• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Looking for some Advice for Mid-Range Gaming Rig?

A

artificus

Junior Member
Hey All,

New member to the forums, browsed the threads off and on for quite a number of years. Let me give you the long story short....used to be real into computers and up on the best parts and what not. Went to college with a DELL laptop..(meh, hey it was a gift). Crapped out on me my junior year, bought a cheap lenovo replacement laptop to get me through and that's what I'm rocking now. However, I'm trying to get back into the game a bit...and build a new PC. The info below is as follows, if you need any further info or clarification please don't hesitate to grill me.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. Right now all I do on my laptop is browse the internet and use Microsoft Office kinds of stuff....a little light gaming here and there. What I envision is some solid gaming out of this thing if I so choose. What prompted me to even start this project is the fact that SW:TOR came out (I was a huge fan of Star Wars Galaxies before they crapped all over it, so I'm hoping SWTOR is better.) Also, I keep hearing that Battlefield 3 is amazing on PC so maybe a little of that too. I want to be able to upgrade it fairly easily as the years pass and hope to maybe get some Media ability out of it as well? In the sense of throwing up some ISOs from old dvds onto my TV.

2. What YOUR budget is. Total I don't really want to spend over $850.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. Used to be an Intel and ATI guy. Now I'm still Intel (only because I already dropped cash on the 2500K), but other than that my allegiance is not really to anyone company.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 for $109.99
Intel i5 2500K for $179.99 (got these two in the combo deal from Microcenter)
Corsair XMS3 1333Mhz 1.5v 2x4GB for $35 (also snagged at MC)
Copy of Windows Vista
(may be able to scavenge a monitor and keyboard but it would only be a 15" LCD, but this is an uncertainty.)

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. I have been reading some of the threads in here and kind of browsing the net in general. Just want to get some more expert opinions on where I should focus the majority of the rest of my cash. I'm assuming the GPU...definitely checked out mfenn's Mid Range rundown and almost just went last night and ordered the rest of it there. However, I would be over my budget and I would still need a monitor heh. Hence why I'm here.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. I'm willing to overclock. I hear with the unlocked 2500K and this motherboard that it should be real simple. I've never overclocked in my life and I know that cooling becomes an issue, so if it's not gonna be too bad with this system setup then I am willing to do it for sure!

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. This is a good question, dependent on what the monitor situation ends up at, so do not have a definitive answer for this one.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? Already started as you can see above. Now that I already dropped some cash, I want to rush and get the rest of the parts to finish it...but I'm willing to wait it out and get the best deals that I can if there will be that much of a difference in price. (I keep hearing about waiting for the price drops on GPUs because of the new 7xxx series coming...?)

Potentials:
GPU - SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 Is it better to go with something like a 560Ti here or not? I am just looking for the best bang for my buck.
Case - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1
HD - HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721075DLE630 (0F13179) 750GB 7200 RPM
Power Supply - CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Optical Drive - LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model

Well there's the info that I have so far, if you can lend a hand I'd greatly appreciate it. You guys have a great thing going here, and I'm sure that everyone appreciates your time and effort. Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:
Updated the original post to include some potential choices so that I have a basis with which to run off of...hopefully this is a decent starting point heh
 
So $850 includes the $325 that you spent at MC, correct?

If that is the case, that leaves you with $525 for the rest of the system + monitor. What you've picked out comes to $320 AR. What I would do is:

ASUS VH232H $145 AR
Swap PSU to CX500 $30 AR (+$5 net)
Swap GPU to GTX 560 Ti $185 AR (+$55 net)

That puts you at $845 total unless I made a math mistake.
 
Thanks mfenn! I am gonna try and place the order for the rest of the parts this weekend. If I come across any other questions I'll post them here and then see if I can't get this thing built sooner rather than later!
 
Will this manage to keep me afloat and able to game (not at ultra-high settings, but at least at mid to mid-high) for a decent amount of time before I fall too far behind the current tech again?

Any thoughts?
 
I'd say the CPU should be good for 4 years or so. The GPU will need a ~$200 mid-life upgrade in 2 years, but you should be good other than that.
 
Great! Well I placed the order tonight when I got home from work. Parts should be here sometime next week so hopefully I'll be good to go. Thanks for your help mfenn!
 
Hello all!

Just wanted to update and see if I can get some troubleshooting help. So I installed everything into the case last night and powered it on. Looked good, (LED's on fans were on and running.) The thing actually turned on which meant the motherboard was getting power, the LEDs on the graphics card were on. However, I had it hooked up to my new monitor and it was saying no signal via either DVI or HDMI. So I tried the DVI port on the motherboard in case it wouldn't play nice with the graphics card just yet. I thought it would take me to the BIOS first, but I didn't get anything. Would that tend to indicate that the HD is fried maybe? Just looking to see what my next step is here to troubleshoot. I have to work all day, but I may be able to take a look when I get home tonight.

If you have any input, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
 
That sucks. It's always dissapointing when all the new pieces show up and something isn't right.

Start by physically removing the 6850 and see if you can get a video feed via the onboard graphics.
 
If you can't see the BIOS screen, that means that the problem isn't your HDD. Monkey's suggestion of pulling the 6850 and trying the onboard is good. Also, try another monitor if you have a spare.
 
Hey guys,

Sorry for the delay in response. Just worked 5 12 hr days in a row and finally got a day off today. So I removed the GTX560 and was able to get a video feed via the graphics. I installed windows 7 successfully on my HD and everything looked good. I powered it down and reinstalled the graphics card with no luck. I can't get a video feed from either the card or the onboard graphics with the card installed.

So does this mean my card is potentially bricked? I have both PCI 6pin power cords in the cord and I know that it's seated properly into the motherboard. Is there something that i'm missing..?

Thanks for your help thus far, and for being so responsive!
 
Yes, the two fans are on and spinning as well as some LEDs on the card itself. Removed it again to make sure that it's seated properly, pretty sure that it has been the whole time. Not sure why I can't get any display out of either the card or the motherboard when the card is connected though.
 
I will do that and hopefully get it out tomorow, but do you always get nailed with paying the shipping both ways via Newegg? I don't remember that always being the case back in the day...at least I didn't think so.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top