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I play a lot of PC games. I don't know to build or buy one. The Dell I looked at comes with an Intel Core i7-4770, 16 GB of RAM, 2TB HDD, 1TB SSD, and Geforce GTX 745. I also heard people could build computers. Which one should I do? Also, I can get either wih Windows 7 or 8. Which OS should I install?
I strongly recommend ALWAYS building your pc over store bought, and windows 7 is far better than 8 or 8.1.
If you are a gamer or anybody else who want/needs decent performance out of you computer....here is a little warning.
If you buy just about any pre-built computer, including Dell, it will be loaded down with performance-killing Crapware/bloatware.
I vote for either a self-build with a clean installation of windows 7....or go pre-built and do a clean install of windows 7. i-7 processor @ > 2.5Ghz and 8 gigs of ram, SSD drive.
I had zero clue on how to build and did it myself... I have Win 8 for memory management and third party software to give me my start button back... It was pretty easy... I have 64GB of RAM which you probably won't need but i have used every MB of it on some days to the point of rebooting the computer to free it all back again... When you got 20 memory intensive apps going at the same time, you are going to need more...
I had zero clue on how to build and did it myself... I have Win 8 for memory management and third party software to give me my start button back... It was pretty easy... I have 64GB of RAM which you probably won't need but i have used every MB of it on some days to the point of rebooting the computer to free it all back again... When you got 20 memory intensive apps going at the same time, you are going to need more...
Windows 8.1 (which is a free upgrade for Windows 8 users) gives you back the start button.
I see nothing wrong with Windows 8 if you have a touch screen display. Without a touch screen it is difficult to appreciate why it was built the way it was.
Well depends on your build and what or how many GPU(s) you decide to go with and your budget also a CPU and IMO cannot beat the Haswell Quad core I-7 4770K, 16GB of Ram and a decent MOBO that is expandable for future upgrades.
I mean might go with a Asus GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II OC and a Run a 4K monitor @ 3840 x 2160 pixels
There are pros and cons for both the Windows 7 and 8, like others mentioned, Windows 8 has better resource management and it is slightly more secure than previous versions, including 7. If you choose 8, I would go with 8.1.
On "bloat-ware" - If you buy a name brand, you can always uninstall all the garbage they include with them. I actually bought a new Lenovo desktop recently with Windows 8.1, and it had some garbage bloat-ware with it, including the free trial ones, but I uninstalled most of them. The only reason I bought it was because I got a heck of a good deal on it.
I hated Windows 8's so-called Metro Desktop, but the Lenovo's 8.1 has a 3rd party Start menu and the ability to switch back and forth from 8.1's Metro interface to the standard Windows desktop, with a few exceptions it works and feels like Windows 7, it also starts up noticeably faster than my other Windows 7 computers.
One important advice - If you decide to go with Windows 7, I'd get the Ultimate version. It costs extra but it's worth it and it has a lot more advantages than the Home Premium version, including networking capabilities, and the ability to accommodate more RAM.
Agree 100% ... unless you have a very specific need, going to Professional or Ultimate is not worth it.
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