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@JJGamer
Prices taken from newegg, but anything like this would be fine:
$224.99 - Intel Core i5-2500K
$159.99 - ASRock P67 EXTREME4
$242.99 - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 1GB
$20.99 - SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AB
$99.98 - COOLER MASTER HAF 922
$69.99 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F31TB
$79.99 - Antec TruePower New TP-650 650W
$84.99 - Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB
Total $983.91 with $25 in MIR. You can then pick up a monitor with the rest.
Edit: Ninja'd by Skyr  Practically the same builds too.
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Thanks skyr and deconduo for the prompt response!
Another question: is there a particular monitor you guys recommend? I want one that's 23" +
Also I'm thinking of getting a SSD as well. I kinda like how it boosts up your boot time.
Let me know what you guys think.
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Quick easy question:
I have to RMA my GTX 460 768mb and only have a friend's ATI X1300 PRO 256mb to use as a replacement. Does it play Starcraft 2?
I'm hoping my X4 3.41mhz 2.6NB CPU can shoulder most of the loud. Is it possible for me to play SC2 on low settings without a GPU at all?
Thanks
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At 1920x1080? Most likely not. At 1280x1024, it's possible but you'll most likely lag.
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^ At 1280x768. And on everything at lowest settings, including the Nvidia or ATI control panel.
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5930 Posts
On May 04 2011 05:52 JJGamer wrote:
Thanks skyr and deconduo for the prompt response!
Another question: is there a particular monitor you guys recommend? I want one that's 23" +
Also I'm thinking of getting a SSD as well. I kinda like how it boosts up your boot time.
Let me know what you guys think.
If TN, any monitor within the last two years will basically be more or less the same. TN panels have been perfected more or less.
If IPS, the Dell Ultrasharp is the only option that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Dell's quality control is awful though so get ready to play with Dell tech support, which can range from awesome to fucking terrible.
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I'm helping my brother build a desktop for himself that he would like to run SC2 on ultra settings, but probably won't use it for anything else CPU intensive. He wants it to last a good number of years before having to upgrade, although I doubt he will be expecting to play many demanding games in the future on max settings. I'd like some feedback on what to recommend for him (he knows jack all about computers)
CPU: I was originally thinking an i5 2500, but if I could cut down on costs even more he would appreciate it. An AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.4GHz seems like it would do him well for quite a long time, so I was hoping to cut down on $60 there. Would it really be worth it to get an i5?
GPU: I'm looking at the same boundaries for the GPU as well. We will also need a new monitor, so I'm sure we will be playing at 1920x1080. I don't think he's super picky with FPS levels, but he would probably appreciate 40+ FPS late game in 3v3s (maybe even 4v4?) since he mainly plays team and custom games, including pretty unit heavy ones like tug-o-war, etc. Would a GTX 4xx cut it for this? 768Mb? 1Gb? Worth investing in a 5xx? ATi 6xxx series would be better instead?
RAM: Going to just go with 4GB DDR3 1333MHz. He won't be streaming or anything, just maybe iTunes and a browser or two opening whilst gaming. We can add on this later if he thinks he could use it.
PSU: I'm thinking a good quality 550W should cut it, probably a little more than he needs just to be safe. Is it really worth saving 5$ or what have you to drop down to a 500 or 520W?
Case: We will decide on this later, might be getting a decently sized used case for free.
Mobo: Depends on the CPU choice of course. If you think it's worth it to go with a i5 2500 then H61/67 it is since he won't be overclocking. If not then an inexpensive quality AM3 board. I don't know anything about AM3+ really, but isn't it supposed to support the Bulldozer CPUs while being compatible with the current AM3 chips? If this is the case then maybe get an AM3+ mobo so he has the option to upgrade in the future easily?
HDD: Got some free 250GB/160GB 7200RPM (3Gbps?) HDDs from work that I was just going to throw in there to use. He won't need more than 400GB for sure. I don't think he would be interested in an SSD for the price they cost, so no problems here really.
I'll be picking out a DVD drive as well, yes, but no questions there either.
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For the larger battles, the CPU matters more, and actually a Core i3-2100 is better than a Phenom II X4. So either save money with the i3-2100 or go with something like a i5-2300/2400/2500. For all those custom games and lategame multiplayer, I think a Core i5-2x00 is worth the cost.
As for the GPU, the second number (from the left) is much more important than the first number. GTX 460 destroys GTX 550 Ti, for example. GTX 460 768MB is enough. However, the Sapphire HD 5850 Xtreme has better performance for a similar price ($140) and power consumption:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102932
You can go lower on the power supply as long as it's decent quality. A i5-2500 with a GTX 460 would only take some 250W on full load. With the Phenom II X4, think maybe 50-60W more at full load or so, depending on which one. But at current prices, I'd just get an Antec Earthwatts Green 500D (way overkill and safe) for $50:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035
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Didn't really look through the selection too much. $5 is always nice, thanks.
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Thanks for the fast answers earlier.
So, I've made some adjustments. If you missed the first post, I'm going for a gaming comp to play mostly SC2 on ultra while streaming(if I start that), but also be able to handle new games for a good bit, and generally hold off upgrades for at least 2 years, longer if possible.
Semi-Final build:
Core i5 2500k - $180
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Asrock P67 Extreme4 - $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229
GIGABYTE GV-R687OC-1GD Radeon HD 6870- $210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125357
209.99
Coolermaster HAF 912 - $60 (The reviews for the 6870 GPU say its a 10.5'' card, anyone know is this case can fit that?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769
G.Skill 4GB RAM - $41
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231310
XFX Core Edition PRO450W (P1-450S-XXB9) 450W - $55($45 after mail-in)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207012
Windows 7 Home Premium - $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
DVD Drive - $21
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 120mm CPU Cooler - $35(Is this needed/good/adequate, I have no idea)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
ASUS VH238H Black 23" Full HD HDMI LED Backlight LCD Monitor w/Speakers 250 cd/m2 ASCR 50,000,000:1 - 180(170 after mail-in)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236117
$1087 before tax/mail-in - Just slightly higher than my initial budget, but not too bad with some of the upgrades I made with CPU/Mobo.
What do you guys think?
Any compatibility issues?
Thanks!
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For Hard drives. Is there much of a performance increase from SATA 3.0gb/s to 6.0gb/s?
My cheap h61 mobo only reads 3.0gb/s so i got a HD with 3.0 but even if i had a mobo that read 6.0gb/s, would my hard drive be capable of handling the 6gb/s. sata connection speed irrelavent without ssd?
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@Tin_Foil
If you're going to do CrossfireX, you may want to get a 550 or 650w power supply (I'm assuming you are since that's the only reason why you would select an Extreme4 over a Pro3).
A heatsink is needed if you are going to be overclocking (which you are since you selected a 2500k).
You'll also want a dual channel kit (2x2 or 2x4). Not sure why you insist on using a single stick even though you upgraded to a motherboard with 4 DIMM slots.
Yes, the HAF series of cases along with many other modern cases from Antec, Coolermaster, Lian Li, Corsair, etc will all have enough room for 11" cards.
@HCmystic
Harddrives are not fast enough to utilize 3Gb/s or 6Gb/s so it does not matter which interface they use.
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@skyR
I didn't know about the pro3, I'll go with that, thanks.
I'll look into adding a heatsink. I still don't know much about overclocking, but everybody keeps saying it's not hard, and has alot of benefits, so I think I'll go for it. Is there anything else needed to overclock?
Are dual channels better? 2x2 > 1x4? I thought that single sticks were better, but if they're not, then I'll go with a 2x2. Would upgrading to 2x4 be worth the cost? I think I remember someone saying that 4 was plenty, and yu can't tell too much between 4 and 8, but I don't know too much about that.
Without crossfire is the 450w PS good?
Thanks for the help
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Yes, the XFX 450w has plenty of power for a single card configuration.
2x2 is better than 1x4. 4GB is plenty for gaming but 8GB will help with alt-tabing and streaming. Newegg has had alot of 2x4GB RAM promotions over the last few days so it would be worth it if you could get it when its at $60 - $75. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
Nothing else is required to overclock. You just want an aftermarket heatsink such as the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ to reduce the noise levels and temperatures. Overclocking is extremely easy as you might have read. You just go into the BIOS and increase the multiplier to somewhere between 42-50 and the motherboard will take care of the rest. But you do have to stress-test it with software such as Prime95 after overclocking to ensure that voltages and temperatures are reasonable.
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Apparently the AsRock P67 Pro3 has some easy mode OC tool called OC Tweaker in the UEFI setup. It has profiles already built in for overclocking to 4.0, 4.2, 4.4, 4.6, and 4.8 GHz. Personally I would always check what their automatic voltage settings are and see if lower volts are still stable, but I think that should work. Just set up the 4.4 GHz profile and forget about it.
Benefits are...your CPU runs faster. I'm not sure if a lot of people overclocking their CPUs really get any added utility out of it, so don't feel like it's something you have to pay for and have to do. When you're using a computer normally, when are you ever maxing out at least one CPU core? That may be relatively rare for some people. (except when playing SC2 lol)
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EPT
