First Gaming Rig

dylan051

I'm thinking of investing in a gaming rig for this year.
I've been a console gamer but want to see what the hype is about pc gaming, and maybe something with a bit more power

my budget is around 700 - 800 euro,

want to play the latest games with good graphics. something better than current consoles

any tips? thanks!

Monotype

Do you need windows? Any extras monitors etc?

Answer some of the questions on this list and we can help you out.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056397753

dylan051

Monotype wrote: »

Do you need windows? Any extras monitors etc?

Answer some of the questions on this list and we can help you out.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056397753

thanks , here goes

1. What is your budget? 700 -800 euro

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming/ internet (skyrim, battlefield diablo 3 etc.)

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes/No] yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? no.

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No] not necessarily, have a couple old monitors but would be nice..

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1200 by 800 and yes

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] no.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No] not sure how to

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser] bank / credit card/ cash

9. When are you purchasing? mid august

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? finglas, dublin 11


thanks man.

Eboggles

Monotype isn't online at the moment so I thought I'll throw this in:

Item|Price
LiteOn iHAS124-19 schwarz SATA|€18.89
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€35.93
Seagate Barracuda 7200 500GB SATA 6GB's|€62.72
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.88
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155|€106.46
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€85.34
BenQ G2255|€100.98
ASRock H61M/U3S3 (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX|€55.07
HIS HD 7870 GDDR5 2048MB DVI/HDMI/2xMini DP|€293.12
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€820.38

That's from a German website called Hardwareversand.de; they only take bank transfer though or PayPal at an extra 3% charge. Anyway, a detailed low-down of the specs:

• Great CPU for the money
• CPU can be upgraded down to the line to a stronger i5/i7
• GPU will destroy everything at 1280x800, but I have a 1080p monitor in there
• Max settings on all games with that card, maybe sacrificing some anti-aliasing on some titles
• Great Case
• Reliable PSU

Hope I'm not forgetting anything .

You could drop the GPU down a bit, if you feel it's too much over budget, and maybe keep your old monitor for a while:

Item|Price
LiteOn iHAS124-19 schwarz SATA|€18.89
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€35.93
Seagate Barracuda 7200 500GB SATA 6GB's|€62.72
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.88
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155|€106.46
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit SB-Version Englisch|€85.34
ASRock H61M/U3S3 (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX|€55.07
Club 3D Radeon HD 7850 royalQueen, 1GB GDDR5|€192.70
Samsung SSD 830 64GB SATA 6GB's Paper Box|€71.19
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€690.17

That also includes an SSD, which is like a really really really fast HDD. You're talking non-existent loading times for things like Chrome, Steam, iTunes etc. and game loading times being slashed. Windows will boot up in seconds, and makes for a much snappier system. You'll still max out everything at 1280x800 without breaking a sweat with that GPU as well.

Oh, and if you're not comfortable building it yourself, or you just want to save the trouble they offer a building service for €20. Link.
I would recommend building it yourself though, as it's great fun, you'll feel confident about opening up your computer to upgrade parts or whatever, you'll be able to troubleshoot better as you built the system, and you get bragging rights of building your own gaming PC

Monotype

Are you a student that could avail of the discounted windows from software4students.ie? (Yes you can use an upgrade for a clean install). If you are, the difference and spending the full 800 budget with build #2, you should just about squeeze in an overclockable system.
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=59322
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=56296

Or get a 2500K which is a little cheaper again but just as good.

dylan051

great help lads! will either one of those builds be able to handle new games easily enough? im new to this. also do i need to buy a case separate? thanks

Craig B

dylan051 wrote: »

great help lads! will either one of those builds be able to handle new games easily enough? im new to this. also do i need to buy a case separate? thanks

The first one will get you great framerates and the second one is a bit lower end but still great.
You can pick up a case on their website.

Eboggles

I forgot the case in both builds, I'm such a dope . Have a look around the website to see if you can find anyting you like, then just link it here so we can have a look. I'd recommend the Bitfenix Merc for €32 or the Shinobi for €53.

dylan051

the shinobi looks pretty sweet if i decided to buy one of these builds could these guys assemble it? or would that up shipping costs, because ive never assembled a full computer..

Skylinehead

http://www1.hardwareversand.de/Service/746/Rechner+-+Zusammenbau.article

Put that in your basket and they'll build for you, no extra charges aside from that 20 quid. I'd recommend reading into building it yourself though, it's half the fun!

hightower1

Can I ask a few noob questions?
The rig above for 800 looks great, but ultimatly what Im looking to do is really get the advantages of PC gaming but with the convenience of console. In short could I use HDMI out to a 32inch lcd tv? Would it effect performance? - Feel almost emabrrased asking but Ive never even considered PC gaming before but am very open to the idea.

Skylinehead

hightower1 wrote: »

Can I ask a few noob questions?
The rig above for 800 looks great, but ultimatly what Im looking to do is really get the advantages of PC gaming but with the convenience of console. In short could I use HDMI out to a 32inch lcd tv? Would it effect performance? - Feel almost emabrrased asking but Ive never even considered PC gaming before but am very open to the idea.

Can do that yeah, just replacing a monitor with a TV. Won't affect performance any more than a monitor at the same resolution.