So I figure it's time to ditch my 8-year-old half-broken once-resurrected laptop for a nice big gamin' machine. And I figure I might as well try to customize it as best as I can to make sure it does what I want it to. So I guess I'll try to build one.
Problem is, though, while I would say that I more or less "know my way around a computer", I'm not too knowledgeable about hardware in general. So I guess I'll ask for help from the internet-people who seem to know what they're talking about.
Hey, internet-people! So, to start with, what are the major components that I'd be looking to buy in order to build such a computer? Motherboard, CPU, hard drive, various cards... what else? I've got people who can help me with the actual construction part, so right now I'm just picking out the parts. I'm looking things up and trying to figure out what's best for me, but I'm also looking for suggestions on what to buy.
I'm looking to spend about $1,000 (USD). I might be persuaded into going a bit higher than that if necessary, but I don't plan on running a whole lot of demanding programs n' stuff (no Crysis at maximum resolution), so the computer doesn't have to be amazingly awesome. And of course it's always cool when I don't have to spend a lot of money on stuff, so I might just stay relatively cheap with this.
Basically as listed you need a CPU, Motherboard, Graphics card, RAM, Case, PSU, DVD drive (or Blu Ray combo) ... to get you started ... then you can add sound cards and whatnot later on.
He updates it every so often and the prices are US based. They range from basically a simple web browsing machine to a rather decent gaming machine that's not extremely overloaded and power hungry. i.e like intel hexacores and whatnot.
Basically an i5 2500 CPU would be able to run everything even probably max settings and you can get a few decent builds with it around the $1000 mark probably even lower.
Anyway have a look around and do some research... I'm still trying to make up my mind on what to get myself... (possibly an i7 2600K myself cause I will need a decent rig for programming next year and uni....and of course gaming:D)
EDIT: I imagine you may be getting a new case.... My advice (passed from others) would be to get a really nice case which you can be proud of....cause in the end that's probably going to last you 5 or 6 builds (I'm going for a DF -85: http://xsreviews.co.uk/images/Antec-DF85...-DF-85.jpg Personal choice)
For Memory Ram i recommand you go for 4gb ram but if you wish you can go for 8 gb ram but it's not realy neccesary.
DVD-RW you can choose what DVD-RW you wish
HDD i would recommend 2x 500 GB at 7200 rmp for some nice speed
For computer source - i can't actualy guide you to well and i don't want to screw up your computer
Motherboard? Look around what's compatible with what i gave you. The one i'm gonna point at you it's the Asus P8P67 Deluxe rev. B3
Everything i've posted here goes around 1200$ in my country because of the "expensive" taxes.
' Wrote:I need some suggestions too, looking to buy a laptop that can decently play new games. any guides around that can help me pick?
Hmm depends on your budget... and what you're really after
Also laptops aren't as customisable but there still are a lot of varieties. i.e. Upgrades can't necessarily be done such as CPU (sometimes -not recommended) or GPU.
Extreme Laptops ~$1500 min - Depending how much you're willing to pay
Alright I would say top of the line looking excess of $1500 minimum there's: Alienware (personally think they are overpriced but I've got a few mates with some which seem pretty happy they spent the $3000 on one) Eurocom laptops (Mainly business but they do extreme gaming PCs and Laptops... Their server laptop made me think of them. :crazy:
Quite a few other companies have the same sorts of systems... I can name quite a few but that would probably be a waste of time.
There's also Gaming laptops from ASUS, Toshiba and HP (all of your mainstream brands but they tend to be a bit pricey)
Feel free to drool over those.... but don't get something like these laptops unless you really really need to...
Decent - My personal preference $800 - 1500 maybe more
You can get some Toshiba Qosmio's around the $1000 to $1500 mark
Also MSI do have GT models around the $1000 to $1500 mark as well
HP Envy Laptop's are another choice but they can be pricey too.
I have Toshiba Satellite A500 from mid 2009 but had to upgrade the processor and ram but and it still plays quite a number of recent games on decent settings....not max though.
Mediocre - Below $600
Basically Net books for simple tasks don't expect too much from them...
Just shop around and check out any stores in your country. If your in the US definitively go to Newegg.com.
I'm in Australia and I would get my stuff at Techbuy.com
Well alright. I was actually thinking of going with an i5 2400. Still rather high-end, but I don't think I'll need everything that the 2500K has to offer.
Zahas, you mentioned 2x 500 GB HDDs. What makes that better than a single 1 TB HDD? Does having two separate drives... work better or something?
I'm still looking at cases. A lot of them look more elaborate and flashy than I really want.
Also, I got linked this motherboard and this RAM. I think 4GB is all I need for memory. And I'm still trying to work out what's what with motherboards. It's pretty much just about what ports it has, right?
' Wrote:I'm looking to spend about $1,000 (USD). I might be persuaded into going a bit higher than that if necessary, but I don't plan on running a whole lot of demanding programs n' stuff (no Crysis at maximum resolution), so the computer doesn't have to be amazingly awesome. And of course it's always cool when I don't have to spend a lot of money on stuff, so I might just stay relatively cheap with this.
1000 bucks. That'll put you in the budget range rather then top performance, but you can still get a neat machine. Here's a suggestion.
CPU: AMD AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition. Socket AM3 $129.99 @ Newegg
AMD might not be the top performance cupholder these days, but they DO have the biggest performance per buck ratio, which is what you want.
Mainboard: ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 - $102.99 @ Newegg.
Proven design, works well.
Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9) Times two: 2x $32.99
Often memory is skimped on, but low-latency, high speed memory is something games benefit a LOT from. Most games keep all active files in memory anyway. It's cheap these days, and this way you'll never run out. More then 8GB is at present still a waste for most systems... applications generally can't handle more then 4GB individually. So one game plus disk cache plus operating system... typically comes to some 6GB used.
Hard drive: 1TB Hitachi Deskstar @ Newegg: $64.99
Single hard drive, good speed. 1TB should be more then adequate.
DVD/CD burner: Reserving $20, get one that looks okay. Frankly, there's not much difference between em.
Video card: EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB, $137,99 @ Newegg
Decent card with a ton of memory. Won't give you top framerates compared to the high end cards, but it should allow you to play just about any game currently available. Good price to quality rating.
Power supply and case: $124,99 Nice combo deal: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.743064
Good looking case and a power supply that should more then adequately power the system. A frequent cause of instability on home built systems is an overloaded power supply that can't keep the lines clear of EMI. Check the power requirements of all your components and add 25% to find the minimum power supply rating you should go for to keep things stable. Given you don't run a high end video card, the PSU itself can stay under the 1000W band.
Mouse and keyboard are personal preferences, can't make a decision on those. But reserving $75 so you can get some good stuff there. Precision optical mouse is recommended for games.
Monitor: Personal preference, reserving $200. Some folk prefer widescreen, some folk prefer 4:3. Get an LCD with a response time of 5ms or less (less is better) if you intend to do gaming.
This is just a suggestion of course, but this'd be how I'd go about building a system like this.
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' Wrote:Zahas, you mentioned 2x 500 GB HDDs. What makes that better than a single 1 TB HDD? Does having two separate drives... work better or something?