The Ultimate 'Build-A-PC' Thread. Complete With Pricings & Recommendations (06/06/10)

[quote name='kidrocklive']Is the OP going to ever be updated? I'm debating on upgrading/building my 1st pc and am clueless on things lol.[/QUOTE]

Probably not. Give us an idea on what you want to use the computer for and your spending limit. And we'll make a build list for ya.
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']Probably not. Give us an idea on what you want to use the computer for and your spending limit. And we'll make a build list for ya.[/QUOTE]

This is what I am running right now

CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5400 @ 2.70GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6670
RAM: 4GB
OS: Windows 7 64 bit

I know you can get really crazy with PCs so I am not really looking to go all out crazy. I'd like to get a more up to date CPU as I heard mine is pretty dated. I was thinking when AMD does their next GPU bundle I would get in on that. I'd like to look into getting a solid state drive for the OS too possibly.
 
[quote name='kidrocklive']This is what I am running right now

CPU: Pentium Dual-Core E5400 @ 2.70GHz
GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6670
RAM: 4GB
OS: Windows 7 64 bit

I know you can get really crazy with PCs so I am not really looking to go all out crazy. I'd like to get a more up to date CPU as I heard mine is pretty dated. I was thinking when AMD does their next GPU bundle I would get in on that. I'd like to look into getting a solid state drive for the OS too possibly.[/QUOTE]

Unless you want people start tossing out random suggestions there are some primary things you may have to decide on:

1) What is the primary use for the the PC going to be? Casual gaming, internet/email mainly, home use, business & home use, more modern/hardcore gaming, etc?
2) Do you want to upgrade or build a new one? A related question is can you upgrade? Keep in mind if your current one is a stock PC from say like HP, Dell, etc. then there won't be much for you to actually upgrade. So you'll probably need to do a new build, but there might be some parts you could maybe re-use in a new build.

Edit: I will throw out one suggestion for a good start hopefully. Seeing as you already have a Radeon 6670 card, you could go with trying to utilize AMD Dual Graphics in a new build. It basically takes the graphics in the AMD A-Series CPU/GPU and boosts it using your 6670. Similar to the idea of running 2 graphics but it will be less powerful. It probably won't be powerful enough to play every newly released game out there, but if you are using it for home pc with media & casual gaming capabilities it can be a very good setup. Let us all know what you want the PC to do and we can pitch in with more suggestions.
 
[quote name='Mako1215']MicroCenter has the i5 3570K (I believe that's the numbering) for $169. That's an awesome CPU to build around.[/QUOTE]

But not everyone has a MC near them.
 
Any recommendations for a decent keyboard for around $30 that has usb ports and is LED backlight? I've had the razor lycosa for two years now and its dying on me. I've been looking at the Logitech G105 and the price is perfect for me but it has no usb ports and the G110 is more than double the G105. Any suggestions?
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']But not everyone has a MC near them.[/QUOTE]

Yea and what if they do, and would never think to look there? That's why I suggested it.

If you don't live near a MC try price matching at BB or somewhere.
 
[quote name='Duo_Maxwell']Unless you want people start tossing out random suggestions there are some primary things you may have to decide on:

1) What is the primary use for the the PC going to be? Casual gaming, internet/email mainly, home use, business & home use, more modern/hardcore gaming, etc?
2) Do you want to upgrade or build a new one? A related question is can you upgrade? Keep in mind if your current one is a stock PC from say like HP, Dell, etc. then there won't be much for you to actually upgrade. So you'll probably need to do a new build, but there might be some parts you could maybe re-use in a new build.

Edit: I will throw out one suggestion for a good start hopefully. Seeing as you already have a Radeon 6670 card, you could go with trying to utilize AMD Dual Graphics in a new build. It basically takes the graphics in the AMD A-Series CPU/GPU and boosts it using your 6670. Similar to the idea of running 2 graphics but it will be less powerful. It probably won't be powerful enough to play every newly released game out there, but if you are using it for home pc with media & casual gaming capabilities it can be a very good setup. Let us all know what you want the PC to do and we can pitch in with more suggestions.[/QUOTE]

The main purpose or use of my pc will be to browse the internet, but for what I have now it does fine for that. I was just thinking that I might stick to PC gaming for a while and not immediately buy into the next gen of consoles. Although, I will eventually be forced to because of sports games lol. With that in mind I’d like to I guess have a mediocre set up or modern games where I am not turning on ultra settings but am also not on low either.



As far as my machine goes, its an emachine I got from tiger direct I believe a few years ago. I thought about trying to use what I can from this and getting a new case/parts for the new one. That way in the future if or when I want to upgrade I would be able to. A friend of mind suggested I get a “bare bones kit” from I believe its tiger direct but wasn’t sure if that was really the ideal way to go or not.
 
[quote name='kidrocklive']The main purpose or use of my pc will be to browse the internet, but for what I have now it does fine for that. I was just thinking that I might stick to PC gaming for a while and not immediately buy into the next gen of consoles. Although, I will eventually be forced to because of sports games lol. With that in mind I’d like to I guess have a mediocre set up or modern games where I am not turning on ultra settings but am also not on low either.



As far as my machine goes, its an emachine I got from tiger direct I believe a few years ago. I thought about trying to use what I can from this and getting a new case/parts for the new one. That way in the future if or when I want to upgrade I would be able to. A friend of mind suggested I get a “bare bones kit” from I believe its tiger direct but wasn’t sure if that was really the ideal way to go or not.[/QUOTE]

APU would be perfect for you.
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']APU would be perfect for you.[/QUOTE]

Why is that exactly?

My limit would probably be about $500-600 but if I could get by with less that's always good lol. Not really sure how the cost vs benefit analysis goes with PCs.
 
[quote name='kidrocklive']Why is that exactly?

My limit would probably be about $500-600 but if I could get by with less that's always good lol. Not really sure how the cost vs benefit analysis goes with PCs.[/QUOTE]

APUs have the best ratio of price to performance IMO. You only want medium/high which if you crossfire your old 6670 with the a10-5800k, you could definitely achieve decent settings for most games.

Do you happen to know whether your 6670 is the DDR3 or the GDDR5 version?
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']APUs have the best ratio of price to performance IMO. You only want medium/high which if you crossfire your old 6670 with the a10-5800k, you could definitely achieve decent settings for most games.

Do you happen to know whether your 6670 is the DDR3 or the GDDR5 version?[/QUOTE]

Found my order history on Newegg, this is what I have.

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card ( 100326DDR3L )
 
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[quote name='kidrocklive']Found my order history on Newegg, this is what I have.

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card ( 100326DDR3L ) [/QUOTE]

Scratch the idea of using the old 6670. Here's a different build:

RAM Corsair Vengeance 8GB Kit

Motherboard ASRock 970 Ext3

CPU AMD FX-6300

Case CoolerMaster HAF 912

Video Card EVGA GTX 660

Power Supply Rosewill 600W

It totals out to be $591.

The other build would be closer to $700 and you would be seeing much of a difference in performance.
 
[quote name='kidrocklive']A buddy of mine suggested this set up:

CPU - $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286

GPU - $260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102996

Motherboard - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128521

Ram - $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226223

Case - $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233053[/QUOTE]

If you are going Sapphire 7870 by this,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202024&IsVirtualParent=1

which isn't really a 7870. Its a slightly paired down 7950. Should technically be a 7930. And a way better value at the 250 price point. Probably the best value is GPU right now if you can find it for sub 230, which it has been several times.

That said you can get a "true" 7870 for 200 if you watch newegg for a week or two. I've got the HIS 7870 for 190 AR, and never settle bundle included.
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']Scratch the idea of using the old 6670. Here's a different build:

RAM Corsair Vengeance 8GB Kit

Motherboard ASRock 970 Ext3

CPU AMD FX-6300

Case CoolerMaster HAF 912

Video Card EVGA GTX 660

Power Supply Rosewill 600W

It totals out to be $591.

The other build would be closer to $700 and you would be seeing much of a difference in performance.[/QUOTE]

I wouldn't go for Asrock, they're known for their poor customer service and low quality parts. Not to mention they're notorious for being unreliable. I would go for Asus or Gigabyte.
 
[quote name='Juub']I wouldn't go for Asrock, they're known for their poor customer service and low quality parts. Not to mention they're notorious for being unreliable. I would go for Asus or Gigabyte.[/QUOTE]

Asrocks are unreliable? Better replace my mobo soon.

Anyway, I actually meant to link the extreme4 because it has the display on the mobo for POST errors.


As for the video card, the 660 can push the settings that kidrocklive wants.

Sure, you could go with say a HIS 7870 but I really liked evgas warranty service.
 
I'm going over to someone's place to test out a 560Ti that I'll be buying for $70, anything I should keep an eye out for specifically?
 
[quote name='Hente']I'm going over to someone's place to test out a 560Ti that I'll be buying for $70, anything I should keep an eye out for specifically?[/QUOTE]

Play a game and watch the temps.
 
Hey all, my gf is looking to upgrade her rig to something suitable for hardcore gaming. She wants something that can run most titles at best/ultra settings. Price point is $1200-$1500. She was considering buying a premade machine, but I figured with some research and help, she'd likely get more bang for her buck assembling the parts on her own (i.e., on my own). I'm just starting to look into all this, so if you helpful folks could point me in the right direction, I'd be much obliged.
 
Not necessarily a build question but I have a question about a mouse.

I was wondering if I should get the DeathAdder 2013 edition (6400 DPI) or should I stick with the older model DeathAdder (3500 DPI)?

I just bought the older model for $48 at Walmart but seen we have the newer models for $70 and with my discount it would only be $65 after tax for the newer one.
 
[quote name='pantsattack']Is there a buy sell trade spot on CAG for PC parts? I can't see it.[/QUOTE]

I don't think so. Feel free to make one.
 
[quote name='supracom']Hey all, my gf is looking to upgrade her rig to something suitable for hardcore gaming. She wants something that can run most titles at best/ultra settings. Price point is $1200-$1500. She was considering buying a premade machine, but I figured with some research and help, she'd likely get more bang for her buck assembling the parts on her own (i.e., on my own). I'm just starting to look into all this, so if you helpful folks could point me in the right direction, I'd be much obliged.[/QUOTE]

Here is a rig I threw together in about 10 minutes.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WeMl

When you are in that price range you can do a lot. I'm sure with research you could knock another 100-200 off that if you buy the parts over 2-3 weeks. Or get better.

This can give you a starting point. If you have more questions let me know. At that price range you should be building. You can put together a great rig.
 
[quote name='Mako1215']Good PSU[/QUOTE]

Yes it is. Seasonic is probably the best PSU maker around. They are the OEM for Corsair as well.

850 gold and modular for $100... BUY NOW!!! if you are looking to build a PC.
 
[quote name='Mako1215']i5 3570K/ i7 3770K
670
8GB ram
180-240GB SSD

That would make a killer rig.[/QUOTE]

Pretty much what I got, except I got an i5 3550. As for this thread, I hear the Geforce 700 series is just around the corner. Do you guys think it's a good time to be buying Nvidia cards? The new gen will roll out soon it seems so there's most likely gonna be a huge price drop for the 600 series so the top of the line 700's have the same price points as the current top of the line 600's. Otherwise the 600's would cannibalize the new series.
 
[quote name='Juub']Pretty much what I got, except I got an i5 3550. As for this thread, I hear the Geforce 700 series is just around the corner. Do you guys think it's a good time to be buying Nvidia cards? The new gen will roll out soon it seems so there's most likely gonna be a huge price drop for the 600 series so the top of the line 700's have the same price points as the current top of the line 600's. Otherwise the 600's would cannibalize the new series.[/QUOTE]

I keep hearing about 700, but honestly I wouldn't invest in it right away. I would wait to see some bench marks.

Typically the prices of the 600 should go down.
 
[quote name='abwly45']Here is a rig I threw together in about 10 minutes.

When you are in that price range you can do a lot. I'm sure with research you could knock another 100-200 off that if you buy the parts over 2-3 weeks. Or get better.

This can give you a starting point. If you have more questions let me know. At that price range you should be building. You can put together a great rig.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, this was very helpful. Will probably end up going with something very similar to your build. Aren't new gpus supposed to get released soon? Might hold out till then for a good deal on the current gen of cards, or look into the new ones. I've been talking to some friends about assembly, one says it's easy while another says it can be somewhat challenging. From my own reading, it seems like assembly should be fairly intuitive albeit time consuming. Any tips or cautionary advice for a first timer?
 
Hey guys, I'm finally going to be upgrading my current PC. I've decided on the Intel 3570k processor - and am looking for recommendations on MoBo & Ram with a good cost to value ratio. I'd love 16gb even though I probably won't need it - this will only really be used for gaming & web browsing.

I'm also going to pick up win7 (upgrading from vista) and another HD - either a smallish (inexpensive) SSD or a 6gbs 1tb SATA.

I will be eventually (black friday?) upgrading my NVIDIA Geforce GFX 275 to something better, but right now my main issue is the Core2Duo 6420 I'm still running as I am sure it's bottle-necking me even though it's overclocked to 2.8ghz).
 
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That's kind of what I was thinking as well.

I am currently looking at: ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 and ASRock Z77 Extreme3 as mobo choices.

I recently built my gf a "steambox" based on an mini-itx ASROCK board and a bitfenix prodigy case and was impressed with the ASRock's features.

Anyone have any other recommendations? Or any experience with either board?
 
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Honestly I couldn't tell you what the drop would be, but I see them putting in some Haswell chips that perform better at the same price as some of the currents ones.

I like playing the waiting game just to see what happens and prices. Worst it's $10 -$20. Even better would be a $50 drop it more.
 
I won't answer anything about the hardware and leave it to the thread regulars (I am really not up on AMD hardware at all), but I will say that saying they're including a free copy of Firefall - which is a free to play game - seems pretty shady.
 
[quote name='saunderscowie']I know this isn't the right thread but I didn't want to create a new one.

But what is this PC like for the price / performance factor? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAST-QUAD...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item4ac348e878

For £300 even without a OS is cheap here - I don't know too much about CPU, Video cards etc thanks.[/QUOTE]


The price reflects the quality of the PC. It is using a 6670 gfx card which is pretty damn old at this point.
 
[quote name='saunderscowie']I know this isn't the right thread but I didn't want to create a new one.

But what is this PC like for the price / performance factor? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FAST-QUAD...t=UK_Computing_DesktopPCs&hash=item4ac348e878

For £300 even without a OS is cheap here - I don't know too much about CPU, Video cards etc thanks.[/QUOTE]

3+ year old CPU, GPU, motherboard etc. Hell, it doesn't even have SATA III ports, a standard for 2+ years.
 
Hey guys, almost made a new thread for it but I guess I'll just post here.

About to finish buying my desktop parts (tonight), and just looking for any comments or input. Have the RAM, and bought the video card last night. Everything else is coming from Amazon (have a monitor, HDD, and case from my previous desktop). Everything is definitely compatible.

Is for gaming, explicitly. Also, my monitor isn't 1080p (nor is my TV - 720p), so I'm not worried about "hitting the limits" at max settings. Will probably get a new monitor eventually, but short of it outright dying on me...


CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($85.49 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (Purchased For $155.00 [$140 after MIR])
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $413.47
 
[quote name='Rhett']Hey guys, almost made a new thread for it but I guess I'll just post here.

About to finish buying my desktop parts (tonight), and just looking for any comments or input. Have the RAM, and bought the video card last night. Everything else is coming from Amazon (have a monitor, HDD, and case from my previous desktop). Everything is definitely compatible.

Is for gaming, explicitly. Also, my monitor isn't 1080p (nor is my TV - 720p), so I'm not worried about "hitting the limits" at max settings. Will probably get a new monitor eventually, but short of it outright dying on me...


CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($85.49 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For $0.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (Purchased For $155.00 [$140 after MIR])
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($52.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $413.47[/QUOTE]

Sounds great to me.
 
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