Help build PC.......again.

[darkshark]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

A GTX 550 likely won't run it at max settings. It would be close, but I would think it might get some low frame rates at intense areas of the game.

[Darkslave]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

Yes, it might be better to up that 550 ti to a 560 ti, I own a 560 ti myself, and it already does not feel very futureproof (like, in over a year from now) for ultra settings on 1680x1050.
Also, I've been tinkering with a build, and tried to see just how much graphical power I can get out of your budget without saving on cpu. However this build doesn't have a case, harddrive or dvd drive with it (meaning this is a no-go if you're not willing to salvage your current computer/have those parts lying about).

This is all newegg by the way, I'm not familiar with american hardware shops and they seem to stock nearly every part you can think of.

2x SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814102948
$349.98

XFX Core Edition PRO650W (P1-650S-NLB9) 650W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified ...
Item #: N82E16817207014
$89.99

(I would have gone with 8gb here, but had to drop to 4 to keep it under 800, 4gb will serve you perfectly anyway, and you'll have ram slots free to stick another one in should you want more in the future)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231313
$28.99

ASRock P67 PRO3 SE LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157249
$99.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Item #: N82E16819115072
$219.99

For a total of $788,94

Edit: is there a plaintext/copyfriendly shopping cart anywhere, I copy pasted everything in...

[Reach]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

This will do it , and should run in your range. I just built something similar; a little higher end, but this is a nice rig.

processor: i5 2500 (no need to overclock this)
card: 560 ti will run BF3 maxed. If you prefer ATI, go with the 6870. For more power, go with a 570 or 6950, but keep in mind that they're more expensive.
ram: 4 gb ripjaws ddr3 1600. can probably find cheaper ram, but this is great stuff.
hd: 1 TB caviar blue
motherboard: ASUS P8P67
psu: Antec 520w gamer is fine.
some cheap case (I will personally recommend the antec 300 case. It's about $50-60 dollars and a really nice case! Lots of airflow, lots of space and it looks nice).
basic burner

Should run you 800 something total, depending on discounts, where you buy etc.

Honestly, this is pretty high end, given the only upgrades worth making are:

an OC on the 2500k processor, which isn't necessary (will require you buy a hyper 212+, combined with processor will run you another $50+ unnecessarily)
bumping up your card (gets expensive, and you won't need it for BF3)
doubling your ram (great, but not necessary)
getting expensive cases and or bigger drives, which you probably won't need.


I'd recommend my build exactly, which will rip Bf3 apart, but it runs closer to $1100. If you're only willing to spend 800, you'll have to settle at something around those specs above.

[Secks69]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

DO NOT MIX AMD AND NVIDIA! (And don't mix INTEL and AMD either...)
If you're going to go for EVGA, go all EVGA and plug an INTEL core in to it. Do your research, read lots of reviews.

Well, you make a good point, but it all matters about the chipset of the motherboard. My friend has a dual core amd and a gtx 550ti on an NVIDIA chipset and he runs his computer fine. I should make an adjustment and switch the mobo so it would have an NVIDIA chipset.

[ninjaKIWI]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

After all of these posts, my build would be extremely redundant. The only thing I'd like to note is that with PSU's I'd recommend getting a bit more than you really need, it leaves headroom for future upgrades. Also, PSU's degrade over time, so leaving that extra buffer is a good move. Always go for a PSU that's at least 80Plus Bronze certified.

I think LongGone and Reach have suggested the best builds. I'd suggest a mix between the two.

CPU: i5 2400. I believe the only difference between the 2400 and the 2500 is a small factory overclock. Correct me if I'm wrong (Which I very well could be), but I can't find any other difference. No reason to pay an extra 20 bucks for 200mhz.

Card: The 560Ti will give you the best bang for the buck, no doubt. Pick your preferred brand, my personal favourite is MSi. I've had a lot of good experiences with them. EVGA cards and the PNY XLR8 (I don't like PNY though) cards have great warranties. The AMD equivalent is the 6870, which is actually a pretty awesome card for the price, however much I dislike AMD. I wouldn't recommend mixing AMD and Intel though.

RAM: I love Corsair, they're awesome. I generally go with Corsair RAM, but I've heard that GSKILL is really good for intel setups (Although I don't have any personal experience with GSKILL) so my recommendation would either be 8GB of the Ripjaws or the Corsair Vengeance. Both are pretty inexpensive solutions.

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 LE is pretty good, although you should research motherboards a lot on your own though, that's always a good idea.

HDD: From the sounds of it you have a drive you plan on using for boot already? I dunno, HDD isn't something you really need help on. Western Digital is the way to go, though. Just obviously not a Caviar Green, those are meant for storage and NOT for boot, so don't make that mistake.

PSU: Corsair Enthusiast TX750 V2. 80 Plus Bronze, Corsair, can't go wrong. Antec has similar PSU's IIRC, if you prefer non-Corsair. Cougar is really good as well.

Case: Pretty much personal preference. My recommendation is to get a case that has rubber grommets for cabling in the back of the case. That's a really neat feature. The Coolermaster HAF 912 is a really cheap awesome case, I have one for my extra PC and it is great. (Here we go again with the corsair fangirl-ism) My personal favourite cases are Corsairs. They are absolutely /dreams/ to build in. The 600T and the 650D are the best ones IMO.

I dunno if I forgot anything, but, I think everyone else's recommendations are great. I didn't actually take the time to price out the build though because I'm lazy and everyone elses are good.

You could also opt to get a better motherboard that supports dual video cards (SLI) and plug a couple of gtx 460's in there. You can get 2 460's for the price of 1 570, and output more power from the pair of 460's than the single 570 card for sure.

I can attest to this (8 My build is actually running two GTX460's right now, and it's awesome. Depending on how optimized the game is, I'm either on par or ahead of my friends GTX570.

[Superfreak04]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

Hmm, would it be possible to just take my hard drive from this PC I'm on right now, and put it in the new rig? That way I won't lose any of my stuff installed on here, and I won't have to torrent an OS.

[ninjaKIWI]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

Hmm, would it be possible to just take my hard drive from this PC I'm on right now, and put it in the new rig? That way I won't lose any of my stuff installed on here, and I won't have to torrent an OS.

I wouldn't recommend just using that install, you should format.

[Superfreak04]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

Damn, I guess I'll have to get an external drive to put all my stuff on it. :/

[TehWhack]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

Might as well not make a new thread.

Help me optimize my shitty build!

mobo: ASUS P6X58D-E
CPU: i7-950
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3 1333mhz 12gb (3x4gb)
card: ASUS ENGTX460 (yes, yes, just one, massive waste I know, but that's why I'm posting here)
PSU: Antec EA-750
HD: WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA3
Case: Corsair Graphite Series 600T Mid Tower ATX (massive bastard)

Probably will add a SSD later.

[Darkslave]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

Well, what do you want to optimize really?
Your mobo has 3 pci-e 16x slots, so you could always chuck another 460 in there, 750 watts gives you plenty of room to do that.
Other than that, cpu upgrade will be expensive. You'll either have to get a very high spec socket 1366 i7 which will quickly run you over $500 for the 970 and up, or buy a new mobo along with it.
Edit: or is this a build you're planning to buy? It's not entirely clear, by the age of the processor I'm guessing you already own this.

[TehWhack]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

I do own it. Runs ok, but still somewhat clunky.

I may actually want to switch the processor to something other than a bloomfield because I will probably never use my PC as a server.
Also, the 460 I use takes up quite a bit of room (liquid cooling parts gets in the way of the 2nd slot ), so I may consider selling it and just popping in 2 or 3 cards of something else.

I'm just trying to optimize overall performance (let's say if I were to try and make games, adobe programs, Ableton, and FL run at the same time quickly/smoothly). Not necessarily by just switching components, but any other general tips as well.

[Superfreak04]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

Okay, so I realized that my current PC has a PCI express slot in the motherboard. I always thought it was just PCI, and not express. Wouldn't I just be better off buying more Ram, and a graphics card?

Current specs:
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 prcessor
2700+
2.20 GHz, 960 MB of RAM
Windows XP.
Now, couldn't I just buy a new graphics card and put more RAM in it? And obviously I may need a new power supply. I think my current one is about 600 or so.

Edit: I know this probably not a good idea, since this computer has a max of only 2 GBs of RAM, and probably swapping cards won't work. :/

[LongGone]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

You could always buy the graphics card first and test it out with the rig; if the rest of the PC is insufficient then you could upgrade it later

(though, thats provided if both builds will use the same graphics card. If you're not upgrading the mobo you could splurge more on a powerful graphics card)

[Secks69]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

If you wanna play Battlefield at the highest settings like you said, then no. Processor isn't good enough to play Battlefield, I have the same processor and running tf 2 at lowest settings is impossible for me lol. You're better off buying a new rig if you wanna play BF

[Superfreak04]

Re: Help build PC.......again.

If you wanna play Battlefield at the highest settings like you said, then no. Processor isn't good enough to play Battlefield, I have the same processor and running tf 2 at lowest settings is impossible for me lol. You're better off buying a new rig if you wanna play BF

Okay, but lets say if I just wanted to play CS:S at high settings? Is that possible?