Getting a new gaming PC

[Zero47]

I finally got the cash together to get myself a real gaming pc, now as I'm someone who has never really looked into PC hardware I find myself overwhelmed by options and choices without a clue as to what's best for me. What better crowd to ask for help than the escapists?

I have a maximum of 1500 euro's to spend, but I do need accessories too (mouse, keyboard, headset, basic speakers). I want a pc that can run present games on high/beastmode. From what I've read I understand that the most cost efficient way to do this is to forego the ultra expensive hardware and just keep upgrading, I'm definitely unsure which parts have the best price/quality ratio but I guess the good ratio's are what I'm looking for.

I have never thought/read about the process of building my own PC, is this doable for a complete rookie? I can follow instruction well enough (thanks Ikea) but the process seems daunting none the less. If I'd go about it this way, where should I get my parts?

Components:

*Cooler Master CM 690 II -
For a case I'm just looking for easy upgrading and this seems to be a good one.

*i7 950 or AMD
Intel vs AMD... heck I don't know I just what the best price/quality. I don't have any experience at overclocking but if it's easy and riskless, sure why not.

*Cooling? Will I need this? I am looking for a system that's there to stay and I do have the habit of leaving my PC on all day.

*Motherboard, no idea whatsoever. I don't even have a clue what the benefits of more expensive motherboards are.

*RAM Memory, Is 8 Gb enough? Maybe I'd be better of going for 12 Gb and never upgrade it.

*Memory, 2TB Hard drive and optionally a small SSD to run windows on.

*DVD+-r reader/writer, basic stuff.

*nvidia GTX 580/570, or something ATI. Not sure, price/quality is what I'm looking for.

*sound card

*network card

This my basic list, still concerned about compatibility. I absolutely despise having any sort of compatibility issue between games and drivers or old games and drivers. I simply don't know if I'm setting myself up for shit when I randomly put some parts together.


I'd really appreciate it if you guys could give me some input.
Thanks

 

[MrTub]

May I ask where are you from?

CPU
I would go with an i5 2500k instead of i7 950/amd.

Motherboard
Any of these mobos should work great with an i5 2500K
P67:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157231&Tpk=ASRock%20P67%20Extreme%206
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130574
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131702&Tpk=Asus%20SABERTOOTH%20P67

Z68:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131759
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131730

Cpu cooler
I would go with this cpu cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016&Tpk=Noctua%20NH-U9B%20SE2

RAM
8gb will be enough unless you are going to do some heavy video rendering. Make sure you either get two sticks of ram or four sticks of ram (if you are going with 1155 socket aka sandy bridge aka i5 2500k) since you will loose performance if you are using three sticks of ram

SSD/HDD
Honestly I would skip ssd, I bought one and I kinda regret it since it really isnt worth the price especially if youre just going to have windows on it.

I used to buy hdds from Samsung other then that I havent really got a clue.

Graphic card(GPU)
I would go with an Gtx 570 and later on buy a second card (and use sli)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127564

Sound card
As for sound card I have no clue.

Network card
Any special reasons to why you want a network card? (You can use the one built in the motherboard otherwise)

Power supply unit
Do you got a power supply unit?

Otherwise I would recommend something with around 750-850w (so you can add another graphic card later on) and make sure its 80+ bronze/gold certified (which means its quality and will most likely not blow up and destroy your system)

Here are a few suggestions:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011&Tpk=Corsair%20HX%20850W%2080%2b
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139015&Tpk=Corsair%20AX%20850W%2080%2b%20GOLD


OS (Operative system)
I would recommend that you get windows 7 64bits (OS)


As long as you follow instructions you should be fine.
And if you really do not want to build it yourself there usually are a couple of shops that will build it for you for a fee.

 

[Zero47]

Thanks for the response!

I've narrowed my processor down to I7 2500k (which oddly enough is at the same priclass as the 950), isn't the i5 a large step down from the i7? 190$ for power supply seems rather steep, Corsair has an enthousiast version which has gotten good reviews and 750W, would this be enough to handle dual graphics card and/or overclocking?

 

[MrTub]

Thanks for the response!

I've narrowed my processor down to I7 2500k (which oddly enough is at the same priclass as the 950), isn't the i5 a large step down from the i7? 190$ for power supply seems rather steep, Corsair has an enthousiast version which has gotten good reviews and 750W, would this be enough to handle dual graphics card and/or overclocking?

A i5 2500k will outperform i7 950. And i5 2500k is pretty much an i7 2600k without Hyperthreading(it fakes 4 more cores which gives i7 2600k 8 "cores"). I personally bought an i7 but an i5 2500k will more then enough if you are just going to game.

As for psu (Power supply unit) 750w will be enough but I rather be safe then sorry. But here are some cheaper alternatives that will work great aswell (Modular means that you can remove all cables if you want)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171057 160$ (Modular)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139025&Tpk=Corsair%20Gaming%20Series%20800W%2080%2b 130$ (sadly not modular)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139022&Tpk=Corsair%20TX%20850W%20V2%2080%2b%20Bronze 134$ (Not modular)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011&Tpk=XFX%20Core%20Edition%20850W%2080%2b%20Bronze 120$ (Not modular)


Where are you from?

 

[Patrick Dare]

If you're going to use more than one video card you'll want a beefy PSU. You also have to consider that they operate most efficiently at half capacity (meaning if your computer is drawing 500 watts a 1000 watt PSU will give the best efficiency). How much of an impact this will have on the power bill I can't say though. I'd also highly recommend getting a modular PSU, it makes organizing all the wires inside the case a lot easier and the better the wires are organized/out of the way the better the air flow in the case is.

As someone mentioned you don't need a network card and really you don't need a sound card either, especially if you're not planning on getting a really nice sound system for the computer.