Gaming PC Around $1,200

Sakra

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Jan 17, 2012
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Hello, I am considering building a new computer, I don't really know that much about parts and compatibility so any advice would be much appreciated, also this is a one time thing I don't have the income to replace / upgrade so I'd like it to last, and run current games at High / Ultra with decent FPS, games like WoW, BF3, SC2, Skyrim and Diablo3 / Tera Online.

Currently these are the parts I'm considering :


Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160 - $159.99

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 - $121.99

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 $229.99

Power Supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021 $104.99

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231476 $79.99

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604 $249.99

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 $179.99

OS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99

Cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181015 $74.99

This comes out to roughly $1,300 before rebates. ($1,300 pre rebates is fine I just don't want to go over the current price)

I wonder about the Ram personaly, is 2133 a lot different from 1600? I only chose that because I'm considering long term, I was considering the 1600 Corsair Vengeance, but I'm clueless about everything really, so any help I'd love. also wonder is the Cooling needed, if I plan to OC I don't want issues, and is that one worth it? Thank you for your time and any advice given.
 

shane799

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Oct 21, 2010
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Mostly looks good. You don't need water cooling. If you are going to overclock get a decent Air Cooler. They work better than the H60, and cost less. You will notice no diffrence from 2133 Ram to 1600. I have 1866, can't tell the diff with that and my 1333 Ram. The best upgrade(for preformance), beyond overclocking your Processor would be a SSD hard drive. They really increase preformance! For what you are spending on a 1 TB Caviar Blk(Great Pick), you could on sale right now pick up a pretty nice 120GB SSD. There have been a number on sale lately in that price range. If you maybe have an old platter drive you could use for extra storage for now I would go that route.
 

Sakra

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Jan 17, 2012
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Thank's for the reply, I'll switch the Ram out for a 1600 then, and change the cooler up, another question if you don't mind, how do SSD work, i've read they're really good, but I don't understand what you do with it, because the size is so small, does windows install on it and you use another Hard Drive for installing games or vice versa? I hate asking that question because it seems dumb but I'm 100% clueless on that.
 

Onlyusemeisaac

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I have a 128GB Crucial M4 SSD, and I have Windows 7 64-bit on it, along with BF3, Cod4, Cod:MW2, Cod:MW3 and all the small applications/programs, including Adobe suites. Still have 27.5GB free. I have a 720GB RAID 0 array for everything else (Downloads, videos, pictures, recordings, etc.). So 120GB is a pretty good size. As long as you have another drive for User Files.
 

g-unit1111

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I agree with the consensus on liquid cooling. I only recommend that for builds with really high budgets.

The thing about RAM is that no matter what speed you're running - all motherboards will default to the lowest speeds and timings that it can handle. You can tell it in the BIOS to run at the stock speeds but you should never go over, as doing so can cause some serious system instability.

The Caviar Blacks are great HDs, I have a 500GB and it's held up really well so far.

Thank's for the reply, I'll switch the Ram out for a 1600 then, and change the cooler up, another question if you don't mind, how do SSD work, i've read they're really good, but I don't understand what you do with it, because the size is so small, does windows install on it and you use another Hard Drive for installing games or vice versa? I hate asking that question because it seems dumb but I'm 100% clueless on that.

It's definitely a good question to ask. SSDs can be a bit tricky at first. What you mainly want to use it for is a boot drive and then store everything else on your secondary (larger files, games, movies, MP3s, what have you). There's a few things you need to know and the main thing is don't do a full format. Doing so can decrease the drive's lifespan dramatically. Only a quick format is necessary. The other thing is not to load it beyond 80% capacity. Unlike mechanical drives an SSD only has a limited number of read-write cycles that the drive can perform over the course of the drive's lifespan. Doing anything to overload the capacity of the drive will cause the drive's lifespan to decrease over time.

If you want suggestions for a good cooler I'd recommend these:
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835288001
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608016
 

g-unit1111

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g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


I had a hard time deciding between that and the EVGA cooler, I went with the EVGA because I've heard a lot of praise for it (and I've bought a couple of their video cards which have been great). Not to say anything bad about Noctua though, they make good stuff as well.
 

Sakra

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Jan 17, 2012
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Hmm well I'm really leaning to doing a SSD now too, can you give me an example of how much better it preforms?
don't like to ask so many questions but since this will be lasting me as long as humanly possible, I want to make it right.

also a 120ssd might break my bank along side a 500GB, but it probly wouldn't be good to go much lower than 120?
 

neograndizer

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Unfortunately HDD prices are through the roof right now.

To cut costs, you might want to consider these options:

HDD: WD Caviar Blue 500GB - $99.99 *additional $20 off with special promo code, ends Jan.18/12*

HSF: Hyper 212 EVO - $44.99 *it's a decent cooler that will still give good OC and temps*

RAM: G.Skill DDR3-1600 Low Voltage-1.35v (2 x 4GB) - $47.99

With the money saved there, put it towards these parts:

Gfx: EVGA GTX560 Ti 448 Cores - $289.99 ($10 MIR) *performs close to a GTX570?*

SSD: Crucial M4 64GB - $109.99 *as boot drive*

With the parts you already chosen:

Case: HAF 932 Advanced - $159.99

MoBo: Asrock Z68 Exteme3 Gen3 - $121.99

CPU: i5 2500k - $229.99

PSU: Cosair TX750 V2 - $104.99

OS: Windows 7 HP SP1 OEM x64 - $99.99

Unfortunately, the subtotal came to $1309.90 (without rebates, taxes, delivery charges).

If you are in the US, there are those that suggest going to a Microcenter (if there's one nearby you) to get the i5 2500k for $180 (and save some dough there).