Building PC: 800-1300$

I will probably be selling this laptop and PS3 equipment for a sum total of 1000$ CAN. My PS3 hasn't been touched in ages and serves zero purpose. My laptop is a little too weak to be using as a gaming platform, and is a goddamn annoyance. Shift keys the size of my pinky located right beside "ergonomic" buttons that open shit I don't need.

So I wanna build a fairly decent PC on a 800-1300$ budget. This includes the tower, the monitor, and the keyboard. Leave out the OS.

Questions...

• What parts do I need to buy?
  
• What brand and size of graphic cards do I need?
  
• Recommended motherboards?
  
• Where can I buy a casing?
  
• Do I need a powerbar?
  

I have the mouse covered (corded w/900nm laser). I'm not picky about the monitor, so long as it matches with the tower somewhat (OCD, not "oooh matching = pretty!"). Seriously, 17" is plenty. I'll settle for 1280x720.

Should be able to play modern FPS games at 45+ FPS on 1280x720 resolution. That is all!

Aim for more than 45 FPS, way more. 45 FPS is the minimum (IMO at least). And you want your pc to last more than 1 year right?

In other words, BF3 should run at 60 FPS easily, so the next gen might run at 60 FPS in a year or two.

Empty said "45FPS? LOOOOOOOOL" so I assume that is a measily goal.

What is good? Like 75 maybe? And yes, 2.5 years minimum.

My stats if you find them useful (or in case of doubt):

- Cpu: Intel i7 2600k (overkill for games, i7 is for my scientific calculations, you could go with an i5 2500 for example)
- Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO LGA 1155 Intel Z68 (a bit too much, Gigabytes is apparently another good brand)
- Ram: Corsair 4 x 4 GB 1600 (again for scientific calculations, 2 x 4GB would be fine)
- Graphics: SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB in Crossfire (no need for Crossfire, went crossfire for the kick, the performance gain is almost linear (FPS almost doubled with second card, not bad))
- HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s (works well, nothing to say)
- Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (overkill again, was nervous about space, you can shave a few buck here too).
- Power supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850 V2 850W (I probably needed 600W max with crossfired cards... but who knows in the future).
- Heat sink: ZALMAN CNPS7X (intel heat sink is decent if you don't overclock. I overcloked my CPU from 3.6 GHz to 4.5 GHz, temps are below 70 C under stress programs).
- Mouse: Logitech G500 (happy with it)
- Mat: RAZER Goliathus Gaming Mouse Mat - Fragged Speed Edition - Omega S
- Screen: Asus VH238H Black 23"

Again, this configuration's cost could be shaved by 25-30%, easily.

Go with an i5.
Motherboard: I do like the ASUS "advanced" bios. Sure you can manage without. Just don't use it to auto-overclock (if you auto-overclock, make sure you have an aftermarket heat sink and that you monitor the temps during an hour of two of testing).
8GB of ram is fine for now (match frequency with MB)
VGA: went with Sapphire, probably paid 20$ more for nothing. I would recommend at least the 6850 HD chip with AMD. Other guys (Empty) might know more. Dunno about Nvidia. Don't go Crossfire (dual cards) for now.
HDD: you decide, not a major cost issue
Power supply: use the newegg calculator, add 20% of wattage, should be fine (too conservative lol)
Shave on the case, you don't need 45943534 case fans, trust the soon-to-be PhD in heat transfer (don't neglect fans on CPU and components however, lol). Just make sure that there are enough bays for the drives and that the board format matches the MB.
Heat sink: only change if you overclock, at least with the 2600k. The installation of an aftermarker sink is probably the trickiest part of the build. It took me 10 minutes to install mine, but I felt like I was disarming a bomb (thermal paste issues, plus not breaking MB, etc...). Also, there is a risk of component conflicts with aftermarket sinks (sink blocks one ram stick for example).
The stock Intel cooler is shitty, but installs like a breeze.
Mouse: you decide... went with high end... 50$ Razor mouse should be fine.
Screen: you decide.

Check benchmarks for the graphics card. It should run BFBC2 very easily, meaning it runs beyond 75+ FPS and even more, as you might fall down to 60 FPS for BF3...

60 FPS (vsync-ed) looks crystal clear. 45 FPS is... a bit annoying. 30 FPS = go back to your xbox.

With no Windows 7, the 1300$ target seems very feasible. Empty went with a "cheaper" (in the good sense) config and I think his gaming PC performance is essentially the same... (well, until I crossfired, hurray 150 FPS for 60FPS maxed monitor, very useful). I went nuts with some components for the scientific calculations... and I felt a bit like spending...

I would buy the OS... 100$. No worries. Engineers feed families.

Submitting your final config to C4B before ordering would be smart. Some guys there might spot a mistake.

God, back to thesis.

You will need:

- Case (may need to buy a 120mm case fan if the case doesn't come with one)
- PSU
- MoBo
- CPU
- GPU
- Ram
- Opitical Drive
- Internal Harddrive.
- Screen
- Keyboard

The case, ram, optical hardrive, keyboard will all be really cheap, with the case being slightly more expensive out of those.

For a case, the most important thing is that you match the case with the mobo. ie: ATX. And for the mobo you gotta make sure you match it with the right CPU.

So, I'd start there.

CPU. You can either go Intel or AMD pretty much. I'd suggest AMD for games, but it's not exactly life changing either way. But either way you want something like quad core 3.2-3.4+ ghz. Don't forget you can overclock some CPUs. Like my CPU is 3.2ghz but can be overclocked to 3.8ghz. So keep that in mind. You may be able to pick up a cheaper CPU that you can overclock to perform the same as a more expensive one you were looking at.

Then you want a mobo that can fit your type of cpu. Can't really help you a round mobo's sorry.

Then look at cases that will fit that mobo. You have plenty of options here. Most come with built in case fan (at least one anyway), others sometimes come with a psu. My advice is to buy your own psu, so look for something that looks nice, fits the mobo, affordable and comes with at least a 120mm case fan.

Then look at PSU units. Cosair is good. You want something 600 watts or better. Don't stimp out on PSU.

Then I guess graphics cards. You want something like a Radeon 5850 or the likes. 5770 will do, that's what I got, but you have a bigger budget, so I'd say go with something nicer. Will last you a bit longer too without having to upgrade.

RAM. Just whatever. Someone else will be able to help you with this. But at least 4g's. Two 2g sticks. It's cheap, so don't go any lower then 4g.

Optical drive. Something that works. Just whatever. I wouldn't bother going blueray.

Internal Hardrive is an interesting one. I went cheap and got 250gs. But you could possible go bigger. It works out cheaper per MB to go bigger then smaller. But I don't use much space, I keep most things on external harddrive. Up to you. I'd go with 500g if I was you. Or even 1T.

Screen. Just personal preference. Though gotta get something with HDMI. Then connect HDMI cord from GPU to Screen. ??? profit.

Keyboard. Personal preference. Some people like to go flash, buut I figured one frustrating bit of gameplay and I may need to replace my keyboard so I went cheap. Mouse on the other hand I'd spend a bit of money on considering thats the bit flying all over the desktop.

OS. Windows. Period.


You can add things like extra case fans if you want but I wouldn't bother.

Intel > AMD. AMD is cheaper though, and more upgradeable. AMD tends to reuse their sockets (How the CPU connects to the Mobo), Intel does not. The i5 2500 really is the best balance in many regards on the processor front, balancing strong performance and cost. Supposedly the only place the i7 beats it out is things like video rendering. :/

AMD isn't bad for the price, but at that price point you can afford to go intel. Now, AMD is on the verge of releasing a new line of CPUs that are supposedly beastly, however, as they are new they will be in demand and expensive. May be worth checking out.

The processor will have a "socket type" listed, make sure the mobo supports that socket. Look at features that are on the mobo, such as SATA III (HDD connections), USB 2.0 / 3.0, audio, onboard graphics (for example, I saved money on a board with no onboard graphics, as I dont need them as I have a GFX Card). Mobos really seem dependant on features, determine what you need. I've had many other people tell me that they aren't that important until you start building very high end systems or overclocking.

Brand names are important. If something looks shady from a iffy brand, avoid. That goes for everything in PC land.

RAM is easy to pickup... Find a reputable brand, compare the speeds versus the size versus the competition. Some still say 4GB is the norm for gaming and more doesnt add much, I couldnt tell the difference when I had put the 2nd 4GB stick in during games. I can feel it in photoshop though, but that probably isnt your concern. Higher speeds the better, 1866 v 1600 v 1333, 1866 is faster, barring latency (again, not really major unless you are going extreme).

Graphics cards are more complex to pick as they really vary widely and there are MANY of them. My 6850 is "factory OC'd", so it actually runs much closer to the 6870 than a regular 6850. When I purchased my card, it was $179 USD, and that price has probably dropped thanks to the 69xx series which is a tier above / newer. It's still plenty potent though, the only game that is any stress to keep above 60 on "this looks really damn good!" is RO2, and that is due to the fact it's a mess. BF3 will probably be the first real challenge for it, I dont expect to max it in 64 player, but it will look MORE than good enough I expect. Often, the difference between High and Ultra is literally 15 FPS for something you will never notice. Im not certain how the 69xx compare with the 68xx cards, but I do believe the 58xx/59xx has been discontinued / obsoleted by the 68xx and 69xx. Dont get a 6870 though, not worth the price over a 6850 without a deal. I can't speak too terribly well to Nvidia right now as I've had ATI/AMD cards for the last ten years now.

Think the GTX cards are performance, Ti balanced, no name the standard boring ho hum cards. Such as a 560 GTX will be a 560 with better clock speeds and memory so to say.

And of course the power supply. Make sure it supports the correct pin layout on your mobo. Usually going to be ATX12v.

1080 monitors are win. HDMI is nice, but not a must. HDMI monitors are more expensive.

My list of parts on my build and prices, circa May this year, USD.
Antec 300 case - $50.
Gigabyte LGA1155 mobo - $130
Intel i5 2500k - $220 (I got the K as it's easier to overclock if I decide so and was only a $20 difference)
Gigabyte 6850OC - $179
G.Skill Ripjaws RAM, 8 GB 1866 DDR3, $120 (Newegg has these come up on sale every so often... I may add another set to get 16 GB if it's cheap enough)
Corsair TX750 PSU - $120. Pay extra, get the modular version if you dont like cables. That PSU has a shitload of cables that you dont need...
LG DVD drive - $20
Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM HDD, 1TB - $80?
Win7 OEM - $100
Hanspree Monitor, 23" 1080p, $120 on clearance locally.

BC2 runs flawlessly, 100+ FPS with everything on and plenty of AA at 1080p. ME2? I've got everything and the kitchen sink on there, haven't seen Fraps say anything but a Vsync locked "60". It'll be pushed by the demanding games, but this also is a mid range gamer build really, but a very potent one at that. Handles FSX and DCS just fine, of course framerates arent spectacular, but 60 solid isn't important in flight sims. Easily holds 45+ though on high settings, yes, even the clusterfuck that is FSX.

Oh, and a lower res monitor means framerates will tend to increase as there are significantly fewer pixels to render. BUT! Go 1080. Trust me. I can do 8 things on this monitor at once, at work (16XXx920 or something like that) I have space for barely two windows side by side.

Any questions post em up or track me down on steam (yea, like that is so difficult to do. lol)

Can't buy OEM OS anymore.

And yea, 1080 or gtfo.

Holy effort, Batman(s)

Intel i5 2500-2700
Corsair 6-8Gb RAM DDR3
Nvidia GTX 560-570
500-750Gb HDD 7200RPM (don't know the brands)

Would that be decent?

Yes it would.

Fatty wrote:

Can't buy OEM OS anymore.

And yea, 1080 or gtfo.

Whaaa??

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992

Empty Box wrote:

Fatty wrote:

Can't buy OEM OS anymore.

And yea, 1080 or gtfo.

Whaaa??

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992

Cant buy it in shops.

Here anyway.

No, you can't buy em in shops because they don't sell em in shops. But you can still buy em.

Or you can download it for free.

Fatty wrote:

Or you can download it for free.

I can download a PC for free?

an os fool.

Got my OEM W7 on newegg.ca.

Just to say.... my windows 7 was gotten off btjunkie... so I could save that money for better components.

I am positive that the casing has fans built into it. I didn't exactly do the measurements, so I'm not positive if it can all fit. Fix mah fuckups.

EDIT: actually, it only has 5 fans.

Better keyboard plox

No seriously.

And if you hop down to future shop and ask for their open box crap, you might get a 19 inch monitor for 30-50 dollars.

(no warranty tho)

The Three Hundred comes with 5 fan slots. It comes with 2 fans installed, 3 speed switchable. Running BF3 beta on medium fan speeds, I see 60 c and it's still pretty dang quiet. So it does a good job of keeping it cool enough (60 ain't bad) and it isn't like a windtunnel. Just good solid airflow. For what you are doing, you won't need more fans, just make sure to clean the filter every month (takes a minute or two, simple thing, thumbscrews undone, pop the front off, pop filter, wash, dry, pop in, rescrew in)

And of course, I need to do that at some point today. lol

I don't think the Illusion version is different, just has some fancy lighting or something like that. I don't think it comes with any more fans than the regular 300.

Somebody at BSN mentioned I should be getting the i5 2500K

What is the difference?

While managing to keep on the 1000$ line...

- Swapped slow 8Gb RAM for some Ripjaw 4Gb RAM (as requested by Box)
- Swapped bleh MoBo for a Biostar Z68 (with 6Gb/s)
- Replaced i5 2500 with the "K" version (extra 10$, why not)
- Replaced Acer monitor with Hanns-G (because Box = truth right? I guess...)

EDIT: also, read up on the HDD I had chosen. Said it was designed for 'business'. Went with a Seagate Barracuda that is 500Gb but is otherwise the same.

Ever thought about using a tv rather then a pc monitor?
Have the bonue of being able to watch tv and play xbox. (though you could probably do that on the monitor, I'm just sayin.)

make sure you look for a nice 2ms or low response time monitor Zak. When investing a $1000+ into gaming, you might as well go for something that does the job perfect.

Response time has all but become a non issue. It used to be an issue back with the early LCDs which were prone to ghosting, haven't heard much discussion about ghosting in a very long time.