Gaming PC again

[Bludge]

Jesus christ, i dont think i have ever seen so much misinformation in a thread.

First off, the graphics card you go for is relative to the size of the monitor you are running.
The bigger the monitor and the higher the resolution, the better the card you will need.

Secondly, i would forget the solid state drive, they are expensive and pretty much the only thing that it will improve is load times within games (also general read write times, but we are talking gaming here)

Thirdly, 900w is probably overkil for the PSU, you can check the wattage you will need here: http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jsp

Try going to somewhere like toms hardware or the best case scenario, you will probably get more cohereant advice there.

EDIT: Also, toms hardware have some brilliant hardware charts allowing you to compare the performance or different cards. Its a great resource.

 

[Ascarus]

You want more than 1GB on that GPU. Preferably more than 2, even.

you don't need this. hell, for a long while the only reason you would have wanted a 1GB card is if you planned on running at higher resolutions. if you didn't, you weren't using the memory anyway.

a 1GB card is fine. if you have the money, splurge if you want but it's far from necessary.

that PSU seems a bit big too. i don't remember what i have, but it is nowhere near 900 watts. that is a lot of juice.

 

[Bludge]

Mind if I step in quick?

I am looking at getting a GPU, but my Mobo has one built in, does that mean I need to have it XFX compatible or can I skip that and run the card solely?

As long as its compatible with the motherboard, ie its a pci-e card and you have a pci-e slot, then all you need to do is disable the onboard video in the bios.

 

[e2density]

Get a better GPU, I would recommend a GTX 460...but ATI is a good year ahead of nvidia right now for graphics cards when you get into the high end stuff.

 

[Discon]

I agree that the PSU is overkill. I have a very similar setup, but a better graphics card, and I've got a 550 watt PSU, and there's a hundred or more watt left over.

 

[Fooz]

Get a better GPU, I would recommend a GTX 460...but ATI is a good year ahead of nvidia right now for graphics cards when you get into the high end stuff.

this might sound dumb, but ive come across ones from like £115 to £185, some are 1GB some are 2GB and some have different names like Palit and Zotac?

this might be the dumbest thing ever but im genuinely confused

 

[ad4m101]

Get a better GPU, I would recommend a GTX 460...but ATI is a good year ahead of nvidia right now for graphics cards when you get into the high end stuff.

this might sound dumb, but ive come across ones from like £115 to £185, some are 1GB some are 2GB and some have different names like Palit and Zotac?

this might be the dumbest thing ever but im genuinely confused

Zotac and what not is the Brand. Each company brings out there own version of the cards with there own modifications.

 

[Weaver]

I would
1) get a better video card if you plan on gaming
2) get an intel processor. I've been very, very disappointed with AMD compared to the current i5/i7 line. Until their new bulldozer CPU architecture comes out, I don't see any real reason to get an AMD chip.

 

[Hashime]

As for an SSD, they wear out in a year or two

Where did you get that from? Yes they have a limited number of read/write cycles, but last waaaaaaaaaay [http://superuser.com/questions/39719/what-is-the-lifespan-of-an-ssd-drive] longer than regular HDDs. A good ten years if you're lucky.

That data is for how long something keeps data, anyways, You are right on the read write cycle thing, I was using data from a few years ago when they first hit the market.
Also, my platter drive from 15 years ago (I was young) still works, all 100mb of it.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

damn some people in here must have ridiculous amounts of cash laying around...getting SSD's that are triple digets? psh fuck that for now.

OT: i would say the wattage you can easily go down to somewhere in the 600's to be safe for a few future add ons.

also the video card should be bumped up a bit, probably to a gtx 460 as alot of people are recommending, and also i would maybe add more RAM as you added on, idk what the sales are over there online but newegg constantly has some kind of ram on sale that is ddr3

 

[e2density]

Get a better GPU, I would recommend a GTX 460...but ATI is a good year ahead of nvidia right now for graphics cards when you get into the high end stuff.

this might sound dumb, but ive come across ones from like £115 to £185, some are 1GB some are 2GB and some have different names like Palit and Zotac?

this might be the dumbest thing ever but im genuinely confused

Yeah it's just branding. EVGA is the standard "nvidia" supplier, but other companies like Palit and Zotac release their own version of it. In the end it's still the same card, with the same nvidia chip.

 

[Aur0ra145]

You want more than 1GB on that GPU. Preferably more than 2, even.

What world are you from? I run a 9800GTX+ (512mb) and I haven't run into any problems with games coming out currently.

This thread is full of shit.

And this. Are these people here even PC gamers?

OP:

Let me put it this way. Buy yourself a cheap case, don't spend more than $40 on one. Because after about a year, you won't care how your PC looks, and it will be spray painted and covered with stickers before you know it.

CPU. Spend some money on this, but don't get top of the line currently. Why? Because they aren't that much better, and new technology is knocked off of the top every few months. So why waste the money?

Mother Board. Go with a a current one, like something that can take an AM3 and DDR3 Ram. Make sure it has SATA support as well. Other than that, it doesn't really matter (except for number of PCI and PCI-e x16 slots.)

Graphics. Read on New Egg about stuff. In fact, look at the best reviewed cards are read it's negative feedback. Those boards will give you EXPONENTIALLY more information from users of the products than this thread.

Optical Drive. Yes, you need a DVD player. Get a cheap one.

HDD. Buy something. Make sure it has over 320gb and runs at least at 7200rpms. Other than that, don't buy Maxtor. 320gb will get you started out, you can add more HDD's later as you need the space. But getting 2tb upfront is overkill. Try to spread your spending out a bit. You don't need SSD.

Sound Card. I would recommend looking into getting one. It can help out the performance of your CPU.

Power Supply. Get at least 750-800 watts. Read reviews on New Egg and TigerDirect before purchasing something. I personally would go with something around 900+ watts currently, because it will give you room to upgrade later. I prefer Corsair.

RAM. Look for deals, watch New Egg, Fry's and where ever. Run at least 4gb, possibly more if you want to. I use Patriot (cheap, hasn't died on me yet, had it for over 2 years now.)

 

[Zer_]

You want more than 1GB on that GPU. Preferably more than 2, even.

What world are you from? I run a 9800GTX+ (512mb) and I haven't run into any problems with games coming out currently.

This thread is full of shit.

And this. Are these people here even PC gamers?

OP:

Let me put it this way. Buy yourself a cheap case, don't spend more than $40 on one. Because after about a year, you won't care how your PC looks, and it will be spray painted and covered with stickers before you know it.

CPU. Spend some money on this, but don't get top of the line currently. Why? Because they aren't that much better, and new technology is knocked off of the top every few months. So why waste the money?

Mother Board. Go with a a current one, like something that can take an AM3 and DDR3 Ram. Make sure it has SATA support as well. Other than that, it doesn't really matter (except for number of PCI and PCI-e x16 slots.)

Graphics. Read on New Egg about stuff. In fact, look at the best reviewed cards are read it's negative feedback. Those boards will give you EXPONENTIALLY more information from users of the products than this thread.

Optical Drive. Yes, you need a DVD player. Get a cheap one.

HDD. Buy something. Make sure it has over 320gb and runs at least at 7200rpms. Other than that, don't buy Maxtor. 320gb will get you started out, you can add more HDD's later as you need the space. But getting 2tb upfront is overkill. Try to spread your spending out a bit. You don't need SSD.

Sound Card. I would recommend looking into getting one. It can help out the performance of your CPU.

Power Supply. Get at least 750-800 watts. Read reviews on New Egg and TigerDirect before purchasing something. I personally would go with something around 900+ watts currently, because it will give you room to upgrade later. I prefer Corsair.

RAM. Look for deals, watch New Egg, Fry's and where ever. Run at least 4gb, possibly more if you want to. I use Patriot (cheap, hasn't died on me yet, had it for over 2 years now.)

I have to disagree with you about the case. Mine is the Antec 902, and it uses air filters, has fantastic airflow, and it's easy to work with. Yes, it looks good, but the practical benefits alone are worth the price of admission.

Sound cards are not a priority, if he's got the cash, then sure, but I'd concentrate on the GPU first.

Also, to clarify on SSDs, yes they can store data for a long time, but the main problem is that they get progressively slower over time. It'll slow down significantly in the span of 3 years or less.

Video cards are all about personal preference.

Suggested video cards:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102909

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130565

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102915

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102898

These are all video cards within different budget ranges. They are all good, they all provide excellent performance for the price. Card manufacturers that have good reputations are: ASUS, EVGA, and Sapphire. XFX also does fairly good video cards but I do not have experience with them.

 

[MercurySteam]

this might sound dumb, but ive come across ones from like £115 to £185, some are 1GB some are 2GB and some have different names like Palit and Zotac?

this might be the dumbest thing ever but im genuinely confused

Don't sweat it man, we were all confused buy something similar at some point. Basically Nvidia/ATI develop the chip then they send it of to other manufacturers who get really creative with it and pimp it out with all their own hardware and cooling solutions and a bit of overclocking too. For Nvidia cards, (and motherboards too) Asus and Gigabyte are the top two brands (in my opinion). Gainward cards have some crazy output on them but since I've never owned one, I can't say whether they're really good. But I've heard good things about the Gainward GeForce GTS 450 1GB Goes Like Hell Edition. [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=15532] That's got some serious overclocking in it, though.

I have to disagree with you about the case. Mine is the Antec 902, and it uses air filters, has fantastic airflow, and it's easy to work with. Yes, it looks good, but the practical benefits alone are worth the price of admission.

I agree. For some reason the Antec Dark Fleet DF-30 Case [http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=14608] appeals to me greatly. I don't know why, it just does. A suggest people look at every Dark Fleet case as they're all quite good; basically all the same thing just with more and more drive bays.

Sound cards are not a priority

This. There's nothing really wrong with integrated sound. Integrated graphics is different, but sound cards can cost more than speakers. If you're not a sound engineer and you don't have the money to waste then I don't see the point.

 

[olicon]

I've been meaning to upgrade my computer as well. I do play games (I'm here, aren't I?) but not that much. I don't care for cutting edge graphics. I'm fine with playing games on normal setting. I don't even play that much to begin with--mostly some RPGs. Is it really necessary to have 2GB gfx card to play games nowadays?

 

[Kabutos]

Well, it seems I'm a bit late to this thread, so I'll most likely repeat what everyone else has said:

Your build looks good, although I would swap out the GPU with something more powerful like a GTX 460 or HD 6850. Also, I'd recommend the Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDDs instead of Seagate, and drop down to around 500GB-1TB. The 900w PSU is definitely overkill; drop down to 650-750w; make sure it's 80+ certified.

As for case, I'd recommend the CM 690 II, but that's just me being a fanboy.

I've been meaning to upgrade my computer as well. I do play games (I'm here, aren't I?) but not that much. I don't care for cutting edge graphics. I'm fine with playing games on normal setting. I don't even play that much to begin with--mostly some RPGs. Is it really necessary to have 2GB gfx card to play games nowadays?

I would ignore what Pirate Kitty says. I'm not aware of any game that needs that much VRAM.

 

[Danceofmasks]

I've been meaning to upgrade my computer as well. I do play games (I'm here, aren't I?) but not that much. I don't care for cutting edge graphics. I'm fine with playing games on normal setting. I don't even play that much to begin with--mostly some RPGs. Is it really necessary to have 2GB gfx card to play games nowadays?

The bottom line is, right this minute, since AAA game titles want to be able to run on consoles over half a decade old, PCs can be quite rubbish and still run them reasonably well.

However, if we're talking price to performance ratio, and someone is on a budget, a significant percentage of that ought to go towards the GPU.
'cos that's where you're getting the bang for your buck.

Edit:
And no, the size of VRAM isn't all that important .. it's much more about how fast the chip is.

 

[pokepuke]

Wait for the Bulldozer processors if you want AMD. They might be pretty kickass and aren't too far away, so buying now is almost a waste. Same for Intel and Sandy Bridge.

I'd also go for a Radeon 6850 over a GTX460, if that is the price point you're aiming for. And with this setup all you need is a 450 watt power supply.

 

[McSpuddles]

For what it's worth I'm looking at getting a similarly specced machine at the moment. I'm planning to go with a 40Gb SSD drive for the OS and a 1Tb drive for the rest (wondering if I can set up some kind of symbolic linking magic to switch over games between the SSD and the regular drive when I need to but I guess I'll give that a go when it comes up). Good luck with your build.

 

[brainslurper]

I have a 1GB Nivida on my mac that was about 3000 bucks, but it also has 2TB HD and 16GB of ram. anyway, the 1GB graphics card handles every game I have ever tried on the highest possible settings at around 30fps. also, you should consider getting more ram if you want to do anything other then games. like 8GB. I have 16 because I usually run photoshop, flash, dreamweaver, final cut, and occasionally sketchup all at once.