Hard drive just died. Any recommendations for a new machine?

Hey guys,

I woke up last night to the dreaded "click, click, click" of a dying hard drive :(

Now I'm in the market for a new desktop machine. The primary purpose of the desktop will be playing PoE (of course), so I want to make a selection based on maximizing game performance. I can spend some money on it, but I can't justify blowing thousands on some super powered gaming platform. I'm certainly not overly knowledgeable when it comes to cpu's, video cards, etc, but from what I've gathered in forums, PoE wouldn't necessarily benefit from top of the line hardware anyway.

I wanted to check with you guys, see if you have any suggestions. If the value would warrant the money, I'd be willing to spend around $1500 or so. But, I'd like to get away with something cheaper if I wouldn't be making any significant compromises on the gameplay experience.

Thanks a lot,
Cherd

I have a samsung 850 pro costed $350 just for drive but I read reviews and it was fastest. Bought 2 years ago..

Other than that I'd stick with main brands. Like Intel, Nvidia, and stuff.

Not really into the latest parts. I have a GTX 980 and a 4.7Ghz watercooled system from like 5 years ago when I researched it. Seems fast still so dont keep up.

Some good sites are anandtech.com and Hardocp.com to do research

So long as you have enough memory, any machine made in the last 6 years will do. Id go the budget way.
What really matters is your graphics card. And secondarily, an ssd.
For 250 dollars you could just upgrade your current computer and reinstall windows on the new ssd.

- Any Intel i7 4000 or newer series CPU or AMD Ryzen 1700 or better CPU.
- Motherboard of your choice that is compatible with the chosen CPU.
- 1x or 2x 8GB stick of compatible RAM or more (RAM speed doesn't really matter for gaming).
- Nvidia Geforce 1060 6GB video card. Your choice of brand/model, so long as it has 6GB of VRAM.
- Western Digital Black HDD or a good SSD from a good brand.
- High quality 600 Watt PSU from Corsair or Seasonic.
- A Good computer case, like a Fractal Design Define R5.

Or you can just replace the HDD with a new one :)

Replacing the whole rig because of a faulty HDD is certainly over the top even according to the first world standards...

Why is this in Off Topic? We have a whole Technical Support forum.

*ahem*

Minimum System Requirements
OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Windows 7/8.
Processor: x86-compatible 1.4GHz or faster processor.
Memory: 2 GB RAM.
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT or ATI Radeon X1950 Pro or better.
DirectX: Version 9.0c.
Network: Broadband Internet connection.
Hard Drive: 5 GB available space.

That said, if all you plan to do is play PoE you don't actually need a video card at all. A good processor (get at least quad core) with integrated graphics will more than cover it and are very inexpensive, expect to pay around $150. Your average will run at least 2.6 GHz as well. If however you plan to play any game made post-2013, NEVER GET AN INTEGRATED GRAPHICS CHIP to rely on the video rendering. I can't stress that enough.

I would also suggest at least 4 or 8 GB, ram is super cheap and there's no reason to skimp there.

"

BodyHammer01 wrote:

That said, if all you plan to do is play PoE you don't actually need a video card at all.

Get an SSD and keep the PC.
Whatever you/we 'decide': List your hardware.
Aaand you will hardly need to spend more than 1k, most likely less.

Are you ok with building a computer and/or just replacing parts? I second the suggestion for getting an SSD. You can get 1 TB SSD drives now for like $300 which is amazing IMO. Also, what resolution and frame rate is the monitor(s?) that you plan on using?