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Dragontrapper42

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#1 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

I've been using a laptop for a while now (HP dv6768se I got for Christmas a while back), but am finding that it is quickly getting outstripped performance wise. After poking around for a good PC, I find myself considering build a custom PC for the first time. The PC would be pretty much for gaming only, as my laptop is perfect for everything else (for my purposes, at least). Mostly games like Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, MW2 and the like being the current upper end graphics wise. So, my questions are mainly: 1) How much should a really good Gaming PC cost? and 2) Where should I get my parts? (Best Buy, specialty store, online?) The most technical I've gotten with my computer is replacing the Graphics card, Ram, and Hard Drive on my last Desktop, so forgive any naivety.

15 years ago

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#2 Sparticus247

Member since 2005 • 2368 Posts

[QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"]I've been using a laptop for a while now (HP dv6768se I got for Christmas a while back), but am finding that it is quickly getting outstripped performance wise. After poking around for a good PC, I find myself considering build a custom PC for the first time. The PC would be pretty much for gaming only, as my laptop is perfect for everything else (for my purposes, at least). Mostly games like Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, MW2 and the like being the current upper end graphics wise. So, my questions are mainly: 1) How much should a really good Gaming PC cost? and 2) Where should I get my parts? (Best Buy, specialty store, online?) The most technical I've gotten with my computer is replacing the Graphics card, Ram, and Hard Drive on my last Desktop, so forgive any naivety.

Newegg seems to be the most popular choice, as it has everything you could want computer wise. Generally they have good deals there too, at least better than most retail outlets. A decent gaming rig can cost you in the $600s area.

15 years ago

UltimateGamer95

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#3 UltimateGamer95

Member since 2006 • 4720 Posts

[QUOTE="Sparticus247"][QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"]I've been using a laptop for a while now (HP dv6768se I got for Christmas a while back), but am finding that it is quickly getting outstripped performance wise. After poking around for a good PC, I find myself considering build a custom PC for the first time. The PC would be pretty much for gaming only, as my laptop is perfect for everything else (for my purposes, at least). Mostly games like Mass Effect 2, Fallout 3, MW2 and the like being the current upper end graphics wise. So, my questions are mainly: 1) How much should a really good Gaming PC cost? and 2) Where should I get my parts? (Best Buy, specialty store, online?) The most technical I've gotten with my computer is replacing the Graphics card, Ram, and Hard Drive on my last Desktop, so forgive any naivety.

Newegg seems to be the most popular choice, as it has everything you could want computer wise. Generally they have good deals there too, at least better than most retail outlets. A decent gaming rig can cost you in the $600s area.

Newegg does indeed have the best selection of any place that I know of and also a decent computer I'd say would be around $700s mostly due to the cost of the operating system which is about $100 (but hey it's windows 7 so you can't go wrong).

15 years ago

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Member since 2003 • 2652 Posts

Really varies a lot depending on how much you want to spend. Would say ~$600 minimum for just the pc parts if you want a "good" gaming pc. Needing a case, monitors, speakers/headphones, operating system etc. make it go up to around $1,000 quickly.

Online stores are the best to buy from, by far the best prices. Only get things at retail stores if you need it that day. Newegg is good, but if you live in CA where you get taxed it doesn't offer competitive prices. $97.50 in tax doesn't sound too appealing on a $1000 order when you can buy from tigerdirect and spend $30 or less in shipping and no tax.

15 years ago

Dragontrapper42

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#5 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

thanks for the advice! just totaled up a part list I've been working on based off using Newegg where I can, and It came in at a little over $1500 including monitor, keyboard, etc. Shaved $400 off my original estimate. (I still think I might be getting ripped off somewhere...) Any suggestions about graphics cards?

15 years ago

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#6 somegtalover

Member since 2007 • 2700 Posts

umm $1500? that better be top of the line because.. a computer like mine in my sig was 1000 tell us ur parts.

15 years ago

UltimateGamer95

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#7 UltimateGamer95

Member since 2006 • 4720 Posts

[QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"]thanks for the advice! just totaled up a part list I've been working on based off using Newegg where I can, and It came in at a little over $1500 including monitor, keyboard, etc. Shaved $400 off my original estimate. (I still think I might be getting ripped off somewhere...) Any suggestions about graphics cards?

ripped off? what do you mean ripped off? :?

15 years ago

Dragontrapper42

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#8 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

umm $1500? that better be top of the line because.. a computer like mine in my sig was 1000 tell us ur parts.
somegtalover

Well, that included monitor, keyboard, mouse, wifi card, etc - the other components come in at a little over $1100: - OS: Windows 7 home premium -CPU: AMD Phenom II Deneb -Mobo: MSI - ATX Desktop AMD Phenom II -Ram: 9 GB DDR SDRAM -HDD: Seagate 1 TB -HDD 2: Seagate 500 GB -GPU: GeForce 260 GTX (Not sure about this one...) -Case: Anec Nine Hundred II -PSU: Corsair 650w ATX -CD Drive: HP 24x DVD+RW/CD-RW First time designing a computer, so forgive any SNAFU's

15 years ago

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Member since 2004 • 12552 Posts

[QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"] Well, that included monitor, keyboard, mouse, wifi card, etc - the other components come in at a little over $1100: - OS: Windows 7 home premium -CPU: AMD Phenom II Deneb -Mobo: MSI - ATX Desktop AMD Phenom II -Ram: 9 GB DDR SDRAM -HDD: Seagate 1 TB -HDD 2: Seagate 500 GB -GPU: GeForce 260 GTX (Not sure about this one...) -Case: Anec Nine Hundred II -PSU: Corsair 650w ATX -CD Drive: HP 24x DVD+RW/CD-RW First time designing a computer, so forgive any SNAFU's

The information you gave isn't overly useful. Which model Phenom II? What chipset MSI motherboard? Why 9GB of RAM, and are you SURE that isn't DDR2 or DDR3? Keeping on the RAM, if it is DDR2 or 3, which does the motherboard support (I know it doesn't support DDR)? What model Seagate drive is that? The .10 series was decent but a bit slow by today's standards, the .11 series had some very serious firmware problems, the .12 models are excellent, their ES and ES.2 models are too pricey for a desktop, and there are a few other variants out there that might not be ideal for you. The GTX 260 is also not a card I'd purchase at this point - it's one and a half API versions behind now, and given how well ATI has managed to saturate the market with DirectX 11-capable hardware, there's really no reason not to go with one of their HD5000 series cards. The Nine Hundred II case is rather frumpy in my opinion, at least while you can get a Lian-Li LANCool K-58/K-60/K-62 for as much or less than it costs. And you'll want to make sure that optical drive is SATA, if only for cable routing's sake.

15 years ago

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#10 aura_enchanted

Member since 2006 • 7942 Posts

in the event you live in canada PM me ill work out a sweet list of parts that you can mix n match with simply name a price range and anything you plan on carrying over (mouse & keys, monitor, hard rive, dvd-rom)

15 years ago

Dragontrapper42

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#11 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"] Well, that included monitor, keyboard, mouse, wifi card, etc - the other components come in at a little over $1100: - OS: Windows 7 home premium -CPU: AMD Phenom II Deneb -Mobo: MSI - ATX Desktop AMD Phenom II -Ram: 9 GB DDR SDRAM -HDD: Seagate 1 TB -HDD 2: Seagate 500 GB -GPU: GeForce 260 GTX (Not sure about this one...) -Case: Anec Nine Hundred II -PSU: Corsair 650w ATX -CD Drive: HP 24x DVD+RW/CD-RW First time designing a computer, so forgive any SNAFU's

The information you gave isn't overly useful. Which model Phenom II? What chipset MSI motherboard? Why 9GB of RAM, and are you SURE that isn't DDR2 or DDR3? Keeping on the RAM, if it is DDR2 or 3, which does the motherboard support (I know it doesn't support DDR)? What model Seagate drive is that? The .10 series was decent but a bit slow by today's standards, the .11 series had some very serious firmware problems, the .12 models are excellent, their ES and ES.2 models are too pricey for a desktop, and there are a few other variants out there that might not be ideal for you. The GTX 260 is also not a card I'd purchase at this point - it's one and a half API versions behind now, and given how well ATI has managed to saturate the market with DirectX 11-capable hardware, there's really no reason not to go with one of their HD5000 series cards. The Nine Hundred II case is rather frumpy in my opinion, at least while you can get a Lian-Li LANCool K-58/K-60/K-62 for as much or less than it costs. And you'll want to make sure that optical drive is SATA, if only for cable routing's sake.

Like Is mentioned, I've never done anything like this, so thanks for the advice. Any suggested parts list? P.S. - I live in Virginia

15 years ago

UltimateGamer95

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#12 UltimateGamer95

Member since 2006 • 4720 Posts

[QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"][QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"] Well, that included monitor, keyboard, mouse, wifi card, etc - the other components come in at a little over $1100: - OS: Windows 7 home premium -CPU: AMD Phenom II Deneb -Mobo: MSI - ATX Desktop AMD Phenom II -Ram: 9 GB DDR SDRAM -HDD: Seagate 1 TB -HDD 2: Seagate 500 GB -GPU: GeForce 260 GTX (Not sure about this one...) -Case: Anec Nine Hundred II -PSU: Corsair 650w ATX -CD Drive: HP 24x DVD+RW/CD-RW First time designing a computer, so forgive any SNAFU's

The information you gave isn't overly useful. Which model Phenom II? What chipset MSI motherboard? Why 9GB of RAM, and are you SURE that isn't DDR2 or DDR3? Keeping on the RAM, if it is DDR2 or 3, which does the motherboard support (I know it doesn't support DDR)? What model Seagate drive is that? The .10 series was decent but a bit slow by today's standards, the .11 series had some very serious firmware problems, the .12 models are excellent, their ES and ES.2 models are too pricey for a desktop, and there are a few other variants out there that might not be ideal for you. The GTX 260 is also not a card I'd purchase at this point - it's one and a half API versions behind now, and given how well ATI has managed to saturate the market with DirectX 11-capable hardware, there's really no reason not to go with one of their HD5000 series cards. The Nine Hundred II case is rather frumpy in my opinion, at least while you can get a Lian-Li LANCool K-58/K-60/K-62 for as much or less than it costs. And you'll want to make sure that optical drive is SATA, if only for cable routing's sake.

Like Is mentioned, I've never done anything like this, so thanks for the advice. Any suggested parts list? P.S. - I live in Virginia

Are you comfortable with building it? I could build it for you if you'd like (I'm on the east coast as well, just not in Virginia). :)

15 years ago

Dragontrapper42

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#13 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

[QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"] Are you comfortable with building it? I could build it for you if you'd like (I'm on the east coast as well, just not in Virginia). :)

Yeah - between all the upgrades I've done to my last desktop and what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm pretty familiar with the inside of a computer. Just a little unfamiliar when it comes to choosing components like Motherboards, case, etc.

15 years ago

UltimateGamer95

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#14 UltimateGamer95

Member since 2006 • 4720 Posts

[QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"][QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"] Are you comfortable with building it? I could build it for you if you'd like (I'm on the east coast as well, just not in Virginia). :)

Yeah - between all the upgrades I've done to my last desktop and what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm pretty familiar with the inside of a computer. Just a little unfamiliar when it comes to choosing components like Motherboards, case, etc.

Alright then do you have a preference of components?

15 years ago

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Member since 2008 • 831 Posts

AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz
ASUS M4A78 Plus AM3/AM2+/AM2 Motherboard
Kingston HyperX T1 Series 2x2GB DDR2-1066
Antec EarthWatts 750w
ThermalTake Element S Mid Tower Case
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB HDD

All those items in One Combo - $527.50 - $30 MIR - $10 MIR = $487.50

XFX GeForce GTX 260 - $184.99

LG DVD Burner- $28.99

Subtotal - $741.48 - MIR = $701.48

Quad Core CPU, 4GB of RAM, big PSU for future upgradability.

Video card is on the low end of the high end card spectrum, will max practically every game available.

If you want to save about $60 you can get a GTS 250 instead, which is a rebadged 9800 GTX+.

MSI GTS 250 TwinFrozr - $129.99 - $10 MIR = $119.99

15 years ago

Dragontrapper42

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#16 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

[QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"][QUOTE="Dragontrapper42"][QUOTE="UltimateGamer95"] Are you comfortable with building it? I could build it for you if you'd like (I'm on the east coast as well, just not in Virginia). :)

Yeah - between all the upgrades I've done to my last desktop and what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm pretty familiar with the inside of a computer. Just a little unfamiliar when it comes to choosing components like Motherboards, case, etc.

Alright then do you have a preference of components?

Not really. I'm Familiar with Nvidia and Radeon Graphics cards, having used both at some point, and the last hard drive I bought was a Seagate. Leaning towards AMD on the CPU. Probably going to take the advice on the Graphics card and go for the HD 5770. Still clueless on a PSU. Would 650W be alright, or should I go for 750W?

15 years ago

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Member since 2008 • 831 Posts

The 5770 is UNDER the performance of the GTX 260 AND HD 4870. If your going DX11 do NOT get a 57XX card because your paying more for less. If you want a HD 5 series card, save up the money for a HD 58XX card.

15 years ago

Dragontrapper42

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#18 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

[QUOTE="kilerchese"]The 5770 is UNDER the performance of the GTX 260 AND HD 4870. If your going DX11 do NOT get a 57XX card because your paying more for less. If you want a HD 5 series card, save up the money for a HD 58XX card.

Thanks for the tip. Notice all the drives sold at newegg are Bare Drives, so they don't come with cables. Are all SATA cables the same, hook-up wise at least? I plan on plugging in A 320 GB HDD I have and was wondering if I needed to hunt down some special cables.

15 years ago

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Member since 2008 • 831 Posts

Yeah, all SATA cables are the same. All retail motherboard will come with 4 to 6 or more SATA cables in the box with it.

15 years ago

Dragontrapper42

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#20 Dragontrapper42

Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

any tips on power supply and Hard Drive number? 650W 0r 750W PSU? Do I need a secondary drive?

15 years ago

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