Need help making a gaming PC

Alright, I'm new to to this build your own pc thing, so I need help.

My budget is 1200$, and want to be able to play most games on their highest settings smoothly.

Thanks.

Yep

You can buy a lot for $1200 expecially if you live in America. Are you looking to build your own from components or purchase one pre built?

You can buy a lot for $1200 expecially if you live in America. Are you looking to build your own from components or purchase one pre built?

jtschmitz

Will I get better parts ifI build it myself than a pre-built one?

Righto...... I recently started building my own computer, and then my folks bought me a new one. So I had plans for a brand new gaming comp ready to go. So, here is the basics, and what would be good to get.

1. Make sure your Motherboard and CPU are compatible! If not, you just lost a bucketload of money, and have to send it back. The best way to check is to go to the hardwares webbie, they may have a compatibility list of CPU's that will work with it. Like Gigabyte technoogy. (I was getting the EP45-DS3, and the CPU I chose was not compatible...)
2. Make sure you get compatible RAM for the Mobo. DDR2 RAM won't go into DDR3 slot without a hammer. That's usually a indication that it's not gonna fit.
3. Make sure the Power Supply will not go *bang*. 450 Watt is the BOTTOM BAR for Power. For a gaming PC, Go the Corsair Series.
4. The cooling will need to be adequate. Don't get a SLI graphics, and then get stock cooling. Won't be nice. Some of the Coolermaster cases are decent, I was going for the NZXT case.
5. Get a descent Graphics card ( Obviously :-) ) Try and go for the Geoforces, and get a mid-end un. If you can't, get a cheaper Card, and run them in SLI/CrossFire.
6. Consult some of the PCPowerplay Magazines. In the back of them, they have a part called the Menagerie. Check it out. They have different Computers at diff prices for everyone.
7. When you buy your parts, go via shopbot.com and staticice.com. They will get you the best deals.

Good Luck!

[QUOTE="jtschmitz"]

You can buy a lot for $1200 expecially if you live in America. Are you looking to build your own from components or purchase one pre built?

pinksolidsnake

Will I get better parts ifI build it myself than a pre-built one?

Not necessarily, I sell custom built system's and most of the time the customer asks for certain parts to be put in before I even order. You go someplace (think off the shelf at Wal-Mart, etc...) then yes you run a good chance of getting older, or cheaper parts. The main benefit of building your own aside from the since of accomplishment, is you don't have to pay extra for the labor. So in almost all case's it's cheaper to build your own if you know how, and if you don't their are tons of people out their who could help you! I for one would be more than happy to.

[QUOTE="jtschmitz"]

You can buy a lot for $1200 expecially if you live in America. Are you looking to build your own from components or purchase one pre built?

pinksolidsnake

Will I get better parts ifI build it myself than a pre-built one?

So where do I start? :-)

Should I pick out a motherboard first?

First decide if you want to go Intel or AMD. I then normally pick my case so I know if I am looking at ATX (full size) or mATX(mid size) for mother boards. Then its motherboard, processor, ram, disc drives, gpu, etc... , (lastly) the power supply. So I can assure myself I have enough power to supply the system, and it is compatiable with everything I want.

Product - Name - Price
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair III Formula - $200
RAM memory - OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel - $100
Case - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 - $160; $140
Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $160; $80
Hard Drive - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB HDD - $90; $85
Optical Drive - PLEXTOR DVD/CD Writer SATA LightScribe - $50
Operating System - Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit - $190
First Subtotal - $950; $845

CPU - Phenom II X4 965 - $249; $245
Video Card - HIS H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB - $200; $180
Second Subtotal - $449; $425

Aggregate Subtotal - $1399; $1270

If you wanna save a little cut into the parts in the second total, but imo they're very good parts and the extra $70 is worth it.

First decide if you want to go Intel or AMD. I then normally pick my case so I know if I am looking at ATX (full size) or mATX(mid size) for mother boards. Then its motherboard, processor, ram, disc drives, gpu, etc... , (lastly) the power supply. So I can assure myself I have enough power to supply the system, and it is compatiable with everything I want.

jtschmitz

I think I might want to go with AMD, and what am I missing out on if I go mATX?

[QUOTE="jtschmitz"]

You can buy a lot for $1200 expecially if you live in America. Are you looking to build your own from components or purchase one pre built?

pinksolidsnake

Will I get better parts ifI build it myself than a pre-built one?

Product - Name - Price
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair III Formula - $200
RAM memory - OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel - $100
Case - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 - $160; $140
Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $160; $80
Hard Drive - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB HDD - $90; $85
Optical Drive - PLEXTOR DVD/CD Writer SATA LightScribe - $50
Operating System - Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit - $190
First Subtotal - $950; $845

CPU - Phenom II X4 965 - $249; $245
Video Card - HIS H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB - $200; $180
Second Subtotal - $449; $425

Aggregate Subtotal - $1399; $1270

If you wanna save a little cut into the parts in the second total, but imo they're very good parts and the extra $70 is worth it.

smc91352

Product - Name - Price
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair III Formula - $200
RAM memory - OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel - $100
Case - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 - $160; $140
Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $160; $80
Hard Drive - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB HDD - $90; $85
Optical Drive - PLEXTOR DVD/CD Writer SATA LightScribe - $50
Operating System - Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit - $190
First Subtotal - $950; $845

CPU - Phenom II X4 965 - $249; $245
Video Card - HIS H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB - $200; $180
Second Subtotal - $449; $425

Aggregate Subtotal - $1399; $1270

If you wanna save a little cut into the parts in the second total, but imo they're very good parts and the extra $70 is worth it.

smc91352

[QUOTE="jtschmitz"]

First decide if you want to go Intel or AMD. I then normally pick my case so I know if I am looking at ATX (full size) or mATX(mid size) for mother boards. Then its motherboard, processor, ram, disc drives, gpu, etc... , (lastly) the power supply. So I can assure myself I have enough power to supply the system, and it is compatiable with everything I want.

pinksolidsnake

I think I might want to go with AMD, and what am I missing out on if I go mATX?

Product - Name - Price
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair III Formula - $200
RAM memory - OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel - $100
Case - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 - $160; $140
Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $160; $80
Hard Drive - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB HDD - $90; $85
Optical Drive - PLEXTOR DVD/CD Writer SATA LightScribe - $50
Operating System - Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit - $190
First Subtotal - $950; $845

CPU - Phenom II X4 965 - $249; $245
Video Card - HIS H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB - $200; $180
Second Subtotal - $449; $425

Aggregate Subtotal - $1399; $1270

If you wanna save a little cut into the parts in the second total, but imo they're very good parts and the extra $70 is worth it.

smc91352

Ok man this should be your final parts list:

CPU:Phenom II X4 955- $196

Motherboard:Asus M4A79 Deluxe- $179

RAM:OCZ Gold 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR2 800- $123

Video Card:HIS Radeon HD 4890- $190

Hard Drive:Samsung Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB- $85

Power Supply:Antec TruePower 750 Watt- $110

Case:Cooler Master Storm Sniper- $130

Optical Drive:Sony OptiarcDVD RW drive - $30

Operating System –Windows Vista Ultimate 64-Bit- $190

Total: $1233

The reason I gave you a 750 Watt power supply was so that you can buy another 4890 video card later on and run two of them in crossfireX.Running two 4890's in crossfireX later will allow you to extend the life and performance of your system.Well Anyway good luck with your purchase!

Wow, thanks everyone, expect me to make a post in the future on how to put these parts together. Hehe

By going AMD/ATI, you'll end up spending less money and getting a little more bang for your buck. However, I would suggest holding off on your build for a couple weeks if you can for the new Core i3, i5, and i7's to release on September 6th. They're going to be cheap compared to Intel's flagship LGA 1366 i7-9XX line and pack similar power. The i5-750 will retail at an MSRP of $196, while the i7-860 will be $284. If you need the PC right now, then go for it.

Wow, thanks everyone, expect me to make a post in the future on how to put these parts together. Hehe

pinksolidsnake

[QUOTE="smc91352"]

Product - Name - Price
Motherboard - ASUS Crosshair III Formula - $200
RAM memory - OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel - $100
Case - COOLER MASTER HAF 932 - $160; $140
Power Supply - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W - $160; $80
Hard Drive - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD103UJ 1TB HDD - $90; $85
Optical Drive - PLEXTOR DVD/CD Writer SATA LightScribe - $50
Operating System - Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit - $190
First Subtotal - $950; $845

CPU - Phenom II X4 965 - $249; $245
Video Card - HIS H489F1GP Radeon HD 4890 1GB - $200; $180
Second Subtotal - $449; $425

Aggregate Subtotal - $1399; $1270

If you wanna save a little cut into the parts in the second total, but imo they're very good parts and the extra $70 is worth it.

UltimateGamer95

But the thing about 965 is that it overclocks better because of the slight voltage increase (to 1.400) and can reach 4.0 easily without you needing to worry about more heat and overvolting your processor.. Anyway, go for smc's build. I am going to become useless on these forums, every time I try to help someone smc&ultimate are there first with their cool suggestions :)

By going AMD/ATI, you'll end up spending less money and getting a little more bang for your buck. However, I would suggest holding off on your build for a couple weeks if you can for the new Core i3, i5, and i7's to release on September 6th. They're going to be cheap compared to Intel's flagship LGA 1366 i7-9XX line and pack similar power. The i5-750 will retail at an MSRP of $196, while the i7-860 will be $284. If you need the PC right now, then go for it.

CStheGreat

All new series from Intel wil be just crippled versions of the I7, so there is no chance that the I7 prices will drop. That is on AMD's hands, it needs to make something even better for the right price, then Intel will be selling I7's for peanuts! And honestly, when PII is right now going neck to neck with I7 even with it's inferior architecture, I doubt I5 and I3 will be much competitive. They have lost every advantage that the I7 has over PII (integrated memory controller etc.).