build Keller's next computer

[Keller]

So I've been having some issues with the PC I built back in '07 and sort of just want to start over. I think it's just the graphics card, but I built it 3 years ago with (now) 4 year old parts. I think I could significantly improve the performance for a modest investment.

I would use it exclussively for entertainment. I don't need the mother of all PCs, and I am looking to keep costs modest (soft cap of less than $1000).

I can physcially put the thing together and install the OS/software, but I need someone else with prior experience to determine what components I should include. So, if you've got some time on your hands I would appreciate if anyone could spend 10 minutes building a decent rig from the bottom-up.

Thanks,
Keller

[AnticorRifling]

Great you're going to start another debate thread. This mobo greater than that mobo. WTF why would you use that chipset?! Fuck you I said this graphics card is superior. Dude trust me I've been in computers for XYZ years I KNOW what I'm talking about. Bitch sit down I have newegg.com on my favorites and I get the tigerdirect newsletter stfu! etc etc etc. Oh yeah don't use that website because I HEARD it was shit though I've not ordered from it, I do have a cousin that used this site though and it was pro so go there or be gay.

[Parkbandit]

Look up the thread of my new PC.. I posted all of the specs. I can run 3 windows of WoW at ultra video settings and still maintain 60fps. It's beast.

[Celephais]

I don't think I'll have time to go on newegg and pick out individual parts but these questions will help anyone that's going to help you.

Do you need to buy a monitor/OS/Keyboard/Mouse/Case?

Form factor preferences? Noise concerns? (if so it might be worth saving some of that capital for some zalman products). Overclock preferences? Data storage concerns (lots of media? or just games/documents?) any desire for RAID to ensure you don't lose any of it?

My basic build would be
i7 920
DX11 GPU (which means ATI right now), don't get the top of the line
2x 1-2TB HDDs RAID1
1 lower end SSD
you probably won't need more than 4gb of ram, depends on what you do.
500W PSU is probably good.

[AnticorRifling]

Get a case with flames on it so you're haulin ass in your game chair.

[Cephalopod]

Just as a personal preference, I've found the AMD processors kick a lot of ass and run a hell of a lot cheaper than the Intel processors.

I think PB's final rig is an AMD, iirc.

[Cephalopod]

And it's possible that by referring to PB's 'final rig', I'm making an old joke.

[Celephais]

Just as a personal preference, I've found the AMD processors kick a lot of ass and run a hell of a lot cheaper than the Intel processors.

I think PB's final rig is an AMD, iirc.
Yeah this is personal preference, there's no killer feature of one or the other. I look more to future proofing than raw performance, which is why I say the DX11 cards.

If you really want to have a kick ass system, get one of those 120hz monitors and a nvidia card and do some 3d gaming! Or get 3 monitors and do some hydravision gaming w/ an ATI card (the 6 monitor setups sorta suck IMO, bezels are too large).

[Keller]

Look up the thread of my new PC.. I posted all of the specs. I can run 3 windows of WoW at ultra video settings and still maintain 60fps. It's beast.

Nice.

Thanks.

[Gan]

Look up the thread of my new PC.. I posted all of the specs. I can run 3 windows of WoW at ultra video settings and still maintain 60fps. It's beast.

Lazy fucker could at least post the damn link...

[radamanthys]

I don't think I'll have time to go on newegg and pick out individual parts but these questions will help anyone that's going to help you.

Do you need to buy a monitor/OS/Keyboard/Mouse/Case?

Form factor preferences? Noise concerns? (if so it might be worth saving some of that capital for some zalman products). Overclock preferences? Data storage concerns (lots of media? or just games/documents?) any desire for RAID to ensure you don't lose any of it?

My basic build would be
i7 920
DX11 GPU (which means ATI right now), don't get the top of the line
2x 1-2TB HDDs RAID1
1 lower end SSD
you probably won't need more than 4gb of ram, depends on what you do.
500W PSU is probably good.

Cel: Tom's says the i5-750 benches around the same as the i7-920 for $80 less. What what, in the butt.


If you're looking for under $1000, peripheral need would be a big factor in what parts for the price.

If you're just replacing your core, start with a processor. Then pick an ASUS motherboard for that processor because ASUS rocks (and it's easier to compare features of different boards from one company). Certain features might stick out at you, like usb 3.0 ports or SATA 6.0, which might be nice to have in the coming years. Pick some RAM that goes with that board. Add a video card (I'm enjoying my Radeon 5770 just fine @$150). Easy process, there.

If I were to build a core on a budget right now, I'd go with an i5-750 on a p7p55 motherboard. I'd get 4 gb (maybe 8) of DDR3 1600. Add a Radeon 5770.

CPU = ~200
MOBO = ~150
4GB RAM = 100 (8gb RAM = 220)
VID= 150

That's 600 there. Add Storage (Cel's suggestion is good- if you have 1TB of important data and money to burn on a decent SSD, otherwise if you wanna go cheap, a single mechanical drive has done people fine for years, and still will [hell, keep your existing drives]), HID(keyboard/mouse), a case/PSU (500w is fine), monitor (as HUGE as you want it), and whatever else you feel like throwing in there (to preference) and you'd have a nice machine for (relatively) cheap. (extra parenthetical remark)

[Sean of the Thread]

PB had a nice rig. Tailor it or your own at cyberpower. Just pay the extra for safe shipping.

[Celephais]

Cel: Tom's says the i5-750 benches around the same as the i7-920 for $80 less. What what, in the butt.
Yeah it's probably a waste to get the 920, I'm kind of a sucker for future proofing my MB and then waiting so long to upgrade the CPU that I need a new MB. I also like a ton of RAM, so the extra lanes you get w/ the i7 are important to me, but for most users, i5 was meant to be the mainstream. (that and you get that sweet single core auto-overclocking turbo thingie)

It's kind of hard to answer his question without knowing his circumstances, there's a lot of factors in how he uses the machine if he actually wants "the best deal". Telling us it's used "Exclusively for entertainment" isn't really telling us anything.

[Liagala]

Telling us it's used "Exclusively for entertainment" isn't really telling us anything.

Porn. Duh.

[Celephais]

Porn. Duh.
I was actually thinking he just wanted a USB powered symbian.

[Liagala]

I was actually thinking he just wanted a USB powered sybian.

Nah. Nowhere near enough power through a USB. Erm... I mean... um...

[AnticorRifling]

Nah. Nowhere near enough power through a USB. Erm... I mean... um...

Just because you've graduated to using my charger's engine to power yours doesn't mean Keller can't start small and work his way up.

[radamanthys]

Nah. Nowhere near enough power through a USB. Erm... I mean... um...

That's what USB 3.0 is for! It supplies 1.21 giggawatts of power to external devices.

[Clove]

So I've been having some issues with the PC I built back in '07 and sort of just want to start over. I think it's just the graphics card, but I built it 3 years ago with (now) 4 year old parts. I think I could significantly improve the performance for a modest investment.

I would use it exclussively for entertainment. I don't need the mother of all PCs, and I am looking to keep costs modest (soft cap of less than $1000).

I can physcially put the thing together and install the OS/software, but I need someone else with prior experience to determine what components I should include. So, if you've got some time on your hands I would appreciate if anyone could spend 10 minutes building a decent rig from the bottom-up.

Thanks,
KellerIma assume your OS, Optical, HDD(s), Monitor, Keyboard/Mouse and enclosure are all A-OK.

MSI P55-GD65 Mainboard 139.99
i5 750 2.66Ghz Lynnfield 95W Quadcore 199.00
Corsair CMPS V-550VX PSU 89.99
4GB (2x-2GB) DDR3-1333 DRAM Crucial CT2KIT25664BA1339 104.99
Diamond 5870PE51G Radeon HD5870 419.00

953.96 plus shipping and tax. I think there's a rebate available for the mainboard.

Should entertain the fuck out of you.

[Anebriated]

Rather than start my own thread ill just piggyback this one. Other than the usual suspects(manufacturer, tigerdirect, newegg) is there a good spot to find deals on laptops? Have been looking into some since I got the OK from work to replace my desktop with a laptop. Heres the one I was leaning towards. $889... dude i got a dell(maybe).

PROCESSORS NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-430M 2.26GHz (2.53GHz Turbo Mode, 3M cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English edit
MEMORY 4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 at 1066MHz edit
HARD DRIVE 500GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) edit
VIDEO CARD ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 4570, 512MB edit
HD DISPLAY 15.6” High Definition (720p) LED Display with TrueLife™ and Camera edit
WIRELESS CARDS Dell 1501 Wireless-N edit
KEYBOARD Standard Keyboard edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 85 Whr Lithium Ion Battery (9 cell) edit
BLUETOOTH Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth Internal (2.1) edit
OPTICAL DRIVE 8X Slot Load CD/DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive) edit
SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.2 edit

[Drew]

If that really is from Dell, don't buy from them. They go cheap on the power source, cheap on the MOBO and cheap on anything else they can. My home PC is one currently, it was a gift, and I don't recommend them.

[Anebriated]

yeah I just have to keep it under a certain amount for work and I cant do that by going with the better companies and upgraded machine. had to settle for an upgraded dell unless i can find lower prices elsewhere.

[pabstblueribbon]

MSI 790FX-GD70 AM3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard
Model #:790FX-GD70
$167.99

Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready
Model #:EA750
$109.99

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
Model #:HDZ965FBGMBOX
$180.99

OCZ Agility 2 SandForce-1200 SSD
Don't think they're for sale yet, but probably best performance/price. Should be coming soon. Supposed to be a slight downgrade of the SF1500 which is enterprice level. I'm guessing around 250 300? or...

Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 214.95
Model #:SSDSA2M080G2XXX

Patriot Viper II Sector 5 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop
Model #:PVV34G2000LLKB
$214.99
* Probably the best memory out there as far as speed and timing goes.

MSI 24X DVD Burner Black SATA Model DH-24AAS-17 R
Model #:DH-24AAS-17 R
$33.99

Depending on how much of a gamer you are, how much you want to spend, and how you like your graphics, I'd choose between:
High end:

XFX HD-587A-ZND9 Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB XXX Edition 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported ...
Model #:HD-587A-ZND9
$429.99 *hehe

Mid range:
AMD 5850 $299
AMD 5770 $159
AMD 4890 $199

One of those, you'll have to do some reasearch. Or you could go Nvidia. Now just pick a case, a decent heatsink for the cpu (Thermalright), large slow HD for storage, and I *think* that should just about cover it. I always forget something though.

You're looking at about $1100 or a little over, depending on what you choose. Everything in this list is high quality components though.

[Celephais]

$220 is a lot to pay for 4GB of DDR3, I am a fan of Patriot memory, but the performance gain will not really be noticed over a $130-150 set. That's one of the first places I would cut back on your list. Especially if he doesn't plan on overclocking.

[pabstblueribbon]

True dat.

[Keller]

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

As my computer became increasingly less stable last night, I just purchased a new one from cyberpowerpc with my Anticor and PB as my personal consultants on vent.

The annoying thing is that I placed the order last night (Tuesday) and paid for expedited production (within 3 days). They called today to tell me it would be ready to ship by Monday. I, knowing how to count to three, was disgruntles and explained that 3 days were up on Friday. They told me that the first day doesn't count. What a crock of shit.

[Kitsun]

Another laptop piggyback since Keller got his order in...

I'm on the road a lot for my job now. I was going to buy a desktop but since I'm traveling and still like gaming, I'm going for a laptop. I've been eyeballing an Alienware M15x just because it looks awesome. I've got my bonus and about $3,000 kicking around. My only hesitation comes with the freaking sheer bulk of the Alienware. I can imagine getting sick of lugging it around and then not being able to game on the road anyway. I'd like to be able to play like L4D2, SC2, the new Diablo and shit on it.

Any other laptop brands I should scout out?

[Keller]

The Eagle has landed!

I just got email confirmation that my PC arrived. Now I REALLY don't want to keep working this afternoon.

Fuck!

[Inspire]

I'll never buy another laptop.

If you want to game, in any sense, they don't last.

[Drew]

Another laptop piggyback since Keller got his order in...

I'm on the road a lot for my job now. I was going to buy a desktop but since I'm traveling and still like gaming, I'm going for a laptop. I've been eyeballing an Alienware M15x just because it looks awesome. I've got my bonus and about $3,000 kicking around. My only hesitation comes with the freaking sheer bulk of the Alienware. I can imagine getting sick of lugging it around and then not being able to game on the road anyway. I'd like to be able to play like L4D2, SC2, the new Diablo and shit on it.

Any other laptop brands I should scout out?

I'd probably 50/50 it. Spend 1500 on a pretty darn nice home PC and 1500 on a 15" laptop. You WILL get tired of lugging a big one around IMO, and blizzard has never really pushed the boundaries with their games so I'm thinking that a 1500 dollar laptop will run them.

[Inspire]

Here's what I did... a year ago?


Intel Corporation Intel® Boxed Core® i7 Processor 920 | (229.99) 229.99
samsung 22x dvdrw sata | 24.99
Seagate 1TB 3.5" Sata 7200 RPM | 99.99
MS OEM Vista Home Premium SP1 64 MB OE | 109.99
Asus Computer International P6T X58 1366 ATX Motherboard | (229.99) 229.99
e-GeForce GTX 260 896MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 Graphics Card (Core 216) | 194.99
Corsair 6GB Kit DDR3 tr3x6g1600 | 94.99
Tax | 66.48
Xion Fans | 4.98
Corsair 650W Modular ATX PSU | 99.99
Raidmax Smilodon ATX Case with 500W Power Supply | 89.99

I've since upgraded the power supply to a Corsair 950w something power efficient supply and bought another graphics card, same thing. I don't SLI but could, instead I run 3 22" Acer's with a 32" flat panel connected (but wall mounted).

[Celephais]

You only use the Table tag once per whole table, enter seperates additional rows, like this:
Intel Corporation Intel® Boxed Core® i7 Processor 920 | (229.99) 229.99
samsung 22x dvdrw sata | 24.99
Seagate 1TB 3.5" Sata 7200 RPM | 99.99
MS OEM Vista Home Premium SP1 64 MB OE | 109.99
Asus Computer International P6T X58 1366 ATX Motherboard | (229.99) 229.99
e-GeForce GTX 260 896MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 Graphics Card (Core 216) | 194.99
Corsair 6GB Kit DDR3 tr3x6g1600 | 94.99
Tax | 66.48
Xion Fans | 4.98
Corsair 650W Modular ATX PSU | 99.99
Raidmax Smilodon ATX Case with 500W Power Supply | 89.99