Potential New Buyer Considering Vanquish

Hi all,

New to the forums and have recently discovered DS through a random article I was scrolling through on the interwebz! This seems like a terrific operation - nice job, everyone!

Some Background:
I use to be a dedicated PC gamer - actively played RTS games (Warcraft 3, Starcraft), some FPS (Counter Strike, FEAR), and even got into the MMO space for a short time (Guild Wars).

I have not built/bought a gaming rig in probably 8 years. Looking to relive the glory days during slow weekends but have a demanding career and don't have much downtime and thus, do not want to invest TOO much money in the machine (on principle).

With that said, please note the budget number below is what I would LIKE to pay. I can swing double that range if it is necessary. However, your valued advice will be crucial in arriving to a decision!

Budget:
$800-1200 (gross basis, understand additional shipping & taxes will raise actual paid. I'll also require a monitor and peripherals).

Expectations:
Want to "relive the glory days" on a budget. Seems like I'll end up with the Vanquish II line (although I have some concerns about this, which I will outline below).

Usage:
Games out there that I'll probably buy and play on first thought:
1. Starcraft 2
2. Guild Wars 2
3. Warcraft 3 (if I can even install it on new Windows OS)

Special Needs:
None. I don't need it to be especially quiet or particularly upgrade-able.

Saved Ticket #: N/A

Concerns (and things that might force me to consider a higher end model):
1. Intel Core i5 4570 CPU vs 4670K - Should I be concerned about inferior OC capabilities of the 4570 (I'm thinking longevity here)?
2. SSD missing from all but the Ultimate/Level 4 build - can I open this thing up at some point in the near future (6 mo.) and plop a Samsung SSD in it?
3. Is 600W PS sufficient?

Thanks so much in advance for your advice! I hope you guys can help ease my concerns about the Vanquish and address the questions directly above. I am a serious buyer looking for honest advice!

All the best,

Ilir

Edited by ilirdino - 18 Mar 2014 at 10:58am

Thanks for the feedback!

Also wondering if the 770 makes it worth the jump to L4, as well? The 760 seems like it will handle anything I'll throw at it today but I do understand the value of future proofing. I've read some forums today and it looks like the 770 might be worth the spend but am curious what you guys & girls have to say.

Any input in that respect?

Thanks again!

Welcome to the boards ilirdino.

The i5-4570 has a .2GHz lower base clock then the i5-4670K. So it will be little slower, but should be fine playing most games. If you are playing in really big worlds in the RTS games it could cause be an issue.

Yes, you can add an SSD later. Also a 600W power supply shouldn't have any problem with the load on that system even with adding a few more drives.

Originally posted by bprat22 The gtx 770 is about a 20% boost over the gtx 760. Overclocking does help, but it's very dependant on what you play. Some games will see a 10% performance increase and some will see none. Overclocking on the 4670k does increase the clock on all four cpu cores while the Turbo on 4570 is on a single core. Usually helps more on bringing the minimum fps up than increasingly max frames. But so many variables. For your games and a typical 1920x1080 monitor, the Vanquish lvl 3 or 4 will play great. Level 4 does give you the 770 and SSD.

This ^^.

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

Did some reading and the 770 seems like the way to go. I was pretty keen on utilizing the OC-friendly capabilities of the 4670k but on second thought, I don't know how much I actually care?

Leaning towards Level 4 but have another small concern before I pull the trigger on this: would you guys have any capacity concerns about 120GB SSD?

Thanks again for your insights.

120GB is not a lot but it'll be great for your OS and software.
There might be room left for 1 or 2 games but I'd only put a game on it if it truly benefited from SSD speed/load times.

Personally, I have BF4 on SSD because it benefits from super fast map load times. Also Arma 3 because, as far as I understand it, the huge huge map on that is so big it streams some textures from the hard drive.

Titanfall is an example of a waste of SSD space because the game waits for everyone to load in before starting, and it doesn't take all that long on a regular HDD anyway.

So before putting any game on the SSD I'd check to see if there's are benefit to it.

As far as I can tell, the OS and twitch FPS belong on the SSD, as ScottishBA says above.  Most games, MMORPG, Open World Survival, et al, will be placed on my HDD.

Nice move.         Congrats and you're gonna love it.  

Have a follow up question for you all:

The folks at DS will be installing the OS on the SSD, right? Or is this something I'm going to have to do on my own?

Thanks again for walking me through this.

PS - turns out I have access to Office Pro for $10 through Microsoft's Home Use Program. Random, I know, but it saves me some coin that I'll put towards a monitor now. I'm all about value these days!!

The Microsoft Home User Program is AMAZING!!! I get the same deal though my wife's employer. $10 for the full complete Office Pro version.

Grats on the VanqII 4 ... yes, OS is installed. Just the updates and a whole bunch of new toys to play with will keep you occupied for quite awhile.   

Originally posted by ilirdino Another question (sorry guys!). But will this thing actually ship within 72 hours? I'm reading 10-15 days for the system but it sounds like DS can get it out the door quicker than that. Just trying to get an idea so I can time the arrival of my peripherals and monitor! Thanks!

Seeing as the Vanquishes are prebuilt and stressed tested beforehand they should ship out real quick.

ilirdino, I placed my Vanquish II (4) order on Wednesday afternoon.  Got an email on Friday that it was ready.  If I hadn't had an appointment that I could not absolutely cancel I would have picked it up then.  From "Order" to "Will Call" in approximately 48hours.

Snaike -- they stuck to their word and got mine out the door within 72 hours as well. I'm in New York so I'll have to wait until the end of the week for it to get here but I'm excited either way!

If this thing doesn't survive the journey cross country, I'll let you guys know. I don't think it should be a problem but we'll see!

Good to hear you're pleased with the purchase.

Guys,

I've only just gotten around to it, but I'm happy to say I'm just about done getting everything I need installed on this bad boy!

The machine looks great (didn't realize the Corsair case would be this industrial gray - I'm loving it) and works famously. I haven't had a chance to actually play anything on it yet (busy busy weekends) but it is quite snappy. I'm looking forward to tearing it up tonight.

I also want to mention that the packaging is top-notch. I don't know if this is an industry standard or note, but these took care to stuff foam into the machine itself so nothing rocked around too much during shipping.

Appreciate your support in the buying decision. I don't regret it one bit!

Thanks again & happy gaming.

   Have fun.