Being an avid PC gamer, I felt like contributing this to the site.
Below will be additions from the 2008 thread as well as new editions.
Major thanks to Kosma,
Hazaro , Cheeto, godhandiscen, SRG01, Chespace, Davidion, Chiggs, Zzoram, JSnake and of course Borys who has to still be lurking on here for their PC gaming contributions to the previous years thread.
The 2008 "I need a new PC!" thread can be found
here.
*Updates* (
reserved for updates to the original thread posting)
12.18.08 @1147 hours - First post with links to vendors for PC's, parts and discussions of upcoming CPU/GPU's to be released in CY09.
Where to buy a PC and/or Parts?: (
Three Regions, two for right now. UK coming soon!)
USA:
Newegg.com (Buy parts)
*****
NCIXUS.com (Buy parts, will assemble) (I'd leave this out simply because newegg has everything cheaper and the dollars sucks vs canada at the moment, it kicked ass when I bought my 8800GT though, they do put your PC together for $50 or so)
TigerDirect.com (Buy parts)
Performance PC's.com
Avadirect.com (Custom Built)
MainGear.com (Custom Built-HIGH end)
Canada:
Newegg.ca (Buy parts)
NCIX.com (Buy parts, will assemble)
Canadacomputers.com
Infonec.ca
Pricecanada.com
Shopbot.ca
News sites for the latest in PC Computing and Gaming: (Put this and tech on top)
*****
Anandtech.com
The Tech Report (Fantastic site, guy really knows his stuff)
HardOCP.com (Reviews by the max settings a game can be palyed at reasonably)
ExtremeTech.com
Tom's Hardware.com
Guru3D.com
X-Bit Labs.com
Utilities for any PC gamer:
Prime95 - Stress test the stability of your system on stock settings or your latest Overclock.
CPU-Z - Gathers system CPU, FSB, Vcore Voltage and memory timings presents it in a clean and tidy way.
Memtest - Having weird Blue screens or system errors? Download and run a full memory scan using Memtest.
GPU-Z - Gathers information on your Graphics card chipset, similar to that of CPU-Z but for your GPU.
HWmonitor - A must if you OC your equipment! Gives you a full range of temperatures, Voltage settings, fan speeds and more!
RealTemp - A utility to monitor the temperature of your CPU core(s).
*****
RivaTuner - A Utility to manage GPU overclock, fan speed, and monitor about 25 other things all in 1 customizable screen.
NeoGaf FAQ's on PC Gaming:
Build it yourself or buy a premade?
There are numerous advantages to building your own PC. For starters it's much cheaper then buying a premade, plus you can have exactly what you want/need (customizing the looks, the noise level etc.) Building isn't very hard, even I succeeded on my first try. This thread in general will focus on building your own PC, but you can always ask questions about which parts to use for your prefab.
Some suggested sites for premades are Dell and HP, be aware that with some searching on the internet you can find awesome rebate's for the PC's you can purchase here. Especially Dell is known for having these which could save you up to 10% of the original price. Coupons can be found on sites like
here or
here but if you don't find any I suggest using google.
What's your budget and what do you expect?
Really think about it, the sky is the limit with PC's and if you don't make a budget for yourself you will never be able to make a "definitive" build. If you want the PC to last for 5 years you will need to aim at the best of the best hardware now and accordingly spend a lot of money. If you aim to keep this rig for less time you can easily spend much less money while staying competitive with the top rigs now, and by the time you build a new one in a few years your PC will outshine those guys that build 5 year future proof monster rigs. If you have all the cash in the world this obviously doesn't apply and you should get the best of the best, but for average joe this is an important question.
Choosing a Case
Choose something you think looks decent, and has room for a fan or two. But unless you're planning on doing extreme overclocking or something don't be bothered or seduced by cases that have millions of fans. In most cases you really don't need that much airflow. If you choose a cheap thin aliminium casing chances are it will be vibrating and a bit noisy.
The more expensive casing are pretty heavy so if you're planning on going to many LAN parties they may not be the best choice
Hazaro's Quick Picks (12-18-2008):
- CoolerMaster Centurion 5
- CoolerMaster 690
- Antec 300/900
- Antec Case+PSU combo (Saves money, good PSU)
Choosing a Motherboard
Couple of things. Make sure the Mobo supports the CPU you choose, and at least DDR2 800 RAM. If you want a future proof Mobo, choose one which supports DDR3 memory which should come down in price this or next year.
Features will vary from e-SATA, wifi, firewire, amount of USB ports, etc.
Socket types:
LGA1366: 45nm Core i7 Quad-Core chips
LGA775: 65nm Core 2's, 45nm Penryn chips
AM2+: Phenom
AM2: Anthlon X2's and FX's.
Hazaro's Quick Picks: (Intel)
- Asus P5Q
- Gigabyte DS3
Choosing a CPU
As mentioned above, the CPU is the second greatest asset to a PC gamer. The eternal debate on whether or not to have a Dual-Core or a Quad-Core I think will rage on until the end of time. What is important to look at is what you're doing with the system you're building/buying.
If you building a system purely for gaming/surfing the internet and email, you can't go wrong with a Dual-Core chip. However if you want to be doing more than just that... such as gaming,
encoding/decoding multimedia, intensive Photoshop sessions and 30+ things open at once.... Probably should go the Quad-Core route.
Suggestions for which brand to buy.... It all depends. I personally have bought Intel since back in the late 90's simply because I prefer their chips but there people that prefer AMD to Intel. Either way, the prices on the LGA775 chipset for Intel and the AMD Phenom chipset are quite competitively priced.
The best valued CPU (IMO) right now is the E8400 Wolfdale Core 2 Duo chip which clocks in at 3.0GHz can easily be overclocked to 4.0GHz on Air without any problems on multiple manufactures motherboards. E7200 slightly cheaper and offers same performance in games.
Hazaro's Quick Picks: (Intel)
Web Browser: E2200 (E2140/60/80)
Multi-media Machine: E7200 / Q6600
Gaming: E8400 / Q6600 / Newer Quads
Hazaro's Quick Picks: (AMD)
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-
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Choosing a GPU (
serious business!)
*New cards being introduced this year. (Minor tweaks and upgrades supposedly)
The GPU is the most necessary item in a PC Gamers arsenal (second of course being a good CPU obviously). Anyways, we've hit a golden era of graphics cards where for around $200 bucks(+/- rebates) you can pick up a ATI 4850 or a Nvidia GTX260 that are among the fastest graphic cards to date.
Either of those paired with a Intel Core 2 Duo(or greater) or an AMD Phenom X3 or higher should put you into a sweet spot for gaming.
At 3.0Ghz a Core 2 CPU gains promptly slide down, going over 3.0 doesn't offer much, if any fps gain.
1280x1024 - HD3850/HD3870
/// 8800GT,9600GT,9800GT for 60+ fps on almost all games
1680x1050 (1600x1200) - [Above choice still valid, but may need to tone down a few settings, still great] For more: HD4830/4850/4870
/// GTX 260
1920x1080 (1920x1200) - 48701GB/4870x2
/// GTX 260/GTX 280
Choosing the right memory:
Right now DDR2 is dirt cheap. You can pick up some DDR2 800 2x2GB for about $40 bucks. Most of the LGA775/AM2+ boards support DDR2 FSB up to 1333Mhz. The next big thing is DDR3 memory which is finally starting to come down in price. Some of the system boards do support a couple of channels of DDR2
AND DDR3. Make sure you check that out before placing your order and get the correct memory. The new Core i7 processors
ONLY use DDR3 memory which will in turn speed up the adoption rate of DDR3 of course.
Choosing a HDD
Right now the latest Sata Standard is 3.0Gpbs throughput to the motherboard which is pretty decent. Also as hard drive sizes go up, prices come down. At the time of this writing, you can get a 1TB Seagate hard drive for about $109 bucks shipped.
Hazaro's Quick Picks:
-WD6400AAKS
-Seagate 750GB/1TB
Choosing a PSU
Many people will say that you shouldn't cheap out on the PSU because if it fries you're whole PC could, plus it helps with the stability of your system. I have a cheap ass PSU but I still agree with those people, spending $30 more here for a decent one isn't a bad idea. But how much juice do you need? Don't go overboard! Some would suggest you need 750 Watt PSU's ,
don't be fooled, you don't. An overclocked quad core + GTX 260/HD4870 + the rest of a computer will only draw 400w max load. A stock dual core + GTX 260/HD4870 will only draw 280w. However, PSU's are more efficient when not loaded too high or too low. 500w is just right.
The efficiency rating of a power supply determines how much energy is waste or lost when it converts the wall outlet power to the internal power components. A 75% efficiency power supply that generates 300W of internal power draws roughly 400W of power from the wall and thus 15% of this power is lost as heat. A good number to shoot for is 80% efficiency.
A power supply only draws as much power as the computer takes.
One more thing to look at when looking into buying a power supply is cable managements. Many new power supplies are modular and will allow you to yank out extra cables that are not plugged into any other components. This can free up clutter and allow for better air flow in your PC.
Hazaro's Quick Picks:
- Antec EarthWatts
- Corsair
- Seasonic
- Rosewill (500w + units) (Cheaper)
Power supply calculator
Choosing a Monitor (
Coming Soon!!)
TN - Cheap, good response times, not so good color, cheap
Other - Out of my price range :lol
22" Is the current sweet spot for cheap TN panels. 1680x1050 is the standard, but 1920x resolution are also available at this size. Higher resolution on an LCD will mean that everything will be smaller, but look sharper.
Look for sub $170 deals on 22" currently. Newegg user reviews are great.
Hazaro's Quick Picks:
-Any 22" Acer under $160
*** That's all for right now. More updates coming and to contribute and/or correct me on any of the above information, just shoot me a PM!
***
**** UK Gaffers, shoot me a PM with some sites of which you buy your PC gear from so I can add it to the above lists!! Thanks!
