EC Needs Computer Advice

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by timmermac

Honestly, I would go with 16 GB RAM, minimum 1 TB hard drive and a discrete graphics card. Built in graphics chips may not let you do either FaceGen or 3D gameplay. If you do long-lasting detailed leagues, you'll really need the storage space. More RAM=faster processing when autosaving, which I do every game day.

Specs for my current laptop:
I5-9300
1 TB SSD, 2 TB internal HD
32 GB RAM
GeForce GTX 1660 (I think) graphics

Yes, on the bold. Pretty much what I was trying to get at in my post, IE though some may think that 1660 is overkill it will mean you should never have to worry about 3d now or in the future. OOTP 3d may run fine with onboard graphics with v22 but what about a few years down the road? Who knows how detailed the graphics will become in 5 years? With stand alone cards at the prices they are now getting one already installed is the best way, economically, to go. Adding one into a $500-$600 machine after purchase is going to make that $900-$1100 machine, with better(?) hardware(more memory, better\bigger ssd, and maybe processor), you past on look cheap.

I play out all of my games so, for me, it is totally worth the extra expense on a new computer. To be fair I do also, on occasion, play a couple of other games, (FM, DDS sports titles, and on occasion WWII war\strategy games). While these games also don't need higher graphics they still do benefit with a slightly better picture and the same "I don't need to worry if built in graphics will have issues" that can cause frustration.

[Eugene Church]

Just want all of you that helped me know that I just bought a Dell XPS Desktop Special Edition PC with a wireless keyboard and mouse for 1149.19 tax and all.
I bought the computer Sweed suggested in his post... the middle choice.

It listed for $1049.99.

My friend who knows computers and gaming well told me this was an excellent computer and would take care of me for quite a few years... he's the one who will install it and transfer all my data to the new computer.

Here is the tech information:

Intel® Core™
XPS 8940
XPS Desktop Special Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars. Read reviews for average rating value is 4.3 of 5. Read 8162 Reviews Same page link.
4.3

(8162)
Beauty meets power
Create without limits using the all-new XPS Desktop. Featuring powerful performance, a minimalist design and a highly expandable chassis.

Limited Time:
First month of subscription Premium Support included.
Starting at $1,049.99
Dell Preferred Account Banner Icon
Financing
As low as $32.00/mo.^ | Apply for Credit
Tech Specs & Customization
Product Details
Tech Specs
Processor
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11400 processor(6-Core, 12M Cache, 2.6GHz to 4.4GHz)
Operating System
Windows 11 Home, English
Graphics Cardi
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 SUPER™ 4GB GDDR6
Hard Drive
512 GB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD
Memoryi
16GB, 8Gx2, DDR4, 2933MHz
Wireless
Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650i (2x2) 802.11ax Wireless and Bluetooth 5.1
Display
If accessories are purchased, they may ship separately
Microsoft Office
No Microsoft Office License Included 30 day Trial Offer Only

[Eugene Church]

Thanks to all who helped me... much appreciate all of you.

[Sweed]

Congrats on the new computer Eugene

I think you'll be amazed at how fast it will boot with the nvme ssd. My almost year old computer boots in approx. 10 seconds with a similar configuration to what you bought.

Enjoy your new toy

[Reed]

Sound like you did well and hope it lasts you for a long time. Dell is a good computer IMO.
One minor suggestion I have. About 3 years ago I got a new computer with a dedicated graphics card. I thought the 3d play looked a little choppy so I checked the graphics card software and the game was using the integrated graphics instead of the dedicated graphics card. It was super easy to change. The 3d game play was better then. You might have your friend double check that for you.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Reed

Sound like you did well and hope it lasts you for a long time. Dell is a good computer IMO.
One minor suggestion I have. About 3 years ago I got a new computer with a dedicated graphics card. I thought the 3d play looked a little choppy so I checked the graphics card software and the game was using the integrated graphics instead of the dedicated graphics card. It was super easy to change. The 3d game play was better then. You might have your friend double check that for you.

Thanks for the advice, Reed... I'll be sure to tell him your experience.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Sweed

Congrats on the new computer Eugene

I think you'll be amazed at how fast it will boot with the nvme ssd. My almost year old computer boots in approx. 10 seconds with a similar configuration to what you bought.

Enjoy your new toy

Thanks a bunch, Sweed... you have been a big help to me.

[timmermac]

That computer should work pretty well. I would try to get a 2 TB SSD in there as well, as complicated OOTP leagues are going to eat up that 512 GB drive awfully fast. There's no such thing as too much storage space.

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by timmermac

That computer should work pretty well. I would try to get a 2 TB SSD in there as well, as complicated OOTP leagues are going to eat up that 512 GB drive awfully fast. There's no such thing as too much storage space.

It's his 1100 music files that will take the space!

Eugene, glad everything worked out for you, especially that you recovered your data from your old computer.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by timmermac

That computer should work pretty well. I would try to get a 2 TB SSD in there as well, as complicated OOTP leagues are going to eat up that 512 GB drive awfully fast. There's no such thing as too much storage space.

Looks like I will have to expand it... will check into it with my computer guy.

[Westjl2]

The absolute best way to beef up your computer is to put an SSD drive into it and run Windows off of it as well as your other programs. An i5 processor is not that bad. Get at least a 2TB SSD drive. Then add 8GB of RAM and I almost guarantee you will not need a new computer. And worst case is if this doesn't work to your satisfaction you can use that SSD in a new computer and run your programs off of it.

I have done this to a few computers now and the difference was amazing. I currently have a 2017 IMAC with an i5 processer that ran like a dog the day I brought it home. I added an SSD card and have 20GB of ram and it runs OOTP like a dream. And it only has a basic Radion 555 2GB graphics card.

Adding an SSD instead of buying a new computer is one of those things that NO computer store salesman will tell you.

[Eugene Church]

Westj12, my computer is 8 years old... wouldn't it be better to get a new computer?... would a new hard drive give me a new computer?

Hey, folks... I can get this same computer, same processor and graphics card with a single or dual drive.

Sorry to be such a computer dunce?... Which is better?... single or dual drive?...will the dual hard drive with 2T on each drive process just as good as a single hard drive with 2T of storage?

I can get a single drive with 2T for $1264... or a dual drive with 2 T on each drive for $1345.

Seems to me that the more hard drive storage I got, the better... IMO $100 more for the maximum storage would be a good deal.

This may be overkill, but it seems the best way to go for me... I can handle the increase of $300 over the original 512 GB purchase.

Comments appreciated.

[AdequateRandomGaming]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Westj12, my computer is 8 years old... wouldn't it be better to get a new computer?... would a new hard drive give me a new computer?

Hey, folks... I can get this same computer, same processor and graphics card with a single or dual drive.

Sorry to be such a computer dunce?... Which is better?... single or dual drive?...will the dual hard drive with 2T on each drive process just as good as a single hard drive with 2T of storage?

I can get a single drive with 2T for $1264... or a dual drive with 2 T on each drive for $1345.

Seems to me that the more hard drive storage I got, the better... IMO $100 more for the maximum storage would be a good deal.

This may be overkill, but it seems the best way to go for me... I can handle the increase of $300 over the original 512 GB purchase.

Comments appreciated.

SSDs run on reads. Once you reach a certain amount of reads, their usefulness wanes. A read is every single time you access a program, file, etc.


What I would recommend personally (and that is my current setup as well), is to get an SSD to install Windows and all your programs on. I would get a second non-SSD drive for your regular data (such as your music files).
That way you are accessing programs of the SSD (which is what you want - faster access as SSD technology caches the applications you use the most for quicker access), but you are not ticking the number of reads each time you are playing a song from your list.


If the price difference is a non issue for you, I'd do the 512 SSD as your Windows/Programs drive, and get at least 1 TB or 2TB of a regular spin drive for data purposes.


Given your current usage, you don't need more than 512GB for your boot drive. I would only get a bigger one if you expect to start using more and more applications in the future..and even then.


TL;DR - Optimal setup would be a 512 GB SSD for boot/programs and 1TB - 2TB normal spin drive for data/archives/etc.

[Eugene Church]

Appreciate you taking the time to help me, AdequateRandomGaming.

Thank you.

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by AdequateRandomGaming

SSDs run on reads. Once you reach a certain amount of reads, their usefulness wanes. A read is every single time you access a program, file, etc.


What I would recommend personally (and that is my current setup as well), is to get an SSD to install Windows and all your programs on. I would get a second non-SSD drive for your regular data (such as your music files).
That way you are accessing programs of the SSD (which is what you want - faster access as SSD technology caches the applications you use the most for quicker access), but you are not ticking the number of reads each time you are playing a song from your list.


If the price difference is a non issue for you, I'd do the 512 SSD as your Windows/Programs drive, and get at least 1 TB or 2TB of a regular spin drive for data purposes.


Given your current usage, you don't need more than 512GB for your boot drive. I would only get a bigger one if you expect to start using more and more applications in the future..and even then.


TL;DR - Optimal setup would be a 512 GB SSD for boot/programs and 1TB - 2TB normal spin drive for data/archives/etc.

Here is the final order specs showed:

Dell would only let me get 512 GB for the boot drive with SSD... and 2TB for the dual drive... SSD was not available for the second drive.

Also increased the power supply from 360 W to 500 W as per the suggestion of the Dell tech support... hope this was the sensible thing to do.

[AdequateRandomGaming]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

Here is the final order specs showed:

Dell would only let me get 512 GB for the boot drive with SSD... and 2TB for the dual drive... SSD was not available for the second drive.

Also increased the power supply from 360 W to 500 W as per the suggestion of the Dell tech support... hope this was the sensible thing to do.

Yes, that sounds great.

You don't need an SSD drive for your secondary drive as long as you use it to access small files such as your music files - the gain in speed for something like that would be neglectable anyway.

SSDs shine for operating systems and quick access to programs. A music file is so small that you don't really gain any benefit with using an SSD for those, so a regular 2TB spin drive does the trick perfectly (for cheaper as well).

Looks like you're all set. Enjoy your new machine !

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by AdequateRandomGaming

Yes, that sounds great.

You don't need an SSD drive for your secondary drive as long as you use it to access small files such as your music files - the gain in speed for something like that would be neglectable anyway.

SSDs shine for operating systems and quick access to programs. A music file is so small that you don't really gain any benefit with using an SSD for those, so a regular 2TB spin drive does the trick perfectly (for cheaper as well).

Looks like you're all set. Enjoy your new machine !

Appreciate your help and advice very much.

[Syd Thrift]

FWiW, and I’m not sure how far along you are with this, but if you’re not using the 3D graphics engine then from what I gather OOTP runs significantly faster on a Mac (particularly if you have a larger league with a longer history). It might be a pain to send a save from a PC to a Mac (the file sizes are huge and while I’m pretty sure they’re physically the same files the structure might be different).

[Eugene Church]

Originally Posted by Syd Thrift

FWiW, and I’m not sure how far along you are with this, but if you’re not using the 3D graphics engine then from what I gather OOTP runs significantly faster on a Mac (particularly if you have a larger league with a longer history). It might be a pain to send a save from a PC to a Mac (the file sizes are huge and while I’m pretty sure they’re physically the same files the structure might be different).

Sorry, Syd Thrift, but I don't understand what you are saying.

Are you saying that this computer I am buying will not play 3d graphics on OOTP?

[Syd Thrift]

If you’re buying a Mac, it will still play 3D. It may not be as fast, although OOTP is not exactly a resource hog a la Flight Simulator or whatever. The trade off is that Macs are better I guess at working with directories with lots of files in them so if you’re simming through seasons, a Mac is faster. If you’re getting another PC or updating your current one, none of this applies.