help build me a gaming rig pc

[RuBiQ]

I havent had a pc for gaming since the days of Sof2 and Call of Duty1, back then radeon 9800 were the best graffic cards available.

So, im missing my keyboard and mouse days and fancy a return to pc gaming..

I need to kno really whats a decent enough spec to game without spending my retirement fund..


so what do i need

Mobo and CPU wise
graffic card wise
memory wise for type and how much is needed these days
i would like at least a 1tb hardrive to start



i dont mind building it myself as i have done back in the old days..


Hope someone can advise.. cheers..

[abigsmurf]

Here's a upper mid range build:

Core i5 650 - £150
Gigabyte GA-P55-US3L Rev 2.0 H55 Socket 1156 £80
OCZ Stealth XStream 600W PSU - £60
Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory £85
Coolermaster Elite 330 Black Mid Tower Case £27
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB £55
PowerColor HD 5830 PCS Edition 1GB GDDR5 £180

Total: £637 (from Ebuyer)

[RuBiQ]

cheers abigsmurf.

Is that the best current memory available? is 4gb enough?
The graffics card you mention, is that good enough for current FPS games and say future proof for the likes of Fallout Vegas and playing Left for Dead2 ...


What else is missing from your list if anthing
Case - check
CPU - check
mobo - check
memory -check
hardrive - check
vid card - check


soundcards are ten a penny so that shouldnt be an issue, i have keyboard and mouse already and ill use the 37" LCD i used for ps3 and 360 as the monitor, also got a dual layer writer somewhere from the last pc..

anything else needed u think mate, might order this tonight..

[Digfox]

OK I’ll have a go.

Firstly a budget would help. You could spend anywhere from £400 to £2000 plus, depending on what you need; i.e. do you need a monitor?

Depending on money/requirements; I’d be looking at:

An Intel i5 or i7 Quadcore CPU. So either a Lynnfield core i5 on LGA1156 or a 920/920 i7 LGA1366. All in the c.£170-240 range. Until next year the i7 will be the best CPU out there.

Personally I’d aim for the cheapest 1156/1366 motherboard, because I’m not that bothered about some of the features on offer. Gigabyte and ASUS have been fine Intel boards in my experience.

On the GFX front an ATI 5850 c£230+ will give great performance in nearly any game. However if all you’re ever going to do is sit on Torchlight or WoW (or other low PC requirement games) then you can save money here, or alternatively go for something better. I don’t see the reason to crossfire or SLI but that’s subjective.

About £130 for 6GB Tri-channel DDR3 RAM will go will the above, and probably be good for a while. Arguably you could get away with 4GB for gaming.

For storage the choice is going to be whether to go solid state storage or optical drives. Ultimately SSD’s will load the OS and Apps much quicker, but cost a lot more. Samsung Spinpoint F3 are well regarded if you’re comfortable with the optical drive.

After that it’s making sure you got the remainder; case, psu, optical drive etc.

Usual websites are good for reading: Forums.overclockers.co.uk, Toms Hardware & Anandtech.

[abigsmurf]

oh yeah, forgot the DVD drive.

Advice if you're going to build your own system:

Don't save money too much money on the PSU. Make sure you get a brand one. A rubbish PSU can blow up and take most of your system with it. You probably want 600W for a Core i7 system with a single graphics card. Google a brand if you're not familiar with it.

If you're scared about blowing up a system putting it together, I think it's scan that do specific system builders insurance. Mess it up and they'll replace any damaged bits.

[RuBiQ]

Cheers boys, i wasnt lookin at spending over £700 to be honest as its a bit spur of the moment and im savin for my holidays, but im getting a bit stale atm on the console front, i have nearly all the new 360 games and the ps3 just isnt doing anything for me at all atm, im thinking of selling it tbh towards getting my pc sorted..

theres a pc fair on tomorrow, part of me fancys just going and either getting a same/similar spec to what bigsmurfs mentioned, ill see how i feel tomorrow but i can foresee me having a games pc before the month is over..

appreciate the feedback from you both too, very helpful..

[Digfox]

In which case the spec posted by abigsmurf is probably spot on. I'd replace the i5 650 with the i5 750 (no difference in price), but otherwise is close to your budget.

Never bought from a computer fair, so couldn't possibly comment on that. However eBuyer, Dabs and particularly Overclockers have all served me well for PC bits over the years.

[abigsmurf]

It's doubly important with a computer fair to ensure you get a reasonable brand PSU. Also remember that you'll probably have a full manufacturers warrenty from most components. Buying lots from a single guy opens the possiblity of haggling.

Check on websites before hand to see the going rate of parts to make sure you don't pay over the odds.

A faster GPU should take priority over a CPU for gaming if you have to choose. Make sure you get a Core i as a bare minimum though.

[RuBiQ]

guys im proper excited about this now, what about fans to keep the case and cpu cool?

would you recommend any before i place the order?

Also, is a cheap soundcard fine for this, ill be playing mainly vie a headset..

[abigsmurf]

Most cases will come with a big-ish fan. The stock cooler you get with the intel CPUs is good, if slightly noisy. You shouldn't have an issue with cooling unless doing overclocking, it's only the noise that will be different. If you're going to get an aftermarket cooler, check out the cooler master ones.

To be honest, a sound card is a waste of money unless you're an enthusiast. On board sound comes with pretty much every motherboard and can output reasonable quality surround sound.

[RuBiQ]

sweet onboard sound is fine by me,

ill let u kno how i get on, u never kno, we could end up on a game on the pc sometime

thanks again matey

[RuBiQ]

got another question
IS the below spec better than the one abigsmurf posted..

Intel Core i7 920 D0 Stepping (SLBEJ) 2.66GHz (Nehalem) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £184.99
(£157.44) £184.99
(£157.44)
Asus ATI Radeon HD 5770 CuCore 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £131.99
(£112.33) £131.99
(£112.33)
OCZ Gold Low Voltage 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (OCZ3G1600LV4GK) £94.99
(£80.84) £189.98
(£161.68)
Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 microATX Motherboard £87.98
(£74.88) £87.98
(£74.88)
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103SJ) £55.99
(£47.65) £55.99
(£47.65)
OCZ StealthXStream 500w Silent Power Supply £46.99
(£39.99) £46.99
(£39.99)
Xigmatek Asgard Midi Tower Case - Black £26.99
(£22.97) £26.99
(£22.97)
Samsung SH-S223C/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
(£11.91) £13.99
(£11.91)
Sub Total : £628.85
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.50
VAT is being charged at 17.50% VAT : £112.24
Total : £753.59

[abigsmurf]

Don't order that system! It won't work.

The i7 920s and 940's use the x58 chipset, not the P55 which every other i3,i5,i7 use (confusing I know)

You also appear to have added the ram twice to that cart (which explains why your build is significantly more expensive than mine). Assume that's a mistake, you don't want four ram sticks in your system (not cost effective).

Finally, the motherboard you selected is a Matx board. The M standing for Micro. Whilst it may put together fine, it will probably have airflow and cooking issues. Go for a full ATX board for a gaming system. Generally motherboards will have an M at the end of their model numberto signify it's Matx.

Aside from those issues, it's a reasonable build. My build sacrificed CPU and RAM quality in return for a faster GPU as that tends to make a bigger difference for gaming (as long as the rest of the components don't bottleneck the system). 5770s are good value though and quiet and low powered.

[dh2005]

Hello guys,

Excuse me for butting-in. But I am also looking to build a gaming PC.

I'm looking at a Shuttle SX58J3, as the base:

http://global.shuttle.com/product_detail.jsp?PI=1389

My thoughts for components are:

CPU; i7/920
RAM; 4GB of DDR3
Drive; 80GBish SSD

A few questions:

1. Some folks have said to me that the i7 is overkill for a gaming machine, but the bottom-end i7 isn't much more expensive than the i5, so spending the extra few quid seems like the right move to me. Anyone disagree?

2. D'you reckon 4GB of RAM is enough? Should I push to 6, or even 8...?

3. Is an SSD advisable? The small capacity is not a concern for me.

4. I really don't know where to start, re the graphics card. It's been so long since I last looked into building a PC, and so much has changed... essentially, I'll be looking to run games at circa 720p, with as high detail-levels as reasonably possible.


Appreciate any input. Thanks,



DH.

[abigsmurf]

Shuttles are nice but you pay a big big premium for them. Also, can be tricky fitting the longer graphics cards into them.

1. A faster CPU is always nice as it gives you a boost for all PC usage. However, for gaming, if the choice is between a nicer CPU or a nicer graphics card, get the graphics card, you'll get a far bigger performance boost. The i5 750 is a good bang:buck cpu at the moment . Remember to check if the CPU is a P55 or x58 one so you get the relevant motherboard.

2. It's enough for it not to bottleneck your system. Having more ram can make your PC run smoother (less HDD thrashing). 4gb is the minimum, 6gb gives you breathing room.

3. SSD... is boot up and loading time a big issue for you? may not be worth the premium. 80gb is not enough to do any real gaming on, you'll fill it up incredibly fast. Installing windows on a SSD and applications on a second HDD is a great setup... if you can afford it. Don't rexpect much improvement in game performance.

4. Check this out for a up to date guide for graphics card: http://gizmodo.com/5569723/the-best-...at-every-price

The graphics card will give you the biggest frame rate boost of any part of your PC. You should prioritise this when choosing something for your budget. I've a 5850 and think it's great but it isn't cheap. You can get some good deals on 5830s though (posted a link to a particularly good one earlier in this thread).

Make sure your PSU can take your graphics card and that it'll fit in the case. Don't scrimp on the PSU (despite it being tempting) unbranded ones are noisy, provide awful quality power and are more likely to fail (frying your PC in the process)