Help for a newbie?

TheNewPCGuy

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Feb 21, 2013
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Okay guys, how's it going? I'm building a PC for the first time and I would most certainly appreciate any friendly advice and suggestions. The PC I'm going to build is strictly for gaming (well, not strictly, but mostly). I already have a few things chosen out. What I have so far is...
i5 3570k.
HD Radeon 7950 3G
Antec 902 ultimate gaming case.
I would like to mention that price is not a HUGE issue to me, but I definitely do not have the money to go and buy everything super high-end. I'm looking to get my overall price to around 700 pounds or if you're American I believe that's around $1000 dollars or just above it.
I was looking for advice and suggestions on a few things in particular. At this point I should mention my priorities. Stability and performance. I want to make sure the PC I build is able to function perfectly and without problems for as long as possible. I don't plan on over clocking. Anywho, on to my questions... Motherboards. I have a general idea of the motherboard I want but i'm not sure how well it would go with the CPU and GPU (I want each component to compliment each other, if that makes sense). The motherboard I have in mind is the Asus P8Z77 V. Would this be a good choice? I was thinking either that or the P8Z77 LX. These are not set in stone and i'm open to any good suggestions. Another I would like to ask is about the GPU. I keep seeing over and over again in the GPU specs about "Core Clock". For example it would say Core Clock 850Mhz, what does this mean? I'm curious because I've seen the same card with a higher core clock for almost $100 dollars more! It shocked me, they were with HD Radeon 7950 3GS so where does the huge price increase come from?
Thank you in advance for any replies.
 

drg889

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Feb 4, 2010
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Do you need peripherals as well? (monitors, keyboards, mouse, etc.?) and an Operating System? Those right there can immediately take out $200+ a budget.

If not, $1000 US is plenty enough to get you an i7 if you wanted, but the i5 you chose is perfect for gaming and you really won't need more. The K at the end indicates that is has an unlocked multiplier, essentially making it more capable and easier to overclock. And if you don't plan to OC and don't in the future, you may be able to save a few $ and buy one that isn't unlocked.

As for the motherboard, as long as the socket is correct, you should be fine. Other than that, it is all what you need or plan to put into the complete PC. Stuff like how many PCIe slots will you need? Will you ever SLI or CF GPU's so you'll need multiple x16 slots (x8/x8)? Or how many PCI slots you need for a wireless card and also sound card if you need/want one, also make sure that you will still be able to fit the GPU(s) and wireless card on the mobo without any space issues (my spare PC literally has the GPU and wireless card touching). Also things like how many Sata 3/2 ports you will be using, and memory you will need.

GPU has multiple factors. The amount of cores (like cuda cores, etc.) memory clock, etc.

Btw, nice selection of case. I'm using an Antec 900 and it is pretty awesome. Only problem with it is the cable management since back plate/area doesn't come out making it a bit tougher. But overall pretty awesome.



 

TheNewPCGuy

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Feb 21, 2013
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Thank you for the response. I have a mouse, I need a keyboard and a monitor so the i7 is a little on the pricey said but like you said and like I've read from many reviews and sites, the i5 seems to be very good for gaming anyway.
So, a 7950 with a GPU of 800Mhz should be okay then? I was just a little worried when I saw cards with 1000Mhz and thought maybe the 800Mhz indicated that it wouldn't be good.
And about the case, yeah, it looks freaking awesome and I've heard an overwhelming amount of good things about the 900 and the 902.
 

drg889

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Keyboard shouldn't be too much unless you go for a higher end one. Occasionally Logitech has dented box deals which are pretty sweet. Monitors can run from $100-200 depending on size, quality, and brand.

7950 is plenty good enough to run games on high/max for a good while (with some exceptions like crysis 3). You can try googling benchmarks to get an overall feel for where it stands, but don't only judge it by benchmarks, driver updates can also change a lot in performance for certain games, so keep that in mind.
 

TheNewPCGuy

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Feb 21, 2013
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Thanks for all the info guys I appreciate it.
A lot of this is confusing to me. PCI etc makes no sense to me at the moment. I assumed that as long as I had a CPU, a GPU, a motherboard, Ram, a power supply, a hard drive and a driver I would be okay as that's all I needed. All this extra stuff is confusing lol, I guess more research is needed.