I've been debating about whether or not to build my own pc for years now, and finally I've committed. Thank you in advance for any advice/suggestions/flames.
Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and 10/31 this year.
Budget Range: Between $800-1,000 USD after rebates/shipping.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, streaming video, surfing the net.
Are you buying a monitor: Yes, but it will not be included in the budget. Suggestions are certainly appreciated, though!
Parts to Upgrade: I need a case, cpu (maybe w/cooler), motherboard, video card, RAM, HDD, PSU, and a good ol' optical drive. I have a keyboard/mouse/speakers/headset.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Windows 7 64 bit.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Pretty much whatever is least expensive. Please note that I'm within driving distance of a Microcenter, so in-store works for me.
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, US.
Parts Preferences: No real preferences.
Overclocking: Yes. It would be my first OC, so I'm not going to be pushing 5 GHZ, but as far as I understand overclocking is where you get most of the value of building your own rig.
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future, probably not right now unless somebody has a compelling argument for it.
Your Monitor Resolution: As high as I can get. I would hope to be able to game at a decent frame rate on a 1920x1200, but understand that maybe that's not how life works.
Additional Comments: Currently I'm playing GW2 and CS:GO (I am well aware that I could probably run CS:GO adequately on a toaster), but I'd like a system that has a bit more power and scalability than that for when things come out in THE FUTURE®. I am also not a videophile, so I don't need the games to run on ultra settings for years to come. Just want a decent (40ish FPS at med-high) looking game experience at a good price/performance ratio.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Because my current PC is basically a line-by-line copy of the minimum GW2 specs, and 10 FPS at minimum resolution with everything disabled is
.
This is the STARTING list I have compiled: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gAp1
I will provide you my rationale, if any, for each choice. Feel free to set me straight!
CPU: i5-3570.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
I know the Ivy Bridge isn't supposed to OC as high as the old Sandy Bridge did, but I'm new to overclocking so I'd probably stop around 4.0-4.2 GHZ anyway.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
This looks like a good motherboard that'll have room for expansion and will help me with my noob overclocking.
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125383
I'm not sure this is enough, honestly. I know most gamers would prefer a stronger card. Is this good enough for my goals?
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 2x4G kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180
Only concern is will this fit with a large graphics card?
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 64MB Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
I am not planning to include a solid-state drive in this build even for an OS drive. Is it THAT big a jump for MMOs + the occasional shooter?
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
Optical Drive: Cheap DVD RW drive.
PSU: Undecided.
I think the above parts would be alright with 500W, but wouldn't it be better to go with 650W for more efficiency/future upgrades? Any reccomendations?
OS: Windows 7 Premium 64-bit for one day going to 16 gigs of RAM. If I need more than that, then I expect I'll probably need to start from scratch anyway.
My local Microcenter can do all that for $815 (w/o tax), though obviously I'd need to add a PSU. Sorry for the long, detailed post. I appreciate any feedback, input, or flames you care to send my way. Thank you in advance, and may all your builds POST.
Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and 10/31 this year.
Budget Range: Between $800-1,000 USD after rebates/shipping.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, streaming video, surfing the net.
Are you buying a monitor: Yes, but it will not be included in the budget. Suggestions are certainly appreciated, though!
Parts to Upgrade: I need a case, cpu (maybe w/cooler), motherboard, video card, RAM, HDD, PSU, and a good ol' optical drive. I have a keyboard/mouse/speakers/headset.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Windows 7 64 bit.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Pretty much whatever is least expensive. Please note that I'm within driving distance of a Microcenter, so in-store works for me.
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota, US.
Parts Preferences: No real preferences.
Overclocking: Yes. It would be my first OC, so I'm not going to be pushing 5 GHZ, but as far as I understand overclocking is where you get most of the value of building your own rig.
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future, probably not right now unless somebody has a compelling argument for it.
Your Monitor Resolution: As high as I can get. I would hope to be able to game at a decent frame rate on a 1920x1200, but understand that maybe that's not how life works.
Additional Comments: Currently I'm playing GW2 and CS:GO (I am well aware that I could probably run CS:GO adequately on a toaster), but I'd like a system that has a bit more power and scalability than that for when things come out in THE FUTURE®. I am also not a videophile, so I don't need the games to run on ultra settings for years to come. Just want a decent (40ish FPS at med-high) looking game experience at a good price/performance ratio.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Because my current PC is basically a line-by-line copy of the minimum GW2 specs, and 10 FPS at minimum resolution with everything disabled is
.This is the STARTING list I have compiled: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gAp1
I will provide you my rationale, if any, for each choice. Feel free to set me straight!
CPU: i5-3570.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
I know the Ivy Bridge isn't supposed to OC as high as the old Sandy Bridge did, but I'm new to overclocking so I'd probably stop around 4.0-4.2 GHZ anyway.
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
This looks like a good motherboard that'll have room for expansion and will help me with my noob overclocking.
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125383
I'm not sure this is enough, honestly. I know most gamers would prefer a stronger card. Is this good enough for my goals?
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 2x4G kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180
Only concern is will this fit with a large graphics card?
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 64MB Cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533
I am not planning to include a solid-state drive in this build even for an OS drive. Is it THAT big a jump for MMOs + the occasional shooter?
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
Optical Drive: Cheap DVD RW drive.
PSU: Undecided.
I think the above parts would be alright with 500W, but wouldn't it be better to go with 650W for more efficiency/future upgrades? Any reccomendations?
OS: Windows 7 Premium 64-bit for one day going to 16 gigs of RAM. If I need more than that, then I expect I'll probably need to start from scratch anyway.
My local Microcenter can do all that for $815 (w/o tax), though obviously I'd need to add a PSU. Sorry for the long, detailed post. I appreciate any feedback, input, or flames you care to send my way. Thank you in advance, and may all your builds POST.
But yes, in the end, it's OP's choice :lol:
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