Need help building a budgeted gaming system (amateur)

Yeah, no point in buying OC'd cards as you can do it fine yourself in catalyst control centre. ATI just released new drivers so you'll see slight performance gains in the 4000 series cards compared to benchmarks you'll see online. My dips decreased a bit in Fallout 3, but I run into problems because I've imported an HD texture pack that runs into limits with my 512mb card. Wish I had bought the 1GB at this point, but my money is probably better spend elsewhere anyways.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

I bought some other stuff on NewEgg today:

Mousepad: steelseries 63005SS QcK mini.

Speakers: Logitech X-240 25 Watts 2.1

Router: LINKSYS WRT54GL IEEE 802.3/3u, IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless-G Broadband

Games: Battlefield 2: Complete Collection and Counter Strike: Source

All I need now are headphones.

The above games are sort of old - I also want to buy a new game that will really challenge my system - but at the same time I want the game to be multiplayer and fun. I think Crysis is the only game that fits that criteria. Do you think my system would be able to handle Crysis? I don't know how to OC and stuff though.

 

The HD4830 can 'handle' Crysis. On your system, a playable frame rate will be achieved at 1280x1024 with most settings high, one or two at medium. To run all high, you will have to drop the resolution to at least 1280x800, if not 1024x768. To run at 1680x1050 you will have to drop to all medium detail.

 

Wow I am really mad right now - I spent like 12 hours reading so many websites and manuals and stuff and I think I finally figured out where everything goes.. so I plug the power supply cord in to the wall and flip the switch and try to turn on the computer and what happens? nothing..


I think the PSU is defective or something... sometimes when I'm flipping the switch and I lean in real close I hear a slight hissing sound, not sure if its the PSU or the motherboard, but I'm guessing the PSU.

I dont know if its just because I am new at this.. but I really think I plugged in everything where it belongs.. this really sucks

 

You might have connected the case's power switch cable/connector into the wrong slot in your motherboard. Also make sure that the PSU is turned on.

Double check the instructions for the case and motherboard to make sure that is correctly connected. Also, those are usually a little tricky to get all the way in since some of those connectors are very small, so make sure that everything is in all the way.

 

The hissing sound is probably the PSU's capacitors charging up, that's perfectly normal to hear.
Agreed with JaguarGod, not having connected the front panel connectors correctly is far more common than faulty components.

 

I'm sure I connected the front panel - I checked it many times.

I think I may have found the problem - as I was taking everything out of my case - when I unplugged the MAIN power supply wire that goes from my PSU to my mobo (the 20+4) wire... the 4 wire was fine .. and so was 19 out of the 20 holes on the wire of my PSU - but one hole was empty ... do you think this is the reason for the lack of power??

 

The missing pin is #10 (+12V) ... that sounds important.

 

What do you mean the antec 900 case is overkill?

 

Nvm, I wasn't looking at the pin alignment close enough and I had it backwards, the missing pin is #17 - which is GND - so that should not matter right?

 

My good friend runs Crysis on 1680x1050 at High shaders, and Very High everything else. No choppiness at all on the second level with bombs dropping all around. This is with a 4850 stock clock speeds.

 

Help!

I made some progress.

Here is what I did.

I followed this guide exactly - http://www.pcmech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132409

and it didn't work - then I decided to follow the guide exactly AND plug the power switch from my case onto the MOBO - this lit up the mobo, i heard the fans spinning and everything was great! it stayed on for about 5 seconds, shut off, and then did it all over again a few seconds later.. it was a cycle. I'm not sure what this means but I think I have made some progress - what should I do from here?

 

Kenny536: Glad you made some progress. Grounds aren't always compulsary. The continuous shutdown loop means your PC isn't able to enter POST. Check your RAM, graphics card connection and graphics card power (if applicable).

eddie456: No PC system has ever yet been made that needs as much airflow as the Antec 900 provides even on Medium, let alone high.
TheftAuto: Now try 'Core', 'Paradise Lost' and 'Reckoning' - you'll barely get half the frame rate you get during the other sections.

 

I think the problem is something related with the CPU. I unplugged the PSU cables (CPU1 and CPU2) so that there is no power to the CPU and I also unplugged the CPU fan. I then turned on the computer and now the power stays on. I left it on for about 30 seconds on two separate occasions without any interruption in power. I did not leave it on for more than 30 seconds because I'm not sure if it is safe to do so without having power to the CPU and the CPU fan not being on. Is that safe? Does this mean that the problem is CPU-related?

Here is what the situation is:

I have the everything out of the case.. the mobo is on top of the box it came in .. I have the PSU connected to the mobo, I have the case power switch and the other front panel cords connected to the mobo, one of the case fans connected to the PSU.. the CPU is on the mobo with the heatsink installed. I also have one stick of RAM in there.

That's it.

 

A PC will not function at all with the CPU power connector removed. You can't gauge anything from tests if that is not plugged in.
I would strongly suggest assembling the components in the case, sometimes you encounter problems when testing setups with no case.

 

Well that is what I did initially when there was no power.

Then I followed the guidelines on here : http://www.pcmech.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132409

I still did not receive power but when I did those guidelines and ALSO plugged in the PWR switch from my case to the mobo, that's when I got the power ( still turned on and off ). And then like I said, when I took power away from the CPU, the cyclic power was gone and I had continuous power.

I'll put everything back in the case but I'm not sure if it's gonna help.

Also, what do you mean my PC isn't able to enter POST? What does POST mean?

 

The power switch to the case is compulsary, or the button won't work. The CPU power connector is compulsary, or the PC won't work. The power cycling is the motherboard telling the PC to shut down. It's not like a fault is causing you 'not to get continuous power' - when you unplug the CPU power, the system is unable to tell itself to shut down. The reason for it shutting down is what you need to find.
POST = Power on self test, or the process that happens before, and during the black screen you see before your operating system loads.

 

Oh .. so it's not the CPU then? Man.. this is so frustrating.. it can be anything.. PSU.. CPU.. even the motherboard that is defective.. or it could be something stupid that I have overlooked..I am running out of ideas.

Does it mean anything that the CPU Fan starts up slower than the rest of the parts when the power turns on?

 

In this link: someone has a similar problem - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/248612-31-system-turns-shuts-turns

and one person said this:

Although I have Gskill RAM.. I don't think the RAM is at fault.. but he did say GBYTE mobos are prone to this problem..although his mobo was a D3SL.. mine is UD3R.. at this point.. I know the problem has to be with the CPU, PSU, or the motherboard... nothing else is connected.

 

I've not had it, but I use Corsair RAM which has good compatibility. I don't think theonejrs has had any issues, and he uses G-Skill RAM to my knowledge.