Help building a new gaming PC please

kard

n00b
Joined
Aug 1, 2009
Messages
5
Hello,

I'm not all that computer savvy, but I have put together computers before. My current computer is going on 8-9 years now and I'd like to upgrade...

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc.
Mostly gaming, would like to play sc2, diablo 3, and the newer upcoming games (at high settings if possible). Secondary use will probably be web browsing, watching movies/videos, and minor office type work.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
If possible, I'd like to spend under a $1000. However, I am willing to spend a bit more if need be. If it goes a bit over $1000 due to tax and S&H, I wouldn't mind either.

3) Where do you live?
New York

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
I would like everything, including a mouse, keyboard, speakers, and OS. I have a 17 inch samsung monitor, which I may or may not want to reuse depending on how prices go. If necessary, the monitor can be cut out in order to keep it under the $1000 mark, while keeping the computer as good as possible.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
The computer I have is about 8-9 years old, so I'd like to replace everything with maybe the exception of the monitor. I would also like to keep my current HDD as a secondary if possible.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Possibly in the future? However I don't really like to

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
My 17 inch monitor has served me well thus far, and I am willing to keep it as long as it doesn't compromise the price for the rest of the computer. If it doesn't, a 22+ would be nice.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Probably within the next 4-6 months or so

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
RAID isn't necessary. Firewire would be nice. I've had bad luck with nvidia in the past and have looked towards ATI for the most part. But whichever will be better to serve my purposes.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
I don't know where it is...lol

Side note:
Is it better to stick with XP? I haven't heard anything good about vista when compared to XP.

The monitor and OS isn't particularly important. As mentioned before, I would like the computer to be as good as possible for the price and am willing to sacrifice the monitor and OS (I'll just look for it).

I would also like for this upcoming computer to last as long as my old computer did if possible. Of course with upgrades when necessary.

The only complaint I had with my old computer was that it would get very hot during the summer time. It has quite a few fans and a cooler. It'd be nice if I didn't have to complain about the heat =D.


Thanks for your time
 
4-6 months into the future is too far to plan a build. By then the suggestions will be total different.
 
lol guess i was being a bit optimistic....

how bout within the next week or two?
 
I'm currently building a new pc as well. All you really need to do right now is decide if you want AMD or Intel and most likely just hit up newegg.com. I've had really great luck over the years buying things from the For Sale forum here.

My current plan for my pc I'm putting together looks like this (hope this helps, maybe it will give you an idea). I'm spending far less than $1000 and it's a pretty beastly system:

AMD Phenom II 720 Black Edition
Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
OCZ Reaper HTC 4gb (2x2gb)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb
Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 1gb Vapor-X (might get a 4890, haven't decided yet)
Samsung SATA DVD burner
Cooler Master 590 case
OCZ ModxStream 600w PSU

All that comes in at around $800, but I was able to get some great deals on the forum here, so I've spent even less. You could actually trim that a bit and get it significantly more inexpensive, but I'm looking at playing the same style games and this machine seems sick for what I want to use it for. Hope this helps put you on the path.
 
There's going to be a big difference between a 17" monitor resolution and that of a 22". Could you be a little more specific about your display because it could be the difference between heavy cpu, heavy gpu, both, none, etc.
 
I'm going to suggest you set aside $200 to get a decent 22" LCD to go with your new system. Having $800 for the computer is still plenty to get a good gaming system up:

Maybe this setup I have in my wishlist will entertain you. Swap out the case to something you want, add an available DVD burner, and you are set.
 
hmm...i don't have much experience with AMD lol

how do these builds look in terms of the long term aspects?
 
The one I'm putting together seems to have some pretty long upgrade legs. AM3 and DDR3 are going to be around for a bit, and while the board i am putting in doesn't have room for another gpu, making crossfire out of the question, it's really a moot point for me, because I'm not going to be taxing the graphics card in such a way that it's important to me, even in the next year.

Then again, the mobo and cpu together are only costing $200 total, so it's something I'm willing to deal with. If the 720 BE overclocks like all the people and reviews say it will, I think we're going to be set for a long time.
 
As SOSTrooper stated earlier, I would set aside $200 on a monitor, $800 can still build you a solid Phenom II X4 Quad build. 8-9 years you had your computer?? That is really long man. Are you on a Pentium III computer? There is an Acer 23" 1080P lcd at Best Buy for $179.99. It's on Sale right now and ends today. You can take advantage of that deal.
 
SOSTrooper's and Ricedaddy's builds are on the right track but they do have some problems (OCZ PSU in both, Intel dead-end socket 775 in SOSTrooper's, etc). So I recommend the following setup:

$179 - AMD Phenom II X4 945 CPU
$80 - Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 Motherboard
$60 - G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 2 x 2Gb DDR3 1333 RAM
$150 - XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$75 - Western Digital WD6401AALS 640GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$29 - Samsung SH-S223L SATA DVD Burner
$120 - Corsair 750TX 750W PSU
-----
Total: $693 plus tax and shipping.

AMD's socket AM3 is going to be AMD's main socket for another two years or so. So you do have a bit of a CPU upgrade path. The HD4870 1GB is a bit overkill for a 17" monitor but should last you quite a while. Also, it'll be perfect for the monitor that HG recommended should you want a new monitor. The Corasir 750TX is a bit overkill for this kind of setup BUT will provide you with plenty of headroom for any upgrade you plan on doing in the future.

Choose your own case. Some case recommendations:
$40 - Cooler Master Elite 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$44 - Cooler Master Elite 331 RC-331-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$50 - Cooler Master Elite 332 RC-332-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$50 - Thermaltake WingRS 201 VJ60001N2Z ATX Case
$55 - Cooler Master Sileo 500 RC-500-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$60 - Antec 300 ATX Case
$60 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$86 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$86 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$105 - Thermaltake ElementS VK60001N2Z ATX Case
$140 - Antec P183 ATX Case
$150 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
 
lol oops....

um yea i had it for 8-9 years....p3 it is lol (defin need me an upgrade!)
and thinking about it i guess upgrading the monitor would be nice...
 
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700 is pretty good....plus i guess the monitor and casing will probably bring it to about 950 or so?

if i'm willing to spend a little more....would there be a bit more?
 
Depends on what Case and Monitor you buy. Depending on the monitor and case, you can go past a $1,000. But, in your case, you can come to $950 total with monitor and shipping cost included.
 
700 is pretty good....plus i guess the monitor and casing will probably bring it to about 950 or so?
if i'm willing to spend a little more....would there be a bit more?
You can definitely get a nicer monitor if you want to spend more.
 
you don't really need to spend a bit more, but you could always drop a little bit more on the video card and get a 4890, put some more ram in the pc, or like the others say pick up a nicer monitor.
 

wouldn't you want to use one of the same cards that you already had in crossfire? I'm not sure if it matters but the sapphire card is the same price as the xfx.
 
Every once in awhile Dell practically gives away Samsung 22" monitors for $108-$125.
 
wouldn't you want to use one of the same cards that you already had in crossfire? I'm not sure if it matters but the sapphire card is the same price as the xfx.

Yeah, but it's not necessary. I just selected th XFX card for the better warrantee and 2 free games.
 
I'd go with XFX over Sapphire, for better warranty and support.

No more crazy Phenom2 X4 mobo/cpu deals with nearly free, good quality mobos? :(
 
Well if you are willing to gamble, Buy a MSI 785G + X2 550 + 4 Gigs DDR3 = $275 Quad Core rig, if the unlocking works and is stable.
 
Ricedaddy has a good idea with his X3 720 build. Since OP wants keyboard, speakers, mouse, pc for under $1,000 a X4 Quad may not fit the budget. But, let me throw in everything with monitor for a little over $1K. But, worth it though.

CASE/PSU - Coolermaster RS 600 + Coolermaster Centurion 590 RC for $144.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.231325

CPU - AMD Phenom II X3 720 for $119 (You can go for the Phenom II X4 945 Quad for $179 if you don't mind spending $60 more)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

MOBO - GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 for $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

RAM - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 for $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

VIDEO CARD - XFX Radeon HD 4870 1GB for $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150394

HDD - WD6401AALS for $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

OPTICAL - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner for $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

MOUSE - Logitech MX310 6 button for $24.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104136
I love this mouse. I am using this right now. I was using this at work for several years that I took it home hehe.

KEYBOARD - Saitek Black for $30.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175103

MONITOR - ACER P235Hbmid for $179.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009179

Total: $908.90
Shipping: $21.98
Grand Total: $930.88

Speakers: Let's go for the M-Audio AV30 for $82.48 from Provantage.com I have the AV40 and I can say from personal experience that these 2.0 speakers sound really good.
 
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