Building a new pc

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Maskim Posted: 08-31-2010 9:17 PM

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Ok, so in a few weeks I'm going to be putting together a new gaming rig.  I love my macbook pro for school, but I miss being able to game if I want to.  It really bugs me that out of my steam library, the only 2 games that are mac friendly are Plants v Zombies and Torchlight.  That and FF14'll be out soon.

Kenny007's been helpful for me figuring out what I need and what I want, as it's been a long time since I put a rig together (things have changed a lot, not to date myself, but the last time I built a rig, cpus didn't need fans).  Anyways, I thought I might post up the perspective build and see if anyone has any thoughts on it.

I want to know what you think could be added, what could be subtracted, and what should be switched out for something else. 

I want to stay under a grand, and right now it's hovering within a few dollars of it, so if I need to add something, I need to take something else off.

Stuff like the case, power supply, and fans, keyboard/mouse not listed.

LG 22x DVD Burner

WD 1TB 5400RPM HDD

8GB DDR3 1333 RAM (4x2gb sticks)

AMD Phenom II x6 1055T processor

Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 Motherboard

2x Powercolor PCS+ AX5770 1GB HD5770 Video cards 

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Plaag replied on 08-31-2010 9:27 PM

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Lose the slow hard drive, pick up a 640 Caviar Black (my favorite out of the several I have atm).

Lose 4gigs of ram. I really really don't understand the need for more than four anymore. Even on vista/7 you'd be hard pressed to utilize more than three.

Lose the amd processor and pick up an i5-760. Intel still wins the gaming war. Or read this, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i5-760-core-i7-970,2698.html

I don't really have any opinions on motherboards anymore. My main machine has an asus m4a78t-e  am3 board in it and overclocks well enough but that's all I really needed at the time.

As for the gpu's drop the multi card solutions and just pick up one 5830. Its better than the 5770 and on par with last generations 4890. I still have ONE 4890 and havent had a game that really put it through any hard work and I play @ 1080p.

Sorry if I completely changed your build or sound like a jerk but I run my own computer building business on the side of my regular job. You could probably save a lot of money my way too and not see a real world difference.

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Maskim replied on 08-31-2010 9:36 PM

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Plaag:

Lose the slow hard drive, pick up a 640 Caviar Black (my favorite out of the several I have atm).

Lose 4gigs of ram. I really really don't understand the need for more than four anymore. Even on vista/7 you'd be hard pressed to utilize more than three.

Lose the amd processor and pick up an i5-760. Intel still wins the gaming war. Or read this, http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i5-760-core-i7-970,2698.html

I don't really have any opinions on motherboards anymore. My main machine has an asus m4a78t-e  am3 board in it and overclocks well enough but that's all I really needed at the time.

As for the gpu's drop the multi card solutions and just pick up one 5830. Its better than the 5770 and on par with last generations 4890. I still have ONE 4890 and havent had a game that really put it through any hard work and I play @ 1080p.

Sorry if I completely changed your build or sound like a jerk but I run my own computer building business on the side of my regular job. You could probably save a lot of money my way too and not see a real world difference.

Good suggestions, and I'm looking into how they affect it now.  All of them I'm seriously considering except for the processor.  Not that it's a bad suggestion, but I'm just an AMD guy.  I haven't run an intel system for myself in well over a decade.  They're easy and what I'm used to, and I like to support them.

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thePhantomLimb replied on 08-31-2010 9:37 PM

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Similar to the build I just put together, although I went with a MSI 890GXM-G65 mATX AM3 890GX+SB850 DDR3 2PCI-E16 1PCI-E 1PCI SATA Audio Video GBLAN Motherboard, and 6GB of 1600 ddr3.  I'm using a year old GTX 9800+ instead of the twin GPUs you are looking at, and my machine does great with everything I've thrown at it, so I'm sure that build will scream pretty good.

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Plaag replied on 08-31-2010 9:40 PM

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Alright, on the intel vs amd war I'll tell you my opinion whether it matters or not. I like AMD processors. I have two computers with them. I like them because the cheaper models are better than intels models in the same price range. However, I have one computer with an I7 in it because I7's win against anything AMD has in the same price range. Intel wins the high end war and amd wins the mid range/low end war. I guess it's not really my opinion but it's just the truth. Would you be opposed to me throwing together a few build concepts and pm'ing them to you? Maybe just the links to the wish lists. I'd be totally willing to help you save the most money and get the most bang for buck as well as have some longevity in your computer. Let me know.

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Maskim replied on 08-31-2010 9:45 PM

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Plaag:

Would you be opposed to me throwing together a few build concepts and pm'ing them to you? Maybe just the links to the wish lists. I'd be totally willing to help you save the most money and get the most bang for buck as well as have some longevity in your computer. Let me know.

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Plaag replied on 08-31-2010 10:37 PM

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So, I put together a build I'd buy if I was spending 1k. I kind of had fun with it and tossed in a 21.5" 1080P monitor, G15 Keyboard, Mx518 Mouse & tritton AX Pro 5.1 headphones...It came out to 1236.21 with tax & shipping. 85 dollars in rebates if you actually do those.

the thing to remember is that without the aforementioned things it comes out to 809.23 with 40 in mail in rebates. There's a few added bonuses. STALKER the game, some 4gb flash drive and something else I cant remember. 

Go ahead and p.m. me an email to send you the list to show you. It's on newegg and I think I'm just too fail to get it public atm. 

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killmak replied on 08-31-2010 11:00 PM

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I love when these threads come up.  When I built my gaming PC just after Christmas I went with an AMD processor and dont regret it for a second.  The only thing I even slightly regret is the HDD.  I picked up a 1.5TB green WD drive.  I havent really noticed it being too slow but I plan on swapping it out with a black WD drive in the near future.  For your video card I dont really see the need to go overboard in that department.  I have a gtx 285 in my system and for every game I have thrown at it it has been overkill.  For DVD drive make sure you get a cheap one, as long as it does the basics it will be fine.

Make sure you get a case that is large enough and has a lot of airflow.  Dont get one that comes with a power supply as they usually come with terrible power supplies.

I lied I regret the power supply I got, it seemed decent enough but a week ago it fried and I had to get myself a new one.  This time I picked up a better name brand and it came with a 3 year warrenty :).  If you are looking for suggestions for builds I would love to submit a build for you to check out.

Oh and I agree with what Plaag said about the RAM, 4GB should be enough for now, if you want to upgrade in the future make sure you get a motherboard with 4 ram slots.  Also if you go the i-5/i-7 route its triple channel so you can get 6gb worth and will have more than enough.

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Duddy07 replied on 08-31-2010 11:10 PM

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Just got done with a build plan with a friend of mine, much more tech savvy then I, and it will cost about $500 or so.  Went with a AMD Processor Dual-Core and Mobo, 4GB RAM, 1TB Seagate HDD, LG DVD+RW burner with light scribe. That is all I can remember off the top of my head. Compared to what it is replacing, a 2004 Dell desktop, unsure of the model, it is extremely better. Even though it does not have a external video card, the integrated one is better then the one before.

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Maskim replied on 08-31-2010 11:15 PM

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So with the RAM and video card suggestions(5830), it's down to just under $800.  If for some reason that's not enough for the video card aspect, the onboard card with the motherboard is supposed to be crossfirex enabled too, so I can just hook them together.

The case I chose looks pretty nice, and already has a few fans, 2 120's and 1 240(I think).  Chose a 750 watt power supply, although it's of a no-name brand.

Feel free to send any potential builds in a pm via goozex.

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Plaag replied on 08-31-2010 11:20 PM

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I started a conversation with you. I fail at figuring out how to pm you lol.

/e A word of warning. Buying a cheaper/no name brand psu isn't the greatest idea. They are usually less efficient and in all honesty when some of them fail, they take your whole new system with them.

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killmak replied on 09-01-2010 12:06 AM

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I was bored so here is a build, it is $724 + tax and has $45 in MIR's.  Adding a 25" monitor ups the price to $924.  Shipping would be $20-$30 depending on whether you got the monitor or not.  I personaly have the case I picked out and I love it for its size, the number of fans you can install and how easy it is to install the HDD's and DVD drives.  I have the 620 propus 2.6GHz processor and have loved it and it runs great.  The motherboard I picked out is not crossfire compatible but in my opinion crossfire is way overrated.  A lot of people bitch about OCZ ram but personally I have never had any problems with their ram and if you do get one that is dead you can return it and they will send you a new one.

Cooler Master Case & DVD Burner Combo - $83
AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz & motherboard combo - $177
Radeon HD 5830 - $189
1.5TB WD Caviar Black HDD & Corsair 750W Power Supply Combo - $189
OCZ 4GB DDR3 1600 - $84
25" 1080p monitor - $199

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killmak replied on 09-01-2010 12:08 AM

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Plaag:

I started a conversation with you. I fail at figuring out how to pm you lol.

/e A word of warning. Buying a cheaper/no name brand psu isn't the greatest idea. They are usually less efficient and in all honesty when some of them fail, they take your whole new system with them.

I agree, while the one I got wasnt a no name it wasnt the best name, luckily when it failed it didnt take anything with it, I should have spent the extra $20 and picked up a better one when I first built my computer.

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jamotto replied on 09-01-2010 12:10 AM

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Maskim:

Chose a 750 watt power supply, although it's of a no-name brand.

What is the brand?

The PSU  is one of the most important parts of the computer, you really shouldn't skip on this part.

You may wish to check out http://www.jonnyguru.com for good reviews on PSU.

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Maskim replied on 09-01-2010 12:37 AM

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Point taken.  I'll look into getting a better power supply.