I want a new gaming rig

[crazy canuck]

None of which is meant to tell Syt that the rig he was looking at isn't very nice and I'd be a bit jealous.     Plus I now see I was confused about the "middle class" comment, which was said by CC, not Syt.

Actually to bring this back to what Tamas was asking about.  It is what Tamas was thinking.

I have usually been going for "upper middle class" setups in terms of not buying the top of the line stuff, but one or two levels below them, and that has worked out very well.

[Syt]

TBH, my considering to buy a new PC is a bit decadent, actually, since I bought my last PC 3 years ago, and it runs fine (it was a rig from a German company that specializes in gaming PCs). It's without a doubt the most solid machine I've ever had - I didn't need to do a fresh install in all the time and it's still running great. Only thing I had to switch out is the gfx card which died a few months after warranty expired (I now have a 770GTX). The 128GB SSD for the OS seems small - I have few actual programs on there, but it only has about 10 GB free atm. Getting a bigger SSD and a new gfx card might be good enough.

OTOH, I do have some cash stowed away, and I have no other expensive hobbies and no one to take care off but me.

Still, I think I will hold off another year.

[Barrister]

TBH, my considering to buy a new PC is a bit decadent, actually, since I bought my last PC 3 years ago, and it runs fine (it was a rig from a German company that specializes in gaming PCs). It's without a doubt the most solid machine I've ever had - I didn't need to do a fresh install in all the time and it's still running great. Only thing I had to switch out is the gfx card which died a few months after warranty expired (I now have a 770GTX). The 128GB SSD for the OS seems small - I have few actual programs on there, but it only has about 10 GB free atm. Getting a bigger SSD and a new gfx card might be good enough

OTOH, I do have some cash stowed away, and I have no other expensive hobbies and no one to take care off but me.

Still, I think I will hold off another year.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

Spend your money on a horking big SSD and on a 980 GTX and you're probably golden.  And you've just spent $1000.

[Syt]

I need to do the maths on my power supply, though. I have 600W now, and need to see if I could put a card that needs more power in there. And I have to be careful with the size - 26cm in length is the max the way the layout in my tower works (lots of fans in there).

[Barrister]

I need to do the maths on my power supply, though. I have 600W now, and need to see if I could put a card that needs more power in there. And I have to be careful with the size - 26cm in length is the max the way the layout in my tower works (lots of fans in there).

Well absolutely do the math, but with the way that mobile has been driving computing the last few years, your modern GPU is probably drawing less power than your 770 GTX.

Let's see...

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-770/specifications

Your 770 GTX requires 230 W and recommends a 600W PSU.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-980/specifications

Whereas the 980 requires 165 W and recommends a 500W PSU.

Oh, the length is 10.5" - 26.67cm. 

[Syt]

Thanks, Beeb. I've identified a candidate card @ ca. 500 bucks.

Though I'm not sure I will actually do the upgrade. I think at this point the idea of buying a new PC is more expression of what I jokingly call my midlife crisis. I have no idea where to go with my life at the moment and am unhappy with all options I see and getting a new PC (much like getting a new car) seemed like a quick fix.

Fact is that I have more than enough games at the moment (including many 50+ hour RPGs and strategy games) that I've barely played and that run fine on my PC, and my games backlog alone would keep me busy for the next few years. I don't need games like Fallout 4 or Stellaris or whatever the Next big Thing is (that Numenara game is also heading my way), though I'll surely pick them up at some point (probably not on release).

[Martim Silva]

Martim, you seem to want to build a system that will still be ideal in five years.  That's a ridiculous level of future-proofing, and probably impossible in any event.

Well, not really. Things changed in the early part of this century, and the last PCs I had did just that.

My Pentium 4 that I got in 2005 lost its PSU in 2010, and the i7 Lynnfield (i7 860, the first generation of i7s) that I got to replace it then was still going strong after 5 1/2 years until I decided to get a Skylake (6th generation of i7s) this week, mostly because my new 27 inch monitor is not compatible with the gpu.

So, with the right amount of extra oomph, you can get a PC that will serve you very well for 5-6 years, no hassles with upgrades needed.

And when you do change, you change to a massively better machine, which feels SO much better.

TBH, my considering to buy a new PC is a bit decadent, actually, since I bought my last PC 3 years ago, and it runs fine

3 years should be too short a time to replace a PC. I don't get why people get annoyed when they see that the new generation of CPUs is not much stronger than the previous one. It's like they want to go back to the 1990s, where I had to fork $1000+ on a new PC every two years.

Seriously, anyone with a Sandy Bridge CPU (the 2xxx series of CPUs) or better has no reason to switch now, unless the workload is wrecking their pc/their current machine is hopelessly damaged for some reason.

In general, look to change CPUs every 5 generations or so. Less than that is just a waste, unless there was some huge technological advance (like was the case when the i3, i5 and i7 came out for the first time).

And don't worry, you're as decadent as you can get, so you're not aggravating your case by splurging. 

Fact is that I have more than enough games at the moment (including many 50+ hour RPGs and strategy games) that I've barely played and that run fine on my PC, and my games backlog alone would keep me busy for the next few years. I don't need games like Fallout 4 or Stellaris or whatever the Next big Thing is (that Numenara game is also heading my way), though I'll surely pick them up at some point (probably not on release).

Lack of time is also an issue for me, but I noticed that this helps to prolong a PCs life... we can wait for the GOTY editions with all the DLCs for a handful of euros, instead of spending a fortune in brand new games and then even more with the add-ons. And that we can play those 'new' games with older systems, since they were released some 1-2 years earlier...

The games we see set for release are usually the ones we will playing in some 18 months or so (and for a pittance), so we can get a an awful LOT of mileage from our machines, as long as we get the best when we do have to switch computers for some reason.

[Martim Silva]

That said, Tamas hasn't said anything.

Tamas, what are the specs on your laptop? Maybe you're still good. Or say if you just want a brand new laptop, or try a desktop for gaming.

Also, tell what is your budget and what you want it to play, that will make it easier to get a system that is cheap and good for you. 

[Caliga]

Tamas, shouldn't you be able to expense a gaming PC?

[DontSayBanana]

Tamas, shouldn't you be able to expense a gaming PC?

Not if his bosses are rubbing two brain cells together- they'd have the testing computers under lock and key at the office and strict rules about unauthorized software usage.

[Tamas]

Tamas, shouldn't you be able to expense a gaming PC?

I an employee, not self-employed or anything. No expenses. And of course company PCs are company PCs.

My laptop's CPU is an i7-4700MQ 2.5Ghz. I have 8 gigs of ram and a Geforce 750M

And I definitely want a desktop

[The Brain]

What's the best cooling option for an upper-upper middle class gaming PC? Is liquid cooling any good? What do the cool kids use these days?

[Syt]

What's the best cooling option for an upper-upper middle class gaming PC? Is liquid cooling any good? What do the cool kids use these days?

The weary sighs of the disenfranchised.

[Monoriu]

What's the best cooling option for an upper-upper middle class gaming PC? Is liquid cooling any good? What do the cool kids use these days?

I use Corsair H100i GTX.  It is very quiet.  Not sure if it is working class or middle class though. 

[Barrister]

What's the best cooling option for an upper-upper middle class gaming PC? Is liquid cooling any good? What do the cool kids use these days?

You do not need to go with liquid cooling (unless you want to for coolness or esthetics or whatever - I'm not here to judge).

As I mentioned in talking with Syt, mobile has been driving computers for the last several years.  That means energy efficiency has been a big focus for Intel and the like, which means cooler components.

Unless you want to overclock your system to within an inch of it's life, you can get by just fine with air cooling.