Mid-Range System Builders - A Success Story

[gamingnoob]

I registered to give you some feedback on the midrange build thread that is stickied to the top of this forum. Success! Thank you!

Some background: I had no idea how to build my own computer. I only did it due to necessity, otherwise I would have just bought one. I am an older (41) attorney who discovered World of Warcraft a while back, but I couldn't run raids or even any dungeons because I didn't know you couldn't really run it on a laptop (at least not my laptop). What finally made me get up off my butt and do something was an article I read on the World of Warcraft forums where someone complained of getting something like 15 fps in Stormwind. I was like, uh, I get even less than that! Then I found out that other people got 100fps regularly which I had never seen in my life. I found out that getting less than 30fps meant that the game was unplayable.

So, I started trying to figure out how to raise my fps. I was lost on the internet and somehow found this forum. I did the 4/6/2014 build that was the most recent one on the stickied post at the time.

4/6/2014 update:
i5 4670K $230
ASRock Z87 Pro3 $90 AR
Team DDR3 1600 8GB $61
PowerColor R9 280X $330
Crucial M500 120GB $80
WD Blue 1TB $60
LG DVD Burner $15 AP
Seasonic S12II 620W $70
Corsair 200R $55 AR
Total: $991 AR AP
I also bought a 27" screen for $239 from Microcenter, and an antistatic mat, which I slavishly used.
I got the 240 GB SSD drive and in retrospect, I could have done without the WD Blue. WoW doesn't take that much room.

I also watched a bunch of youtube videos. One of the most helpful was the one that told me to take the sticker off the aftermarket cooler. I don't know anything about computers so sadly I had to watch them over and over. I also read the word doc that Sleepingforest made, but it was very long, and I have no idea what all that meant even though yes, I do read long docs on a regular basis, so I couldn't get through the whole thing.

Yeah, what really tripped me up at first was getting all the parts plugged in together. I didn't find too many videos that helped me figure out how to plug things into the motherboard, but there were a couple that I did watch that together got me through.I had to read the motherboard manual 100x times. And then the Seasonic power supply isn't modular so in retrospect, I think I will get a modular one next time because the inside of my case looks like Medusa on a bad day.

But who cares, because when I flipped that switch on for the first time, oh joy of joys, the damn thing actually turned on! I bought Windows 8.1 and installed it, or more accurately, it installed itself.

Then I had some confusion because the stupid graphics card wouldn't kick in. That's when I learned about drivers. So I installed the CD into the drive and then voila!

100fps! OMG! WoW on Ultra! No fricking way! OMG! It's a totally different game.

I haven't overclocked the CPU yet. I will wait on that for a bit. I'm still excited that this thing actually works.

Thanks for reading.

--oh I forgot to mention that I had the memory in wrong. I saw in the videos that everyone was putting in memory sticks right next to each other. But this motherboard happens to have the channels for each of the ram sticks in this order: 1a-2a-1b-2b. So you have to stick them in not next to each other but every other one. They tell you to look at the motherboard manual though. What a pain. How come they can't all do it the same way?

Building a computer is kind of a huge pain in the ass, but you can't really buy a decent computer at this price. I spent $1500 total and am very satisfied.

 

[MongGrel]

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Fyi get your video card drivers directly from nvidia or amd's site. The drivers on cd's are more often than not out of date.

 

[gamingnoob]

Thanks!

 

[lehtv]

Your monitor should have a refresh rate of 60 hz, so 100 fps won't do you any good. The picture will only update up to 60 times per second, but if the framerate is more than what the monitor can output, you will get screen tearing which means screen updates that show part of one frame and part of the next frame. That looks stupid and results in an uneven viewing viewing experience.

The solution is Vsync, short for Vertical Synchronization. This synchronizes the framerate with the monitor's refresh rate at the cost of a little bit of delay (that is typically not noticeable). You can enable it in the in-game settings or in Catalyst Control Center.

 

[Zardnok]

Congratulations on your first successful build! Many people do not understand the satisfaction from finishing a computer from scratch, pushing the power button, and having it fire right up. There is definite value in being able to say, "I built that and it kicks the snot out of any pre-built I could have bought."

 

[gamingnoob]

lehtv: Thanks!

Zardnok: On to overclocking!

 

[mfenn]

Your monitor should have a refresh rate of 60 hz, so 100 fps won't do you any good. The picture will only update up to 60 times per second, but if the framerate is more than what the monitor can output, you will get screen tearing which means screen updates that show part of one frame and part of the next frame. That looks stupid and results in an uneven viewing viewing experience.

The solution is Vsync, short for Vertical Synchronization. This synchronizes the framerate with the monitor's refresh rate at the cost of a little bit of delay (that is typically not noticeable). You can enable it in the in-game settings or in Catalyst Control Center.

WoW even supports triple buffering if I recall, which even avoids the one downside of normal double-buffering Vsync (59 FPS -> 30 FPS). So there's really no reason not to enable it if you regularly go above 60.

To gamingnoob: glad you like it!

 

[NewYorksFinest]

I also watched a bunch of youtube videos. One of the most helpful was the one that told me to take the sticker off the aftermarket cooler. I don't know anything about computers so sadly I had to watch them over and over. I also read the word doc that I think Sleeping Dragon made, but it was very long, and I have no idea what all that meant even though yes, I do read long docs on a regular basis, so I couldn't get through the whole thing.

Yeah, what really tripped me up at first was getting all the parts plugged in together. I didn't find too many videos that helped me figure out how to plug things into the motherboard, but there were a couple that I did watch that together got me through.I had to read the motherboard manual 100x times. And then the Seasonic power supply isn't modular so in retrospect, I think I will get a modular one next time because the inside of my case looks like Medusa on a bad day.



Then I had some confusion because the stupid graphics card wouldn't kick in. That's when I learned about drivers. So I installed the CD into the drive and then voila!

100fps! OMG! WoW on Ultra! No fricking way! OMG! It's a totally different game.

I haven't overclocked the CPU yet. I will wait on that for a bit. I'm still excited that this thing actually works.

Thanks for reading.

--oh I forgot to mention that I had the memory in wrong. I saw in the videos that everyone was putting in memory sticks right next to each other. But this motherboard happens to have the channels for each of the ram sticks in this order: 1a-2a-1b-2b. So you have to stick them in not next to each other but every other one. They tell you to look at the motherboard manual though. What a pain. How come they can't all do it the same way?

Building a computer is kind of a huge pain in the ass, but you can't really buy a decent computer at this price. I spent $1500 total and am very satisfied.

Sounds like someone has a little doubt. Perhaps you should grab a couple slices of pie and a Pepsi and ponder it a little more .

 

[mfenn]

Sounds like someone has a little doubt. Perhaps you should grab a couple slices of pie and a Pepsi and ponder it a little more .

????????????????????

 

[Torn Mind]

The Blue can serve as your drive for backups of your main drive.
You can create "images" of your hard drive or make an exact 1-to-1 copy on the fly directly using certain software. Clonezilla is one such example of software. Acronis sells a paid version. Macrium Reflect is also another one and it is free.

Windows 8 has Storage Spaces or something as well.

I guess one's never too old to learn new tricks!:awe:

 

[gamingnoob]

Mfenn: Heh, the first WoW forum post I came across on triple buffering led me to an older Anandtech post.

Wow Forum Post: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/4427564488
-->Anandtech Post http://www.anandtech.com/show/2794/2

Torn Mind: Thanks! Yeah, old people can do this so there is no excuse.

 

[gamingnoob]

I forgot to mention that I also did end up getting the Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler, which was also mentioned in the 4/6 post. I figured, in for a penny, in for a pound, right? It was hard putting that on though. I was really worried the CPU would be crushed, because it looks like it puts pressure on the CPU which I just shelled out a lot of money for.

I think I must have watched videos like 10 times just for this installation. The posts would not line up until I realized that I didn't have them set to the middle post hole, like uh, the manual said I was supposed to do for Intel motherboards. *facepalm*

I accidentally got the gray cooler grease over some of the motherboard and had to wipe it off. I hope it's not electrostatic.

Maybe I just got lucky that nothing got screwed up.. .Whatever, I'm still riding the happiness wave.

 

[crashtech]

I like reading success stories like this, thanks for sharing, OP!

 

[gamingnoob]

I forgot to also mention that I followed lehtv and Mfenn's posts for help as well. At the risk of sounding like a blushing fanboy, I am honored that you responded to this post. The mid-range guide was perfect for my purpose. A number of your other guiding posts also helped me in my time of confusion and despair.

I just reread Sleepingforest's guide to the computer parts as well. I totally get it now that I'm slightly less of a newb to this.

Crashtech: Thanks! I wrote this post with the intent of reaching someone out there who was as clueless as me and let them know that it's actually possible for a non-technical person to build a good computer for games. I may actually build another one after this.

 

[Charlie98]

I was already to dump $1000+ on a Dell prebuilt to play Modern Warfare but after lurking around here and watching a few YT vids, I pulled the trigger on a box of parts and built my own (DEC11.) For me, the hardware part is easy... it's the software and programming side that always gets me... and that is where AT has been so valuable.

'noob... glad to hear you met with success!

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Very few people can open a computer case and identify what they are looking at. You will never look at a computer the same way again. Welcome to the club and congrats on the build.

Folks like mfenn and lehtv are on here most days dishing out help and advice. I think its great you came on and let them know you appreciate it.

 

[riversend]

Definitely don't let age be an issue, there are older and younger folks around here. It's the community and the goal that matter on these forums as you have discovered.

 

[mfenn]

I forgot to also mention that I followed lehtv and Mfenn's posts for help as well. At the risk of sounding like a blushing fanboy, I am honored that you responded to this post. The mid-range guide was perfect for my purpose. A number of your other guiding posts also helped me in my time of confusion and despair.

It's you who are making me blush with posts like these! :$

:awe:

 

[VirtualLarry]

Congrats on your first self-build, OP. Feels good, doesn't it? (The high gets addicting after a while, just warning you.)

 

[PliotronX]

Congrats on your first self-build, OP. Feels good, doesn't it? (The high gets addicting after a while, just warning you.)

+1

@OP congrats, I've also found the PC gaming community to be more mature in general than console gaming so it's not just hardware we invest into it's an entire community behind it. Good stuff.

 

[gamingnoob]

I was already to dump $1000+ on a Dell prebuilt to play Modern Warfare but after lurking around here and watching a few YT vids, I pulled the trigger on a box of parts and built my own (DEC11.) For me, the hardware part is easy... it's the software and programming side that always gets me... and that is where AT has been so valuable.

'noob... glad to hear you met with success!

Yeah, buying one was the original plan. Who has time to build a computer when you can just buy it?

So I did. On the WoW forums a lot of people said you don't need a very good computer to run WoW. They said Wow has an old engine and doesn't take advantage of the multi-core processors, blah blah....snore. On the basis of this advice, I went to Walmart and got a $400 computer that had some online reviews where people said they or their children used it for gaming. Long story short: it didn't play WoW any better than my old laptop and I returned it right away.

But then I started going to Microcenter and staring at their computers. One guy said that any of the Dell Inspirons with the GTX video cards would do for WoW. I'm sure this is true and the prices ranged from 1000-1500, but I guess the Walmart experience jaded me because I decided to bite the bullet and build my own, however painful, however long it took, however stupid I felt from the failure of nothing working. Took me about 1 week of constant video watching, googling parts instructions, and messing around with parts.

All this for a cartoony game with pink-headed gnomes...shoot me.

 

[Torn Mind]

Most so-called prebuilt gaming computers contain graphics cards that are more suitable for HD video playback rather than gaming. Hence, a separate purchase for a graphics card of at least $150 is necessary to get a pleasing gaming experience with a prebuilt.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Most so-called prebuilt gaming computers contain graphics cards that are more suitable for HD video playback and not gaming. Hence, a separate purchase for a graphics card of at least $150 is necessary to get a pleasing gaming experience with a prebuilt.

I've seen CyberPowerPC pre-builts, around $700-1000, with something like a GT630 video card, which is barely above integrated video, for modern games.

I second the recommendation, if you really want to game, don't buy any video cards that cost less than $150.

 

[sm625]

The words "mid range", "$991", and "success" do not belong in the same sentence. That is a lot of money to be paying for a meager 8000 fire strike score.