build gaming pc for D3 and GW2

[mithcol]

Hey Im looking to buy a gaming PC just for playing Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3.

D3 Recommended System requirements;
Windows® Vista/7 (latest service packs)
Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz
2 GB RAM
NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 or ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better

Guild wars 2 Speculated system requirements(no official requirements yet);
Pentium Dual Core
AMD Athlon 64 X2
2 GB RAM
GeForce 7600, Radeon HD 2600
Hard Drive 15GB
DirectX 9.0c


I would like to run both games on maximum settings and Im willing to spend up to $1200 on it. Im not very good with computer so I think Ill order all the parts suggested here and have someone put it together for me, or if you guys could provide me with a guide on how to do it myself I would definitely give it a go.

Would prefer to start building it in the next few weeks to play current games and willing to spend up to an additional $500 on a monitor and $100 on speakers.

Thanks for your help!

 

[lehtv]

Some important questions to answer: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121. Do you also need to buy a copy of Windows and is that included in the budget? What about peripherals?

This thread should get you started, though you probably don't need that much processing power to run those games smoothly. I'd wait until 7800 series and NVIDIA's new GPUs are released before deciding on the GPU. It wouldn't hurt to just do some preliminary research now, and then come back a week before one of the games is released for some detailed build suggestions/critique.

if you guys could provide me with a guide on how to do it myself I would definitely give it a go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls&feature=relmfu

 

[mithcol]

Some important questions to answer: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121. Do you also need to buy a copy of Windows and is that included in the budget? What about peripherals?

This thread should get you started, though you probably don't need that much processing power to run those games smoothly. I'd wait until 7800 series and NVIDIA's new GPUs are released before deciding on the GPU. It wouldn't hurt to just do some preliminary research now, and then come back a week before one of the games is released for some detailed build suggestions/critique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls&feature=relmfu

I have a copy of windows, and Im not sure what peripherals are? Id like to build it in the next couple weeks to use for my current games. As for resolution, Im not sure...im willing to spend up to an extra $500 on a monitor.

Thank you for the info!

 

[DSF]

I have a copy of windows, and Im not sure what peripherals are? Id like to build it in the next couple weeks to use for my current games. As for resolution, Im not sure...im willing to spend up to an extra $500 on a monitor.

Thank you for the info!

Peripherals are the pieces outside the box. Monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers/headset, printer, etc.

 

[lehtv]

What are the current games you play? Are you in the U.S.? Dollars are used in Canada and Australia too, you know. What kind of PC do you use now, i.e. are there any parts you can reuse?

You'll probably be using 1920x1080 resolution if you're buying a new monitor. 2560 wide monitors are way too expensive for this build and lower than 1080p would be stupid.

 

[DominionSeraph]

 

[Murz]

One of the many i5 2500k builds in this forum should do the trick. If you go with one of those you should be able to build it for under $1000.

 

[mfenn]

One of the many i5 2500k builds in this forum should do the trick. If you go with one of those you should be able to build it for under $1000.

Yep, you'll come in right around $1K with SSD or about $850 or so without. My build that lehtv linked is good as is Dominion's.

 

[mithcol]

What are the current games you play? Are you in the U.S.? Dollars are used in Canada and Australia too, you know. What kind of PC do you use now, i.e. are there any parts you can reuse?

You'll probably be using 1920x1080 resolution if you're buying a new monitor. 2560 wide monitors are way too expensive for this build and lower than 1080p would be stupid.

US dollar, though I am in Russia right now but I can order my parts from back home in the US..unless I find them cheaper here. Currently Im just using my macbook pro.

So I will be able to play in 1080p?


Also I stopped by a a store today just to check out prices and such, the guy at the store told me they would put this build together for me for about my price range;

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p193/leoyel3654/photo.jpg

Thank you for the suggestions I am very excited to get this started.

 

[DominionSeraph]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p193/leoyel3654/photo.jpg

Note: That is a H61 motherboard which doesn't support overclocking by multiplier, and Sandy Bridge has a very limited ability to overclock outside of multiplier overclocking. The 2600k has an unlocked multiplier so it's kinda a waste to put it in a H61 board. You want a Z68 motherboard.
An i7 2600k is also $100 more than an i5 2500k and there's really no difference in gaming.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/288?vs=287

I also have no idea about the quality of that PSU.
That build also has no SSD.
So if that build is ~$1200, I'd say it's overpriced. Take out the SSD from my build and drop from its 16GB RAM to 8GB and it's down to $900 for a basically equivalent system, except mine allows for overclocking. (The GTX 560 Ti 448 cores is within a few percent of the GTX 570)

 

[lehtv]

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p193/leoyel3654/photo.jpg

Terrible build. CPU overpriced, crappy cooler, crappy PSU, H61 motherboard. Just.. No.

You'll want:
- i5-2500K + Z68 board or i5-2400 + H67 board (no OC)
- 120mm tower cooler e.g. 212+ if OC
- 2x4GB 1333mhz/1600mhz 1.5V RAM
- Suitably fast GPU for the games you play, 6870 would probably be fast enough for DIII and GW2
- reputable brand PSU ~500W
- case that you like, I would not buy thermaltake

 

[mithcol]

thanks for all the input. Im printing out Dominions build and going to look to see how much I can get the parts for. So just to get things right with the monitor, 1920x1020? HDMI?

 

[T_Yamamoto]

thanks for all the input. Im printing out Dominions build and going to look to see how much I can get the parts for. So just to get things right with the monitor, 1920x1020? HDMI?

That build is bad. -____-

 

[lehtv]

That build is bad. -____-

How is it bad? DominionSeraph's build is pretty good. Z68, 2500K, 560 Ti 448 cores, all the right choices. I might change the case and PSU and think about a bigger SSD (m4 128gb).

@ mithcol, yeah the monitor should be 1920x1080. Preferably with a DVI connection so you don't have to use a mini-HDMI->HDMI or DVI->HDMI adapter.

 

[mithcol]

How is it bad? DominionSeraph's build is pretty good. Z68, 2500K, 560 Ti 448 cores, all the right choices. I might change the case and PSU and think about a bigger SSD (m4 128gb).

@ mithcol, yeah the monitor should be 1920x1080. Preferably with a DVI connection so you don't have to use a mini-HDMI->HDMI or DVI->HDMI adapter.

lehtv, would you make a suggestion for a PSU and SSD? and whatever else you think I need to change with Dominions build. Also could you be a little more specific about what the PSU is? Im not sure what part that is in Dominions build (sorry for the newb questions, Im not very good with all this yet).

Thanks again

 

[lehtv]

There's nothing you have to change with Dominion's build. They're good components. What I meant in the previous post, regarding the SSD, was that you may want more than 64GB space to ensure you can fit all your important stuff there, so choose between Crucial M4 64GB or 128GB; and regarding the PSU, the Seasonic S12II is good but costs $70. Normally you can find better deals on 500W units. E.g. XFX 550W for $55 AR.

Other comments: I'd probably buy a case from Fractal Design, Corsair or Antec, but Cooler Master makes decent cases too. I just don't like the looks. And the graphics card - I wouldn't buy a power hungry card with only one fan on it. This would be a lot better choice IMO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127615

EDIT: Just noticed DominionSeraph put two RAM kits for a total of 16GB. That is something you should change. You won't need more than 8GB RAM.

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

64gb SSD would work pretty well for SSD cache on Z68. I currently have an 830 as SSD cache, and it is noticeably better. It may not be as fast as an SSD but when it comes to loading things you do on a regular basis (boot + games) it's probably like 95% as fast as off an SSD. The setup takes a few short steps to get going, but its a set and forget kinda thing. A decent option if you don't have the budget for a bigger SSD. Although if the recent M4 deals are a sign of things to come, we may see some nice price points on extremely reliable and fast drives.

 

[mithcol]

hey guys, so I spent some time at the market today again and alot of the tech guys there were unhappy with Dominions build, something about it being 'unbalanced'. They also suggested to not use this motherboard. Anyway this is what one of them put together instead;

These guys dont seem very trustworthy, but I thought Id check here anyway.

Thanks again.

 

[lehtv]

DominionSeraph's build is not imbalanced.

Do they not have the retail boxed i5-2400? If they do, just buy that, you don't need to buy an OEM chip and a separate cooler.

The Z68 motherboard is not needed for i5-2400. The main thing with Z68 is the capability to overclock, and for that you need a K series processor. Buy either i5-2400 + H67 chipset board, or 2500K + Z68. The exception to this rule is SSD caching, but I'd just use the SSD as a regular system boot disk and avoid paying the rather pointless extra for a Z68 board.

The power supply is probably shit. Velton? What is that? Do they not have any well known brands or manufacturers? Such as: Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, XFX, Delta, FSP.

You should not buy no name power supplies. It is the most important component in your setup (up to the point of being what we call reliable). You know, what a power supply does is it supplies power to your components, and if the power is not good quality (e.g. bad voltage regulation, ripple/noise beyond ATX specification limits), your other components are at risk of being damaged. It is fairly common for cheap power supplies to supply bad quality power.

The graphics card is a bad choice. GTX 560 2GB is not fast enough to be able to run games at settings which require more than 1GB VRAM. You would need to run GTX 560 SLI for the extra VRAM to matter. GTX 560 Ti 1GB is the same price normally, you should buy that instead. Or settle for a standard GTX 560 1GB, or a Radeon 6800 series.

Did they not have 64GB Crucial M4? OCZ Agility isn't bad for its price though. (If you're going to use the SSD only for caching, don't buy bigger than 64GB because caching is limited to a maximum partition size of 64GB.)

 

[sm625]

You dont need anything more than the stock cooler. Dont even really need a true quad core for the games you listed. An i3-2120 would be fine. Not sure why I'm seeing so many mismatches between chip and chipset. If getting a Z68 mobo, get a 2500k. If you dont need that much speed then just get an i3+ H61 mobo.

 

[lehtv]

That is also true, an i3 would be fine for your purposes. I would still buy a H67 board though because with a H61 board your SSD would be limited to SATA 3gb/s.

 

[mithcol]

thank you for all that input lehtv,

what exactly is the difference between the GTX 560 that Dominion listed and the one your suggesting (gtx560 ti 1gb)? or are they the same thing?

 

[lehtv]

GTX 560 Ti 1GB is the original 560 Ti which performs right between GTX 560 and GTX 570. Dominion listed a GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores, which is essentially a GTX 570 with a few of the computing units disabled for lesser performance at a slightly lower price point, but it does retain the same amount of VRAM as GTX 570 (1280mb). It performs between GTX 560 Ti 1GB and GTX 570.

For the games you listed, you definitely don't need GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores to run them smoothly, even 560 Ti might be a bit overkill. I would avoid paying too much for the graphics card.

 

[mfenn]

GTX 560 Ti 1GB is the original 560 Ti which performs right between GTX 560 and GTX 570. Dominion listed a GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores, which is essentially a GTX 570 with a few of the computing units disabled for lesser performance at a slightly lower price point, but it does retain the same amount of VRAM as GTX 570 (1280mb). It performs between GTX 560 Ti 1GB and GTX 570.

For the games you listed, you definitely don't need GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores to run them smoothly, even 560 Ti might be a bit overkill. I would avoid paying too much for the graphics card.

By the same token, Dominion is already $200 under the OP's budget, and it's not like the 448 is a bad value.

 

[I4AT]

Guild Wars 2 is speculated to be released at an unknown date in 2012, and Diablo 3, well that's just unknown period.

By the time these games are actually released current hardware prices may be significantly lower. I wouldn't even start thinking about a new build until much closer to confirmed release.