I recognize that the frequency of these blogs must be getting old, but I have a SC2 Beta key and my computer can't run SC2, so I need a new computer. I also want to play Dragon Age/Fallout/MassEffect2 at pretty high quality and do some Photoshopping on this computer.

I'm pretty noob at this stuff, but I think I'm capable of building a computer and learn pretty quickly. I put this together just now:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=18855188

My initial budget was $1000 but if I can save a few bucks and still get a PC that'll satisfy my needs I'll take it.

Please tell me if there are any problems/ways to improve this current build, it'd be greatly, greatly appreciated!

BroOd

Austin10833 Posts

May 02 2010 19:16 GMT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.382596

combo on your processor and motherboard

semantics

10040 Posts

May 02 2010 19:22 GMT

I don't see anything too wrong with it although the roswell wlan is eh i don't trust Roswell to delever on the drivers. I'd get higher quality nic if i was going to game on wireless i wish i had recommendations but generally i've only had expirence with low quality shitty ones that i have to use the oem drivers, like for my airlink cards i use a RAlink driver becuase it's a ralink chip but airlink distributes. etc. the only high quality nic i have is in my laptop form intel.

TriniMasta

United States1323 Posts

May 02 2010 19:24 GMT

3+ gb of ram, at least 2.4 GHZ, and a graphic card that doesn't suck (mines is Nvidia 8500) should run any game smoothly

xmShake

United States1100 Posts

May 02 2010 19:26 GMT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

Get this power supply instead.

G0dly

United States450 Posts

May 02 2010 19:30 GMT

On May 03 2010 04:26 xmShake wrote:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

Get this power supply instead.

is there any specific reasoning behind why?

again, I'm kind of new and want to learn more about computers

also ty for the link to that combo

xmShake

United States1100 Posts

May 02 2010 19:36 GMT

On May 03 2010 04:30 G0dly wrote:

Show nested quote +

is there any specific reasoning behind why?

again, I'm kind of new and want to learn more about computers

also ty for the link to that combo

Better power efficiency (saves you money in your power bill), you don't need 650W of power, more reputable brand (both are fine but seasonic is amazing), saves you 5 bucks.

G0dly

United States450 Posts

May 02 2010 19:54 GMT

On May 03 2010 04:36 xmShake wrote:

Show nested quote +

Better power efficiency (saves you money in your power bill), you don't need 650W of power, more reputable brand (both are fine but seasonic is amazing), saves you 5 bucks.

hmm ok

btw, do you think it's worth it to upgrade the cpu to a phenom II? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

xmShake

United States1100 Posts

May 02 2010 20:09 GMT

On May 03 2010 04:54 G0dly wrote:

Show nested quote +

hmm ok

btw, do you think it's worth it to upgrade the cpu to a phenom II? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

It's not going to make a huge differences in gaming, the main difference would be in speed of encoding / decoding, basically how much you want to use photoshop. Another thing would be how long you plan on waiting to upgrade. Personally, it's probably not worth it. Just wait for awhile and then upgrade your cpu 1-3 years down the line if you feel the need, since the AM3 platform will last for awhile.

zgl

United States1055 Posts

May 02 2010 21:14 GMT

#10

Here is another suggestion. Sorry, newegg wish list isn't working for me.

Budget is a bit over $1000, differences:

1. Intel Xeon X3440 ( = cheaper Core i7 860 in disguise, 4 cores, 8 threads, awesome performance with TurboBoost and/or OC)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819117225

2. Appropriate motherboard to accommodate CPU change
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813128425

3. Lian-Li Case (aluminum = lighter, the fit and finish is far above the Antec 300)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112249 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112218

4. G.Skill Eco RAM instead of Rip Jaw (because Core i5/i7 platforms really benefit from lower voltage ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231319

5. Seasonic M12II 520w (modular version of the S12II suggested above)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817151093

Also, down the road, buy a nice heatsink like Prolimatech Megahalems or Thermalright Venomous X.

mahnini

United States6862 Posts

May 02 2010 21:48 GMT

#11

looks fine. if it's mostly for gaming and not thread heavy apps (video encoding, 3d rendering, etc) i3 530 will be better value but has less long-term upgradability aka dead socket next year. the AMD performs worse in games but the 4 physical cores are better for the apps listed above and the AM3 socket will upgradeable up to at least bulldozer (mid-late 2011).