PC Hardware Thread: Now With 100% More Folding!

[vampirekid.13]

Certainly a matter of opinion. For all of the builds (yes, even the high-end), I've tried to select parts that give the most gaming performance per dollar while using quality parts throughout. The performance spread is pretty well-balanced: a low-end CPU matched with a fast GPU on the low end, a quick quad-core with the same GPU and nicer components throughout at the mid-range, and a top-range CPU with dual cards and copious cooling at the high end.

I prefer to err on the side of frugality in giving advice...especially because an additional $2-500 will probably buy quite a nice upgrade in a year or two, while it wouldn't drastically increase performance (relative to the cost) on any of the builds now.

i suppose, and to be honest i havent really checked the parts you were using for the 500 dollar build, when i personally build a low end computer i always try to get one of the newest motherboards available, and that usually puts the price up to about 700ish.

i guess in the end its just personal opinion... and mine is that with the "newest" or "best" motherboard in a year or 2 or 3 you have plenty of room for upgrade, while with an older one there may not be that room available.

my usual 700 dollar build includes a 200$ motherboard and power supply, and low end for the rest of the parts, mainly because the mb and the psu are the 2 key parts to a computer running well and being easily upgraded.

 

[xChevelle24]

Hey just a quick question that I hope one of the Original Posters (or someone with knowledge) can answer for me.

If I am going to build my own PC, which I plan on doing. Could I build one of the $465-500 ones, and still have it be good enough to support games like Battlefield or the Source Engine?

 

[Oopsie]

Yes. Battlefield, source, even COD4, will run admirably on the budget system.

 

[xChevelle24]

Yes. Battlefield, source, even COD4, will run admirably on the budget system.

Alright, sweet.

I just need to calculate buying a new monitor/mouse would be.

 

[Amund]

Hi thread. I want to go ahead and build a gaming computer. I'm willing to spend anywhere from 700 USD to 900 USD at first, then spend hundreds on parts as I upgrade it. There are a few games I want to play right out of the box. The sims 3, Fallout 3, Saints Row 2, and GTA IV. Now when I say I want to be able to play right at purchase, I don't mean without lag. I mean, I want to be able to get through the game without it freezing. Any who, here are my ideal starting specs: 2-4 gigs of ram, 200-500 gigs of Hard Drive space, and a dvd/cd reader writer. If I can get case fans that are neon that would be awesome.

I also would like a cool looking case. It's not a must at all, but I would like one. Preferably one that glowed in either a blue or pink color.

cases I found and want to know if they are a good buy:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208011

 

[beddo]

I did a lot of research trying to get a quiet PC:

Case: Antec P182 - Nice and solid, 4x quiet fans, vibration dampening for optical drives and HDDs.

CPU Cooler: Scythe Mine Rev B - Large and very quiet but provide sufficient cooling.

The only problem is having to turn the fans up a bit for proper gaming. Other than that though it's good. Oh and the room gets pretty hot with a monster setup that can push air around quickly.

 

[Horticulture]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208011

I have a friend using that Sunbeam case, which he seems to like, and he's pretty picky about parts. The Armor is a good case as well, but it's huge. I don't know anything about the last one.

If you find a case you like aside from lack of lighting, you can get LED fans like this one [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209012] which light up your case in the color of your choice.

 

[Amund]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811166004

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208011

I have a friend using that Sunbeam case, which he seems to like, and he's pretty picky about parts. The Armor is a good case as well, but it's huge. I don't know anything about the last one.

If you find a case you like aside from lack of lighting, you can get LED fans like this one [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835209012] which light up your case in the color of your choice.

Thank you so much. I'll definitely look into all of that.

 

[triggahappyhaza]

Hey Guys im hopeing you can help me i have a budget of around £700 and want to build myself a good gaming computer. already have a case hard drives.

Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Oopsie]

Are the harddrives Sata or IDE?

 

[Amund]

Ok I've decided on my case, but I need a mother board to go with it. Now I need a good ATX motherboard. What do I need to look for in a motherboard? I'll be looking at motherboards, I may post some that I think are good.

And how do I find out what video cards a motherboard supports?

 

[Horticulture]

Ok I've decided on my case, but I need a mother board to go with it. Now I need a good ATX motherboard. What do I need to look for in a motherboard? I'll be looking at motherboards, I may post some that I think are good.

And how do I find out what video cards a motherboard supports?

You want a motherboard that's compatible with the CPU you have/want to use, which means it has to share the socket type (see the CPU and Motherboard sections of the second post in the thread). You also need enough connectors for all your parts and peripherals-this mostly means checking that you have sufficient SATA (for optical/hard disk drives) and USB connectors.

There are also expansion slots, which determine the video cards you can use. You want at least one PCI-express 2.0 x16 slot, which will give you the ability to use all of the current-generation cards, which use that bus type. If you shop with Newegg [http://www.newegg.com], you can sort video cards by bus type (click PCI-express in the sidebar). PCI-express x16 (without the 2.0) will also work, but indicates an older board.

If you want a quick answer, Intel's P43 and P45 series boards are excellent choices in many cases(compatible with Core 2 Duos and Quads). AMDs 780g, 790x, 790fx, and 790gx are also great in the same price range, for use with AMD's processors*. Gigabyte and ASUS are good manufacturers for any of those chipsets.

*For an AMD board, make sure you note whether it uses socket AM2+ or AM3, because they require different types of RAM, and AM2 CPUs can't be used on AM3 boards.

 

[Oopsie]

There are also expansion slots, which determine the video cards you can use. You want at least one PCI-express 2.0 x16 slot, which will give you the ability to use all of the current-generation cards, which use that bus type. If you shop with Newegg [http://www.newegg.com], you can sort video cards by bus type (click PCI-express in the sidebar). PCI-express x16 (without the 2.0) will also work, but indicates an older board.

Would you decide to follow this advice and decide on an older board with PCI-E x16, google-fu extensively for backwards compatability issues for PCI-E 2.0 graphics cards. Many people and tech-support will say this is a non-issue as PCI-E 2.0 cards are supposedly backwards compatible, but not so with all boards.

 

[Amund]

There are also expansion slots, which determine the video cards you can use. You want at least one PCI-express 2.0 x16 slot, which will give you the ability to use all of the current-generation cards, which use that bus type. If you shop with Newegg [http://www.newegg.com], you can sort video cards by bus type (click PCI-express in the sidebar). PCI-express x16 (without the 2.0) will also work, but indicates an older board.

Would you decide to follow this advice and decide on an older board with PCI-E x16, google-fu extensively for backwards compatability issues for PCI-E 2.0 graphics cards. Many people and tech-support will say this is a non-issue as PCI-E 2.0 cards are supposedly backwards compatible, but not so with all boards.

Well after searching around, I found parts that I like. I think they're all compatible with eachother. I've found several good looking video cards, but I'm not sure which is better, and which is going to be compatible with everything else. So I'm going to list the four GPUs for you to look at. Now I can buy better parts then the ones I picked, but it can't cost all that much more. Right now it all will set me back about 700 USD. I'm only willing to spend as much as 900 USD, and no this does not include shipping. So if there is something that I should upgrade, what is it and why?


EDIT: I had to change the mother board and ram due to the fact that they were ddr2, and the video cards were GDDR3. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think DDR2 would work with GDDR3.

-Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372
-CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072
-GPU1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125246
-GPU2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125266
-GPU3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125268
-GPU4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125269
-RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211371
-Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148397
-Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021
-PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153077

 

[Horticulture]

Well after searching around, I found parts that I like. I think they're all compatible with eachother. I've found several good looking video cards, but I'm not sure which is better, and which is going to be compatible with everything else. So I'm going to list the four GPUs for you to look at. Now I can buy better parts then the ones I picked, but it can't cost all that much more. Right now it all will set me back about 700 USD. I'm only willing to spend as much as 900 USD, and no this does not include shipping. So if there is something that I should upgrade, what is it and why?


EDIT: I had to change the mother board and ram due to the fact that they were ddr2, and the video cards were GDDR3. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think DDR2 would work with GDDR3.

-Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372
-CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072
-GPU1: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125246
-GPU2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125266
-GPU3: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125268
-GPU4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125269
-RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211371
-Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148397
-Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133021
-PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153077

The biggest issue there is the RAM: that motherboard uses DDR2-RAM up to 1366 mHz (and only DDR2 RAM, but it can be slower-so any speed of DDR2 is fine). You can get 4 gigs for about the price of that DDR3 set, make sure to buy either 2 or 4 sticks (it runs faster in pairs). The video card is its own self-contained unit, so you don't have to worry about using the same memory as the rest of your system: using DDR2 system ram with a GDDR3 GPU works fine. Unless you already have DVD drive, make sure to get one with the rest of your parts.

Aside from the RAM issue, everything should play nice. In the price range you mentioned, though, the mid-range build from the OP will give much better overall gaming performance. If you're dead-set on an Intel system, consider using a cheaper case like an Antec Three Hundred or Cooler Master Centurion. You can use the savings to upgrade the CPU to an e7200 or e8400. In that price range for video cards, ATi is probably a better deal. You can get a 4850 or 4770 for less than any of those cards, which will perform competitively, or a superior 4870 for just a touch more money.

 

[Amund]

The biggest issue there is the RAM: that motherboard uses DDR2-RAM up to 1366 mHz (and only DDR2 RAM, but it can be slower-so any speed of DDR2 is fine). You can get 4 gigs for about the price of that DDR3 set, make sure to buy either 2 or 4 sticks (it runs faster in pairs). The video card is its own self-contained unit, so you don't have to worry about using the same memory as the rest of your system: using DDR2 system ram with a GDDR3 GPU works fine. Unless you already have DVD drive, make sure to get one with the rest of your parts.

Aside from the RAM issue, everything should play nice. In the price range you mentioned, though, the mid-range build from the OP will give much better overall gaming performance. If you're dead-set on an Intel system, consider using a cheaper case like an Antec Three Hundred or Cooler Master Centurion. You can use the savings to upgrade the CPU to an e7200 or e8400. In that price range for video cards, ATi is probably a better deal. You can get a 4850 or 4770 for less than any of those cards, which will perform competitively, or a superior 4870 for just a touch more money.

Ok so the mid range build from the op will be better? I've looked at it, and the case is kind of, not my style. It's not flashy enough. Yes I know flash isn't that important, but I'm just the kind of person who "needs" it. So would the case I picked out work with the op's mid build. Because I think they're both ATX.

Also I meant to put out this mother board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128371

Also I'm not dead set for any certain kind of system. I just want future upgradability, for at least the next year.

 

[prettynothings]

I would personally get a better C2D chip, and take a bit of money off the GPU by either going for ATI (Meh, but it's cheap.) or a lower end nvidia card. Most games don't utilize anything past the 9x series, and even then is excessive for most games save for the newest/high end games. As for ram, pink is super cuuute but, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227189 is nice. :3 But anyway, I recommend using cash saved from the RAM/GPU and getting a E8400, with decent cooling, you could OC that to 3.6ghz on air without doing much at all. Be sure to get an aftermarket heatsink as well. ^_^

Oh my, I clicked your case link, that's quite a bit of money for flashy lights, might try http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811215009&Tpk=monolith ? Full-tower ATX case. that's like 50$ off of the one you want to get. :3

That harddrive is also kinda expensive for how small it is. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395 60$ for 500gb. :3 I'm sure you could find a better deal as well.

The PSU is a bit overboard, you won't use that much power with what you currently have linked. But it is a pretty good deal, especially if you want to upgrade later.

As for the motherboard, I can't really comment, I always buy expensive motherboards, so. :/ But if you had wanted to get a fairly good mobo, I'd suggest the EVGA 780i ^_^

*Edit* Sorry for the jumblyness, I'm a bit tired and I clicked links after I had typed half of it.

 

[dukethepcdr]

www.pcgamer.com and www.maximumpc.com have good articles on their sites and in their magazines that tell how to make either a budget, mid-level or ultimate gaming rig almost every year. A couple of years ago, I used maximum PC's magazine article to help me make up my mind as to what to put into a mid-level gaming rig. I'm still using the rig I built with that issue as a guide (I took some liberties with the advice about what kind of disc drives to install and went with one model lower of Sound Blaster video card than they recommended, but otherwised followed it pretty closely). It can play almost all of the latest games on full settings (except for the notoriously system hogging games by Crytec and Valve) and I'm pretty happy with it. Especially the case. The Antec Nine Hundred is possibly the best, affordably priced, air cooled case yet made.

 

[Amund]

Well I've decided to go with the mid build buy from the op, but with a different case. Here's my new egg wish list: https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=10734572

It's public so anyone should be able to view it.

 

[oliveira8]

(except for the notoriously system hogging games by Crytec and Valve)

What? Valve games aren't that demanding.

The Source engine is probably one of the only engines that can stretch good even with 5 year old Pc's.

My PC doesnt meet the recommended system of L4D but I can still play it on max settings without hiccups.

Now Crysis on the other hand...