8 replies to this topic

[Athin]

Not.


Anyway, I've been wanting to build myself a new gaming computer for some time now and I'd love to have some help in doing so.

I recently bought a car however, so I really want to stay around $700 and under. I already have a monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc.

Possible build? Really just looking for some other builds or any types of recommendations.



CPU: Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52400

Motherboard: ASRock H61M/U3S3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G

Video: GIGABYTE GV-N560UD-1G GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Storage: Unsure at this point. (fuck the price inflation)

Optical: ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

Power: PRO550W Core Edition

Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Sound: ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card



Much <3

[Lunula]

The best thing about the hard drive prices is that it's straight gouging--Western Digital's production has pretty much caught up, lolol

I'd recommend you look into AMD cards (shock, awe!). They are better priced, run cooler and are competitive as far as power. The 6850 is a very solid card, though if memory serves the 560 is probably better. Shop around a bit. To note, the last two digits in the model number are as important as the first two.

Not a fan of ASRock. If there's one thing you should splurge a bit on, it's the motherboard. ASUS is my first choice. Biostar ties pretty much with that as well.

Great specs on that memory for damn sure.

I'd say get a solid-state drive and re use a hard drive you may already have, if you're looking for an upgrade. Especially since platter drives are about the same cost now lmao! Otherwise reuse what you have, it's insane what the prices are nowadays.

We love the Antec Three Hundred Illusion case. We use that and its brother the Three Hundred for our custom builds at the shop pretty much exclusively.

[Katalia]

I think you've got a pretty good idea of what you need to buy to get to your price point.

I only build computers in the $1500-2200 range, so I'm a bit of a novice in the budget build.



A few bits of advice based off of my 11 years of custom PC building experience. Some will disagree, but I don't care.
I stick with components and practices that work for me and provide my customers with computers that have 100% up-time and zero issues.



Sound cards are mostly useless if you're using a headset and have a decent mobo - worth the cash if you have a 5.1 speaker setup or higher.

$30 more and you can get an Antec 902 case - best gaming case on the market, endless expandability in the future.

Do you really need Blu-Ray on your PC? Knock $30 off your build and add it to a better video card? (EVGA for life)
Also on that note, OEM optical drives RARELY come with software, meaning you'll need some costly (or pirated) software to play Blu-Ray titles.
(If you don't have a Blu-Ray player that isn't on your PC, ignore this!)

550w PSU will EASILY power this build, don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

You nailed it with your RAM. Don't ever skimp. You can catch that exact RAM on sale for $30.
Kingston makes the best memory on the market and I exclusively use Kingston RAM.

Your mobo's a bit wimpy with a lack of options/frosting (I haaate ASRock) but it's one of the best you'll get under $60.
If you can spend a bit more on your motherboard I highly recommend it. Try ASUS - I only use ASUS motherboards.
Something like http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131711 won't MURDER your budget but still gives you your SATA 6GB and USB 3.0 without going over $110.
I'd still recommend a mobo in the $170-$200 range, but if your price is firm stick with it.

Take a look at http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130604
I've got a major boner for EVGA due to their warranties/support/passion for excellence etc.
They make good product and overall better cards. I don't build with anything but EVGA.

Other people will also recommend ATI cards instead of NVIDIA. I used to be an ATI fanboy, but I have since done a complete 180.
I'm not going to get into it here, but I use exclusively Intel and NVIDIA products when I build. I build computers that have 0 issues.

Also, yeah, fuck HDD prices right now. If you can salvage the HDD from your current PC you'll save $100-250 to apply to something else.

Also since your MOBO is SATA 6gb capable, look for a SATA 6gb HDD. It's not a HUGE difference but it's very nice.

Try... http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148697 ?
I prefer Western Digital at all times, but Seagate's the only thing comparable and a close #2 in my book.
7200rpm SATA 6g HDD with a 32mb cache for $130? Sign me up. Only 1 TB, but whatever.


Good luck mang!

If you have any questions just ask.

[Lunula]

I prefer having an extra sound card because I don't like using USB headsets, and I prefer to have my music play over my Bose speakers with Vent in my headset. Cut me some slack, I worked as a sound tech for too long and got spoiled by expensive audio equipment I'll never be able to have ever in my life! xD

I've been among the most hardcore of the NVIDIA fangirls that have ever existed. Intel and NVIDIA lifer, right here. Go Intel or go home (fuck fabless processor companies, though that includes NVIDIA, but STILL lol). I made fun of my husband for preferring AMD/ATI (even though I bought him the Thuban that he uses now). That said? I have MASSIVE heat problems in my system owing to the video card. Granted, I run with a first-gen i7 and it's not like that's a cool winter breeze (though it is really helped by the Coolermaster v8 heatsink, not for the faint of heart nor shallow of case, but I recommend it for performance and heat dissipation). But I must have my video card's fan turned up like a leaf blower all the time, and I'm not the only one with one of these cards that has to deal with that. Granted, your mileage probably varies, but I know that's been my as well as Pathoren's experience.

I have the first generation Fermi technology. This is a biiiig difference. Pathoren has 2nd gen. Also a big difference. If you're going for cost-effective it is likely you will be buying older technology, so buyer beware.

I'm all about reducing heat right now in the system, so certain things are standing out to me. I'm looking to replace my card because I'm sick of it, and I also suspect it is defective, because my computer can no longer hibernate without the card crashing my system (and no driver update or rollback has yet worked). So I am a little angry about that. EVGA is great about its warranty for sure. I don't have anything to use in its stead while it's out for warranty, and that's the only issue I really have. Surprisingly, with a glance back at my account, I've had to RMA every EVGA card I've ever owned once. I think it's just bad luck, because they do make a stellar product.

We've built business machines set up for intense graphics use and gamer machines which invoke serious personal envy, and we've utilized both AMD and NVIDIA to fantastic effect. Personally, if I'm going to replace my card, I'd go with an AMD right now because they are competitively priced per performance and do not have that heat output that I'm all pissy about.

Wannabe audiophile that I am, the fan in Precision needing to be cranked seriously pisses me the hell off.

(Oh, and weighing in on the BD drive--gimmick. You don't really need it unless you really want it. I know we purchased an inexpensive one for a customer not too long ago and it had the Cyberlink program that worked just fine for playing movies, but check and make doubly sure it comes with it; no-brainer there.)

(Oh. And I hate Seagate drives, because when they fail they do so spectacularly. We have custom servers for some of our business customers that utilized the highest performing Seagate drives, the enterprise series. Most have had to have at least one replaced. Two, all of them replaced. Granted they haven't failed since, and we build our machines ensuring that our customers have as little downtime as possible. But this has effectively changed our business plan as far as creating servers to exclusively WD, which is what we use for laptops/desktops).

[Maximum]

Ah, nothing like a holy war to start your day!

nVidia really dropped the ball with Fermi; I switched to ATI in my system for my last upgrade. Cool, quiet, inexpensive--and the graphics are good enough for everything I play. That was six months ago--an XFX Radeon 6850. XFX or eVGA are the only brands I'd consider, but like anything else--it's luck of the draw.

I used to be nVidia-only; much like I used to be AMD-only. Then I realized that failure rates are roughly the same between the two (AMD/Intel, ATI/nVidia) and what I should really focus on is price/performance and service. Holy wars are just that: holy wars, fighting over ephemera. It's like hating Fords or Toyotas; a pissing match.

Don't rule out ATI or nVidia until you've looked at them both. I would, however, avoid the first-Gen Fermi cards (per Lu's experience--our electric bill is higher because of that pain-in-the-ass card, too!).

I'm with Kat: don't skimp on the motherboard. Get an Asus or a Biostar--both make good products. ASRock is cheap for a reason; sure, you can get a good one, but for a pittance more, why not get something better? Seagate has left a bad taste in my (our) mouth(s) due to past experience; WD drives fail, too, but it seems like they don't fail as much in my experience.

550W is indeed adequate for that build. Not much in the way of headroom, though--don't plan on adding more hard drives or another video card, and don't plan on overclocking.

[Katalia]

Maximum, on 07 December 2011 - 06:02 PM, said:

Ah, nothing like a holy war to start your day!

that's why I said I wasn't going to get into it. =P

I've had arguments on the nVidia/AMD debate that have lasted weeks, and as you stated: it's just a pissing match. They're both the same damn thing with a different shell and different specs. Some people prefer one side due to personal experience, some due to some silly notion that one is vastly superior to the other because of research or manufacturing. Blah. They're both the same thing. I prefer nVidia simply because I've built dozens and dozens of computers and never had a single issue in the first two years with an EVGA nVidia card. The only EVGA failure I've ever dealt with happened happened in the third year of the card's life and EVGA instantly honored their LIFETIME warranty and gave them a brand new current model GPU worth almost $450. My customer had the new card within a week.

The first 11 computers I ever built were ATI Radeon builds back in 2003-2004 and I had more problems with them than I'd like to recount. Gigabyte/MSI left a horrible taste in my mouth with their reluctance to replace defective cards and overall SHIT customer service. When I switched to nVidia in 2005 for a GT6600 build I was amazed by the performance and price point and I never looked back. Haven't had an issue since.

Frankly, whichever side of the fence somebody's on is directly related to personal experience or preconceived notions of why one or the other is better. It's all the same stuff.

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nVidia really dropped the ball with Fermi; I switched to ATI in my system for my last upgrade.

I love my OC'd GTX 480. Best GPU I've ever owned. I've had it for more than 2 years and it's still running everything I own (Skyrim/Arkham/DEHR) on ultra settings with incredible framerates. Again, just personal experience I guess. I haven't had even the SLIGHTEST bit of heat issues and I've got my i7 heavily overclocked too. I do have a great sink and an A902 case, but I never hear my fans kick into power mode. Cool and quiet.

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XFX or eVGA are the only brands I'd consider, but like anything else--it's luck of the draw.

XFX does make rock solid cards. They're the only thing that's made me want to try ATI recently.

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550W is indeed adequate for that build. Not much in the way of headroom, though--don't plan on adding more hard drives or another video card, and don't plan on overclocking.

Definitely not much headroom, but I used to have an i7 and a GTX480 both OCd with two HDDs on a 550w PSU.
Just be careful. =P


I MISS YOU BTW MAX (hi lu <3)


oh and Lu: I was just saying that if you have a motherboard with decent onboard sound (like most higher end ASUS boards) and you use a headset all the time that a sound card is mostly useless. I personally use a headset and have an ASUS Xonar (and love it), but I found that the sound was more or less the exact same from the onboard. The same cannot be said when I hook up my 5.1, and I would absolutely recommend a sound card for speaker setups. However, for somebody using a headset, trying to make a budget build, with decent onboard sound... I would recommend skipping the sound card.

[Athin]

I really appreciate all the great feedback!

After reading through them a bit I've decided to hold off for a bit and raise my spending limit.

And yeah, i'm not ruling anything out at this point. I'll probably go with an ASUS mobo. I'll end up salvaging my current HDD 'cause there's no way in hell i'm paying for a new one.

[Katalia]

Athin, on 07 December 2011 - 10:56 PM, said:

After reading through them a bit I've decided to hold off for a bit and raise my spending limit.

A good call and exactly what I would recommend. I always hear people saying "i want to build a new computer, but I only have xxx to spend."
Then I have to take those people and sit them down and try to explain "listen, this isn't a new sweater you'll buy and put in your closet to use when it gets cold - this is your computer. You know, the thing you use for entertainment, work, study, play, communication, etc. Every day. All day. All the time. This is the thing you spend a whole bunch of money on and use for hours a day every day of your life."

The one thing I've learned while building computers (above all else) is that no matter how many years go by computers still seem to cost about the same. For the last 10 years that I've been pricing and ordering builds I've noticed that a budget computer costs between $500-$800. A mid-range gaming computer costs $800-$1200 and a high-end PC costs $1200-$1800. The "snobbery" computers cost $1800-$6500 based on JUST HOW SNOBBY you want to be.

Keep in mind, obviously, that huge advances in technology will outdate some things (like current HDDs) in the near future. Things like a hard drive might become more or less expensive based on whatever the newest technology is at the time - but it seems that the technology seems to hover at certain price points and will most likely continue to do so in the foreseeable future... because frankly, if it's too expensive nobody will buy it. If it's too cheap they won't be making enough money selling it. There's always that sweet spot they shoot for. I just last week built a fantastic high-end gaming PC and I did it for $1685. That's the same $~1600 I would have expected to spend for the same level of computer 5 years ago.

The point is that there's no point in diving in at the $700 price range. That $700 computer today will still be $700 for the same equivalent components on the sliding scale of technology in a year. It'll still cost $700 to buy and build an entry level gaming PC in a year, or two years. By that logic it'll still cost $1500 to build a nice high-end gaming PC in two years. If you can tuck away $50 a month for a year you're already at the $1300 price point instead of $700 and you'll have a much better computer that will last you longer and be easily upgradeable instead of easily outdatable. Spending more money on the build date saves money in the long run - you can buy the new chipset mobo instead of the old, and when you go to upgrade in 2 years you can just buy the CPU instead of the whole get-up.

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And yeah, i'm not ruling anything out at this point. I'll probably go with an ASUS mobo. I'll end up salvaging my current HDD 'cause there's no way in hell i'm paying for a new one.

I have a feeling that the HDD prices will go back down within 6 months. They can't keep gouging forever.

[Athin]

Katalia, on 07 December 2011 - 11:18 PM, said:

The point is that there's no point in diving in at the $700 price range. That $700 computer today will still be $700 for the same equivalent components on the sliding scale of technology in a year. It'll still cost $700 to buy and build an entry level gaming PC in a year, or two years. By that logic it'll still cost $1500 to build a nice high-end gaming PC in two years. If you can tuck away $50 a month for a year you're already at the $1300 price point instead of $700 and you'll have a much better computer that will last you longer and be easily upgradeable instead of easily outdatable. Spending more money on the build date saves money in the long run - you can buy the new chipset mobo instead of the old, and when you go to upgrade in 2 years you can just buy the CPU instead of the whole get-up.

My thoughts exactly. I'll plan to build a rig around the $1200 - 1400 range in a couple months rather than spending $700 for something that will struggle to keep up.

Again, thanks for the help guys.