Gaming Rig Long Time Coming

[btadler]

Hey,

Was cleaning out my closet the other day and found a few components that have been tucked away for probably close to 2 years. I figure I might as well use them and build a new computer with them. I originally purchased them to build a new tower but ran out of money and gave up. I have the build from 2 years ago but I figured there would be something better out now so I am up for any ideas.

What I own right now just need the rest of the components.
OCZ 700w PCU
Samsung DVD Drive
922 HAF Case

Would like to keep the costs under $600 for the rest. I would like the system to be able to run Star Wars Old Republic, WoW, World of Tanks and Crisis. That is pretty much all I play on my current laptop and Crisis I haven't been able to play since my last comp died. I feel like I am burning out my laptop everytime I play a game even though it has specs to do so and would like a tower to be able to give my laptop a much needed break. Thank you for your suggestions.

Forgot a few things:

I do not plan to overclock this machine but things may happen.

I live in the US and normally buy things through newegg or amazon. Which ever has what I need for less.

I do not have a brand preference but do tend to lean towards AMD for GPU's and Intel for CPU's.

Anything else just ask.

 

[Termie]

Are you talking Crysis or Crysis 3? Will be tough to get a rig together for C3 with this budget.

Assuming just Crysis, here's what I'm thinking:

OS - $100
8GB RAM - $50
GTX650ti - $110
H77 board - $70
3470 - $190
1TB hard drive - $75

I'll let others chime in and if that looks good will fill in links tomorrow.

 

[Steltek]

Are you talking Crysis or Crysis 3? Will be tough to get a rig together for C3 with this budget.

Assuming just Crysis, here's what I'm thinking:

OS - $100
8GB RAM - $50
GTX650ti - $110
H77 board - $70
3470 - $190
1TB hard drive - $75

I'll let others chime in and if that looks good will fill in links tomorrow.

If he is willing to work with rebates, I'd make the following changes (prices include shipping where applicable) just to allow the potential of future overclocking headroom:

Biostar TZ77B + 8GB free memory - $117.55 - $5 rebate
i5-2500k - $204.98 after $10 off code MELTDOWN (expires 02/25/13)
Toshiba HDKPC03 1TB HD - $73.85 - $10 Rebate

I'm assuming the video card you were recommending was net after rebate? I've not seen a $110 GTX 650ti anywhere. If OP could give another $100 on the budget towards the video card (or live with Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge integrated graphics for a few months -- which could be possible if he is presently on laptop integrated graphics -- to try to save towards a good graphics card) OP would be a lot better off though.

 

[btadler]

I forgot to mention I already have a copy of win 7 which I will use instead of getting win 8 so there $100 free'd up. Sorry for not mentioning that before. Also willing to be flexible on price upto $700 if it means I can have a better gpu now vs saving and replacing later.

 

[Termie]

AsRock z77 Pro4 Motherboard with FREE 8GB Corsair RAM ($118 shipped): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157296
Intel i5-3570k ($218 shipped using $10 code MELTDOWN): http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?...1243c2c36b9a95
Gigabyte GTX660 ($214AR shipped): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125443
Seagate Barracuda 1TB drive ($75): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148697
Samsung 840 120GB SSD ($110): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147185

TOTAL: $735AR shipped

And yes, you want that motherboard/RAM deal because the minimum price of 8GB of RAM is $50, so it's a HUGE discount. I'm picking the GTX660 due to your interest in World of Tanks. If you want free games instead, get an HD7850 2GB ($170AR shipped): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131473

ALTERNATE TOTAL: $694AR shipped

 

[btadler]

I know I should be running a SSD, but if I cut that out I can get a better GPU like the 7870 and still be with in budget. What do you think?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202025

 

[Sleepingforest]

Termie linked up a build to include both the 7850 (or a 660) and an SSD--no need to exclude!

AsRock z77 Pro4 Motherboard with FREE 8GB Corsair RAM ($118 shipped): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157296
Intel i5-3570k ($218 shipped using $10 code MELTDOWN): http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?...1243c2c36b9a95
Gigabyte GTX660 ($214AR shipped): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125443
Seagate Barracuda 1TB drive ($75): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148697
Samsung 840 120GB SSD ($110): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147185

TOTAL: $735AR shipped

And yes, you want that motherboard/RAM deal because the minimum price of 8GB of RAM is not $50, so it's a HUGE discount. I'm picking the GTX660 due to your interest in World of Tanks. If you want free games instead, get an HD7850 2GB ($170AR shipped): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131473

ALTERNATE TOTAL: $694AR shipped

 

[Termie]

I know I should be running a SSD, but if I cut that out I can get a better GPU like the 7870 and still be with in budget. What do you think?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202025

If you mean staying under $600, yes, the only way to do it is to skip the SSD. But you can stay under $700 and still get both a good card and an SSD.

I would not sacrifice the SSD - it's a long-term investment that will really make your use of the computer more satisfying. Getting 20% higher performance in games is not going to be nearly as noticeable as 100% faster boot and app launching times.

By the way, I have that HD7870 and like it. If you can extend your budget above $700 and don't want the WoT credits that come with the GTX660, I'd go for it instead of the HD7850. But I wouldn't skip the SSD just to move from an HD7850 to an HD7870.

 

[btadler]

I know he integrated that into the pricing but I was talking about getting better GPU the 7870 which should give me about 15% better performance and also costs about $60 more. If I swapped the 7850 out for the 7870 and got rid of the SSD then I could actually get closer to my original budget and have a better performing build.

Edit: Looks like we posted at the same time. Thanks I will stick with the SSD.

 

[Termie]

I know he integrated that into the pricing but I was talking about getting better GPU the 7870 which should give me about 15% better performance and also costs about $60 more. If I swapped the 7850 out for the 7870 and got rid of the SSD then I could actually get closer to my original budget and have a better performing build.

Edit: Looks like we posted at the same time. Thanks I will stick with the SSD.

That certainly makes sense when it comes to gaming. You'll need to decide what you're comfortable spending and what area of performance you'd like to prioritize. I know that I'd get an SSD before investing a lot in a graphics card, but it won't improve your frames per second. If you really want to max the eye candy for the least amount of money, put more money into the graphics card. But keep in mind - you can turn down graphics settings and get similar performance on a lesser card, but you can't adjust anything in an operating system to make it feel like it's running off an SSD when it's not.

 

[Sleepingforest]

In my opinion, there is no way I would pay 35% more for a graphics card that only gives 15% more performance on such a tight budget.

The SSD is, of course, debatable. The way I would go about this: build now with an SSD--you'll be around $40 over the budget you wanted, but you'll get SSD snappiness right away (and you won't have to move around the OS). In a few weeks or months, get the $75 or so HDD as your storage fills up.

 

[btadler]

That was going to be my next question. I have never installed/used a SSD before. Do I install the OS onto the SSD and link it to the HDD kinda like a partitioning the HDD or how does that work?

 

[Steltek]

That was going to be my next question. I have never installed/used a SSD before. Do I install the OS onto the SSD and link it to the HDD kinda like a partitioning the HDD or how does that work?

SSDs are simply storage drives, like any other hard drive. You do need to set the BIOS to use AHCI mode prior to installation.

Shut down the machine, unplug all the other hard drives from the system. Physically install the SSD, and connect it to the first SATA port on the motherboard. It is always a good idea to make sure you have the most recent firmware installed on your SSD prior to software installation, as flashing the firmware often erases the contents of the drive. Start up, partition the SSD and install Windows normally. Once Windows is successfully installed, shut down and plug the other hard drives back in to the motherboard so that they can be accessible to your Windows install as data drives.

 

[btadler]

Seems easy enough. I am installing all components new so I can just install the SSD first get windows installed and the drivers and then shutdown, install HDD and be good to go? Let me know if I am missing anything. If not should be no problem. Thanks for the help.

 

[Termie]

Seems easy enough. I am installing all components new so I can just install the SSD first get windows installed and the drivers and then shutdown, install HDD and be good to go? Let me know if I am missing anything. If not should be no problem. Thanks for the help.

Yes, that is the way to do it that is sure to work.

Now, you can attach both your SSD and HD prior to Windows installation, but this way you know the OS is going on the SSD, which will then be the boot drive by default.

The key, as mentioned previously, is setting your SATA mode to AHCI, rather than IDE, before you install the OS. It is very simple - you can enter the BIOS before you even have a drive connected, or alternatively before the drive has any data on it, and set it to AHCI, and then reboot.

Even that is correctable after the fact, but it will add a few more steps and possibly some bluescreens, so no reason to go through that if you just write down the steps.

Once the OS is installed, you can attach the hard drive just like any other drive. You will need to manually install programs to it, though, which you do by choosing "custom" with any installer package. This is a minor extra step throughout the life of the system, but if you're generally pretty hands-on about your computer use, it becomes second nature. It's the reason, however, that dual-drive systems aren't great for people who are not aware that there are two drives or wouldn't know how to tell them apart.

 

[btadler]

Sounds simple enough. Thank you for your help.