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Hieroglitch

Honorable
Nov 27, 2013
4
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10,510
Total newb here, looking to build my first gaming rig. So, I'm figuring that if I were to even buy a stock 500$ computer at Best Buy nowadays, it'd be heads and shoulders above what I've currently got.

http://i41.tinypic.com/25pl6l0.jpg This is basically what currently pops up in my system settings.. Had this stock emachines computer for the last 10 to 13 years, so I can only imagine how ridiculously irrelevant it has become.. I'm sure that the computer I will build will blow this current system away.. I can barely even run any games on this thing. The most I could run smoothly at this moment would probably be Nintendo 64/Playstation One ROMs..

Now, this is basically the build that I've come up with. Feel free to rip it apart. I'd rather save for something that lasts longer, which is why I'm going all out for a 1500$ build rather than an 800-1000$ build.

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate OEM 64-Bit
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k Quad-Core 3.4 GHz 4-Core LGA 1155 - 200$
CPU Cooler: No idea?
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VI Hero - 210$
Memory/RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2x8 GBO 240-pin DDR3 DSRAM DDR3 1600 - 150$
Storage: Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 10kRPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0 GB/s 3.5" Internal HDD - 230$
Storage: Samsung 840 250GB Evo-Series 2.5" SATA-III Solid State drive = 170$
Video Card: Nvidia (MSI Gaming?) GeForce GTX 780 - 500$
Case: Currently a toss-up between mid-tower cases Corsair Graphite Series 600T / Fractal Design R4 ATX Mid-Tower Black Pearl w/ Window
Power Supply: XFX Pro 750W Black Edition Single Rail Power Supply with Full Modular CAbles ATX 75 - 130$
Optical Drive: LG Electronics 24X SATA Super-Multi DVD Internal Rewriter with M-Disc Support - 20$

Totals out to 1610$.. Currently, I can only set aside 100$ extra weekly, so I figure this'll take about four months or so. I'm more than willing to wait. Thinking I'll buy each part as I save the cash, starting with the tower and slowly installing each part as I acquire them. Not sure if I'd be better off just storing them in their packages until I have all of the parts.
 
Solution
Rammy
Overclocking
It's a fairly straightforward way to boost performance by running your processor faster than stock speeds. It's not for everyone.
If you have zero interest in it (and that's absolutely fine) then you should avoid Intel "k series" processors, as their value lies in their ability to overclock. Similarly, Intel Z series motherboards have little value beyond their overclocking potential. If you remove these two cost hoggers, you save yourself a bundle of cash and lose approximately zero game performance. Additionally, if you aren't overclocking, the stock cooler that comes with Intel processors is perfectly effective. If you wanted to replace it for acoustic or climate reasons, you could though.

CPU Sockets
As you...
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Rammy

Rammy

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
2,492
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12,960
Based on what you are saying, you might be a lot better to spend less and refresh more often, than spending excessively on the logic it will last longer (technology will always move quickly).

Quite a lot of money going on stuff that isn't necessarily going to improve your performance either. As an example, spending much more than $150 on a motherboard is pretty pointless for most people.
Also, the Maximus Hero and 3570k are different sockets.
Similarly, 16Gb of ram isn't really used in gaming. A Velociraptor HDD has potential benefits, but as you have an SSD selected too, it's a massive waste of money. A standard 1TB WD Caviar Blue or Barracuda is nearer to $60.

Also, if you are running a single 1080P (or lower) display, then a $500 graphics card budget is probably bigger than you need. $150 will cover you for todays games with most stuff turned up, $250 will put you into high end cards that should max most things.
 
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Hieroglitch

Honorable
Nov 27, 2013
4
0
10,510
Well, would you mind coming up with cheaper alternatives that are sufficient to run games sufficiently with no lag? I'm going to try to come up with something, but I'd appreciate some specific suggestions to consider. A bit overwhelmed, really. :s
 
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Rammy

Rammy

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
2,492
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12,960
Sure, but it's maybe best to focus a bit more on what you actually need rather than suggesting things you don't.

Do you want to overclock? (this can mean a difference of spending of at least $100, often nearer to $200)
What is your monitors display resolution? (this limits how much money you can effectively spend)
Any games, specifically, that you want to run?

Also, "lag" is a bit of an awkward term. Any modern CPU+graphics card combo, even a basic one, will probably be able to run most games as long as you adjust the settings accordingly. Occasionally slowdowns due to poor game coding/lots going on are inevitable on any system, but maintaining a high average FPS is usually the goal.
 
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Hieroglitch

Honorable
Nov 27, 2013
4
0
10,510
I'm looking to run stuff like Guild Wars, Maplestory, Ragnarok Online.. The two latter not having particularly high requirements I'm sure, but this old computer doesn't seem able to handle either of them anymore, let alone GW.

I'd like to be able to play some of the newest MMORPGs with minimal slowdown, then.

Overclocking? That means to push the limits of my hardware, right? I'd rather not bother with that unless I actually know what I'm doing.. What would a standard monitor resolution be? I'm going to end up buying a new monitor anyway, so I can't really answer this. Ideally, I'd like to purchase a monitor that can run on the most common high resolution.
 
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Rammy

Rammy

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
2,492
0
12,960
Overclocking
It's a fairly straightforward way to boost performance by running your processor faster than stock speeds. It's not for everyone.
If you have zero interest in it (and that's absolutely fine) then you should avoid Intel "k series" processors, as their value lies in their ability to overclock. Similarly, Intel Z series motherboards have little value beyond their overclocking potential. If you remove these two cost hoggers, you save yourself a bundle of cash and lose approximately zero game performance. Additionally, if you aren't overclocking, the stock cooler that comes with Intel processors is perfectly effective. If you wanted to replace it for acoustic or climate reasons, you could though.

CPU Sockets
As you had a Socket 1155 CPU and a Socket 1150 Motherboard picked, it's perhaps worth explaining the difference.
Socket 1155 is Intel's previous mainstream socket. It supported most 2000 and 3000 series Intel CPUs (like the 3570).
Socket 1150 is the replacement. It is newer and supports Intel 4000 series processors (like the 4670).
In terms of performance, there is little difference between platforms, and given the fact the older stuff is often cheaper, it can be the one to go for. The newer socket however, offers some newer features (most of which won't interest you) and offers a degree of future-proofing in that CPU upgrades will be available at least for the next few years.

Resolution
1080P (1920*1080) is the "full HD" you'll see TVs marketed as these days. It's basically the standard PC display resolution too. You can go higher, to something like 2560*1440 but it'll cost a lot more to buy and to support in terms of graphics card power. You'll see variants on these too, as well as benchmarks for 5760*1080 (3 1080P displays), but the mainstream standard is 1080P.

As I said before, $500 is a lot to spend on graphics. If you only see yourself running a single monitor (unless it is super high resolution) then it's not really worth it.

As an example of how (relatively) little you need to spend, here is a $1000 build which includes an i5 and a GTX760.
It's based around deals that are good today, so obviously you need to re-evaluate things when your are ready to buy. Frankly a 250GB SSD in this build is a little extravagant. The motherboard is cheap but you really don't need to spend much more than that if you aren't overclocking. PSU is a great deal at the moment, but there are a lot of other quality PSUs in the same price bracket like the XFX Core 550.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.73 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($171.55 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $969.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-27 05:42 EST-0500)
 
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Solution
Rammy

Rammy

Honorable
Sep 3, 2012
2,492
0
12,960
Yeah, its a rough guide really. You can spend more on almost any component (and less on graphics) if you feel like it, but that's about the minimum spend you need in each area. The main difference between that and a $1500 build is really just beefing up PSU and graphics, with a bit of increased spending everywhere else.

As for the case, if you fancy a Define R4 or a 600T, then go for it, both are quality cases but they aren't cheap. In general, start at ~$50 and go upwards until you find something that ticks the boxes. I included the 200R in my build as it's discounted to $30, but it is usually at the $50 level.
 
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