Building Gaming PC Help

[xmonke]

Hi, I'm trying to build my own gaming PC for the first time and I need some professional opinions. I want to be able to play games at their highest settings and I'd also like to be able to run game engines and modeling software like Unreal Engine 3 and 3ds Max. What do you recommend for CPU's, graphics cards, motherboards, memory, cases, power supply, etc? I'd like all the details, please. Also I don't want to have to spend a ton of money($1000+). Right now my price range is around $800, but don't only recommend the best for under my price range, if I really should invest more I guess I can keep saving. I just want to know what you think. I've read a bunch of guides online for building gaming PC's, but I don't really trust those, I want to hear the opinions of people who actually have the products, not just a bunch of reviews. Any help would be much appreciated, thank you.



Moved from PC Gaming

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[Nvidiaguy07]

need more info:

read this: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=62434 (this should be posted in the general hardware section as well)

Do you need everything? Or do you already have some parts?

 

[xmonke]

Do you need everything? Or do you already have some parts?

I don't have any parts yet. I think I'm going to go with an Intel CPU and MB, but that's all I've decided. I don't know enough about anything else to make a good decision.

 

[Craig234]

I don't have any parts yet. I think I'm going to go with an Intel CPU and MB, but that's all I've decided. I don't know enough about anything else to make a good decision.

Nothing wrong with AMD, really - I use it.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I don't have any parts yet. I think I'm going to go with an Intel CPU and MB, but that's all I've decided. I don't know enough about anything else to make a good decision.

Do you need a monitor? Keyboard and mouse? etc. It helps to fill out that information i linked before.

But if i were on a budget, and wanted to get the most for my money, id probably get the best core components i could afford, and then add anything else as i went on. (basically selling you on the PC i have now - i love it)

For example:
I got my 3570k for <200 when it was released with a rebate. If you can get that for ~200 or a 2500k for around the same thats a good start. (maybe even a used 2500k for ~170)

Not sure if you want to SLI or anything like that, but get a motherboard that has everything you need on it. If your interested in overclocking, get a board that is known to OC well. Heres a nice one for only $95 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&amp;SID=u00000687

Look around for deals on a cpu cooler. The H212 evo is a really good deal for ~30 bucks. There are tons of good options for around 20-30 bucks that will allow you to get a decent overclock.

check slickdeals for a case, they usually have a good deal about once every day or so. Id say dont skimp out on this, because having something that can manage everything in your pc well, and cool it is worth it. I love my p280. Its 80 right now after rebate http://slickdeals.net/f/4953376-Ant...omputer-Case-80-after-20-rebate-Free-Shipping

This memory should be fine: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231546 though you might need more for whatever your doing in 3ds (not sure - i dont use that)

Video card - I normally buy a mainstream card for around 200-250, and they can usually play just about any game at max settings at 1080p. I decided to spring for my 670 because i now have a 1440p monitor and i need extra horsepower. Again - i have no idea how these cards work for graphic design, or if a card geared towards that is a better idea. But in this category you can spend either ~400 and get a gtx670 or a 7970. Or get a card like the 560ti, or wait for the 660ti for around ~200. depends on what you can afford.

If i were you, i would initially just get a regular hard drive that you can use for storage later, when you have enough to buy a SSD. So a 1tb hard drive is around 90 bucks right now.

Get a decent power supply. Something that can handle whatever components you choose. heres a really nice one for 70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139028

DVD drive: ~25 bucks

So if you add my estimates up, it comes out to 795-1000 depending on what you choose. Again thats not including a keyboard, mouse, monitor, any extra cables, usb hub if you need one, etc.

Check toms too for ideas. System builder marathon is a good place to look. They have example builds of 500, 1000, and 2000 dollars, so you can see how the components perform, and you can probably make a better decision after reading his results.
EDIT: Heres the 500 dollar PC exmaple he gives: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-do-it-yourself-geforce-gtx-560,3216.html

Just look at that and then look for places youd like to put more money in.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

You should post this in General Hardware and use the info chart in their sticky thread. That is what that board is there for.

 

[xmonke]

@Nvidiaguy07
Thanks a whole lot! I'll go post this in General Hardware too like everyone's been saying to see if I can get even more tips. Thanks again, real helpful!

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

@Nvidiaguy07
Thanks a whole lot! I'll go post this in General Hardware too like everyone's been saying to see if I can get even more tips. Thanks again, real helpful!

dont post another thread, just ask for this to be moved. and fill out that info.

 

[xmonke]

dont post another thread, just ask for this to be moved. and fill out that info.

Oh, ok.

**I can't figure out how to do it...

 

[FalseChristian]

For a GPU I'd get a GTX 560 (non-ti). They are the same as my GTX 460 1GB but are clocked much higher.

 

[Attic]

Read a lot and enjoy the process. At least half the fun for me is planning out and researching the build.

I'd reccomend you put serious consideration to your monitor and speakers/headphones and if you open up your budget then the $$$ should go here.

 

[Aikouka]

I'd reccomend you put serious consideration to your monitor and speakers/headphones and if you open up your budget then the $$$ should go here.

This is necessary because if you want to play games at their highest settings and you don't even list a monitor, it's rather hard to help! 1080p at the highest settings on a mid-level card won't be that easy with most high-end games.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Read a lot and enjoy the process. At least half the fun for me is planning out and researching the build.

I'd reccomend you put serious consideration to your monitor and speakers/headphones and if you open up your budget then the $$$ should go here.

Agreed 1000%

Picking out parts and planning my build lasted like 2-3 weeks on my last build, mainly because i dragged it out, and wanted to make sure everything was perfect. Ive built my own PC's for around 15 years now, and its much more about the experience, and pleasure of putting something together than what you get out of it - for me at least. For example: if you love cars, and you actually build/work on some nice older car is much more satisfying then just buying the car is good condition and having to do no work on it.

Your really not saving any money by building your own, but i dont think i would ever buy a pre-built PC.

As for the monitor - a crappy monitor makes any PC feel crappy. Everytime ive upgraded to a better display - i feel like its the best posible upgrade i could have made - just because it makes the experience that much better.

I just upgraded from a 1080p 23" screen to a 27" 1440 IPS screen (catleap) and its amazing. If you already have a screen, or were planning on getting something cheap, 300 bucks gets you an amazing screen (if your GPU can handle it)

 

[Tweak155]

I got my 560ti 448 core for $158 after waiting for a good deal. It handles games extremely well and doesn't get terribly hot. If you're at 1080p, either something in the 560ti range for Nvidia or 6850 / 7850 area for AMD would probably suit you fine. The 6850's have dropped to like $120 on occasion. It is a budget card with really good performance.

 

[krnmastersgt]

Forgot to reply to this thread while it was in PC Gaming, anyways do you live near a Micro Center? You can get a great deal on the CPU + Motherboard there, but if not oh well.

As for a baseline build at your budget, pretty much perfectly fits the bill for mfenn's mid-range system build for roughly $1k. If you could answer the questions in the sticky though I could provide some more insight.

 

[mfenn]

I don't have any parts yet. I think I'm going to go with an Intel CPU and MB, but that's all I've decided. I don't know enough about anything else to make a good decision.

I haven't seen the sticky filled out yet, so you should definitely do that. From what I have discerned, you have $800 and you need everything including the PC itself, monitor, mouse, keyboard, and OS. Is that correct?