Time to get my first gaming rig

[gabriele94]

Greetings, mates.
My name is Gabe and I've been gathering information/feedback/opinions from every website I can find about hardware/specifically gaming computer.
Ya' see - my current computer is 10 years old, runnin' a AMD Athlon 64 cpu, 512 ram, nVidia fx 5500 (i think) Gpu and 70 gigs of HDD 😀 I'm receiving a good amount of money pretty soon (2 months) and I intend to get myself a new computer for general use and of course, some heavy gaming since I never really got the chance to enjoy something like that 😛
Anyways, enough with the unnecessary stuff, straight to the point. My budget is (will be) approximately 900 dollars.(If the XE converter is correct) Max is probably 950. So... as I said earlier, I read some info about all the cpus and gpus and stuff like that... I've configured some systems but I still need opinions on the components. I got a couple of choices.
One of the configurations is INTEL based as in Intel CPU/MB (obviously) and a decent gpu (not so powerful but still pretty good - I believe.)It goes like that:
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE Z77-DS3H, Z77, DDR III 2400(OC)/1600/1333/1066, VGA, DVI, HDMI, SATA III, RAID, mSATA, USB 3.0, GLAN, LGA1155 97.70 $
CPU:INTEL CORE i5-2500K, 3.30GHz, 6M, BOX, LGA1155 220.00 $
CPU COOLER: COOLER MASTER Hyper TX3 Evo, s.All CPU, 800-2200 rpm, 17-30 dB
RAM: CORSAIR 2x4GB Vengeance DDR3 1600Mhz, CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 48.50 $
HDD: WD 1024GB 64MB SATA III Blue 82.50 $
GPU: SAPPHIRE 1024M HD6870 DDR 5 PCI-E /BULK/ 172.40 $
PSU: COOLER MASTER SILENT PRO M600, 600W 89.30 $
CASE: COOLER MASTER ELITE 334U BLACK, w/o PSU 42.90 $
That's about it.
So, the other configuration is AMD-based (amd processor, mb BUT this time a much more powerful graphics card). It goes like this:
MOTHERBOARD (Not so sure on this one, an opinions?)GIGABYTE 990FXA-UD3, AMD 990FX, DDR III 2000(O.C.)/1600/1333, SATAIII, RAID, 1394, GLAN, AM3+ 126.40 $
CPU: AMD FX-Series X6 6200, 3.80GHz, 14MB, BOX, AM3+, Black Edition 153.60 $ OR AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 965, 3.40GHz, 8MB, BOX, AM3, Black Edition 115.00 $ (I'm confused here because someone told me that the Phenom II X4 would be more than enough for heavy gaming combined with a very powerful GPU, but I'm not sure...won't there be any bottleneck ?)
CPU COOLER: The same EVO since it's "All CPU" type. tx3 evo 21.19$
RAM: The same. 2x4 gigs Corsair runnin' at 1600 MHz - 48.50$
HDD: Same.
GPU: Now...here I'm confused again. Because I have 2 cards (both very good) - 1024M GTX 560 TI GDDR5 (GIGABYTE) and 2048 HD7850 (SAPPHIRE) They are both at the same price, according to a little search I made, the Radeon one is 10-15% faster than the nvidia one BUT people say that AMD's graphics card's drivers are ... bad ? What does that mean ? Can someone explain, please ?
Case and PSU are the same (I think 600 watts are more than enough for a system like this.
That's it I guess. So, what I'm interested in mainly is will any of those be good for some heavy gaming and a general basic machine and which one is better ? We have 1 AMD and 1 INTEL based system. AMD cpu is cheaper allowing me to get a more powerful GPU and Intel is the other way around. I can still upgrade my card in future of course but I want to hear your opinions.
Expecting a helping tech hand soon 😀
Best regards,
Gabe.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Hi and welcome to the Anandtech forums 🙂

 

[Ken g6]

OK, let's see how far I can fill out [thread=80121]the sticky thread[/thread] from that...

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

for general use and of course, some heavy gaming since I never really got the chance to enjoy something like that 😛

Any particular games you want to play?

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$900-950, but what is XE converter? Is $ not your local currency? It's better to work in your local currency, and to give us an example of an online store you might be buying from.

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

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
No? Generically for gaming, Intel is way ahead of AMD these days in CPUs.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
No.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
???

8. What resolution will you be using?
???

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

soon (2 months)

That's a little long to plan for.

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

 

[gabriele94]

Thanks, BTRY !
Ken, I'll try and answer all of your questions as informative as possible.
1. The computer is going to be used for absolutely everything but I'll try to put it in percentages. Let's say about...75% for gaming, rest goes to browsing the internet, movies, music etc. IF you're asking about some programming stuff, probably not. Nothing heavy of that sort. The heaviest thing that computer has to deal with are the games I'm gonna try run on it 😛 I haven't exactly planned what games I'm going to play. Whatever I find amusing, I guess. If you're asking if they're going to be really heavy...well maybe not so much. I really love Team Fortress 2, it's going to be the main game I'm gonna play, also I'd like to play some beautiful (in a graphic way) games such as...Crysis, BF3, GTA IV, Bioshock... I could go on and on cause' I've seen so many trailers and gameplays but it'd be useless for the topic.
2. http://www.xe.com/ucc/ A simple currency converter. I converted my vault of money (LEVs) to dollars. I did that since I don't think a lot of the people here are familiar with Bulgarian money 😛
3. I'm probably going to order the parts online either here, in Bulgaria, or if there is no other way - from a foreign site. Like Amazon. But I'm 80% certain that it's going to be from my country since it's more comfortable. (Postage and stuff)
4. I don't have any brand preferences. I respect everything and everyone, but as most of the people out there, I want what's best. (for the money, ofc. 😀)
5. My current parts... now I notice that my post isn't really quite informative 😀 Sorry about that. I'm going to be using my old monitor for now (SAMSUNG - not sure about model - 19'' I think the max resolution was 1240x1048 or something like that) I want to spend as much money as I can on a more powerful system and later I'm going to get a new monitor. The floppy isn't really going to be a problem since they're not very expensive and are easy to find here so let me worry about that. Everything else is old and useful only for movies/internet/music. My mother and sister are going to be using my current computer when I get the new one.
7. (6 ? 😀) OCing...I've heard of it, I know what it is in basics, but no, I can't overclock. And if I'm going to be getting a powerful CPU, there might be no reason to. Anyways, I wouldn't risk overclocking but I have friends who know how to do it so if I ever need to, I just call them. I know it's a clockable processor ( The intel one - 2500k) but I chose it just because the 2500 one is 10 dollars less...I mean like - come on. 😀 Ofc I'm gonna get the K one.
8. As mentioned earlier, 1240x1048 something. Later on I'm gonna get a bigger monitor. 🙂
9. Yes, I know it's a bit of a long shot, but I just couldn't help myself be curious - I just want to be as informed as possible so that when that moment comes (when I have the money) I'd know what to do. I know there will be NEW components that will come in 2 months but they're probably going to be an overkill for the money I have and won't be any point to even have them in mind. Yes, the prices might fall down a bit but that's only better for me 😀 I just want everything settled and clarified 😛
10. I have no idea. If there is no way to download it from this computer, write it on a disc and install it on the new computer, then probably. I'm not really informed on the software part. All I know is I want Windows 7 as an OS. And something else - are the drivers for the graphics card purchased after you buy the card or are they downloadable aswell ?

P.S: I just noticed the Sticky thread that basically tells me how to post a thread like this...I'm sorry for making it harder for you guys 😛 Didn't see it at first.

 

[mfenn]

3. I'm probably going to order the parts online either here, in Bulgaria, or if there is no other way - from a foreign site. Like Amazon. But I'm 80% certain that it's going to be from my country since it's more comfortable. (Postage and stuff)

There are a lot of quality parts out there, so the real art/science of building a good PC is knowing what is worth spending money on and what isn't. Obviously price factors in quite a bit to that equation, which is why it is most helpful if we have an actual site where we can look up prices.

9. Yes, I know it's a bit of a long shot, but I just couldn't help myself be curious - I just want to be as informed as possible so that when that moment comes (when I have the money) I'd know what to do. I know there will be NEW components that will come in 2 months but they're probably going to be an overkill for the money I have and won't be any point to even have them in mind. Yes, the prices might fall down a bit but that's only better for me 😀 I just want everything settled and clarified 😛

The problem with picking parts out 2 months in advance is that you can develop tunnel vision and not get the best deal. We can talk to you in general terms about what would be a good computer (Ivy Bridge processor, B75 motherboard, 8GB of RAM, ~$200 video card, etc.), but endorsing any particular parts would be kind of premature right now.

10. I have no idea. If there is no way to download it from this computer, write it on a disc and install it on the new computer, then probably. I'm not really informed on the software part. All I know is I want Windows 7 as an OS. And something else - are the drivers for the graphics card purchased after you buy the card or are they downloadable aswell ?

Since you are going to be handing your PC down to somebody else, you will need a new Windows 7 license.

 

[gabriele94]

About the site I picked the priced at - it's a Bulgarian one, but the prices are merely the same as Amazon and the quality too. http://sky.bg/ Check it out if you want to, but it's all in Bulgarian, so... But anyways, that's where I checked the prices. They're listed in dollars since the parts are not MADE in Bulgaria but are rather (not sure about the right word) - posted/imported from other countries.
And what you're trying to say is that its' best to wait until I get the money after 2 months and then make plans, huh ? Well, yeah, that sounds as logic as it can be but as I said, I'm kind of an impatient person and wanted to know it all before it's done. Anyways, don't you think that it'd still be a solid system after 2 months ?
And finally, a Windows 7 license ? The hell ? 😀 Do I need, like NEED this license to get the OS ? If yes, then what do I have to do to get it ?

 

[Ken g6]

And finally, a Windows 7 license ? The hell ? Do I need, like NEED this license to get the OS ? If yes, then what do I have to do to get it ?

Software license. Not a government permit or anything like that. A lot of software is technically licensed, not sold. Basically, that means you buy a new copy of Windows 7.

Are you planning to buy sooner than two months from now, perhaps on credit? I just assumed you wouldn't buy until you had the money. Otherwise, we don't know what special offers will be available two months from now, or how the relative prices of comparable products will shift in general.

Edit: For example, I just realized, two months from now you can buy Windows 8!

 

[gabriele94]

Well...I'm getting my first working salary tomorrow and the next one on the 10th of September and the 11th of September is my birthday...which is nicely timed. 😀 I said 2 months because my calculations say that by that time (12th of Sep) I'd have around ~760$ and perhaps I'd have to gather a bit more money for around 1 more month, you know ? Anyways, of course you won't know what special offers there will be in 2 months, I'm not asking that from you. I'm more interested if the configurations I listed would still be good in 2 months time for my needs. And I listed 1 AMD and 1 Intel because I'm not sure how much money I'll have 100% 😛
So, I guess I'm gonna have to be patient and wait for those 2 months to end and perhaps I'll consult with you then 🙂 What I received so far as information here was quite helpful. Thanks a lot for the support.
P.S. I probably won't need Windows 8 for the things I intend to do with the PC 😀 But who knows, we'll see.
Take care !
-Gabe.

 

[azeem40]

The only thing I see is coming out within that time frame is the 660ti, so your config should be good, but most likely cheaper. 😀

 

[mfenn]

The only thing I see is coming out within that time frame is the 660ti, so your config should be good, but most likely cheaper. 😀

That's just the thing though, those exact parts might not be. Yes a PC similar to what the OP has specced out will likely be cheaper. That does not mean that the exact parts that the OP has picked out will be cheaper. Prices on computer components are extremely volatile, and getting tunnel vision on one particular parts list will cause you to pay more as often as not.