Gaming PC Window Shopping

[minekopanda]

Good evening everyone~

I must say that I am very excited to finally get off my arse and try to build a gaming pc since my tower is too outdated. Haven't tried this since I got out of high school in '05 and there's so many things out there it's overwhelming. I feel like a kid in a candy store not knowing where to start or what to pick!


Hopefully I won't be too much of a nuisance and a kind soul might help shed some light or guide me in the creation of this gaming pc(s). I'd like to build one for my bf and later on one for myself. He loves to play games when he has time and has been complaining non stop about his all in one touchscreen acer not being able to run any of them since it has an integrated intel graphics.

This computer will be used for heavy gaming (ie Battlefield 3, CoD MW3, Saints Row Third Row, Dead Island etc etc etc)
Next, it will be used to play & burn blu ray dvds. Curious on the whole 3D thing if that's possible with the right monitor since he's obsessed with that but I know little to nothing about that...
and lastly...umm...no actually that's about it. Heavy Gaming and Blu Ray/3D (if possible)

Things I wont need: Keyboard, Mouse, possibly speakers (not too sure), and possibly (big if here) a monitor.

At my work we also get a lot of electronics since we have a holding room for e-waste. Come across a dozen of towers and printers and more so maybe I can reuse some of those parts/piece?

So I started my search and I've been looking at this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

(although if possible, would I be able to use one of these cases here? models range from vaio, dell, hp, enpower)

and...that's about as far as I've looked. LOL

 

[mourice12]

Do you have a price range? Overclocking? SLI? Brand preference?

 

[minekopanda]

Oh wow someone finally replied yaaaaay!~

I'm not interested in overclocking the first computer.

Do you recommend SLI for heavy graphics/gaming?


As for brand preference.... Intel is about the only preference I have.

Price range I'm not sure, I'm going to be buying piece by piece when I can. Probably no more than $700-$1000

Still curious about the other stuff too, like if I could reuse other towers and stuff
Thank you <3

 

[mourice12]

Well as far as intel goes any CPU in the Sandy Bridge line is going to be good. Test have shown that even the i3 dual core is out performing the amd x4 black editions.

If i was you i would get an Intel i5-2400 or 2500 your preference, a nice h61 or p67 motherboard.

4-8gb of DDR3-1600 ram. 8gb might be a little overkill but its cheap now days so why not.

for a video card i would with a GTX 560ti or Radeon HD 6950. both are good just your preference.

If you can reuse a keyboard,mouse, monitor, thats good.

Also if you can reuse your hard drive and optical drives you will save a ton

 

[minekopanda]

Yeah I have the mouse, keyboard, and monitor lying about.

I found my OEM OS disc so I'm good to go there too.

Optical drives, I might but I really want to get a blu ray dvd burner so... :x
and hard drive, gonna have to see if it's reusable lol but I'm pretty sure it is.


So Intel i5-2500 or 2500k?

As for the motherboard, is there a brand out there that is highly recommended or will any do?
h61 or p67 what's the difference between the two?

 

[crewton]

2500k is the superior if you plan to overclock. if you don't want to overclock/save money get the i5 2400. The i5 2500 is just a waste of money.

The H61 board is the cheap motherboard with no perks. The H67 allows for quick sync I believe. The p67 board will let you overclock but can't use the integrated graphics. Finally, the z68 boards will let you do everything.

 

[mourice12]

Yea the z68 boards are far superior.

 

[minekopanda]

Now I'm confused lol

So with no overclocking involved, which one should I go for?

 

[mourice12]

i5-2400 or an i3-2120 is really nice and has shown good benchmarks for gaming. For a motherboard i would go with a gigabyte.

Here is a link for my current build. its on a budget but i was able to save some money by not getting a HDD or anything like that.

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=14074334

i opted for the z68 because it had good reviews and a price.

also id add an antec or corsair PSU.

you can add more stuff or change it around and be in your budget price.

 

[minekopanda]

The wishlist is empty D:

 

[mourice12]

Sorry, ill add it by hand and such.

Gigabyte z68 MB 104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128523

EVGA Superclocked GTX 560 199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130661

Intel i5-2400 Sandy bridge 189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

Corsair vengance 8gb DDR3-1600 49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180

Grand total of $544.96
with plenty of room to upgrade and switch around what you would like to have and stay in your original $700-$1000 budget.

 

[minekopanda]

Ooooh this is definitely staying within my budget for his computer...

Samsung blu ray burner/3d playback 64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136239

Cooler Master computer case 39.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1qcufdtarviq7

and I shouldn't need anything else right?

I have the mouse, keyboard, monitor, OS, 250gb hdd (7200rpm) and an additional
16X DVD(+/-)R/RW (+/-)R DL LightScribe drive.

 

[mourice12]

yea that will bust you out at 650 bucks. which is lower than your budget. You could always add another HDD for the extra storage.

 

[minekopanda]

HDD I can get really easy without having to purchase so I'm still good on that.

I wanted to add a multi-card reader but I haven't found one that has a cover to keep them as dust free as possible. Especially where we're at, there's so much dust...

 

[mourice12]

Oh yea cant forget your PSU, that would be bad. DO NOT skimp out on a good power supply. Cheaper is not always better. it will cost more in the long run and alot of headache.

This Antec should do the trick. 650w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044

This build will leave you with option to ugrade which is nice. Upgrade the CPU to an i5 or i7 do some overclocking. Add another video card in SLI or Crossfire.

 

[minekopanda]

Hahaha totally forgot about that...

I think with this I could add an 3d monitor and a pair of glasses and still be within my budget. Sweeeet

Oh yeah, should I include all the additional fans that the case can hold?

 

[mourice12]

fans are cheap.13 bucks for 4 120 mm so i wouldnt even think of that as a budget item

 

[mourice12]

im not into the 3D unless its Imax but thats Imax.

 

[minekopanda]

XD so I guess no commentary on that one huh

 

[mourice12]

nope. I know nvidia is the best for 3D and such

 

[minekopanda]

Yeah I was reading that too so totally excited about that. Wish I had all the money upfront, but I guess piece by piece will have to do for now lol

 

[mourice12]

It really isnt recommended to get your parts piece by piece since technology is always changing, so its usually better to save and get all at once since since prices will go down

 

[minekopanda]

Hmm that's true. I figured in about 3-4 mos I would have all the parts. :x

 

[mourice12]

yep yep. intel and amd are both releasing new CPUS's at the beginning of next year which will drive down the price of existing CPUS. I would just save and get it all at once.

 

[minekopanda]

What is intel releasing?