help needed with a new pc

[master m99]

Hi, I am currently looking for a new pc which I am hoping to be using for gaming, now here's the problem I don't really now much about things like graphics cards CPUs and such so I was wandering if the pc gamers here on the escapist could tell me if this build would be any good for gaming thanks in advance. oh i probable should have mentioned this i am on kind of a tight budget so i can't really blow out on very expencive parts and i dont really care about having things run on high setting medium will be fine for me.

CPU: 1044 - AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition
Motherboard: 4081 - Asus M4N68T-M
Memory: 5028 - 4GB DDR3 1333mhz (2x 2GB)
Hard Drives: 6004 - 500GB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive: 7003 - 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA
Graphics card: 9040 - NEW! ATI Radeon HD 6790 1GB
Sound card: 10001 - Onboard 7.1 Audio
Case: 17035 - Zalman Z9 Plus
PSU: 18032 - 400W Xigmatek

 

[snakeakaossi]

Your rig is average for what you need nowadays, but you'll run into problems in about a year or two. Your processor has 4 cores, which might soon be obsolete, and your RAM has to be at least twice as big. In a year or two you might expect great graphics with annoying hiccups once every minute.

Your graph card is AOK, not in the least because I am an ATI/AMD fanboy, but also because it's fairly new. My personal taste, however, is to use a motherboard with 2 PCI-e slots, and fire bridge 2 passively cooled cards. This way your gorgeous games will not be interrupted by high-pitched fan noise. Your motherboard, doesn't support this, so stick to your original plan.

I understand from your set up you didn't have too much money to spend. You can give the go-ahead to this setup, but note that in a year or two you will have to buy completely new RAM for upsizing (since your mobo only has 2 slots) and possbily a new processor. This will luckily be cheaper by then, because the RAM and processor slots' architecture has been quite recently been introduced.

So to summarize: yes, this is rig is for gaming, just don't push it too far.

EDIT: found out post was contradictory in itself, fixed it.
Another Edit: answer is the same, but mistook the amount of cores in the CPU, won't happen again, sorry

 

[master m99]

thanks dude appreciate the help =)

 

[Layz92]

I would also suggest A more beefy power supply 600-700 is more the range you will want (I am a big fan of corsair personally). Maybe a little more RAM but that isn't essential, the set up you have is mostly fine.

 

[samuraiweasel]

A couple of questions.

Are you set on AMD?
USA or England or?
What are the numbers before the parts.

Other than that, youll be able to run on medium for a bit, bit in a year or so youll probably have to drop settings to low...

 

[master m99]

A couple of questions.

Are you set on AMD?
USA or England or?
What are the numbers before the parts.

Other than that, youll be able to run on medium for a bit, bit in a year or so youll probably have to drop settings to low...

nope im not set on AMD, im in england and im not sure what the numbers are they might be a reference number from the site i was using.

 

[samuraiweasel]

What website? Scan?
also
Whats your budget?

 

[Bluntknife]

As far as games are concerned.

A dual core isn't going to cut it.

955 Black's are down to $110 now.

Also like other people have said 400W is alittle low.
I'd prefer to see a 600W with a decent name behind it.

 

[samuraiweasel]

well after looking around, stick with the AMD proccy + mobo combination youve got, unless you can find an Intel i3 530 and motherboard (slightly better) for the same price.
I second the psu upgrade, but the only problem is a decent 600w unit comes to around 50 quid
(antec/corsair/coolermaster/silverstone) but better to shell out a couple more now than have the whole thing not be able to handle the load and not work at all/burn.

 

[master m99]

i was using a place called dinopc.com , basicly you choose a bace computer then can buy upgrades and they build it for you, though i may well have my friend who knows a bit more about computers and has built his own to help me out. my budget is about £350-£400 like i said i dont have much in the way of cash =S.

 

[SirDerick]

Are you building it yourself? If so, get a case where you can hide all the bulky wires to allow some air circulation.
I noticed the motherboard you're planning on buying has an inbuilt graphics processor in it. You could probably find the same motherboard without the graphics processor for a few dollars cheaper.
I'd also recommend a motherboard with at least two more RAM slots, that way if you're thinking of getting extra RAM you don't have to swap out the entire motherboard.
Also, when installing the new processor there's going to be some thermal adhesive on the heat-sink. It'll work fine for about two or more years before it starts wearing off. Thankfully it's easy to apply some new adhesive. I recommend getting some software that'll tell you your current temperatures. Find your idle temperature (Either by writing it down or you can find out online) and once you see that it suddenly jumps by around 20 degrees or so while still idle, you know it's time to get some new adhesive.
Clean the fans (except for the fan on your power-supply, That thing stores electricity even when it's off.) from dust every 6 months or so, but always make sure the power's disconnected before rooting into your computer. People recommend compressed air to clean everything, I just use q-tips.

 

[Mr Orange]

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2011/05/10/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-may-2011/2

The computer they suggest building there seems in your price range.

Please ignore people saying that you need a 700W+ PSU, this is simply ridiculous; you need no more than 600W maximum.

Also, 4GB of RAM is more than adequate, and Micro ATX motherboards DO fit in to standard size cases.

Good luck

 

[samuraiweasel]

Spend the extra 9 quid and get the 500w xigmatek, you get a longer warranty on the rest of the parts as well. Other than that maybe an upgrade to 1 TB for the hard drive.

As to SirDeric's comments,
Other motherboards are more expensive, and if your graphics card goes on the fritz youll be happy that there is onboard.
You can always sell the 4gb ram and buy more, no need to change motherboards.
Everest home edition is good for checking out your computer as well as temps. and its free.


Mr orange:

The processor in the bit tech build is slower..
and its slightly out of budget.

 

[Mr Orange]

The fact that it has a slightly lower clock rate doesn't necessarily make it slower in applications. it is also incredibly overclockable.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Put a better CPU in it, something like a Phenom X4 965, which is what I got, or go hogwild and go for their hexacore line.

Also, get at least a 450W power supply. 400W Will barely cut it.

 

[Nerdstar]

up the power supply to about 600 min, 8 gigs of RAM would be preferable but six will more than suit your needs as long as they're not to strenuous, a bigger hard dirve would be good as well(1 TB will hold you for quite some time as long as you dont fill up on too much porn)

other than that and what the others have pointed out your rigs pretty ok.