First time building a computer - 2K budget

If anyone could help me, thatd be awesome :)

i'm building a PC for the first time... I figure i can save some money this way. its going to be used for gaming, watching movies, daily use, and work. I've been searching around on newegg for parts, but i do need some help here.

I would love to have decent graphics and just an overall really FAST machine... do I need a solid state drive? My budget (with monitor) is $2000. I would love to have a 3D monitor (or 3d lcd tv) b/c i'd love to try the 3d gaming (if that is at all possible).

Thanks!

You have two choices for 3D. You can either go with Nvidia 3D Vision (which would require a 3D via D-DVI capable monitor and a Nvidia 3D Vision Kit) or AMD HD3D (which would require a 3D via Displayport capable monitor). Both 3D sets are supported pretty well.

Nvidia's method is proprietary so everything has to go through them. So the con is that you have to wait on Nvidia for 3D profiles (unless the game is Nvidia 3D Ready). Pro to this method is that everything is done by Nvidia, so it is easier on your part.

AMD's method is open source. You would need to buy a cheap 3rd party program like TriDef 3D or iZ3D (only like $15 - $25) in order to use 3D. Con is that since it is open source, it is a little more wild (but still simple to use). Pro to this method is that the open source community can create the profiles faster and are more likely to support little small niche games better than Nvidia.

Once you make this choice, you can start building your rig. There aren't monitors that support both techs as I am aware.

Also remember that you have to buy a 3D Vision kit if you use Nvidia, around $125 to $150 dollars. For AMD, you just buy the 3rd party program, around $15 to $30.

I don't know how much a 3D monitor will run you without checking, but you can build a beast computer with $2000. I would give you my recommendation, but other people here know more about this than I do and they will doubtless be far more helpful.

You have two choices for 3D. You can either go with Nvidia 3D Vision (which would require a 3D via D-DVI capable monitor and a Nvidia 3D Vision Kit) or AMD HD3D (which would require a 3D via Displayport capable monitor). Both 3D sets are supported pretty well.

Nvidia's method is proprietary so everything has to go through them. So the con is that you have to wait on Nvidia for 3D profiles (unless the game is Nvidia 3D Ready). Pro to this method is that everything is done by Nvidia, so it is easier on your part.

AMD's method is open source. You would need to buy a cheap 3rd party program like TriDef 3D or iZ3D (only like $15 - $25) in order to use 3D. Con is that since it is open source, it is a little more wild (but still simple to use). Pro to this method is that the open source community can create the profiles faster and are more likely to support little small niche games better than Nvidia.

Once you make this choice, you can start building your rig. There aren't monitors that support both techs as I am aware.

Also remember that you have to buy a 3D Vision kit if you use Nvidia, around $125 to $150 dollars. For AMD, you just buy the 3rd party program, around $15 to $30.

ShadowDeathX

this is definitely helpful- i had no idea you had to do that to get it to work with nvidia cards... what i was thinking of doing was buying a 32" LCD 3d tv and using that as a gaming monitor... so amd may be the easiest way to go?

300$ fora 3d monitor. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009222 3d kit 150$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814998061pokemondude2012

ahh - very cool. i was hoping to get the 3d monitor a bit larger, but that is still a good deal

you could get this one. 27 inch and it comes with nvidia 3d vision kit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009300

you could get this one. 27 inch and it comes with nvidia 3d vision kit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009300

pokemondude2012

and here is an option for AMD. I love the look of this monitor. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001472 Amazon has some 3D Displayport monitors in the 23inch range for around $350ish...

Edit: Actually the monitor I listed works both on Nvidia and AMD.

Not perfect, but should be a good starting point. Windows and KB/M cost not included of course. Probably be closer to $2100 with those added on.

"first build" and "2k budget" dont often go well together.

whatever, i would say, refrain from the absolute most expensive parts. ie dont spend $500 on a graphics card. because you get very little extra benefit for the cost. invest in good sound, speakers/headphones/sound card, and peripherals, ie mouse, keyboard, even $20 on a mouse mat is better spent than $20 as part of $500 for a graphics card. if i were spending 2k i would probably go out and buy a nice new supercomfortable leather reclining chair too, but it depends on your situation. theres no point spening 2k on a pc and breaking your ass on a wooden stall.

"first build" and "2k budget" dont often go well together.

whatever, i would say, refrain from the absolute most expensive parts. ie dont spend $500 on a graphics card. because you get very little extra benefit for the cost. invest in good sound, speakers/headphones/sound card, and peripherals, ie mouse, keyboard, even $20 on a mouse mat is better spent than $20 as part of $500 for a graphics card. if i were spending 2k i would probably go out and buy a nice new supercomfortable leather reclining chair too, but it depends on your situation. theres no point spening 2k on a pc and breaking your ass on a wooden stall.

seercirra

good advice :)

"first build" and "2k budget" dont often go well together.

whatever, i would say, refrain from the absolute most expensive parts. ie dont spend $500 on a graphics card. because you get very little extra benefit for the cost. invest in good sound, speakers/headphones/sound card, and peripherals, ie mouse, keyboard, even $20 on a mouse mat is better spent than $20 as part of $500 for a graphics card. if i were spending 2k i would probably go out and buy a nice new supercomfortable leather reclining chair too, but it depends on your situation. theres no point spening 2k on a pc and breaking your ass on a wooden stall.

seercirra

For his resolution (1080p), I would recommend a GTX 670. Other than that, his build looks fine. It's a bit steep because the monitor pushed the $total up. He picked out reasonable priced hardware. And it's not like he went with 16GB like most newbs do. Looks like well-rounded, balanced build. The first time is always going to cost a pretty penny.

A reclining chair at a PC desktop? How does that even work? lol

I do agree with a good soundcard and headphone. You're acting like 2k is a lot though for EVERYTHING that he wants to do. I didn't even get to buy "everything" I wanted my first go and I spent around $1200. Sound card, headphones, and some other things had to come after. That including a better PC case. But if he wants to go with this build the first-go, first time around, he won't have to take this thing apart to do it again which is another headache of its own.

Like I said, I like this build. It looks really well-rounded. He didn't pick the "omgz best top of the line parts" aside from the GTX 680, which I suggested to go down to a 670, which isn't even a downgrade by much. The 670 overclocked, or stock will max out most games at 1080p.

I recently did my own first build and my budget was 1.5k for just the computer components (check my sig for the specifications). I ultimately spend close to $1,600 adding in a K+M and ergonomic mousepad, but that was only another $50 for both (I already had a 32" Samsung HDTV I used for my gaming which had a VGA input, so I've since adapted my desk utilize that as my monitor instead of purchasing a dedicated computer monitor). I used Wikipedia's page for Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridgesummaries, they should be helpful in researching what you want.

I'm not a pro-builder at all, so the only recommendations I can make are ones based off my own experience:

1. Depending on how much RAM you want, buy it in 8GB sticks if you exceed 16GB+ RAM. Using all four RAM slots on your Mobo interfered with the positioning of my aftermarket CPU-fan.
2. Choose a case based on function rather than form. There's very little a case can do to fail outright, so they're all essentially the same. Just make sure they can fit your Mobo type and pick one that A) suits your aesthetic preference and B) makes it straightforward and convenient to use any/all peripherials you own. A few recommendations, varying in price, I'll list below.
3. Register all of your products with the manufacturers through their websites if they provide for it. If you provide proof of purchase and serial numbers for your parts, sometimes the original manufacturer will cover any faulty product you have. This will be something you'll look into once you've purchased your stuff but be on top of it, it's great insurance for DIY'ers.

You'll have to filter between prices and parts on your own, but I would recommend you build something similar to what I have (feel free to bump the CPU if you so choose to an i7 3770k or higher, it's only a $30 difference for the Ivy Bridge counterpart of my 2700k). One area you may want to pay finer attention to is the Mobo; I ended up with Asrock because I valued the CPU+GPU more than it and at that point it was the best Mobo that fit my budget. If could hand pick my Mobo without having to adjust my budget for the other parts, I probably would have gotten an ASUS Mobo, likely the Sabertooth.

Again, since I'm a not a professional at this, all I can recommend is to do what I did, essentially and try and pattern your build off mine. Our budgets are fairly similar (once you factor in the 3D monitor you're gunning for) and I think you'd be well served with a similar build (and yes, get an SSD. Even if you get a smaller one and use it as your boot drive, it's totally worth it. Buy a 1TB HDD in addition and you'd be set). My first preliminary picks, which I refined until my budget fit, was as follows:

• CPU: i7 3770k, $350
• GPU: AMD Radeon 7970, $450+
• Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth, $230 (this was actually just "ASUS Mobo" initially, but my preference is now the Sabertooth)
• RAM: 16GB Corsair Vengeance (2x8GB)
• SSD: 120GB Sandisk Extreme, $120
• HDD: 2TB Western Digital Caviar Black, $200
• PSU: Corsair TX650, $80
• Case: Corsair 600T, $150
• CPU-Fan: CM Hyper 212 Evo, $30 (initially I didn't include this, but am so glad I did it)

As well, here are a few cases to take a look at:

• Cooler Master Elite 430 - $40
• NZXT Guardian - $70
• Cooler Master Storm Scout - $70
• NZXT Phantom - $110
• Antec 900 - See in cart
• Corsair 600T - $165
• Corsair Obsidian - $260

BTW, I really wish I had a case with the switches that allow to remove the panel. It would be very convenient to have, I now realize.

Don't spend 2 grand. Spend 1-1.5 and you will get 90% of the performance.

Buy some nice headphones.