URGENT! Buying a gaming PC. Deal will be gone in 2 hours max. Is this good?

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Smooth-Op

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Hey guys!

Hey guys!

I want to buy a gaming PC for some gaming and light VR.

It's been difficult because the prices are so high at the moment because of miners.

I have finally found one but it will not last long... in will sell within 2-3 hours which is why I wrote "URGENT" in the title.
I'm able to get this PC for about 640$ in slightly used condition:
https://www.amazon.com/CYBERPOWERPC-GXIVR8020A4-Desktop-i5-7400-7200RPM/dp/B0747W15QL/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517753886&sr=8-1&keywords=B0747W15QL

It comes with a AMD RX 580 which seems to be selling for 450$ alone nowadays.

Does it appear like a good deal? Seems like about the best I can get at the moment right.

Is there a component I would have to change right away? It the CPU not too bad or would it be a bottleneck? Would I have to add some ram?


I suspect I would have to add an SDD right away and perhaps an additional 8GB of RAM but otherwise?
 
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USAFRet


Yes, that is exactly what happens.
The license key is stored at Microsoft. It is a hash of the 'license key'. and info from your hardware, mainly the motherboard.
What you're doing is no different than a simple reinstall on the same drive.

Also, you can do this as well, if you ever want to change major parts...
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Wolfshadw

Wolfshadw

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MERGED QUESTION
Question from Smooth-Op : "URGENT! Is this a good deal? Buying a gaming / VR PC"







 
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Techron

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Yes it is a good deal as it provides you with even an OS. You'll have to increase the RAM down the line to 16GB. But right now it will do. This will last you comfortably for the next 3 years without any problems UNLESS you are expecting 60 FPS ULTRA@1080p for all of those 3 years which this PC will NOT be able to deliver after a year or so but it will play perfectly at HIGH settings.
 
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Smooth-Op

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Thank you so much guys! I bought it! :) :)

For the SSD, I hesitated between (please note price are in CAD$ which is why is appears more expensive)
https://www.amazon.ca/Samsung-500GB-Internal-MZ-75E500B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517756083&sr=8-1&keywords=500gb+ssd
https://www.amazon.ca/Crucial-MX300-525GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B01IAGSD68/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1517756083&sr=8-2&keywords=500gb+ssd

I bought the Samsung one. Do you think it's the right choice?

Now all I'm missing is a 8GB DDR4 stick.

Could anyone have a quick look here and recommend one that will be compatible with the build (please note price are in CAD$ which is why is appears more expensive)?
https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=8gb+ddr4+ram&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A8gb+ddr4+ram
 
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madmatt30

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The samsung is a better drive if it was a similar price.

Another 8gb stick ??
wait till you the pc in your possession & see what actual ram is installed - you need to match it as closely as possible.

When it comes to installing the ssd (assuming you want it as a boot drive)

Use the pc first ,ensure the windows 10 installation is activated.,
For safetys sake, make a microsoft account user login - this this ties the activation to either/both microsft account & the actual hardware.

Disconnect the prefitted drive from the system by physically removing the sata data or power cable.

Install the ssd ,connect it to the sata cable that was connected to the prefitted drive (this save you messing with boot order in bios) & do a completely fresh installation from either dvd or usb drive (the microsoft website will let you create either option)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

install windows 10 fresh from the created media.

It should automatically reactivate as soon as the machine has internet connection.
If it doesn't then using your MS user addon will definitely rectivate it.

Switch off ,connenct the original drive up to a different sata port.
Boot windows ,goto disk management,remove partitions from the drive ,then reformat it.

You may need another sata cable for your ssd you know?
This build will likely only come with cables for the items that are prefitted.
 
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aquielisunari

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I bought the Samsung one. Do you think it's the right choice?
Click to expand...

Yes. That's a very popular and dependable model.

Please do yourself a favor and buy a 16GB RAM kit later. Mixing old and new RAM is not recommended. While it usually works we see the 5-15% of peeps who ask us WHY!!!!?:( Why isn't it working?

I would wait for the PC to arrive and see which motherboard you have and look for its Memory QVL(qualified vendor list) at the motherboard manufacturer's website.

There may a chance you don't NEED it just yet. I am still using 8GB RAM without issue. Its BFF's are the 4690K and a 1080 Ti. I watch my resource usage with MSI AB. Not a necessity to upgrade just yet. Seeing as how I recently bought a 10' x 20' covered and screened in canopy(VR gaming space), an EVGA 1080 Ti FTW3 Hybrid and a HTC Vive I need to wait for a while before I can upgrade to a 16Kit.
 
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Smooth-Op

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Thank you so much!

I will do just that!

3 questions:

Can I create the Windows 10 USB drive right now from my "old" PC or do I need to wait for my new PC to arrive and create it directly from it?

When re-installing windows 10 with the USB drive on the SSD, will I have to enter the license key? If I don't get the key with the PC but Windows 10 is installed and activated, can I somehow extract the key from the HDD before installing the SSD?

Also, after installing Windows 10 on my SSD, can I simply reconnect the 1TB HDD to another SATA port on my MOBO and reformat it? Or will my PC be confused that there's another windows on that hard drive at the moment of booting and cause issues?

Thanks!!
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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1. You create the Win 10 USB now. You can't do it from the new PC that has no OS...:)

2. Assuming your BIOS boot priority is correct, it will boot from the SSD only.
Wipe the HDD as needed. Disk Management, and delete all existing partitions.
 
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Hi!

I'm pretty sure the computer will arrive with Windows 10 installed and activated on the HDD (1TB).
I will re-install Windows 10 because I bought I 500GB SSD and I would like to have my Windows installed on the SSD instead.

The reason I'm asking is I'm not sure if the Microsoft USB creation tool is going to "extract" the license key (or other important information) from the PC / Windows it's being created on. If it's the case, it would be better to wait and create the key from the new PC.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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The Win 10 USB you create with the MediaCreation tool is generic. It has no license key, nor does it extract the one in the new system.
 
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Smooth-Op

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Thank you so much!

But I'm really curious... how will it re-activate? How will Microsoft know I own a license key of Windows 10? It will be a different Windows installation and different drive. The 1TB HDD itself will most likely be disconnected at this point as well.

Will Microsoft somehow register my license key of Windows over the internet? Do I need to go to Microsoft.com first and do something there?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Yes, that is exactly what happens.
The license key is stored at Microsoft. It is a hash of the 'license key'. and info from your hardware, mainly the motherboard.
What you're doing is no different than a simple reinstall on the same drive.

Also, you can do this as well, if you ever want to change major parts:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-3164428/windows-build-1607-activation.html

This links your license to your MS account, rather than to specific hardware.
 
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