If I get 8 GB RAM instead of 16 GB now, what would I have to do in order to upgrade it to 16 GB later? And should I buy 1 stick of 8 GB or 2 sticks of 4 GB?

And when I do upgrade from 8 GB to 16 GB, would I have to discard the 8 GB already present in my system and buy 16 GB from scratch or will the new RAM be compatible with the existing one?

@insane_metalist: Actually, 600W isn't going to be an overkill. I'm planning on later installing an SSD and maybe more RAM in the future, so what do you say? I tried the PSU calculator and it landed somewhere near 530 W.

And I asked about two 2 motherboards which are much cheaper than the ones you suggested:

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboards-Z97-PC-MATE/dp/B00K23BW70/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1425754960&sr=8-6&keywords=z97+motherboard+lga+1150

http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboards-H97-PC-MATE/dp/B00K23BUEK/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1425754960&sr=8-15&keywords=z97+motherboard+lga+1150

What do you think of them? If they're not good enough, then I'll get into the $120-140 price range.

Another question: Is 16GB RAM an overkill? I read it in many posts...

@xantufrog I'm comfortable with software stuff, but don't have much experience with hardware. That is, if the machine comes pre-installed with SteamOS, I wouldn't hesitate to install Windows alongside it. Besides, that link says that the Zotac machine supports Windows easily. What I'm asking here is whether it's as good as the PC I'm building.

@insane_metalist What's wrong with the CX600 PSU? It's got the most reviews (I won't say 'best reviews' because I didn't read any of them). Anyways, how is this EVGA PSU:
http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-80PLUS-Bronze-Certified-100-B1-0600-KR/dp/B00EON40CS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425754627&sr=8-2&keywords=600+w+power+supply And is 600W enough?
I don't think I'll be doing SLI for another 3 years. Even after that, I'll buy a better GPU instead of SLI.
And about the mobo, the one you suggested is a little too expensive, it won't fit the budget. I need to cut down prices where I can. What do you think of this mobo:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboards-Z97-PC-MATE/dp/B00K23BW70/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1425754960&sr=8-6&keywords=z97+motherboard+lga+1150
and this one:
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Motherboards-H97-PC-MATE/dp/B00K23BUEK/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1425754960&sr=8-15&keywords=z97+motherboard+lga+1150

Hey, guys.

I've been thinking that my next computer would be a custom PC. I've did lots of research and selected the components I'd like to have in my rig. The specs are as follows:

PSU: Corsair Builder Series CX 600 Watt ATX/EPS 80 PLUS (CX600)

Mobo: MSI Computer ATX DDR3 2600 LGA 1150 Motherboards Z97S SLI KRAIT EDITION

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Super Clocked ACX 2.0 4GB GDDR5 Graphics Card

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K Processor 3.5 GHz LGA 1150 BX80646I54690K

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)

HDD: WD Black 1TB Performance Desktop Hard Drive: 3.5-inch, SATA 6 Gb/s, 7200 RPM, 64MB Cache WD1003FZEX

My budget is $1000 and I think I need to get the mouse, keyboard and monitor within that range or maybe a little above it. One major obstacle is the shipping price. I live in Qatar and I can easily say the shipping alone would cost over $100 for the above components, although I'm not sure.

I had planned to get these or similar components and cut down the price total price where possible. Anyways, I was casually going through my Facebook page and I saw this post about Zotac's "custom" Steam Machine.

Zotac Steam Machine

I was thinking if it would perform as well or nearly as well as the PC with the above specs. The upside to this device as compared to a custom PC would be that the shipping price would be considerably low and it's actual price also fits my budget exactly i.e. $999. I believe I'll still have to buy a controller separately and a better TV/Monitor, but that talk will come later.

So tell me guys, what do you think? Should I get the custom PC or should I consider a Steam Machine, specifically the Zotac one?

If you're not in favor of that Steam machine, which of the above mentioned component should I replace to cut down on the price without any noticeable performance downside.

@jun_aka_pekto: Thanks for the reply. I'll bear that in mind when I buy the new RAM stick. And yes, I discarded all that junk and have Windows 8.1 installed atm.

You mean that the RAM already in my laptop isn't available anymore? And what's the price of 2 sticks of RAM these days?

One more question, is the SSHD good enough that I should buy the 1TB version and put the same in my new PC when I build it in a couple of months?

Or should I buy the 500GB SSHD now and get another one later?

@Byshop: How is it different from this one: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Momentus-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST500LT012/dp/B008BTOBWA/ref=sr_1_22?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1423330975&sr=1-22&keywords=2.5+laptop+hard+drive

The main difference I saw was that it has the SSD-related technology you talked about which increases speed. Is that much of a big deal? And it has a spin speed of 5400rpm as compared to the above link which has 7200rpm. Plus, it is double the price of the second one.

I don't understand hardware much. Pretty much explains why I bought this sh*tty HDD when my old one gave way. Help me out here, if you will. Thanks.

I strongly believe its my HDD that's causing the lag. I know it because with my old HHD, GTA IV used to run at 20 fps without any lag at all. But now it's running on even lower FPS but the lag is so much that it's unplayable. Besides, the laptop lags even when I try to open Windows Explorer or Start Menu while a large file is being copied. That's definitely the HDD's fault.

I would like to get specific hard drive models. One point that'd narrow down the search is the price should be about $60-80, or maybe less if the HDD is still good enough. It's not that I can't afford it but that I don't want to spend much on this laptop. I learnt from the laptop's official page that if I install 4GB more RAM, then the laptop would be able to use a significant amount of it as the VRAM. That's a good thing, 'cuz games these days require more VRAM than RAM. So I would also like suggestions regarding a 4GB RAM compatible with my laptop.

I'll get to the laptop/desktop discussion later, in a couple of days.

Any one hard disk on which everyone agrees? I'm a newb when it comes to buying computer parts. It's the reason I still haven't been able to decide whether my next PC would be a laptop or a desktop.

Hey guys,

I own a Toshiba Satellite L655-10U, which I bought about 4 years ago. The built-in 640GB HDD was good enough for gaming but stopped working after 2 years. I switched it with a 300GB drive. It worked fine the first two weeks but now lags even when opening Windows Explorer.

I want to buy a good but affordable HDD for this laptop so that I can play the latest games without any lag. This laptop works flawless for games upto 2013, even at High settings. But it struggles to run the latest games like Dying Light even at lowest settings.

I am going to buy a new laptop within a year, so I don't want to spend a lot on this one. Which HDD 500/750 GB do you suggest I install into this laptop? It must be durable, under $100, and able to run games without slowing down. I don't plan on running the latest games as this laptop just can't take it, but I want to be still able to play games released in or before 2014. It would be better if you provide an eBay link.

The complete specs of my laptop could be found on this link: http://www.toshiba.co.il/en/discontinued-products/satellite-l655-10u/

Thanks.