The Gaming PC Building/Upgrade Thread

[Garcian Smith]

THE COMPONENTS

There are 8 basic components to PCs: The CPU, motherboard, case, graphics card (GPU), RAM, hard drive, optical drive, and power supply (PSU). Depending upon your needs/wants, you may also wish to add a wireless card, TV tuner, solid-state drive (SSD), aftermarket cooler, or any number of other custom parts. Here's some advice for each of 'em (keep in mind that I have no loyalty to any brands, so keep your fanboy accusations at bay):

 

I) CPU

1) How powerful of a CPU do I need?

A) More and more, new big-budget games are beginning to prefer tri- and quad-core CPUs over dual-cores. A $100ish tri- or quad-core CPU will fulfill the needs of most gamers, and I don't recommend going for a dual-core unless you're on a very tight budget.

2) Should I go with AMD or Intel?

A) Intel has the best "bang for your buck" CPUs if you're willing to spend $200 or more, but AMD has the most to offer if you're on a tight budget. The Athlon II X3 440 will be the best pick for most of you, as it's cheap (under $100), stable, overclocks extremely easily, and will run most games at max settings provided you have a good enough graphics card. If you can fit it into your budget, Intel's Core-i5 750 is a higher-performance option that will run those few CPU-intensive stragglers, but most of you won't need it.

3) What about the Intel Core-i7/i3s?

A) Thanks to the Core-i5's turbo mode, the i7s are actually outperformed by the Core-i5 in games and other applications that don't make heavy use of multithreading technology. Go for the i5 if you really want an Intel quad-core; otherwise, if you buy an i7 over an i5 just for gaming, you are literally throwing money away. As for the i3s, the cheapest one (i3-530) shows a very slight increase in gaming performance over the Athlon II X3 435, but at an over $40 markup and using a socket type that - unlike AMD's Socket AM3 - won't be around in two years when you upgrade. Therefore, the 435 still claims the price:performance "sweet spot" if you're on a budget.

4) What about the AMD Phenom II quad-cores?

A) AMD's Phenom II line isn't bad; it's just overpriced. If you can afford a higher-end quad-core, the i5-750 is still your best bet.

5) Should I get an aftermarket cooler for my CPU?

A) Unless you're planning some heavy overclocking or want your system to run whisper-quiet, no. Stock cooling is perfectly effective at stock speed, and some can even handle mild-moderate OC'ing.

6) RECOMMENDATIONS

Athlon II X2 245: For gamers on a tight budget. The 245 should be all you need to play the latest games, but I'd recommend buying something better if you can afford it.

Athlon II X3 440: My standard recommendation. Cheap (under $100), three cores clocked at 3.0 GHz, and stellar overclocking potential (plus the potential to unlock a 4th core!)

Athlon II X4 635: An affordable quad-core solution for those who play a lot of quad-core-savvy games.

Intel Core i5-750: The most expensive (and highest performance) gaming CPU you'll need. Recommended if you can afford it, but don't worry if you can't.

 

II) Motherboard

1) What should I look for in a mobo?

A) Only what you need. If you don't need integrated graphics/Crossfire support/support for legacy hardware/whatever, then don't pay extra for it.

2) I've chosen my CPU, but I can't make heads or tales of this "socket" thing...

A) AMD's Athlon II/Phenom II line uses Socket AM3. Some AMD motherboards will also be "Socket AM2+," which means that they support both Socket AM2 (an older standard) and Socket AM3 CPUs. Intel's i5/i7 line uses Socket LGA 1156. Some older i7s and the upcoming i9 line use Socket LGA 1366, but that's a platform for CPU- and RAM-intensive work, so I wouldn't recommend it for gaming.

3) What's the difference between ATX, Micro-ATX, and Mini-ITX?

A) Standard ATX mobos are full-size, and therefore often support more features than their smaller cousins. Micro-ATX mobos, by contrast, are just ATX boards with a few inches (and generally a couple of PCI slots) shaved off of them. Micro-ATX boards will work in ATX cases, but not vice-versa. Finally, Mini-ITX mobos are very small boards for the cheap workstation/HTPC crowd and are not a viable standard for a gaming computer.

4) I want to do some heavy overclocking. Should I invest more money in an "OC-friendly" mobo?

A) No. Any decent $100ish mobo these days has all of the OCing options you'll ever need.

5) RECOMMENDATIONS

ASUS M4A77TD: For Socket AM3 CPUs. A solid, no-gimmick board that should work perfectly for most gamers.

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P: For Socket AM3 CPUs. Another solid board, similar to the M4A77TD but with slightly different features.

Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H: For Socket AM3 CPUs. A fully featured Micro-ATX board for those of you building in small cases.

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO: For Socket AM3 CPUs. A more expensive alternative to the M4A77TD, featuring anti-surge protection for heavy overclockers and CrossFire support.

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L: For Socket 1156 CPUs. A solid standard ATX board (with Crossfire support!) at a reasonable price.

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD2: For Socket 1156 CPUs. A Micro-ATX alternative to the UD3L.

 

III) Case

1) What should I look for in a case?

A) Cases are a funny thing. There's a ton of awful ones, both cheap and not-so-cheap, with a handful of good ones sprinkled in. If you insist on being unique and researching cases yourself, look for one that's:

-Made from aluminum (cheap steel cases won't dissipate heat as well),

-Sports at least two case fans, at least one of which is 120mm and no more than one of which is 80mm (mostly due to noise concerns),

-Features a couple of USB ports on the front for your keyboard and mouse,

-Accepts standard ATX motherboards (unless you're specifically building a Micro-ATX box), and

-Accepts standard ATX power supplies (Micro-ATX PSUs are generally too underpowered for a gaming PC).

Generally, you don't want to spend more than $100 or so on a case unless you either want something that runs whisper-quiet or something in a small form factor.

2) Should I get a case with a bundled PSU?

A) Generally, no. If you're on a very tight budget, then certain case/PSU bundles can work well, but make sure the PSU carries at least a 3-year warranty. Otherwise, just buy them separately.

3) RECCOMENDATIONS

Cooler Master Centurion 5: The gold standard of budget cases. Roomy, quiet, few sharp edges, and toolless mounting, all for about fifty bucks.

Antec Mini P180: A quiet and inexpensive Micro-ATX case that's also easy to build in (as far as Micro-ATX cases go).

Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B: Sleek, stylish full ATX case with superior airflow.

Lian Li PC-V351B: A compact Micro-ATX case for those of you for whom space is a concern. About as small as you can go without running into problems.

Antec P183: The most you should be paying for a case. Runs damn near completely silent.

 

IV) Graphics Card (GPU)

1) Should I go with NVidia or ATI?

A) ATI currently has the best "price:performance" ratio out there. That's not to say that NVidia cards are bad; just that they're overpriced in comparison to their ATI counterparts. With NVidia pushing out their new line in a few months, however, who knows what will happen then.

2) But I heard that ATI cards had buggy drivers.

A) That hasn't been true for years. ATI really cleaned up their act with regards to drivers a while back.

3) What if I'm interested in PhysX?

A) PhysX is a dying proprietary standard supported by only a handful of games. ATI is currently at work on an open (i.e. supported by both NVidia and ATI cards) physics engine standard for DirectX 11 that will most likely supplant PhysX once released. Unless you're really interested in having slightly better physics in Mirror's Edge or Batman: AA, I'd hold off on it for now.

4) Is there any major difference between graphics card manufacturers? Are there any I shouldn't buy from?

A) Usually, no. All graphics card manufacturers build their cards to a single, standardized spec. The only thing different about the various brands of graphics cards is the cooling unit, the number and type of display outputs, and (in a few cases) the amount of RAM. I recommend that you just buy the cheapest one that you can find that has the display output(s) that you want.

The one exception, by the way, is Diamond. Diamond cards suck. Don't buy them.

5) Should I worry about DirectX 11?

A) Not right now. At the time of this posting, there's only five games that use it, only a handful more announced that will do so, and none that require it. And the one that uses it the most, Dirt 2, uses it for - gasp! - some minor tesselation and water effects. Basically, this happens every time a new version of DirectX comes out: people rush out to become ealry adopters, and then end up waiting a year or more for games to take any sort of advantage of it. By the time games start to take real advantage of DX11, the hardware will be much more affordable than it is now, and actually worth your money to boot. Feel free to grab a DX10 card now while they're affordable and worry about DX11 come 2012 when you'll need to upgrade your graphics card again anyway.

6) Should I use SLI/Crossfire?

A) Generally, when faced with the choice between two lower-priced cards in SLI and one higher-priced card, you'll always want to go with the second. There are three main reasons for this. First, driver compatibility for SLI/Crossfire across most games sucks. You'll often find yourself tinkering around with a game, trying to get it to work when a single card would do just fine. Second, running in SLI/Crossfire doesn't double your VRAM; two 1-gig cards running in SLI will only have 1 GB RAM. Third, SLI/crossfire currently has problems with microstuttering that can - quite literally - make playing a 60 FPS game be like playing a 30 FPS game. So while the drivers may improve in the future, right now SLI/Crossfire just sucks.

7) RECOMMENDATIONS

Radeon 4850: The current price:performance "sweet spot" for low-resolution (1680x1050 and below) gaming. It runs hot and it's not very safe to overclock, but it's a beast of a card for under $100. (NOTE: Buy the 512MB RAM version)

Radeon 4770: A good alternative to the 4850 if you plan on overclocking. At stock it's slightly weaker than the 4850, but OCed it significantly outperforms the latter, usually at lower power and heat.

Radeon 5750: A cooler, slightly faster, and significantly more expensive alternative to the 4850 that also possesses decent overclocking ability. It's not the "sweet spot," and it can't really handle DX11 games, but if you're looking to OC or worried about heat then the 5750 isn't a bad choice. (NOTE: Buy the 1 GB RAM version)

Radeon 5770: The current price:performance "sweet spot" for 1920x1080 since ATI phased the stellar 4890 line out (*sheds tear*). Cool, easy to overclock, and (unlike its little brother the 5750) a decent performer on DX11 games. (NOTE: Buy the 1GB RAM version)

Radeon 5830: A compromise between the 5850 and 5770 in performance, if not price. Currently price-gouged to hell and back, but it still may be worthwhile if you can find it on sale.

Radeon 5850: An expensive card for the gamer who needs to have it all. Will run everything at max settings up to 1920x1200, and performs decently at 2560x1600. Most of you won't need something this powerful, though.