Budget: $1,200 I'm willing to spend $1,100 if it's worth it. Main uses of intended build: Gaming, Programming, Word Processing, etc... Parts required: Everything except a mouse and wireless adapter. Previous build information (list details of parts): None. Monitor resolution: Undecided Will you be overclocking: Yes Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): No. Extra information about desired system: I want to max out most of the settings in Team Fortress 2, HoN, Starcraft 2, and Guild Wars 2 (when it comes out). Here is my updated setup. As of right now, I still can't decide on a monitor, power supply, and loudspeaker. I think I'm going to go over my budget a little, but that's okay. Also, the GTX 460 being new, it's hard to find a place that's selling a EVGA one. 1. The bigger the monitor the decrease in graphic performance? Should I go with lower resolution monitors so I can max out settings? What do you guys recommend? 2. Also, so many power supplies to choose from. Based on my setup, how many watts do you guys think I need? 3. Anybody have recommendations on a 2.1 loudspeaker preferably in the $50-$75 range?
Hi Loafers welcome to the forums Xfire Aka Crossfire is the equivalent to SLI but for ATI cards Read this http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2010/07/13/pc-hardware-buyer-s-guide-july-2010/1 The Enthusiast Overclocker especially Are you looking for a quite PC? if so go for the Fractal R2 its a great case with excellent build quality. For a monitor i would go for a Dell or nec something like a Dell U2311H You should deffentally overclock you system aswell If you have any more questions just ask
hey loafers. as murraynt suggested, the enthusiast overclocker would be fine. maybe even drop the i5 for an i3-530 and an h55 mobo. the gpu will be plenty for you. grab a decent 22 incher or so (there are tons to choose from and unless ur going ips or something more high-end they pretty much start running together). i have a samsung and love it. just read a few reviews and grab a good deal. as far as overclocking, just figure out if you need it. are games a little sluggish? maybe an oc will get them playable. but if you put it together and everything runs smooth, no need to oc.
To answer your questions: 1) You'll want to go quad core. At the moment, the Intel six core processor, the 980X, is around £840, so in dollars I'm guessing about $1300ish? I'm not completely sure. As for the AMD six cores, well, their performance is worse than the Intels. If you're doing really, really extreme multitasking (ie. to levels that you almost definitely won't be), then the six core would be better...but you'd have to be doing ridiculous amounts of stuff at one given moment to require that many cores. And, with multi-threaded programs, the Intel's would work out faster anyway. I don't have a clue what the American pricing is like when it comes to the i7 and i5 chips, so you might have to go with the latter. Either way, performance would be great, and you wouldn't really notice too much difference. 2) As you've said 3) Again, as you said 4) GTX460. 5) Don't know about pricing at all, sorry Though you'd probably be able to look at a Corsair VX550 or something around that price range (I say Corsair because, even though they aren't necessarily the best performing now, they still are some of the best value and are great overall products, and still good performers. It's all price dependent.) 6) Don't bother with any drive over 7200RPM. Price is ridiculous for a mechanical drive, and the performance isn't really that much better now. WD6401AALS. 7) Any decent brand one for a decent price. LiteOn is usually pretty loud, speaking from experience. LG is good, some of the 22x Sony's apparently have some issues at full speed with certain formats, though it has been a long time since I have read about any of this. 8) I'd personally recommend the CM692, the Xigmatek Utgard that bit-tech has recommended, Lancool K58...all pretty good choices. The first two have slightly better cable management I'd say, the Utgard has tons of holes, and the CM692 is not far behind. Utgard's spacing is a bit better when it comes to the ATX power cable positioning, but that's a very minor issue for the CM692. I'm afraid I don't really have any more time to answer anything else, but people are really helpful here Good luck EDIT: The bit-tech guide linked by murraynt is brilliant, and not much can be changed from that
Processor The Core i5-750 is a wonderful processor, has plenty of power and if you eventually try overclocking (which you probably shouldnt as a first timer), this is the CPU to do it with Motherboard This motherboard is a good one from Gigabyte, has plenty of room for future upgrades and has USB 3.0, making you future proof for a good while RAM Corsair is well known for their great RAM, this set is no exception Graphics EVGA is the way to go for nVidia graphics, and this GTX 460 gives you the most power for the money in the mid-range market. Newegg isnt selling EVGA's 1 GB version, so you could go to EVGA.com and get that version there, although its like $30 more. Powersupply This Antec PSU was created to go with a few of their cases, it has excellent efficiency, is cool, quiet, and will provide plenty of power for your system, and any future upgrades Hard Drive A hard drive from Western Digital, nothing really special here, though WD makes the best drives imo DVD Drive Regular old Asus DVD drive Case The Antec P183 is quiet, has optimal airflow and thus excellent cooling, and is compatible with Antec's CP series PSU's. Its also not flashy, having a nice simple, elegant, classy design. The stuff I listed here is more or less similar to the guide, but some parts of the guide are not available in the US at Newegg, like the Xigmatek case for example. I opted to change to another motherboard from the UD2, because the UD2, while an great motherboard (I built my PC with one, hence I know the few flaws it does have), isnt as future proof or upgradable as the mobo I listed. My list comes out to $1,041.91, all at Newegg.com, and I believe its worth every penny. Also, there are some items on the list that can be combo'd at Newegg, decreasing the price further. I didnt put the combo price here, but for example the Antec case and PSU can be put in a combo that saves $35 as of typing. Also after buying your parts and receiving them, dont forget the rebates! They save you money, send them in straight away. If you need to get an operating system, buy an OEM version, you dont need retail, the only difference between OEM and retail is that retail gives you a nice shiny box for $70 more.
Here is my updated setup. As of right now, I still can't decide on a monitor, power supply, and loudspeaker. I think I'm going to go over my budget a little, but that's okay. Also, the GTX 460 being new, it's hard to find a place that's selling a EVGA one. 1. The bigger the monitor the decrease in graphic performance? Should I go with lower resolution monitors so I can max out settings? What do you guys recommend? 2. Also, so many power supplies to choose from. Based on my setup, how many watts do you guys think I need? 3. Anybody have recommendations on a 2.1 loudspeaker preferably in the $50-$75 range?
For a screen I recommend a 1080p monitor. They can be a little pricey, usually around the $200 range. My screen is from Sceptre, and its good, just that I had to adjust the coloring a bit because it likes to display bright reds by default. Its a good screen but if you dont mind spending $30 more I would probably recommend this from LG, and Acer also makes good products. Dont ever cheap out on a PSU. A cheap PSU can provide unstable power and fry all the rest of the components in your PC, and what you thought would save you $50 ends up costing you the price of the mobo, GPU, CPU, RAM, and HDD as well. Go with a known quality brand every time. Antec and Corsair are the best imo. With your specifications so far, this PSU would have excellent efficiency at a great price.
For a power supply I would see if I could find This one but anything above 500 Watt would be more than enough and that is even if you want an extra 460 at some point. For speakers I would look at a Logitech X-230, they are great compared to their size and should fit your budget.
i wouldnt recommend a 1920x1080 unless you are keen to keep updating your GPU. if thts fine with you 1920x1080 it is. but with a high res you have to upgrade the GPU more often to keep your settings on max. id opt for maybe a 20-22" 1680x1050 if you dont tend or want to upgrade that often. the i7-860 IMO is a waste and i would opt for a i5-750 which costs a lot less then overclock that you wont see a lot of diference in real world performance unless your using heavily threaded apps using HT. The CPU cooler you have choosen isnt one im familar with but i would imagine its rubbish opt for a titan fenrir which is an awesome CPU cooler and will allow for overclocks of around 4-4.2Ghz. PSU wise id go for a 550-650W big brand usually be quiet, antec, corsair etc. consider modular cabling to optimize air flow in the case. make sure you get a big brand on the RAM too. look for lowest price DDR1600mhz on crucial, corsair etc lower timings are better but DONT pay extra for them as they offer little to nothing in real world apps and games. for storage i doubt 160GB is enough considering most games now are around 10-15GB when installed and you dont wanna go below 10GB of free space as well. The drive is also only mediocre in speed as well. opt for a samung F3 500GB or 1TB these are one of the best drives around. maybe a WD 640GB black if you cant find the samungs. oo another thing on the graphics you dont need to opt for EVGA 460 as it will perform the same as any other brand. just opt for one of the more common brands with a decent 3-5 year warranty.
Oh, no no no. The Coolermaster Hyper 212+ is an excellent cooler. I'm using one now. His location is USA, and unfortunately Newegg doesnt sell the Titan Fenrir (I never venture out of Newegg, they are so awesome), but the Hyper 212+ by far is an excellent cooler. Outstanding reviews, and for a cheaper cost. Its even fair for decently overclocked CPU's.
