Another Help Me Build a PC Thread!

[Meelapo]

Hey Everyone!

I'm looking to build a PC but I haven't really been keeping with the technology so I'm not really sure what to get and I could use some advice from some experts. My current situation is this...I've got a 24" iMac that I bought refurbished in late 2008 and I really like it. Unfortunately it has a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and an ATI 2600 Pro (I think it's the mobile version) video adapter. Suffice it to say this beast of a machine doesn't run games at an acceptable frame rate at the native resolution of 1920x1200. Even if they do run at that resolution all the fancy features are off. For example, in Starcraft 2 I run at that resolution but everything is set to low. I once but shaders to medium and it looked incredibly nice. I'd like to get there one day!

I'm looking to spend about $1000. This does not include keyboard/mouse, OS, speakers, or the monitor. For the monitor I think I may go with the Dell 24" Ultra Sharp U2410.

So here are the goals:

- roughly $1000 without the items mentioned above
- able to play games at 1920x1200 with a majority, if not all, graphical bells and whistles, set to high, ultra high, or "super deluxe ultra mega high special edition XT turbo" (all games seem to have something better than high)
- quite as possible. My iMac is super quiet and I'd like to have something that is just the same
- I'd like the thing to last me at least three years. I know that games will get grander and prettier and I'm not expecting to play a game three years from now on super high detail but I'd still like to play them at the native resolution with some details set to high or all at medium

Rather than state what I think I'd like to go with I'll just list the parts and explain my confusion or rational for each:

Processor
I have no idea what to go with. First off, based on my requirements, is it better to go with AMD or Intel? Back when I used to know these things it was always better to go with AMD since they were cheaper and easier to overclock (back in the Athlon days). However now I have to pick between i5 or i7, Athlon II X3 or the Phenom.

Motherboard
Not sure here either. I remember Asus being the best in the land though expensive. The last PC board I had was Abit and I don't even think they are in business any more. Based on what processor I should get would determine what this should be.

Memory
Is 4GB enough or is it better to go with 6GB or 8GB. I know more RAM is always better but since I can actually upgrade a PC and memory tends to stay fairly cheap I don't mind upgrading to more a year or so from now.

Video Card
Here's the big piece. I've had my eye on the nVidia 560 Ti though I'm wondering if it's better to go with ATI. I remember when the Radeon 9600 Pro came out I had a whale of a time trying to get the ATI drivers to work. I remember nVidia drivers to work right away and be less of a headache to install/update. Is this still the case? Is a 560 Ti could enough or are there other offerings that I should look at.

Case/CPU Fan/Power Supply
I just need something quiet and something that can provide enough power to all the parts.

Hard Disk
I'm guessing going with a 1.5-2TB 7200rpm drive is sufficient. Though is it worth it to get an SSD for the primary partition/OS drive and then get a secondary drive for media and games? I think getting an SSD might put me well beyond the $1000 mark.

Sound Card
Do people even buy these things now? Is Creative Labs still around pumping out EAX cards? Is it okay to just stick with onboard sound? I'd like nice sound but I'm no means an audio connoisseur.

I've found this that might be okay (US $, http://www.build-gaming-computers.co...omputer.html):

Motherboard
ASUS P8P67 Pro Intel P67 Motherboard ($190)

CPU
Intel Core i5-2500K BX80623I52500 Unlocked Processor ($220)

RAM
Corsair XMS 8GB DDR3 RAM ($75)

Video Card
EVGA GeForce GTX 560 ($215)

Sound Card
Asus Xonar DX PCIe 7.1 Sound Card ($70)

Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 1TB ($55)

DVD Burner
Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD Burner ($21)

Case
Cooler Master HAF 922M ATX Mid Tower Case ($90)

Power Supply
Cooler Master GX Series 650W ($90)

Also, when it comes to gaming is it better to stick with Windows XP or should I go out and buy Windows 7 Premium (for the XP Mode support for older games that I've missed out on).

Have I even budgeted enough money? Is PC gaming still activate? Is it worth it to spend $1500 (after OS and monitor) on a computer made specifically for games or should I just spend that money on getting a bigger TV (currently have a 52")?

I think that's it. Any advice/mocking would be great. I'd like to buy this computer within the next couple of months or less with the monitor being purchased when/if it ever goes on sale.

Thanks!

[Vulcan]

That looks like a pretty good list of parts. I'd check the NCIX sales page for prices and Memory Express and price match between the two. I know NCIX will put it together and test it for you for about $50 and give a years guarantee. Memory express should do the same and you won't have to worry about shipping. I'm not up on the latest video cards so someone else will have to give you advice there. For a motherboard also look at the P8Z68 versions. They are a bit of an upgrade.

For price matching look at shopbot and pricebat. A few dollars here and there can add up.

Get windows 7 and I wouldn't be too adamant about following that list. Look for comparable parts that are on sale and look for reviews.

[Rathji]

Even if you dont get a ssd, dont get a 2TB system disc - grab something smaller (500Gb or 1TB) that is 7200, and then a 2-3T drive for data that is 5400. If you do decide to upgrade to a SSD later, you wont need to mess around as much.

[Hack&Lube]

Find savings somewhere and get an SSD drive for your main programs/games drive. Then a mechanical harddrive for media and files.

More than anything, not even processor, ram, etc. can come close to it. The SSD will completely change the way you experience computers. If you decide to get an SSD later, you'll have to reinstall everything all over again.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Find savings somewhere and get an SSD drive for your main programs/games drive. Then a mechanical harddrive for media and files.

More than anything, not even processor, ram, etc. can come close to it. The SSD will completely change the way you experience computers. If you decide to get an SSD later, you'll have to reinstall everything all over again.

I was just about to post the same thing. The perceived performance increase of an SSD upgrade is second to none, imo.

[Hack&Lube]

Given the choice of slower CPU and slower & less ram + SSD vs. fast CPU and faster and more ram + mechanical harddrive...

I would choose SSD every time. You won't be able to enjoy the speed of your CPU and RAM if you are wasting all your time loading stuff off your harddrive. An SSD can save time in your life! It's a time saver!

I put together an i5 2500K system with 8GB of ram and it's simply torture to use because of it's 7200 RPM SATA II (mechanical drive means it doesn't even come close to 3GB/s) speed. My dumb $150 netbook with a slow as hell 1.33GHz Atom processor (in order CPU) and 2GB of crappy ram...but in which I put a cheap 32GB SSD into actually feels smoother and easier to use.

[Icon]

nm

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Icon

Just a general comment... I can't believe how much cheaper top-end videocards are now than they were 5-10yrs ago.

I just assumed they'd keep charging an arm & leg for the leading edge tech... tho I suppose it's not growing leaps and bounds in technology compared to how it was then.

Game developers are tied to console technology. There aren't any games to take advantage of faster hardware. The arm & leg stuff still exists, just you don't see people buying it as much or stores stocking them because the low-mid range stuff can still play everything fast already these days. Most high end gamers have to do things like play the same games but on triple monitors and in 3D, etc. to actually use high end cards.

[Burninator]

I agree with everyone about the SSD, totally worth it. If you can make it work in your budget of course. I am sure someone with more knowledgeable else can speak to it, but I think you could cut the sound card to save some money. 256GB would be ideal, but 120GB as a minimum IMO. But Rathji advice is good to allow for an upgrade in the future. I have a 120GB SSD for OS, main applications, main games etc. 500GB 7200rpm (was old OS drive) for documents, pictures, etc. 2TB 500rpm for music and videos. Windows 7 for sure, no question.

You mentioned a quiet PC, if that is important you may want to choose a different case. When I was building my computer I had narrowed it down to a gamer case and a quiet case. For whatever reason I bought the gamer case and I regret it. The LED's were annoying (ending up cutting the wires), it could much quieter, it's ugly and a dust magnet. Personally I would rather have a simple black box that doesn't draw attention to itself and is quiet.

[Hack&Lube]

Wait for a bundle. I bought my i5 2500K and a better P8Z68-V motherboard as a combo deal at memory express at just over $300 versus the $410 you are paying for that CPU and worse mobo now. Wait for a good CPU + mobo combo sale.

Also goto www.shopbot.ca and find the lowest price in Canada and price match @ MemEx always.

Nobody buys soundcards anymore. Don't you have an old DVD drive you can stick in? You don't need a new one. I haven't used the DVD drive on my new computer for an entire year.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Don't you have an old DVD drive you can stick in? You don't need a new one. I haven't used the DVD drive on my new computer for an entire year.

Better yet, pull the DVD drive from the old machine and put it into a 5.25" enclosure and you have an external drive that will handle what you need and be portable between machines, which in this age of netbooks without optical drives can be a useful thing.

[Hack&Lube]

^ Yeah, I bought one of these an it serves every computer I have at home or work or my friends since it's tiny and doesn't require it's own powersupply (gets from USB).

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...31338(ME).aspx

[Meelapo]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I agree with everyone about the SSD, totally worth it. If you can make it work in your budget of course. I am sure someone with more knowledgeable else can speak to it, but I think you could cut the sound card to save some money. 256GB would be ideal, but 120GB as a minimum IMO. But Rathji advice is good to allow for an upgrade in the future. I have a 120GB SSD for OS, main applications, main games etc. 500GB 7200rpm (was old OS drive) for documents, pictures, etc. 2TB 500rpm for music and videos. Windows 7 for sure, no question.

You mentioned a quiet PC, if that is important you may want to choose a different case. When I was building my computer I had narrowed it down to a gamer case and a quiet case. For whatever reason I bought the gamer case and I regret it. The LED's were annoying (ending up cutting the wires), it could much quieter, it's ugly and a dust magnet. Personally I would rather have a simple black box that doesn't draw attention to itself and is quiet.

It sounds like everyone here says SSD so I think I may go for that. Because of budget constraints I don't think I can afford the 256 GB but I'm thinking a 160GB should be enough and if I need more room I can simply just uninstall games. So this SSD really makes that much of a difference huh?

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Wait for a bundle. I bought my i5 2500K and a better P8Z68-V motherboard as a combo deal at memory express at just over $300 versus the $410 you are paying for that CPU and worse mobo now. Wait for a good CPU + mobo combo sale.

Also goto www.shopbot.ca and find the lowest price in Canada and price match @ MemEx always.

Nobody buys soundcards anymore. Don't you have an old DVD drive you can stick in? You don't need a new one. I haven't used the DVD drive on my new computer for an entire year.

Yep, I've been using shopbot and pricebat to get some prices. I went to the MemExpress site and used their PC builder. I ended up making one for a little over $1k that had the P8Z68-V Pro and the i5 2500K.

I'll still have to do a handful of research regarding the SSD. I found one on NCIX that looked good but there's some sort of contraversy regarding it. Apparently they changed some of the internals that made the drive only 115GB = 107 GB after Windows 7 install but they were selling it as a 120GB. Not sure if it's worth it to go with that one:

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=53309&...y&promoid=1307

[Meelapo]

Oh yeah, and about the CD drive...I think I may have one so thanks for that idea. It'll save me some money that I can put towards the video card or SSD.

[Hanni]

Agreed on the drive, I regret buying a Blu-ray drive on my latest pc build a couple years ago. Aside from installing a few programs and the OS (which are dvd-rom's anyway) I never use it.

[Esoteric]

You don't need a soundcard anymore. I use onboard, and the quality is more than sufficient (Asus P6T).

When I built mine, I price matched Memory Express against NCIX, Tiger Direct and New Egg. I made an Excel chart, and showed it to the guy at the counter. He checked to ensure everything was in stock and was accurate, and matched everything on my list. Now memory express beats all competitor prices by 25% of the difference - awesome!

Definitely upgrade to Windows 7 - it opens up a lot more options, as Windows XP doesn't run DX 10/11.

[zarrell]

Great thread, as I am in the process of putting together a system as well. After doing some of my own research the last few days, SSD really does sound like a no brainer. I am curious as to what will give me the most video processing power for the money. Should I go with 2 moderately priced cards and run SLI or just get one monster card? And is 8GB of RAM enough?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Esoteric

You don't need a soundcard anymore. I use onboard, and the quality is more than sufficient (Asus P6T).

When I built mine, I price matched Memory Express against NCIX, Tiger Direct and New Egg. I made an Excel chart, and showed it to the guy at the counter. He checked to ensure everything was in stock and was accurate, and matched everything on my list. Now memory express beats all competitor prices by 25% of the difference - awesome!

Definitely upgrade to Windows 7 - it opens up a lot more options, as Windows XP doesn't run DX 10/11.

You don't even need an excel chart or print outs. You just goto the counter and say: "I want to buy this and price match it with ________.com" and then the guy will look it up and enter it in himself.

[Esoteric]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

You don't even need an excel chart or print outs. You just goto the counter and say: "I want to buy this and price match it with ________.com" and then the guy will look it up and enter it in himself.

I think that the excel chart was more for my use, as I could easily compare the prices and wouldn't forget where they were from. Makes buying close to ten parts a lot simpler.

[Meelapo]

Is there a site that tracks price trends? I just want to see if some parts have been on sale in the past, how many times they've gone on sale, etc. I've narrowed it down to a few parts and I'm hoping I can get them for fairly cheap...

CPU - i5 2500K
GPU - HIS 6970 Turbo X IceQ X (super quiet fan)
MB - Asus or Gigabyte Z68 (though I'm not sure if I'll ever use the features of a Z68 board)
RAM - G. Skill 8GB