- Jul 25, 2012
- 1,759
- 6
- 20,765
Okay, so this will be my first time building my own system. I'm fairly technically literate, but I've found the more I read, the more confused I get :\
I was hoping to perhaps just get some assistance going through the process, I have a very rough idea of how this is done, but I don't have the money to be botching it, so I figured it would be prudent to seek the advice of others better informed.
As my username would suggest, I'm a Canuck. The primary place I would be looking to purchase from is NCIX.com (I can do price matching easily enough), though I'm willing to order anywhere the price is good and shipping isn't extortionate.
My reason for upgrading my system is twofold: I purchased an HP which has served me well, but unfortunately, my favourite games are only getting about 13 FPS. Yea. Games in question? ArmA 2 and, when it comes out, ArmA 3. My objective with this system would be to play those on near-top settings smoothly. As well, I just want to be able to say I've actually built a system.
The info I should probably include:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Whenever I've gotten this figured out.
Budget Range: It really depends. I think $1500-1600 is about the maximum I can justify.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. Probably the most intensive game I will be playing in the foreseeable future is ArmA 3, so it doesn't have to be utterly powerful, but I'd like something to run that as best I can. Naturally, such a system can do pretty much everything else I'm looking to do just fine. I guess I should mention I'm looking for something nice and snappy.
Are you buying a monitor: Potentially, but that's something I can figure out on my own.
Parts to Upgrade: Full build. I'll probably be selling the HP to recoup something.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes / No
I should probably include the OS disk with the HP for sale, so yea, I'd be looking to get a nice copy of W7 HP 64x.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NCIX would be the main, but as mentioned before, if there's a better place to get something, I'd consider it.
Location: Edm, Alberta, Canada. No local stores, save memory express.
Parts Preferences: The only thing I'm partial to really is getting a nice Intel processor. Beyond that, it's whatever fits my needs.
Overclocking: I don't have a deep wallet, so it's probably not the best idea.
SLI or Crossfire: One GFX should be plenty for what I'm looking to do.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080. I don't know of any games I want that'd be running in 2560.
Additional Comments:
- As far as cases go, I'd prefer to avoid lighting, etc. A window is fine, but not as an extra expense.
- Again, I'm not a hardcore, must-have-the-best gamer. I'm just looking to get something to play up to ArmA 3 on High gfx.
- Speed. If there are higher end parts for improving system performance (save SSD - I don't have the money and I've heard they have reliability issues) I might be willing to go for them. RAM, etc.
- No water cooling. Unless it is utterly necessary, I'd really rather not risk it.
- Definitely an aftermarket heatsink.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:
- Older computer, lots of fun new tech out to play with.
- Play my games on more than 13 FPS. ArmA 3 and Company of Heroes 2 are probably going to be the most intensive I use. I'd like to play them on high settings and still get a useable framerate.
--------------------------------------------------------------
As far as my thoughts go, I'm looking for a fairly high end GFX, no special sound card (I'm not much of an audiophile), enough RAM, I think 8GB would be great, an intel i5 w/ ivy bridge, some USB 3.0, and 500GB < HDD. The case can be as big as it needs to be, but ideally I would like something at a bit more of a budget. < $150.
I hope I can ask for this sort of help here, hahaha.
I was hoping to perhaps just get some assistance going through the process, I have a very rough idea of how this is done, but I don't have the money to be botching it, so I figured it would be prudent to seek the advice of others better informed.
As my username would suggest, I'm a Canuck. The primary place I would be looking to purchase from is NCIX.com (I can do price matching easily enough), though I'm willing to order anywhere the price is good and shipping isn't extortionate.
My reason for upgrading my system is twofold: I purchased an HP which has served me well, but unfortunately, my favourite games are only getting about 13 FPS. Yea. Games in question? ArmA 2 and, when it comes out, ArmA 3. My objective with this system would be to play those on near-top settings smoothly. As well, I just want to be able to say I've actually built a system.
The info I should probably include:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Whenever I've gotten this figured out.
Budget Range: It really depends. I think $1500-1600 is about the maximum I can justify.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. Probably the most intensive game I will be playing in the foreseeable future is ArmA 3, so it doesn't have to be utterly powerful, but I'd like something to run that as best I can. Naturally, such a system can do pretty much everything else I'm looking to do just fine. I guess I should mention I'm looking for something nice and snappy.
Are you buying a monitor: Potentially, but that's something I can figure out on my own.
Parts to Upgrade: Full build. I'll probably be selling the HP to recoup something.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes / No
I should probably include the OS disk with the HP for sale, so yea, I'd be looking to get a nice copy of W7 HP 64x.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: NCIX would be the main, but as mentioned before, if there's a better place to get something, I'd consider it.
Location: Edm, Alberta, Canada. No local stores, save memory express.
Parts Preferences: The only thing I'm partial to really is getting a nice Intel processor. Beyond that, it's whatever fits my needs.
Overclocking: I don't have a deep wallet, so it's probably not the best idea.
SLI or Crossfire: One GFX should be plenty for what I'm looking to do.
Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080. I don't know of any games I want that'd be running in 2560.
Additional Comments:
- As far as cases go, I'd prefer to avoid lighting, etc. A window is fine, but not as an extra expense.
- Again, I'm not a hardcore, must-have-the-best gamer. I'm just looking to get something to play up to ArmA 3 on High gfx.
- Speed. If there are higher end parts for improving system performance (save SSD - I don't have the money and I've heard they have reliability issues) I might be willing to go for them. RAM, etc.
- No water cooling. Unless it is utterly necessary, I'd really rather not risk it.
- Definitely an aftermarket heatsink.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:
- Older computer, lots of fun new tech out to play with.
- Play my games on more than 13 FPS. ArmA 3 and Company of Heroes 2 are probably going to be the most intensive I use. I'd like to play them on high settings and still get a useable framerate.
--------------------------------------------------------------
As far as my thoughts go, I'm looking for a fairly high end GFX, no special sound card (I'm not much of an audiophile), enough RAM, I think 8GB would be great, an intel i5 w/ ivy bridge, some USB 3.0, and 500GB < HDD. The case can be as big as it needs to be, but ideally I would like something at a bit more of a budget. < $150.
I hope I can ask for this sort of help here, hahaha.
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