A build for SOURCE Games.

tcjpmcd

My father and I are currently in the process of gathering parts together and what not to build a decent gaming computer. I've also thought about building my own not to high end but decent enough build afterwards.

I'm looking to play mainly source games (Counter Strike Source, CS:GO, TF2, L4D Etc..) And the possibly BF3 on medium to high settings with good frames (Over 30).

Anyone be kind enough to recommend me good parts? My budget would be estimately around 500-550€. I don't need a monitor as I've got a decent Samsung that's capable of running high res. I need windows (I'm hoping for 7, 8 is a waste for gaming.)

Thank you!

beno619

I threw in windows 8 as theres no price difference.
This Intel build should Should play BF3 at high fps at ultra/high and wont have any problem with Sourse games,
also allows you to upgrade to current gen i5/i7 although the motherboard does not support overclocking.

Item|Price
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1000GB, SATA 6Gb/s|€66.14
Intel Pentium G860 Box, LGA1155|€56.64
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€33.92
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€45.59
Microsoft Windows 8 64-Bit (SB-Version)|€82.94
ASRock B75 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€66.14
8GB-Kit Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333 CL9|€40.48
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850, 1GB GDDR5|€159.59
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€570.43

marco_polo

The one major pro for Windows 8 over 7 is that the System builder version license can be transfered to a new PC, so I have stuck it in for now feel free to change if you prefer.

Aiming for €500 this would play any source game perfectly, and as has a very capable graphics card it should manage battlefield at close to highest settings, despite its low looking price the CPU won't hold you back at all at in BF3 @1920X1080 (Its quite a bit better than that Athlon II X2 on the chart).

Item|Price
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.73
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€33.92
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€45.59
ASRock H61M-DGS, Sockel 1155, mATX|€38.84
4GB-Kit Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333|€21.51
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G550 Box, LGA1155|€37.12
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850, 1GB GDDR5|€159.59
WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 3 6Gb/s|€50.68
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€13.44
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€505.41

tcjpmcd

marco_polo wrote: »

The one major pro for Windows 8 over 7 is that the System builder version license can be transfered to a new PC, so I have stuck it in for now feel free to change if you prefer.

Aiming for €500 this would play any source game perfectly, and as has a very capable graphics card it should manage battlefield at close to highest settings, despite its low looking price the CPU won't hold you back at all at in BF3 @1920X1080 (Its quite a bit better than that Athlon II X2 on the chart).

Item|Price
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.73
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€33.92
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€45.59
ASRock H61M-DGS, Sockel 1155, mATX|€38.84
4GB-Kit Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333|€21.51
Intel Celeron Dual-Core G550 Box, LGA1155|€37.12
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850, 1GB GDDR5|€159.59
WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 3 6Gb/s|€50.68
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€13.44
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€505.41

Thank you. Look's like it could be quite a nice build and you say it will run BF3 on nearly the highest setting which is a +.

spix

For source games, cpu is key, you don't need an expensive graphics card to run any of those.

I have both the 7770 and 650 ti which easily handle 30fps at mid settings on bf3. The 650 ti can actually stay above 30 on ultra. On Auto settings (mix of med-high) both of these cards play bf3 perfectly at 1920x1080.

You also NEED at least an i3 dual core with hyperthreading to run bf3 smoothly, I tried playing it with a g850 and it runs very poorly, even bottlenecking the 7770.

An intel i5 paired with the 7770 or 650 ti would suit your needs perfectly.

marco_polo

spix wrote: »

For source games, cpu is key, you don't need an expensive graphics card to run any of those.

I have both the 7770 and 650 ti which easily handle 30fps at mid settings on bf3. The 650 ti can actually stay above 30 on ultra. On Auto settings (mix of med-high) both of these cards play bf3 perfectly at 1920x1080.

You also NEED at least an i3 dual core with hyperthreading to run bf3 smoothly, I tried playing it with a g850 and it runs very poorly, even bottlenecking the 7770.

An intel i5 paired with the 7770 or 650 ti would suit your needs perfectly.

Hmm interesting I don't play it myself so I didn't realise that the CPU was so critical for BF3 multiplayer, reading up a bit it seems a quad core is almost mandatory, makes sense I suppose if there can be up to 63 others running around the map.

Since you seem to play a good bit spix, do you reckon there is anything to be said for an 955 BE?, or would you still go i5/7770 (Which would be a bit more expensive as the cheapest i5 is about 160 euro, so even looking at the cheapest H61 mobo you would still be looking at 200 or so).

I do like the idea of keeping the HD7850 if possible should the OP branch out beyond the listed games , although it is pulling me slightly over budget. The advantage of this one i think is that it is not too expensive right now and should do the job reasonably well, and also has a nice Steamroller upgrade path available down the line, as well as future overclocking possibilities.

Item|Price
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.73
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€33.92
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€45.59
ASRock 970 Pro3, AM3+, ATX|€61.94
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Box, Sockel AM3, 125W|€78.33
4GB-Kit Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€21.51
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850, 1GB GDDR5|€159.59
WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 3 6Gb/s|€50.68
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€13.44
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€569.72

TerrorFirmer

Good CPU is essential for BF3. I was using a G620, on ultra I was getting 25-50fps in 32 man maps, on 64 maps it was unplayable. Got a 3570K and it's smooth as silk in 64 man maps at the same settings. Don't forget alot of those benches are single player ones, which is much less CPU intensive than playing online.

For the games mentioned though, the original Celeron suggestion isn't the worst. I think A G860 and 7850 is perfect.

tcjpmcd

Budget is now €650-700.

I plan to play the following:

Sleeping Dogs
Hitman: Absolution
BF3 (Single & Multiplayer)
Counter Strike Source
Counter Strike Global Offensive. (The orange box source engine)
Assassins Creed III
Possibly others.

Opinions on this card? http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-evga-gtx-650-28nm-pcie-30-%28x16%29-5000mhz-gpu-1058mhz-cores-384-dvi-mhdmi

Thanks!

tcjpmcd

Just like to thank people so far for the feedback. I've got another question.

Would it be possible to to obtain a decent Intel i5 (I'm personally not going to overclock) Along with a decent 2GB Card on a strict budget of €700?

Cheers!

marco_polo

In a word, yes.

Revision number 3

Item|Price
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.31
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€33.36
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€44.15
ASRock ZH77 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€69.58
2 x 4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€37.26
Intel Core i5-3470 Box, LGA1155|€168.91
MSI R7850 TwinFrozr 2GD5/OC, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€178.56
WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 3 6Gb/s|€51.23
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€14.65
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€702.00

tcjpmcd

marco_polo wrote: »

In a word, yes.

Revision number 3

Item|Price
MS Windows 8 64bit (SB-Version) Englisch|€85.31
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€33.36
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€44.15
ASRock ZH77 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€69.58
2 x 4GB Corsair Valueselect DDR3-1333 CL9|€37.26
Intel Core i5-3470 Box, LGA1155|€168.91
MSI R7850 TwinFrozr 2GD5/OC, 2048MB DDR5, PCI-Express|€178.56
WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 3 6Gb/s|€51.23
Samsung SH-118AB schwarz|€14.65
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€702.00

Seriously just saw that card online and was thinking about it and to my luck, you added into that wonderful build. Will run it by my father to see what he thinks. Might actually consider this right here.