Just thought I would check here first before making an account on some place that I would only use once.
So I've decided to build my own computer for the first time, however I am coming into it with very little info. I have always been a software kind of person and most of my info has come from in-game chats. What I've learned so far has been plain unhelpful (things like "i7 IS L337!!" and "PILEDRIVERZ!!!11!1").
Now I have done some research with the help of some smart people and a friend and have done a basic gaming build. I'm sure there's someone here that actually knows something about hardware and could review my build for bottlenecks or little mishaps that I might have made out of ignorance.
Build Progression...
Original Build (i3)
Edit 1
Switch 1 (i5)
Edit 2.1
Edit 2.2
I'm no expert, but I do have some experience in this field imo.
Anyways, one thing, from personal experience, change your powersupply, I had a thermaltake TR-2 750 W Modular PSU die on me two days after buying it, also from what i've heard from others, they've had similarly bad experiences.
My recommendation would be a Corsair Builder Series or Seasonic PSU (if you have the budget, their X series is awesome, I own one)
On the case, grab a different one without a window, they're bad for ventilation from what I understand. I'd suggest the BitFenix MercAlpha personally, it has room for up to 8 120mm fans, 7 expansion slots and is about $50 USD iirc. Of course, this is personal preference.
Good call on the Optical drive, I myself own an asus drive and it works great
Also, Antec for everything is good
EDIT1: Question, why is there a second Optical drive?
(10-02-2013, 03:15 AM)Vape Wrote: [ -> ]EDIT1: Question, why is there a second Optical drive?
I have a few games that require the CD/DVD to stay inside the tray in order to play them, but I also want to use the other tray. My setup says that I will have a game in one tray and a disk burning in the other.
EDIT: Made some alterations
Build 2
CPU is on the weak end for a modern gaming rig. Halve the RAM to 8 gigs, 16 isn't necessary, and use the extra money to grab yourself a better processor. If you don't want to blow a lot of money on an i7 I'd consider this, tbh:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54670
You're also paying waaaaaay over the top for that PSU. Here is an equivalent one, and though I've not used any Rosewill stuff myself they're generally considered a good name:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-po...ly-hive650
The rest is fine. All good names aside from the fractal thing that I don't recognize, but a case is a case.
i5 with 8gigs of ram and a 1gig GDDR5 gaming card with at least 200bit bandwidth should be more than enough for gaming.
Hi Tankman, that looks like a pretty good setup. A couple of points:
1. Spend the extra money and go for Core i5 4570 or above. You're getting 2 more cores and a far better CPU for gaming.
2. Save money and don't get the liquid cooler. The stock cooler will be fine. You only need an aftermarket cooler (esp. liquid) if you are doing serious overclocking, which you aren't doing because you're not buying the "K" Intel CPU.
3. Also if you can afford it, spend a bit extra and go for a 2TB hard disk. You'd be horrified how quick 1TB disappears, and 2TB is better dollars/gig.
4. My thoughts on GPUs.. I'm a bit brand loyal to Nvidia, but it really comes down to personal preference. The 7850 is about equivalent to the GTX650Ti, and looks like a good mid-range choice.
Best of luck!
Oh, right. Get at least 120gb Solid State drive and keep the games you play often on it. Or at least a 40gb one for the system.
40gbs SSD is definitely not enough for the system, only use it to store that one game you are currently playing.
Thanks for all the tips people. I will address some of the issues into the reasoning behind the build.
(10-02-2013, 07:05 AM)Durandal Wrote: [ -> ]Halve the RAM to 8 gigs, 16 isn't necessary.
According to
this page, I will need a minimum of 8 gigs to run Star Citizen (Presumably this also means Hanger Module, which I want to take out for a spin).
(10-02-2013, 07:05 AM)Durandal Wrote: [ -> ]You're also paying waaaaaay over the top for that PSU. Here is an equivalent one, and though I've not used any Rosewill stuff myself they're generally considered a good name: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-po...ly-hive650
The PSU was an adjustment determined by, mainly, a lack of time. I'm planning on digging into the issue more a bit later.
(10-02-2013, 07:45 AM)sindroms Wrote: [ -> ]....at least 200bit bandwidth...
Wat?
(10-02-2013, 07:49 AM)onca Wrote: [ -> ]3. Also if you can afford it, spend a bit extra and go for a 2TB hard disk. You'd be horrified how quick 1TB disappears, and 2TB is better dollars/gig.
Seeing as how it took 4 years to fill half my laptops 300 gig hard drive I don't see how I will ever fill up the 2 TB one. Though the dollars/gig thing is interesting.