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New user here, building my first gaming computer

J

jackscott

Junior Member
I was just looking for some last minute advice before I order my parts next week. As I said in my title I will use it for gaming and my I was aiming for a 700 dollar build. I'm willing to go a bit higher if it makes a big difference, perhaps up to 800.

I plan on hooking it up to my 32 inch 1080p (1920 x 1080?) HDTV. I've searched a bit but I'm still a novice and I don't understand a whole lot.

I've heard something about part compatibility. Is that something I need to learn about?

Anyways here's the parts I was planning on buying:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.809030

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145299

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.797874

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146084

I think that's it. A couple things I'm interested in is the HDD and case. Would it be smarter to spend about 50 bucks more and get a 1TB HDD? Is there a better case I should consider for ~50 dollars? Is the graphics card good too?

Some games I'd like to play would be Civilization 5, Possibly Star Wars The Old Republic, Mass Effect trilogy, Starcraft 2, Age of Empires 3, Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Shogun 2, The Witcher 2, Supreme Commander (big Total Annihilation fan) and stuff like that.. as well as many older games.

I'm sure some of the older games I want will work fine but what about the newer ones? Would this be a good build for games of this nature? I'm not interested in SUPER MAX settings and 60FPS for all the games. I'm quite happy with 30FPS actually.. maybe I've been playing console games too much.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
The total for your build, after coupons and rebates, comes to ~$667.

This is what I came up with for ~$703 after coupons and rebates:

cart3.jpg


Notable improvements (IMO) are a Sandy Bridge quad-core, a Radeon 6870, and a fast SSD.
 
RAM good

PSU+GPU nice combo, as long as you're fine with the performance of a 6850 on 1080p. (smooth frames on medium settings; for high/ultra you'd need 6950 2gb)

HDD nice HDD find, $70 is a pretty low price for a 500GB drive these days. If you don't store lots of media files like movies etc. on your PC, 500GB will be plenty for a long time; in any case you should be fine with it until HDD prices drop back to reasonable levels

OS good

DVD $19 free shipping, saves you a few bucks: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

CPU+Mobo not a good combo IMO. i3 is a locked multiplier CPU so you'd be fine with a cheaper mobo. The Z68 chipset can adjust multipliers on unlocked CPU's like 2500K. I'd rather get i3-2120 $130 + Biostar H61 $55 (budget board) or Intel H67 $90 (better feature set). If you can, pay $60 extra for an i5-2400 quad core.

Case probably a good choice. alternatives: HAF 912, Antec 300.

@ jpeyton

Why would you want a Cooler Master GX PSU and an ECS motherboard? I can't approve of the SSD either, it's a $700 gaming build. The extra $90 would be better spent on other components
 
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lehtv said:
Why would you want a Cooler Master GX PSU and an ECS motherboard? I can't approve of the SSD either, it's a $700 gaming build. The extra $90 would be better spent on other components
Click to expand...
The ECS board is every bit as good as the Biostar H61 unit you suggested; I've built systems using both boards in the last month and both were problem free. The ECS board just happens to be half the price.

Corsair's Builder Series PSUs are good when you get a problem-free unit. This one is only $17 AR right now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

Corsair's lower-end PSUs are manufactured by CWT; Cooler Master uses Enhance (the same company that makes Silverstone PSUs). It's a wash on the lower-end of the spectrum.

Corsair's higher-end Seasonic-made units are a different matter.
 
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The ECS board is every bit as good as the Biostar H61 unit you suggested
Click to expand...
Perhaps. Without the rebate though, I'd certainly pick Biostar over ECS.

I've built systems using both boards in the last month and both were problem free
Click to expand...
That says nothing about which board has more/less problems on average.

Corsair's Builder Series PSUs are good when you get a problem-free unit.
Click to expand...
Stating the obvious. "Cooler master's PSUs are good when you get a problem-free unit." "Seasonic X-series PSUs are good when you get a problem-free unit."

My point was that CX430 V2 is cheaper and a bit better than GX450, e.g. read hardwaresecrets reviews of both units. CX500 in the combo deal in the OP - even better. GX does have 5 years of warranty though
 
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lehtv said:
Perhaps. Without the rebate though, I'd certainly pick Biostar over ECS.
Click to expand...
And with the rebate, I'd pick ECS.

That says nothing about which board has more/less problems on average.
Click to expand...
Which is why I never said one was more/less reliable than the other. OTOH, you seem pretty convinced Biostar's H61 motherboard is better than ECS's H61 motherboard, without actually providing anything to back that up.

My point was that CX430 V2 is cheaper and a bit better than GX450, e.g. read hardwaresecrets reviews of both units. CX500 in the combo deal in the OP - even better. GX does have 5 years of warranty though
Click to expand...
The combo deal isn't really a "deal" because it has a Radeon 6850 in it; a 6870 is going to be noticeably faster and would be the minimum card I'd recommend getting for a gaming build in this price range.

Given a $700 budget, I'd pick the build with the i5 quad, 6870 and SSD over an i3 dual, 6850 and mechanical HDD. Side-by-side, the difference between the two machines would be immediate.
 
OTOH, you seem pretty convinced Biostar's H61 motherboard is better than ECS's H61 motherboard
Click to expand...
What? I just said that perhaps ECS is indeed every bit as good as Biostar. That means I'm not conviced biostar is better. Right?

without actually providing anything to back that up.
Click to expand...
Well, you didn't provide any evidence to back up your claim that ECS is every bit as good, either.

The combo deal isn't really a "deal" because it has a Radeon 6850 in it; a 6870 is going to be noticeably faster and would be the minimum card I'd recommend getting for a gaming build in this price range.
Click to expand...
6850 + CX500 for $160 AR is a pretty good deal if you ask me. 6850 is OK for medium settings in demanding titles, and not all games on the OP's list are demanding enough to feel a difference between 6850 and 6870. 6870 is of course going to cost a bit more, it's up to the OP if that's worth it.

I didn't realise in my previous posts that the Cooler Master GX450 PSU you recommended doesn't have enough native PCIe connectors for 6870, need to use molex adapters.
 
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lehtv said:
CPU+Mobo not a good combo IMO. i3 is a locked multiplier CPU so you'd be fine with a cheaper mobo. The Z68 chipset can adjust multipliers on unlocked CPU's like 2500K. I'd rather get i3-2120 $130 + Bio star H61 $55 (budget board) or Intel H67 $90 (better feature set). If you can, pay $60 extra for an i5-2400 quad core.
Click to expand...

I don't know about that budget mobo I wanted to use the HDMI port and that bio star h61 doesn't have one. So if I kept the i3 and got a quad core I'd be in good shape?
 
jackscott said:
I don't know about that budget mobo I wanted to use the HDMI port and that bio star h61 doesn't have one. So if I kept the i3 and got a quad core I'd be in good shape?
Click to expand...
FYI, you have two solutions to the HDMI issue. A cheap DVI-to-HDMI cable/coverter ($5 or less), or get the ECS H61H2-M2 which has an HDMI port.
 
jpeyton said:
FYI, you have two solutions to the HDMI issue. A cheap DVI-to-HDMI cable/coverter ($5 or less), or get the ECS H61H2-M2 which has an HDMI port.
Click to expand...

But would I be better off going for the quad core in the long run? Does it make a big difference?
 
jpeyton said:
The total for your build, after coupons and rebates, comes to ~$667.

This is what I came up with for ~$703 after coupons and rebates:

cart3.jpg


Notable improvements (IMO) are a Sandy Bridge quad-core, a Radeon 6870, and a fast SSD.
Click to expand...

No HDD. A 120GB SSD isn't big enough to be the sole drive, especially not in a system that is planning to run SWTOR plus anything else.
 
I just searched it some more and found out I think it'll be good. Any feedback still appreciated though. Also wondering about power supplies. I've heard that modern GPUs (I think) use the power supply and you need to check the wattage on the PSU to make sure it can handle it. I was looking at a PSU and it says it's 750W. How can I find if that will be enough?
 
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jackscott said:
Wait, I was just looking at the details on the mother board and video card I was gonna get and I was wondering if they would work together..?
Click to expand...
Should be ok. Newer versions of PCIe is backwards compatible.

jackscott said:
I was looking at a PSU and it says it's 750W. How can I find if that will be enough?
Click to expand...
We can help you with that. For one thing, 750W is way more power than is really necessary for your rig. Did you notice that the suggested PSUs in this thread are all only 450W-ish units? (Corsair 430CX and Cooler Master GX 450W) Those weren't picked in an attempt to shave cost. They were suggested because you really don't need that much power to support an i5 and mid-range graphics card. 500W would be the sweet spot - it's more than enough for a vast majority of builds.
 
So here is one that was recommended
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171060&Tpk=cooler%20master%20gx%20450w

It looks good to me based on what you said but it has one PCIE connector. Would I run the risk of having to upgrade my PSU in the future if I decided to make some changes? If I had 50 bucks more to spend would I be better off just getting something like this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

Does being modular have any down sides? This one has 4 PCIE connectors.
 
jackscott said:
So here is one that was recommended
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171060&Tpk=cooler%20master%20gx%20450w

It looks good to me based on what you said but it has one PCIE connector. Would I run the risk of having to upgrade my PSU in the future if I decided to make some changes?
Click to expand...
Ah, I tend to forget that a lot of those low-power PSUs tend to have only one PCIe power connector.

Here's one with two:
XFX Pro550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

If I had 50 bucks more to spend would I be better off just getting something like this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

Does being modular have any down sides? This one has 4 PCIE connectors.
Click to expand...
There isn't any significant downside to modular, and especially with 4 PCIe power connectors, modular means you can leave out some cables you don't need.

If you don't intend to get a second graphics card for SLI/CFX, then there's no reason to spend ~$50 more. Many people have expressed interest in SLI/CFX, but few bother to go through with it. Spend the ~$50 on something else.
 
Alright I'll go with that power supply then. Here's my final build I will be ordering on Monday. If you're kind enough for any last minute recommendations now would be the time.

RAM:
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570

HDD
Hitachi 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145299

CD/DVD Drive:
SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151233

OS:
Windows 7 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Case:
NZXT Tempest 210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146084

CPU:
Intel Core i5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Motherboard:
Biostar TZ68A+ LGA 1155 Intel Z68
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138319

GPU:
SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908

PSU:
XFX Core Edition PRO550W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013
 
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You want this video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561

The difference in price is +$3, but the card is a lot faster.

You want this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096

The difference in price is -$1.50 (and no rebate hassle). Plus more power (and Seasonic makes PSUs for XFX, so the quality is the same).

If you're buying an i5-2400, you won't be doing any serious overclocking, so you might as well save $40 and get an H67 motherboard instead.
 
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Good finds. S12II 620W for $60 is an absolute steal, and so is 6870 for $145. However, you could still save $15 on the PSU. Antec EA500D $45 AR AP. Corsair CX500 V2 $42 AR shipped. Pocket the savings or get an i5-2500. 6.5% faster for 10.5% more $.

I can't recommend a Z68 motherboard though. i5-2400/i5-2500 are still locked processors so a major part of the advantage of Z68 over H67 will go to waste. I'd get a good H67 board instead, e.g. Intel BOXDH67BLB3, only $81 after promo.

(And if I were to buy a budget Z68 board, I'd get Asrock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 over the Biostar.)

This hard drive is newer and cheaper: Hitachi 7K1000.D 500GB $80
 
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lehtv said:
I can't approve of the SSD either, it's a $700 gaming build. The extra $90 would be better spent on other components
Click to expand...

No. "Gaming" builds of all things should not be loading data off a glorified cassette tape. You want to pair a 100 GB/sec GPU loading random gargantuan textures off a 10 MB/sec HDD? That makes a ton of sense. Hitch... stutter... freeze... (not responding...)

CPU and GPUs are so over powered these days even in the budget sector. SSD should be the big ticket item to budget everything else around.

Load screens, progress bars, and hour glasses SUCK BALLS. This is 2012 not 1950, magnetic storage needs to crawl away and die. Seriously who moves or loads GIGABYTES of data at kilobytes and megabytes per second anymore? Maybe with the $90 saved he can get a 28.8k modem to go with that HDD?

OP will gladly adapt to cope with "only" 120GB after experiencing an SSD for the first time.

The SSD is the cornerstone of any new build. I refuse to inflict HDDs on anyone, least of all myself when I'm the one spending 3 hours installing the OS when it should only take 4 minutes.

So what you can't have every game made from the beginning of time installed simultaneously. You'll have *gasp* learn to manage disk space. You'll have to uninstall reinstall games 3-4 at a time as you play them... oh wait that only takes seconds on a SSD. Hmm I bet I could install a game and get it up and running on my SSD array from a USB 3.0 SSD installation source by the time that old 8 track finishes loading it's already installed copy.

Sorry didn't mean to rant at first... but what could possibly be better to spend $90 on than on improving the slowest piece of garbage in a PC by a factor of several thousand? Building a modern PC with a HDD is liking building a Ferrari and using paper plates for rear tires.
 
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@exdeath

You're exaggerating the handicap of a HDD build. Modern HDD's transfer data at up to 150mb/s or so. In fact, data transfer rate is no even nearly the main advantage of an SSD over a HDD. It's access time and random read speed of small files. This means the SSD speeds up the operating system and programs, making the PC feel snappy, and it's why an SSD is recommended if it can be afforded.

But framerate is the primary concern of gaming builds, and SSD's rarely affect it. Loading times are a secondary concern. I'd say things like screen resolution, sound and keyboard/mouse are more important than loading times as well, maybe that makes loading times a tertiary concern. I can also say from my own experience that it really doesn't make much difference to me whether a game is installed on my Vertex 2 SSD or on my 5400RPM storage drive.

A few seconds saved in loading times versus $100-200 more to spend on a video card? I'd pick the better framerate any day.
 
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