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Building a Gaming Rig. Need some suggestions.

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June 16, 2013 1:52:58 AM

I am previously a console gamer, but I'm making the switch to PC instead of buying a next gen. console. I'm putting together a budget build specifically for gaming only. I will not be using it for video editing or anything like that, just gaming. Here are the components that I have and don't have so far. I need some advice on some of these:

CPU: Intel i5-3350p (Not gonna over-clock)

CPU Cooler: Should I buy one if I'm not over-clocking?

Motherboard: Asrock H77m

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 memory. Can someone explain the difference between 1600 and 1866 memory? Is there any benefit?

Storage: I can't decide on what amount I should get for gaming only. I'm between Caviar Blue 500GB, 750GB or 1TB. Also, can you explain cache to me? What's the difference between 16MB, 32MB, and 64MB?

Video Card: Not sure here. I'm thinking GTX 660 Ti 2 GB. Any other suggestions? I'd like to play games like BF4 on High-Ultra settings.

Case: Not sure here either. I need something cheap, but has nice airflow and cord management. I was thinking the NZXT Source 220. Other Suggestions?

Power Supply: Not sure. Suggestions?

Optical Drive: I'll find something cheap

OS: Microsoft 7 or 8?

That's all I have right now. I'd like to keep the price down but maintain high quality. If you guys can help me with some of these that would be awesome! Thanks!

More about : building gaming rig suggestions

June 16, 2013 2:04:48 AM

Budget please

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($204.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($92.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.58 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $768.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-16 05:07 EDT-0400)
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June 16, 2013 2:22:00 AM

If you're going gaming, i would strongly suggest AMD since the next gen console is all AMD. They're using the Bulldozer architecture with i think the Jaguar/Kabini chips on the PS4/XBOne. Currently yes, intel is best.

For performance on gaming, if you're going with Intel, get a z77 board. They're optimized for Video Card and RAM so that it will help for gaming.

Cooler: I would recommend to keep the CPU to last longer and keep your computer cooler, i would get at least a Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Evo. Anything more is all on you.

RAM: 1600 vs 1866 is nothing much, what matters is timing Cas latency (CL) so the Vengenace i believe run at CL9 for the most part, that's really good for gaming, so i would say you're good with that.

Storage: Caching is the important bit, IF possible, get a big HDD and get a smaller SSD. Like 120GB or so. That will run your OS and your main programs while the HDD will run games and storage. Then take like 1GB or so and use it for caching on the HDD. That will work real well and improve performance of your HDD to something like at the speed of a Hybrid SSD. I personally have 2 x SSD's, 1st for OS/Programs, 2nd for Games, Then i have HDD for storage. That's a little overkill but having things a little separated helps keep the hard drives and ssd's from fragmenting so much and deteriorates at a slower pace.

Video: Currently the 7xx series has arrived. If you can wait for the gtx 760 which is like a month away, i would go for that and for the moment use the iGPU from the motherboard. 660ti is a great card, if you want to get it go for it, but you can get something a little more current and more efficient. 7xx series did an overhaul in power allocation and a much better thermal so you can stay at higher clocks for much longer period of time. This means that it will perform its best for much longer.

Case: i would suggest Cooler Master for cheap and good airflow. If cooler master is a little pricey, doesn't hurt to check out RaidMax, my friends all use Raidmax because they don't want to spend a lot of money on cases and want good airflow. Also if you don't mind going for something a little bit better build, check out Corsair, all their cases are amazing. Great quality.

Power Supply: DON'T SKIMP ON PSU. Spend the extra money and get 80+ Gold certified. Bronze work well, but now a days you want something that doesn't waste energy and doesn't break as easily. A bad PSU can bring down your entire PC and burn everything if its cheap. My suggestions would be Corsair, Thermaltake, Cooler Master, Seasonic(best PSU's i've ever seen), XFX, Rosewill(best priced PSU i've seen). Probably something like 650W+ should be safe. I say 750W because you may upgrade CPU's, Video Cards, and Motherboards that may require in the future more energy. It always leaves you with options, and thats important. Also 750W you tend to find modular PSU which is nice to keep the clutter away.

I know this is alot of information, since there is no budget set i just put something i would go for.
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June 16, 2013 2:28:08 AM

Z is only for overclocking a -k cpu
Architecture from piledriver and jaguar is different.
Intel cpu with 4 strong REAL cores will have no problems.
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June 16, 2013 3:49:12 AM

Marcopolo123 said:
Z is only for overclocking a -k cpu
Architecture from piledriver and jaguar is different.
Intel cpu with 4 strong REAL cores will have no problems.


you can overclock with H and you don't need a -k chip to overclock, the Z series have optimized strings for video cards and RAM. Yes is for overclocking but it's made to give power more efficiently and quicker.

The Bulldoze architecture will be the same from 4 generations of FX and A series. They use the same architecture, if they changed the architecture we'd see a different socket being utilized. Every socket revision is a new architecture essentially. You might want to do a little more reading on AMD architecture. The Jaguar is the next generation Steamroller 4-core w/ 8xxx series GPU.

It doesn't matter if Intel is better, it's what programs are optimized for, currently yes Intel is better, but by the end of the year, we'll see tons of console/PC games optimized for AMD FX and APU chips.
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