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Building PC - Will travel (n00b wants to build gaming pc)
Tetsugen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Alrighty, me and a buddy were in a gripping conversation about Macs and PCs. Bantering back and forth we concluded that I wouldnt have the ability to even build a lego sculpture let alone a computer. Ironically he decided to give me a thermaltake case (http://thermaltakeusa.com/Product.aspx?S=1341&ID=2039) this morning as a early birthday present and quite honestly I have no clue where to start.
I have a budget of 3000 dollars (which I had saved for a macbook pro) to get this project done, other than a red strip of LEDs I plan on throwing on, can someone please spec out a PC for me to play SC2 on extreme ?
I have a budget of 3000 dollars (which I had saved for a macbook pro) to get this project done, other than a red strip of LEDs I plan on throwing on, can someone please spec out a PC for me to play SC2 on extreme ?
Tetsugen on
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Now to be more helpful, Tom's Hardware has a bunch of guides to do exactly this but this 2000 dollar build they made shoudl be able to play SC2 and some other game on max simultaneously
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/newegg-combo-toms-hardware-do-it-yourself,2828.html
To learn how to put all that together (thankfully you are in an age where things are much easier and there aren't jumpers for most components) Use this video for seeing what goes where and how to connect up cables:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yer955E7T6w
For stuff you need before you even start building:
http://www.kitchentablecomputers.com/tools.php
And for static protections, so you avoid burning out your ram before you plug it in:
http://www.kitchentablecomputers.com/static.php
Like i said, most of the stuff makes sense and only fits in one location. Since Tom's has a list of components in their link, you don't have to worry about making sure the power supply is adequate and all that.
The hardest part is likely going to be setting up the front side buttons and all that, and connecting it to the motherboard (because that part still does require pins
If you are still confused after reading through that stuff, I'll do what I can to help. I've built every computer I've owned and shocked myself more than I care to admit.
as far as component shopping goes, buy stuff from newegg or tiger direct they both are standard computer part suppliers. Also you need to buy a monitor in addition to what Tom's listed. Anything with a DVI connector should work (and don't worry your computer will be able to handle a large resolution)
Good luck man
For specifics on components, you may want to hit up the PC build thread in the technology forum. They're always happy to help spend your money.
There's a PC-building thread over here in Moe's Tech Tavern, which should give you some useful info. Basically, in the $1500+ price range, you're going to be looking at an i5-2500k processor, 4-6 GB of RAM, a 600+ watt power supply, and a GTX 460 or Radeon 6950 video card. Solid state hard drives are finally cheap enough to be worth buying, so I highly recommend grabbing one of those for your primary drive, then throwing in a 1-2TB conventional drive to store music/photos/games/etc on.
You are, of course, perfectly within your rights to ignore my advice about reducing your budget - if you want to spend $3000 building a computer, it's very easy to do. Heck, you can spend almost a thousand bucks on just the video card. But you really will get a lot more value for your money by going a step or two below the bleeding edge, and saving the leftover money for upgrades or a replacement down the road.
Everyone else is right though, you have more than enough money to buy yourself a computer that could run a small town.
It all comes down to a couple of things:
1) Power Supply
2) Motherboard
3) Processor (usually, you'll find the processor you want, and then find the motherboard to fit it)
4) RAM
5) Hard Drive(s)
6) Media Drive(s) (CD, BluRay, etc)
7) Keyboard
8) Mouse
9) Monitor(s)
Definitely read through all the links posted in this thread though.
Anyway, $3,000 is RIDICULOUS for a PC. $1,500 will get you a serious gaming desktop. Don't go bleeding edge with the processor, it's a waste of money. And if you get an SSD, just get a small one to stick the OS on and maybe a couple of games on. Buy a normal 7200rpm drive for storage.
I saw some recommendations for tomshardware (which has an excellent reputation) but I've never really used it. I do like techreport a lot, and they run a quarterly system guide that makes some recommendations for systems to build across a range of price points. I find that a really handy starting point when thinking about upgrades. I like their budget designs a great deal as well; I'm probably going to end up building two of their current ~$300 rig this month -- one for me wife and one with a small wall mounted monitor for the kitchen.
I've been thinking about an upgrade recently and saw this video, which you might appreciate. They built a 1500 PC and explain their choices rather well.
Putting the computer together is a lot like playing with legos in that everything kinda just snaps together. But unlike legos, most things can only go in one place so putting it all together is pretty simple. Plus, the motherboard comes with a manual which will (depending on the manufacturer) pretty much tell you exactly what to do.
Heres a list of brands I trust:
Asus (motherboards and video cards)
MSI (motherboards and video cards)
XFX (video cards, Ive never had an experience with anything else they make but their double lifetime warranty is excellent)
Antec (powersupply and cases)
Kingston (RAM)
Corsair (RAM)
Brands I dont trust:
Biostar (motherboards)
Quick build you may want to go with:
Processor: Intel i7 2600k ($330ish)
Mobo: Something by Asus, the Asus extreme overclocker thing is supposed to be pretty good ($275ish)
RAM: 8 gigs DDR3 ($150-200ish)
Video card: either GTX580 ($500ish)
Power supply: something with 800w+ (about $100)
And then if you need a hard drive add another $100 or so, unless you want to go solid state, and then like $25 if you need a dvd drive, more if you want a bluray drive.
Thats about $1550, so if you can get a student discount with Apple, you may still be able to swing the lesser 15".
A $500 video card is serious overkill and you could get a great motherboard for way less than that. Bleeding edge like that is just a waste of money.
I know, but with that kind of money, might as well. But if you need a monitor/keyboard/mouse the mobo and video card are definitely areas where you can compromise.
Since I mainly build mid range computers for myself, I spend about $300 on processor, $300 on a video card, $100-125 on a mobo, $100-150 on RAM, $100 on a case and power supply (last couple of builds Ive bought the Antec Sonata and I <3s it and its basically free since the power supply it comes with costs just about as much as the case and power supply combo) and then $25 on the dvd burner.
Actually, if you want to compare components Anandtech has a neat benchmark thing:
www.anandtech.com/bench
No, you should save the money and buy something else with it. How is a $275 motherboard going to benefit him over the $160 version from the same company? I doubt he's going to be overclocking. It's just bad advice to even suggest it he waste his money on it. Nothing is going to take advantage of it right now. As for video cards, he's best going for something around $300. A few years back I blew $500 on a video card and I regret it to this day. You're only paying that much because it's the newest thing and a performance increase you won't even notice nowadays.
Id say getting top of the line is context dependent - if you want to blow a bunch of money? Get top of the line. If you want a reasonable system thats going to last a while, spend $800ish.
He never said he wanted to "blow a bunch of money". That top of the line isn't going to be top of the line in a few months and the price will have dropped dramatically. When things are that new, the price is highly inflated for no other reason than it being brand new. You're giving advice for something he didn't ask about or for. He doesn't need a $500 video card to play Starcraft 2 on ultra-settings which is the system he asked for. Please stop encouraging him to waste money he doesn't have to.
And done...
Or, you know, buy two cards and put it in crossfire/SLI.
Buy one $250 card now and then in a year or two go find a 2nd of that same card for $60 and THEN put them in crossfire/SLI
I spent MAYBE $1000 on my computer I built 3 years ago this July and it'll run starcraft on extreme settings.
While Apple no doubt hold their value better than other pc brands, I'm curious what streets ahead means.
Anyway, I give my vote to getting a mid priced video card for now and follow rockmonkey's advice, since that is pretty much exactly what I did when I built mine a year ago. Games will still have to ramp up the quality a lot before I'll even begin to think about getting an additional one.
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1 LITE-ON DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06 LightScribe Support - OEM
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1 GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
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Subtotal: $1,066.93