So I wanna build a gaming rig...

[Anomaly1964]

I have built a PC before but it was about 4 years ago and was kinda mind racking. It wasn't so much getting everything installed but all the wiring the drove me nuts (so maybe start of with a "bare bones package).

I wanna build a PC that will be able to play most any game that comes out for the next...three (or longer if possible) years...

My last build was AMD, at the time they were faster and less expensive than Intel, what is the story today?

Can you guys give me some advice of what to buy, where to buy? Let's say I have a max budget of...$1200

Of course, most important components...

Case
Power Supply
Motherboard
Processor
Ram
Hard Drive
Video Card
CD/DVD Burner

**EDIT

I definitely prefer NVIDIA for video cards...

My current system is an LX6810-01, see specs here, http://www.gateway.com/systems/product/529668232.php , I did upgrade to 700watt power supply and 9800GT video card...

I will be purchasing from USA...



And for me, remember the K.I.S.S rule, Keep it simple, stupid...LOL!

Thanks in advance!



Moved from PC Gaming and take a look at this too: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

Anandtech Moderator
KeithTalent

 

[ockky]

Personally, i'd shoot for something along the lines of ...

Case - whatever you like
Power Supply - 600w min (a quality maker... antec suffices)
Motherboard - Giga, Asus
Processor - Intel Quad Core (minimum i750)
Ram - 6gb
Hard Drive - 500gb minimum
Video Card - ati 5870 minimum
CD/DVD Burner - 30$ samsung drive

... money is a factor of course, so i put down the minimums i'd expect to last me 3yrs

 

[Anomaly1964]

Personally, i'd shoot for something along the lines of ...

Case - whatever you like
Power Supply - 600w min (a quality maker... antec suffices)
Motherboard - Giga, Asus
Processor - Intel Quad Core (minimum i750)
Ram - 6gb
Hard Drive - 500gb minimum
Video Card - ati 5870 minimum
CD/DVD Burner - 30$ samsung drive

... money is a factor of course, so i put down the minimums i'd expect to last me 3yrs

Thanks...

So you think Intel is better than AMD now?

I still will stick with Nvidia, just my preference...

 

[Axon]

Intel makes a superior CPU, but they also cost significantly more. I would wait for the release of their new platform, Sandy Bridge, which is due January 9, 2011, if you're going to go with Intel. For AMD, find out if you have a microcenter nearby, as they have a deal offering a free motherboard with the purchase of certain CPUs. You can get the entire "core" of your machine - CPU, MoBo, RAM - for $150 or so. http://www.microcenter.com/specials/...ndlePROMO.html

Nvidia is an excellent choice, though the 6870 at some of the recent $230 AR price points is the mid-level performance leader. Of course, if you're willing to overclock, the GTX 460 1GB is a killer card. But at stock it's not as strong as the 6870 at stock.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Intel makes a superior CPU, but they also cost significantly more. I would wait for the release of their new platform, Sandy Bridge, which is due January 9, 2011, if you're going to go with Intel. For AMD, find out if you have a microcenter nearby, as they have a deal offering a free motherboard with the purchase of certain CPUs. You can get the entire "core" of your machine - CPU, MoBo, RAM - for $150 or so. http://www.microcenter.com/specials/...ndlePROMO.html

Nvidia is an excellent choice, though the 6870 at some of the recent $230 AR price points is the mid-level performance leader. Of course, if you're willing to overclock, the GTX 460 1GB is a killer card. But at stock it's not as strong as the 6870 at stock.

I will check out for a Microcenter...thanks!


***NONE in Florida...

 

[heymrdj]

Intel makes a superior CPU, but they also cost significantly more. I would wait for the release of their new platform, Sandy Bridge, which is due January 9, 2011, if you're going to go with Intel. For AMD, find out if you have a microcenter nearby, as they have a deal offering a free motherboard with the purchase of certain CPUs. You can get the entire "core" of your machine - CPU, MoBo, RAM - for $150 or so. http://www.microcenter.com/specials/...ndlePROMO.html

Nvidia is an excellent choice, though the 6870 at some of the recent $230 AR price points is the mid-level performance leader. Of course, if you're willing to overclock, the GTX 460 1GB is a killer card. But at stock it's not as strong as the 6870 at stock.

The only processors for heavy use from AMD are the Phenom X6's or the X4 965BE, and even the 1055T is a dog compared to intels higher than base midrange offerings. Those bundles there aren't very decent other than the ASUS 890 offering, none of those mainboards are really designed with high end components or expandability in mind.

 

[Axon]

The only processors for heavy use from AMD are the Phenom X6's or the X4 965BE, and even the 1055T is a dog compared to intels higher than base midrange offerings. Those bundles there aren't very decent other than the ASUS 890 offering, none of those mainboards are really designed with high end components or expandability in mind.

Partially inaccurate (not that it matters, he doesn't have an MC nearby). The free mATX AM3 MSI board is solid and overclocks well. It's just the old 785g chipset, which is irrelevant to this guy. My old LAN rig, a 555 BE (unlocked to an X4) and a Gigabyte 785g chipset hits 3.8 ghz and plays SC2 on ultra at 1600 resolution with a 4890. I never needed to "expand" - to what, Crossfire? 8 GB of RAM when I can't even use 3? It did what I needed it to, and I spent $100 for a very good motherboard and a Phenom II X4. It's hard to argue with that if you're considering AMD.

Of course it's not high end stuff. Intel is easily the way to go if you want to spend more, and with a $1,200 budget, that's an option. AMD's advantage is price to performance...and this is not seven generations old tech. It's comparable stuff.

As to the CPUs, depends on your needs, but yes, Intel makes a better piece of silicon.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Are ALIENWARE computers over-priced?

**EDIT - I see they are WAY overpriced...

 

[heymrdj]

Partially inaccurate (not that it matters, he doesn't have an MC nearby). The free mATX AM3 MSI board is solid and overclocks well. It's just the old 785g chipset, which is irrelevant to this guy. My old LAN rig, a 555 BE (unlocked to an X4) and a Gigabyte 785g chipset hits 3.8 ghz and plays SC2 on ultra at 1600 resolution with a 4890. I never needed to "expand" - to what, Crossfire? 8 GB of RAM when I can't even use 3? It did what I needed it to, and I spent $100 for a very good motherboard and a Phenom II X4. It's hard to argue with that if you're considering AMD.

Of course it's not high end stuff. Intel is easily the way to go if you want to spend more, and with a $1,200 budget, that's an option. AMD's advantage is price to performance...and this is not seven generations old tech. It's comparable stuff.

As to the CPUs, depends on your needs, but yes, Intel makes a better piece of silicon.

One of the problems is mATX, if the need would ever come up to use more ram, he'd have to run more expensive modules. Not all matx boards have at least 4-6 slots to keep RAM costs manageable, 8GB DIMMS are still a bit insane. Also you never miss those PCI-e spacings until you need them. I have a 8 port SAS card, Happauge 2250 tv tuner, and a 9800GT in mine, I'd like to throw in the spare 9800GT for SLI but then the RAID card or the tv tuner wouldn't be able to go in, nor can I use my Intel NIC for my multihomed network, thus I'm stuck with running a USB alternative. I'm not saying he needs all this stuff, but he said 3-4 years so I would presume this system needs to be ready to handle a multitude of situations, not just the one right now. A full ATX board will give him many more options down the road. Also when building a gamin rig chipsets are far from irrelevent, the newer 8 series should be used, not the older 7 series. In features, future-proofing, and efficiency there's no need to use a 7 series chipset on anything but the most basic of grandma check your email machines. Finally your numbers came from overclocking. Did the gentleman here claim he wants to have to get an aftermarket cooler, reduce stability, increase heat output, and void his warranty? Or does he want to run out of the box speeds? Don't get me wrong, i have nothing against overclocking, I do it to my X6, but there are drawbacks compared to buying what you need instead of rolling the dice on a gamble that you'll get those speeds.

Are ALIENWARE computers over-priced?

Yes, all OEM gaming rigs just about are. But in that price premium you get a warranty, which can mean alot to some people. After so long some just get tired of being their own 24-7 tech support.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Does anyone sell a CASE with the motherboard and power ready to go where you just add your harddrive, ram, burner, video card, etc?

BAREBONES stuff?

I know you guys will laugh, but a step by step would be AWESOME!

 

[Davidh373]

Case - whatever you like
Power Supply - 600w min (a quality maker... antec suffices)
Motherboard - Giga, Asus
Processor - Intel Quad Core (minimum i750)
Ram - 6gb
Hard Drive - 500gb minimum
Video Card - ati 5870 minimum
CD/DVD Burner - 30$ samsung drive

sorry dude, but this is way off...

You'll want an i5 760, a GTX 570, 4GB 1333Mhz RAM (or 8GB if it's in budget, 6GB is triple channel which is exclusive to 9xx series), you're going to want around 520W to power it all, and a Sandforce SSD boot drive. It should be around $1000-$1200.

-i5 is the best gaming processor around for under $1000.

-a p55 full atx mobo is the way to go over an h55 micro.

-RAM is easy and cheap to upgrade and games don't need over 4GB, and 1600MHz often overvolts itself.

-The 570 is well balanced for this system and won't suck a ton of wattage. A 5870 is pretty old news...

Really, I'm sorry to be so forward, but Ockky was just plain off about a lot...

 

[dmoney1980]

Does anyone sell a CASE with the motherboard and power ready to go where you just add your harddrive, ram, burner, video card, etc?

BAREBONES stuff?

I know you guys will laugh, but a step by step would be AWESOME!

sounds like you would prefer a prebuilt option ?

Cyberpower aint too bad -http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

they have some "holiday specials" going right now. Best option is to built it yourself for the best ROI, but only if you are ready for it

 

[Davidh373]

Build

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-042-_-Product

Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-094-_-Product

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-067-_-Product

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-240-_-Product

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-314-_-Product

Graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-593-_-Product

SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-542-_-Product

HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

Optical
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175

Total: $1129.38

EDIT: BTW, prebuilts are often unbalanced in some way, and only really get barebones setups for laptops or servers. It's pretty easy to build as long as you can keep your cool. There aren't that many things that can go wrong pre-power up.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Build

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-042-_-Product

Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-094-_-Product

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-067-_-Product

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-240-_-Product

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-314-_-Product

Graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-593-_-Product

SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-542-_-Product

HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

Optical
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175

Total: $1129.38

EDIT: BTW, prebuilts are often unbalanced in some way, and only really get barebones setups for laptops or servers. It's pretty easy to build as long as you can keep your cool. There aren't that many things that can go wrong pre-power up.

Very helpful..Thanks!

 

[Anomaly1964]

sounds like you would prefer a prebuilt option ?

Cyberpower aint too bad -http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

they have some "holiday specials" going right now. Best option is to built it yourself for the best ROI, but only if you are ready for it

Thanks!

 

[ockky]

sorry dude, but this is way off...Really, I'm sorry to be so forward, but Ockky was just plain off about a lot...

What i gave were minimums i would personally shoot for, a rig that needed to last 3 years. i dont really see how that could be considered 'off' considering at the time of the post we had no idea what he could afford.

and i still wouldn't recommend 4gb of memory for a rig that is gonna last 3yrs. sure 'A' game may not use 4g's for you, but i often have two games up at the same time.

and recommending a SSD seems a bit over the top imo. if you are gonna have him include a SSD, why not also include a raid 0? hell, he should get a 30in monitor too. and he should probably get 2 gfx cards instead of one, and we can't forget the sound card too! oh yea, one of those Killer NICs :awe:

 

[mfenn]

and i still wouldn't recommend 4gb of memory for a rig that is gonna last 3yrs.

Here's the thing, no $1200 system is going to be able to "play most any game that comes out for the next...three (or longer if possible) years..." without an upgrade. RAM is dead simple to upgrade, and doesn't require throwing out any of the other parts.

sure 'A' game may not use 4g's for you, but i often have two games up at the same time.

Bolded the key parts. The OP did not express any interest in boxing, so why are we taking away from the #1 most important component in a gaming PC?

and recommending a SSD seems a bit over the top imo. if you are gonna have him include a SSD, why not also include a raid 0? hell, he should get a 30in monitor too. and he should probably get 2 gfx cards instead of one, and we can't forget the sound card too! oh yea, one of those Killer NICs :awe:

Yeah, except a recent thread had many people voting that an SSD was the single biggest upgrade that they had ever made. Have you ever used a system with an SSD?

 

[Davidh373]

^ what he said!

and i still wouldn't recommend 4gb of memory for a rig that is gonna last 3yrs. sure 'A' game may not use 4g's for you, but i often have two games up at the same time.

Given most games only use 1-2GB (32 bit exe file) even 2 games would probably be ok with 4GB (pretty close to maxed out I suppose), but what I'm wondering is how you play 2 games at once... you must have some awesome special ability... the NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF MAN. Unfortunately while taking that step we must have taken a step back in our ability to build computers... <_<...

The OP didn't state he needed to play 2 games at once. In fact, if he were to get the best CPU for the money (i5 760) he wouldn't want 6GB of memory because it's a triple channel configuration, which wouldn't be effectively utilized in a dual channel motherboard...

and recommending a SSD seems a bit over the top imo. if you are gonna have him include a SSD, why not also include a raid 0? hell, he should get a 30in monitor too. and he should probably get 2 gfx cards instead of one, and we can't forget the sound card too! oh yea, one of those Killer NICs

yeah... except all of them cost like 4x that of an SSD... so yeah... not really eligible for even a comical comparison such as this.

The 5870 recommendation you posted means you would be willing to spend what?..$300 for a few frames better performance over the $250 470, or rather than the $240 6870? Or maybe he could be patient for a week or so and get the 6970? That was yet another brilliant recommendation... <_<

The 500GB HDD was also a great one, since I would prefer a 1TB for about $10 more... that would last him a lot longer right?

Really, there was no need to take personal offense to my statement. I was simply doing what was the best performance/ dollar for the OP. Since you seemed to so immaturely address my criticisms, I figured I would tell you why you were wrong in more detail. I have further, far more intricate ways to completely wreck them if you wish to continue to put up this immature, sarcastic, argument which has no substance. So if you wish, by all means continue.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Any better place to get the parts than newegg?

 

[Davidh373]

Any better place to get the parts than newegg?

Newegg is probably the best place to find a price for your toal buid to get it all from one place. You could probably save a few dollars here and there searching tiger direct and amazon, but then you'll have vastly different shipping costs and times piecemealing it from the different sites. It's up to you.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Build

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-042-_-Product

Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-094-_-Product

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-067-_-Product

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-240-_-Product

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-314-_-Product

Graphics
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-593-_-Product

SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-542-_-Product

HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

Optical
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151175

Total: $1129.38

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-005-_-Product
Promo code: EMCZNZR53

Then someone suggest a SLI board for him. I'm on dial-up so I'm not searching through mobos.

I don't consider SLI-ability to give much in the way of future-proofing, but it seems kinda foolish not to spend the couple extra bucks in this particular build.

 

[ockky]

Bolded the key parts. The OP did not express any interest in boxing, so why are we taking away from the #1 most important component in a gaming PC?

I wasn't referring to boxing, i was referring to two completely different games. hell, i've been known to have 3 different games open at one time. And yes, upgrading memory is easy, but the OP never stated he'd be upgrading once the rig was built. If he is considering buying a prebuilt rig, clearly he's not comfortable digging around inside the case.

Yeah, except a recent thread had many people voting that an SSD was the single biggest upgrade that they had ever made. Have you ever used a system with an SSD?

We use SSDs at work, yes they are speedy. A Raid 0 is also speedy...sadly about 90% of the SSDs we've used over the past 1.5yrs have failed, and therefore i can't recommend them for now.

... what I'm wondering is how you play 2 games at once... you must have some awesome special ability... the NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF MAN.

I appreciate your ability to see greatness...i'll let you in on little secret called 'windowed mode'. For those of us lucky enough to have a decent widescreen monitors having multiple games up at the same time is not uncommon.

The OP didn't state he needed to play 2 games at once.

when i replied, the only thing the OP was concerned about was being able to play games for the next 3+ yrs...hence the easy minimum spec i gave him

and dave, you need to calm down man. what did i do to so piss you off? As stated in all of my posts, i gave minimums, perhaps you should reread them (the posts). I was never immature in my posts, also, i never gave specifics as to the items i'd buy. perhaps instead of saying 5870, i should have said 300$ video card =/ my bad for the confusion. yes, if i need a rig to last me 3yrs, i would go for a 300$ card over a $200 card. why do you care so much about my vague response? it's a vague response because the OP gave a question which was vague. just calm down man, we're all here to give advice, not flex our digital/mental peens

 

[DominionSeraph]

I wasn't referring to boxing, i was referring to two completely different games. hell, i've been known to have 3 different games open at one time. And yes, upgrading memory is easy, but the OP never stated he'd be upgrading once the rig was built. If he is considering buying a prebuilt rig, clearly he's not comfortable digging around inside the case.

None of this makes a triple-channel memory configuration with a dual-channel memory controller anything other than retarded.

And OP said he didn't have problems getting the components installed in his last build, so what makes you think he'd have problems with adding more RAM? There's no wiring involved in that.

We use SSDs at work, yes they are speedy. A Raid 0 is also speedy...sadly about 90&#37; of the SSDs we've used over the past 1.5yrs have failed, and therefore i can't recommend them for now.

Your IT department being incompetent says nothing about a desktop build.
RAID 0 spindle offers very little improvement in desktop access patterns. Storagereview showed this 4 years ago -- you are WAAAAY behind the times, still spouting the false conventional wisdom of 2005-2006.

i'll let you in on little secret called 'windowed mode'. For those of us lucky enough to have a decent widescreen monitors having multiple games up at the same time is not uncommon.

Sol.exe doesn't take 2GB.

 

[Davidh373]

and dave, you need to calm down man. what did i do to so piss you off? As stated in all of my posts, i gave minimums, perhaps you should reread them (the posts). I was never immature in my posts, also, i never gave specifics as to the items i'd buy. perhaps instead of saying 5870, i should have said 300$ video card =/ my bad for the confusion. yes, if i need a rig to last me 3yrs, i would go for a 300$ card over a $200 card. why do you care so much about my vague response? it's a vague response because the OP gave a question which was vague. just calm down man, we're all here to give advice, not flex our digital/mental peens

I'm not pissed off, but your "minimums" were for the most part unbalanced and overpriced.

I actually have a dual screen setup, but I don't tend to play 3 games at once. I really don't see necessity in that. I actually play windowed 1340 x 768 or 1780 x 992 (I think that's it). I know you're trying to recover, but adding more sarcasm to your incompetence doesn't help any. The fact is you wanted to come in here like a hot shot with your 2 year old knowledge of how to build, we tried to turn the OP in the right direction (as opposed to your completely wrong direction) and you continue to be stubborn.

I actually think I've had issues with you before about how unbalanced your recommendations were. In fact I think everyone pretty much wrecked you before too... I would have thought you would have actually learned a lesson and attempted to keep up on the times, but I guess not.

Simply put, you were very disrespectful and sarcastic with your reply to my advice. I give respect to those who show it, and I admit mistakes when I make them. The thing is you obviously don't feel up to those mature tasks, so why should I be?

You could choose to learn something here about piecing together a good build for an OP, or you can just keep pitching your i7s, triple channel kits, and overpriced 5870s. Simply put, your advice would have been fine, except when other people posted better advice you trashed it. You claimed it was overly expensive when you were certainly getting the OP into something above the price of my total build. your spec wasn't a good "minimum" dude. It was "old" sure, but the fact is that there are new, less expensive pieces of hardware that exceed the performance of your recommendations in the area the OP specified.

You can admit you were wrong and change (I know WAY ahead of time that's laughably unlikely) or you can stick to your guns to get proven wrong repeatedly. It's up to you. I could throw benchmarks and prices at you all day and you probably won't get it through your head that you were wrong. I mean, if I knew you would change, but you likely won't so I'm not bothering. If you did 20 min. of research for yourself you'd notice that DominionSeraph, mfenn, and I are all correct. If you don't, I feel that I am done arguing with you.

 

[Anomaly1964]

I'm not pissed off, but your "minimums" were for the most part unbalanced and overpriced.

I actually have a dual screen setup, but I don't tend to play 3 games at once. I really don't see necessity in that. I actually play windowed 1340 x 768 or 1780 x 992 (I think that's it). I know you're trying to recover, but adding more sarcasm to your incompetence doesn't help any. The fact is you wanted to come in here like a hot shot with your 2 year old knowledge of how to build, we tried to turn the OP in the right direction (as opposed to your completely wrong direction) and you continue to be stubborn.

I actually think I've had issues with you before about how unbalanced your recommendations were. In fact I think everyone pretty much wrecked you before too... I would have thought you would have actually learned a lesson and attempted to keep up on the times, but I guess not.

Simply put, you were very disrespectful and sarcastic with your reply to my advice. I give respect to those who show it, and I admit mistakes when I make them. The thing is you obviously don't feel up to those mature tasks, so why should I be?

You could choose to learn something here about piecing together a good build for an OP, or you can just keep pitching your i7s, triple channel kits, and overpriced 5870s. Simply put, your advice would have been fine, except when other people posted better advice you trashed it. You claimed it was overly expensive when you were certainly getting the OP into something above the price of my total build. your spec wasn't a good "minimum" dude. It was "old" sure, but the fact is that there are new, less expensive pieces of hardware that exceed the performance of your recommendations in the area the OP specified.

You can admit you were wrong and change (I know WAY ahead of time that's laughably unlikely) or you can stick to your guns to get proven wrong repeatedly. It's up to you. I could throw benchmarks and prices at you all day and you probably won't get it through your head that you were wrong. I mean, if I knew you would change, but you likely won't so I'm not bothering. If you did 20 min. of research for yourself you'd notice that DominionSeraph, mfenn, and I are all correct. If you don't, I feel that I am done arguing with you.

Ok, now PLEASE give me a STEP BY STEP guide to the "3
Year Build!"

Honestly, my MAIN preference is sticking with Nvidia Video (I always buy NIKE shoes too, kinda loyal that way)...