Need help building a PC

secondnightmare

secondnightmare

CAG Veteran
Hello, I've posted multiple times on this board looking for various tips on PC building and I've never really done it due to budget restraints but now I have $1000 (give or take) and I really want to build a good gaming PC..

I have a guy who builds PCs for a living who's gonna do all the buying, I just have to tell him what I want..Then he's gonna show me how to put it together.

What I really need to know is what graphics card to go with so I can build the system around it (something that'll play Crysis, Killing Floor, Cryostasis, and all of the games that are coming out on good settings)...

Names of graphics cards (links and prices?) and builds of good gaming pc's( if you want to) would be nice! -I'd also like the PC to be upgradable (that's why im building one)

Any help is greatly appreciated and thanks for your time!!
 
As for graphics cards, the Radeon 4890 seems to be pretty krunked out. However, you'll also need a good processor to match and a motherboard that's compatible with that processor. You could get an i7 or an AMD phenom II. Make sure the motherboard you pick also has a PCI-E 2.0 slot.
 
$1000 to build an i7 system will be tight. Assuming you don't need monitor/speakers/mouse/kb, it can be done but some corners will have to be cut. I'm just linking you to Newegg pages for reference. AR = After Rebate

Processor: Intel i7 920 2.66GHz - $280
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R - $185 AR (budget board); or Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P - $240 AR (deluxe board)
Memory: OCZ Platinum 6GB DDR3 1600 - $75 AR
Video card: Sapphire HD 4890 1GB - $205 AR & promo code VGA582
Power supply: Corsair 750W - $100 AR
Hard drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black - $70
DVD burner: Samsung 22X DVD-RW SATA - $25
Case: Something that looks good to you ~ $100

Total: ~ $1095 (with the more expensive motherboard)

That'll give you a general idea on what you're looking for. I'm sure you'll fine some good deals if you look around. You might have to factor in your OS cost if you need one.
 
Once you have your price, CPU brand, and GPU brand picked out you only have a few choices. Price you have set. CPU... AMD is a better "bang for your buck" right now but the Intel i7's are a bit faster. I prefer Nvidia over ATI, but that is my personal preference nothing wrong with ATI. The Nvidia 260 or 275 will play any game you throw at it.

If you build your own system it's is always upgradeable to a point. If Intel/AMD change the socket you will need to upgrade your mobo along with your CPU. GPU's can always be swapped out until they find a replacement for PCI-E. Keep in mind that upgrading isn't always beneficial. Upgrading the GPU might be a marginal gain if you bottleneck at the CPU and vise versa. Ohh, if you go with Intel i7 buy RAM in threes, since it's tri-chanel. SOSTrooper's post didn't include OS. You could save some money in the short term by using Windows 7 RC. It will be free to use until June 2010.

Unless you are going to OC, you can get away with a "cheaper" mobo since you will not need all the features of a more expensive board. Don't cheap out on the power supply, you will regret it if you do. I buy almost all my stuff through newegg. They might not always have the rock bottom lowest price but they have great pricing, great customer service, and are a good company.
 
[quote name='molson1138']

Unless you are going to OC, you can get away with a "cheaper" mobo since you will not need all the features of a more expensive board. Don't cheap out on the power supply, you will regret it if you do. I buy almost all my stuff through newegg. They might not always have the rock bottom lowest price but they have great pricing, great customer service, and are a good company.[/QUOTE]

I agree with not getting the cheap power supplies. We used to do that and it's likely what killed a couple of our old computers. Also, it is a good idea to get a power supply that is bigger than what you think you need. You might not need it at the moment, but if you start adding more hard drives and do a video card upgrade, you'll need it.

I also thought I'd recommend zip zoom fly. We've bought a lot of parts through them. They also have free shipping on a lot of their stuff.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']$1000 to build an i7 system will be tight. Assuming you don't need monitor/speakers/mouse/kb, it can be done but some corners will have to be cut. I'm just linking you to Newegg pages for reference. AR = After Rebate

Processor: Intel i7 920 2.66GHz - $280
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R - $185 AR (budget board); or Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P - $240 AR (deluxe board)
Memory: OCZ Platinum 6GB DDR3 1600 - $75 AR
Video card: Sapphire HD 4890 1GB - $205 AR & promo code VGA582
Power supply: Corsair 750W - $100 AR
Hard drive: Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black - $70
DVD burner: Samsung 22X DVD-RW SATA - $25
Case: Something that looks good to you ~ $100

Total: ~ $1095 (with the more expensive motherboard)

That'll give you a general idea on what you're looking for. I'm sure you'll fine some good deals if you look around. You might have to factor in your OS cost if you need one.[/QUOTE]


Nice build. I'm looking to do a hardware refresh, around the time Windows 7 comes out. I hope to be able to score a Mobo, i7 and some ram for about $500 bucks at that time. I hope to reuse my vid, HD and case at that time and then later replace my vid card.
 
My PC is really close to biting the dust, so I need to look into either getting a new system completely or transplating some of my components into a new shell.

The CPU fan on my mobo has been busted for a while, and it's a huge problem, as my system constantly overheats, even with an external fan blowing all the time.

Is there a resource for building a new tower out of recycled parts?
 
I just did a build a month or two ago.

AMD Phenom II X3 720, conservatively overclocked from 2.8 to 3.4 GHZ and unlocked the 4th core. $102
Biostar Tforce TA790GX 128M $106
4GB Patriot DDR2 1066 $53
Radeon X800 XL (haven't gotten around to a new video card yet)
Antec 300 case $40 (usually $50)
Antec Earthwatts 500 PSU $16 (usually $50)
Scythe Mugen heatsink $25 (again, $50 for you)


The Antec 300 is a great value for $50, great airflow. Get some Yate Loon fans from Jab-Tech or somewhere for cheap, good solid fans. Don't skimp on the PSU, get a solid unit from Seasonic, Corsair, PCP&C, or certain Antec models. Get yourself a good heatsink too if you plan to OC, I haven't used a stock heatsink since the first Pentiums were around.
 
Sorry about the late reply. I think I'll go with the first build (very nice!) and I'm going to consult my IT guy tomorrow about getting the parts. I will keep in mind the thing about the power supply. Thanks guys :)
 
phenom II is a way better value right now, F intel.. dafoomie's build is great, infinitely better value than SOS's machine. don't do it.

you were right to want to build the machine around the GPU. in gaming, the GPU wll always be the bottleneck. IMO get it a GTX 260 and build the machine around that. you can build a ~$500 machine, put in a $250 video card and the video card will still be the bottleneck. it's such a waste to build a $1000 machine for gaming with a $200 gpu. with the ~$300 you save, you can get another top of the line video card in about two years and extend the life of the machine quite a bit. or, alternatively, blow it on a nice mnitor.. you can never have too nice a monitor. already got 24" 1920x1200? good, upgrade to 30" 2560x1600. already got 30" 2560x1600? get a second one. seriously, bitchin display(s) will do much more for your computing experience than overkill case / cpu / ram / psu ever will.



the most solid advice you'll ever read: get a great GPU, get other components that won't hold it back, and either roll around in the savings or blow it on a kickass display.
 
He's right. For gaming, get a high end video card and put the best system around it that you can.

If you've got time, just watch Fatwallet or Anandtech or something for a hot deal on a top end video card and jump on it.
 
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