Gaming build

Puffncough

Junior Member
Jan 22, 2011
13
0
0
Office/gaming
$500 Now , $150-$200 in a month (For Video card)
Purchasing in USA, Compusa/Tigerdirect or newegg (If cheaper)
AMD for cost but willing to go Intel for more power
I have mouse/keyboard/screen already
Overclocking for sure
Playing at 1680x860?? Or something like that



I will be using this computer for gaming (mainly WoW) some video recording / editing and torrent downloads. I have an LCD monitor which I will most likely be using...BUT I also have a sony HD TV with computer hookup and HDMI.

Eventually I wanna either dual screen the two or just use the (36 inch?) TV.

This is what I have so far, not stuck on anything I might want to go intel

Mobo/CPU

DVD

Hard Drive

RAM

Case
 

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
Here is my build (without windows 7 or a dedicated graphics card) for $521.92

CD/DVD

Case

HDD

PSU

RAM

Motherboard

CPU combo


Total: 521.92 (before rebate of $15)


*note you will have to use your CPU's IGP (integrated graphics processor) for movies and games until you get the money for a graphics card. The IGP will give reasonable performance but will not be playing games in fullHD.
 

Ausm

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
25,213
14
81
Here is my build (without windows 7 or a dedicated graphics card) for $521.92

CD/DVD

Case

HDD

PSU

RAM

Motherboard

CPU combo


Total: 521.92 (before rebate of $15)


*note you will have to use your CPU's IGP (integrated graphics processor) for movies and games until you get the money for a graphics card. The IGP will give reasonable performance but will not be playing games in fullHD.

I like this build myself.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Whatever you do, do NOT buy the parts that you had originally picked out! Anything with an original Phenom is a no-go in this day and age. Same for DDR2.

That being said, mnewsham's build looks good!
 

Puffncough

Junior Member
Jan 22, 2011
13
0
0
Nice thanks for all the input! Mnewsham your build looks like everything I was lookin for, and no I dont have an old video card, i'm running on a laptop right now
 

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
Nice thanks for all the input! Mnewsham your build looks like everything I was lookin for, and no I dont have an old video card, i'm running on a laptop right now

Thanks, im actually doing the opposite, moving from a desktop to a laptop ;)
 

Puffncough

Junior Member
Jan 22, 2011
13
0
0
Yeah the laptop is nice but I want more power, what would you recommend for a video card to go with that build you gave me?
 

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
Yeah the laptop is nice but I want more power, what would you recommend for a video card to go with that build you gave me?

For some decent gaming for the next 3 years or so i would go with a gtx 560 at the minimum. you would need a better power supply to confidently go higher then that.
 

Puffncough

Junior Member
Jan 22, 2011
13
0
0
You asked if I had windows 7? How would that effect the build? I haven't decided what OS I wanted on it yet but I was considering windows 7
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
You asked if I had windows 7? How would that effect the build? I haven't decided what OS I wanted on it yet but I was considering windows 7

Yeah, we need to know if the OS should be part of the budget or not. Some people like to include it, others don't. Never hurts to ask, especially when its a significant portion of a $500-700 build.
 

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
Bigger isn't better, efficiency is greatest around 70% load, a 750 watt would be way too much and highly ineffificient.

Ineffificient or not, having some room to play with is nice. Personally, I dont like having to replace a good power supply when I upgrade something like the video card.

I'am getting ready to upgrade my sons video card, and the current 450watt power supply is not enough. Even though the current power supply perfectly fine for the system right now, 1 little upgrade and I'am having to replace a good power supply because there is no room for play.

The next power supply I buy is going to be plenty big, so I do not have to keep replacing them every 2 - 3 years, and when there is nothing wrong with them.

So yea, 70% might be fine right now, fast forward 18 - 24 months, replace the video card, and guess what, you have to replace the power supply as well. If you upgrade your system every 6 - 12 months, that might be fine. But I upgrade every 18 - 36 months, so I want to plan ahead and buy as few parts as possible on the next upgrade.
 
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mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
Ineffificient or not, having some room to play with is nice. Personally, I dont like having to replace a good power supply when I upgrade something like the video card.

I'am getting ready to upgrade my sons video card, and the current 450watt power supply is not enough. Even though the current power supply perfectly fine for the system right now, 1 little upgrade and I'am having to replace a good power supply because there is no room for play.

The next power supply I buy is going to be plenty big, so I do not have to keep replacing them every 2 - 3 years, and when there is nothing wrong with them.

So yea, 70% might be fine right now, fast forward 18 - 24 months, replace the video card, and guess what, you have to replace the power supply as well.

The 520watt psu should be good up to a gtx 570 even, gpu's are getting more power efficient so no 700 watts and up is only good for a high end cpu, his is only 95wattseverything else should be low double or single digit.
 

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
The 520watt psu should be good up to a gtx 570 even, gpu's are getting more power efficient so no 700 watts and up is only good for a high end cpu, his is only 95wattseverything else should be low double or single digit.

Thank you for your post. I was looking at the 750watt for my sons computer, but I think I'am going to step that down to either a 550 or 650.

Amazon has a diablotek 650watt $10 cheaper then the 520 you linked to and a 550watt for $39.
 

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
198
106
I wouldn't touch a Diablotek PSU... IIRC, jonnyguru did a review on a 1000W unit and it was pretty sad.

Thank you - and wow, I did not realize that diablotek power supplies are so bad. I have diablotek power supplies running in 3 low end workstations.

After I read that review on johnnyguru I found another review on hardocp of another diablotek power supply and both sites said the exact same thing. When you see reviews on 2 different sites, same brand name, different models, and both sites say the same thing, its time to stop buying that product.