Help Noob build Gaming PC

Saske

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
6
0
0
Hello.

I'm looking into building a gaming pc. I'm very pressed for time which I will explain why later.

Any way I live in Macedonia and don't possess much knowledge when in comes to pc building nor do I follow and am up to date with new and current pc components.
So I'm looking for some advice in building a pc for gaming.

Like I said above I'm in a big hurry. You see our government gives out coupons to last year students in value of 250 euro to buy a pc. The catch is I have to buy it in 8 days. I'm planning of adding 400 euros of my own. So my budget is around 650 euros which is around 850$.

I was looking in my local shops this week. And two pre-build PCs caught my eye:

iPentium Q6600 CORE 2 QUAD 2.4G 8M 1066
MB: ASUS P5QL PRO LGA775 1600
4 GB RAM DDR2 800MHz
ASUS GeForce9800GT 1Gb DD3 256bit
HDD 500GB SATA II 7200rpm

From this shop:
http://www.set.com.mk/setClient/products.asp (the site is in English)

and this

Intel Core2Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 8MB 12/1333Mhz
MB MSI Intel P45 NEO-F
HDD 500GB - RAM:DDR2 4GB/800
VGA MSI N9500GT-MD1GB OC edition
Sound Blaster 7.1

I'm not sure about the VGA on this one, this is what the store had for other VGAs


Also a friend recommends this PC:

GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit,
HDD 500GB Seagate 7200rpm 32MB SATA-II
P5Q, LGA775, Intel P45
Corsair 4GB 800MHz TWIN2X4096-6400C5 20 DDR2
CM eXtreme Power 460W (RS-460-PCAPA3-EU)
E8400 CORE 2 DUO 3.0G 6MB 1333


A lot of people are giving me conflicting reports about if I should get a Duo or Quad Core.
As I understand the Duos are better for gaming currently, but are not future proof. I've read many say in the future more games will utilize the Quad better. But I've got a group of people telling me they've been saying that for some time now and nothing has come of it.

So is it better to get Duo or Quad?

Also I'm confused about what VGA to get. Some tell me the GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit others say ATI HD 4850. I have one guy telling me GeForce9800GT 1Gb because it has more RAM than the 9800GTX+. I?ve read the GTX+ is way better than the GT.

Is RAM very important when looking at graphic cards?


I have not brand preference, as I said I don't possess too much knowledge to have a preference. And I may look into over clocking in the future. But not soon (year or so).

If anyone has some free to offer me advice I would greatly appreciate it. I'm looking into building a PC that will last me like 3 years, before replacing it.

I keeping my current monitor for my new pc so that?s not a concern.

Thanks in advance :)
 

theAnimal

Diamond Member
Mar 18, 2003
3,828
23
76
You definitely don't want the 9500GT. The 9800GTX+ and 4850 are about equal and both are better than the 9800GT.

I'd say for gaming go with the dual, you can always upgrade to a quad later. Only thing I'd change is to get a better power supply, Corsair or Seasonic.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
If a video card has a higher number and more letters after the number then it's usually better :p
So yes the 9800GTX+ is better than the 9800GT but you're going to need a better PSU.
Reference design 4850's are known to run hot stock without some tweaking but are single slot and single PCIe power connector. There are some 4850's with aftermarket cooling. The 9800GTX+ is dual slot and dual PCIe power connectors. The 4850 and 9800GTX+ trade blows for the most part. What resolution are you going to be gaming at?
 

Saske

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
6
0
0
Thanks for the info guys.

Resolution isn't a big concern for me I usually play at 1024 x 768.

Anyway will a CM eXtreme Power 550W do for power?
 

Denithor

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2004
6,298
23
81
If I had to pick one of those for the next three years I'd go for the Q9400, drop the SB7.1 and replace the 9500GT with a 9800GT for now (upgrade just that part in a year or so and keep cruising right along).
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Originally posted by: Denithor
If I had to pick one of those for the next three years I'd go for the Q9400, drop the SB7.1 and replace the 9500GT with a 9800GT for now (upgrade just that part in a year or so and keep cruising right along).

Well for right now, I'd go with the E8400. You can't get a comparable quad for even close to the same price unless you obviously overclock it. The op should just get the E8400 and when quads get even more cheap, he can pick one of those up.
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
* You're pressed for time.
* You know very little about actually building a PC.
* You play games at low resolution.

If you're in a hurry and don't have time to properly learn about PC building, why not just order a pre-built (or customized) computer from a large vendor like HP, Dell, Acer, etc?


 

Saske

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
6
0
0
Because most pre-builds I've asked about online, I've been told aren't very good for gaming. Example is the one with the 9500GT, that is advertised as a great gaming PC, yet every where I've asked, I've been told the 9500GT isn't very good. Like people have pointed out in this thread.

And to buy a Dell, HP etc PC in my country It's going to cost me a lot more money than to put together a pc, or buy a pre-build from a shop.

I've made some changes to the PC my friend recommendation. What do you guys think?

MB: P5Q-Pro
E8400 CORE 2 DUO 3.0G 6MB 1333
Corsair 4GB 800MHz TWIN2X4096-6400C5 20 DDR2
GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit
HDD 500GB Seagate 7200rpm 32MB SATA-II
CM eXtreme Power 550W

I want to get a better power supply and a very cheap case.

It'll cost me about 1000$, Do you guys think it's worth it?

Will it last me 2-3 years?
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Originally posted by: Saske
Because most pre-builds I've asked about online, I've been told aren't very good for gaming. Example is the one with the 9500GT, that is advertised as a great gaming PC, yet every where I've asked, I've been told the 9500GT isn't very good. Like people have pointed out in this thread.

And to buy a Dell, HP etc PC in my country It's going to cost me a lot more money than to put together a pc, or buy a pre-build from a shop.

I've made some changes to the PC my friend recommendation. What do you guys think?

MB: P5Q-Pro
E8400 CORE 2 DUO 3.0G 6MB 1333
Corsair 4GB 800MHz TWIN2X4096-6400C5 20 DDR2
GeForce 9800GTX+, 512MB DDR3 256 bit
HDD 500GB Seagate 7200rpm 32MB SATA-II
CM eXtreme Power 550W

I want to get a better power supply and a very cheap case.

It'll cost me about 1000$, Do you guys think it's worth it?

Will it last me 2-3 years?

What do you mean by last? If by last you mean still work then yes. If last you mean still run the latest games with all settings on high then no. That goes out the window every couple months. PC gaming is expensive but so damn addicting. How much do you want to spend on a case/psu?
 

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
Originally posted by: Saske
Because most pre-builds I've asked about online, I've been told aren't very good for gaming.
* You're usually gaming at 1024 x 768. That's nothing these days.
Good onboard video can handle that.

* Do you have anyone with building experience near you to help with the assembling?

* Exactly which big PC companies are available for you to buy from?



 

Saske

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
6
0
0
How much do you want to spend on a case/psu?
I'm kind of limited in the PSU, because the shop I'm looking at doesn't have much of a selection. I'm planing on CM eXtreme Power 620W, only one that costs more is a CM Real Power 620W but that costs like 43 $ more.
As for a case, cheapest one I can find thats good. I don't want anything that's crap :)
48 = 1$
List
* Do you have anyone with building experience near you to help with the assembling?

The coupon I have limits me to buying all the parts from one store. So they'll assemble it for free.

* Exactly which big PC companies are available for you to buy from?

There are some shops that are official distributors for companies like Dell and HP. But like I said the prices they sell those Dell/HP etc PCs are much higher than PCs they have prebuild or what you can put together yourself.

Basically there are a bunch of PC Shops, but nothing major like a Dell Shop or something like that.
 

Saske

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
6
0
0
When it comes to Main Boards which one of the following would you guys recommend:

P5Q-PRO, P5QC, P5Q-E, P5Q

One person has told me the PRO is a great board, but I have another telling me the P5Q is the way to go.

Also for a case would this do, It's cheap:

http://www.asus.com/products.a...model=1625&modelmenu=1

Or should I go for something with more quality.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
Originally posted by: Saske
When it comes to Main Boards which one of the following would you guys recommend:

P5Q-PRO, P5QC, P5Q-E, P5Q

One person has told me the PRO is a great board, but I have another telling me the P5Q is the way to go.

Also for a case would this do, It's cheap:

http://www.asus.com/products.a...model=1625&modelmenu=1

Or should I go for something with more quality.

Are you going to do SLI cus almost all of those boards are for SLI which if you're not going to do no need to spend more money on it. The regular P5Q should be fine for you if you aren't doing SLI. If they have the P5Q SE it's less expensive but still a good board. Can you only choose from Asus or do they have other companies to choose from?
 

Saske

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2008
6
0
0
Only ASUS, they have some other boards but they're half the price than the ones I posted. So i doubt how good they're are.

They have a M3N72-D which is a smiliar price as the P5Q.

And I don't really plan to SLI but it's nice to have the option :).

Would you recommened the P5Q if I don't do SLI over the others?

But what has me a bit confused is, doesn't the 9800GTX+ use two SLI connectors?
So which motherboard would be better for that VGA?