Making a gaming computer

[a ginger491]

Hi everybody! I'm trying to throw together a computer that can play something like battlefield 3 on medium high settings. I have a list of things that I think could do the job but I don't know what kind of power supply I'll need or if I need extra fans. I already have two gigs of RAM and know I should add two more so don't add that.

1.ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280]

2. Rosewill RC-701 PCI sound card [http://www.amazon.com/SOUND-CARD-ROSEWILL-RC-701-RETAIL/dp/B004F3BAKM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=IPJA269U5VJZB&colid=JHWM4Z9V3ZS4]

3.EVGA 01G-P3-1460-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card [http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130660]

4.AMD Phenom II X4 960T Processor, Black Edition, 3.0 4 Socket AM3 - HD96ZTWFGRBOX [http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-Processor-Black-Socket/dp/B0056D5AMY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_npd?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1BW419C0THXSY&colid=JHWM4Z9V3ZS4]

That's all I have right now, I'm trying to keep this thing under $700 so don't go too crazy.

Thank you and good luck.
EDIT: Just to be clear here's what I know I don't need: keyboard, case, OS, mouse, monitor (might need to upgrade afterwards)

 

[XUnsafeNormalX]

RAM is so damn cheap you might as well get 8 gigs.

I'm an intel guy myself but i'll try my best to help you.

 

[ms_sunlight]

If you're curious as to the power supply, Newegg has a Power Supply calculator that you may find helpful. The results will give you a minimum power supply spec. I always purchase something with higher wattage than suggested so that I will not have to purchase a new power supply for additional parts purchased later.

This. Always go for more juice than you need, firstly for reliability and secondly because you don't know what else you'll be sticking in there later on. Also, I'd say buy a power supply from a reputable / reliable maker, as cheap power supplies can definitely be a false economy.

I'd either go for a better sound card or leave it out and use onboard sound for now. Onboard will be tolerable to game with; if money is an issue it's easy enough to stick a PCI card in later when you have the cash.

 

[XUnsafeNormalX]

EDIT: Nevermind i'm not sure what I was looking at, that suggested case does have a bottom mount PSU.

Looks good to me!

 

[a ginger491]

Additionally, is there any particular reason you are choosing an nVidia card on a CrossFireX board?

Is there anything wrong with that? I barely know anything about motherboard compatibility other than with processors.

 

[a ginger491]

I'm actually looking at upgrading, I'm getting it from overclockers. So it won't be a horrid price.

I'm getting an i5 + mobo combo for just shy of £300. An ATI 6950 2048MB GDDR5 for £200. And the rest is being recycled. Like my powersuply HDDs, keyboard, monitor etc.

I don't know how much it'd be to build something that powerful from scratch. I'm guessing upwards of £700.

Uh... What's the pound/US dollar conversion again?

 

[a ginger491]

There's really no compatibility issues when running an nVidia card on a motherboard that favors AMD. It's just when you happen to get your hands on some cash and say, "Hey! I'll get another video card and run it in parallel so Crysis 4 will stop crapping on my computer and outputting 5.1 Frames per second." You'll find that your motherboard will not support 2 nVidia GPUs running in SLI. It supports 2 AMD cards running in CrossFireX however.

Anything else that you're looking at purchasing?

I apologize for my lack of knowledge but are you saying I can put multiple cards in one build?

 

[JesterRaiin]

I'm not big fan of mixing ATI(AMD) gfx with Intel processor and nVidia gfx with AMD CPU.

Actually despite arguments of some die hard fans, i'd say that in comparison to let's say Intel i7 line AMD processors of equal power seem to be overaly rather shi*y. Also Ati(AMD) gfx lacks hardware support for functionalities like PhysyX or CUDA so i'd stay as far from it as possible.
One and one equals two and two means i'd go for Intel + nVidia combo.
Still, it's your choice.

I apologize for my lack of knowledge but are you saying I can put multiple cards in one build?

Yes, it's called Crossfire (Ati/Amd)/Sli (nVidia) solutions.

HOWEVER ! Taking technological advancement and release cycle into consideration, i don't think that it's wise to invest resources into building computer that "will be equipped with another gfx card someday in the future, maybe after year or two". If not now or after a few months, it won't be solution worth of attention. More powerful cards, capable of running faster than SLI/Crossfire combo will be introduced in the future.

Also i like to have as many components built by the same producent, so i'd buy Asus gfx for Asus motherboard. My rig is for example based on MSI motherboard and MSI gfx, but that's pure aesthetics.

 

[razer17]

I'm not going to start discussing the technicals. The spec doesn't seem bad, but I'm not the authority on self build PC's, although I will say that I personally feel that for the mid-range graphics cards, ATI(AMD) are better.

What I am going to say is that some of the links on this thread annoy me as a Brit. Most of the stuff that people have linked too are so much cheaper than components in the UK. You can basically change the $ into a £ sign and you get the British equivalent, so the UK prices are like 50% higher. You lucky Americans you.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Don't take this the wrong way but you seem really deluded.

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
I'm not interested in discussing things with someone incapable of both recognizing subjective opinions and not willing to ask about arguments backing them up, choosing instead to immediately counter the opponents point of view with his own, based on God knows what, since there are no proper links, sources attached.
Those days are long past me.