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Help with First Homebuilt PC

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Hey, I was looking into getting a new computer around christmas so that I have something gaming-capable, and after some thought about it I decided that I would like to try and build one myself. In the spoiler below is my original post from the prebuilt forum.

Anyways, originally I was looking at the Prebuilt mentioned below, but as I am now looking to make it myself, I'd like to see how much more bang for my buck I can get. The real problem here is that I have no idea where to start with when it comes to building my own computer. I have some know-how, and could probably put it all together myself, I just have no real sense of how to compare the different parts and such without looking at dozens of comparison guides and such. As such, it would be great to at least some get an idea of where to start part-wise.

My budget is most likely around 600-800 USD.
I did notice a couple of combo deasl at Newegg right in my price range. How good would this Newegg combo be?
Or this one?
There are plenty of other combos too, but I just don't know enough to determine what would fit my needs.
I do have access to an OS, so I don't need to purchase that myself, and I don't need a monitor or speakers.

For reference, I plan on doing medium to high-end gaming on the PC, as I plan on playing games like Dragon Age 1/2, Starcraft 2, etc. on there, but not really any of the FPS' that need top-end PC's.

Spoiler
Hello there! I've been looking to find somewhere to get advice on the purchasing of a gaming capable desktop, and after some asking around, was pointed here. So thanks ahead of time for any advice. On to the question though:

I'm looking to get a computer for medium to high-end gaming. I'd like to be able to play Bioware games such as Dragon Age 1 & 2, Starcraft 2, and Civilization 5 on the highest settings if possible, but am not looking at the moment to make a PC that would be capable of maxing the most intensive games (not much interest in the FPS's on the PC).

The budget that I am looking at is around $600-800, and at the moment I've been looking at the following pre-built computer from Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6883227274
Description: iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 549D3 Athlon II X4 635(2.9GHz) 4GB DDR3 500GB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 5770 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

So what I'm wondering is how good that PC is relative to the market in general (something I have a poor grasp of) and whether or not I could get a significant improvement in quality within my price range by either looking at a different set of pre-built models, or by building it myself. I've never built my own computer, but I am a pretty technically savvy guy where most things are concerned (at least I'd hope so, or working on a degree in Comp. Eng. would be pointless) so I would be willing to give that a shot, as I have no problem taking the time over the break to do the necessary research online in putting the computer together.

An important thing to note, if I were to build the computer myself, is that I have access to a few things that I could bring over to the new PC. I have access to an OS (Windows 7 32- or 64-bit, XP, etc.) and the Office suite through my university's software alliance, and I own an external HD with a terabyte of space, meaning I can skimp a bit on the desktop HD. Also, not to worried about the peripherals for the computer, as I have a TV I can co-opt for the time being and I expect some desktop peripherals (speakers, possibly a monitor) for christmas at any rate.

I think that sums up what I wanted to ask here. I live in the US if it makes a difference so it should be easy enough to take online prices as is for the most part.
Anyways, thanks again!

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Homebuilt system Master

The problem with that 1st combo is that it's $7xx+ and still no GPU and thats what matters for the most part for any half decent gaming rig! 2nd one with GTX 460 $7XX looks not to bad but just share with you what $800 USD can buy ya


Homebuilt system Master

Nah where i'm at Kingston and Team are about the most rock solid RAMs in the market and yes had built off these with zero incompatibility issues so far with AM3 hehe
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There nothing wrong with that Rosewill PSU. It has had good reviews and is a solid performer. Also, batuchka that is a very impressive build. As for the memory, haven't heard much about that brand. If your experience is positive, then might as well go for it. Personally, I would probably choose something else. That $800 build is awesome. If you needed to cut costs a little, you could grab a 6870 and save $100 and you still wouldn't be dissapointed.

That looks pretty good. I had another response on the original thread I made in the prebuilt forums, just wondering what you all think of it compared to the other build. They are very similar on some parts. Looks like the main difference is in the video card. How much of an improvement in performance would that give over the one in this build? Also, I'm fairly sure at least SC2 like Nvidia cards more than ATI, although I can't seem to find any information relating to a tendency toward either for the bioware games. Haven't checked much else yet, but I might try and figure more out about what games seem to like what set of cards to know what would be best for me.

Also, I had a question. How can I know if I have enough cooling for the components that I am getting? Is there ever a need to buy additional cooling? Thanks!

Homebuilt system Master

jedi940 said:
There nothing wrong with that Rosewill PSU. It has had good reviews and is a solid performer. Also, batuchka that is a very impressive build. As for the memory, haven't heard much about that brand. If your experience is positive, then might as well go for it. Personally, I would probably choose something else. That $800 build is awesome. If you needed to cut costs a little, you could grab a 6870 and save $100 and you still wouldn't be dissapointed.



Yep the Green 630 in particular was excellently received by Hardwaresecrets, the one of two PSU review sites i actually respect (the other being JohnnyGuru :D  )
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Rosewill-Green-S...
Quote:
Conclusions

Rosewill Green Series 630 W (RG630-S12) is a great choice for users looking for a good cost-effective solution. Of course there are better power supplies from this power range on the market (Nexus RX-6300, for example), but not at USD 70.

Efficiency was very high (up to 85%) when we pulled up to 60% from its labeled capacity (i.e., 378 W). Above that efficiency dropped, but still above the 80% mark. Voltages were always inside the allowed range, the same thing happening with noise and ripple.

Due to its good cost/benefit ratio we are giving this power supply our “Golden Award”. Of course the price was the item that most helped with this decision.


So it was a stunner @ USD $70 and is now $59.99 on Egg and even juicier with a bang for buck casing combo :lol: 

Hmm if i wanted to drop to a HD 6870 it's also a great idea but i'd sink into at least a 8/8 CF able mobo like a 790X or Asrock 870Extreme3 :D 

Hey guys, just thought I'd reply once more to close this out. I've pretty much decided to go with the build batuchka so kindly provided - it's even a bit cheaper now than it was then - especially because it seems I may only have to pay 2.99 in shipping. I've just got to wait another week or so to take advantage of the newegg cards I'll have. So thanks again to all of you guys for the help. Now I've just got to look forward to the fun process of putting it all together. It should be so satisfying when I'm finished and able to begin experiencing the PC games I've been waiting on. :D 

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