New Rig

[CaptQuakers]

Right guys I'm looking to get a new computer along with a monitor but I know very little about them so building my own is out of the question. All I want is a rig that can play games like WOW,Starcraft 2 and the such to a medium or high setting without having FPS issues.

I just need to know what I should avoid and a rough estimate of cost (I'm in the UK).

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kabutos]

I would say that a PC with an X4 955 and GTX 460 would be able to run those at around 400 pounds.

This is, of course, assuming you build it. Pre-builts tend to add a premium.

 

[CaptQuakers]

I wouldn't be able to build a pc. One I don't have the patience and 2 I know very little about Pc's I have only been gaming for about 3 months on my pc.

I'm only asking so I don't get bent over on the price.

 

[Retronana]

Everyone has to start from somewhere, go watch a few tutorials on youtube of PC building. Trust me it's quite simple and easy if you're capable of following instructions. Otherwise a decent pre-built system with a monitor will cost you 700-800 pounds. Honestly it's much better value for you to build it yourself, making a PC with monitor that will thrash consoles is do-able for £450.

Some advice either way you go.

The most cores you will need for modern PC games is 4
4 Gig of RAM is the ideal amount for gaming PCs
DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON A POWER SUPPLY, make sure the PC has decent brand such as corsair, antec, be quiet ect. If a power supply costs less than £40 my suggestion would be stay away from it

Lastly a budget may give me better idea of what you can fit in and I could suggest a few pre-builts or custom builds.

 

[CaptQuakers]

Everyone has to start from somewhere, go watch a few tutorials on youtube of PC building. Trust me it's quite simple and easy if you're capable of following instructions. Otherwise a decent pre-built system with a monitor will cost you 700-800 pounds. Honestly it's much better value for you to build it yourself, making a PC with monitor that will thrash consoles is do-able for £450.

Some advice either way you go.

The most cores you will need for modern PC games is 4
4 Gig of RAM is the ideal amount for gaming PCs
DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON A POWER SUPPLY, make sure the PC has decent brand such as corsair, antec, be quiet ect. If a power supply costs less than £40 my suggestion would be stay away from it

Lastly a budget may give me better idea of what you can fit in and I could suggest a few pre-builts or custom builds.

I'm good with my hands so I could do It but I get very angry with fiddly things and PC's piss me off to no end.

Where would I go about getting these pieces though ?. I'm very ignorant when It comes to the world of Pc's If I'm honest.

I would pay anywhere between £400 to £1000 tbh but I don't want to pay over the odds. I did with my current Laptop and It sucks.

I do however appreciated the advice mate.

 

[Kabutos]

Where would I go about getting these pieces though ?. I'm very ignorant when It comes to the world of Pc's If I'm honest.

Any of these sites:

http://www.scan.co.uk/
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/
http://www.aria.co.uk/

Also if you can't build it, then just take it to a computer shop and have them assemble it for you; it'll still be way cheaper than buying a prebuilt.


Also,

I would say that a PC with an X4 955 and GTX 460 would be able to run those at around 400 pounds.

 

[Retronana]

Where would I go about getting these pieces though ?. I'm very ignorant when It comes to the world of Pc's If I'm honest.

Any of these sites:

http://www.scan.co.uk/
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/
http://www.aria.co.uk/

Also if you can't build it, then just take it to a computer shop and have them assemble it for you; it'll still be way cheaper than buying a prebuilt.


Also,

I would say that a PC with an X4 955 and GTX 460 would be able to run those at around 400 pounds.

Also www.overclockers.co.uk is a decent site. The best pixel-per-pound at the moment is a combination of the i5 2500K and either a 560 or 6950 as both overclock like monsters so look for either. You can easily get that combination and a monitor for under £1000 but it will be considerably cheaper if you build yourself.

If you have any thoughts or want advice just ask

 

[CaptQuakers]

If you have any thoughts or want advice just ask

http://www.build-gaming-computers.com

I found this site whilst browsing. Looks like It list all the parts. Is it legit though ?

 

[Zer_]

If you have any thoughts or want advice just ask

http://www.build-gaming-computers.com

I found this site whilst browsing. Looks like It list all the parts. Is it legit though ?

Some of that data is a bit out of date, but generally speaking it's spot on. These days games actually use more than 4 cores, since it is your OS that assigns tasks to each core.

I run StarCraft II on a Phenom II x4 965 at the stock 3.4ghz. I use a 5870 card from ATi. I get only very slight slowdowns in multiplayer when there are 3 players with a large number of units on the screen. For 1v1, you won't have any lag whatsoever.

4GB of RAM minimum.
1GB of VRAM (Video Card) minimum.
Intel/AMD is up to you, depends on price.
Don't skimp on power supply as others have said. It's what powers your entire PC. The cheaper models can fry a system, I've seen it happen.

 

[pezwitch]

I wouldn't be able to build a pc. One I don't have the patience and 2 I know very little about Pc's I have only been gaming for about 3 months on my pc.

I'm only asking so I don't get bent over on the price.

If you've never built or repaired a computer before I don't suggest starting on a gamer. Yes, it can be cheaper, but do you really want to risk damaging your CPU and motherboard by using too much thermal paste? Or to short out the whole motherboard by not using stand offs? Or to jam a video card into the computer without removing the blank that covers the port with the fan and burning up your video card? All of which are DIY mistakes I've seen at work in the past two weeks.

Also, people tend to forget they will need an OS and don't factor that in to the cost.

What I would do is get a list of the games you play and your budget and go to a local computer shop and have them help you put one together.

What you need for a computer is:

A processor (AMD is a better value than Intel at the moment. Duo core works, but quad core if you can afford it)
A Video Card (I am partial to the AMD/ATI 5700 series right now, either a 5750 or 5770. They are good value for your money. NVIDIA 450 is a better choice than the 460 if you are on a budget.)

Once you know your processer and video card you can choose:

A motherboard (with at least two 16x PCI-E slots for future upgradability. Crossfire for AMD/ATI cards, SLI for NVIDIA)
RAM (2 GB minimum but 4 GB would be better)
Hard Drive
Optical Drive
A Case
A Power Supply
Windows 7

Of course, all this applies to pre-built systems, too.

 

[CaptQuakers]

I wouldn't be able to build a pc. One I don't have the patience and 2 I know very little about Pc's I have only been gaming for about 3 months on my pc.

I'm only asking so I don't get bent over on the price.

If you've never built or repaired a computer before I don't suggest starting on a gamer. Yes, it can be cheaper, but do you really want to risk damaging your CPU and motherboard by using too much thermal paste? Or to short out the whole motherboard by not using stand offs? Or to jam a video card into the computer without removing the blank that covers the port with the fan and burning up your video card? All of which are DIY mistakes I've seen at work in the past two weeks.

Also, people tend to forget they will need an OS and don't factor that in to the cost.

What I would do is get a list of the games you play and your budget and go to a local computer shop and have them help you put one together.

What you need for a computer is:

A processor (AMD is a better value than Intel at the moment. Duo core works, but quad core if you can afford it)
A Video Card (I am partial to the AMD/ATI 5700 series right now, either a 5750 or 5770. They are good value for your money. NVIDIA 450 is a better choice than the 460 if you are on a budget.)

Once you know your processer and video card you can choose:

A motherboard (with at least two 16x PCI-E slots for future upgradability. Crossfire for AMD/ATI cards, SLI for NVIDIA)
RAM (2 GB minimum but 4 GB would be better)
Hard Drive
Optical Drive
A Case
A Power Supply
Windows 7

Of course, all this applies to pre-built systems, too.

I will be going for a pre-built tbh. Because I dont have a clue what most of the things you mentioned are lol.

I do appreciate the advice though. Would It better to go to a smaller PC shop or somewhere like PC world ?

 

[dragomort]

Go online and look! Local stores range anywhere from shady to wonderful, really depends on your area and all, but a bit of google research can do wonders on each side. Find out the shops both online and locally that have the best reputations and go for it. It also helps as you can see how much each charges for parts and look up the pros and cons of each piece of equipment they're putting into your machine at your leisure, not to mention why they're doing it and what it would cost vs building it yourself.

Pre-built does cost a premium, but it's not always a bad thing as it saves time, your patience and gives you a single place to contact for problems - as long as the place you choose is reliable with good customer service. The problem being that such service is rare and also costs a premium generally, but I think you'll still be able to find a significant machine that's more than enough for your needs either way you go.

 

[Retronana]

I wouldn't be able to build a pc. One I don't have the patience and 2 I know very little about Pc's I have only been gaming for about 3 months on my pc.

I'm only asking so I don't get bent over on the price.

If you've never built or repaired a computer before I don't suggest starting on a gamer. Yes, it can be cheaper, but do you really want to risk damaging your CPU and motherboard by using too much thermal paste? Or to short out the whole motherboard by not using stand offs? Or to jam a video card into the computer without removing the blank that covers the port with the fan and burning up your video card? All of which are DIY mistakes I've seen at work in the past two weeks.

Also, people tend to forget they will need an OS and don't factor that in to the cost.

What I would do is get a list of the games you play and your budget and go to a local computer shop and have them help you put one together.

What you need for a computer is:

A processor (AMD is a better value than Intel at the moment. Duo core works, but quad core if you can afford it)
A Video Card (I am partial to the AMD/ATI 5700 series right now, either a 5750 or 5770. They are good value for your money. NVIDIA 450 is a better choice than the 460 if you are on a budget.)

Once you know your processer and video card you can choose:

A motherboard (with at least two 16x PCI-E slots for future upgradability. Crossfire for AMD/ATI cards, SLI for NVIDIA)
RAM (2 GB minimum but 4 GB would be better)
Hard Drive
Optical Drive
A Case
A Power Supply
Windows 7

Of course, all this applies to pre-built systems, too.

I will be going for a pre-built tbh. Because I dont have a clue what most of the things you mentioned are lol.

I do appreciate the advice though. Would It better to go to a smaller PC shop or somewhere like PC world ?

My advice would be go with a trustworthy online retailers, I'd suggest overclockers or scan. PC world are possibly the biggest rip-off merchants in the market at the moment and I wouldn't touch their customer support with a barge pole. That being said you've got some sound advice on what to look for so see what catches your eye and post it here if you want some more help.

Also make sure the windows that comes with your PC is 64-bit as otherwise you will not be able to use more than 3 gig of RAM

 

[Cowabungaa]

Here's an incredibly easy, handy and modern guide for building a computer:

I know that image is big and it's kinda silly to not spoiler it, but it's so handy that I wouldn't want to risk it being flooded It's even bigger actually, just copy-pasta it somewhere.

But if you want to go for something that plays Starcraft 2, WoW and similar games smoothly, I'd go for the Good or Very Good computer in that guide. Good will probably suit your needs, but Very Good might last you a bit longer without upgrading.

 

[pezwitch]

I wouldn't be able to build a pc. One I don't have the patience and 2 I know very little about Pc's I have only been gaming for about 3 months on my pc.

I'm only asking so I don't get bent over on the price.

snip
What you need for a computer is:

A processor (AMD is a better value than Intel at the moment. Duo core works, but quad core if you can afford it)
A Video Card (I am partial to the AMD/ATI 5700 series right now, either a 5750 or 5770. They are good value for your money. NVIDIA 450 is a better choice than the 460 if you are on a budget.)

Once you know your processer and video card you can choose:

A motherboard (with at least two 16x PCI-E slots for future upgradability. Crossfire for AMD/ATI cards, SLI for NVIDIA)
RAM (2 GB minimum but 4 GB would be better)
Hard Drive
Optical Drive
A Case
A Power Supply
Windows 7

Of course, all this applies to pre-built systems, too.

I will be going for a pre-built tbh. Because I dont have a clue what most of the things you mentioned are lol.

I do appreciate the advice though. Would It better to go to a smaller PC shop or somewhere like PC world ?

If you are going for a pre-built I'd go into local shops and talk to them. The first question they ask should be, "What do you do with your computer?" and the second "What is your budget?" The first question you should ask is "What is your warranty?" Reputable shops will warranty parts and service for one year.

I work for a small local shop and we build gaming computer from $569 for a basic gaming computer to over $3,000, whatever our customer needs.

If you are looking for a big box computer I would stay away from HP/Compaq, Acer, and eMachines (Their quality has really fallen in the past couple of years). ASUS, Toshiba, and Dell are good brands.

 

[CaptQuakers]

So, After a bit of a play on Overclockers I came up with these:

- No Webcam Option (Zero Cost)
- No Headset Option (Zero Cost)
- Monitor Not Selected
- Mouse Not Selected
- Keyboard Not Selected
- Full Cable Management
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)
- Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant Power Supply (CMPSU-650TXUK)
- Onboard Sound Card (ZERO COST)
- OcUK Premium Aluminium 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive.
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- No Second Hard Drive Option (ZERO Cost)
- Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ)
- XFX ATI Radeon HD 5770 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
- Corsair Vengeance 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit ***OcUK Exclusive***
- Gigabyte GA-H55M-UD2H Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 microATX Motherboard
- Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP Venom CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366/AM2/AM3)
- Stage 4: Overclock of CPU/Memory - 25% Overclock (Proceesor speed x1.25 / Max Attainable RAM SPEED)
- Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail
- Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black

This one would be £855, with no mouse,keyboard or monitor.

- No Webcam Option (Zero Cost)
- No Headset Option (Zero Cost)
- Monitor Not Selected
- Mouse Not Selected
- Keyboard Not Selected
- Full Cable Management
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - OEM (GFC-00599)
- OCZ StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply
- Onboard Sound Card (ZERO COST)
- OcUK Premium Aluminium 4GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive.
- OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM
- No RAID Option (ZERO Cost)
- No Second Hard Drive Option (ZERO Cost)
- Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ)
- XFX ATI Radeon HD 6850 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card with FREE MOH Game
- GeIL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Dual Channel (GVP38GB1600C9DC)
- Gigabyte GA-880GM-UD2H AMD 880G (Socket AM3) microATX DDR3 Motherboard
- Xigmatek Dark Knight CPU Cooler
- Stage 2: Overclock of CPU - 15% Overclock (Proceesor speed x1.15)
- AMD Phenom II X6 Six Core 1100T Black Edition 3.30GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
- Zalman Z9 Plus Tower Case with Fan Controller - Black

Now this is going to cost me £854 and I would still need a keyboard,mouse and monitor to boot .

Would these do what I wanted ? And Is there anything I would need to change ? Or not need at all ?

For those who want to know I want a computer that can play anything I download to a good standard.

 

[CaptQuakers]

bump

 

[Kabutos]

Okay, I went ahead on OCUK and improved on your builds.

This will pretty much be able to play anything you'll need it to.

I would've changed out the mobo, but it gave me no option; I'm not a big fan of mATX.

 

[CaptQuakers]

Okay, I went ahead on OCUK and improved on your builds.

This will pretty much be able to play anything you'll need it to.

I would've changed out the mobo, but it gave me no option; I'm not a big fan of mATX.

You my friend are an absolute star.

Just a quick question though. Does the case make that much difference because I prefer the Zalman ?

 

[Kabutos]

You my friend are an absolute star.

Just a quick question though. Does the case make that much difference because I prefer the Zalman ?

Sure, go ahead.