Help me build a gaming PC

[sean360h]

I know this is like that thread that crops up like one a week but bear with me

I have finally reached the last straw with my Xbox after seeing what call of duty 4 has been brought down to (hackers etc.). I have finally gave up on the console gamers
While I am aware that pc gaming has its fair share of hackers when I play on the pc they usually get booted after five or so kills so that's a plus. Also seeing some of the crazy Gametypes on PC finally sold it to me

So I was wondering what parts I should get
this so far is what I have set my eyes on (nothing fancy but it can play most if not all games)

Cpu: Intel i5-2500

Ram: Corsair http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-1600MHz-Vengeance-Memory/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322780226&sr=8-1

Graphics: Gainward Gts 250 (I already own one of these and I want to put it in the new when I get it)

PSU: OCZ 600W ModXStream Pro Power Supp

Motherboard: OK this is were I am totally lost I'd probably just get an Intel or Asus one (nothing Fancy just one that will on the job)

Hdd : one or two of these http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-7200-12-Internal-ST31000524AS/dp/B004IZN3YI/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1322780808&sr=1-5

Case: this is not really an issue for me i have a big enough case I think its 350x350x20 (that could be wrong it was a long time ago I measured it)

So Thats what my research so far has gotten me.
If you have any suggestions or tips i would love to hear them (i am totally lost when it comes to motherboards)

 

[sean360h]

For your motherboard, MSI is almost always quality for a decent price. But for the love of God, google the name and read reviews before you buy, and make sure your RAM is compatible.

Also, you can probably pick up a cheaper hard drive than that. If you have extra cash to splash, consider a small SSD on which you install your OS (makes for insanely fast booting up and stuff like that).

Other than that, looks alright, although I might be missing something, im sure another more tech savvy guy will pick up on it.

I think they sky rocketed in price after flooding in Aisa id consider buying a SSD when I get the money for the nice touches

 

[anthony87]

I'll just post a build I posted a few days back and others can critique it.

Phenom II X4 980 £133.19
http://www.ebuyer.com/270610-amd-black-edition-phenom-ii-x4-980-3-7ghz-socket-am3-6mb-l3-hdz980fbgmbox

MSI Mobo £52.24
http://www.ebuyer.com/241003-msi-870-c45-amd-770-socket-am3-gb-lan-8-channel-audio-atx-870-c45

8GB RAM (2x4GB) £30.14
http://www.ebuyer.com/247674-corsair-8gb-2x4gb-ddr3-1333mhz-xms3-memory-kit-cl9-1-5v-unbuffered-cmx8gx3m2a1333c9

AMD 6870 £126.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/248745-powercolor-hd-6870-1gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-dual-mini-displayport-pci-e-ax6870-1gbd5-2dh

650W PSU £60.79
http://www.ebuyer.com/200491-coolermaster-gx-650w-psu-rs650-acaae3-uk

Case £17.99
http://www.ebuyer.com/251827-xenta-black-mid-tower-case-pw6802

Optical Drive £13.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/176026-liteon-ihas124-19-24x-dvd-rw-dl-ram-sata-optical-drive-oem-ihas124-19

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro £16.24
http://www.ebuyer.com/176157-arctic-cooling-freezer-7-pro-rev-2-socket-775-1156-1155-1366-ac-frz-7pr2

Windows 7 Student Upgrade Professional Edition £38.49
http://www.software4students.co.uk/Microsoft_Windows_7_Professional_64_bit_Upgrade_Edition-details.aspx

Total £490.05 minus postage

You can install the upgrade edition without any previous windows installation. Just install the upgrade edition, don't put in the cd key then install over it. Bam, valid wondows when you put the cd key in the second time.

Recycle an old hard drive, prices have tripled and will stay that way for at least 6 months, that's why there is no HDD in this build

If you have to get the i5 make sure you get the K model so you can overclock it.

It's.....beautiful .

I'm looking to build myself a new gaming rig sometime within the next year or so. This 4 year old XPS of mine...I don't think she can hold out much longer. I believe I may just go ahead and use this build. Is that the one you use yourself or just one you'd recommend?

 

[sean360h]

Snip

Nice that looks very good are SSD really worth the money because all they seem to do is get things to run faster
id like one but are they really worth the premium price?

 

[Alex Santos]

I would definitely recommend a newer graphics card. GTS 250 is already two generations behind and its a pretty low end card at that. I suggest some thing along the lines of a NVidia GForce GTX 560 Ti and up if you got money for it. I know less about ATI cards but they are cheaper but anything in the 6 series which is the newest series. 6870 is the best one and its cheap compared to High End Nvidia card like the 570 and 680. 6850 a little less powerful and a little bit cheaper. My friend has a 6770 which he got real cheap and he really likes it/works well.

Hope this helps.

 

[Bvenged]

For your motherboard, MSI is almost always quality for a decent price. But for the love of God, google the name and read reviews before you buy, and make sure your RAM is compatible.

Also, you can probably pick up a cheaper hard drive than that. If you have extra cash to splash, consider a small SSD on which you install your OS (makes for insanely fast booting up and stuff like that).

Other than that, looks alright, although I might be missing something, im sure another more tech savvy guy will pick up on it.

Pretty much this.

I'd follow in your footsteps, being an avid computer nerd, but most of my friends (most of whom are not "computery") use 360s to socialise & game on instead of PC, so I will be remaining with Xbox for a few more years to come. Although I might do a crossover & have both when I've got a little more money to splash on.

BTW FPS on PC, unless it's Steam related, got a hardcore fanbase (unreal tourny or quake) or BF3, is generally awful and worse than console for hackers & modders when you don't want them.

But PC is a win-win for freeware games & modding & RTS & MMO etc etc. IF you want a stable run-gun experience / game with a controller sat back on your sofa; stick with your console. It's better for that reason only.