a mom in need of advice for gaming computer-cont.

[Amyintx]

The guy builds gaming computers for a living so he will be ordering it. Some of it he has already.

He has a license for windows and will come preloaded with it.
I have been told by a couple of people I should have a better video card put in...any recommendations? Also, is the power supply ok? I hear different things about that too. I just want it to be great
Below is what current build would be- please let me know what you think needs to be tweaked. I may be able to afford a bit more if it makes that big of difference.

AMD phenom II x4 quad core 3.4ghz processor
--biostar am3 motherboard
-- 8GB ddr3 gaming memory
--Western Digital 750GB 7200rpm sata hard drive
--evga nvidia geforce gts 450 video card with 1GB gddr5 memory
--video card upgradable
--antec gunmetal tower computer case with cooler master 550w power supply
--22x dvd+/-rw burner

 

[Smoblikat]

Transfer my reply over:
The phenom 2 isnt that good compared to a nice Sandy Bridge I5 or an i3, which the I3 is MUCh better and cheaper. Get an ASUS, ASrock, MSI, Gigabyte motherboard. Biostar is low end cheapo deluxe. GTS 450 would be a great card, but see if you can get a GTX 460/HD6770. They should be only slightly more than the 450, or even look on craigslist for a used HD6850 which is better than all of those. None of teh cards are more than 150$ so look around and im sure you can find somthing. 8gb RAM is perfect, even 4gb is plenty. The power supply is a little iffy since its coolermaster and they are generally lower mid range units and ive seen a few fail and take everything with them. Ask for an antec unit, the 420w unit or the 380w unit will be fine (even the 350w unit). The case would be fine sine there arent any really hot parts on there and the hard drive is fine as long as it isnt caviar green.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Still can't get the sticky to open up? Well regardless here are the questions from it, filled in with answers from the information you've given so far:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
Roughly $650, not sure on the amount of flex room you have here

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA (?)

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
No need a for a monitor at least, not sure on what peripherals you have.

8. What resolution will you be using?
1280x720

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

My questions from Comp Help:
1. I'm going to assume you need a Windows license to go with this so that's $100 right there (unless the guy building him has a multi-system key and sells it to you for less, hopefully he's trustworthy).
2. Do you need a mice/keyboard to go with this?
3. Are you going to order the parts to his shop/place and then he'll build it for you or is he supposed to handle the ordering as well?
4. How old is your son? I ask in regards to the possibility of adding an SSD but he'd have to understand the problems inherent with it for the massive bonuses it provides.

More info I have, the more cost effective/efficient build I can recommend.

 

[Amyintx]

Thanks! I know NOTHING about computers besides how to type, and facebook..LOL

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming- games played are WOW, Diablo III, Skyrim

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
Roughly $650, no more than $750

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
None- I don't even know what those are

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
No need a for a monitor, mouse or keyboard.

8. What resolution will you be using?
1280x720

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it. - Build is in progress..no more than a week until completion.

Hope that helps...

 

[krnmastersgt]

Well here's a rough build, might be able to lower the cost but I think this at its core is what to aim for given the resolution and budget.

CPU: i3 2120 $125
Motherboard: Biostar B75MU3+ $60
RAM: G.SKILL Value 8GB $40
Video Card: Sapphire HD 6850 $125 AR
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB $80 AP
SSD : Crucial M4 128GB $130 (could find this cheaper if you wait probably)
Case: Rosewill Blackbone $40
Optical Drive: ASUS 24X DVD Burner $17 (Shipping costs are $0 with promo code)

Total Cost: $641.92 (if you aren't in a state taxed by Newegg anyways) -$15 MIR - $10 Promo Code = $616.92
Then throw in Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit for $100 for a total of: $716.92

This makes for a pretty powerful gaming system given the resolution, as well as a very snappy system overall with the SSD included.
However if you do wish to cut some costs, it's easy to trim down the build a little more:
Build above + Windows 7 without SSD = $586.93 and still makes for a very powerful system (I personally love having switched to SSDs but they are still pricey)

 

[Amyintx]

Thank You! I appreciate it

 

[krnmastersgt]

Also it should help to note that if you have a Microcenter near you, you could spend a tad extra and pick up a newer generation quad core in the form of the i5 3450 for $150, though you should factor in tax for that as well. Should be a decent amount better than the i3 2120 for gaming but isn't completely necessary either.

 

[Amyintx]

Thank you

 

[krnmastersgt]

Woops overlooked not including a PSU in the build, I'd recommend either:
Corsair CX 600 for $40 AR AP if you're willing to pay a bit more and be refunded via MIR, if not then:
Corsair CX430 $37 AR

The 600 will cost you $60 up front while the 430 will cost you $47, I'd highly recommend getting the 600 considering it's only a few dollars more than the 430 at the end of the day.

 

[Denithor]

I'm assuming since you talk about having a guy 'build' you this system you aren't interested in assembling it yourself, correct?

What I would suggest is exactly what I did for a coworker's son a few months ago. Buy a refurbished Dell system on eBay, replace the power supply (the Corsair 600CX in the post above is an excellent deal) and then buy a true gaming video card (I do not consider the GTS 450 in this category). The advantages - you get a pre-built machine with Windows already installed (including a COA showing it's valid) with decent equipment inside. All you have to do is swap power supply and drop in a video card and you have a very capable gaming machine.

Now, they won't let me directly link an auction from eBay here but if you search for i620-3708NBK you will find an ideal system. Note - I am not affiliated with this seller in any way, shape or form. The guy has sold 22 units and still has 4 remaining.

Video cards I would suggest:

GTX 460 for $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130649

Radeon 7770 for $117 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127687

Radeon 6870 for $155 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150561

Combine the Dell box with the 600CX and any of these cards and you'll have a much stronger system than the guy is trying to sell you, for about the same price (or less) and your son will be very, very happy with the performance.

 

[mfenn]

Now, they won't let me directly link an auction from eBay here but if you search for i620-3708NBK you will find an ideal system. Note - I am not affiliated with this seller in any way, shape or form. The guy has sold 22 units and still has 4 remaining.

Here's the link.

 

[mfenn]

Woops overlooked not including a PSU in the build, I'd recommend either:
Corsair CX 600 for $40 AR AP if you're willing to pay a bit more and be refunded via MIR, if not then:
Corsair CX430 $37 AR

The 600 will cost you $60 up front while the 430 will cost you $47, I'd highly recommend getting the 600 considering it's only a few dollars more than the 430 at the end of the day.

OP, I agree with giving the guy krn's build having having him order exactly that (with the PSU of course) If you are OK with some tinkering then going with Denithor's idea is fine too.

I'm sure that your guy is capable of putting a machine together, but to be honest it seems like he is just "turning the crank" and not really keeping up with technology. The build that he suggested would be fine 1-2 years ago, but not today.

 

[ShreddedWheat]

I posted on the original posting. Krnmastersgt's suggestion looks good. If you can get a sli/crossfire mobo for a little extra would be good. If not I would look at upping the video card to something a little more powerful than 6850.

The i3 is fine and he could eventually up to an i5/i7 in the future.

SSDs are awesome but as a gamer I would rather have a sli/crossfire mobo and better graphics. Just my opinion.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I posted on the original posting. Krnmastersgt's suggestion looks good. If you can get a sli/crossfire mobo for a little extra would be good. If not I would look at upping the video card to something a little more powerful than 6850.

The i3 is fine and he could eventually up to an i5/i7 in the future.

SSDs are awesome but as a gamer I would rather have a sli/crossfire mobo and better graphics. Just my opinion.

Most people never sli or crossfire.

 

[krnmastersgt]

People that plan on SLIing/CFing tend to just buy a more powerful card or just learn to deal with slightly lowered settings typically (I did ).

And while SLI would make for a much more powerful gaming rig, I based my suggestions off the resolution and the games being played. I suspect that this build will be used by the kid for more than just gaming so I tried to create a stronger overall build with the SSD included. The 6850 is more than enough for 1280x720 and probably will be for some time, especially if he's already used to pretty low settings and such.

 

[tynopik]

8. What resolution will you be using?
1280x720

I would look at upgrading to 1920x1080