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Forums - PC Discussion - The Gaming PC Building/Upgrade Thread

Garcian Smith on 29 January 2010
chapset said:
 

I got 600$ (including os)

I will use my old monitor ( my resolution right now is 1024x728, but it can support higher resolution) for now but I will buy one like this one later:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236062

Most of my gaming on pc will be with rts games, I also want something I can update when my budget loosen up a little bit.ALso I never built a pc myself so, if the products are easy to put together that would be great.

Also I just want a fonctional case, no fancy stuff

That monitor is 1440x900, which isn't far away from 1024x768 in terms of the hardware required to run it. That said, since you're running at a lower resolution, you don't need anything more than a Radeon 4850 - which, by the way, is a beast of a card for only $100US. RTS games aren't very graphically demanding besides, so that card should last you a while.

Anyway, here's what I'd suggest for a $600 budget:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 ($71).

Mobo: ECS IC780M ($65; $47 after rebate)

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 ($51)

Graphics: Powercolor Radeon HD 4850 ($105)

RAM: 4 GB Corsair DDR3 1333 ($84)

Hard Drive: 500GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 ($56)

Optical Drive: Sony SATA DVD-ROM ($17)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W ($56)

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium ($120)

...which comes to $625 before shipping, or $602 if you count the mobo rebate. That'll be more than enough for medium gaming at your resolution, and it's a much better system than the prebuilt one that you were thinking of getting. I did have to make some sacrifices in terms of the dual-core processor, non-RW DVD drive, and slightly underpowered PSU, but adding another $50 or so to your budget could easily fix that. Even if you can't, however, this build should be rock-solid for your needs.



"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."

 -Sean Malstrom

 

 

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chapset on 29 January 2010

could you recommand a lower end video card and a dvd burner, and also thx a lot for the build



Bet reminder: I bet with Tboned51 that Splatoon won't reach the 1 million shipped mark by the end of 2015. I win if he loses and I lose if I lost.

Garcian Smith on 29 January 2010
chapset said:
could you recommand a lower end video card and a dvd burner, and also thx a lot for the build

Anything lower-end than a 4850 really isn't worth the money for what you get. Basically, you'll be taking a huge hit to performance for not much savings. As for the DVD burner, you can get a Lite-On or Sony one for like $28 if you can budget yourself an extra ten bucks.

Either way, glad I could help!



"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."

 -Sean Malstrom

 

 

chapset on 29 January 2010
Garcian Smith said:
chapset said:
could you recommand a lower end video card and a dvd burner, and also thx a lot for the build

Anything lower-end than a 4850 really isn't worth the money for what you get. Basically, you'll be taking a huge hit to performance for not much savings. As for the DVD burner, you can get a Lite-On or Sony one for like $28 if you can budget yourself an extra ten bucks.

Either way, glad I could help!

aight, thx a lot, this thread might be the greatest thread of vgchartz



Bet reminder: I bet with Tboned51 that Splatoon won't reach the 1 million shipped mark by the end of 2015. I win if he loses and I lose if I lost.

ameratsu on 29 January 2010

honestly chapset, I'd recommend directcanada or ncix over newegg.ca for the vast majority of purchases. Newegg.ca ships from the US, and you could easily be on the hook for customs charges and taxes when your stuff crosses the border. Not to mention both dc and ncix offer free shipping if you spend over a couple hundred unlike newegg. Buy from a Canadian site so there are no surprise costs.

www.directcanada.com
www.ncix.com



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Vetteman94 on 29 January 2010

What other cases can I use instead of the one you have listed in the "More Power" setup. Just would like a few choices. I was hoping for something with a little more style, but not too over the top



Garcian Smith on 29 January 2010
Vetteman94 said:
What other cases can I use instead of the one you have listed in the "More Power" setup. Just would like a few choices. I was hoping for something with a little more style, but not too over the top

I don't know what you'd consider "stylish," exactly, but here's a few reliable picks around the same price range that don't look incredibly tacky:

Antec Nine Hundred

NZXT Guardian 921 (This one has some nifty digital thermometers if you plan on OCing)

COOLER MASTER CM690 II

Enermax Phoenix Neo ECA3162



"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."

 -Sean Malstrom

 

 

Twistedpixel on 29 January 2010
Garcian Smith said:

That monitor is 1440x900, which isn't far away from 1024x768 in terms of the hardware required to run it. That said, since you're running at a lower resolution, you don't need anything more than a Radeon 4850 - which, by the way, is a beast of a card for only $100US. RTS games aren't very graphically demanding besides, so that card should last you a while.

Anyway, here's what I'd suggest for a $600 budget:

 

 

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 ($51)

Graphics: Powercolor Radeon HD 4850 ($105)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W ($56)

 

...which comes to $625 before shipping, or $602 if you count the mobo rebate. That'll be more than enough for medium gaming at your resolution, and it's a much better system than the prebuilt one that you were thinking of getting. I did have to make some sacrifices in terms of the dual-core processor, non-RW DVD drive, and slightly underpowered PSU, but adding another $50 or so to your budget could easily fix that. Even if you can't, however, this build should be rock-solid for your needs.

Switch the case with this Raidmax $90 one with a 500W PSU with a single 6 pin PCI-E adapter. The above cannot run that graphics card.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156062

It also has a $15 mail in rebate.

Its got 5 stars from Newegg.

Alternativrly

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156098

Optional:

Consider the HD 5750 for direct X 11 support, lower power useage, display port, higher quality card, 1GB ram vs 512 for $145

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127460&cm_re=HD_5750-_-14-127-460-_-Product

 



Do you know what its like to live on the far side of Uranus?

Vetteman94 on 29 January 2010
Garcian Smith said:
Vetteman94 said:
What other cases can I use instead of the one you have listed in the "More Power" setup. Just would like a few choices. I was hoping for something with a little more style, but not too over the top

I don't know what you'd consider "stylish," exactly, but here's a few reliable picks around the same price range that don't look incredibly tacky:

Antec Nine Hundred

NZXT Guardian 921 (This one has some nifty digital thermometers if you plan on OCing)

COOLER MASTER CM690 II

Enermax Phoenix Neo ECA3162


Thanks man,  I'm liking that Antec Nine Hundred



Garcian Smith on 29 January 2010
Twistedpixel said:
 

Switch the case with this Raidmax $90 one with a 500W PSU with a single 6 pin PCI-E adapter. The above cannot run that graphics card.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156062

It also has a $15 mail in rebate.

Its got 5 stars from Newegg.

Alternativrly

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156098

Optional:

Consider the HD 5750 for direct X 11 support, lower power useage, display port, higher quality card, 1GB ram vs 512 for $145

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127460&cm_re=HD_5750-_-14-127-460-_-Product

 

You're looking at a different 350W SeaSonic. The one that I linked states that it's "PCI Express Ready" in the description.

Also, don't buy those cases. Not only are they ugly (IMO), but the PSUs only have a one-year warranty. Basically, they're crap, and they'll probably fail on you right when that warranty runs out. Oh, and both cases you linked to feature dual 80mm fans, which will emit a lot of noise.

Finally, there's a joke among hardware enthusiasts that the 5750 is a good DirectX 10 card (if you know what I mean). It's not powerful enough to run DX11 games at playable framerates. In addition, the 4850/5750 can't really take advantage of more than 512MB RAM, so the extra 512 is useless. The only advantages the 5750 really offers over the 4850 is lower heat/power consumption and slightly better performance, and those really aren't worth paying the extra $40 for unless you're specifically worried about heat/power.



"'Casual games' are something the 'Game Industry' invented to explain away the Wii success instead of actually listening or looking at what Nintendo did. There is no 'casual strategy' from Nintendo. 'Accessible strategy', yes, but ‘casual gamers’ is just the 'Game Industry''s polite way of saying what they feel: 'retarded gamers'."

 -Sean Malstrom