PC Building Help.

[RustlessPotato]

Hello there. I've been wanting to build a gaming rig again for quite a while, but I am MASSIVELY not up to date with the hardware. My Graphic card is Nvidia 7600GT, so you know how long I've been out of the pc world . (still runs l4d2 like a charm ).

Anyways, having consulted this website http://www.logicalincrements.com/ which someone on the escapist linked (thank you), I figure I need some help. I live in Belgium (it's on the list of countries on the website) and my budget is between 800 en 1200 euro's, not counting extra peripherals. For example, I'm not sure if I should buy the GTX 770, or stick with the 660 ? What's the difference between the GTX 660 and 660TI ? Or maybe I should go raedon ? How about processors ? I'm stuck with all these questions and so much more.

If some of you could advice what I would give me the most bang out of my buck, I would greatly appreciate it. Also, excluding Tom's Hardware, does anybody know another website with different Benchmarks ? Maybe where you can directly chose which parts stack up against each other ?

Thank you.

 

[devotedsniper]

To start with before others start preaching Intels, you can save a bit of money by going for an AMD FX processor there great they beat anything you chuck at them they just don't benchmark as well (not to mention the fanboys were hurt when it didn't perform as well as they were expecting), I have an FX8120 and I have yet to find anything that it even breaks a sweat with and they overclock very well with just a simple multiplier change.

I can't comment on ATi but you could go for a 770 I've heard some good things about them but you would also be left happy with a 660TI I have two of those (KFA2 3GB OC Edition) and even with one of them it wiped the floor with any game out there, the only reason I recently invested in one as to be ready to get the most out of the next gen games but I have no doubt in my mind they will still perform well further down the line (e.g. a single 660TI runs Borderlands 2 at 80fps quite happily on my system).

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

As you are living in Europe I would recommend buying your parts from hardwareversande.de (link: http://www.hardwareversand.de/pcconfigurator.jsp?pcConfigurator.step.1=1), their prices for parts are the best I've come across. However, I would not recommend them building the PC for you as it's more likely to get damaged by UPS in the shipping process.

As far as parts go:

CPU: Intel 4670K
MoBo: MSI Z87 G45
Ram: 8GB G-Skill Sniper 12800U
Case: Personal preference really, just do not get one that has a PSU included as they tend to be cheaply made. I would recommend the Fractial Design Define R4 though, it's kinda expenisve but provides good cooling and keeps everything quiet.
Graphics card: Sapphire HD7870 XT Boost 2GB
PSU: Seasonic M12II-620W
HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Black
SSD: Samsung 840 120GB or Crucial M4 128GB
CPU Fan: Corsair H60
Optical Drive: LiteOn ihas DVD/RW
and a copy of windows will set you back ~?80

This comes in under ?1200.

This processor should be able to handle every game that comes at it for the next few years and should be rather overclock-able. My main reason for going Intel is that you will be able to upgrade to their next generation processors on this motherboard.
The graphics card I chose on the basis that it is just about the best price to performance card on the market without breaking the back. It can be overclocked rather easily and once it is overclocked it should handle practically everything maxed out at 1080p.
The SSD is mainly there for the OS and those games that you will be regularly playing, where fast load times become key. Everything else can go on the 1TB HDD.

 

[RustlessPotato]

As you are living in Europe I would recommend buying your parts from hardwareversande.de (link: http://www.hardwareversand.de/pcconfigurator.jsp?pcConfigurator.step.1=1), their prices for parts are the best I've come across. However, I would not recommend them building the PC for you as it's more likely to get damaged by UPS in the shipping process.

As far as parts go:

CPU: Intel 4670K
MoBo: MSI Z87 G45
Ram: 8GB G-Skill Sniper 12800U
Case: Personal preference really, just do not get one that has a PSU included as they tend to be cheaply made. I would recommend the Fractial Design Define R4 though, it's kinda expenisve but provides good cooling and keeps everything quiet.
Graphics card: Sapphire HD7870 XT Boost 2GB
PSU: Seasonic M12II-620W
HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Black
SSD: Samsung 840 120GB or Crucial M4 128GB
CPU Fan: Corsair H60
Optical Drive: LiteOn ihas DVD/RW
and a copy of windows will set you back ~?80

This comes in under ?1200.

This processor should be able to handle every game that comes at it for the next few years and should be rather overclock-able. My main reason for going Intel is that you will be able to upgrade to their next generation processors on this motherboard.
The graphics card I chose on the basis that it is just about the best price to performance card on the market without breaking the back. It can be overclocked rather easily and once it is overclocked it should handle practically everything maxed out at 1080p.
The SSD is mainly there for the OS and those games that you will be regularly playing, where fast load times become key. Everything else can go on the 1TB HDD.

Thank you very much for your help . But I do have a few more questions though. When I select a part on the website you gave me (thanks for that, it's really great), there are what I think different variables for the same part. For example, When I look for the processor Intel 4670k, I get "Intel Core i5-4670K Tray,3,4 GHZ, 6MB Cache, LGA 1150, VGA" and "Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150" and "Intel Core i5-4670K Box, ohne Lüfter, LGA1150" and they all differ in price, so I suppose there is a difference in them ? The same with every other part, they all seem to have different variations...

 

[Juan Regular]

I recommend not buying in Belgium either. Electronics tend to be overpriced more often than not here. I got my first gaming rig very recently from HIQ in Germany. I got a 660ti as well and apart from Crysis 3 everything runs max at least 45 fps. You could wait for Nvidia to releases a 760, which from what I hear should just be a slightly better 670 for less money.

Here's an up to date guide if you want to save some money.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/06/14/build-a-next-gen-pc/

 

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

Thank you very much for your help . But I do have a few more questions though. When I select a part on the website you gave me (thanks for that, it's really great), there are what I think different variables for the same part. For example, When I look for the processor Intel 4670k, I get "Intel Core i5-4670K Tray,3,4 GHZ, 6MB Cache, LGA 1150, VGA" and "Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150" and "Intel Core i5-4670K Box, ohne Lüfter, LGA1150" and they all differ in price, so I suppose there is a difference in them ? The same with every other part, they all seem to have different variations...

From what I can make of it, the tray version is just the cpu itself and it comes with a 1 year limited warranty. The Boxed version comes with a heatsink/fan combo and also comes with a 3 year limited warranty. I'm not sure what the last one is about, however.

 

[The Lugz]

800 en 1200 euro's, not counting extra peripherals. For example, I'm not sure if I should buy the GTX 770, or stick with the 660 ? What's the difference between the GTX 660 and 660TI

Thank you.

a 660 is a terrible card, avoid it.
a 660ti edition is a pretty decent card, it has more cores and is generally far more powerful

a gtx 770 is a factory overturned gtx 680, with a cherry picked core
personally i would avoid it, it represents pretty poor value considering what it is
( a 680 with a new cooler and a bajillion volts suck up it's ass ) but it's quite a powerful card.

a 780 is really where it's at, else a 690.

for this upcoming generation honestly, ati may well rule because the consoles are using ati graphics and everything will be optimised to them

there is no way to tell yet, however
nobody can predict the future i always advise keeping your money in your pocket until some kind of benchmark is available

 

[RustlessPotato]

800 en 1200 euro's, not counting extra peripherals. For example, I'm not sure if I should buy the GTX 770, or stick with the 660 ? What's the difference between the GTX 660 and 660TI

Thank you.

a 660 is a terrible card, avoid it.
a 660ti edition is a pretty decent card, it has more cores and is generally far more powerful

a gtx 770 is a factory overturned gtx 680, with a cherry picked core
personally i would avoid it, it represents pretty poor value considering what it is
( a 680 with a new cooler and a bajillion volts suck up it's ass ) but it's quite a powerful card.

a 780 is really where it's at, else a 690.

for this upcoming generation honestly, ati may well rule because the consoles are using ati graphics and everything will be optimised to them

there is no way to tell yet, however
nobody can predict the future i always advise keeping your money in your pocket until some kind of benchmark is available

Thanks for the advice. But I am mainly trying to catch up on this gen as well. What would your advice be for someone wanting to buy this generation of games ? (And yes, I'm a bit of a graphics whore, because I like pretty pictures ) I have to say the gtx 770 and 690 are a bit too pricey, even when buying from another country. I always thought the Raedon HD 7950 was a good card ?

 

[The Lugz]

Thanks for the advice. But I am mainly trying to catch up on this gen as well. What would your advice be for someone wanting to buy this generation of games ? (And yes, I'm a bit of a graphics whore, because I like pretty pictures )

honestly, the obvious answer is probably the best just get a flat stock 680 and overclock it ( there are a million guides ) you can get them from about £300 depending where you go and if you really need more power for next gen you can sli them just fine and by that point they'll probably have dropped in price again

 

[nevarran]

I found this one recently
http://gpuboss.com/
you can directly compare different video cards.
It seems legit to me, but I can say how accurate it is.
There's also
http://cpuboss.com/
http://ssdboss.com/

I usually trust toshardware, a long time favorite of mine.

And 770 may be modded version of 680, but it's still the better card and even has a lower price.
GTX770 or HD7970 seems like the only options to me, at this point.

The thing is, choose the price level that works for you and then take one of the card in it. The difference with an AMD card for 300 bucks and Nvidia card for 300 bucks is very very small.
Bare in mind that the video card can easily be replaced/upgraded. Having a solid Motherboard, CPU, PSU and even Case is a must, when you are making your build. Video, RAM, Storage units can be upgraded pretty much regardless of your other components.

 

[RustlessPotato]

I found this one recently
http://gpuboss.com/
you can directly compare different video cards.
It seems legit to me, but I can say how accurate it is.
There's also
http://cpuboss.com/
http://ssdboss.com/

I usually trust toshardware, a long time favorite of mine.

And 770 may be modded version of 680, but it's still the better card and even has a lower price.
GTX770 or HD7970 seems like the only options to me, at this point.

The thing is, choose the price level that works for you and then take one of the card in it. The difference with an AMD card for 300 bucks and Nvidia card for 300 bucks is very very small.
Bare in mind that the video card can easily be replaced/upgraded. Having a solid Motherboard, CPU, PSU and even Case is a must, when you are making your build. Video, RAM, Storage units can be upgraded pretty much regardless of your other components.

Thank you very much. I'll combine your links with tom's hardware to make my decisions. Basically invest more in the motherboard/CPU and PSU, then start looking for the GPU is what you're saying ? Can't believe how little I knew when I build my first pc :/.

 

[nevarran]

Basically invest more in the motherboard/CPU and PSU, then start looking for the GPU is what you're saying ?

Yes. Here's what I would've done, if I had to buy a PC.
Core i5-3570K - ~250 euro
One of these [http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/z87-haswell-motherboard-review,3524.html] motherboards - ~200 euro
Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold PSU (around 800W) - ~150 euro
a quality case (Corsair, Cooler Master...) - ~100 euro

700 euro

you go from here for the other components
RAM - 8gb is around 80 euro

and you're left with 420 for an HD7970 or GTX770

You can go down a little, by buying a silver PSU, or even bronze
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/80_Plus

and with the video:
GTX660Ti or HD7950

 

[Get_A_Grip_]

snip.

Thank you very much for your help . But I do have a few more questions though. When I select a part on the website you gave me (thanks for that, it's really great), there are what I think different variables for the same part. For example, When I look for the processor Intel 4670k, I get "Intel Core i5-4670K Tray,3,4 GHZ, 6MB Cache, LGA 1150, VGA" and "Intel Core i5-4670K Box, LGA1150" and "Intel Core i5-4670K Box, ohne Lüfter, LGA1150" and they all differ in price, so I suppose there is a difference in them ? The same with every other part, they all seem to have different variations...

Regarding the 4670k the 'tray' variant comes in less packaging and does not come with Intel's stock cooler, but as it is more expensive there is no point in getting it. The other two boxed versions are the same as far as I am aware.

You may notice that some items are marked as 'special items'. Do NOT buy these items. They are usually damaged in some way and are not worth saving the money on.

 

[KrossBillNye]

Whatever you end up deciding to build I would highly suggest you keep track of what it needs in terms of power and choose a decent power supply that fits your needs.

Without it, your pc may have problems running or even starting for that matter.

 

[RustlessPotato]

SNIP

Told you I was hideously outdated . But seeing as the new consoles don't interest me at all and I love pc gaming anyways, I figured I'd spend my money on a new gaming rig. Thanks for the info