New computer builder looking to get started

[chiguy26]

Hi, all.

I'm completely new to building my own rig, but I'm sick of gaming with my laptop and eager to give this a try because I understand it's quite a bit cheaper to build your own rather than boxing it from the store. Essentially, I'm hoping to put together a rig after the holidays (and conning my family into buying me parts of the PC in the process). So I'm trying to put together the build's specs far enough out in advance that I can give the family plenty of time to buy things on their end for the holidays and take advantage of any sales that might be out there. I understand that it's probably a little too early yet to be putting things together (at least so I see from the sticky on this thread) but I'm trying to get a handle on things so I figured I'd start a little early and work from there.

Essentially, I'm probably looking at about $750 for a gaming rig. I'll be using it for basic computer needs as well, but I really want to build it with gaming in mind. I'll be buying from the US. I'm essentially building from scratch; the only thing I have on my end are some speakers I'll be using. I don't intend on overclocking anything, nor do I have any particular brand favorites. I'll be needing to buy windows (haven't decided if I'm going to stick with Win7 or go to 8 right off the bat, but since that will probably be one of the last things I buy, I'll hold off on deciding that a bit) and MS office, but I'm going to be keeping those out of pricing, for now. So the $750 or so will apply to hardware only.

The last thing the sticky asks for is screen resolution. I'm not going for anything fancy, so I think a standard 1920x1080 will do fine (having lived on 1280 x 800 for years now, anything will seem like a step up).

Anyway, I know my way around on the software side of things, but the hardware side is a bit of a mystery to me. I hope I laid out what I'm looking for with enough specificity here. Any and all suggestions would be welcome, and thanks in advance for the help!

 

[SKORPI0]

Welcome to the forums.

Filled in the "sticky" so anyone reading this thread will know how to "help". Not so hard to do wasn't it.

PLEASE when you POST threads asking for input on system builds tell us...

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. basic use needs and gaming
2. What YOUR budget is. $750
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. no brand particular preference

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. speakers

*

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. no plan to OC.

8. What resolution will you be using? 1920x1080

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
after the holidays

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software? Windows 7/8, MS office

 

[DSF]

So the thing with chasing deals as they come up (which is fine) is that it still takes a little bit of savvy. For example, if you lock them into one specific power supply, chances are you'll/they'll miss out on the best deal. If you just tell them to look for a 550W unit there's a decent chance they'll buy you a piece of crap, or just get frustrated with not knowing what's what.

Would it be socially acceptable in your family to ask for monetary gifts toward the computer and then take the gifts and buy the parts you want when you have the money raised? We'd be more able to help you get the best value for your money that way.

Setting all of that aside, does the $750 include all of the money you plan to save up for this, and the value of the gifts you're expecting put together? It's a relatively small budget for a gaming computer when you have to buy the OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse as well. With a base-level monitor/keyboard/mouse plus the OS you're looking at having about $550 left to spend on the box itself. The difference between a $550 and $750 gaming computer is pretty big, and there's another big jump if your budget can stretch up to $900-1000. That extra money opens up important options in the graphics card and CPU.

I'm not trying to convince you to spend more money if you don't want to. You can build a computer that will run current games for $500-550. However, I just want to be frank and say that if you're able to save up $50 each month until the holidays by eating out less or whatever, or if you can push the build back a few months, you'll probably end up with a much more satisfying machine overall. Just food for thought.

 

[Termie]

Excellent advice above.

Just as ballpark figures, I'll list out the parts you'd likely be able to get with $750 dedicated to hardware only.

i3-2100 - $100
H61 motherboard - $50
4GB ram stick - $20
HD 7770 video card $110AR
DVD burner - $15
64GB SSD - $60
320GB hard drive - $45
Rosewill case - $25
400w power supply - $25AR
1080p 23" monitor - $120
Wired mouse/keyboard - $30

$600 total with a little room to upgrade if you want.

 

[mfenn]

Welcome to the forums.

Filled in the "sticky" so anyone reading this thread will know how to "help". Not so hard to do wasn't it.

You didn't read too closely, otherwise you would have known that software wasn't to be included.

 

[mfenn]

Excellent advice above.

Just as ballpark figures, I'll list out the parts you'd likely be able to get with $750 dedicated to hardware only.

i3-2100 - $100
H61 motherboard - $50
4GB ram stick - $20
HD 7770 video card $110AR
DVD burner - $15
64GB SSD - $60
320GB hard drive - $45
Rosewill case - $25
400w power supply - $25AR
1080p 23" monitor - $120
Wired mouse/keyboard - $30

$600 total with a little room to upgrade if you want.

Where are you seeing the i3 2100 for $100, I'm seeing more like $120. Overall though, it's not a bad baseline.

I'd swap the GPU to a 7850 for $185 AR to get it up to $700 (with $50 left over for unexpected price changes)

 

[Termie]

Where are you seeing the i3 2100 for $100, I'm seeing more like $120. Overall though, it's not a bad baseline.

I'd swap the GPU to a 7850 for $185 AR to get it up to $700 (with $50 left over for unexpected price changes)

You have to shop around for it. NCIX had a 2120 for $100 today. But he's talking December, at which point I'd expect to see that price more often.

The 7850 is a good suggestion. I actually listed out the parts before totalling them and must admit I was surprised there was room left in the budget. That's mostly because he's sourcing the OS outside of his budget.