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Hi! So I'm looking to build a new computer in the near future, as my current one is very old and cannot run anything that's coming out lately.
My problem is that I haven't been following ANYTHING at all in terms of models/what's good/what companies are making good products these days, so I'm looking for your help!
I'm looking to spend around $500-$700, nothing too major, just a decent computer that will be able to run new games for the next few years, hopefully giving me the best bang for the buck.
I'm seriously very clueless on anything at all that is out right now in the current market, so if anyone could help out by suggesting some good budget parts that equal my price range I would love you forever! I'm competent on how to build computers, just haven't been keeping up with the market. ;p
(As a side note, I'd generally like to avoid ATI for videocards, and I'd prefer AMD over Intel but I don't really mind either way. I also don't need harddrive/case/keyboard/mouse things, basically just all the core parts, CPU, mobo, videocard, PSU, RAM.)
I'll also edit this or make a new blog with a list of things that I've found for what I want to build, which I'm going to start doing right now as I wait for people's replies!
Thanks a bunch!! ^_^
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ATI is making the best cards atm.
If you want something with a good performance / price ratio:
Athlon II x4 or Phenom II x3
Ati 4870 512mb
If you have more money:
Phenom II x4
4870 vapor-X
or 4890
or 5770 ( has Dx11 )
PSU -> a Corsair 450W modular ? or 520W.
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ATI 4870 is a VERY solid purchase, I second that one. Phenom x4(or x3 -- which games really use 4 cores anyway)is plenty enough to run most anything.
I'm not sure if you are looking for a monitor, but I 100% recommend this one : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001317
23" monitor but with 2048 x 1152 resolution. :D it rapes so hard.
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On November 04 2009 02:42 Boblion wrote:
ATI is making the best cards atm.
If you want something with a good performance / price ratio:
Athlon II x4 or Phenom II x3
Ati 4870 512mb
If you have more money:
Phenom II x4
4870 vapor-X
or 4890
or 5770 ( has Dx11 )
PSU -> a Corsair 450W modular ? or 520W.
This is debatable. Their top end cards are Slightly better than nVidia's but that doesn't mean their mid range(what this guy is looking for) is better. GTX260s are pimp right now for an affordable computer(~200). Currently I'm running a GTX280.
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Well I don't know much about the current prices and hardware, but just remember to not care too much about your processor unless you are running some mad crazy processor hogs, gaming not included (assuming you have the other req hardware to back it up).
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On November 04 2009 03:03 iSiN wrote:Show nested quote +On November 04 2009 02:42 Boblion wrote:
ATI is making the best cards atm.
If you want something with a good performance / price ratio:
Athlon II x4 or Phenom II x3
Ati 4870 512mb
If you have more money:
Phenom II x4
4870 vapor-X
or 4890
or 5770 ( has Dx11 )
PSU -> a Corsair 450W modular ? or 520W.
This is debatable. Their top end cards are Slightly better than nVidia's but that doesn't mean their mid range(what this guy is looking for) is better. GTX260s are pimp right now for an affordable computer(~200). Currently I'm running a GTX280.
lol no it isn't only an Nvidia fan boy can say this.
Nvidia is getting raped at every range. Actually i think that the 4870 rapes the mid-low range even harder than the 58xx rape the high range. Its price/performance ratio is unmatched.
Better than the GTX260 and 40$ cheaper lol.
The 4890 is only 20$ more expensive than the GTX260 ...
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Intel i5 - 750
4GB DDR3
Any decent P55 mobo
graphic card - seriously for most people a 4870 or even 4850 is enough.
G.Skill 64GB SSD or Velociraptor 150GB for primary drive
WD 1TB for storage ( Black, Blue, Green doesn't really matter, 5400rpm not going to make a different for storing files.)
Seasonic S12 ENERGY+ Series 550W Power Supply - Is this modular?
Lian Li Lancool Dragon Lord PC-K56 Black - Mid Tower, anyone recommending a full tower needs to be slapped.
I would cut back on GPU and cooler atm and source them later when 58xx drops in price.
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Phenom X4 and i5 are all pretty decent value atm.
I would seriously invest in a SSD or velociraptor. The difference is night and day.
PSU and Case are two often overlooked areas. IMO you should spend generously as they are two components that don't get changed very often and a PSU plays a very big part in system stability.
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What are disadvantages of a full tower in your opinion? seeing as how you want to slap someone who would recommend one?
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Decent AMD Phenom II recommendation.
i5 750 that compets against AMD
AMD's 945 is inferior but don't let that fool you, i5 750's extra juice won't mean jack for gaming. The extra money that you save can be put towards a SSD or a better graphics.
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On November 04 2009 03:53 v[1.8]c wrote:
What are disadvantages of a full tower in your opinion? seeing as how you want to slap someone who would recommend one?
Have you seen a full tower in real life? It's HUUUUGE.
If that doesn't spell douche, I don't know what will lol.
Actually, I shouldn't slap people, full tower is obviously great (you get extra rooms for working with cables.), I just think that a mid tower is enough.
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I'm currently running a midtower and will be getting a full tower as my next comp. Most mid towers are only capable of fitting at most 5 harddrives and usually this actually means 3 or 4 (other stuff being in the way, vidcard, sound, etc). A full tower simply has more room overall and will allow for a wider range of modification (SATA bay converter for hotswapping for example, or fan controllers, cards readers, etc) More room being in the case also leads to possibly lower temperature due to the huge amount of air and fans moving them around. Obviously this meant you wont be able to lug it to a LAN party or such (unless you're pretty determined) but if he's not planning to do that in the first place, a full tower is recommended (unless pricing is an issue)
(I have ~3tb of storage in my comp and still running out fast, so I will be requiring a lot more harddrive slots so a full tower is much better for me. This is why I'd recommend a full tower)
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On November 04 2009 03:53 haduken wrote:Decent AMD Phenom II recommendation. i5 750 that compets against AMD AMD's 945 is inferior but don't let that fool you, i5 750's extra juice won't mean jack for gaming. The extra money that you save can be put towards a SSD or a better graphics.
Jeez dollar is so cheap 
Also there is a VAT in the us ?
-> % ?
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Eh? VAT?
I don't know, I live in Australia. The configs are North American prices. Maybe you are talking about sales tax that gets slapped on top. I believe the lists are final prices which includes sales tax.
USA gets the best of everything, more choices, cheaper prices, I have to pay 15% export + 10% gst on top of everything
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i7 920 config - Probably the best future-proofing rig; if you believe in future proofing.
More than enough for gaming; if not, buy another 58xx when prices drop. I wouldn't, I rather get an Intel X25-M SSD, North American prices are like $250ish and it is an all around upgrade, not just gaming.
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On November 04 2009 04:04 v[1.8]c wrote:
I'm currently running a midtower and will be getting a full tower as my next comp. Most mid towers are only capable of fitting at most 5 harddrives and usually this actually means 3 or 4 (other stuff being in the way, vidcard, sound, etc). A full tower simply has more room overall and will allow for a wider range of modification (SATA bay converter for hotswapping for example, or fan controllers, cards readers, etc) More room being in the case also leads to possibly lower temperature due to the huge amount of air and fans moving them around. Obviously this meant you wont be able to lug it to a LAN party or such (unless you're pretty determined) but if he's not planning to do that in the first place, a full tower is recommended (unless pricing is an issue)
(I have ~3tb of storage in my comp and still running out fast, so I will be requiring a lot more harddrive slots so a full tower is much better for me. This is why I'd recommend a full tower)
Of course but that's assuming that the OP will keep collections of HD rips (or pron).
I have 2 x 1TB and that's more than enough and I'm the guy that leech from newsgroup 24x7
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While I believe in futureproof-ing a machine, I don't really buy the value of SSDs for that, or rather, I feel like that at the moment purchasing SSD would be against the very idea of it. Considering that we are seeing more consumer oriented SSDs, why go for the extreme solution in an Intel SSD? Considering that the market, in comparison to GPU and CPU, is really lacking clear information, to make such a purchase now feels rather odd to me. Even if nothing is going to challenge Intel's position at the top of the line, the prices of less capable certainly are getting much more competitive. Considering the budget range, it is imo more sensible to go after the other areas and then eventually come back to shop for high value consumer level SSD.
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On November 04 2009 04:19 haduken wrote:Eh? VAT? I don't know, I live in Australia. The configs are North American prices. Maybe you are talking about sales tax that gets slapped on top. I believe the lists are final prices which includes sales tax. USA gets the best of everything, more choices, cheaper prices, I have to pay 15% export + 10% gst on top of everything
VAT: value added tax.
20% in France ( Wish i was living in Andorra and not just going there to buy Alcohol >.< )
Had my comp for ~ 570 euros last month ... Could have been ~ 460 euros without tax T-T
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On November 04 2009 04:51 Ecael wrote:
While I believe in futureproof-ing a machine, I don't really buy the value of SSDs for that, or rather, I feel like that at the moment purchasing SSD would be against the very idea of it. Considering that we are seeing more consumer oriented SSDs, why go for the extreme solution in an Intel SSD? Considering that the market, in comparison to GPU and CPU, is really lacking clear information, to make such a purchase now feels rather odd to me. Even if nothing is going to challenge Intel's position at the top of the line, the prices of less capable certainly are getting much more competitive. Considering the budget range, it is imo more sensible to go after the other areas and then eventually come back to shop for high value consumer level SSD.
The major doubts regarding SSD at the moment are TRIM support and write degradation and in both area Intel is ahead (well, not so much for trim but they are releasing firmwares.)
Consumer SSD using indix controllers are great and very competitive, I only recommend Intel SSD as it is the only SSD accepted for use by Linus Torvald (I read his blog)  and X25-M 80GB is not that much more expensive (in terms of cost per GB)
Regardless of the state of SSD, one thing is certain. random read do not degrade and this is why it is a good purchase.
To each its own, if you don't feel that SSD is good value at the moment due to the write degradation then wait.
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if you can i would wait till Q1 next year i7 930, c3 stepping phenom iis, and i3/i5 duals should be out. a lot more options. 
though right now phenom ii prices have sharply declined. a 955 BE looks mighty appetizing.
i read somewhere that ssds would never replace traditional hdds for the consumer. just look at the rate hdd space is growing and how the price is staying relatively the same. within the last few months we've gone from 1tb to 2tb and 1tb can be had for $90. it might not be ssd fast but it's hardly a slouch.
also there is no where anywhere in the price range where nvidia beats ati. you can get a 4870 for $120 ffs.
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Agreed, but that doesn't mean SSD won't have a niche either. At that, I see there simply being more room for solutions using both SSD and traditional HDD, like what Haduken said. Heck, that's what I am waiting for too 
I guess I worded it poorly though, I actually don't have much in terms of doubts about TRIM support and write degradation, what I do have doubts about is the value and price for performance. Kingston made some notes about how they are going to release $80 (post rebate) 40g ssds by Thanksgiving, nice consumer boot drive option, even mainstream. This year thus far has seen the pace in companies' releases and announcements in the area shoot up. So why do we really want to buy a product when the hype is getting around instead of wait and shop is the question I am really posing.
To stick closer to what the thread is about though, what Haduken has listed all look pretty good, if you like the ssd idea, then make some downgrades in some areas as necessary to fit in the budget or simply wait a bit and go with those 5.4k rpm green storage drives for the moment being.
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tomshardware is hardly a good source for information. They took bribes from manufactures and rig their own tests to biase against vendors -_-
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On November 04 2009 06:18 haduken wrote:
tomshardware is hardly a good source for information. They took bribes from manufactures and rig their own tests to biase against vendors -_-
Sources ? ( Just for curiosity, i get infos on another site anyway )
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low storage ssds are highly impractical though. modern day operating systems (vista and 7) already take 12gb+ of space. 80gb even if it's just a system drive can be filled in a flash. at the current moment they just dont seem to be worth the money.
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On November 04 2009 06:27 mahnini wrote:
low storage ssds are highly impractical though. modern day operating systems (vista and 7) already take 12gb+ of space. 80gb even if it's just a system drive can be filled in a flash. at the current moment they just dont seem to be worth the money.
Though more often than not you'd be moving a good amount of the files to the storage drive anyway, 80gb is probably going to be more than enough. We'll see how the progression on ssds go though, I was pretty interested by that deal from Kingston, but I also think that there is a good amount of room left for development before I can justify switching in. For now I'll just run on my trusty caviar black
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On November 04 2009 06:27 mahnini wrote:
low storage ssds are highly impractical though. modern day operating systems (vista and 7) already take 12gb+ of space. 80gb even if it's just a system drive can be filled in a flash. at the current moment they just dont seem to be worth the money.
Not true. You aren't supposed to fill that drive with things like music or movies that take up a lot of space but require little bandwidth. All that's need to be on an SSD is the OS, your software and 2-3 of your favorite games. Then there will be plenty of room to boot.
You would be hard pressed to find 60 GB worth of software that you just can't live without and need top performance for (games excluded of course).
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An alternative to a SSD would be building a RAID0. I have that. 2*250GB joined together for almost twice the speed of a single drive. Plenty of space for OS, programs, games, and even some backups from the data drive. It's hard to compare to my old comp because all the hardware is new, but loading times in games are crazy fast now.
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On November 04 2009 07:16 Sadistx wrote:Show nested quote +On November 04 2009 06:27 mahnini wrote:
low storage ssds are highly impractical though. modern day operating systems (vista and 7) already take 12gb+ of space. 80gb even if it's just a system drive can be filled in a flash. at the current moment they just dont seem to be worth the money. Not true. You aren't supposed to fill that drive with things like music or movies that take up a lot of space but require little bandwidth. All that's need to be on an SSD is the OS, your software and 2-3 of your favorite games. Then there will be plenty of room to boot. You would be hard pressed to find 60 GB worth of software that you just can't live without and need top performance for (games excluded of course).
i have an 80gb system drive but it's not ssd. that's precisely what i do and i currently have about 8gb left of free space after uninstalling 3 programs that i would like to use. with the OS at 15 gb and modern games at 7gb a piece you're looking at half your harddrive gone with just games + OS. if you factor in productivity software that you use it'll put you very close if not over your 80gb.
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Thanks everyone for your responses! I think I can build something pretty good now from the suggestions everyone's given. ^_^
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