now (i.e. just before most of the new GPUs from both Nvidia and AMD come out, and Intel's next gen), I would go with something like:
i5 12600k
Decent dual tower air cooler or AIO liquid cooler if you really want (not necessary at all)
32 GB DDR5 RAM (of some decent speed)
Whatever suitable mobo
RTX 3080 12 GB
850 W power supply (some headroom so it will still work for good next gen cards)
1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD, maybe a couple of these
Other storage, e.g. a 2 TB SATA SSD that is slower but still good
A decent airflow case. The 'standard' that everyone goes for atm is the Corsair 4000D airflow.
1440p high refresh rate (144+ Hz) monitor, or whatever else you fancy
I'll have a look on PC part picker in a bit to see what it would price up around. One thing to bear in mind is that it is the time right before loads of new components are coming out. A mobo compatible with the current 12-series Intel CPUs will also work for the next gen of Intel CPUs. You could also spend more and go for the new AMD processors, although the mobos for those are too expensive right now. If I were you I'd probably hold off on building a high end PC from scratch right now unless you REALLY need it, as those new GPUs could change the value proposition of everything from last gen, which is getting on a bit now.
