Building a PC, don't know where to start.

Steven413 · Feb 13, 2014

Hello, I just want to point out that I don't know much if not nothing when it comes to computers. However, I do want a good pc that will last, be fast, and within my budget. I was gonna buy a intel i5 all in one pc from newegg but the talks I had with some people they looked at me if I was stupid or something. So, they suggested I build one and I thought I come here for that. I also want a cpu to be able to run Counter Strike GO/Source as well. My budget is from $600-800 but im willing to cap at $1000 if needed. I greatly appreciate all the help. Thanks.

Silver Wolf · Feb 13, 2014

To each their own is my philosophy. Sometimes if you are not a tech type person it is easier to buy a premade system, sometimes it is cheaper and easier to do so even if you are a tech type person.

That said, I would recommend starting with the purpose of the machine. If it is a general game there are lots of budget type items. If it is gaming, I would suggest going with a good CPU, GPU, and RAM over all other items. I went with a i5-3470 (about $190 with shipping/etc), a B75 chipset (B75ma-g43 MSI motherboard) for about $50, 12 gb RAM for about $80-85, a 700w Power Supply for about $35, a ATI/AMD Radeon HD 6570 for about $40, and then reused a DVD-RW (about $10 to buy another one I was going to get), a 500gb WD 7200 RPM hard drive for $25, a standard mouse and keyboard for about $15-20, a 23 in HD TV using HDMI to connect to the computer for about $100 including the HDMI cable, Win 7 Ultimate (varies, I got mine for $70), a all in 1 card reader (43-in-1 with 1 usb 2.0) for about $4, a wireless usb dongle for 150n series connection (about $5).

The CPU, GPU, wireless adapter, TV, card reader, power supply, mouse/keyboard, and RAM were all brand new, motherboard was refurbished, and other parts were mostly lightly used...

I am not a hard core gamer, mostly just office type applications, watching videos, editing pictures, etc for normal home stuff but I do play Mechwarrior Online with it set to high I can still play but I put it at medium and think it runs better and very well.

--EDIT--
I believe that puts the total around $500-550 which is below your price mark, a nicer video card is still less than $100 and capable of decent gaming.

bob hays · Feb 13, 2014

Silver Wolf :

To each their own is my philosophy. Sometimes if you are not a tech type person it is easier to buy a premade system, sometimes it is cheaper and easier to do so even if you are a tech type person.

That said, I would recommend starting with the purpose of the machine. If it is a general game there are lots of budget type items. If it is gaming, I would suggest going with a good CPU, GPU, and RAM over all other items. I went with a i5-3470 (about $190 with shipping/etc), a B75 chipset (B75ma-g43 MSI motherboard) for about $50, 12 gb RAM for about $80-85, a 700w Power Supply for about $35, a ATI/AMD Radeon HD 6570 for about $40, and then reused a DVD-RW (about $10 to buy another one I was going to get), a 500gb WD 7200 RPM hard drive for $25, a standard mouse and keyboard for about $15-20, a 23 in HD TV using HDMI to connect to the computer for about $100 including the HDMI cable, Win 7 Ultimate (varies, I got mine for $70), a all in 1 card reader (43-in-1 with 1 usb 2.0) for about $4, a wireless usb dongle for 150n series connection (about $5).

The CPU, GPU, wireless adapter, TV, card reader, power supply, mouse/keyboard, and RAM were all brand new, motherboard was refurbished, and other parts were mostly lightly used...

I am not a hard core gamer, mostly just office type applications, watching videos, editing pictures, etc for normal home stuff but I do play Mechwarrior Online with it set to high I can still play but I put it at medium and think it runs better and very well.

--EDIT--
I believe that puts the total around $500-550 which is below your price mark, a nicer video card is still less than $100 and capable of decent gaming.

RAM speed is very unimportant for gaming, you want 8gb max. You should also spend more on the graphics card than on the cpu for gaming. In this case you can just buy a better video card like the gtx 760 (250) and stay in your budget. If you want to save money go for an i3 and the gtx 760. Even cheaper go with and i3 and a amd r7-260x. You also only need a 550w psu.

shortstuff_mt · Feb 13, 2014

If you're willing to push the upper limits of your budget then this build would be very nice.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($153.83 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $940.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-13 20:07 EST-0500)

Of course you didn't mention what is included in the budget, so this build assumes you already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, & speakers. Are all those supposed to be included in the budget?

Silver Wolf · Feb 13, 2014

I did forget to mention the speed of the ram. I started with 8gb ddr3 1600 CL11 using 4 sticks of 2gb CL11 RAM. The 12gb is 2×2gb ddr3 1600 CL11 and 2×4gb ddr3 1333 CL9.

Silver Wolf · Feb 13, 2014

shortstuff_mt :

If you plan on going AMD I wouldrrecommend something in a socket fm2+ not the older AM3 series. Also I recommend the i5 or i7 over the AMD due to better performance over all - including gaming. My i5-3470 is quad-core 3.2 ghz and outperforms many AMD 3-3.5 ghz cousin that are oct-core (8 core).

shortstuff_mt · Feb 13, 2014

Silver Wolf :

shortstuff_mt :

If you plan on going AMD I wouldrrecommend something in a socket fm2+ not the older AM3 series. Also I recommend the i5 or i7 over the AMD due to better performance over all - including gaming. My i5-3470 is quad-core 3.2 ghz and outperforms many AMD 3-3.5 ghz cousin that are oct-core (8 core).

The FM2+ socket is mainly used for APU chips with integrated graphics. Just because the socket is newer doesn't make it better for gaming. A CPU and discreet graphics card are what you want for a gaming system, not an APU. A little research is in order before you offer advice for gaming systems...

bob hays · Feb 14, 2014

and you can't compare clock speeds of two cpu's with different architectures.

Silver Wolf · Feb 15, 2014

bob hays :

I believe you can. As people do all the time. If the price is similar, but performance is greater in one architecture over another due to the clock speed - that is just one way of comparing them.

bob hays · Feb 16, 2014

Silver Wolf :

NO, it's like saying this piece of silver is worth more because it's two pounds, and this piece of gold is only 1 pound. You can't compare the value (speed) of two metals (CPUs) by weight (clock speed) if they are different types of metals (cpu architecture).

I hope you see what I mean. A 2 ghz i7 is much faster than a 3 ghz Pentium D because the architecture is completely different. It's not because of the clock speed.

AxlFone · Feb 16, 2014

Here is good 1000$ nuild. Nest non OC spu + best psu in markew up to date. Good case + good mobo with non OC cpu. GTX 760 giver nice gaming power for long time with 1080p monitor.
If you want OC build then do it like Nr2 build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.30 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Macho-120 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.24 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1009.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-16 18:13 EST-0500)

Nr 2 build.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($228.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Macho-120 73.6 CFM CPU Cooler ($43.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1040.38
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-16 18:19 EST-0500)

SSD is missing but that you can buy later. This is good and cheap 256GB SSD,
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sandisk-internal-hard-drive-sdssdhp256gg25

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Building a PC, don't know where to start.

Steven413

Honorable

shortstuff_mt

Silver Wolf

Honorable

bob hays

Honorable

shortstuff_mt

Glorious

Silver Wolf

Honorable

Silver Wolf

Honorable

shortstuff_mt

Glorious

bob hays

Honorable

Silver Wolf

Honorable

bob hays

Honorable

AxlFone

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