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New Gaming PC Build

H

Hulk

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
6,279
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
***Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
***$300-500, yes and yes
3) Where do you live?
***MI (near Microcenter)
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
***CPU and motherboard
Case
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
***640GB HDD
DVDRW
6GB RAM (came in the Dell Inspiron 518)
Corsair 650 watt PSU
6) Will you be overclocking?
***Yes.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
***24" 1900x1200 16:10
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
***Next 4-12 weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
***The only feature I would like is to be able to overclock, I do not care about having multiple GPUs at all.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
***No, I don't have one.


Basically if I resuse all of my parts I just need a motherboard and a PCU. I am thinking about the i5 760 (best bang for the buck)? Also, if I am overclocking what will be a good case?

Also, the budget does not include the GPU because I will most likely buy a used one in 8 or so weeks (not in a big hurry).
 
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Under the list of parts you need, you didn't mention a video card, do you need one?

Also, what kind of RAM is it? I'm assuming it's 3x2GB DDR3?
 
Yes, I need a video card, I will most likely but a 5770 or 5850...but I am not in a hurry since I do not have much time to play games right now, I will have more free time in a couple of months. Yes, the ram is 3 x 2GB.
 
Hulk said:
Yes, I need a video card, I will most likely but a 5770 or 5850...but I am not in a hurry since I do not have much time to play games right now, I will have more free time in a couple of months. Yes, the ram is 3 x 2GB.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, you should probobly wait to build the system until then, unless you just need it now for general purpose.

The ATi 6000 series will be out soon, and they will drive down the prices of current GPUs, as well as there might be a nice mid range card that will fit your budget.
 
I agree with above. If you have to have it now, then get a 460. really, there isn't much of a reason to get a 5850 now. That's financially speaking of course.

5770 is ok, but for 20-50 bucks more you can have a much better 460. yes, its that Much better.

Other parts that you need:
For that price range, I would go with AMD. A good Intel setup will run you at least $400 for Mobo+CPU. Where as you can get a pretty good AMD one for 200-300.

You have 6GB of ram, but a motherboard+cpu that could use it (an intel x58) is out of your budget.
 
Ok, I have decided to get the 5850. Also, I will be getting this combo deal:

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz: $154.99

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard: $114.99

Combo Discount: -$20.00
Combo Price: $249.98
$20.00 Mail-In Rebate Card pdf
Price After Mail-In Rebate(s): $229.98

What kind of RAM should I get?
Is there a difference in 4 vs 6gb in gaming?
What would be a nice case to put all of this in?
Where can I get the cheapest price on windows?
How much can I overlock with the above combo?
 
Hulk said:
1. What kind of RAM should I get?
2. Is there a difference in 4 vs 6gb in gaming?
3. What would be a nice case to put all of this in?
4. Where can I get the cheapest price on windows?
5. How much can I overlock with the above combo?
Click to expand...

1. Are you reusing that 6GB of RAM or what? If so, get this extra 2GB stick so that you'll have four sticks of RAM:
$43 - Patriot PSD32G13332 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM

Apparently AMD does not support running three sticks of RAM. So either use only 4GB of that 6GB RAM set or bump it up to 8GB of RAM.

If you're not reusing that 6GB RAM set at all, then get this RAM:
$92 - G.Skill Ripjaw Series F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM

2. Zero difference between 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB of RAM in gaming.

3. Check out this case:
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case

4. Unless you're a college student or know someone is a college student or have access to TechNet or some other MS software subscription service, the price for a legit Windows key/CD is pretty much the same all over.

5. Well you're missing a 3rd party HSF so probably not taht high. Get this HSF if you want to OC past 3.6Ghz:
$30 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
 
The GPU is obviously the most important component for gaming, and I'm guessing, because you've been registered for 5 years, that it's the component you need the least advice about.

That said, I'd be curios to know which specific titles you've got your mind on playing?

I just recently bought a GTX 480, and with a lot of titles, at that resolution, believe it or not, but the 480 isn't overkill at all. As a gamer, I would seriously urge you to build around your GPU. I always say to gamers, splurge on the gpu and the psu - a good psu is needed to run a a good gpu, and 18 months from now your new video card will be dirt cheap, meaning you can go crossfire or sli... as long as your psu can handle it.

I'll be buying another 480 next summer, and it will be a sweet boost for a relatively small amount of money.
 
And when you get your system built, come on over to the gaming section of the forum - it's damned lively over there.
 
That's G.Skill set is the cheapest RAM we recommend for an overclocking setup.

HDD wise, I recommend this HDD:
$55 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD burner:
$20 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
 
Thanks, I appreciate your help. That sounds like a killer setup. Is Win 7 the latest version recommend?
 
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This entire thread is full of a lot of confusion:

lockheed2266 said:
I'm assuming it's 3x2GB DDR3?
Click to expand...

Hulk said:
Yes, the ram is 3 x 2GB.
Click to expand...

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1471137
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=626892
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/insp518/en/sm/index.htm
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/insp518/en/sm/memory.htm#wp1188716

Hulk, your Dell 518 RAM is a pair of 2GB DDR2 sticks and a pair of 1GB DDR2 sticks.

It's not DDR3, and it's not three sticks of 2GB. Your motherboard does not support DDR3, and RAM must be installed in pairs.

Megalomaniac said:
You have 6GB of ram, but a motherboard+cpu that could use it (an intel x58) is out of your budget.
Click to expand...

An x58 motherboard cannot use his Dell 518 RAM at all.


Danny Bui said:
1. Are you reusing that 6GB of RAM or what?

If you're not reusing that 6GB RAM set at all
Click to expand...

He's not. He was never going to be able to re-use any of it at all.

Hulk said:
Damn, all of that for under $500 (not including GPU). Why would anyone go with the i7 route when it's so much more expensive?
Click to expand...

That's a really bold statement for someone to make when they don't even know what parts make up their current system.

People who build an i7 system tend to know what they're putting inside their system.

But honestly, if these build help threads are going to give helpful suggestions, someone needs to make sure what the parts being considered for re-use actually are?

Nothing like Hulk blowing money on the wrong thing, or throwing unusable RAM into a machine and not understanding why it won't POST?

It's obvious Hulk's on a tight budget. I don't want him wasting money or damaging his gear.

I'd probably suggest he stick with pre-built machines in the future, or learn to consult his manuals. He's going to have to do one or the other.
 
Tolyngee said:
But honestly, if these build help threads are going to give helpful suggestions, someone needs to make sure what the parts being considered for re-use actually are?

Nothing like Hulk blowing money on the wrong thing, or throwing unusable RAM into a machine and not understanding why it won't POST?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the correction. Yes that was a big FAIL on our part for not making sure that the OP was correct.
 
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