Building a gaming computer, need some opinions.?
I’ve saved up about 1,300 dollars, and I’m looking to build a new computer. I’ve been doing some shopping around, but I’ve been getting so many different options it’s making my head spin! So I’m looking for some opinions, maybe a few standouts to look for or avoid, a little guidance towards my perfect machine. Primarily, it will be for gaming. I could care less about sound, so I’m not planning on dropping a lot of money for that. And lights in the case are nice, but I’m not hoping for a fireworks display every time I push a button. The main things I’m looking for are high-end graphics (I’d like to play games like Assassin’s Creed and Spore on full settings) and fast response, lots of processor power (after dealing with a computer that would take 15 m
To get the most performance per dollar you spend, I suggest going with an AMD build. The high-end AMD processors and motherboards will leave you with plenty of money for a big bad video card and plenty of DDR3 memory for a system that can pay the bills without sacrificing processing power. Many people will say that an Intel system will give you better performance, and they’re right, however you’ll have to pay a lot more for it too. The processors and motherboards with comparable speeds are nearly twice as much as the AMD equivalent (or close enough to equivalent) and will only give you slightly better performance. I’m also assuming that you will require a monitor, which will take a part of your budget. Here are my suggestions for a build that will be able to run all the current games at max (or near max) settings with good frame rates:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor – $169
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard – $115
Graphics Card: Radeon HD 5770 – $165 (this is a great card that has DirectX 11! It doesn’t take a lot of power and you can throw in another card in crossfire if you feel like it later)
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 – $109
PSU: Antec CP-850 850W Continuous Power CPX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC – $110 (this will handle the extra radeon 5770 too if you put one in later, no need to upgrade the PSU)
Hard Drive: HITACHI Deskstar HD31000 IDK/7K (0S00163) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive – $90
Optical Drive: HP 24X Multiformat DVD Writer Black SATA Model 1260i – $29
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case – $60
Monitor: Hanns·G HH-281HPB Black 28″ 3ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor – $320
The monitor is a 28″ and may be overkill, you can save $100 by dropping to a 24.6 inch. If you don’t need a monitor at all then spend the extra cash on another Radeon HD 5770 and another 4GB of memory. It will be about $35 dollars for shipping. You can get the motherboard and CPU as a bundle deal too and save another 30 bucks on newegg.com.
There are my suggestions but you can check around and tweak it as you see fit.
If you don’t need a monitor and want to save but don’t like having to shop around, I’ve got you covered. Here’s two links to a combo deal that will give you everything for a full set up. I’ve included an AMD build and an intel build –
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311875 <~~~ AMD Build $1100 total, so you'd still have enough for a monitor if you need one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311768 <~~~this $1232 Intel build doesn't have the superior 5770 cards but features 2gb more memory.
Tom's Hardware is a great site that will give you plenty of reviews to make a decision on what parts you want to throw into your machine. Here's a couple that will help you pick the processor and the video card, which you specifically mentioned in your question, as well as a link to a power supply wattage calculator to make sure you don't end up buying a PSU that won't be able to cut it and could potentially harm your new system. Do your shopping at newegg.com to save some money too. They often have combo deals!
Happy building!
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2521.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu,2520.html
http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
