Building a gaming rig.

[Mr F.]

The title says it all. Sink your teeth in, fellow PC gamers!

I am currently trying to put together a very decent gaming rig for around 800. Its been a long time since I last built a computer (About 5 years) and that was with parts lying around a friends house so I am no longer confident in my own abilities. With regards to specs, well, I want to be able to chew through next gen games on high settings, particularly stuff like Rome 2: Total War, and current gen games on maxed out settings, stuff like Skyrim, Empire TW, Napoleon TW, Shogun... you get the idea. I like total war games and I am sick of trying to play them on a high spec laptop that clocks 80 degrees C after about half an hour of Skyrim, even with an external cooling fan.

So... Yeah. I could do with help. Looking around some websites (http://www.ukgamingcomputers.co.uk/ for example and http://www.cyberpowersystem.co.uk/) and getting scared off by the endless specifications and reviews (Or lack of reviews) and I could do with some friendly advice. Probably would like to go for somewhere that builds a computer to spec or offers a decent computer at around that price, but if its a significant boost in power I would go through the whole building a computer from scratch, installing everything and whatnot.

Seen threads similar to this in the past and I know some people enjoy the challenge of building theoretical PC's on a budget (Plus looking over the old threads is not necessarily helpful considering the rapid price changes with regards to PC's.). One last note, I will be going for open office and not the microsoft suit of bullshit so that frees up about 100 pounds.

All help appreciated, cheers in advance. Also, just a preemptive thing, can we avoid any console v pc stuff? Yes, I know PC's are more expensive. Yes, I know I am "Not a real PC gamer" because I feel uncomfortable with building things myself any more. But lets keep this about the rigs we are currently using and theoretical rigs.

Also, to anyone who owns an Alienware X51, or any of the current gen Alienware Desktops, how is it running? (Yes, I am tempted to go for an Alienware.)

EDIT:

For American users that want to help out, 800.00 GBP = 1,244.31 USD

 

[Crazie_Guy]

Here's a very quick work-up, didn't spend too much time and only used newegg so I didn't exactly spend all day finding the best deals, but its a good computer for almost exactly 800 (by newegg prices as of this posting). It's a good quality Intel/Nvidia build with 8 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSHD (hybrid disk and solid state for HDD price/capacity with SSD loading time). You can shop for other cases to your taste of course.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157330

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130910

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104360

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178339

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075

 

[Mr F.]

Here's a very quick work-up, didn't spend too much time and only used newegg so I didn't exactly spend all day finding the best deals, but its a good computer for almost exactly 800 (by newegg prices as of this posting). It's a good quality Intel/Nvidia build with 8 GB RAM and a 500 GB SSHD (hybrid disk and solid state for HDD price/capacity with SSD loading time). You can shop for other cases to your taste of course.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157330

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130910

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104360

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178339

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075

See, this is why I love this site. Cheers man. I am sorta hoping that prices continue shifting downwards (Travelling before going back to Uni, not "Gap Yah" bullshit but I won't be in the UK till late September.) cause I wont be buying anything until late September and was even thinking of holding out till Christmas.

Which will be almost impossible considering the proximity of Rome 2, the fact that I want CoH 2 and the urge to play Empire on highest settings and stuff like that. But still. Cheers again man.

*looks through*

HOLY HELL. 8GB RAM FOR 70 DOLLARS? I have two things to say. Firstly: You americans have no idea how lucky you are price wise. Secondly, Holy hell that is cheap.

Your post has singlehandedly made me decide to go for building a computer myself. Even with the possible driver issues (More shit to research.)

Also, gonna add this into the edit:

800.00 GBP = 1,244.31 USD

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/


^use that website, i just customized it for UK for you so all the prices will reflect your currency, and it always finds the best deals for stuff related to you and it even is pretty good at making sure parts are compatible!

here is a basic list I made for you that is right under 800 GBP, it has all the necessary parts and it gives you a badass cpu and graphics card for long term enjoyment!

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pJhO

snip snip snip!

 

[vallorn]

Can I suggest that if you need detailed help we have a group for that
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/chat/PC-Builders-and-Hardware-Group

As is I would say Maverick's is the best you could probably go for. The only way you could get savings of any significance on that would be getting parts second hand from Ebay or something (Maybe some savings if you use a non windows OS). Although I would probably use savings like that to get a PSU of 700W so some is spare and maybe get a slightly better graphics card.

Although I might try and go for building a comparison AMD/Radeon rig for the sake of comparison in a bit...

EDIT: God Damn It. Why aren't there any PCIe 3.0 Mobos for an AM3+ socket!?

Double Edit With Bells On:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/Vallorn/saved/28jA

Differences from what I can see:

• 
  My CPU is faster and has twice as many cores However it's AMD V Intel so that might not translate properly. (Passmark [http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php] rates the AMD one at 8200 and the Intel one at 7121 if you were interested)
  Maverick's build has a better memory setup.
  I think the hard drives might be about equally good.
  The 7870 is rated at 4,243 on passmark [http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html] and the GTX660 is at 4112 so they are about as good.
  Not sure on the PSU front. Never used an XFX PSU but I know that Corsair are a good brand and that gives excess power for everything in the case.
  Optical drives do about the same.
  Same OS.
  My screen is SLIGHTLY bigger but apart from that they are about even.
  I splurged on a separate laser mouse and gaming keyboard while Maverick did the sensible thing and bought a bundle.
  I bought speakers with slightly more frequency range but slightly more expensive too.
  We both got cases without USB3.0 ports on them while our motherboards have those.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

EDIT: God Damn It. Why aren't there any PCIe 3.0 Mobos for an AM3+ socket!?

you know that is a bit odd...never quite realized that before.


OT: anyways, here is a decent AMD build (the graphics card is much better but the cpu is lacking compared to that i5 from the other list)

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pOPM

most of the same stuff, as those parts are the cheapest/most efficient for the price, just changing some things around and getting a few better parts for the buck.

 

[vallorn]

EDIT: God Damn It. Why aren't there any PCIe 3.0 Mobos for an AM3+ socket!?

you know that is a bit odd...never quite realized that before.


OT: anyways, here is a decent AMD build (the graphics card is much better but the cpu is lacking compared to that i5 from the other list)

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pOPM

most of the same stuff, as those parts are the cheapest/most efficient for the price, just changing some things around and getting a few better parts for the buck.

Huh. Interesting when I went for an AMD build mine turned out at almost the same spec wise but when you did it it seems you prioritized the money a bit differently. Well each to their own I guess but this is a pretty fun little game for building PCs.

Also my question as to PCIe3.0 and AM3+ remains >_< God Dammit why are most modern Radeon's 3.0 but not the modern AMD mobos? this makes no sense? *Pulls hair out*

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

EDIT: God Damn It. Why aren't there any PCIe 3.0 Mobos for an AM3+ socket!?

you know that is a bit odd...never quite realized that before.


OT: anyways, here is a decent AMD build (the graphics card is much better but the cpu is lacking compared to that i5 from the other list)

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/1pOPM

most of the same stuff, as those parts are the cheapest/most efficient for the price, just changing some things around and getting a few better parts for the buck.

Huh. Interesting when I went for an AMD build mine turned out at almost the same spec wise but when you did it it seems you prioritized the money a bit differently. Well each to their own I guess but this is a pretty fun little game for building PCs.

Also my question as to PCIe3.0 and AM3+ remains >_< God Dammit why are most modern Radeon's 3.0 but not the modern AMD mobos? this makes no sense? *Pulls hair out*

yeah it was just a couple things different, to be honest it wouldn't be too different overall, just a few things here and there for slight advantages depending on what you're doing.

but yes it is fun to play around with it! I do it in class for fun when the teacher is going over boring/old material, helps keep me awake.

I did some slight googling and haven't found any info on WHEN amd mobo's will come out with it, but for now there is VERY little to no difference going for it, here ya go:

edit:

as soon as i clicked post, i found this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131969

God dammit.

 

[sth1729]

I'm actually trying to build a computer myself, although I don't have as much care for high-end graphics, as long as it can run some newer games at 30+ frames on middling graphics settings i'm happy. So far the set-up I have for mine will run roughly $400 before case and power supply. Since i'm going for a more mid-tier approach you might want a higher quality graphics card and/or a board with multiple PCI slots that supports cross-fire with multiple graphics cards.

Board: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Corp-Motherboard-970A-G43/dp/B00B9BDB14/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1372868268&sr=1-2&keywords=amd+970
$70 before shipping

RAM: http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Desktop-Memory-CML8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B00569K7LM/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1373050151&sr=8-9&keywords=8gb%282x4gb%29+ddr3
$70 before shipping

Processor:

Eight-Core http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FX-8320-Eight-Core-Processor-FD8320FRHKBOX/dp/B009O7YU56/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1374542079&sr=1-1&keywords=amd+fx-6300+eight+core
$150 before shipping

Six-Core http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FX-Series-Six-Core-Processor-FD6300WMHKBOX/dp/B009O7YORK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
$120 before shipping

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125447&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=6146996&SID=u7g5ihv72b2w
$130 before shipping

Still haven't decided on a case or power supply but i'm expecting another $250 between the two, and $100 or so for a hard drive bringing the grand total to $850[allowing $100 for shipping cost].
I also already have a disc drive and spare OS so that cuts the cost by around $150 or so.
Also by the sound of your post you'll probably want a more powerful graphics cards since the one i'm probably gonna get is just a mid-tier card and you want something in the high-tier range.
May also want the six-core processor over the eight-core unless you plan on using some program to record as you play, although even then I kinda doubt you'll be needing the extra core for awhile.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

snip!

try these two, it adds up to little under 100 bucks and is exactly what you need for your build

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-blackbone

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx600m

way under 250 bucks

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

As you are in the UK I would recommend getting your parts of aria.co.uk as they tend to have a lot of stock discounted at reasonable prices and they're not all that expensive. Even if you don't feel like building they have some pretty decent pre-built systems available although they tend to cost quite a bit more than just building it for yourself.

It tends to work out cheaper to buy a full PC from one site as you don't have to pay as much on postage as opposed to buying off three or so different sites.

As far as parts go I'm not going to throw down a full list (as I can't really chose between intel or AMD atm) but I'd recommend this graphics card.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/AMD+Radeon/Radeon+HD+7870+Tahiti+LE/XFX+DD+Radeon+HD+7870+GHz+Edition+%28Tahiti+LE%29+2GB+GDDR5+Graphics+Card+%5BFX-787A-CNAC%5D+%2B+3+FREE+GAMES%21+?productId=55140


It comes with some free games, and is easily the best value for money card out there and is much faster than a standard 7870 while only being a TINY bit slower than a more expensive 7950.

 

[Joccaren]

Yeah, everyone here's pretty much have it down pat.
Highest performance CPU you'll need on the market [You can get better, that hits heavy overkill territory though], a decent GPU [If you can save up a bit more and bump the 660 to a 760, or the Radeon equivalent that would be better but the current suggestions are good], a high-mid range motherboard, and all the peripherals you'll need.
I'm personally an Intel/Nvidia person, as Nvidia's drivers are better and I've never had problems with Intel, whilst some of the lower end AMD CPUs I've used have been... No. People have had the opposite experiences though so it doesn't matter too much. So long as the benchmarks are similar, they should perform similar.

 

[Mr F.]

I fucking love you guys. You have provided an infinite level of help, which I really cannot thank you enough for. Looking over things I have realised I am going to drop a little bit more than intended. So, the current build I am looking at... (From a company called UK Gaming Computers, mostly down to the whole "I want a warranty and can upgrade the computer over the next few years.")

Case - Coolermaster CM Storm Enforcer (The case aint important. Thats just the case that the computer build I was looking at came with.)
Power Supply - Corsair TX650 V2 650W (650W seemed to be what the builds you guys have been putting forward required. So I guess this should be fine.)
Processor - AMD FX 6300 3.5GHz 6 Core (With regards to this processor, is it worth it? Or should I go down a step and use the i5)
Processor Cooler - Xigmatek Loki (Aftermarket cooler mostly due to fear. If I buy this monster, I don't want it to overheat and die on me. Also, 6 cores... Just worries me. Heh.)
RAM - 8GB Corsair DDR3 XMS3 1600MHz/PC12800 (Upped the ram on the standard build from 4gb to 8gb, Dunno if it is totally worth it but the price jump was not that huge for twice the ram.)
Motherboard - ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Graphics card - AMD/ATI Radeon HD 7950 3GB (Some of you have said the 7950 does not give that much more bang for buck.)
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 1TB Hard Drive 7200rpm 32MB Cache (Definitely need 1TB of space.)
Sound card - Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio (I really do not know where I stand on sound cards. I have had issues with poor ones in the past but it is something I really have no clue on.)
Optical Drive - Asus DRW-24B5ST 24x DVD/CD ± Re-Writer Black (I do not really need a blu ray player.)
Network card - Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps
Wireless Card - Asus N10 150MBPS (I know it sounds horrific, but due to the nature of student accommodation there is a very high chance I will be stuck gaming on wireless.)

Case fans - 1 x Xigmatek Extreme Performance Black (Pretty sure getting another fan is worth it.)

Software
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (Derp.)

The price, including the OS and building and everything else, comes in at £972.80

Thoughts? Aside from the fact that build doesn't include the price of a monitor, nor keyboard and mouse. Its getting hard to stick to my budget when I am also trying to get it built. But, well, at least I aint going for an Alienware. If anyone is still up for providing help, my "alternate" budget is now just anything below a grand. Also, if anyone knows any very good websites (UKGC seems to have very positive reviews and decent customer service.) then point me in the right direction.

Cheers again peopel.

 

[Pinkamena]

I fucking love you guys. You have provided an infinite level of help, which I really cannot thank you enough for. Looking over things I have realised I am going to drop a little bit more than intended. So, the current build I am looking at... (From a company called UK Gaming Computers, mostly down to the whole "I want a warranty and can upgrade the computer over the next few years.")

Case - Coolermaster CM Storm Enforcer (The case aint important. Thats just the case that the computer build I was looking at came with.)
Power Supply - Corsair TX650 V2 650W (650W seemed to be what the builds you guys have been putting forward required. So I guess this should be fine.)
Processor - AMD FX 6300 3.5GHz 6 Core (With regards to this processor, is it worth it? Or should I go down a step and use the i5)
Processor Cooler - Xigmatek Loki (Aftermarket cooler mostly due to fear. If I buy this monster, I don't want it to overheat and die on me. Also, 6 cores... Just worries me. Heh.)
RAM - 8GB Corsair DDR3 XMS3 1600MHz/PC12800 (Upped the ram on the standard build from 4gb to 8gb, Dunno if it is totally worth it but the price jump was not that huge for twice the ram.)
Motherboard - ASUS M5A97 R2.0
Graphics card - AMD/ATI Radeon HD 7950 3GB (Some of you have said the 7950 does not give that much more bang for buck.)
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 1TB Hard Drive 7200rpm 32MB Cache (Definitely need 1TB of space.)
Sound card - Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio (I really do not know where I stand on sound cards. I have had issues with poor ones in the past but it is something I really have no clue on.)
Optical Drive - Asus DRW-24B5ST 24x DVD/CD ± Re-Writer Black (I do not really need a blu ray player.)
Network card - Integrated 10/100/1000Mbps
Wireless Card - Asus N10 150MBPS (I know it sounds horrific, but due to the nature of student accommodation there is a very high chance I will be stuck gaming on wireless.)

Case fans - 1 x Xigmatek Extreme Performance Black (Pretty sure getting another fan is worth it.)

Software
Operating System - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (Derp.)

The price, including the OS and building and everything else, comes in at £972.80

Thoughts? Aside from the fact that build doesn't include the price of a monitor, nor keyboard and mouse. Its getting hard to stick to my budget when I am also trying to get it built. But, well, at least I aint going for an Alienware. If anyone is still up for providing help, my "alternate" budget is now just anything below a grand. Also, if anyone knows any very good websites (UKGC seems to have very positive reviews and decent customer service.) then point me in the right direction.

Cheers again peopel.

I've been building computers for about 7 years, and I'd like to give you a few tips.

1: The case matters. Cases of bad quality can have a number of issues, mainly bad airflow and resonance. The former can damage your components, the latter will amplify the noises coming from your harddrives or fans, and drive you crazy.

2: After a week, you are going to wish your computer was more silent. That is a fact no matter how silent it is, so it's a good idea to invest in low-noise fans and coolers off the bat. Noctua are industry leading when it comes to this. Their coolers might not look very fancy, but hey are very, very silent and some of the most efficient ones you can buy. I strongly recommend you switch your CPU cooler for the NH-u12p, and your case fans for some nf-f11.

3: Building it yourself is not hard. There are a thousands guides that will walk you through it, every component comes with manuals, and most of the time it's "put component A into slot B" and move on. Takes you about a day, and it's actually quite fun. The only tool you will need is a screwdriver. You are also going to save money on it, which you can use on monitors and other externals.

Also, I read that you were worried about the drivers. Don't be, Windows 7 does that stuff automatically most of the time. Only thing you should install manually is the motherboard drivers (comes on a CD with the MB) and the graphics card driver.

Hope this was useful! Good luck on your PC
tl;dr: Change your fans and CPU cooler.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

snip!

I've been building computers for about 7 years, and I'd like to give you a few tips.

1: The case matters. Cases of bad quality can have a number of issues, mainly bad airflow and resonance. The former can damage your components, the latter will amplify the noises coming from your harddrives or fans, and drive you crazy.

2: After a week, you are going to wish your computer was more silent. That is a fact no matter how silent it is, so it's a good idea to invest in low-noise fans and coolers off the bat. Noctua are industry leading when it comes to this. Their coolers might not look very fancy, but hey are very, very silent and some of the most efficient ones you can buy. I strongly recommend you switch your CPU cooler for the NH-u12p, and your case fans for some nf-f11.

3: Building it yourself is not hard. There are a thousands guides that will walk you through it, every component comes with manuals, and most of the time it's "put component A into slot B" and move on. Takes you about a day, and it's actually quite fun. The only tool you will need is a screwdriver. You are also going to save money on it, which you can use on monitors and other externals.

Also, I read that you were worried about the drivers. Don't be, Windows 7 does that stuff automatically most of the time. Only thing you should install manually is the motherboard drivers (comes on a CD with the MB) and the graphics card driver.

Hope this was useful! Good luck on your PC
tl;dr: Change your fans and CPU cooler.

agree to all this, especially point #3, it is so much fun! Can't suggest more than I have really, and Pinkamena hit the points about case design/airflow and fans.


also, I noticed OP you wanted the "warranty" and such on your parts...most parts come with a warranty from the manufacturer, so getting one from a pre-built place is basically them enticing you with something they get for free anyways. Not saying pre-built's are bad or you shouldn't do it, but I do highly recommend you building/getting your own parts so you know what you're dealing with and making sure you get the best deals on each part.