so think my comp is beginning to crap out on me. thinking i'm going to take a shot at building one myself. a few questions: 1. whats the best guide to use for a total newbie? i know newegg has some videos which are supposedly good. i think pcmech has a pretty good build tutorial. any other recs? 2. i'm looking to spend about $800- 1,000 for the build, if it can come out less, even better. i was looking at doing something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2bcow keep in mind the PC i'm coming from is numerous years old, specs basically being a duo core intel processor, 4 GB of ram, and a 1 GB vid card. so really any parts are going to be upgrades at this point lol so i don't need the latest and greatest, going to an core i5 processor and like 8 gigs of ram will be just fine, don't need to trick it out to an i7 and like 16 GB ram or anything. i would like it for gaming, an i5 and 8 gigs and a decent graphics card should be good enough to run games on high setting right? i'm open for any/all suggestions, i had a friend say to maybe even look into buying a pre built system, said they can be pretty good for the price, but i havent looked into it. i'd assume building would allow to keep costs down? but if you could please stick within the price range. i know you can always go better and every thread similar to these always has those comments. the build link posted above comes below my price range, but i also didn't include an OS or monitor into that yet. i'm debating whether i do that, i might just stick with vista (i know..i know its "awful" but i've never had a prob with it) and i might upgrade monitor as well. POWER OF CLUTCHFANS, COMMENCE!
Don't get a radeon, dont short change yourself on a mediocre graphics card. Get a higher end graphics card so that it can run on ultra settings and last for 2 years. If you get that graphics card, it will be obsolete (next gen movement) within 6 months I'd say. Building will definitely keep costs down if you are comfortable doing it yourself. I used the Newegg tutorial for my build. Windows 7 please. It'll make gaming easier. Also, You can get a nice 23" monitor for under $100 nowadays. So Upgrade your graphics card, adding another $100-150. That's an additional $250 lets say putting you at $880. Upgrade your PSU, add another $50. $930 total bro. Also, why get your gpu from Superbiiz? and why a 3550? Get a 3570k, I got mine for cheaper than what you're paying a year and a half ago! If you live in Houston, MICROCENTER is a big help. Also, Frys tends to price match. Use that to your advantage! Here's my build with cost from back in the day http://bbs.clutchcity.net/showpost.php?p=7117510&postcount=47 Have since then added a gtx 670. It's a monster PC
mind putting together a build on pcpart picker and posting the link that i can take a look at? EDIT: i'm not in houston so no microcenter or frys near me.
If I were you, I'd spend the bulk of the money on: a nice INTEL Motherboard/processor combo and power supply. And by that I mean, spend say, 300.00 on processor, 200.00 on motherboard, 100.00 on power supply. Also, just buy one 4 gig memory stick (you can add more later). get a case to house it, and a hd. If you go this route, you can add pieces to the built to make it better later on. The main thing you CAN'T change once you've got it is the flexibility of the motherboard and processor. With a 1000.00 rig, you ain't really going to be able to get a good video card without skimping on other, more important parts.
Intel 1150 mobo, core i7, 8 GB of ram... Microcenter, rest of the smaller components at Frys, Nvidia graphics.
Since you're on a budget, stick with the i5's. Hyperthreading is overrated. You are much better off sinking that $100 into an SSD or Video Card.
yeah..think i'll go with what LCA posted...problem being newegg says they're out of stock with the vid card. then again i'm not buying tonight...i might even wait until after x-mas when i get a little extra spending cash from gifts.
Processor - i5-3570k can be bought for $150 Motherboard - z77 can be bought for around $100 AR Graphics card - Radeon 7970s and GTX 670/760 run around $200 AR. NVIDIA vs. Radeon debates are for fanboys, get good bang for buck RAM - 8GB of DDR3 RAM runs around $50 nowadays (last year it was $30) Power Supply - get a brand name 600W power supply, it'll run around $40 AR Case - an $80 case is good, I suggest Fractal R4 because it's spacious, good airflow, and GREAT noise insulation for a quiet build, which a gaming computer can get loud from the graphics card fans
Oh yeah, other parts: HDD - get a 120 GB SSD for around $70 as your bootup drive and other things, then get a 500GB-1TB HDD for games. Games run at least 10GB nowadays so don't get an SSD for games Optical drive - $20
Yeah I'm going to be buying stuff a part or two at a time so I can have a system in time for Star Citizen (thanks DaDa, I needed to spend more money !) next year. It's going to take quite the system to run it at max settings, so I figure I can buy some of the stuff now and save the video card(s?) and CPU for late next year when they should be a bit cheaper. I'm not sure about putting it together myself though. Not very good at stuff like that. More likely to burn my house down somehow. I just don't like the thought of dropping $3k on a gaming desktop.
yep..biggest worry is screwing up the build seeing as its my first. watched the new egg vid on the build, it doesn't look too difficult...still nervous to say the least. in fact, more worried about just pressing too hard on the mobo while inserting the processor/ram/video card that i crack the mobo lol
what's really good about dropping 3k is that if you do it right you will have a system that will last at least 5 to 7 years. those 800 dollar systems might last a year and a half.
a 3k system also depreciates incredibly fast..might as well build a 1k system and upgrade the GPU when a new architecture is released, unless you have a specific need for high end CPU/GPU no point spending double the money for a 10% increase in performance.
if you are just after the latest processor and the hottest video card, maybe. But a 1k system four years from the point that you made the 3k system, still won't be as fast as the older system. I guarantee you my 3.5k system that I made in 2011 is still faster than anything that this thread will make for under a 1000.
This might have been true 3 or 4 years ago. I built my system off the 3570k/GTA670/z77 almost a year and a half ago and its depreciated maybe 20%. 18 months later, this is still the recommended build for the price point. This system can still run pretty much any game out there for and for the foreseeable future. A budget gaming system with the right components will last for 3 - 4 years. The issue with your 3.5k system is the warranty. You're banking on it not breaking. Further, when you are purchasing the latest and greatest, its much harder to determine the best bang for your buck. You might be paying a hefty premium for a marginal increase.
