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Help with Gaming PC build

mcgarnicle · 2013-01-04 11:17:15

Hi everyone... Looking to build a PC in the near future. Hoping you guys could give me some tips as it will be my first build. I would like to do a fair bit of gaming on it and am planning on moving away from consoles so this will be my main entertainment platform. The type of games I mostly like are RTS games so things…

04-01-2013 11:17am

#1

mcgarnicle

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Hi everyone... Looking to build a PC in the near future. Hoping you guys could give me some tips as it will be my first build. I would like to do a fair bit of gaming on it and am planning on moving away from consoles so this will be my main entertainment platform. The type of games I mostly like are RTS games so things like Starcraft 2 and Company of Heroes along with the likes of Mass Effect etc. In addition I will be using it for HD movie watching.

1. What is your budget? [€1600-€1800]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming (Company of Heroes 2, Starcraft 2/Watching movies (HD)/Internet/General stuff]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [No]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [24'/27']

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.] - Yes, all of these.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes - But would be slightly wary]

8. How can you pay? [Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [ASAP :-) ]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Not required]

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#2 04-01-2013 12:54pm

marco_polo

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Just a starting point to get the ball rolling but something like the following would be pretty nice. Just went with a 24" Dell Ultrasharp but a Catleap is a possibility if you wanted to go for a 27" 2560X1440 monitor.

Item|Price
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€102.73
Super-Flower SF550P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€76.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€125.99
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€205.99
8GB G.Skill RipJawsX PC3-14900U CL10|€41.83
Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev.A (BW)|€39.59
Club 3D Radeon HD 7950 royalKing, 3GB GDDR5, AMD Radeon HD 7950, PCI- Express|€286.86
Crucial M4 256GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€176.24
WD Caviar Green 2TB SATA 6Gb/s|€87.57
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R|€14.64
Akasa AK-ICR-07 Interner 6-Port Card Reader 8,89cm (3,5") , schwarz|€9.70
Samsung SH-224BB bare schwarz|€17.14
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€82.05
Dell UltraSharp U2412M (schwarz)|€253.75
Logitech X-530 5.1 System|€62.00
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1602.06

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#3 04-01-2013 1:04pm

Serephucus

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Right, here's something to start with:

Item|Price
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€205.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€125.99
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€102.73
Super-Flower SF550P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€76.99
8GB Corsair XMS3 PC3-10667U CL9-9-9-24|€34.00
EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW Signature2, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€359.56
Crucial M4 256GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€176.24
WD Caviar Green 3000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€124.94
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€82.05
Corsair Hydro Series H100i|€106.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1414.47

This leaves plenty of room for a decent monitor.

There's a 256GB SSD for your games and applications, then a 3TB drive for general storage. There's an OC-friendly processor, motherboard, and cooler included as well.

I've also thrown in a quiet case as well. Combined with the SSD and H100i, it should be a very powerful and quiet rig.

There's a GTX 670 in there for graphics. A lot of people here will say the 7950 is better, and they're not far off (though it's debatable at the moment with AMD's spotty drivers) but it's really up to you which you prefer. This is one of those points that requires your own research.

The next point is the monitor. Between 24" and 27, you have to decide whether you want 1920x1080, or 2560x1440. The latter is only available on 27" monitors, but put quite a bit more strain on a GPU than 19x10. There are people that love them (Tea Bag), and people that find the front too small (myself and Dcully, I believe). If you want a good 24" monitor, I'd recommend Dell's U2412M. For a 27" you could look at a Catleap (cheap Korean monitor, great value for money) It depends whether you want a glossy / matte panel, or the ability to mount it. What you want to make sure you get is an IPS monitor though. Stay away from TN.

Edit: Heh, sniped.

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#4 04-01-2013 1:14pm

mcgarnicle

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Thanks guys... Both seem like great set ups :-)

I will read a little about the Catleap monitor... Just from looking through this forum I've seen a lot of people are going for them. I'd be wary of buying something from Korea via Ebay though... are they reliable as I can't see me having much come back if it goes wrong? I've heard good things about the Dell so that might be a safer bet for me.

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#5 04-01-2013 2:41pm

marco_polo

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mcgarnicle wrote: »

Thanks guys... Both seem like great set ups :-)

I will read a little about the Catleap monitor... Just from looking through this forum I've seen a lot of people are going for them. I'd be wary of buying something from Korea via Ebay though... are they reliable as I can't see me having much come back if it goes wrong? I've heard good things about the Dell so that might be a safer bet for me.

I don't know a whole lot about them other than it isn't a risk free investment, so the Dell is the certainly the safer option, on the other hand the Catleaps are really really nice panels . A few forum regulars that own one frequent the dedicated Catleap thread here so they would be much better able to answer any questions you have.

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#6 04-01-2013 4:09pm

mcgarnicle

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Just as an aside, is there any reason you guys recommend Windows 7 over Windows 8? I've been using OS X for the last few years and this will be my first windows system in a while (apart from the old work PC).

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#7 04-01-2013 4:14pm

Serephucus

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Oh dear...

Google around for comparisons. It's a bit on the big side to attempt to go into...

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#8 04-01-2013 4:20pm

mcgarnicle

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Ah ok, sorry :-) Will do a spot of research.

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#9 04-01-2013 4:21pm

marco_polo

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mcgarnicle wrote: »

Just as an aside, is there any reason you guys recommend Windows 7 over Windows 8? I've been using OS X for the last few years and this will be my first windows system in a while (apart from the old work PC).

Not really I am actually using 8 myself and don't mind it at all anymore, but I work under the default assumption that people won't like it . If you haven't been using Win 7 at all for the past few years then 8 probably won't bother you at all.

There is actually one very clear advantage to the Win 8 system builder version over the Windows 7 one, and that is that is that it is not forever tied to the first machine you install it on, you are allowed to transfer it to another PC that you own (It can only be activated on one at a time of course).

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#10 07-01-2013 4:56pm

mcgarnicle

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Item|Price
FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl|€102.73
Super-Flower SF550P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold|€76.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4, Sockel 1155, ATX|€125.99
Intel Core i5-3570K Box, LGA1155|€205.99
8GB G.Skill RipJawsX PC3-14900U CL10|€41.83
Crucial M4 256GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5")|€176.24
LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R|€14.64
Akasa AK-ICR-07 Interner 6-Port Card Reader 8,89cm (3,5") , schwarz|€9.70
Samsung SH-224BB bare schwarz|€17.14
Dell UltraSharp U2412M (schwarz)|€253.75
EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW Signature2, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€359.56
WD Caviar Green 3000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€124.94
Corsair Hydro Series H100i|€106.99
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€1635.48

Hey guys, thanks for your help. I had a look through both suggestions and cobbled this together? Does this look okay to you? Am I leaving anything out?

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#11 07-01-2013 5:04pm

marco_polo

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256GB Crucial M4 is on a flash deal from for €141 amazon right now if you can grab it fast (77% gone already)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/deals-offers-savings/b/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&linkCode=ur2&node=350613011&pf_rd_i=468294&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=1713-22-1972-21&pf_rd_p=289986287&pf_rd_r=0YWSF3Q95ZKM7V76A7FH&pf_rd_s=right-csm-2&pf_rd_t=101

Aside from that looks good, missing Windows or are you sourcing elsewhere?

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#12 07-01-2013 5:16pm

mcgarnicle

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marco_polo wrote: »

256GB Crucial M4 is on a flash deal from for €141 amazon right now if you can grab it fast (77% gone already)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/deals-offers-savings/b/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&linkCode=ur2&node=350613011&pf_rd_i=468294&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&tag=1713-22-1972-21&pf_rd_p=289986287&pf_rd_r=0YWSF3Q95ZKM7V76A7FH&pf_rd_s=right-csm-2&pf_rd_t=101

Aside from that looks good, missing Windows or are you sourcing elsewhere?

Hey marco, I just picked up the 256GB flash on amazon now. Thanks a million for the heads up, you just saved me a nice few quid :-)

Oops, sorry, I left windows out. Am gonna give Windows 8 a shot as I have heard some good things about it.

This version is the right one I hope?

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#13 07-01-2013 5:19pm

marco_polo

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mcgarnicle wrote: »

Hey marco, I just picked up the 256GB flash on amazon now. Thanks a million for the heads up, you just saved me a nice few quid :-)

Oops, sorry, I left windows out. Am gonna give Windows 8 a shot as I have heard some good things about it.

This version is the right one I hope?

Thats the one, the german one would actually be fine as well, as you could just download the english version ISO from digital river and just use the product key.

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#14 07-01-2013 5:23pm

Serephucus

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English and German versions are actually the same price. (At least for the moment) So just as easy to use the English one.

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#15 07-01-2013 5:26pm

marco_polo

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Serephucus wrote: »

English and German versions are actually the same price. (At least for the moment) So just as easy to use the English one.

I meant to add "if the English version if it is out of stock when you order"

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#16 07-01-2013 5:27pm

Serephucus

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Ah, good point.

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#17 14-01-2013 12:13pm

nickbrun

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Hey guys,

I am also planning a rig project probably for later in the year and have found the thread very useful in getting an idea of what I need and what fits my budget.
What I was also wondering is what would be best to run on a gaming rig, Windows 8 or Ubuntu 12.10 "Quantal Quetzal".

Thanks,

Nick

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#18 14-01-2013 12:26pm

Tij da feen

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Windows 7/8 for a Gaming Rig. Running Linux on a Gaming Rig isn't a viable option as there aren't many games that can actually run on it. My personal choice would be Windows 7 but Windows 8 isn't that bad of a choice either. You can always dual-boot them together so that you can use Ubuntu when not gaming.

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#19 14-01-2013 12:37pm

nickbrun

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Cheers for that.

I'll post my shopping list closer to purchase time to get views on what could be upgraded and if I've left anything out.

Regards,

Nick

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#20 14-01-2013 2:07pm

nickbrun

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Just wondering if you are adding a sound card and if so what are the suggestions?

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#21 29-01-2013 2:17pm

nickbrun

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Hi guys,

Just wondering what you think of the below. Am I missing anything for a more than decent gaming rig?
Already have a decent monitor.

ASUS P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT, Socket 1155, ATX, DDR3 1 €198.93

EVGA GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature 2, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express 1 € 471.44

Intel Core i7-3770K Box, LGA1155 1 €293.54

8GB G.Skill RipJawsX PC3-14900U CL10 2 €91.10

FRACTAL DESIGN Define R4 Black Pearl 1 €97.00

Super-Flower SF550P14XE Golden Green Pro 80plus gold 1 €75.61

Crucial M4 256GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") 1 €175.34

LogiLink Wireless LAN 300 Mbps PCI Karte 802.11n 2T2R 1 €14.64

Akasa AK-ICR-07 Interner 6-Port Card Reader 8,89cm (3,5") , schwarz 1 € 9.62

Samsung SH-224BB bare schwarz 1 €17.14

WD Caviar Green 3000GB, SATA 6Gb/s 1 €123.89

Corsair Hydro Series H100i 1 €102.99

MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch 1 €85.31

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#22 29-01-2013 3:02pm

marco_polo

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If this is mostly just a gaming rig there is really no point in spending the extra €90 over the i5-3570K as you won't see any improvements in gaming performance because the do not tend to take advantage of hyperthreading.

As to the GPU, unless you went out and got a 1440p monitor it is also overkill, even the HD7970 GHz edition beats in most games and is considerably cheaper.

If you have only a single 1080/1200p monitor there's really no need to go beyond a GTX660Ti / HD7950, and even they are close to overkill at that resolution.

I'd be inclined to substitute in the i5-3570K and HIS HD 7970 IceQ X² GHz edition because of reviews like this.

Although I'd go as low as this on the GPU side if you only have a 1080p/1200p monitor.

http://lb.hardwareversand.de/3072+MB/66982/Club+3D+Radeon+HD+7950+royalKing%2C+3GB+GDDR5%2C+AMD+Radeon+HD+7950%2C+PCI-+Express.article

The motherboard spend might be a bit high as well, you can get decent overclocking board from €100 upwards, but it depends what other sort of features you want really (future dual GPU possiblilties etc?). I think I'd want a a very good reason to be getting something more expensive than the Asrock Extreme3 or Extreme4

http://lb.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/67918/ASRock+Z77+Extreme3%2C+Sockel+1155%2C+ATX.article

http://lb.hardwareversand.de/DDR3/57624/ASRock+Z77+Extreme4%2C+Sockel+1155%2C+ATX.article

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#23 29-01-2013 3:43pm

nickbrun

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Cheers Marco,

Always nice when the price comes down. Getting married in April so this project will have to wait until after that. I'll probably put up a revised list then and hopefully you guys can offer more helpful options.

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