looking to make a gaming computer

[EpsilonX]

So i'm looking to make a desktop meant for gaming, but idk how to go about doing it. Should I just buy a pre-built one, and upgrade as i need to? or should I start from scratch?

[BobTD]

yeah Im actually thinking about doing this.

I have few friends who built good gaming PC's for about $600. I think if you look around there maybe some threads about this.

Personally I plan to scratch build mine because I want to learn how to assemble and upgrade them as I go, and I have never been much of a hardware person. So its more of a learning experience for me.

Money is a consideration, but if you want the best possible deal I would make sure to do a lot of comparison shopping. Chances are its still cheaper to build your own.

[Jokersvirus]

Best thing to do is make a list of how much you want to spend total and go to tigerdirect.com and start searching for what you want

[Jaykub]

Start from scratch,
Thats if you know how to build it your self.

[LiNuX]

I'd recommend newegg.com. And I agree with joker, start with your budget and if you start from scratch and it's your first build, then look for good bundles to buy.

If you don't know all the parts you need, here is the list:

1. CPU
2. Motherboard
3. GPU (if it doesn't come on the mobo) (graphics card)
4. PSU (power source)
5. HDD
6. Case (not needed if you know how to improvise but I'd recommend you get one)
7. DVD/CD Drive - for OS install
8. RAM

I'm going to be building another computer soon, this will be one of my many over the past few years. This time I plan on recording it and putting it up on youtube, it might help you. But I'm not sure when I'll be done collecting the parts, I'll probably be ready to build at the beginning of August.

[EpsilonX]

my friend says he has a gaming computer he'd sell me for $500. i'll see if its good, cuz i want to be able to run modern games on decently high settings.

if all else fails, i'll wait til the semester starts and go find my friend from UB and have him help me out. he built a pretty nice computer (he was running crysis on decently high settings when i was there...idk if that's still the go-to game for testing how super ur computer is anymore though)

[LiNuX]

my friend says he has a gaming computer he'd sell me for $500. i'll see if its good, cuz i want to be able to run modern games on decently high settings.

You should post the specs here and also use them to look up the recommended settings for the games you want to play.

[EpsilonX]

Yeah, that's what I was plannin on doing.

[thedeparted]

I'd recommend newegg.com. And I agree with joker, start with your budget and if you start from scratch and it's your first build, then look for good bundles to buy.

If you don't know all the parts you need, here is the list:

1. CPU
2. Motherboard
3. GPU (if it doesn't come on the mobo) (graphics card)
4. PSU (power source)
5. HDD
6. Case (not needed if you know how to improvise but I'd recommend you get one)
7. DVD/CD Drive - for OS install
8. RAM

I'm going to be building another computer soon, this will be one of my many over the past few years. This time I plan on recording it and putting it up on youtube, it might help you. But I'm not sure when I'll be done collecting the parts, I'll probably be ready to build at the beginning of August.

Yes. do this! I might be in the plans of building one and a step by step would be mucho awesome to me

[Kenoi]

man, i'm thinking about doing this too. getting the parts should be cheaper than getting a pre-built one... I hate the fact that they always put pre-loaded trial software on the pc's.

[thedeparted]

not to mention more bang for your buck

[EpsilonX]

here's the specs Linux


Intel E6750 (Core 2 Duo) stock 2.66ghz at 3.2ghz at stock voltage (fully prime stable)
Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard
2gb's of Corsair Dominator DDR2 1066mhz ram.
EVGA 9800 GT
Western Digital 500gb 7200RPM 16MB cache
SILVERSTONE OP650 650W PSU
Antec 300 case (2x 80mm front fans, 1x 120mm top fan, 1x 80mm back fan)
LG 20X DVD drive (sata)
windows professional 64-bit

Is that good? I don't know what most of those are lol. i'm guessing the EVGA 9800 is graphics.
i'm gonna want to play some Starcraft 2 and Supreme Commander, and hopefully finally be able to run Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 on max settings (man that game is a resource hog)

[BobTD]

Im going to try building something for around $700-$800 if anyone wants feel free to give me some advice. I will try what Linux said and try to find a decent bundle to start with then upgrade anything I need to fit the requirements of the games I want to play.

[LiNuX]

here's the specs Linux



Is that good? I don't know what most of those are lol. i'm guessing the EVGA 9800 is graphics.
i'm gonna want to play some Starcraft 2 and Supreme Commander, and hopefully finally be able to run Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 on max settings (man that game is a resource hog)


It's alright, but the Motherboard seems to be more than 3 years old now which means if you want to upgrade certain parts in the future, you probably won't get to do it without spending more money replacing the CPU and the Mobo.

And the 9800GT is indeed the Graphics card. It's pretty good. Right now I have the XFX GeForce 9600GT in my PC. I also bought a GeForce 220 for the new PC I'm building.

I like Corsair RAM so that part is good. Although most PCs now use DDR3 RAM and most memories and Motherboards being built are only DDR3 support. There are some that support both but they cost more.

And is the OS, windows XP? Or Win 7?

And I don't know the prices of all the parts by heart but if all the parts were brand new, it may cost you around $400-$430. I'm just guessing on the prices based on personal experience because I've bought a ton of computer parts over the years and quite a few in the past 30 days alone.

And the above estimation is without the Operating System so that could another $50-$100 depending on the OS and where purchased.

Again it's if it was brand new and you'd most likely have manufacturer's warranty on every part. However since it's not new, I didn't take into considering the depreciated value of it because I don't know how much it has been used or how much stress has been put on it.

[EpsilonX]

Well he's saying $500 for it. He says it's parts that he had leftover after upgrading everything and he built a second computer from it.

I mean, it's a step up from my laptop which has 2 GB RAM, 1.82 GHZ dual core processor, and a nvidia gefore 9500 with some letter after it. but i don't wanna be buying that if i'm just gonna have to upgrade a bunch of parts

[LiNuX]

Well I can't control his pricing. I still don't think it's worth $500 for old parts because these parts won't come with any manufacturers warranty.

[EpsilonX]

so, so far i only know what case i want

Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021)
its the same one my friend from college has, and i liked it.

[LiNuX]

so, so far i only know what case i want

Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021)
its the same one my friend from college has, and i liked it.

Definitely a gaming PC.


1 x 120mm TriCool rear fan with 3-speed switch control
2 x 120mm TriCool blue LED front fans with 3-speed switch control to cool HDDs
1 x 200mm top fan

I got a case for my new build. I think it has a top fan too. I haven't even opened it from the box...

[EpsilonX]

is this a good one?

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 635 Propus 2.9GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX635WFGIBOX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702)

quad core is like 2 dual cores, right? AMD is a lot cheaper but part of me wants an intel just because every computer i've ever used has had an intel processor.

i can't find anything for graphics cards on newegg...am i lookin in the right spots?

not really sure what kinds of things i'm looking for in the products, or if there's any specific order you need to get best compatibility, but i'm just kinda browsing through everything.

[LiNuX]

Quad core is 4 cores. You can say it's like 2 dual cores but that's not how it really works.

And yeah that's a good one. I'm using a similar CPU for my next build and yes, AMD is cheaper than Intel but it's just as good. The computer I'm on is AMD, my home server is AMD, the new pc I'm building is AMD, and about 80% of the other computers I've built over the past few years were all AMD. The people that request the computer build usually choose AMD because it's cheaper and I recommend it because it's good.

As for graphics cards, look under video cards.

[EpsilonX]

well like i said i don't really know what i'm looking for. what are some good graphics cards? i'm not really looking to make a bleeding edge computer but one that could at least run most games coming out these days at a decently acceptable level. I don't really care as much for super high end graphics. On a pc i'm more interested in playing RTS games and stuff like diablo. I probably won't be playing any super high end shooters (like crysis)

[LiNuX]

Newegg.com - XFX GS250XYDFU GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150365&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-14-150-365-_-Product)

That's a good card. Plus it comes with COD if you order while the special is still on. Otherwise the 9800GT is still good

Newegg.com - ECS NR9800GTE-1GMU-F GeForce 9800 GT 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134082)

But you should also make sure your motherboard can handle the GPU connection. Otherwise it either won't fit or won't work at all (or work properly).

[EpsilonX]

So Motherboard should be picked out first, and then CPU and GPU, then RAM, then case + cooling, then the monitor, keyboard, etc? anything else i'm missing?

edit: found your list. HDD, Power source, and cd drive. but otherwise, i got the order right?

[LiNuX]

It just depends on how you work. Some people base a computer around the motherboard, others use the CPU, some use GPU, etc..But in the end, you just have to make sure they all fit.

You're missing the PSU, CD Drive, and Hard Drive.

[EpsilonX]

so how do you make sure the motherboard can handle everything? buy the most expensive one? or do the other parts list the minimum required motherboard needed, or something?

edit: so i found an interesting cpu, reviews are good, but i'm not sure how to tell if it could run the processor i want.

Here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103702)'s the processor i'd most likely use, could this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131620) use that? Or is that motherboard ill-advised?

i'm hoping my friend mike responds soon >.>

[LiNuX]

The processor is AMD and the Motherboard is Intel. Definitely won't work.

And to make sure everything fits, you have to read the slots that come on the motherboard. Such as 240-pin slots for RAM and supports only DDR3. So you have to make sure the RAM is DDR3 with 240-pin. And if the GPU is a PCI-E x16 2.0, then make sure the motherboard has a slot for that. Same goes for Hard drives running SATA or SATAII, PSU connectors, etc.

[EpsilonX]

Newegg.com - MSI 870A-G54 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gbs USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130275)

that one says AMD on the page, and it has the same socket type as the processor. i'm thinking that would work?

Newegg.com - HIS IceQ H567Q1GD Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w Eyefinity (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161334)

this graphics card, from what i can tell, seems to be good. unless there's something i'm not seeing based on reviews and the specs... no idea what level it is though, i'm used to seeing nvidia cards (but unless i'm missing something) on this website


lol i'm sure you're thinking "why on earth is this guy trying to make a computer he dont know what hes doin"

[LiNuX]

It's a good card but it's not as good as the 9800GT I linked to above. But if you want to stick to ATI then the following is MUCH better.

Newegg.com - HIS H575Q1GD Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161316)

But you already said you won't be playing too many highend games so this may not even be necessary.

Also with the GPU you selected, you'd need at least a 400watt PSU and with the one I showed you above, you'd need a 450watt psu.

[EpsilonX]

i'll probably get that one you linked then. I mean, high end is preferrable, but i can settle for less. I just want a pc cuz 1. starcraft and 2. i'm not gonna buy any more consoles. (though this probably won't make any difference for a while)

[LiNuX]

If you still want a good motherboard, check Newegg.com - MSI 790X-G45 AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130249)

It's a shell shocker deals, Only lasts like 3 hours. But it's $35 off right now. It's the motherboard I'm using for my next build. I wish I waited for today, could have saved enough to use for a better GPU.

[EpsilonX]

well ive decided i don't really need a new computer right now, so i'll probably wait a bit, maybe next summer? or spring or something, but not this year.

[LiNuX]

A good time is around Black Friday and Christmas. Newegg and Tiger Direct has crazy sales. I missed it last year because I wasn't even home for it. But I'm planning on saving up for this one and maybe stock up on a few good parts for future builds/orders.

[EpsilonX]

black friday? iight, maybe i'll order some stuff then.

[Xyth]

There are a lot of Good Gaming Components actually,
Intel Core i7 960 @ 3.2Ghz Approx. $699.99
WD Velociraptor 600GB HDD 10,000 RPM Approx. $299.99
Inno3D GTX470 Approx. $499.99
ATI Radeon HD Series Aprrox. $???

If you are lazy enough to build PC's Just buy An Alienware PC And enjoy life! xD