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This is the first PC I'll be assembling at least mostly by myself. I will be using it mostly for gaming and watching shows/movies. For each part I've tried to find one that gives good value for the price but I'm not looking for the absolute high-end stuff.
I'm in China so I'm using Taobao (Chinese Amazon/Ebay equivalent) to find the parts. Below is a list of what I have planned. I have converted the price to USD.
Processor Intel Core i5 3570K $216,60
Cooler Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO $31,29
Motherboard Asrock Z77 Extreme 3 $104,29
GPU Gigabyte GV-N660OC-2GD GTX660 $238,74
RAM HYPERX 8GB 1600MHZ DDR3 (2x4GB) $40,91
Case Antec One Hundred $47,97
Power Supply Antec VP-450 450W ATX $46,37
SSD Samsung 830 256 GB $210,18
TOTAL: $936,35
My formatting for this is fucked, hopefully it's readable.
My plan is to do some overclocking for the CPU. I decided I would just go with a sizable SSD and no HDD as I pretty much only need space for games. This PSU should be sufficient, right? I don't plan to run SLI. The case I believe is old but should do the job - I'm not looking for anything fancy. My resolution is 1920x1080.
Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Also tips (or links to) for assembling it would be welcome!
Thanks.
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PSU is sufficient but pretty mediocre at best, decent enough but not built to last. Everything else looks good, but I didn't check prices.
I recommend this this, Super Flower Golden Green. It's more a little more expensive at -> 56 USD, but it's a whole lot better. It's an upgrade from kinda borderline tier to upper enthusiast class.
edit: is the HyperX rated at 1.65V? You want 1.5V (or lower) RAM. Or at least, that's what modern systems are supposed to use—running at 1.65V is effectively overvolting and bad in the sense that overvolting for overclocking is bad for the system.
video:
+ Show Spoiler [build guide] +
Pretty much, plug stuff in the way it fits, and that's correct. Except chassis to motherboard connections. You need to read the motherboard manual to figure out which connectors go on which pins. Yes, the CPU retention mechanism makes a grinding noise when putting it in.
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On November 25 2012 17:50 Myrmidon wrote:+ Show Spoiler +PSU is sufficient but pretty mediocre at best, decent enough but not built to last. Everything else looks good, but I didn't check prices. I recommend this this, Super Flower Golden Green. It's more a little more expensive at -> 56 USD, but it's a whole lot better. It's an upgrade from kinda borderline tier to upper enthusiast class. edit: is the HyperX rated at 1.65V? You want 1.5V (or lower) RAM. Or at least, that's what modern systems are supposed to use—running at 1.65V is effectively overvolting and bad in the sense that overvolting for overclocking is bad for the system. video: + Show Spoiler [build guide] +http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcR8Fl8cwZk Pretty much, plug stuff in the way it fits, and that's correct. Except chassis to motherboard connections. You need to read the motherboard manual to figure out which connectors go on which pins. Yes, the CPU retention mechanism makes a grinding noise when putting it in.
Thanks for the advice. I definitely want a 100% solid PSU so I'll probably go with your recommendation. I double checked the RAM - what I initially looked at was indeed 1.65V, I'll switch that too. Thanks again.
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Could anyone help me (ie: just show me) a decent budget gaming computer (like around sub-500 if possible, if that's reasonable)? Or at least if possible give me a range of things for playing smoothly/streaming/battling. It's partially that other than reading guides and getting confused I don't have a clue what I need (even with benchmarks), but also that I don't really know what I'm even reading with any confidence.
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On November 25 2012 18:50 Angel_ wrote:
Could anyone help me (ie: just show me) a decent budget gaming computer (like around sub-500 if possible, if that's reasonable)? Or at least if possible give me a range of things for playing smoothly/streaming/battling. It's partially that other than reading guides and getting confused I don't have a clue what I need (even with benchmarks), but also that I don't really know what I'm even reading with any confidence.
Us knowing what resolution your monitor is would greatly help.
Assuming its a 1920 x 1080:
i3-3220
HD 7850 1GB
Other than that we really need to know where your buying the parts from.
Edit: You can't stream comfortably at sub 500 without cutting some extreme corners.
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On November 25 2012 03:42 Myrmidon wrote:I could've sworn there was a better shop in Finland, but I forget what it was... It's annoying to install an aftermarket heatsink later, so you may as well do it now. I agree with getting some decent tower heatsink now, no need for anything that fancy. Don't get an XFX Radeon this generation. Actually, for that matter, HD 7950 is pretty excessive for 1080p 60Hz gaming. I wouldn't go higher than 7870, but if you want a 7950, take the Gigabyte instead: http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/GV-R795WF3-3GDPower supply is good but way overkill. The 550W version (a different, worse design, but plenty good enough) is cheaper and still excessive: http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/P1-550S-XXB9Wtf is a 1200 euros build doing without an SSD? Please do yourself a favor and fix that: http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/SSDSC2CT120A3K5
Hi thanks for reply!
Yeah do not know much about shops in finland, but that one is close to my new apartment so i do not have to pay any postages.
I originally thought to get best possible gpu within budget, but since i wont be upgrading my monitor your reasoning makes a lot sense. And with savings i can get that SSD.
What would be good 7870? Gigabyte?
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On November 25 2012 19:04 iTzSnypah wrote:Show nested quote +On November 25 2012 18:50 Angel_ wrote:
Could anyone help me (ie: just show me) a decent budget gaming computer (like around sub-500 if possible, if that's reasonable)? Or at least if possible give me a range of things for playing smoothly/streaming/battling. It's partially that other than reading guides and getting confused I don't have a clue what I need (even with benchmarks), but also that I don't really know what I'm even reading with any confidence. Us knowing what resolution your monitor is would greatly help. Assuming its a 1920 x 1080: i3-3220 HD 7850 1GB Other than that we really need to know where your buying the parts from. Edit: You can't stream comfortably at sub 500 without cutting some extreme corners.
its 1600 x 900
I'll be getting most of my stuff from newegg and microcenter.
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I shall start looking things on this list up! and see if there's anything "close" on benchmarks I think. Thank you so much <3<3<3
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Hey everyone,
I want to build a new pc since my current one (5 years old) is slowly falling apart. I've done some research and this is the build I think is fairly good.
I was looking for a mid- to top end build, hopefully not actually having to buy a new pc in 2/3 years, but rather adding/ upgrading parts of it.
What does TL think, aware of any bottlenecks in this combination?
Software
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 64-Bit
Dutch 1 x
CPUs Socket 1155
Intel® Core™ i7-3770K
FC-LGA4, "Ivy Bridge" 1 x
Power supply
Thermaltake SMART M850W
4x PCIe, Kabel-Management, black 1 x
Behuizingen Big Tower
Thermaltake ARMOR REVO
Window-Kit, USB 3.0, HDD-dock, black 1 x
DVD-reWriters Serial-ATA
Samsung SH-222BB
Zwart 1 x
Motherboard Socket 1155
Intel® Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K
FW, RAID, Gb-LAN, Sound, ATX 1 x
Harddisks 3,5 inch SATA
Western Digital WD2002FAEX
SATA 600, Black 1 x
(2000 GB)
Memory DDR3-1600
Kingston HyperX 16 GB DDR3-1600 Quad-Kit
KHX1600C9D3K4/16GX, Genesis, XMP 1 x
Videocard NVIDIA PCIe
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified (04G-P4-3688-KR)
2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, SLI 1 x
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I'm also thinking about a dual monitor setup, adding one to my current 21". Any suggestions for size/ resolution?
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Most of Kingston HyperX kits are rated for 1.65v, which is less than ideal.
Z68 is an older chipset. Not even sure if Intel updated them to support Ivybridge and even if they did, your retailer might have older stock... Get a Z77 board.
You're missing an aftermarket heatsink.
I assume you want to play games right lol? In that case, you'll need a GPU...
You don't need a 850w unit, a quality ~500w is plenty for your typical single GPU configuration.
Do you seriously need a 2TB Caviar Black..?
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Hmm, I had some memory problems with my old pc, do you have any recommendations if the Kingston isn't that good?H
I thought this board supported Ivybridge, but to be sure I changed it to:
Motherboard Socket 1155
Intel® Desktop Board DZ77GA-70K
FW, RAID, Gb-LAN, Sound, ATX 1 x
An aftermarket heatsink? That's only necessary when you overclock isn't it? I'm not really tech-savvy (read: an idiot who just barely realizes that rpebuild towers are suboptimal)
And yes... A GPU would be useful...I was wondering why it was so cheap -.-
Graphics card NVIDIA PCIe
EVGA GeForce GTX 680 Classified (04G-P4-3688-KR)
2x DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, SLI 1 x
About the powersupply; my old rig had a 700W, but after 4/5 years now it's shortcircuiting when I connect my external harddrive.
And I might be planning on buying a second GeForce graphics card in ~2 years.
And the 2TB might be overkill, but I like overkill:D
Thanks for the feedback!♥
Edit: seeing as how expensive this is becoming, would it be a realistic option to grab my old GPU (GeForce GTX285), buy another one of those and crossfire them?
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K suffix processors are intended for overclocking, as is Z77 boards. If you're not overclocking than get a regular 3770. I assume you're going to be streaming, encoding, rendering, and other professional tasks that are well multi-threaded..? If that's not the case then you're wasting money the i7. If you're not overclocking than get a H77 or B75 board.
The Z77 70K is relatively high-end which a novice won't make full use of.
Well your old computer was old and shit, expecting a quality unit to perform the same as a shit unit is... illogical... USB does not run off the 12v rail, it runs off the 5v rail. The CPU and GPU (the two most power hungry components) run off the 12v rail. A non overclocked i7 is going to consume under 100w and even a flagship like the GTX 680 only consumes around 200w.
It's becoming unnecessarily expensive because you are throwing money away at components you don't understand and admittedly you like overkill and that's why you picked a 2TB Caviar Black... Picking the most expensive components does not futureproof your computer.
Doing SLI with an ancient GTX 285 is a bad idea..
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i5-3570k CPU $142.99
OCZ Solid State HDD 120 gb vertex $42.39
Kingston Technology HyperX 16GB Ram $19.09
ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel 7 Series Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155) $129.97
Sapphire HD 7870 OC 2GB PCI-E Video Card $230.36
I think I lucked out this weekend on my new comp. Still looking for a case i think im gonna go with the thermaltake esports (VN900A1W2N) for 44.99 not sure if i should go higher. I leave my comp on a lot, should i buy extra fans?
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You do not need extra fans to leave a computer on.
There's also a lot of cases to pick from..
Antec Three Hundred is $30, Bitfenix Merc Alpha is $30, HAF 912 is $30, and so on. Some may include mail in rebates though. If you're not looking for anything special and don't want to deal with mail in rebates, just get the Merc Alpha.
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sorry skyr, i should say. Leave the computer on with starcraft minimized, and sometimes league of legends, and other programs. Sometimes not minimized
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On November 26 2012 14:00 slained wrote:
sorry skyr, i should say. Leave the computer on with starcraft minimized, and sometimes league of legends, and other programs. Sometimes not minimized
Even with all of those, the computer would be at minimal load. I wouldn't worry about it.
To elaborate, even at full load, tons of case fans aren't exactly necessary (depending on your parts at least). While they're nice, you can certainly get by without buying extra ones.
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I have some extra money and really want to build my own desktop for my room, but this would be my first. I don't want to spend more then 1000$. This would be mostly for gaming. I don't have a monitor or an OS yet.
I figured this would be a good time to look for parts because of Cyber Monday, but I also have exams coming up and might even wait a month to build the computer - around christmas break. Would it be wiser to look for parts on/after boxing day?
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On November 26 2012 11:04 slained wrote:
i5-3570k CPU $142.99
OCZ Solid State HDD 120 gb vertex $42.39
Kingston Technology HyperX 16GB Ram $19.09
ASUS P8Z77-V LX Intel 7 Series Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA1155) $129.97
Sapphire HD 7870 OC 2GB PCI-E Video Card $230.36
I think I lucked out this weekend on my new comp. Still looking for a case i think im gonna go with the thermaltake esports (VN900A1W2N) for 44.99 not sure if i should go higher. I leave my comp on a lot, should i buy extra fans?
Where did you buy the CPU and RAM?
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was door crashers at tigerdirect, I work at bestbuy so I asked my manager to price match them and got even more =) Also I think he was suppose to give me a 8gb but ended up giving me the 16
On November 26 2012 14:04 Alryk wrote:Show nested quote +On November 26 2012 14:00 slained wrote:
sorry skyr, i should say. Leave the computer on with starcraft minimized, and sometimes league of legends, and other programs. Sometimes not minimized Even with all of those, the computer would be at minimal load. I wouldn't worry about it. To elaborate, even at full load, tons of case fans aren't exactly necessary (depending on your parts at least). While they're nice, you can certainly get by without buying extra ones.
edit: Suppose I do go over what you say minimal load. I am considering using virtual machines as well, what would be something just to make sure I don't overheat my computer. I'm just really frightened of doing so after investing so much.
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EPT
