Gaming PC Build help

[Destroyed12]

Hi All

I am new to the forum and it seems like a good community. I am new to the whole 'build your own system thing' and U have a budget of around £600-800 and I would like it to be able to play most Games on at least 'High' settings. (Lets take Crysis for example) I want it to have the capability to use use a HDMI cable as I will use that for the input. The other things I would need are listed below:

Quiet
Not to Overheat
At least 6gb RAM
1TB Hard-Drive
Blu ray Reader with DVD RW
At least 1GB Graphics Card (Preferably a ATI)
HDMI Cable Port

I understand, as being a new member you may not want to do this for me, but It would be very much appreciated.

So really, its a HD gaming Pc with alot of memory and a large size Hard Drive, can play all games thrown at it and with a blu ray reader..

Will not need an OS as I already have one prepared..

Thanks in advance..

 

[MadAdmiral]

Might want to refer to the thread in my signature. You'll probably get more responses if you format that way. Do you need a monitor? If not, we need the resolution you're playing on.

I'm going to use US prices, so feel free to find the parts and let me know if it's over/under budget.

CPU: Phenom II X4 955 $165
Mobo: Asus M4A79XTD EVO $110
RAM: Cheapest 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 (Timings 7-7-7-x) 2x2 GB kit $115
PSU: 750W Corsair, Antec Earthwatts, OCZ, Seasonic, or FSP. Whatever's cheapest. $100
Case: HAF 922 $100
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB $90
Optical: $130 for BluRay reader with a DVD burner separate
GPU: HD 5850 $300

Total is $1,110 USD. [strike]Using a straight conversion, that's 770 euros.[/strike] Totally thought that was in euros, not pounds...

I know you said 6 GB of RAM, but anything over 4 is useless in gaming. Also, it would be 8 GB, unless you were looking to get an i7-920, which isn't going to happen on that budget.

 

[djg9205]

Does your budget of 800 pounds (1300 dollars) include a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, or have you purchased those things separately?

 

[Destroyed12]

Moved The Thread to the new layout.... Sorry And Thanks You may understand it better at the new one.

Thanks

 

[Silvune]

MadAd, these are the rough prices of the components that you suggested..
CPU: £120
Mobo: £90
RAM: £80-£100
PSU: £90
Case: £90
HDD: £70
GPU: £250
Not really sure how much a Blu-ray drive will cost.
The typical DVDRW Sata drive is around £18 tho.

Total - optical drive: £828

 

[MadAdmiral]

Really. Wow. Craps expensive over there...

Going to have to cut the 5850 to a 5770 in that case. Can't save enough other places to get under budget with the BluRay reader.

 

[Destroyed12]

I Asked on another Forum and I was given this... However I cannot seem to find out if this would have any HDMI port at all?

Processor Amd Phenom II X4 945 £98
RAM (Memory) 6gb (3x2gb) £122
Hard Drive Samsung SpinPoint F3 Desktop Class 1 TB £64.95
Graphics Card Ati Radeon HD 5770 £110
Motherboard Asus M4A79XTD £55.94
Sound Card Creative Sound Blaster £14.70
Cooling System CoolIT Domino A.L.C Water Cooling System £70.00
Case CoolerMaster CM690 £54.05
PSU OCZ Stealth Xtreme 700W PSU £47.80
Optical Drive Blu Ray Reader DVD RW £51.00
Wireless PCI Adapater Wireless PCI Card £9.99

 

[Silvune]

He could probably get a 4890 for £150, which would leave him with a powerful video card and if he cuts back on other parts should have enough for a BluRay reader.

 

[MadAdmiral]

The 5770 has an HDMI port on the card.

I would ditch the water cooling. It's just not worth it.

That RAM is not good for the build. You need to use dual channel kits (2 sticks). The step up from 4 GB is then to 8 GB. The triple channel kits are for the LGA1366 sockets. Using it in a dual channel build will make the speed a lot slower and may actually slow down the entire build instead of speeding it up.

EDIT: Forgot to add that the sound card is unnecessary as well.

My total puts that at 550 pounds, which is more than enough to afford an HD 5850.

 

[djg9205]

The graphics card listed in that build (Radeon 5770) will include 2 DVI outputs, a Display Port output, and an HDMI output, so your fine there.

I'm not sure what exactly they're thinking with the Domino A.L.C Water Cooling System though. Gaming is more GPU intensive than CPU intensive, and as long as you're not overclocking the CPU (which you shouldn't need to do), the stock cooler will work just fine. If you're intent on getting an aftermarket CPU cooler for whatever reason (looks cool, bragging rights, idk) then something like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 will work just fine, and is probably sufficient for a mild overclock, should you choose to go there.

 

[Silvune]

Well that is more along the right track for being under budget. Change the RAM to 4GB. Which will at most be £100, ditch things that you don't need, such as the sound card (until/unless you find out that you don't like onboard sound) and the water cooling system. Which saves you £105, which puts a 5850 back in the frame.

 

[Destroyed12]

So you would reccomend me to just go for 4gb instead? Or is there a cheap 8gb about?

Can you 'refine' that system for around the same prices so it ends up being a better gaming system for me?

Your help is much appreciated.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Drop the water cooling. Drop to 4 GB. Drop the sound card.

Upgrade to an HD 5850. Much better, probably cheaper.

 

[Destroyed12]

About The HDMI Port....

Just because Graphics cards have it, surely the case must have it to, i am not sure if it does?

Also, will the PC without the cooler and sound card and less RAM actually work most games like Crysis on about 'High' Settings?

Thanks

 

[djg9205]

I agree with MadAdmiral. For gaming, you want the most powerful graphics card your budget will allow, and the 5850 is a perfect card. The water cooling and sound card are unnecessary, and the comments on the RAM are spot on.

 

[djg9205]

About The HDMI Port....

Just because Graphics cards have it, surely the case must have it to, i am not sure if it does?

Also, will the PC without the cooler and sound card and less RAM actually work most games like Crysis on about 'High' Settings?

Thanks

The case doesn't need to have an HDMI port. In the back of your case are a number of expansion slots. These slots are likely covered by thin metal pieces by default, however when installing a video card you would remove these metal pieces so that the cards I/O section sticks out of the back of your case. It should be noted however that your card is NOT a low profile card, meaning that even though it only plugs into one of your PCI express slots, it takes up the physical space of two cards. This means it will cover the slot directly below it, and will also require you to punch out two expansion slot metal plates in your case. Your HDMI port will thus be on the back of your case.

And yes, you don't need a particularly powerful CPU to run games, or that much RAM for that matter. Most of your performance in games is going to come directly from your GPU, which is why we've selected the Radeon 5850 for you. You won't be (nor do you need to) overclock your CPU, so an aftermarket cooler is not necessary, although if you really want one, the CoolerMaster Hyper 212 is good cheap one to go with.

 

[MadAdmiral]

EDIT: Answered.

Again, we need your monitor resolution to answer how high you can put the settings. If it's 1600x, you can play Crysis on high with an HD 5850. If it's 1900x, you'll struggle. The only cards that will for sure play Crysis on any resolution are the HD 5870 ($400) and the HD 5970 ($650+). Both of these are so far out of your budget it's not even worth talking about them.

Have you ever looked at the back of a computer? How about the inside? From some of your questions, I really suggest you start doing some research before trying to build the machine.

 

[Destroyed12]

What do you mean 'punch out'?

 

[Destroyed12]

And Yes I have looked inside, I just dont understand some of it... But i will be fine putting one together..

 

[MadAdmiral]

Punch out means they get removed. Some of them pop out completely, some of them have a screw securing them.

 

[Destroyed12]

Ok. This looks like the PC I will be getting then.....

Can you just give me a lowdown on what It could do really?

What games it could play with no problem etc?

Thanks

 

[MadAdmiral]

Again, it depends on the monitor's resolution. If it's 1600x or lower, it will play any game at high quality. If it's 1900x, it will play almost every game at high quality, with Crysis being the main exception.

For more details, check out these benchmarks. Generally, anything over 30 FPS is playable, anything over 60 FPS is not noticeable. Unfortunately, the 5850 wasn't available, but it would fall roughly in the middle of these two cards. The 5970 is basically 2 HD 5850 in Crossfire.

 

[Destroyed12]

Infact, Just to throw the spanner in the works. My mums friend has just wrung up. He has offered me a Gaming PC for £705

Here are the specs... Is this worth it?
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 925 processor @ 3.5 X 4 = 14 Ghz

MEMORY - 4GB OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666 / 1333 MHz / Reaper HPC Edition - 2x 2gb Dual Channel

BLURAY DRIVE - Sony Blu ray combo drive / Dvd / Bluray / Cd

HARD-DRIVE - 750GB Western digital - 750GB Hitachi - 500GB Western digital = 2TB Total

GRAPHICS - Sapphire HD4890 1GB DDR5 PCIE (New Edition) Hdmi - Dvi - Display port

MOTHER BOARD - Asus M4A79XTD EVO - features Next-Gen. 8+2 Phase Power Design & Express gate

SOUND - 7.1 Cinema sound via HDMI or 8 Channel sound via M/B

COOLING - Cool IT Domino ALC with Blue LED + 4 case fans

CASE - Cooler master Cosmos 690 with quick release bays

PSU - OCZ 500w StealthXstream

Operating system - Microsoft Windows Vista premium 32bit

Wireless internet - Wifi network card (internal b/g 54mps) £5 option

Warranty - 5 month return to base warranty + most parts covered for life by manufactures

Price includes - Blue ray software, Vista 32 bit home premium installed, A pc box + more.

Games - Swat 4 game + Avatar, NFS Shift, Crysis, Wolfenstein, Tom clancys Hawx, batman arkum asylum, BF 2142 demos

 

[Destroyed12]

Go with that or my customly built one?

The one above also has a bulit in WIFI card

 

[MadAdmiral]

The custom built one will be better and more upgradeable. It will also be more expensive.

I would say that with all of the games, that build is probably a good deal. Without them, it would be slightly over priced.

Both are good machines. I personally would prefer to go with the full custom build for the ability to change things myself, but it's up to you.