- Sep 21, 2013
- 2
- 0
- 10,510
Hey all! Long-time lurker, first-time poster here building my first desktop and looking for some help/advice.
Approximate Purchase Date.: within the next week
Budget Range: $700
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. Literally nothing else is going on this desktop but Steam and some gaming-related software
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Parts to Upgrade: everything, I guess. This is my first build so I'm going to need to start from scratch. All I have covered is mouse and keyboard..
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: no preference, just whoever has the best price
Location: Southeast US
Parts Preferences: I really want to go with an Intel CPU and AMD GPU because that's what I have the most experience with as end-user, but I'm open to suggestions.
Overclocking: Maybe; it would be much further down the road. Nice to have the option but not having it isn't a deal-breaker.
SLI or Crossfire: Again, maybe; won't be doing it anytime soon, and I'm OK without
Additional Comments: I have a hard $700 limit, including OS and monitor. Using it entirely for gaming, but I know that realistically whatever I build isn't going to set the world on fire with my budget. I'm just looking for something that would allow me to play any games coming out within the next year at medium-to-high settings, as well as some older games I've bought on sale/impulse that my laptop can't run well enough to be considered playable (Metro 2033/Last Light, Witcher 2, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs). The few demanding games I've managed to get decent performance out of only came after hours upon hours of tweaking and I'm really tired of it.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I love my laptop, but it just isn't cutting it anymore with games. Many that have come out just this year or even the year before can't run at playable speeds regardless of settings. It hung in there longer than I expected, but It's time to put it out to pasture as far as games go. I will be keeping it around for everything except gaming - internet/video/etc.
I feel pretty good about the parts list I've put together, but I'd like some feedback.
i5-4570 - $159
http://www.microcenter.com/product/413255/Intel_Core_i5-4570_32GHz_Boxed_Processor
ASRock H81M-DGS - $49.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 - $32.98
http://www.outletpc.com/wh6287-ball...rucial+-+Memory (RAM) > Desktop - DDR3 Memory
Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM - $39.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00461K1QW/?tag=pcpapi-20
ASUS HD7770-1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition - $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
HEC Vigilance MicroATX Mini Tower Case - $21.99
http://www.microcenter.com/product/411104/Compucase_Vigilance_Mid_Tower_mATX_Computer_Case_-_Black
Seasonic SS-400ET Bronze 400W - $52.40
http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-SS-4...&qid=1379697420&sr=1-80&keywords=power+supply
LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer - $15.99
http://www.microcenter.com/product/407512/24x_Super_Multi_Internal_SATA_DVD±RW_DL_Drive_-_Bare_Drive
My laptop specs for comparison:
Sony VAIO VPCEB
Intel i5 520M @ 2.5Ghz
ATI Radeon Mobility 5650
4GB RAM
Windows 7 64-bit
About the only things I really have my heart set on is the CPU ($160 for the i5-4570 seems like a steal because any other Intel quad I could find anywhere else would put me over-budget) and this HP monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176422
It's the best IPS monitor I could find in my price range and has some very positive reviews, but I'm open to suggestions if you can find anything that would be a better value and not break the bank.
Case is pretty much junk, I know, but I had to cut corners somewhere.
Sorry about the info-dump. I'm new to all this and I've been getting a lot of conflicting advice from people I normally consider very trustworthy, so I'd like a neutral opinion to make sense of it all before I pull the trigger. Comments/suggestions/jokes about my mom are welcome.
Approximate Purchase Date.: within the next week
Budget Range: $700
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. Literally nothing else is going on this desktop but Steam and some gaming-related software
Are you buying a monitor: Yes
Parts to Upgrade: everything, I guess. This is my first build so I'm going to need to start from scratch. All I have covered is mouse and keyboard..
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: no preference, just whoever has the best price
Location: Southeast US
Parts Preferences: I really want to go with an Intel CPU and AMD GPU because that's what I have the most experience with as end-user, but I'm open to suggestions.
Overclocking: Maybe; it would be much further down the road. Nice to have the option but not having it isn't a deal-breaker.
SLI or Crossfire: Again, maybe; won't be doing it anytime soon, and I'm OK without
Additional Comments: I have a hard $700 limit, including OS and monitor. Using it entirely for gaming, but I know that realistically whatever I build isn't going to set the world on fire with my budget. I'm just looking for something that would allow me to play any games coming out within the next year at medium-to-high settings, as well as some older games I've bought on sale/impulse that my laptop can't run well enough to be considered playable (Metro 2033/Last Light, Witcher 2, Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs). The few demanding games I've managed to get decent performance out of only came after hours upon hours of tweaking and I'm really tired of it.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I love my laptop, but it just isn't cutting it anymore with games. Many that have come out just this year or even the year before can't run at playable speeds regardless of settings. It hung in there longer than I expected, but It's time to put it out to pasture as far as games go. I will be keeping it around for everything except gaming - internet/video/etc.
I feel pretty good about the parts list I've put together, but I'd like some feedback.
i5-4570 - $159
http://www.microcenter.com/product/413255/Intel_Core_i5-4570_32GHz_Boxed_Processor
ASRock H81M-DGS - $49.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 - $32.98
http://www.outletpc.com/wh6287-ball...rucial+-+Memory (RAM) > Desktop - DDR3 Memory
Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM - $39.99
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00461K1QW/?tag=pcpapi-20
ASUS HD7770-1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition - $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
HEC Vigilance MicroATX Mini Tower Case - $21.99
http://www.microcenter.com/product/411104/Compucase_Vigilance_Mid_Tower_mATX_Computer_Case_-_Black
Seasonic SS-400ET Bronze 400W - $52.40
http://www.amazon.com/Seasonic-SS-4...&qid=1379697420&sr=1-80&keywords=power+supply
LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer - $15.99
http://www.microcenter.com/product/407512/24x_Super_Multi_Internal_SATA_DVD±RW_DL_Drive_-_Bare_Drive
My laptop specs for comparison:
Sony VAIO VPCEB
Intel i5 520M @ 2.5Ghz
ATI Radeon Mobility 5650
4GB RAM
Windows 7 64-bit
About the only things I really have my heart set on is the CPU ($160 for the i5-4570 seems like a steal because any other Intel quad I could find anywhere else would put me over-budget) and this HP monitor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824176422
It's the best IPS monitor I could find in my price range and has some very positive reviews, but I'm open to suggestions if you can find anything that would be a better value and not break the bank.
Case is pretty much junk, I know, but I had to cut corners somewhere.
Sorry about the info-dump. I'm new to all this and I've been getting a lot of conflicting advice from people I normally consider very trustworthy, so I'd like a neutral opinion to make sense of it all before I pull the trigger. Comments/suggestions/jokes about my mom are welcome.
T01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram