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GAF'S ultimate $500/£400/$650 CAD budget gaming rigs + bonus high end configs!
- Thread starter brain_stew
- Start date
ILOVEASIANS
Member
Firestorm said:
Think I'm going to give this build a try too. I'm looking to get into PC gaming and want a computer that can do pretty much what JetBlackPanda needed too.
Don't. As I mentioned just a bit later. That won't work as I noted in the other thread. The 940 is an AM2+ processor while the motherboard is AM3. I didn't realize they weren't compatible even though the opposite is. There seems to be a new bundle though. Replace the first item with this and you're good to go:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.300822
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.300822
ILOVEASIANS
Member
Ahh, ok. Thanks for the heads up man. I'm pretty clueless about most of this. This thread has definitely helped me out though.
I'm building a late Christmas present for my wife.
These parts are solid, 99% not going to change.
OCZ Vertex 30GB SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393
Sapphire 5870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856
Core I5-750: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
WD Caviar Black 1TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
Can anyone suggest a decent 1156 mobo? I don't need anything fancy, just reliable, and inexpensive. I've always used Gigabyte before.
Will a 500w PSU run a 5870? I have an OCZ 500w (or 550? I can't remember) that I could re-use. If not, any suggestions for a PSU?
I don't need a case or an optical drive, as I will be re-using her last ones.
These parts are solid, 99% not going to change.
OCZ Vertex 30GB SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227393
Sapphire 5870: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856
Core I5-750: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215
WD Caviar Black 1TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
Can anyone suggest a decent 1156 mobo? I don't need anything fancy, just reliable, and inexpensive. I've always used Gigabyte before.
Will a 500w PSU run a 5870? I have an OCZ 500w (or 550? I can't remember) that I could re-use. If not, any suggestions for a PSU?
I don't need a case or an optical drive, as I will be re-using her last ones.
Thanks a lot. Talked to him a bit about it, said it looks like that would be the best way to go. He also made a point that he could just plug a monitor or his tv into a laptop, so i couldn't really completely sell him on the idea.Firestorm said:
I was thinking about selling him my laptop since i barely use it for gaming:
Asus N81V
2.66Ghz c2d processor
4gigs of ram
Ati 4650 1GB
would that be enough for his needs?
Is there anything else i should look at? Maybe a MBP? (just incase i decided to keep the laptop)
Hey GAF
Looking to build a PC that connects via HDMI out to my TV. It will sit beside my TV and run HD content. Don't think I need a BR player unless it's cheap but the only gaming I think I would do is Diablo 3. Since specs aren't out, it kind of needs to be future proof for just D3. Any specifics in terms of gear required for something like this? Similar build then what's found in this thread? CAD here too. Thanks.
Looking to build a PC that connects via HDMI out to my TV. It will sit beside my TV and run HD content. Don't think I need a BR player unless it's cheap but the only gaming I think I would do is Diablo 3. Since specs aren't out, it kind of needs to be future proof for just D3. Any specifics in terms of gear required for something like this? Similar build then what's found in this thread? CAD here too. Thanks.
BladedExpert
Member
Alrighty GAF, I'm after some advice/suggestions. I want to build myself a nice little rig over the next few months but money is a little tight, so its going to be a case of one component every payday or something.
Right now I already have a good 500W Thermaltake PSU and a spare 8800GT 512mb (which I cant get to work with my current rig for love nor money). I'm re-using my HDD too so thats not a problem. I was looking at a Coolmaster case and a basic Sony DVD RW but they are the only ideas I have so far. Any suggestions on a motherboard and cpu?
I'm pretty clueless on motherboards so I have no idea what compatibility issues there could be and I don't want to buy things only to have something not work.
As for CPU; Is a quad core needed for decent gaming these days? My current Core 2 duo e4500 (2.20GHz) is ok but seems to get maxed out fairly easily.
Lastly, is there anything I'm forgetting? Any help or advice would be awesome and will go a long way to helping me play more PC games (which can only be a good thing right?)
Oh and for the record, I'm in the UK
Right now I already have a good 500W Thermaltake PSU and a spare 8800GT 512mb (which I cant get to work with my current rig for love nor money). I'm re-using my HDD too so thats not a problem. I was looking at a Coolmaster case and a basic Sony DVD RW but they are the only ideas I have so far. Any suggestions on a motherboard and cpu?
I'm pretty clueless on motherboards so I have no idea what compatibility issues there could be and I don't want to buy things only to have something not work.
As for CPU; Is a quad core needed for decent gaming these days? My current Core 2 duo e4500 (2.20GHz) is ok but seems to get maxed out fairly easily.
Lastly, is there anything I'm forgetting? Any help or advice would be awesome and will go a long way to helping me play more PC games (which can only be a good thing right?)
Oh and for the record, I'm in the UK
fizzelopeguss
Banned
Fuck, i think my 8800gt is pretty much dead (artifacting in windows and i'm on a 7100gs right now
)
what's a good none assrape priced card.
what's a good none assrape priced card.
edible_candle
Member
Going to be building a new computer in the next couple weeks, but having trouble deciding between going with an AMD Phenom II x4 or an Intel i5. The AMD will be cheaper, and the AM3 platform should be as futureproof as a motherboard platform can be. On the other hand, the i5 is (marginally) faster, runs cooler, and uses less power. Main uses for the PC will probably be gaming, video and audio encoding/editing, and internet. Maybe some emulation. Any assistance in choosing between the two would be helpful.
brain_stew
Member
edible_candle said:
The difference is definitely not marginal. In GPU bound games, sure, you could say that, but in terms of raw CPU performance, its a significant leap ahead.
rollingstart
Banned
Does anyone use solid state drives for games? I'm thinking about getting a dedicated hard drive for games on my computer, and might as well get something fast. Solid state on paper seems to be the best, and if not, what is a good option?
ILOVEASIANS
Member
My stuff should be arriving tomorrow. Pretty nervous and excited to put my first PC together. Need to find some good guides and walk throughs before I get started. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've already looked through the ones in this thread.
TouchMyBox
Member
brain_stew said:
In which gaming-related cases is a core i5 750 significantly faster than say the phenom II 965 C3 revision? I know at stock a core i5 can beat a 965 in resident evil 5 and far cry 2, but everything else seems to be a wash. Then when you consider you're getting an unlocked processor, the 965 starts to look like the more attractive option to me. Sure the i5 does look really nice in synthetic general purpose benchmarks, but as far as benchmarks go, my athlon II scores within 600 points of a core i5 in 3dmark vantage.
PopcornMegaphone
Banned
brain_stew said:
Do you have any sources that show the difference? I'm going to (hopefully) build a PC in the next few months and I'm trying to decide between a 955 and i5. It seems if you consider the motherboard the 955 is about 100 dollars cheaper.
Depending on price and performance when I buy, I plan to get either 5850 + i5 or 955 + 5750 combo.
rollingstart
Banned
quick question about building a new pc with parts from an old one. If I already have a good gpu (gtx 275), PSU, and ram, how much would I be looking to spend for the case, motherboard, cpu, and whatever else is needed?
Taking a quick glance at it, it looks pretty outdated to me. But it depends what region you are in, I only checked my region (Canada). Like the processor doesn't even appear to be available at all anymore from NCIX.scitek said:
If you look at the items on newegg or where ever and notice that the prices beside it here vs there are vastly different, then it is definitely outdated.
brain_stew
Member
scitek said:
I replied in the 5600 thread.
TOAO_Cyrus
Member
catfish said:
Yup you can overclock both. The ram speed and CPU speeds are a function of the FSB speed. Overclocking is done by changing the ram/cpu multiplier and then increasing/decreasing the FSB frequency. Something you can do now that shouldn't cause any problems is to increase the ram multiplier until the speed is close to 1066.
The general procedure for overclocking is set the CPU multiplier to its highest possible setting and slowly increase the FSB, adjust the RAM multiplier down as its better to overclock each separately. Boot into windows after each increase and if it seems stable go a little higher. Once it crashes/freezes go back to the previous stable setting and then run prime95 for 24 hours or so. If it passes your golden, of not drop back a bit and try again. The same general procedure goes for overclocking the ram.
Once you find a stable setting you can try to go higher by increasing the CPU voltage a tick or two, but make sure you look up whats safe for your CPU.
Prime95: http://files.extremeoverclocking.com/file.php?f=205
My laptop is dying and I have decided to go back to a desktop.
I found this DIY kit at newegg that is pretty tempting except the graphics cards are last gen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311768
Is that a pretty safe bet to go with, or should I piece the system together with individual parts? I'd like to keep it under $1000 if possible ($1200 max). The main things to change in my opinion would be replacing the crossfired 4860's with a 5870 and bumping up the power supply wattage.
Also, has onboard audio become semi-passable now or something? I noticed that none of these DIY kits come with a sound card (even the $4600 ones).
I found this DIY kit at newegg that is pretty tempting except the graphics cards are last gen.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.311768
Is that a pretty safe bet to go with, or should I piece the system together with individual parts? I'd like to keep it under $1000 if possible ($1200 max). The main things to change in my opinion would be replacing the crossfired 4860's with a 5870 and bumping up the power supply wattage.
Also, has onboard audio become semi-passable now or something? I noticed that none of these DIY kits come with a sound card (even the $4600 ones).
brain_stew
Member
Hi, can we let this thread die please. Any new recommended budget builds will just be added to the second post in the 2010 PC thread. The US and Canada builds should be up there already and up to date. If you've any unanswered questions just post them in there.
big black woman
Member
i'm trying to upgrade my agp card and/or ddr-400 ram. why are they so expensive?? 1GB of ddr400 ram is like 30 dollars!! and an old ati 3850 is a hundred. I thought these things were supposed to go down in price!?
storybook77
Member
I just recently built a system with an AMD Phenom X4 955 but I'm still using my 8800GT vid card and I'm looking to upgrade it this summer/fall. Which card is the best to go with for dx11? ATI 5850? Also, what's the best TB hard drive available?
brain_stew
Member
See two posts up, this thread is no longer relevant. This is the thread you want:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=383771
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=383771