New Gameing & Monitor setup on a budget

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forums, and am looking to build my first gaming computer with matching monitor.

What I'm looking for is something that will look very very sharp,will run something as demanding as second life or Sims 3 or eve online without breaking a sweat in high to medium resolution settings.

I've noticed some posts here on the boards already, but i don't know what all the jargon is. I've built computers once before...back in 1996 haha! but I'll need all the help i can get on this one. I feel im up for the challenge.

Also to go with this, I'm looking into a monitor. i have roughly 700ish to spend on the whole deal. monitor and parts.

I have:
Box
Keyboard
Mouse
External 1TB HD- so internal hd doesn't need to be ultra big.


So what I'm asking for here is a lot of help from the experienced people here on the forums. i hope to learn a lot as well as do a lot here in the next few weeks.

Thanks in advance for all the help!

Theo

 

Assuming your in the US, then you should be able to build a core i5 system that should run these games well. These games are not even close to being that demanding compared to some games on the market, but there not really designed to be ground breaking graphics thrillers either.

And by box, I think you mean case? What case is it? Todays parts can generate alot of heat, so its important to have a case with substantial air flow.

 

Yes I am in the US, and I'm not really sure about the case type. might as well throw one of those in there as well...I'm still currently browsing the forums looking for tidbits of information, and seeing if they would fit together for a nice system.

I'm currently playing these games on a laptop, and want something more stable and powerful than this laptop.

but i haven't had any luck yet, when i find something that is close, ill post it up

Theo.

 

I think I may have found something. Let me know if you think its bogus or not going to work please. I've been trying to figure out how to match up componets..hopefully I did a good job.

This looked interesting as a combo deal from new egg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311727 for 560$$ and that's not including the graphics card.

although i did look at these items seperatly



NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #:M59 - 001BK
$69.99 $69.99
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail
Model #:BX80605I5750
Item #:N82E16819115215
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock

$199.99 $199.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:WD1001FALS
Item #:N82E16822136284
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock

$109.99 -$10.00 Instant $99.99
.

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
Model #:AD-7240S-0B
Item #:N82E16827118030
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$29.99




Hopefully im on the right track, whereas now ive only got to find a Graphics card,a motherboard,and monitor, then compair the priceings to the combo and figure out which route to go.

Theo...

 

The deals not terribly bad. The PSU isnt the greatest, but its atleast 80 plus bronze certified. When it comes to the HD, I prefer WD, but 1.5 TB drives arent generally the most reliable. Id rather do a 1 TB + 500 GB myself.

As for the individual parts you mentioned, the case looks really good. The core i5 is a great chip, and the WD 1 TB CB is a great drive. I have 2 SSDs so the WD 1 TB is my primary storage drive, and was my previous OS drive. It performs great for a mechanical drive.

Mobos - MSI,Gigabyte,and Biostar are the best choices. Intel mobos arent bad, but there lacking in the bios. ASUS is unreliable. EVGA is overpriced, but good mobos. I could go on but you get the idea.

RAM - Corsair XMS series would be good, as would G.Skill or Patriot. I run G.Skills now and ran Patriot Viper series in my old rig and they were quite good.

PSU - Corsair all the way.

HD - Touched on this above. Personally Id just get a 1 TB for now, and then get another 1 TB Caviar Green down the line for storing your music and videos.

Fans - The case comes with 2, not sure how good they are, but you can add atleast one fan in the top for better cooling. Id slap a Sytche 120 MM 21E in there to suck the heat right up out of the top of the case.

Monitor - Look for something that does 1680x1050 or less. 1080 isnt good for gaming.

 

so now im looking at

Mobo-GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail--135$

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail 200$

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ... - Retail-100$

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail--79.99 (I'm not too sure about psu's as this will be my first one, and I do plan on overclocking the system once I get familiar with OCing.

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive -70$

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM-30$

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan - Retail 19.99

Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - Retail 75$

Acer P224Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 10000:1 (ACM) - Retail -160$

case-35$

total of $705 so far!

As for a video card i will need help on this as i dont understand what the differences are on them!

Thanks for looking over my post again..ive been working hard on it.

 

Woops forgot the CPU....any advise guys?

 

Theres an edit button in the top right corner.

As for the build, pretty good but change a few things. Drop down to a 550watt corsair. Thats going to leave you room to upgrade, but if you really want room to upgrade go with a 600 watt corsair.

Drop the crappy case fans.
1) You need 120 MM not 80 MM
2)Your case only holds 5 fans.
3)Cheap fans are gona give you cheap results. Cheap fans are generally noisy and dont perform like they claim. There seems to be no standard on the rated air flow of case fans. Would you rather sit next to something that sounds like a gentle breeze or sitting next to an industrial strength fan. Good fans can achieve alot of air flow with little noise. I have 1 Sycthe 21 F series fan. This thing moves a massive amount of air compared to my stock thermaltake case fans, and makes probably an 8th of the amount of noise the thermaltakes do. Maybe less. I dont even know its on by sound alone unless my ears is about a foot or so from it.

The cpu coolers junk. I had the old revision and I believe the only change is the mounting bracket. I used it on a Q6600(Intel Quad Core) and it was a waste of money. I wish i could recommend a good cooler but mines probably to big for that case. My AC7 dropped my temps down 1 or 2 degrees on idle on my Q6600. My current cooler, which is on my i7 860 which i believe generates more heat then the Q6600 dropped my temps down about 5* or more.

 

The Freezer 7 Pro is a good cooler, but it is midrange at best, and is only useful for cooling Quad cores if they are left stock. For a gaming build, tower coolers are recommended.
Noctua produce a tower cooler that is compatible with LGA1156, I forget the exact product number.
The i5 750 is the best choice of CPU, go with a Gigabyte P55A board and 4GB of Corsair RAM. Specifically a P55A series, because they have safer CPU sockets that are not prone to burning out under stress like the Foxconn ones.

 

I thought the socket issues were only related to the foxcon sockets anyways?

 

They are, but very few boards use the Lotes sockets as of yet, the P55A series from Gigabyte is the only guaranteed example I know of so far.

 

Mobo-GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail--135$

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail 200$

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) ... - Retail-100$

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail--79.99 (I'm not too sure about psu's as this will be my first one, and I do plan on overclocking the system once I get familiar with OCing.

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive -70$

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM-30$

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan - Retail 19.99

Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - Retail 75$

Acer P224Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 10000:1 (ACM) - Retail -160$

case-35$

...905$$ without a video card and not counting shipping and handeling....this is wayyy over budget. would love to have a nice desktop computer, but thinking at this moment in time, a generic would be more my price range, not what i want, but what i can afford...i thought that by building your own that it would be cheaper..

 

Everything's good except the case, which will cause you heat issues, and will probably fall apart in your hands. The case is also $50 not $35, and for an extra $10 you can get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
I'm not really a big fan of Asus monitors either.
If your budget is less than $900 including a monitor, I think a quad core CPU might have been a bit of a stretch. Generally, quad cores are medium-high end builds, and $900 including a monitor for a games PC is not a high end budget sadly.
You can, fortunately save a chunk by just using the stock cooler that comes with the CPU and not overclocking. It works fine as long as the CPU is left at standard settings. Also, if you're using a normal graphics card (which on this sort of budget I'd expect) you can drop to this power supply and still do fine:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008
That frees up $100 putting you at 820. $80 isn't much for a graphics card, but you can get something like this which has basic gaming capabilities:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102854

 

If your looking to save money you might also want to think about doing an AMD build. Not quite as high in performance, but not as expensive either, and they still run great. Basically the only thing that would need to be changed from your list would be mobo and cpu/HSF. I'm at work now and don't have the time, but I'll try to throw up a few options when I get home.

 

Now the i3s are out you could cut the cost of that system by spec'ing a dual core. For games it'd be faster than a cheaper AMD quad most of the time.

 

But if your talking about a dual core gamer, you can save still with AMD dual core by going Athlon II X2 or Phenom II X2 with the ability to unlock the cores and turn a very chea dual core into a quad core machine.
But I know nothing of the I3's or if they too, have the ability to unlock cores or what the OC potential is.
It basically comes down to how much you want to spend... you can have more mhz for cheaper with AMD's, but Intels work a little faster and have better overclock potential most of the time it seems.
But samm knows more than me for sure, and I have little in-depth knowledge on the intel i3/i5/i7 line as I have no interest in them.

 

They can't unlock cores to become quads, but they are much faster per core. Much, much faster in most cases. The mhz is really mostly irrelevant, an Intel CPU at 2.66Ghz is still going to come out on top of a 3.6Ghz AMD, which is close to the maximum overclock AMD CPUs can achieve a lot of the time.

 

Um... I've never seen any info that shows intels outperforming by the much... I know they multitask better due to having hyper threading... but I haven't read anything to show intels perform at 1GHZ better than rated. I'm sure if they worked like an AMD 3.6GHZ they would find some way to market that for sure...
From my research I know an intel 2.66GHZ will likely be on par with a 3.0 or a 3.2 but I've not seen it work better than a 3.2 or higher... Unless you mean they can overclock to that speeds. In which case it comes down to the guys knowledge/ability/willingness to OC.
All my research shows a i7 2.66ghz reaching about 3 - 3.2 on air cooling (not talking about the ridiculously high end coolers here, this guy is on a budget) with the Phenom II 955 - 3.2 GHZ reaching about 3.6 - 3.8 on about the same style cooler... While on an AM2+ board with DDR2 Ram.
I so when on a budget, I'd suggest the Phenom over the Intels most days, depending on need and budget. Only High end gamers need I7's really...
And if your not sure about OC'ing... I'd def go with AMD Phenom as you'll save money for the same speed, or more speed for the same money...

 

You're thinking too much about clock speed, it really doesn't define performance at all these days.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2009/11/04/amd-phenom-ii-x4-965-be-c3-review/5
Have a look through here and see how the i5 750 and i7 920, both 2.66Ghz CPUs, match up to the 3.4Ghz Phenom II X4 965.
AMD CPUs are cheap because they are very slow overall. The most expensive AMD quad is slower than the cheapest Core i5/i7 overall. That doesn't make it a bad product since it is fairly priced, but it's worth noting that AMD ghz vs Intel ghz is not something you should compare. When considering overclocking, however, remember that in a typical system most AMD CPUs will max out at 3.7-3.9Ghz, maybe reaching 4.1 Intel CPUs will typically max out at 3.8-4.0/4.1 Ghz, maybe reaching 4.3-4.4 at a push. Consider the 3.4 vs 2.66Ghz argument, and an AMD CPU would have to be at least 5.0-5.5Ghz to compare to an overclocked Intel.
If you're running stock and don't care about power efficiency, AMD CPUs are fair enough as they're cheap, but Intel CPUs will demolish them if you care about either efficiency or overclocking. That's just how it is. I only recommend AMD CPUs to the absolute cheapest of systems at the moment, as it's not really worth it at the moment.

 

Hmm, Ok I don't know what to do, my budget is around 700ish and I'm looking for something that will play Wow, Sims3, and games such as "Fallen Earth" on high settings, mostly for a gaming computer...Should I buy a pre-fab from new egg, then upgrade as money permits? And if so which would would be the best deal for the dollar?

(if not a pre-fab type)Given the list above, what should I downsize on to meet my budget? and still include a 1gb video card?

I appreciate everyone trying to help me out here, but I get lost in the jargon on some of the posts.