Help me find a cheap computer for SC2

[FlamingStuffedTiger]

Originally Posted by Torture

Nothing setting in stone, basically just fiddling around to see what I could do...but how does this look (aside from being slightly higher than my price range ^^)


500GB Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136497
460W PowerSupply: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817171028
Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811119068
GeForce GTS 250 512MB (Not decided yet..placeholder): http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814150365
DVD-ROM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16827135202 (Do I really need one? Not sure but it's only $17..)
2X Kingston 2GB RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820134192
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128437
Intel Core i5-750: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115215

Of course I'd need to buy Windows 7 as well and I suppose I would need a network card. Should I buy a case fan or something else well?

Any glaring incompatibilities? Seems like a beast of a computer for $800 to me.

Just quickly looking at it:

- Not sure your motherboard will accept DDR2 RAM. Probably better to go with DDR3 for piece of mind.

- 460W is a bit on the low side for a gaming PC and could use a slight bump. How much of a bump depends on the graphics card you pick tho.

EDIT: Your case might also be too small for your motherboard.

EDIT 2: Also not a huge fan of the Western Digital green drives for a gaming PC. Those drives are designed to have lower power consumption at some cost in performance, ideal for an always-on appliance like a media center or server. If you want that extra bit of speed, their Caviar Black hard drives might be a better choice.

[Torture]

- Not sure your motherboard will accept DDR2 RAM. Probably better to go with DDR3 for piece of mind.

Already changed that ^_^

- 460W is a bit on the low side for a gaming PC and could use a slight bump. How much of a bump depends on the graphics card you pick tho.

Figured that might be the case, what range should I be looking in?

EDIT: Your case might also be too small for your motherboard.

Picked the case at random, that can be fixed. Motherboard looks decent though?

EDIT 2: Also not a huge fan of the Western Digital green drives for a gaming PC. Those drives are designed to have lower power consumption at some cost in performance, ideal for an always-on appliance like a media center or server. If you want that extra bit of speed, their Caviar Black hard drives might be a better choice.

Also figured that might be a problem, I'll edit my previous post in a sec.

nt

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

You don't need a DVD Drive...

DVD drives are $20. Are the headaches that not having a DVD drive would cause really worth saving $20?

[Vulcan]

Here's a DVD writer for $20

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...g&promoid=1021

Here's a couple of better power supplies

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...y&promoid=1021

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...s&promoid=1021

Here's a very fine case

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...R&promoid=1021

These prices are on NCIXs sales page and the sale is over this afternoon with a new sale starting after 6PM today. Every Wednesday.

also don't forget to use shopbot for a pricematch at NCIx or Memexpress.

[Vulcan]

To get an idea of the PSU needed, often the Video card maker will put the minimum wattage required for that card.

for the card you chose

System Requirements 450 Watt or greater power supply with 75 Watt 6-pin PCI Express power connector recommended (550 Watt and two 6-pin connectors for ATI CrossFireX technology in dual mode)

Myself, I think it's better to err on the side of bigger and you won't have to worry if you decide to upgrade your card or other components.

[Torture]

also don't forget to use shopbot for a pricematch at NCIx or Memexpress.

So you're saying I can have Memory Express pricematch all the Newegg stuff and save on shipping costs? Awesome!
If I go to a Memory Express store will they have all the parts I need already so I don't have to wait and can build it tonight?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Torture

So you're saying I can have Memory Express pricematch all the Newegg stuff and save on shipping costs? Awesome!
If I go to a Memory Express store will they have all the parts I need already so I don't have to wait and can build it tonight?

I'm not sure if they'll have all the parts but they should have most or at least something comparable. Use shopbot to price match. You'll find the best prices which aren't always at Newegg by any means.

http://www.shopbot.ca/

Memexpress can also build it for you for a price and I understand they will install your processor for free.

[Torture]

Posting from the new computer I just put together, thanks for all the help guys!

Here's the final specs:

1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache Seagate Hard Drive
4GB Kingston DDR3 1333 RAM
Radeon HD5670 1GB
Gigabyte GA-H57M-USB3 Motherboard
Intel i5 750 2.66Ghz

[Vulcan]

Congrats and that was quick.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Congrats and that was quick.

Yeah. Went to my local memory express and bought all the parts this afternoon.

[Vulcan]

Nothing against Dell, they have their place but this should do you far better, especially if you ever decide to do any upgrades or even over clock.

[FlamingStuffedTiger]

Congrats. That's a fine machine.

[Vulcan]

Maybe one other thing, just to keep an eye on your temperatures because it's a new build. Try downloading Speedfan or CPUID HWMonitor.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Torture

Posting from the new computer I just put together, thanks for all the help guys!

Here's the final specs:

1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache Seagate Hard Drive
4GB Kingston DDR3 1333 RAM
Radeon HD5670 1GB
Gigabyte GA-H57M-USB3 Motherboard
Intel i5 750 2.66Ghz

If you get a a sec between maps on SC2 could you post your total cost or maybe even a full parts breakdown?

I am about to be in the market for a cheap gaming/media serving PC, and I would love to know what ballpark price range I am looking at. Most of my recent experience with computer pricing is specing out servers and Vostros for work.

[chemgear]

This might be a little late but it specifically breaks down GPU/CPU performance changes.

http://www.techspot.com/review/305-s...2-performance/

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

When it comes to graphics cards, the second digit in the model number is almost more important than the first. For instance, a 4800 series card would offer a better gaming performance than a 5400 series.

For clarity's sake FANin80 - does this rule of thumb work for both ATI and nVidia, or just ATI?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

For clarity's sake FANin80 - does this rule of thumb work for both ATI and nVidia, or just ATI?

Works for both but Nvidia just changed their numbering scheme a little.

If you are in doubt, just post up and ask.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Rathji

If you get a a sec between maps on SC2 could you post your total cost or maybe even a full parts breakdown?

I am about to be in the market for a cheap gaming/media serving PC, and I would love to know what ballpark price range I am looking at. Most of my recent experience with computer pricing is specing out servers and Vostros for work.

Sure. And if anybody sees these components for cheaper let me know so that I can go back to Mem Express and get them to price match it!

I ended up going a bit out of my price range and up to a grand just because I definitely wanted to get at least an i5 to future proof myself a little bit. I can run the game on high without issues. Tried Ultra and it was okay until you got to 200/200 armies..

Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Case - $69.99
Zalman ZM600-ST 600W Power Supply - $99.99
Sapphire Radeon HD5670 1GB GDDR5 HDMI - $124.99
Gigabyte GA-H57M-USB3 Motherboard - $129.99
Intel Core i5 750 2.66Ghz 8MB S.1156 - $204.99
Kingstong 4GB DDR3 1333MHz 2x2 GB - $119.99
Seagate 1TB SATA 72000RPM - $69.99
DVD Drive - $22.99
Network Card - $49.99

Total: $937.56 including GST

Edit: Was just looking up components and I should be able to get the price match it down $55.

Second Edit: Can anybody recommend a program for monitoring the temperature? The first one I tried is giving me some pretty wonky readings.

[Hack&Lube]

Just a tip for anyone who wants to build a cheap system for gaming, the best value (if you aren't concerned about future upgradability) is actually to get used parts from a last gen system.

You could build a Quad Core Intel Socket 775 system (heavily overclockable) with 4GB of DDR2 and still have enough left over for a high end gaming card (5850, 5870, GTX 460 SLI) for about a $1000. That will be quite a bit more powerful than buying a current mid tier dual core i3 or i5 processor and a lower-mid end videocard for about the same amount of money.

For example, I just built for a friend:

Intel Quad Core Q6600 overclocked to 3.6GHz - $125
4GB DD2 - $80
Gigabyte P45 motherboard - $90
ATI 5870 - $400
Corsair 750TX - $80
1TB HDD - $70
Cooling - $50
Case - $40

$935

For gaming this system is much more powerful than the one Torture built, might even double framerates, just its not as upgradable cpu wise for the future but it should last many years still.

Originally Posted by Torture

Second Edit: Can anybody recommend a program for monitoring the temperature? The first one I tried is giving me some pretty wonky readings.

Try RealTemp and CoreTemp. They use different methodolgies. Stick with the one that is most accurate to what your real temperature is.

http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/