First HomeMade Gaming Pc

[blobbs30]

Hello so at the moment I have a rubbish gaming laptop and i would like to make my own.


Budget is about £700 $1000.

I have a monitor mouse and keyboard.
But I just don't know where to start looking for parts if every part fits with another part I just don't know.

So if anyone could help me out that would be great

Thanks for your help.


~~~Blobbs30~~~

 

[yamman101]

Hi blobbs,

First of all, could you please tell us the resolution your monitor runs at.

 

[catatafish]

Start here and let's get you a baseline. Pick out some parts, add up the cost, then post your results for feedback. http://www.hardware-revolution.com/best-budget-gaming-pc-february-2012/

I'd first start with the question of whether or not you want a micro or standard size case, then head to motherboard/CPU decision. For the budget you listed, the Intel 2500k is a popular choice. Yes there is a new CPU coming out soon, so if you're in the market in a month, you may want to consider waiting. The new CPU will put out .1ghz more stock, and add a feature or two, like wireless transmission to your HDTV. Some motherboards are already ready for the new gen CPU, like the one listed in my sig for instance.

In a mobo look for PCIE 3 capability, USB 3 ports, and 6gbs connections if you are considering a solid state drive for a boot drive.

If you're going to overclock, you need an aftermarket CPU cooler. The one in my sig is a popular choice.

Make sure the case you pick out has a couple of fans up front, and a big exit fan, or a couple of smaller ones.

Look for a 7200 spin HDD. Cache is somewhat important, my personal floor is 32mb.

Look for a couple of sticks of 4gb RAM for a total of 8. If you go with the ones with the extreme fins, be mindful that it may have clearance issues with an aftermarket CPU cooler.

What is your monitor resolution and what games do you intend to play, and at what settings? In your price range you can play BF3 on max on a 1080. I'd look for GPUs in the mid $200s. Here is a nice place to start for general GPU ranges http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

You need a quality PSU like Corsair Antec or Seagate. How much power you need depends on how many HDDs, whether you OC, and your video card. Try and stay in the 50% range of your PSU for best efficiency.

Is that enough to get you started? Come back with a sample baseline and you'll get plenty of suggestions of where to tweek it.

 

[dish_moose]

Fill out the template so we can better help you.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice
-Bruce

 

[blobbs30]

Well its a old dell monitor (about 5 years old)
was thinking of getting a new one too.

And its on the printer pc at the moment so its at:
1024 X 768 pixels

 

[blobbs30]

Would not let me edit last post sorry D:


Approximate Purchase Date: Maybe for xmas 2012

Budget Range: £600-800

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming internet browsing email

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I have no idea

Country: UK

Parts Preferences: by brand or type Ummm?

Overclocking: ????

SLI or Crossfire: ???

Monitor Resolution: 1024x768,

Additional Comments: Would like windows 7 or 8 or 9 or whatever one is the newest

 

[Onus]

I'd start with something like this. I'm guessing Newegg links and rebates will not be useful, but these are the kinds of parts that would make a good system for games:

FSP Group AURUM GOLD 650W (AU-650M) ATX12V/EPS12V Modular Flat Cable, 80 PLUS GOLD, SLI and AMD CrossFireX Certified Compatible ...
Model #: AURUM CM GOLD 650
Item #: N82E16817104133
Mail in Rebate
$164.99 -$45.00 Instant $119.99
Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are other brands I would consider, but a quality PSU is essential to the long term health and stability of your system.

Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #: ST500DM002
Item #: N82E16822148767
$85.99 $85.99
Hard drive prices are still high. Look for deals, but avoid low-rpm or "green" drives as your primary OS disk because they can be quite slow.

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06 LightScribe Support - OEM
Model #: iHAS224-06
Item #: N82E16827106333
$20.99 $20.99
One optical drive is much like another; this one has Lightscribe.

MSI N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 448 Cores (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP ...
Model #: N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin
Item #: N82E16814127615
$299.99 -$40.00 Instant $259.99
The release of the GTX680 seems to be affecting prices in a good way, so look for deals. I think a GTX560Ti offers very good bang/buck, while offering a lot of "bang."

Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 120mm ...
Model #: DESTROYER
Item #: N82E16811147144
$59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99
Cases are such a personal preference item, but this is the kind of case I like, not too flashy but with a reasonable number of included fans. This particular one doesn't have USB 3.0 front connectors, but please remember that this list is meant to be an example. A similar case with those connectors may only be a little more expensive.

ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #: Z68 PRO3 GEN3
Item #: N82E16813157279
$114.99 -$10.00 Instant $104.99
I've had good luck with ASRock. IMHO, Z68 is the chipset to get.

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
Model #: BX80623I52500K
Item #: N82E16819115072
$219.99 $219.99
Not too much to say about this one. If you're not interested in overclocking at all, you can get the non-K version, or an i5-2400, either of which would be a little cheaper.

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Model #: F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Item #: N82E16820231424
$37.99 $37.99
G.Skill RAM has become my first choice because it just works. I've never had to return a stick, whether DOA or later RMA.

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included LGA 2011 i7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull ...
Model #: GAIA SD1283
Item #: N82E16835233082
$29.99 $29.99
Even if you don't overclock, a 120mm cooler like this one will be very quiet.

Subtotal: $929.91

I made a point of not stressing your budget, to allow for variation in shipping charges, taxes (e.g. VAT), etc. I think this is a fairly balanced build that should be able to play modern games on excellent settings (many / most "Ultra") for at least a few years.

 

[blobbs30]

I'd start with something like this. I'm guessing Newegg links and rebates will not be useful, but these are the kinds of parts that would make a good system for games:

FSP Group AURUM GOLD 650W (AU-650M) ATX12V/EPS12V Modular Flat Cable, 80 PLUS GOLD, SLI and AMD CrossFireX Certified Compatible ...
Model #: AURUM CM GOLD 650
Item #: N82E16817104133
Mail in Rebate
$164.99 -$45.00 Instant $119.99
Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are other brands I would consider, but a quality PSU is essential to the long term health and stability of your system.

Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #: ST500DM002
Item #: N82E16822148767
$85.99 $85.99
Hard drive prices are still high. Look for deals, but avoid low-rpm or "green" drives as your primary OS disk because they can be quite slow.

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer - Bulk - Black SATA Model iHAS224-06 LightScribe Support - OEM
Model #: iHAS224-06
Item #: N82E16827106333
$20.99 $20.99
One optical drive is much like another; this one has Lightscribe.

MSI N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin Frozr III PE/OC GeForce GTX 560 Ti - 448 Cores (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP ...
Model #: N560GTX-Ti 448 Twin
Item #: N82E16814127615
$299.99 -$40.00 Instant $259.99
The release of the GTX680 seems to be affecting prices in a good way, so look for deals. I think a GTX560Ti offers very good bang/buck, while offering a lot of "bang."

Rosewill DESTROYER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 120mm ...
Model #: DESTROYER
Item #: N82E16811147144
$59.99 -$10.00 Instant $49.99
Cases are such a personal preference item, but this is the kind of case I like, not too flashy but with a reasonable number of included fans. This particular one doesn't have USB 3.0 front connectors, but please remember that this list is meant to be an example. A similar case with those connectors may only be a little more expensive.

ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #: Z68 PRO3 GEN3
Item #: N82E16813157279
$114.99 -$10.00 Instant $104.99
I've had good luck with ASRock. IMHO, Z68 is the chipset to get.

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...
Model #: BX80623I52500K
Item #: N82E16819115072
$219.99 $219.99
Not too much to say about this one. If you're not interested in overclocking at all, you can get the non-K version, or an i5-2400, either of which would be a little cheaper.

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Model #: F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Item #: N82E16820231424
$37.99 $37.99
G.Skill RAM has become my first choice because it just works. I've never had to return a stick, whether DOA or later RMA.

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included LGA 2011 i7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull ...
Model #: GAIA SD1283
Item #: N82E16835233082
$29.99 $29.99
Even if you don't overclock, a 120mm cooler like this one will be very quiet.

Subtotal: $929.91

I made a point of not stressing your budget, to allow for variation in shipping charges, taxes (e.g. VAT), etc. I think this is a fairly balanced build that should be able to play modern games on excellent settings (many / most "Ultra") for at least a few years.

So is that everything except windows 7 mouse keyboard? and monitor?

 

[Rockdpm]

Yea, i agree with blobb, thats a decent build. max out most anything easily. and you can do SLI later on (SLI= Joining two ore more graphics cars together to double the graphics performance)

Windows 7 Home premium 64 bit is all you need, unless you want Professional for Business man

Or ultimate if you can't handle English language you may need ultimate if you can't fully understand english. Just a Suggestion.....

Keyboard if you can find the same thing : http://www.logitech.com/en-us/keyboards/keyboard/devices/9214

Its a decent mouse. Kinda like a G700 and a G400 had a baby.... and its a laptop Mouse so if you ever want to quicky plug in to your laptop as well:
http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/mice/devices/gaming-mouse-g300

 

[ebola28]

I wouldn't go with a 560ti 448 if OP has any plans to SLI in the future...

 

[mojorisin23]

the 560 Ti is great. not the best obviously, but enough to play BF3 on 1080 at 60 fps.

probably your best price/performance ratio.

 

[catatafish]

Would not let me edit last post sorry D:


Approximate Purchase Date: Maybe for xmas 2012

With all due respect, this won't be a very productive exercise right now. I would suggest revisiting this in October, when all these answers and suggestions will be completely different.

 

[blobbs30]

OK