Thoughts on a Mid-Range Gaming/Performance PC Build

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Just to let everyone know, this is my first time attempting to build my own PC. I've installed pretty much all the components on various computers I've owned over the years, so it shouldn't be too bad. All I'm really looking for is something mid-range geared towards performance and gaming (to an extent) that won't need to be upgraded for a few years, atleast.

This is sort of an adopted build from a "recommended" build site with a few differences; wanted to see what you guys think and if there's anything you'd improve upon:

Motherboard: GA-P67A-UD3-B3
Graphics: Radeon HD 6870. Might go a bit lower than that, but 6870 isn't much of a stretch, expense wise.
Processor: Intel Core i5 2500k
OD: Undecided, just something decent. Probably just a standard Asus or Samsung DVD burner.
Power Supply: Rosewill RG530-S12
RAM: Patriot 4GB
HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB. 500GB should be enough, but 1TB is only $40 more.
Case: Still looking around, I kinda like both the NZXT M59-001BK M59 and Cooler Masters.
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium, will be upgraded to Linux.

Is there anything here that I could replace with something else that would give me equal performance at a lower price? $1000 is about my baseline, more or less. I don't need something that's going to do the graphics for an upcoming Star Wars movie, just something that will basically do and play virtually anything I want for a few years to come.

Thanks in advance

 

[global_dev]

i would think a grand would get you more than a midrange.. i have fallen off the PC builds and stopped following the pc sites.. but just as a comment will 4 gigs be enough? i remember os's like windows couldn't recognize more in a non-64 bit OS, but 4 seems low.

 

[smalltank]

ok...the idea behind this is just to find compatible parts..if you find a motherboard..make sure your ram/cpu/fans are compatible with it..some towers are smaller than others..but the idea is to find one that fits..if you plan to sell this pc..might wanna leave windows or even a dual boot on it...congrats on your build....I would up your ram 8GB-16GB max...4GB was popular 2 years ago I think..make your cpu AMD for sure..runs a bit hotter but much faster than Intel..just more well known and compatible.

ST

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

ok...the idea behind this is just to find compatible parts..if you find a motherboard..make sure your ram/cpu/fans are compatible with it..some towers are smaller than others..but the idea is to find one that fits..if you plan to sell this pc..might wanna leave windows or even a dual boot on it...congrats on your build....I would up your ram 8GB-16GB max...4GB was popular 2 years ago I think..make your cpu AMD for sure..runs a bit hotter but much faster than Intel..just more well known and compatible.

ST

Definitely the kind of advice I'm looking for! Good call on the RAM, I'll go for atleast 8GB. I'm glad you told me that about the AMD vs. Intel, too; AMD is also a good bit less expensive, so I can save a little money there. The Cooler Master case I have my eye on is enormous, so there's plenty of room for extra fans if necessary.

Keep it coming, gentlemen

 

[Doog]

Depending on what video card you use. You might want to go with a higher watt power supply.
I seen the raedon card. But I would check the requirements of some of the games you are going to play. A lot of games are pretty graphic intensive = good sized power supply.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Depending on what video card you use. You might want to go with a higher watt power supply.
I seen the raedon card. But I would check the requirements of some of the games you are going to play. A lot of games are pretty graphic intensive = good sized power supply.

Quite honestly, there are just two games I plan on putting much time into: Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3 whenever it comes out, probably within the next several presidential elections.

 

[craig87c]

This is based off the Lifehacker/Gizmodo article, right? I'll have to keep this thread saved for when I do this on my own.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

This is based off the Lifehacker/Gizmodo article, right? I'll have to keep this thread saved for when I do this on my own.

Loosely based on this one: http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/gaming-desktop-computer.html. Whether they got it from Lifehacker/Gizmodo, I don't know. All of the advice seems pretty competent but slightly outdated. But hell, they know more than I do, so...

 

[craig87c]

Oh, that website looks like it was made on Geocities . This is the post that I was talking about.

 

[norwood]

i would think a grand would get you more than a midrange.. i have fallen off the PC builds and stopped following the pc sites.. but just as a comment will 4 gigs be enough? i remember os's like windows couldn't recognize more in a non-64 bit OS, but 4 seems low.

Just by way of contributing my own experience building my own PC, which was actually very similar to the 'budget' build listed on the page you linked... This was something of a 'stone soup' build that we did about 3 years ago with an old Pentium-3 IBM Aptiva we found (!) on the curb on trash day, and as the project unfolded, we decided to make it the world's fastest IBM Aptiva - in other words, we kept the case from the old low-budget IBM we'd found, tossed the defective motherboard, and ended up upgrading everything else to go with it. Things we learned:

- If you start with a mini-ATX case, modern stuff will fit it. You may have to customize the case to allow for proper cooling and parts fitment, though. It's more fun and economical IMHO to recycle an old case, but this is much easier if you're comfortable using power tools to modify a metal case. We didn't find out until later that most old Aptivas are not mini-ATX... thankfully ours was!
- You will likely have to upgrade the power supply, as modern processors expect a connection the older PS's don't have.
- $1000 will get you a LOT of stuff. We put in an Athlon-2 X4 3.2GHz processor, Asus mainboard, 2gb (? - IIRC) memory, new HD, new DVD, and the aforementioned new processor. I think we put in a video card of some sort, too. Oh, and some sort of cooler for the CPU. I think the tab for all this stuff ended up coming to something like $500. Maybe a bit more if you count the holesaw I had to buy to customize the case for the power supply's cooling, but still under $550.
- Linux is fantastic IMHO. I've been running Ubuntu on it since the build. It is blazing fast, rock stable, and free. Hard to compete with that! Ubuntu is also amazing at playing well with peripherals, in my experience. My old workplace threw away a working LaserJet 4 because it didn't have a USB connection; I brought it back in from the loading dock, bought a USB-to-parallel adapter for 20 bucks from the really excellent electronic charity shop that we have around here, and hooked the whole mess together. And Ubuntu, to my utter shock, basically said, "Ah! You've connected a USB-to-parallel adapter and a LaserJet 4. Want to print something?"

Send us some pics of your build when you're done!

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Which AMD processor am I looking at that's comparable to the Intel 2500?

 

[Sunburst]

Until Windows 8 comes out, not really any of them. Bulldozer is a nice architecture, but the scheduling isn't there on the MS side of things. It's far more competitive running linux with some kernel and compiler tweaks.

My two cents: Don't go cheap on the power supply or case. Those are the things that will live through several builds and will pay off to spend on. Diablo, Star Craft and other Blizzard games are CPU hungry beasts. Throw as much as you can at it up front. The 6870 is a heck of a card for the money. That'll do nicely. Don't fuss with an expensive CPU cooler unless you want it to be really quiet or you plan on overclocking the tar out of it. (I'm in both of those categories and watercooling happens to be the ticket for me.)

One last thing. What resolution will you be playing at? That will really be the determining factor of how much video card you need. If you're playing on an older panel that runs 1680 * 1050, you can get by with almost any mid-range video card. If you're planning on getting, or already have a 30" monster that plays 2560 * 1600, you'll need far, far more graphics oomph. AnandTech has a thing called bench that will allow you to compare components using the most consistent hardware possible. (Ie, the same sub-system for graphics shoot-outs, SSD comparisons, etc.) It's pretty slick and warrants a look by anyone looking to put together a machine and achieve maximum performance per dollar.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

I'd like to thank all you gentlemen for your advice!

I have an old friend that professionally builds custom computers for a living (and has an outstanding reputation doing so) that I was finally able to get in contact with.

It's on the higher end of what I wanted to spend, but here's the list he came up with for me:

Motherboard: MSI Z68A-GD55 (B3)
Graphics: Radeon 6870
Processor: Intel Core i7-2600K Quad Core. Said that I'm eventually going to want an i7 so might as well go ahead and get it now
RAM: G SKILL Sniper Series 8GB
OD: Asus DVD
PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX850M 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular High Performance Power Supply
HD: Western Digital RE4 WD5003ABYX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
Cooling: CORSAIR CWCH60 Hydro Series H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler and Arctic MX-4 Thermal Compound
Case: He strongly recommends LIAN LI, particularly this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811112239

The total comes to about 1300.00.

How's that look to you guys?

 

[Bigsurprise]

Just some personal experience:

I built my desktop early 2008 and I play games like WoW, Diablo II LoD, WC3:FT etc. None of these take up much memory. I can run pretty much everything I play simultaneously, and I still have a gigabyte of memory left over(out of four). Eight gigabytes is a very nice buffer for the future.

Hertz per hertz, Intel procs out perform AMD procs. Nice choice with the i7.

Nearly any case from Lian Li or Antec will serve you well.

Corsair makes excellent PSUs.

Definitely check out http://www.overclockers.com/forums/

I like to encourage overclocking. Good luck!

 

[njpaddy]

I built one about 4 years ago & haven't had any trouble with it, so it was worth it. The bad news is that I haven't paid attention to the technology since so it'll be tough going if I ever have replace anything. I think mine ran a little over $1700, but that included the cost of XP. I went with the Cooler Master Stacker 830 case. Huge and expensive, but easy to work with if you have the room for it. I mostly play older games, but I'm hoping it'll run Diablo 3 without having to upgrade anything. I only have 4 GB of ram, but that was a lot back then.

 

[xXClockwork]

i would think a grand would get you more than a midrange.. i have fallen off the PC builds and stopped following the pc sites.. but just as a comment will 4 gigs be enough? i remember os's like windows couldn't recognize more in a non-64 bit OS, but 4 seems low.

You would be correct. The x86 version of Windows 7 will only support 4GB.

 

[OldSchoolYoungin]

Not to disappoint the AMD fans, but here's a semi-final build:

Motherboard: MSI Z68
Processor: Intel i5 2500k
Graphics: Gigabyte Radeon HD 6950
HD: WD Caviar Blue 500GB
RAM: G Skill Sniper Series 8GB
PSU: OCZ Modstream 600W
OD: Asus DVD Burner
OS: Windows 7/Ubuntu Linux (dual-boot)
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212+
Case: Cooler Master or Antec mid-tower (still up in the air)

 

[CyberJCM]

You dropped back some of the specs again?

I honestly think you should reconsider the WD Blue drive. Their Black drives are for high performance, and may be a better choice. Also, HD space... 500GB ain't what it used to be. I'd get at least 1TB, and even consider a second drive possibly with a basic RAID setup for backups of your data.

Just a thought

 

[Bigsurprise]

You dropped back some of the specs again?

I honestly think you should reconsider the WD Blue drive. Their Black drives are for high performance, and may be a better choice. Also, HD space... 500GB ain't what it used to be. I'd get at least 1TB, and even consider a second drive possibly with a basic RAID setup for backups of your data.

Just a thought

I agree. Perhaps use a smaller WD Black just for your OS and games, and then a big WD Blue for everything else.

Also just for the record, WD Blacks aren't high performance drives lol. More like regular performance.