Need Advice for New Build.

Komsomolitz

Hiya lads,

My 3 year old Alienware m9750 laptop finally died, well.. the gfx card specifically, tried the oven trick but no dice. (Pretty sure SC2 burned out the card, ive read alot of similar reports)

For a while now i've been thinking of buying or building my own desktop or shuttle, I figure this is now a good opportunity.

However, my knowledge and experience in various computer builds and components is severely outdated, i'm a bit out of my depth after spending ages doing a bit of research. I've no idea when it comes to compatibility, paranoid about ordering the wrong components for a specific motherboard etc.

I was wondering if anyone could give me some good advice or specifics of what you recommend for an affordable gaming desktop.

My price range is from 600-700 euro on hand at the moment. I can go 200 euro higher potentially over the next two weeks if necessary as well.

I would hope to use this PC playing games such as APB, Bad Company 2, Starcraft 2, Natural Selection 2 (alpha currently).


Because my funds are pretty low currently, id be happy to play the above games on minimal settings, as long as i've got the option to upgrade in the future. I'm looking for performance over quality at the moment, until i have more cash saved up again. I'm just currently computer-less so i'd need a new rig asap before i go nuts :P

I'd just need to be pointed in the right direction as to what parts/components/builds i should be looking at for my needs.

Thanks for your time.

massy086

you wont go far wrong on this build add 30 for post

Komsomolitz

Thanks a million for the very specific advice!

Did alot of searching on the hardwareversand.de website for each of those parts just to get a better idea on them and i have to say i like your choice of components.

Thats a very damn decent machine for the price range.

Although as i said before, my knowledge and experience is pretty limited!

The processor itself, i've no idea if an i5 is good or bad these days but the fact that its a quadcore and at 2.8Ghz looks good to me. (forgive my ignorance)

One thing i'm curious about however, is the gfx card. I see that there are two versions of the gtx460, one at 1tb and the other at the 768mb as selected above. There doesn't seem to be a massive amount of price difference between the two, is there a reason you selected the 768mb version? Are there noticeable performance differences between the two im unaware of? Or would you recommend spending the extra little bit of cash for the 1tb version if i was to go for the gtx460?

Another thing, i hear ATI cards seem to be cheaper and/or better performance these days, would you recommend an ATI equivalent? (Although personally i've more of a history with nvidia cards so would definitely be in my comfort zone to stick with them, but i'm flexible none the less)

Also, add 30 for the post? If ive cash left over after all this, whatever i go for, ill definitely be "grateful" for the assistance

AlmightyCushion

The i5 is a very good processor. You won't be wanting with it. Sure I have a much older q6600 and it handles everything I throw at it.

massy086

at the moment the gtx460 is better value than a 5850 ati so stick with it. the igb would be better but i was just trying to watch ur budget as i know its tight the i5 are all you will need i have one and no reason to get anything else

Komsomolitz

Sounds good massy, Think ill splash out the extra few bob on the 1gb version of the gfx card when it comes to longevity.

Seems to be alot of manufacturers of that card though, the one you had up there was "point of view", i found a few others from "Palit", "ASUS" etc. Is there any difference there? Does it matter what manufacturer it is? Performance and compatability to the motherboard selected above would be fine and all?

As for the i5, sounds good. Thanks for the reassurance.

massy086

it all depends on what u want to spend here is a good round up of them all http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-review/1 hope it helps

Komsomolitz

massy086 wrote: »

it all depends on what u want to spend here is a good round up of them all http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-review/1 hope it helps

Thanks for the link massy, alot of information to take in there! Very helpful, interesting to see the differences between the different brands.

But i assume that no-matter the brand, it will still be compatible with the motherboard you recommended above?

Komsomolitz

Just read/watched a good review on the i5 760 and i have to say im impressed. Can be overclocked very easily to 4Ghz without too much increase in voltage! (hopefully i will never need to of course!)

Overall, definitely re-assured there. Gives the i7-860 a run for its money baring in mind the i5 is a budget processor.

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/intel_i5_760_review/6

Chuck Finlay

Komsomolitz wrote: »

One thing i'm curious about however, is the gfx card. I see that there are two versions of the gtx460, one at 1tb and the other at the 768mb as selected above. There doesn't seem to be a massive amount of price difference between the two, is there a reason you selected the 768mb version? Are there noticeable performance differences between the two im unaware of? Or would you recommend spending the extra little bit of cash for the 1tb version if i was to go for the gtx460?

The 768-version has a 192bit memory interface, while the 1024-version has a 256bit. This won't tell you much, and tbh it doesn't make a big difference.
But, depending on the games you play and the level of details/AA/AF, at some point you will inevitably play a game that uses more than the 768MB of VRAM (there already are games that laugh at 1024).
That doesn't mean the 768 is bad, but the 1024 just has a bit more 'room to breathe'.

Komsomolitz wrote: »

Another thing, i hear ATI cards seem to be cheaper and/or better performance these days, would you recommend an ATI equivalent? (Although personally i've more of a history with nvidia cards so would definitely be in my comfort zone to stick with them, but i'm flexible none the less)

You get what you pay for. There are cheaper ATI models with less performance (5770,5830), and there are more expensive ATI models with more performance (5850,5870).
Price-wise, the GTX460-1024 lies in the middle between the 5830 and 5850 and performance-wise closer to the 5850 (or on the same level, with OC), and is considered the best 'bang for your buck' these days.

Komsomolitz wrote: »

But i assume that no-matter the brand, it will still be compatible with the motherboard you recommended above?

No problems at all

massy086

Komsomolitz wrote: »

Just read/watched a good review on the i5 760 and i have to say im impressed. Can be overclocked very easily to 4Ghz without too much increase in voltage! (hopefully i will never need to of course!)

Overall, definitely re-assured there. Gives the i7-860 a run for its money baring in mind the i5 is a budget processor.

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cpu_mainboard/intel_i5_760_review/6

ye the i5 is a beast i have mine at 4.2 fly,s through everything

Komsomolitz

Thanks lads, think ill give it a spin.

Looks like that motherboard is sold out on the german site hmmm..

Komsomolitz

Curious about the various pc's for sale on adverts.ie as well, some really decent builds there. Think its worth sticking with building your own though?

For example, if he lowers the price on this: http://www.adverts.ie/261464/desktops/gaming-pc-with-desk-monitor-and-leather-chair/ then you have to admit thats a decent setup. Besides the gpu which is easily replacable down the road.

Icyseanfitz

Komsomolitz wrote: »

Curious about the various pc's for sale on adverts.ie as well, some really decent builds there. Think its worth sticking with building your own though?

For example, if he lowers the price on this: http://www.adverts.ie/261464/desktops/gaming-pc-with-desk-monitor-and-leather-chair/ then you have to admit thats a decent setup. Besides the gpu which is easily replacable down the road.

that does actually seem to be quite a deal ...nearly too good to be true :cool: the fact that your getting a desk and office chair with it seems pretty cool and it is an i7 rig which seem to cost a fortune these days

Komsomolitz

Aye even if it is a low end i7, its still an i7 and should make a difference. Doubt he'd go for 700 squid though, maybe i could throw in my busted m9750. (though the dvd drive is fecked and the 7950 gtx is screwed, might still be worth something in parts)

Alota decent deals on that site i noticed.

Icyseanfitz

ya im trying to sell my gaming laptop on it so i can build a desktop the only problem with it is that you dont seem to get much views on it

Komsomolitz

People are too careful with money these days just. Gaming laptops are now a luxury most cannot afford.

Icyseanfitz

true although im selling mine off at a price that is a fair bit lower than most mid range laptops, its depressing how quickly they depreciate though i mean i bough mine around two years ago and it was worth around €4000 (didnt pay that mind you) and now il be lucky to get €600 for it

Komsomolitz

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

true although im selling mine off at a price that is a fair bit lower than most mid range laptops, its depressing how quickly they depreciate though i mean i bough mine around two years ago and it was worth around €4000 (didnt pay that mind you) and now il be lucky to get €600 for it

Ha! i took a look at that laptop earlier and considered buying it off ya. But that was more out of desperation as ive nothing to game with at the moment. Better off buying a proper gaming desktop for about the same price and better performance.

Very damn nice laptop though all the same, even considering its two years old, the processor alone is worth it.

I'm goin nuts without my daily dose of sc2!

Icyseanfitz

ya that processor cost me a small fortune i would presume that i could run starcraft 2 maxed on this havnt tried yet but its not exactly a demanding game, the hardest thing ive tried to run on this was definitely and still is crysis can only run on a mix of medium to high settings at around 1600x900

Komsomolitz

Yeah you should be able to pull it off, just be careful of the fps cap on the sc2 menus, or lack there of more like.

It ended up frying my gfx card.

Komsomolitz

Also possibly thinking of this one for sale for a possible 700 yoyos : http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=262820

Opinions?

Komsomolitz

Jesus is it just me or did hardwareversand just increase their prices by about 15-20% ?!