Building my cheap gaming pc need help

sean321

Hi Guys

I'm new to building computers and my first post in boards so sorry if its in the wrong place.

I have picked my computer (built from the builder list) by reading through other threads on Boards. I don't really know too much about what im doing and was just looking for some advice on what i've picked from hardwareversand. I have the monitor, keyboard, mouse and windows.

4GB Kingston ValueRAM PC3-10667U CL9
Hitachi Travelstar 5K750 500GB, SATA II 6,4cm (2,5")
Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2, 430 Watt
MSI H61M-P31 (G3), Intel H61, mATX
MSI R7770-PMD1GD5, 1024MB DDR5, PCI-Express
Cooler Master Elite 360, ohne Netzteil
Intel Celeron G530 Box, LGA1155

Total price €347

1) Will this computer work if put together by them like this?

2) Will it be able to play skyrim, battlefield, guildwars 2 (new games) on a good enough setting (doesn't have to be the highest) and give good fps?

3) do I need a soundcard for sound?

4) does this look ready to order or am i missing anything?

5) any idea if I will be charged tax on this order at customs or is germany no tax at customs? just dont want to be hit with more costs when it gets here.

Its really all I can afford at the moment. Never had a gaming pc before. I always played my games (very old games) with an intergrated graphics card but that bad computer cost me 400 euro from currys few years ago and couldnt play most games. I'm such a newbie at this so any advice would be great.

Thanks so much guys.

-( i )- Wicker

Im afraid theres a few things wrong with your build:

- That hard drive is meant for a laptop
- You're better off getting 2x2gb ram instead of 1x4gb unless you plan on getting another stick later
- That motherboard is mATX which is fine but ATX will be more upgradable in the future
- That CPU will be rubbish for gaming. In reality you wont get a gaming machine for that kind of money, even gaming at the lowest settings

You wont need a soundcard, the mobo has onboard sound. And you wont be hit by customs because you're importing within the EU

Andy!!

Dunno if that processor is much good tbh. You could cut the GPU altogether and just get an i7 or i5... I've seen videos of BF3 and the likes running of the integrated graphics on those.

Slutmonkey57b

If you're going integrated graphics, AMD are just launching their desktop Trinity APU's which will give decent framerates at low resolutions.

Eboggles

Andy!! wrote: »

Dunno if that processor is much good tbh. You could cut the GPU altogether and just get an i7 or i5... I've seen videos of BF3 and the likes running of the integrated graphics on those.

What? Seriously?

@OP the GPU is the single most important part of a gaming computer so make sure to buy the best one you can possibly get. You should look into AMD's trinity line of CPUs which will be released very soon.

Andy!!

Eboggles wrote: »

What? Seriously?

Yeah just look it up on youtube

sean321

Phew, thanks guys! good thing i didnt order lol. Im such a novice when it comes to the inside of a pc

Can you guys suggest a list from hardwareversand (seem best price) that will get me a computer for new games that won't cost an arm and a leg to buy? I'd say I can push the price to 450 max (with early x.mass presents)

Doesnt have to run on max settings but the higher the better.

Much appreciated guys for all the feedback

Sean

Eboggles

sean321 wrote: »

Phew, thanks guys! good thing i didnt order lol. Im such a novice when it comes to the inside of a pc

Can you guys suggest a list from hardwareversand (seem best price) that will get me a computer for new games that won't cost an arm and a leg to buy? I'd say I can push the price to 450 max (with early x.mass presents)

Doesnt have to run on max settings but the higher the better.

Much appreciated guys for all the feedback

Sean

The build is actually fine, just get a Pentium G860 with the increased budget. You've got a great balance of GPU power/CPU power, it's not easy to do that in such a low budget build.

If you do get some extra funds, try and up the CPU to an i3 max, then use the rest of your money on the graphics card.

Andy!!

Eboggles wrote: »

sean321 wrote: »

Phew, thanks guys! good thing i didnt order lol. Im such a novice when it comes to the inside of a pc

Can you guys suggest a list from hardwareversand (seem best price) that will get me a computer for new games that won't cost an arm and a leg to buy? I'd say I can push the price to 450 max (with early x.mass presents)

Doesnt have to run on max settings but the higher the better.

Much appreciated guys for all the feedback

Sean

The build is actually fine, just get a Pentium G860 with the increased budget. You've got a great balance of GPU power/CPU power, it's not easy to do that in such a low budget build.

If you do get some extra funds, try and up the CPU to an i3 max, then use the rest of your money on the graphics card.

Whats your objection to running things off an i5 to start? Then he can buy a card when he can. It he buys a crappy processor he'll end up with a part he just needs to throw out. Waste of money.

Eboggles

Andy!! wrote: »

Whats your objection to running things off an i5 to start? Then he can buy a card when he can. It he buys a crappy processor he'll end up with a part he just needs to throw out. Waste of money.

You can't play BF3 properly on integrated graphics. A HD7770 is the bare minimum for 1080p medium gaming.

It says in the title "cheap gaming pc". That means he wants it for gaming, and a G860 paired with a HD7770 will absolutely obliterate an i7 3960x (for example, it's €700 or something) with integrated graphics.

It's not actually a crappy processor; it's only about 10-15% behind the worlds best gaming processors, for only a teeny fraction of the price. Most games are going to be GPU limited, so all he really needs is a reasonably good dual-core with a strong architecture/clock speed (aka G860),

Andy!!

Eboggles wrote: »

You can't play BF3 properly on integrated graphics.

Well actually you can, looks very decent from the vids on youtube, even with fraps also running. That processor might be borderline now but it will be obsolete before the year is out. He doesnt need a 700 euro processor. Not even a K processor. A nice i5 or i7 will do, judging by the videos Ive seen.

IrishMetalhead

your missing the point andy, the most important part of a "gaming" pc is the graphics card the truth is dual cores are still more than good enough for gaming even with newer games so to buy an i5 just to use the intergrated graphics seems just plain silly to me, if you were going to buy a quad-core cpu to use the intergraded graphics you'd be much better off with amd's APU range but in all honesty a sandybridge dual-core paired with a good gpu makes for an excelent budget machine

Tij da feen

Andy!! wrote: »

Well actually you can, looks very decent from the vids on youtube, even with fraps also running. That processor might be borderline now but it will be obsolete before the year is out. He doesnt need a 700 euro processor. Not even a K processor. A nice i5 or i7 will do, judging by the videos Ive seen.

They're usually played at low enough resolutions. Intel HD Graphics just won't cut it at resolutions above 1366x768 in Battlefield 3 at lowest setting.

OP your best bet is as Eboggles said to pair a G860 with a graphics card. An i3 if the budget permits. And then put the rest of the money into the GFX card.

sean321

I've been doing some reading around what you guys have been saying. The hole 'teach a man to fish' saying

What do you think of this setup?

Hitachi DESKSTAR 7K1000.C 500GB, 16MB, SATA II, 8,9cm (3,5")
4GB Kingston ValueRAM PC3-10667U CL9
Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2, 430 Watt
ASUS P8H61 REV 3.0, Sockel 1155, ATX, DDR3
MSI R7770-PMD1GD5, 1024MB DDR5, PCI-Express
Cooler Master Elite 360, ohne Netzteil
Intel Core i3-2120 Box, LGA1155

Total price €440

Would it be ok for playing new games, skyrim, bf3, guild wars 2 etc?

would the settings run on high, low or somewhere in the middle?

Will it actually run if i ordered it lol

Tij da feen

Item|Price
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€15.18
Hitachi DESKSTAR 7K1000.C 500GB, 16MB, SATA II, 8,9cm (3,5")|€51.71
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€32.19
Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2, 430 Watt|€41.17
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Box, Sockel AM3|€85.28
ASRock 970DE3/U3S3, AM3+, ATX|€55.62
XFX RADEON HD 6870 925M 1GB DDR5, 2 x MINI-DP, 2 x DVI, 1 x HDMI|€149.56
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€449.70

The case you listed has no fans installed. I forgot about the price drop on the Phenom II X4, makes a lot more sense on your budget. The 6870 has a good bit more power than the 7770, the 6870 will run Skyrim on near high settings.

Andy!!

IrishMetalhead wrote: »

your missing the point andy, the most important part of a "gaming" pc is the graphics card

No, youre missing the point. The point is that 3rd gen i5/i7s basically are GPUs as well as CPUs, due to the graphics they can render.

But that build Tij posted will do the OP fine. Much better than a bloody celeron in any case. I would go with Tijs build OP.

sean321

That sounds great!! Thanks so much all of you for taking the time to help me out. I'm going to go with Tij da feen's selection thats a great budget pc that can play the new games. Better than picking something up at pc world or dixions

Thanks Tij da feen for taking the time looking up the parts and laying it out for me.

Take care all.

Sean

JackieChan

Andy!! wrote: »

No, youre missing the point. The point is that 3rd gen i5/i7s basically are GPUs as well as CPUs, due to the graphics they can render.

But that build Tij posted will do the OP fine. Much better than a bloody celeron in any case. I would go with Tijs build OP.

andy,earlier celerons were pants,these latest ones are a lot better.They give great bang for your buck when on a very tight budget

Andy!!

Stop the presses, new version of processor is superior to last iteration!

Celerons are **** processors no matter how you twist it; if youre on a tight budget, go with AMD. If you need to go intel, I personally wouldnt go below i5. Thats the trade off.

62 quid for a processor... lol... you get what you pay for!

Like I said, Tijs build is the best your going to get, but if you think you might get your hands on some cash soon, run off the i5 integrated for now and buy a card later. I have a 2nd gen i5 in my mac air and it runs torchlight, trine, dear esther and half life at great frame rates (like, un-noticeable) And Ive seen vids of Skyrim running on i5 mac airs with bootcamp. i series processors are grest options for those on a big budget who might get a bit of money at christmas or summat. Cause you dont end up throwing out parts like you would with a celeron once you can upgrade, but you can still game very satisfactoraly (again, a youtube search yields the evidence). You aint gonna be using the highres texture pack in Skyrim, but you are going to get all the frames you need. For a 400 PC thats all you can ask for really...

MrGeneric

Another forum I read specifically recommends against the Corsair Builder series of power supply.

We recommend Corsair (non-Builder Series), Seasonic, Antec (Earthwatt series), and XFX PSUs - all of these companies build quality units.

I had a search and couldn't find a specific reason for the warning, other than they use cheaper capacitors to cut costs. I would put a lot of weight on the other forum's recommendations though and definitely pick an alternative.

It comes up again and again, but the power supply is the one area where you should never skimp on. A bad PSU can destroy your other components in a worst-case scenario.

It's up to you, but I would chose the Antec EarthWatts 430W instead for about €13 more.


Edit: Got a detailed answer from an extremely knowledgeable guy.

The voltage regulation and efficiency is inferior to a number of other designs that can be had for competitive prices, and the build quality is really spotty. Builder series PSUs crap out more often than average for power supplies. It's not a bad choice if you get a working unit and you're not a demanding user (e.g. overclocking or CF/SLI), but you're rolling the dice pretty hard with respect to avoiding an RMA sometime in the product's life.

Add to this that failing PSUs can be incredibly annoying to diagnose, and a bum PSU has a chance to fry other components (if not the whole system), that extra risk of failure can easily mean an extra risk of RMAing half of your computer (and at least one piece multiple times) over six months. So while the risk increase is itself moderate, the marginal expected hassle is rather large. So skip the Builder series.

E: Plus the 12V rail, which is the most important as that's what the CPU and video card draw from, tends to be rated for a full 100W under the PSU's rating. Most of our recommended units are 50W under or the unit can deliver all power on +12V. On a ~400W unit, that 50-100W of headroom means the difference between a bare-bones system and being able to add a few hard drives or a much fancier video card down the line.

beno619

Celerons are **** processors no matter how you twist it; if youre on a tight budget, go with AMD. If you need to go intel, I personally wouldnt go below i5. Thats the trade off.

62 quid for a processor... lol... you get what you pay for!

Tomshareware regularly throw celerons into there budget pc builds and the results are quite impressive, I think people need to remember there is a massive difference between desktop and mobile celeron & pentium cpu's.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-overclocking-pc-building,3273.html

sean321

The GPU:

XFX RADEON HD 6870 925M 1GB DDR5, 2 x MINI-DP, 2 x DVI, 1 x HDMI

Needs 650 watt but the

Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2, 430 Watt only has 430 watt in the setup does this mean I need to buy a 650 watt power supply or will this work with the rest of the setup below.

Thanks

Eboggles

sean321 wrote: »

The GPU:

XFX RADEON HD 6870 925M 1GB DDR5, 2 x MINI-DP, 2 x DVI, 1 x HDMI

Needs 650 watt but the

Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2, 430 Watt only has 450 watt in the setup does this mean I need to buy a 650 watt power supply or will this work with the rest of the setup below.

Thanks

Don't get that PSU, get the Super Flower Amazon 450 watt instead. The 6870 only needs a good 400 watt PSU.

ShadowHearth

Eboggles wrote: »

Don't get that PSU, get the Super Flower Amazon 450 watt instead. The 6870 only needs a good 400 watt PSU.

True. Get amazon 450w. Don't worry about 450w. OP,I have 6870 on dells 375w Psu and it works perfectly.

Tij da feen

Should of mentioned that I would of put the 450w Amazon in but it was out of stock. You could bump it up to the 550w which will cost a bit more but will leave you more headroom for upgrades in the future.

sean321

Thanks

I was wondering why it wouldn't show up on the drop down list lol.

I'll pop the 550 in at the moment but I'll keep checking back on the stock level before I order it. If its there I will add it instead.

Andy!!

Thanks for that Mr.Generic, scary food for thought indeed!

bordo33

I think intel CPUs are better than AMD but my friend thinks AMD is better now.

theidiots

Get an AMD CPU if you are tight on budget. This talk of AMD processors not been great is absolute rubbish. A x4 965 black edition is actually better than an i3 for gaming believe it or not. I have a PC with a x4 965 processor and is excellent in games, especially in battlefield 3. It has not behindered my expierence in any way. Friend has an i3 and actually see a better performance with the x4 965 black edition, especially when overclocked to 4.1 GHZ

Its only like at 150FPS with a monster graphics card is when Intel will outpass AMD.


Get an AMD x4 740 and a 7770 if your tight on a budget. CPU will do you for a good two years or longer.

And also any game on the 7770 will play at max settings currently out now at 30-40FPS. You can drop the resolution to 1600 to get over the 40 FPS mark or turn down one or two settings, not all of them to get 40 FPS at 1080P. If you turn post fx down to medium on Far Cry 3 I get 40 FPS at 1080P with the 7770

theidiots

Tij da feen wrote: »

Item|Price
4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€15.18
Hitachi DESKSTAR 7K1000.C 500GB, 16MB, SATA II, 8,9cm (3,5")|€51.71
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€32.19
Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2, 430 Watt|€41.17
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Box, Sockel AM3|€85.28
ASRock 970DE3/U3S3, AM3+, ATX|€55.62
XFX RADEON HD 6870 925M 1GB DDR5, 2 x MINI-DP, 2 x DVI, 1 x HDMI|€149.56
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€449.70

The case you listed has no fans installed. I forgot about the price drop on the Phenom II X4, makes a lot more sense on your budget. The 6870 has a good bit more power than the 7770, the 6870 will run Skyrim on near high settings.

A 7770 will run Skyrim on max settings at 1080P at like 40 FPS

IrishMetalhead

why are you two replying to a 5 month old thread? also amd only have a bad rep is. becuae of how much of a mess bulldozer was, piledriver cpu's are actually good for gaming aswell espiecally in games that can use more than 4 threads in which they actually beat the 3570K but still all comes down to personal prefernce, personally i would go for a 3570K over a FX-8350 because majority of games out now runs better on it but I would definatly go with a FX-8320 over a non K i5 since it overclocks, I do video editing so the extra threads would be handy and futur games will more than like start supporting more than 4 cores so it might futre proof me that little bit, like i said personal prefernces and circumstancy but when it comes to gaming builds the gpu is always more important than the cpu aslong as it dosnt bottleneck