Building a computer

[ManBearPig]

Alright so I'm a noob when it comes to this stuff but I'm exploring the option of building a desktop computer, vs just buying one in a store. If anyone could give me their opinions and experiences with this it would be much appreciated. Looking to spend somewhere in the $1200 price range, is that even enough to build a strong pc for the best gaming experience? Remember I'm a noob so if anyone has some suggestions please explain it in the simplest terms possible. Thanks

 

[Bootscrapper]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1670092

Newegg usually has really good deals on bundles like this one. the only thing that i would change in this is the GPU if you go with as beefy as a GTX 770 get one with at least 3 GB ram. and don't fall into the AMD CPU trap

 

[Bootscrapper]

and you also don't really need 16gb ram, but it is nice to have that's something that if you are tryint to save a little money up front you could go with two sticks of 4gb for 8 total and upgrade later. just make sure you go with two sticks of ram I.E( if you want 8gb total 2 sticks of 4) this way it can run in dual channel and be faster

 

[RivaCom]

This depends on your budget really. If you have no ideal budget heres my though.

CPU: High end i5 or i7. 4670 ish range will do you good.
GPU: If you want to future proof your machine, Nvidia GTX 980 4GB model is probably your best bet at this current time or If your on a tigher budget 970GTX and you can throw a second one in down the line for some SLI goodness. AMD has yet to release a hint at a decent priced powerful card so currently unless you can find a 295X for under 300, stay away.
PSU: Go big or go home. 700 Watts is about AVG.
Memory: 8 GB is a minimum now, buy 2 sticks of 4GB and buy 2 more later.

 

[Bootscrapper]

i would also look at after market coolers for your CPU. the Corsair self contained watercoolers are great for temp and for space they wont block any of your ram slots where some air coolers will block the first one

 

[ManBearPig]

Thanks guys, appreciate it. Gonna start hunting around see what I can find

 

[Rexigar]

Hey ManBear. Building your own PC is certainly the way to go. I just built my new one probably a month or two ago. Here are the parts I used. I have been able to run everything on max graphics.

Case: Antec 300 Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
Mobo: MSI Z87 - G43
Processor: Intel i5-4670K Haswell Quad-Core 3.4GHZ
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Power Supply: Antec 630W
Video Card: GeForce GTX 770 4GB
Hard Drive 1: Crucial 256GB SSD
Hard Drive 2: Seagate 1TB Mechanical
Monitors: 3 x 24" ROC LCD's
Keyboard: Logitech G19
Mouse: Logitech MX518
Speakers: Logitech Z506 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers
Headset: Logitech G930
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit

My video card was the most expensive part. I would also recommend going with an SSD. They don't have a lot of storage, unless you want to pay big money. However, if you install your OS on it and maybe a couple games your PC will be incredibly fast. I put two drives in my PC. One SSD and One Mechanical. The mechanicals are cheap enough where you can put one in and then store some other steam games, Pictures, Videos, etc on it to save space.

I ordered most of my parts from Newegg.

 

[poispois]

Hey ManBear. Building your own PC is certainly the way to go. I just built my new one probably a month or two ago. Here are the parts I used. I have been able to run everything on max graphics.

Case: Antec 300 Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
Mobo: MSI Z87 - G43
Processor: Intel i5-4670K Haswell Quad-Core 3.4GHZ
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Power Supply: Antec 630W
Video Card: GeForce GTX 770 4GB
Hard Drive 1: Crucial 256GB SSD
Hard Drive 2: Seagate 1TB Mechanical
Monitors: 3 x 24" ROC LCD's
Keyboard: Logitech G19
Mouse: Logitech MX518
Speakers: Logitech Z506 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers
Headset: Logitech G930
OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit

My video card was the most expensive part. I would also recommend going with an SSD. They don't have a lot of storage, unless you want to pay big money. However, if you install your OS on it and maybe a couple games your PC will be incredibly fast. I put two drives in my PC. One SSD and One Mechanical. The mechanicals are cheap enough where you can put one in and then store some other steam games, Pictures, Videos, etc on it to save space.

I ordered most of my parts from Newegg.

just out of curiosity, how much did that PC cost?

 

[poispois]

I bought my actual PC on May an it was made with the budget of 1000€ + the monitor, unfortunately I'm not on america when PC parts are a lot cheaper but still I got a pretty decent PC.
At this time your PC will definitely be better than mine. check mine on the pic just to give you an ideia.
I have 16gb of ram which should be too much for you but I'm an application freak lol

 

[Rexigar]

I already had the 1TB Mechanical, Power Supply, 3 monitors, keyboard, mouse, speakers, headset mind you. Here is what I paid for the other parts:

Case: $68
SSD: $112
Mobo/Processor/RAM Combo: $438
Video Card: $335

Total: $953

 

[poispois]

I already had the 1TB Mechanical, Power Supply, 3 monitors, keyboard, mouse, speakers, headset mind you. Here is what I paid for the other parts:

Case: $68
SSD: $112
Mobo/Processor/RAM Combo: $438
Video Card: $335

Total: $953

look at my post and look at the differences in prices. Mine were from one of the cheapest sites in Portugal :/

 

[Rexigar]

That's rough. Would it be more expensive to order them in the states and ship them over?

 

[poispois]

That's rough. Would it be more expensive to order them in the states and ship them over?

shipments cost are usually high because of the volume and for that type of product from what I know there is a high chance of having to pay customs... :/

 

[Rexigar]

Friggin Customs.

 

[RivaCom]

i would also look at after market coolers for your CPU. the Corsair self contained watercoolers are great for temp and for space they wont block any of your ram slots where some air coolers will block the first one

I would almost disagree, at the cost it's almost a waste unless you either A. Have awful airflow in your case or B. Plan on overclocking, which for a first time builder I wouldn't recommend it. The stock coolers for Intel are plenty and CPU's don't heat up a house like they use to.

My big word of advice Manbear is to search for deals. Don't just buy it all one day. It might take a few weeks but you can save at least a few hundred dollars just by searching. I don't know if buying from america is more expensive, but I follow slickdeals.net religously and it's where I find most deals posted, rather it be a coupon code or crazy deal on a part.

Also, not that it has anything to do with computer building, A great site to earn a little extra back, http://www.fatwallet.com/ free to sign up, click the cashback option on top, choose the store you want to buy from, and it'll show you what % you'll get back. I use this for everything and have gotten around 40 bucks this year on stuff bought online. Percents for this also change daily so newegg.com might be 1% today and 4% tomorrow.

 

[ManBearPig]

Wow really good info guys thanks Rex for posting that it was very helpful, and ya Riv that my plan I will be doing lots of research through October here but I'm the type of person that when I get excited about something like this I buy too soon ha, but I will definatley check that website out. Everything is usually cheaper in the states when I'm searching online but after duty and all that shit it ends up being the same as here.. So @Rexigar out of curiosity if there was one thing in that list that you would have upgraded if you had the cash flow what would've it been?

 

[RivaCom]

Wow really good info guys thanks Rex for posting that it was very helpful, and ya Riv that my plan I will be doing lots of research through October here but I'm the type of person that when I get excited about something like this I buy too soon ha, but I will definatley check that website out. Everything is usually cheaper in the states when I'm searching online but after duty and all that shit it ends up being the same as here.. So @Rexigar out of curiosity if there was one thing in that list that you would have upgraded if you had the cash flow what would've it been?

Personally , from his list, I would shoot for the 780ti or now GTX 980. CPU probably would be the second item, Motherboard third, Memory 4th.

 

[Rexigar]

Riv nailed it. My video card wasn't as future proof as it could have been, but I didn't want to go over my budget. I was lucky enough to have the wife sign off on what I got lol.

 

[Cmd]

Here's my pc + 190ron for another psu that came out to a bit over 1200E but needs more ram and ssd space. (also have 3Tb of external storage that i had laying around)

ProduseCantitatePret unitarTotal
GEMBIRD Cablu alimentare Molex CC-PSU-11 4.88 RON4.88 RON
A4Tech X7-300MP1 16.27 RON16.27 RON
Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA3 64MB1 250.56 RON250.56 RON
E-Blue Dynamic Black Color Pal1 26.19 RON26.19 RON
Zalman ZM-M4001 51.26 RON 51.26 RON
Scythe GlideStream 120 (1000 rpm)1 31.09 RON31.09 RON
Kingston V300 2.5 SATA3 60GB 7mm1 245.00 RON245.00 RON
RPC 500W, 1x PCI-E 6+2 pin, 3x SATA, 1x Molex, Ventilaror 120mm, Bulk1 70.60 RON70.60 RON
Plantronics GameCom 3071 89.00 RON89.00 RON
E-Blue Polygon 1 52.24 RON52.24 RON
Kingston DataTraveler 100 G3 8GB1 25.11 RON25.11 RON
Intel Core i5-4570, LGA1150, 4 nuclee, Frecventa 3.2 GHz, Turbo 3.6 GHz, Cache L3 6MB, Intel HD 4600, Box [Haswell]1 817.28 RON817.28 RON
Asrock B85M-HDS, Socket 1150, Chipset B85, Micro ATX, Haswell1 222.71 RON222.71 RON
Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 256-bit [WindForce 3X OC]1 891.54 RON891.54 RON
Zalman T4, Mini Tower, Fara sursa, Filtru de praf, Negru197.59 RON97.59 RON
Philips 223V5LSB/00, 21.5 inch, 1920x1080, 5ms, VGA, DVI-D, Negru1460.92 RON460.92 RON
Kingston DDR3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1600MHz CL9 XMP HyperX black Series1347.79 RON347.79 RON
Discount promotie SSD Kingston V300 2.5 SATA3 60GB 7mm1-26.00 RON-26.00 RON
Discount promotie Casti Plantronics GameCom 3071-20.00 RON-20.00 RON
Taxa verde16.20 RON6.20 RON
Livrare platita, efectuata de firma curierat in provincie117.00 RON17.00 RON
Taxa ramburs numerar19.00 RON9.00 RON
Total produse3.714,42 RON Tva inclus