Building a new PC.

Theminimanx

Positively Insane
Mar 14, 2011
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So after deciding to upgrade to windows 7, I realized that many of my games need 4 gigs of RAM instead of 2. And since my motherboard doesn't have that many RAM slots, I would need to replace it, and by extension, replace pretty much everything else in my rig as well. So I figured this would be as good a time as any to buiild and entirely new rig.

Unfortunately, I lack the technical know-how of which parts are any good. Which brings me to you, fellow escapists. Can you recommend me a reasonably high-end rig (let's say battlefield 3, 1920 x 1080, ultra settings, 30 fps), preferably with room to upgrade without having to replace my motherboard again.

The absolute limit I'm willing to spend would be ?800 (around £650 or $1000) but I'd like to keep the price lower than that, so I would have some money left to spend on actual games. A new mouse and keyboard will have to be factored into that price, because I'm selling the entirety of my old rigs to my parents. Recommendations on a good 1080p monitor are also welcome, but don't need to be factored into the price, because my parents will buy it for me.

TL:DR I want to buy a new high-end gaming rig and I need your help deciding the specs.

EDIT: Also inb4 "Yay, it's this thread again."
 

Kordie

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Oct 6, 2011
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I am kinda in the same boat, need more RAM, and that means new mobo and CPU. So I too would welcome some advice for my next upgrade that wont break the bank. For me, I'm using an intel core 2 2.66ghz processor and sitting on 2 gigs of DDR2 RAM.

For the OP I am not sure about the rest of your rig, but I have heard good things about the Radeon HD 6850 videocard as far as price to performance goes. You can check it out among others ( http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html ) It is in the 2700 rating range.
 

Theminimanx

Positively Insane
Mar 14, 2011
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Matthew94 said:
You can just buy 1 4GB stick or 2 2GB sticks. If you are using DDR3, RAM is very cheap.

If you are using DDR2 it is probably worth upgrading.

Also, no need for the inb4. Most people here are happy to help you out with a new rig.
Well, windows 7 isn't the only reason I decided to upgrade. You see, while modern games run just fine on my current small monitor, I need a bigger monitor even be able to read the text in games like shogun 2. And bigger screens require better rigs.

Ah, speccy just finished it's magic and it turns out I have DDR 2.
 

number2301

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Apr 27, 2008
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£650 is almost exactly what I spent and I got -

i5 3570k
8Gb Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz RAM
MSI 7850 Twin Frozr
MSI Z77a GD65 Motherboard
Corsair TX650M PSU

You can't really go wrong with that set up. Although if I was doing it again I think I'd save a couple of quid and go for a the none M version of the PSU. The M is semi modular which just seems to mean it isn't half as neat as my shitty old PSU.

You could shave a bit of money off the motherboard and still be fine, the GD65 is a bit overkill for me as I'm not a big overclocker.

The GPU could easily be swapped out for a 560Ti 448 core if you prefer green to red and want to save a bit of cash.
 

Theminimanx

Positively Insane
Mar 14, 2011
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Matthew94 said:
There is this website where I ordered my previous graphics card, but I haven't found a way to make the text appear in anything other than dutch.
http://www.zercom.nl/
I'll search around for some more and I'll let you know if I find any.
EDIT: On second thought, just give me the names of the parts, I'm sure I'll find some place where I can get them for cheap.
 

Kordie

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Oct 6, 2011
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Theminimanx said:
Matthew94 said:
There is this website where I ordered my previous graphics card, but I haven't found a way to make the text appear in anything other than dutch.
http://www.zercom.nl/
I'll search around for some more and I'll let you know if I find any.
http://www.newegg.com is good for finding parts
 

Kordie

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Oct 6, 2011
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Matthew94 said:
Kordie said:
Theminimanx said:
Matthew94 said:
There is this website where I ordered my previous graphics card, but I haven't found a way to make the text appear in anything other than dutch.
http://www.zercom.nl/
I'll search around for some more and I'll let you know if I find any.
http://www.newegg.com is good for finding parts
We all know that newegg is big with the dutch, you know, seeing as it only ships in North America.
I guess I got it wrong why you were looking for a shops page. I gathered that he just wanted an english website that he could compare specs on.
 

.No.

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Dec 29, 2010
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WaitWHAT said:
Could you give us a rough budget, please? That'll be really helpful for deciding what sort of parts to put together.
"The absolute limit I'm willing to spend would be ?800 (around £650 or $1000) but I'd like to keep the price lower than that, so I would have some money left to spend on actual games. A new mouse and keyboard will have to be factored into that price."
From the OP.
 

VladG

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Aug 24, 2010
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number2301 said:
£650 is almost exactly what I spent and I got -

i5 3570k
8Gb Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz RAM
MSI 7850 Twin Frozr
MSI Z77a GD65 Motherboard
Corsair TX650M PSU

You can't really go wrong with that set up. Although if I was doing it again I think I'd save a couple of quid and go for a the none M version of the PSU. The M is semi modular which just seems to mean it isn't half as neat as my shitty old PSU.

You could shave a bit of money off the motherboard and still be fine, the GD65 is a bit overkill for me as I'm not a big overclocker.

The GPU could easily be swapped out for a 560Ti 448 core if you prefer green to red and want to save a bit of cash.
That should give you more than enough power to max out BF3, but here's a tip, avoid MSI at all costs. They have incredibly bad components. Take this from a guy who's worked warranty at a major IT retailer. MSI has by far the highest percentage of faulty equipment that goes into service of any major manufacturer.
 

VladG

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Aug 24, 2010
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Matthew94 said:
Theminimanx said:
Matthew94 said:
There is this website where I ordered my previous graphics card, but I haven't found a way to make the text appear in anything other than dutch.
http://www.zercom.nl/
I'll search around for some more and I'll let you know if I find any.
EDIT: On second thought, just give me the names of the parts, I'm sure I'll find some place where I can get them for cheap.
Due to the way intel does things, you will have to get a new motherboard if you wish to upgrade in the future. This is less likely with AMD but they aren't worth getting at the moment.
Sure they are, just don't go for the A6 and A8 cpus, those are crap. Phenoms are awesome value for money, especially if gaming is what you want out of your rig.

Actually let me look up an AMD rig for you real quick. Standby for edit.

http://www.amazon.de/Sapphire-Radeon-HD6850-Grafikkarte-Speicher/dp/B0048027IQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340523269&sr=8-1 (it's only slightly weaker than the 7850 but at nearly half the price right now. This gives you more than enough power for now, and some cash saved for an upgrade a year or two from now)

http://www.amazon.de/970-Extreme4-Mainboard-Prozessor-Speicher/dp/B0058HUQJ0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340523176&sr=8-2 (very good mobo, Asrock is Asus' budget division - don't be afraid, they have very good tech, they save on having a very basic box package - you should have everything you need from your old pc anyway)

http://www.amazon.de/Corsair-Vengeance-Arbeitsspeicher-PC1600-DDR3-RAM/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=pd_bxgy_computers_img_c

http://www.amazon.de/AMD-Phenom-Black-Edition-Prozessor/dp/B002SRQ214/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1340523517&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.de/Corsair-TXM-Serie-PC-Netzteil-Watt/dp/B005DPBAT2/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1340523642&sr=1-2 (this gives you room to upgrade, maybe a crossfire/sli config, and it offers good safety and quality components)


I used Amazon.DE because I figure it might have very similar prices. Either way, you can look up those components wherever you like.

The total is 460 euro, this gives you plenty of power to play anything currently out at max detail and 30+ fps (there's also quite a little OCing room). It also saves you money for upgrading in a year or two, not to mention that AMD has wonderful backwards compatibility, something that Intel has never managed.

It's indeed a little weaker than some of the other builds out there, but the price/value ratio is better. Bottom line is, it's more than enough to play anything on max settings today.

Oh, and spend a little money on a nice big case with good airflow if you're using a tiny cramped one. It's really a onetime investment (I'm still using a huge case full of fan ports I got nearly 10 years ago - sure, the airflow is not as well designed as modern cases, but it still moves air about very well and keeps my components very cool under stock coolers)

Having good ventilation is a lot more important than most people think and can help you squeeze a lot of extra power from your rig if you're into OCing

I'd also like to note that with the 350 euro you save now, you can upgrade in a year or two to whatever is a good buy then, and that will net you way more power for the same money than the i5/7850 config. Since it's AMD and a modern mobo, compatibility won't be an issue.
 

ResonanceSD

Guild Warrior
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Dec 14, 2009
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Single monitor gaming?

4G ram, gtx 560Ti, i5 2500 w/ stock cooler, 500W PSU, mid-range Gigabyte P67 mobo, 1 TB HDD. pick an NZXT case that's in your budget. Done.
 

VladG

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Aug 24, 2010
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Matthew94 said:
VladG said:
Matthew94 said:
Theminimanx said:
Matthew94 said:
There is this website where I ordered my previous graphics card, but I haven't found a way to make the text appear in anything other than dutch.
http://www.zercom.nl/
I'll search around for some more and I'll let you know if I find any.
EDIT: On second thought, just give me the names of the parts, I'm sure I'll find some place where I can get them for cheap.
Due to the way intel does things, you will have to get a new motherboard if you wish to upgrade in the future. This is less likely with AMD but they aren't worth getting at the moment.
Sure they are, just don't go for the A6 and A8 cpus, those are crap. Phenoms are awesome value for money, especially if gaming is what you want out of your rig.
The phenoms are old and are being phased out and bulldozer was shit and it's worth it for gaming. I stand by what I said.

The APUs are not bad for the price as they aren't for high end gaming.
The APUs are pretty bad for gaming, they have terrible bottlenecks, and aren't that cheap. Those are really only worth it if you want to play some not very demanding stuff on your office pc.

Phenoms are indeed getting a bit old, they do drain more power than current Intel architecture, but for gaming the difference in performance is too small to make the price difference really worth it. If you use your PC for serious photo/video editing, rendering, stuff like that as well as gaming, Intel is the way to go. If all you're looking for is gaming, AMD gives better value.
 

VladG

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Aug 24, 2010
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Matthew94 said:
VladG said:
The APUs are pretty bad for gaming, they have terrible bottlenecks, and aren't that cheap. Those are really only worth it if you want to play some not very demanding stuff on your office pc.

Phenoms are indeed getting a bit old, they do drain more power than current Intel architecture, but for gaming the difference in performance is too small to make the price difference really worth it. If you use your PC for serious photo/video editing, rendering, stuff like that as well as gaming, Intel is the way to go. If all you're looking for is gaming, AMD gives better value.
I finished Metro 2033 on my APU. My real world experience says different from what you say. I'll go with what I've seen in real life.

Which is, they offer good value for money. An OC'able quad core Athlon II and a 5500-esque GPU for £90 is good value.
You finished on max detail? And what APU exactly? Because the OP wants to play the most demanding games on max detail with good fps. So for the purpose of discussion, anything else is not very relevant

Edit: Even so the information is only for my edification. Regardless, APUs are weaker for gaming than Phenoms for the same money if you're looking for performance. The integrated graphics keeps the clock speed somewhat low and the memory controller is not up to snuff. Even if you use an APU with a dedicated GPU you get lower performance than with a similar CPU and the same GPU.

It's better to get a dedicated CPU and GPU.