PC build aimed at playing strategy games for roughly 750 swiss francs/€600/$800

[PK-1990]

I am mainly a console gamer nowadays with a shitty laptop that can't run most things.

However, I do love my strategy games from now and then Age of Empires, Total War (especially the Shogun installments), The Settlers, Command & Conquer etc. etc.

So I have been thinking about building a pc for years now just so I can play those franchises without any problems on the highest settings possible.

However, as with most people, the budget is a problem.

I am a noob at hardware, what to look out for, best bang for buck, what I actually need to meet my requirements and whatnot.

So I would like to recruit your help select the best components for the job.

Thank you all in advance for your input.

Edit: In Switzerland I'll order from www.digitec.ch I guess (unless somebody knows something cheaper?), that site is in English as well.

In the Netherlands we've got this site called Tweakers - http://tweakers.net/categorie/14/basiscomponenten/producten/ - which doesn't sell the components themselves but compares prices and stuff. The site in Dutch but it has pictures and names of the components as well as the prices so it shouldn't be that hard to understand.

 

[Vacka]

Hey dude! First I need to know the website you are buying the parts from. Because part prices can differ from different places.

 

[PK-1990]

Hey dude! First I need to know the website you are buying the parts from. Because part prices can differ from different places.

Oh... ehm, well I haven't quite decided where I was going to buy the parts but...

In Switzerland from www.digitec.ch I guess (unless somebody knows something cheaper?), that site is in English as well.

In the Netherlands we've got this site called Tweakers - http://tweakers.net/categorie/14/basiscomponenten/producten/ - which doesn't sell the components but compares prices and stuff. The site in Dutch but it has pictures and names of the components as well as the prices so it shouldn't be that hard to understand.


I guess average US prices (not the cheapest stores, not the most expensive stores) would come close as well if you can't work with the two sites I mentioned earlier.

 

[Vacka]

Hey dude! First I need to know the website you are buying the parts from. Because part prices can differ from different places.

Oh... ehm, well I haven't quite decided where I was going to buy the parts but...

In Switzerland from www.digitec.ch I guess (unless somebody knows something cheaper?), that site is in English as well.

In the Netherlands we've got this site called Tweakers - http://tweakers.net/categorie/14/basiscomponenten/producten/ - which doesn't sell the components but compares prices and stuff. The site in Dutch but it has pictures and names of the components as well as the prices so it shouldn't be that hard to understand.


I guess average US prices (not the cheapest stores, not the most expensive stores) would come close as well if you can't work with the two sites I mentioned earlier.

I will use digitec. I will then send you the part list.

 

[PK-1990]

Hey dude! First I need to know the website you are buying the parts from. Because part prices can differ from different places.

Oh... ehm, well I haven't quite decided where I was going to buy the parts but...

In Switzerland from www.digitec.ch I guess (unless somebody knows something cheaper?), that site is in English as well.

In the Netherlands we've got this site called Tweakers - http://tweakers.net/categorie/14/basiscomponenten/producten/ - which doesn't sell the components but compares prices and stuff. The site in Dutch but it has pictures and names of the components as well as the prices so it shouldn't be that hard to understand.


I guess average US prices (not the cheapest stores, not the most expensive stores) would come close as well if you can't work with the two sites I mentioned earlier.

I will use digitec. I will then send you the part list.

Thank you.

If necessary, I could expand the budget by another 100-200 Swiss francs.

 

[Vacka]

Ok so with this build you will be able to do way more than you wanted. You can play battlefield 3 on maximum settings. Crysis on High to max and pretty much all games on ultra.
Here are the parts:
Cpu: Intel Core i5 3570K BOX, LGA 1155, 4C/4T, unlocked
Motherboard: MSI B75A-G43, B75, LGA1155, PCI-E 3.0, CF, ATX
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB Kit, DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24@1.5V
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue, 7200rpm, 16MB, 500GB, SATA-3
Video Card: Asus GTX-660 Ti DirectCU II 2GB GDDR5, PCI-E x16 3.0
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB, DVD Brenner, SATA, schwarz
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R Midi-Tower - black
This totals exactly 800.

 

[PK-1990]

Ok so with this build you will be able to do way more than you wanted. You can play battlefield 3 on maximum settings. Crysis on High to max and pretty much all games on ultra.
Here are the parts:
Cpu: Intel Core i5 3570K BOX, LGA 1155, 4C/4T, unlocked
Motherboard: MSI B75A-G43, B75, LGA1155, PCI-E 3.0, CF, ATX
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB Kit, DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24@1.5V
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue, 7200rpm, 16MB, 500GB, SATA-3
Video Card: Asus GTX-660 Ti DirectCU II 2GB GDDR5, PCI-E x16 3.0
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB, DVD Brenner, SATA, schwarz
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R Midi-Tower - black
This totals exactly 800.

thank you very much for your time and info, I have a few more questions though if you don't mind.

1) Would it be better to get a blu-ray/DVD combo reader than just the DVD reader? Maybe in the near future some PC games will only be available on blu-ray? (I remember a similar issue years and years back when I bought Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth - my PC couldn't read it because it was a DVD based game rather than the CD based games that were pretty much used up until that time).

2) Would GDDR5 make a huge difference or not for (future RTS games like a Total War: Rome 3 or something), also what is the difference between 1 x 8 for example or 2 x 4 configuration?

3) how upgradeable would this set-up be and what do I look out for when upgrading for future RTS games?

4) do I need a sound card for sound/network card for Wi-Fi access? Cooler comes with the CPU I guess?

5) if in like 3-4 years from now I decided to upgrade the GPU and CPU, how do I know what power supply I need (with regards to the amounts of watts it delivers)?


Also this will be my first build ever, got any tips, advice, links I can put to good use? Once again thank you very much.

 

[Vacka]

Ok so with this build you will be able to do way more than you wanted. You can play battlefield 3 on maximum settings. Crysis on High to max and pretty much all games on ultra.
Here are the parts:
Cpu: Intel Core i5 3570K BOX, LGA 1155, 4C/4T, unlocked
Motherboard: MSI B75A-G43, B75, LGA1155, PCI-E 3.0, CF, ATX
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB Kit, DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24@1.5V
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue, 7200rpm, 16MB, 500GB, SATA-3
Video Card: Asus GTX-660 Ti DirectCU II 2GB GDDR5, PCI-E x16 3.0
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB, DVD Brenner, SATA, schwarz
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R Midi-Tower - black
This totals exactly 800.

thank you very much for your time and info, I have a few more questions though if you don't mind.

1) Would it be better to get a blu-ray/DVD combo reader than just the DVD reader? Maybe in the near future some PC games will only be available on blu-ray? (I remember a similar issue years and years back when I bought Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth - my PC couldn't read it because it was a DVD based game rather than the CD based games that were pretty much used up until that time).

2) Would GDDR5 make a huge difference or not for (future RTS games like a Total War: Rome 3 or something), also what is the difference between 1 x 8 for example or 2 x 4 configuration?

3) how upgradeable would this set-up be and what do I look out for when upgrading for future RTS games?

4) do I need a sound card for sound/network card for Wi-Fi access? Cooler comes with the CPU I guess?

5) if in like 3-4 years from now I decided to upgrade the GPU and CPU, how do I know what power supply I need (with regards to the amounts of watts it delivers)?


Also this will be my first build ever, got any tips, advice, links I can put to good use? Once again thank you very much.

Oh my bad I forgot to write the power supply but it is in the price. The power supply is the cx600 which is enough watts for an upgrade. Also when you want to upgrade in the future you can get an i7-3770k for the cpu and a gtx 670 for the gpu or the gtx 770. There is no difference between 2x4gb ram or 1x8gb you can choose. Also blue ray is only for movies currently and in the future which I don't think games would ever need blue ray, you can upgrade for like 40$, but it isn't worth it now. Also most games don't even come in cds anymore they are all online downloads. Anyways this build is crazy good. You will be able to play all your games on max. Also you can play battlefield three n max too. This build is amazing. Hope I helped a ton! Enjoy building!

 

[PK-1990]

Ok so with this build you will be able to do way more than you wanted. You can play battlefield 3 on maximum settings. Crysis on High to max and pretty much all games on ultra.
Here are the parts:
Cpu: Intel Core i5 3570K BOX, LGA 1155, 4C/4T, unlocked
Motherboard: MSI B75A-G43, B75, LGA1155, PCI-E 3.0, CF, ATX
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB Kit, DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24@1.5V
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue, 7200rpm, 16MB, 500GB, SATA-3
Video Card: Asus GTX-660 Ti DirectCU II 2GB GDDR5, PCI-E x16 3.0
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB, DVD Brenner, SATA, schwarz
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R Midi-Tower - black
This totals exactly 800.

thank you very much for your time and info, I have a few more questions though if you don't mind.

1) Would it be better to get a blu-ray/DVD combo reader than just the DVD reader? Maybe in the near future some PC games will only be available on blu-ray? (I remember a similar issue years and years back when I bought Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth - my PC couldn't read it because it was a DVD based game rather than the CD based games that were pretty much used up until that time).

2) Would GDDR5 make a huge difference or not for (future RTS games like a Total War: Rome 3 or something), also what is the difference between 1 x 8 for example or 2 x 4 configuration?

3) how upgradeable would this set-up be and what do I look out for when upgrading for future RTS games?

4) do I need a sound card for sound/network card for Wi-Fi access? Cooler comes with the CPU I guess?

5) if in like 3-4 years from now I decided to upgrade the GPU and CPU, how do I know what power supply I need (with regards to the amounts of watts it delivers)?


Also this will be my first build ever, got any tips, advice, links I can put to good use? Once again thank you very much.

Oh my bad I forgot to write the power supply but it is in the price. The power supply is the cx600 which is enough watts for an upgrade. Also when you want to upgrade in the future you can get an i7-3770k for the cpu and a gtx 670 for the gpu or the gtx 770. There is no difference between 2x4gb ram or 1x8gb you can choose. Also blue ray is only for movies currently and in the future which I don't think games would ever need blue ray, you can upgrade for like 40$, but it isn't worth it now. Also most games don't even come in cds anymore they are all online downloads. Anyways this build is crazy good. You will be able to play all your games on max. Also you can play battlefield three n max too. This build is amazing. Hope I helped a ton! Enjoy building!

Thank you, I am currently looking up the prices in the Netherlands.

Btw, how do you know if a case if big enough to fit your components in, and when do you know if it is too small?

 

[Vacka]

Ok so with this build you will be able to do way more than you wanted. You can play battlefield 3 on maximum settings. Crysis on High to max and pretty much all games on ultra.
Here are the parts:
Cpu: Intel Core i5 3570K BOX, LGA 1155, 4C/4T, unlocked
Motherboard: MSI B75A-G43, B75, LGA1155, PCI-E 3.0, CF, ATX
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB Kit, DDR3-1600, CL9-9-9-24@1.5V
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue, 7200rpm, 16MB, 500GB, SATA-3
Video Card: Asus GTX-660 Ti DirectCU II 2GB GDDR5, PCI-E x16 3.0
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB, DVD Brenner, SATA, schwarz
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R Midi-Tower - black
This totals exactly 800.

thank you very much for your time and info, I have a few more questions though if you don't mind.

1) Would it be better to get a blu-ray/DVD combo reader than just the DVD reader? Maybe in the near future some PC games will only be available on blu-ray? (I remember a similar issue years and years back when I bought Lord of The Rings: Battle for Middle Earth - my PC couldn't read it because it was a DVD based game rather than the CD based games that were pretty much used up until that time).

2) Would GDDR5 make a huge difference or not for (future RTS games like a Total War: Rome 3 or something), also what is the difference between 1 x 8 for example or 2 x 4 configuration?

3) how upgradeable would this set-up be and what do I look out for when upgrading for future RTS games?

4) do I need a sound card for sound/network card for Wi-Fi access? Cooler comes with the CPU I guess?

5) if in like 3-4 years from now I decided to upgrade the GPU and CPU, how do I know what power supply I need (with regards to the amounts of watts it delivers)?


Also this will be my first build ever, got any tips, advice, links I can put to good use? Once again thank you very much.

Oh my bad I forgot to write the power supply but it is in the price. The power supply is the cx600 which is enough watts for an upgrade. Also when you want to upgrade in the future you can get an i7-3770k for the cpu and a gtx 670 for the gpu or the gtx 770. There is no difference between 2x4gb ram or 1x8gb you can choose. Also blue ray is only for movies currently and in the future which I don't think games would ever need blue ray, you can upgrade for like 40$, but it isn't worth it now. Also most games don't even come in cds anymore they are all online downloads. Anyways this build is crazy good. You will be able to play all your games on max. Also you can play battlefield three n max too. This build is amazing. Hope I helped a ton! Enjoy building!

Thank you, I am currently looking up the prices in the Netherlands.

Btw, how do you know if a case if big enough to fit your components in, and when do you know if it is too small?

The only main things you need to look at is the motherboard size case size and video card length. Get a atx mid tower case. In this size case both micro atx and atx mother boards fit. Then for the video card just check its length and then the length of the case. But don't worry the parts I selected are good! Hope I helped a ton!