Combat Arms/LoL Build

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LupisVDS

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Dec 5, 2013
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I am a big Combat Arms and League of Legends gamer. My current laptop lags terribly when playing CA and I have a slight delay when playing LoL. I am reaaallly ready for an upgrade now and was wondering if someone could help me with a full desktop build from Cyberpower.com asap. I know it is more efficient to build my own desktop but I don't really have the time yet. I tried making my own build a few times but was a little worried something wouldn't go well with another thing or I was would not get the most that I could be getting. I have a budget of $1200-$1500. All I need is a lists of the parts so I can build it on Cyberpower.com. Thanks ahead of time! (If possible I could use the build by the 6th of Dec. so my parents pay some of it as a Christmas gift :D)
 
Solution
photonboy
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/FANGBOOK_Evo_HX7-100_Gaming_Notebook

I recommend this basic build but add a 120GB SSD as a 2nd drive (not an upgrade). ALTERNATIVELY, you could buy your own SSD (Samsung 840 EVO) for as little as $90 and clone the Hard Drive (or make a Backup and Restore to the SSD).

SSHD:
Normally I'd recommend a Hybrid drive, however it's a $71 upgrade from a 1TB HDD to a 1TB SSHD and you can buy a 120GB Samsung 840 EVO elsewhere for $90 which then gives you two drives so you can make a BACKUP IMAGE from the SSD to the HDD which is a really great idea (I recommend Acronis True Image then AUTOMATE the backup process on a weekly cycle).

So: 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD is my recommendation.

WARNING:
Windows will be...
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/FANGBOOK_Evo_HX7-100_Gaming_Notebook

I recommend this basic build but add a 120GB SSD as a 2nd drive (not an upgrade). ALTERNATIVELY, you could buy your own SSD (Samsung 840 EVO) for as little as $90 and clone the Hard Drive (or make a Backup and Restore to the SSD).

SSHD:
Normally I'd recommend a Hybrid drive, however it's a $71 upgrade from a 1TB HDD to a 1TB SSHD and you can buy a 120GB Samsung 840 EVO elsewhere for $90 which then gives you two drives so you can make a BACKUP IMAGE from the SSD to the HDD which is a really great idea (I recommend Acronis True Image then AUTOMATE the backup process on a weekly cycle).

So: 120GB SSD + 1TB HDD is my recommendation.

WARNING:
Windows will be installed on the PRIMARY drive so you need to have the SSD first, however the pricing is a little off (due to the "upgrade" to a 1TB for the same as a 500GB HDD likely) so it costs more to choose an SSD as the primary and then a 7200RPM 1TB as the secondary then just adding the SSD as a secondary.

Anyway, I'm back to recommending you buy the SSD separately. I'll include the tips after this post.

Games:
If I checked the THREE FREE GAMES they showed up on the list for $0 but they weren't pre-checked. I also don't know if they are even still available as I thought Nov 26th was the end date but I could be wrong.

The games are oddly listed TWICE (two of them) so I'm not sure what's going on there.
 
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LupisVDS

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Dec 5, 2013
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Thanks for the quick reply. Is there a big difference between laptops and desktops? I just want to be sure I am getting a lot of power. And it says that that notebook runs 70 FPS @ 1920 x 1200. Should I go for a higher frame rate for Combat Arms?
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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It's 70FPS at 1920x1080.

Laptops don't go higher than 70FPS (60FPS is standard). This frame rate is more than enough, plus the higher the frame rate the higher your GRAPHICS and CPU performance needs to be to keep up.

Desktop vs Laptop:
In general, you can build a desktop for cheaper, but you need to be careful to compare apples-to-apples. The laptop screen is fine but is comparable to a cheaper desktop of maybe $100. If you use a desktop monitor regardless it's not a factor but otherwise I have to subtract $100 from the Desktop build budget. The BATTERY is similar (would you get a UPS device?).

*I'll put together a $1200 to $1400 desktop build and post it. Give me several minutes. I would guess the 770M as comparable to a GTX760.

Regardless of the game, you want to properly TWEAK to maintain that frame rate. Use FRAPS, disable VSYNC for now, then tweak until you are ABOVE the target at least 90% of the time then turn VSYNC ON again.

Here's how to move the HDD to an SSD (if you buy your own 120GB Samsung EVO):

There's free cloning software, but I've had the best results with Acronis True Image using Backup and Restore:

1. Make a BACKUP IMAGE to a 2nd partition on HDD or a USB drive
2. RESTORE the Image to the HDD
3. Change the BOOT ORDER or physically switch the drives if need to boot from the SSD
4. FORMAT the HDD.
5. Make a new BACKUP IMAGE from the SSD to the HDD

I'd also install STEAM to the HDD after installing the SSD (i.e. "E:\STEAM")

MONITOR:
You can also use a normal desktop monitor instead. If you need to buy one I recommend one that has:
a) HDMI HDCP input
b) audio output (for headphones or desktop speakers)
c) 1920x1080
d) 22 to 24"
e) 5ms or less response
f) good customer reviews.

You can also use the laptop audio output to your speakers so the monitor output isn't essential.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Custom Desktop: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2fNcv

That build is $1500 and I'll comment below on some of the parts. If it's too much money, here's where you can reduce price a bit:
- Asus GTX770 instead (saves about $170)
- different motherboard (save up to $100)
- DVD drive instead of Bluray (save up to $40)

The BUILD:
a) i5-4670K
The best CPU for a high-end gaming rig (there are more expensive CPU's but they add very little currently to performance).

b) Asus Hero Maximus VI:
- great quality, features etc.
- SUPREMEFX audio (similar to $50 or more audio card)

c) DDR3 RAM:
- great quality G. SKill, 2133MHz for reasonable price
- 8GB is plenty for gaming

d) SSD: 120GB Samsung 840 EVO is arguably the best SSD for quality and value. Plenty of space when using an additional HDD.

e) 2TB HDD:
- good customer reviews, and inexpensive

f) CASE:
*You may wish a different case. Not compatible with long radiators.
- 12.5" graphics card supported
- basic but functional

g) Windows 8 64-bit
- strongly recommend over Windows 7
- add START8 ($5) from Stardock to bypass new interface and disable CHARMS BAR on desktop etc.

h) GTX780:
Awesome card, specifically the one I chose with the EVGA ACX cooler and 967MHz base.
*I won't get into the Pros and Cons of AMD vs NVidia. I'm interested in the new AMD cards but the high-end models don't yet have non-reference coolers.

**If you absolutely MUST get a new AMD 290X, then use your onboard iGPU for video while waiting for good cards to come such as an Asus R9-290X with a D2C type custom cooler.

DESKTOP vs Laptop:
If we ignore the screen etc, then $1500 with the GTX780 build is probably almost 2x more powerful (i.e. 60FPS vs 30FPS at the same quality) than the laptop I chose with the 770M graphics. That also VARIES between games.
 
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LupisVDS

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Dec 5, 2013
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Ok, wow, 2x the power. Would that build require me putting the parts together though? Or would I be able to use that build on cyberpower or ibuypower?
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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The parts arrive separately, and you build it yourself.

It's fun and rewarding to do so. A pre-built with similar specs probably costs $600 to $1000 more.

Other things people forget or need to research:

1) installing the CPU HEATSINK
2) Forgetting a plug, not inserting memory fully, or doing something "dumb"
3) update motherboard BIOS
4) test DDR3 memory with memtest www.memtest.org
5) all the drivers (motherboard main chipset and others from motherboard support site, NVidia from main site)
6) overprovision the SSD, apply SSD firmware (Samsung Magician for Samsung drives)
7) Make a BACKUP IMAGE once all software is installed, from SSD to HDD (Acronis True Image for example)
8) apply FIRMWARE update for DVD or BD drive
9) ensure all parts compatible, especially:
- graphics card length (case)
- Power Supply (6x/8x pins for graphics cards mainly)
- CPU and motherboard (no issue for Intel i5-4xxx and 1150 socket motherboard)

Maybe PRINT THAT.

You can PM me if you get stuck, though it's sometimes a couple days before I answer.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Oops...
It was you that PM'd me. I didn't recognize the name.

Your build came to $1400 and mine came to about $1480 but with the GTX780 and a better PSU. I advise you to try and keep the GTX780 I included as that makes a pretty big difference in performance.

Here's a chart to illustrate performance difference. Compare the EVGA 780 SC, GTX770 (add a couple FPS tiny for overclocked model) and the GTX760 (probably similar to 770M in laptop): http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/evga_geforce_gtx_780_ti_sc_acx_superclock_review,24.html

The relative difference in performance should pan out like THIS:
48FPS - GTX780 SC
35FPS - GTX770 OC
26FPS - GTX760

The lower performance of the CPU in the laptop would also have an impact on games that are more bottlenecked by the CPU but this is a good rough guide.

Basically I'm guessing the laptop would vary between 45% and 60% of the GTX780 desktop but we'll just say the desktop is roughly 2x more powerful.
 
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