Hello all, I was looking into building a computer as mine is currently going on 6-7+ years old... I obviously am looking for something to game with...but at the same time isn't going to cost me and arm and a leg. I have never built a computer before, but I have read up a bunch of info, so I know enough to be dangerous. Here was the build I was looking at with the approximate prices associated. Mobo: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 $120 - 130 CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor $200 - 220 RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $47 HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" $110 Possibly get a SSD Drive to use for Windows OS SSD: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $80 Optical: ASUS 24X DVD Burner Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS – OEM $18 Video: EVGA 01G-P3-1460-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready $160 Power Supply: Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply - ATX, SATA-Ready, SLI-Ready, 135mm Fan, Lifetime Warranty w/ Registration $55 Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan $50 Operating System: Windows 7 64bit Total Cost is around $850 (excluding windows 7) If anyone has any comments / suggestions feel free. Thanks, Juga
I have changed a couple things around that I believe might be better and is still about the same price (with rebates). http://pcpartpicker.com/p/79T1 (PSU isn't included because it isn't sold by any of the websites that PC Part Picker gathers information from.)
The OP looked good to me but maybe invest a little more in video card with all the new series coming out. Or SLI the 560s. ;-)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130768 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=912 haf and you're gonna want to get a 128 GB SSD...trust me. after os install, stwor, and battlefield 3 I was left with barley 8 GB. Also thats after I changed the location of my page file to a non SDD.
Ill help you out more after work, but you are going to want a much more solid power supply. And at least an 80GB SSD for your OS, preferably 128 as others have said If you want this one to last another 6-7 years then that GPU wont cut it unfortunately. It is a midrange GPU now days, and moving towards lower midrange. It can put you through 2 years maybe, but more than that would be a stretch Depending on your budget, a SSD may be out of the question right now :/
Don't go for less than 128GB SSD. I started with 128 and I ran out of space pretty fast (now running 128 + 180 because of this). And don't try to save money on SSD, it'll be one of the best purchases you will do
Thx all for the replies. I have been out of town for a bit and didn't check in. I'll take a look and see what the wife will allow me to spend :bigeyes:
My only real change to suggest is a quality power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012 Either get no SSD and use the money saved to go into the additional PSU cost and the price will be about the same, or if you can swing it throw a 128GB SSD on top of it all. That will bring the total to around $1000 though All the other parts looks solid, but if you want to game on this for another 6-7 years then you will need to upgrade your graphics in another 2-3 years time
I do plan to game on this computer over the next years. Although, I will prolly game alot less than I have in the past. As of right now it looks like 4-500 dollars to get a better GTX video card. In the long run, won't it be about the same cost, if not less, to buy the card in the OP and get another one for near the same price in a few years? On a side note. I did just find a SSD that looks like a descent deal. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-Solid%20State%20Disk-_-Crucial-_-20148442&AID=10440897&PID=3938566&SID= Jugz
I dont remember if the issue between the Crucial M4 and the Intel Sandy Bridge processors was ever resolved. So best to get a different SSD. One of these would be my choices: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167121 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147163 Intel being a little faster in the writes, Samsung being faster in reading. And yes, it would probably be cheaper or at least the same price to get a cheap GPU now, and another cheap GPU in a few years.
Well, here is what I have for now http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7s8g. I put a different PSU on here and edited the SSD, how does it look?
Looks pretty good, but you should get one of these motherboards instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138355 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543 Normally I am not a fan of BioStar boards, but it is the best deal for the money. That Gigabyte would be solid but wont overclock as well as the BioStar and doesnt have heatsinks on the VRM. The reason for a Z77 over Z68 is because it supports the newer processors as well as PCI-E 3.0 should you ever go that way in the future. Supposed to have really fast chipset too compared to previous gen.
Ok, sounds great! Thx again for the help. When I get around to ordering things, will I need any extra cables and such? or does everything comes with the required connections?
So I added that Mobo to the parts list and its giving me this warning: Biostar TZ77XE3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard and G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory are not compatible. I am not sure why, is this warning incorrect? List: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7vBw
I was just looking around at CPUs. Is there a significant difference between the new Ivy Bridge vs the Sandy Bridge. I will probably still be looking at the i5 for cost sake. The IBs are not a whole lot more expensive. Any reason to go with one or the other? These are the two that caught my eye: IB : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116505 SB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Ivy is a little bit faster, with faster chipset, PCI-E 3.0, and consumes less power. Getting a Z77 board gives you the faster chipset already, regardless of CPU choice. But you cant take advantage of its PCI-E 3.0 speed unless you use Ivy Bridge
With response to what Enigma said above me, if you were to choose between Sandy and Ivy - I would go with Ivy. Less power consumption, a little more "future proofing" with PCI-e 3.0, and its the newest of the new and "roughly" the same price. At this point in the game, if you have a z68 platform, there would be no need to go from Sandy to Ivy, but if you don't have a Sandy platform already - go with Ivy.