Need help with buying first gaming PC parts!

Brenfarris12

Honorable
Jun 2, 2012
2
0
10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: Asap

Budget Range: 1000-1300

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Strictly Gaming

Parts Not Required: Monitor, Mouse, Keyboard, and OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Any reliable sites not too pick

Country: US

Parts Preferences: None

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: Would like the best bang for my buck and im hoping to get the best perfomance/graphics I can.

 

Mardys

Honorable
Jun 2, 2012
49
0
10,540
I would recommend the 3570k i5, it's the 2nd best CPU on the market behind the latest i7 by only a couple hundred, or maybe it was a full thousand, on the benchmarks.

As for Graphics I recommend a 670+ if you can afford it, if not 560 Ti+ for sure. Any high-end card will run at 2560x1800 or w/e the resolution is >_> so 1920x1080 won't be a problem it's all up to your monitor.

As for web sites- Newegg, Tiger Direct

Also a reliable power supply, 6-700w with plenty of amps on the 12v rail...if dual I'd say a minimum of 35~ per rail, especially if you're wanting to SLI/CX.
 

Mardys

Honorable
Jun 2, 2012
49
0
10,540
The main factor in what is compatible is your motherboard. The heart of your computer.

Take for instance this ASUS P8Z77-V-LK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

If you click on the "Details" tab
You will notice the "Supported CPU" portion, where it tells you the socket, and CPU types it supports.
For instance the ASUS Supports
CPU Socket Type
LGA 1155

CPU Type
Core i7 / i5 / i3 (LGA1155)

Supported CPU Technologies
Turbo Boost Technology 2.0

Then you'll see the North Bridge, and the Memory.

You'll see it supports the following memory types:
DDR3 2400(O.C.)/2200(O.C.)/2133(O.C.)/2000(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1800(O.C.)/1600/1333

and has a maximum capacity of 32GB over 4 240-pin DIMM slots, and only Dual Channel. So you would need Dual Channel memory kits of the memory types above.

Next you'll see expansion slots, naming PCIe 2.0 and PCIe 3.0 this correlates to your graphics card, and other expansion/add-on items. Some graphics cards only support 2.0, some only support 2.1, some only support 3.0, etc. You will want to choose your graphics card based on your motherboard specifications, or vice versa (choose your motherboard based on your graphics specifications)

It goes on to list hard drives, optical drives, etc. as well :) Hope that helped a bit to clear it all up.

Oh, I forgot at the very bottom it lists the format of power supply, and what pin you need. For that specific board it needs an ATX 24-pin power supply which most do. So you could use an ATX 20+4 pin or ATX 24 pin power supply.

Some quality PS brands are Antec, PC Power and Supply, and Corsair.
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006I2H0YS/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER $76.81 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 300R Mid-Tower Gaming Case - CC-9011014-WW

http://www.corsair.com/carbide-series-300r-compact-pc-gaming-case.html <----- another look at that case

http://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-Enthusiast-BRONZE-Certified-Performance/dp/B004MYFODI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1338689173&sr=1-1 $106.98 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply - CMPSU-750TXV2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.959055 $359.98 save: $25.00 | $20.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77V_LK/ <---- another look at that board along with a link to the latest bios

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 $29.99 FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544 $46.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAO

http://www.amazon.com/Lite--Super-AllWrite-Layer-Drive/dp/B002YIG9AQ/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1338694639&sr=1-5 $22.68 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive - Bulk - IHAS124-04 Version C (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-Inch-Solid-State-CT256M4SSD2/dp/B004W2JL2A/ref=pd_cp_pc_3 $199.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Crucial 256 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT256M4SSD2

http://www.crucial.com/support/firmware.aspx <----- make sure you update that SSD with the latest firmware

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600315498%20600311820&IsNodeId=1&name=GeForce%20GTX%20670 $400 - $430
GTX 670 2GB

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5818/nvidia-geforce-gtx-670-review-feat-evga <----- gtx 670 review w/benchmarks

Total: $1,243.42 *not including shipping & rebates
 

Thanks. I was going to go with a 500GB Seagate storage drive and a 120 or 128GB SSD and I saw strictly gaming in the OP and that Crucial 256GB SSD is a steal for $200.
 

claysm

Honorable
Apr 29, 2012
260
0
10,810
If you wanted to save a little money, scrapping the SSD for a bigger HDD would be a good choice. Why_ME is right, the Crucial M4 256GB for $199 is an excellent buy, but an SSD will only make a difference during loading and saving the game, so it's not completely necessary. Obviously though, if 500GB is enough storage, go with the M4 for sure.
 

SSD's are nice for any game that loads levels (maps) like BF3, etc... It puts you in the game while other peeps are still downloading the map (level).
 

claysm

Honorable
Apr 29, 2012
260
0
10,810


Oh very true, that's mostly what i meant by "loading". Poor explanation on my part.
 

Ironslice

Honorable
May 1, 2012
648
0
11,060
My dream computer:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($224.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($112.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($24.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $1314.87
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-03 00:37 EDT-0400)