First off, the i7 3960x is supposedly due tommorow (November 14) and I wonder if there will be a price reduction on existing i7's in the near future. If so I'll wait. I waited for the AMD Bulldozers but they're failing expectations hard, so they're out.

It's been ages since I built a computer and I'm not sure what the best options are now. I really need recommendations, especially motherboards. I'm thinking I'd like a Z68 in case I want to get a small SSD at some point for cache.

So far I have:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115095 (the 2600k is only $50 or so cheaper so I'll go for the 2700k)

And that's about where I get stuck I had some old recommendations from last spring but some of the items are out of stock and deactivated, and were for an i5 system anyway.

I have no idea what to look for in a tower (like mid tower vs full), I'm not sure what the best power supply would be, I don't know enough about modern GPUs to make a good decision, and even memory seems to have too many options.

This is what was recommended to me:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043 (tower, full size, but deactivated now)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216 (tower. It's a mid tower. What's the difference between mid and full other than size obviously?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010 (power, but 750W may not be enough for an i7 system with powerful GPU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 (DVD burner. I do need one but not necessarily this one)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914 (video card, but it's deactivated now)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908 (another video card recommendation from months ago. I probably want a better one)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145472 (harddrive, 3 TB which I really like)

The other part recommendations were for an i5 system so are no longer applicable.

Money is not a huge issue. I have a good-sized budget, but I'm not looking to spend $2000 and some pre-built bundles exceed that by quite a bit.

P67 vs Z68 motherboards: Is there any benefit to buying a Z68? I'll be gaming more than producing video, but Z68 is supposedly compatible with Ivy Bridge so it might be more future-proof (I could be wrong). Some sites say just go for P67, others say Z68 is better overall. I'm more confused and conflicted about motherboard choices than anything else. There's too many choices.

You guys here on this forum seem super knowledgeable and I'm asking for your help and advice. I don't need a monitor or sound card (I have Audigy 4 for now) but I do need recommendations for harddrive, tower, power supply, memory and video card. There's a lot more options now than last time I built a computer!

Someone who's been around here as long as you should know that this sort of post belongs in the http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1247846-the-community-tech-thread-no-109/.

But anyway, going over things in order, this is what I see:

• You may justify the i7 2700K by it "only being $50US more," but on the flip side, it's also a 15.6% price increase for a mere 5.9% increase in base clock speed. (and only 2.6% faster in Turbo) Personally, right now I'd still consider the 2600K the most I'd spring for from Intel.
  
• Also, don't expect a price drop on other CPUs just because Intel releases another $1,000US CPU. Extreme Edition CPUs never have any bearing on the pricing of other CPUs, as they never pan out price-performance wise.
  
• The difference between a mid-tower and a full-tower is that in a mid, not all of the drive bays can be external. Generally, this isn't necessary, so go for a mid-tower, which tends to offer at least 3 5.25" and 2 3.5" external bays.
  
• The wattage rating on a PSU isn't the most important factor: more important is the maker and the total voltage on the +12 rail(s). Corsair's generally known to be a good brand, and it has a single +12v rail (which is good) which provides up to 60 amps. (which is also good) This should be sufficient for any i7 and probably any two GPUs. (note I said "GPUs," not "video cards;" it likely might not be stable with two dual-GPU cards)
  
• You should avoid a 3TB hard drive. While it does sound tempting, the maximum-size drives tend to have FAR higher failure rates, given that they pack in more platters, have more vibrations and heat, and more parts to fail, than smaller hard drives. I'd personally stick with 1 & 1.5 TB drives for now. If you need more space, just get more drives: it'll actually likely be CHEAPER that way, too.
  • Oh and for the love of Akatosh AVOID any hard drive named a "Hitachi Deskstar." They have a nickname of "DeathStar" for a reason: they fail more than old-model Xbox 360s.

Ahh, Community Tech Thread. I never read it and forgot about it. Personally I think I'm asking too many questions at once for a thread like that. If I was asking for advice on just a GPU or just a PSU it would be appropriate, but what I'm asking here is definitely worthy of it's own thread (and I hope the mods feel the same, because all of this can get lost in that thread).



This is where I start to get confused

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-517-004 is a tower that was just recommended to me elsewhere, full size. They said full size would help with cooling unless/until I get liquid cooling.

As for PSUs, I'm not sure how many +12 rails I'd need or even where they'd connect. I'm almost 100% ignorant when it comes to PSUs, that's my problem. I've always been concerned about not connecting them properly. The last PSU I connected (almost 8 years ago now) seemed simple. I never bothered to look at voltages, I just chose a connector that fit and plugged it in. I don't know if each connector now is molded to fit only certain peripherals and I won't have to worry about plugging the wrong voltage into the motherboard or GPU. I'm clueless when it comes to PSUs I don't have the experience with them.

"rails" has nothing to do with physical connectors, actually; it's something internal to the PSU and how it distributes load. 1 rail is better than more, as it can just split the load as need be: whereas with 2 rails, one gets set to the CPU, the other to the GPUs... And with an i7, the CPU wouldn't EVER consume as much power as any decent video card, so you'd wind up having to buy an over-powered PSU to support your video card when it wouldn't be necessary for the CPU.

The reason I mention the +12v rail(s) is because, well, as you might've figured out from my prior posting, that's what the CPU and GPU use, and will amount for the majority of all power from a PSU that's used. at 60 amps, that means you're getting (60x12) 720 watts' worth. With the CPU drawing 95w (unless overclocked) and 200-250 for the graphics card, that'd get you up to 345 watts used, which once you figure in some extra for "reliability" (you NEVER want to full-load a PSU; even a good one will burn out quick that way) that means the PSU is plenty good enough.

The PSU is a bit of overkill you could drop down to ~630W and save some money while still having more than enough.

RAM Just go for 1600 Mhz with a quality brand (G.Skill, Corsair, etc..) With the money you're spending spend the extra $10 and get 8 GB.

I wouldn't get 1 3 TB drive, get 3x 1 TB drives, it'll end up saving you ~$150 and has the same functionality.

IIRC the only diffeence between the towers is the size. you don't need a full one. I just built a computer for my dad using that case and it's very large, you won't have a problem.

The build my dad bought had a 560 GTX in it, (GPU). The 560 GTX Ti is also available for about a 10% performance increase if it is worth the money to you. Good place to get a GPU comparison: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU11/188

It'd be helpful to know your budget to "optimize" the build.

Lose the 2700K. Even the 2500K is more than enough if gaming is the main intention. The 2600K and its extra threads is only really useful if you plan to do video editing/encoding/rendering or some heavy Folding. Since you're mainly gaming, you're wasting the 2600K. Save the $100.

The CM 690 II case is a great case. The Azza is a good choice too. Another alternative would be the http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=+40000007&QksAutoSuggestion=&ShowDeactivatedMark=False&Configurator=&IsNodeId=1&Subcategory=-1&description=nzxt+phantom&hisInDesc=&Ntk=&CFG=&SpeTabStoreType=&AdvancedSearch=1&srchInDesc=

750W is absolute overkill for a single video card setup. That 750W Corsair would be enough for TWO Radeon 6950's in Crossfire. For a single Radeon 6950, a 550W quality unit would be enough already. Consider these to save some money and stay modular:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151095
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

There are plenty of Radeon 6950's in the wild. That particular one you linked was an older reference design that allowed shaders to be unlocked to pretty much become a Radeon 6970. These unlockable cards are not in the market anymore. Can just settle for this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102929


Ditch the hard drive. That is ridiculously priced. The Thailand floods have caused a shortage of HDDs in the market and that doesn't seem to be letting up any time soon. The prices are greatly inflated these days. If you're willing to spend that much already, should get an SSD and a 1TB hard drive and wait for the mechanical drive market to.
SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441 or the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220602...or the 128GB or 120GB versions.
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20f3%201tb

The Z68 and P67 differences are rather small. Mainly SSD caching, Smart Response features, and being able to utilize the integrated on-chip video chipset. Basically, things that you likely would hardly even care to notice. Some boards I myself use a Asus P8P67 for my OCed 2500K...does the job just fine. If you plan to overclock the CPU, should get a board that has a decent amount of VRM power phases for stability. Here are some decent choices:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.763312 ....with http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.763303
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.763035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.763032

Any of these boards are excellent choices.





Good to see you poking your head back in these forums. :wavey:

Part of me wonders if binning might have yielded any discernible differences in overclocking overhead available between the 2500K and 2600K. The addition of HyperThreading is clearly not worth anything beyond the giddiness of looking in the resource monitor and seeing 8 CPU thread charts, and the third memory channel's value is debatable.

I look at this from the perspective of the most-relevant game here on the forums, noting that while Skyrim is actually playable on "ultra" with integrated^* graphics, the thing is more CPU-hungry than possibly any other game out there. Given the http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/skyrim-performance-benchmark,3074-9.html, and how held-back framerates are with less than the highest of speeds, overclocking seems like a very, very reasonable route to consider.

^*"Integrated" referring only to some built-in Radeons found in AMD "Bobcat"-type CPUs


Wouldn't the SSD caching be noticed if one actually used an SSD? Or am I thinking hazily with another different chipset and something else concerning SSDs?


That makes one of us.

Holy cow I did not notice that new price. Those old links were from early last spring. No way I'm spending that kind of money on a HDD.



Part of my consideration is Skyrim, in fact. I read the benchmarks for it too, and it's a completely unoptimized game that's very CPU intensive.




With the Z68 I decided I'm going to buy a 1TB HD and a smaller SSD for caching, depending on how expensive a small SSD is. What I need to do is find a Z68 board that can support two GPUs. I'll only be buying one at first I'm sure, but I want the option for SLI or Crossfire afterward. This board came recommended: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-790 but it only has one 2.0 slot (but it has two 3.0 slots, which might be nice in the future). I need a Z69 board that can support two GPUs. Not sure one even exists.

My budget: I'd like to stay in the $1500 range, but can go higher if the deal is good. That's including Windows 7. I also want this computer to last me a long time, like my current one. This one is going on 8 years now but is seriously showing it's age. I'm not the kind of person to upgrade everything every 2 years or so which is why I'm looking at an i7 system. Skyrim and Battlefiend 3 need to run on highest settings, that way I know I can get good mileage out of it. To spend less on a less powerful system that might need upgrading in two years is not worth it to me.

I don't need monitor, sound card or speakers.

Dumb question of the reply: This motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790 was recommended here http://www.squidoo.com/best-1155-motherboards. It only has one 2.0 slot @x4.

This one however is different http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-131-753



Why would anyone want to use the black x4 slot if they have a x16 slot? The other mobo doesn't even have that option (and is not an option for purchase, just linked for comparison). Am I misunderstanding what the x4 and x16 mean?

EDIT: Sorry if all this seems tl;dr, but I'm using this thread both to get recommendations and to learn from those more knowledgeable than me. I won't learn without asking questions right?

The http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216 seems to have problems with front panel grounding. A lot of people are reporting that static buildup is causing reboots and other problems. I might have to skip that tower.

The bit about Skyrim being mainly CPU intensive is true, the GPU requirements are rather lax.

Regarding a case, I would stay away from the Antec Twelve Hundred, I've worked with it myself and also have two friends who have had awful experiences with it. The routine to swap hard drives is extremely time consuming and is much more of a hassle than it should be. Anything from CM would do you just fine, mid or full size.

The x4 black slot isn't meant for video cards, if that's what your asking. All of the latest P67 boards have them, generally used for PCI SSD's and things like that.

In terms of PSU, the Corsair listed in the OP is a solid buy and you definitely won't need anything larger than 750W.

I'm down to choosing a case,GPU and HDD. So far I've decided on:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 (it's black)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010 (PSU)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231494

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131791

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115095

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116716

Total so far: $1,095.94, + $9.75 S/H. That's well within my budget. I'll be above $1500 at the end but that's fine.

(I went with G.Skill Ripjaws X memory just because some recommended it. I doubt there's noticeable difference between G.Skill Ripjaws X and Corsair Vengeance)

I'm reading about problems with SSD cache - when the system crashes (from playing a game for example), it won't boot and needs a reinstall. I'm trying to find where I read it; it was feedback in a motherboard listing on newegg. I'll be skipping the small SSD for now.

That Samsung HDD linked here has mixed reviews, with some saying it's noisy and not that fast. I might want to go with another 1TB HDD if one can be recommended.

I also eed a tower and to choose between Radeon and GTX. probably 6970 vs 570. I'm reading that the 570 is slightly better in many game benchmarks, but the 6970's increased RAM might be more future-proof. The GTX has PhysX, and the Radeon might suffer from driver issues. I know Radeons need a driver update for Skyrim (don't know why though, just read it here). As for towers, the Cooler Master 690 II has problems with front panel grounding so that's out, and the Azza has no dust filters which is essential for me since I have cats (lots of shedding).

Beyond that I'm not sure what else I need. I'm getting there guys, and so far you're a great help!

If you like the look, go with the NZXT Phantom case. Its huge, has good airflow, and excellent cable management. You won't be disappointed.

I read though that you can only install NZXT fans and that they svck.



I'm really looking hard at all these various cases. I'm concerned about cables not reaching if I buy a case that's too big. The feedback for the cases I'm considering all warn about having long enough cables.

I'll just drop in to say the NZXT Phantom is deliciously awesome. I've got it and white and it's super smexy. No cables in the way, all the dust stays out and everything is nice and cool and easy to get it and out. Worth every penny. Tig suggested it for me 2 or 3 months ago and it was a great decision.

The NZXT Phantom is a very nice case, tons of features and extremely nice cable management. I'd recommend the http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-SuperSpeed-Interior-RC-942-KKN1/dp/B003S68Q0Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1321308717&sr=8-1 X if you feel like spending a little extra to get quality. Also, I would definitely chose an Nvidia GPU over a Radeon.

Couple things to consider here. I own a GTX 570 and have owned Radeon cards in the past so here's my take on it.

I've had tons of problems with Catalyst (equivalent to Nvidia Control Panel). It's not a very well built program in my opinion and many people have had problems with it and encountered bugs. Nvidia drivers are also another great strongpoint, always have been more solid than what AMD puts out in that area. Lastly, as far as I know Radeon cards don't have access to Physx. That shouldn't be a huge determining factor but if you're interested in that extra feature then you'll be able to take advantage of it.

For me though it was the driver issue and the superior warranty support provided by EVGA (who I'd also recommend if you go that route)

In the HAF X which is full size, you shouldn't have any length issues. I have the NZXT cable extenders for my 8 pin and 24 pin power only because I prefer the look (huge on aesthetics). If I didn't have them I still would have plenty of room.

I'm going with the Cooler Master HAF X, the blue newegg exclusive one. I'm also gonna get the GTX 570 for the same reasons you mentioned; I had concerns about that too.

Here's a question though: Do you know what HD Doubleshot is ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130684 is doubleshot

It's $10 more but there's no info on what that Doubleshot is. I'm even having trouble googling it. The most I found is that it has different cooling.

This one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130621 has a lifetime warranty while the others don't, and I don't know why.

This is my last choice btw.

Very good choices, that setup is going to serve you well. I actually have no idea what Doubleshot is, I don't remember seeing that mentioned when I bought that card about 4 months ago.

One last thing though, I would get the regular version of the 570 and steer clear of the "HD" version. That particular version has been prone to overheating problems. The HD card has a center fan and pushes less air, the exhaust port is also a bit smaller and allows less flow. I'd stick with the http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Mini-HDMI-Lifetime-Warranty-012-P3-1570-AR/dp/B004EHZD5W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321320027&sr=8-2.

Also, I forgot to ask if you're still planning on going with the 2600k.

I'm going 2700k vs 2600k, because at this point the extra $50 is nothing.

There's multiple "HD" versions of that card. The Doubleshot is one particular version, and it looks like it has different cooling from the others.

I'm also trying to find a different place to buy all this, because Newegg is charging me sales tax. Screw sales tax, I'm online biatch.

Looks like I can save about $200 if I order from Amazon, but is that wise? Has anyone used Amazon instead of Newegg? They don't have the memory I want but I can order that from Newegg and everything else from Amazon with no tax. The only item that seems to be shipped from another seller on Amazon is the DVD burner, from Tiger Direct. All the other parts don't list another seller, so that's good.

I just added http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005O65JXI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER. It's cheap and reviews so far are good. I'm eventually going to want better cooling, but with this I'm at least not stuck with the stock heatsink and maybe I can even hold off on more expensive cooling solutions.

The Evo and the i7 2700k are temporarily out of stock at Amazon but I don't care because I'm saving money. I've waited almost a year to build a new computer and a temporary out of stock is just fine if it's saving me money.

FINALIZED. Ordered today from Amazon, Newegg and Tiger Direct (due to Amazon not having everything I want)

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i7-2700K-Processor-BX80623I72700K/dp/B005X64OA8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321387313&sr=1-1 (Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-LGA-1155-Motherboards-DELUXE/dp/B005UDITJ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321387392&sr=1-1 (Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321387444&sr=1-1 (Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Professional-750-Watt-Certified-Compatible/dp/B0029F21LK/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321387547&sr=1-1 (Amazon)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119239 (Newegg)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231431 (Newegg)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 (Newegg)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=744370 (Tigerdirect; couldn't find it on Amazon and Newegg would have charged tax)

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-DVD%C2%B1RW-DVD-RAM-Internal-DRW-24B1ST/dp/B0033Z2BAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1321388424&sr=1-1 (Amazon via Tigerdirect)

http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-7-Home-Premium/dp/B002DHGMK0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1321388688&sr=8-2 (Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/Elder-Scrolls-V-Skyrim-Pc/dp/B004HYIAPM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1321388501&sr=8-3 (Amazon)

http://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-3-Pc/dp/B002I0HJZO/ref=sr_1_4?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1321388558&sr=1-4 (Amazon)

If I went through Newegg exclusively the tax would have added quite a bit more, and Tigerdirect is about the same price as Amazon so I had no problem using them for the GPU. Only Newegg had the blue HAF X and while it costs more than the standard red I really wanted the blue. Amazon also didn't have the Hyper 212 EVO in stock.

All in all, expensive but I think worth it. It's over the $1500 I wanted to spend, but no matter how I tried to cut costs I was not satisfied, so I spend another few hundred bucks (still within my budget) and will be much happier overall. I want this computer to last a long time like my old (current) one, and so while it's not top of the line it's up there, and the motherboard gives it a bit of future-proofing. The GTX 570 is a 2560mb vs the standard 1280mb version which will further help future-proof it.

Now all I have to do is make sure I build the thing correctly I'm most concerned about connecting the PSU as the other stuff is kind of self-explanatory. I don't know if there will be detailed instructions included, or if it's idiot-proof via connectors that only fit the components that the various cables are meant for (so I don't plug the +12v rail into a HDD, or a small rail into the motherboard or GPU). For that I might be back here asking for help . That's the only thing that concerns me.

Next I'll be looking into liquid cooling so I can get the thing overclocked.

EDIT: Amazon sent me an email saying they shipped the motherboard, but the other items (minus the Tigerdirect DVD burner) are due in two weeks. 14 days? Really? Nothing was out of stock, or at least wasn't when I placed the order. That seems like a long time.

Amazon is a solid choice, I've ordered nearly every computer part I've ever had from there, always reliable.

Connecting everything to the PSU is a snap, just take your time and read the labels. The rails are clearly labeled and nothing will fit where it shouldn't. Overall, really good build that'll last you a long time. Congrats!

I like to hear it's a snap Guess I'll experience it in two weeks.

Now I want to ask (ahead of time) how to copy my current HDD to my new one. My Morrowind installation alone has gigs worth of mods, and my current HDD overall has over 250 gigs of things I want to transfer. I know I can't transfer installations so most games won't work that way, but I am hoping that I can install Morrowind on new comp, copy the entire Morrowind folder from my current HDD, paste it to new, and it will work. The mods themselves don't need installing, only the game, so I'm thinking it will work. Having to find all those mods again will be a royal pain if not impossible, and that's just for Morrowind. I have a highly modded Star Trek: Bridge Commander, NWN, and many other games, not to mention years worth of pictures etc.

Is there an easy way to copy the contents of one HDD to another? It's probably as simple as plugging both in and copy/pasting, but I'm sure there's a program out there that will do the task. Again, I'm aware that installed programs won't work by copying.

Basically. Just move your old HDD to your new computer, transfer the files you need and delete the rest. Then you can use your old HDD for extra storage or backup.

Motherboard arrived today. They shipped it separate. GPU is on backorder due to overwhelming demand (I guess it's a great value everyone is jumping on) but I don't mind.

When I install Windows 7, it will be 64 bit. Since I'll have 8GB it's the obvious choice right? What about my current games, on my current 32 bit XP system? If I install them will they perform just as well? Better? Worse? Not work at all? Some games are as old as Age Of Empires II, Worms Armageddon and Diablo II. A few, like Daggerfall. use Dosbox. I'd just like to know what to expect from them, if I should keep this old rig around or donate it to my brother like I originally intended.

Your old games will run just fine. 64 bit is what you want to be going for right now anyway, as a gamer in particular there's no reason to chose 32 over it.

Most old games will work fine, but I know for a fact that Age Of Empires II, Worms Armageddon and Diablo II all have issues. You'll have to research some fixes on the internet if you want to get them running properly.

DOSBox games will work the same as they do now, so those you don't have to worry about.