Building/Buying a gaming PC

Well, I need a new computer.

My current one is a Dell Inspiron laptop, and can't play many games. The games it CAN play, barely slide by.

I barely know anything about building a computer, or buying one, so I was wondering if the good people of Southperry could help me on this one.

I am definitely not looking for a super overclocked beast. Something mid-range that can play most of the current games decently would be awesome. I am on a budget, so anything under $1,000 would be great, though, if there's something that's super awesome that brings it up to $1,100 or something, I could try to get the extra money.

I've been thinking of building my own computer, but I'm pretty lost on this one. Any help would be appreciated.
I've also been thinking of buying one from already made, but I'm leaning towards building my own because I hear that it's cheaper.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks to standardization, building a computer is like legos. Each part has a socket which can house other parts. Make the sockets match and voila, it just f'ing works. Building your own is cheaper if and only if you can provide your own OS and accessories (mouse/keyboard/monitor). Having the cost of the OS/monitor in the build will weaken your computer.

Performance of games is much more heavily influenced by the graphics card than anything else. Performance of the OS is limited by the CPU and hard disk. Given your price range and the fact that you will need a monitor, you should be looking at an Athlon X4, GTX 470 graphics card, 3-6GB of Memory, and a 64 bit OS. Usually around $800 - $1300 will get you a best bang for the buck system. Anything above that and you will be looking at higher performance parts (SSD instead of traditional magnetic storage, higher rated memory, motherboards for overclocking, etc.). SLI/Crossfire is never worth the money unless you're using two extremely high end graphics cards.

The usual breakdown for a gaming platform is like this:
10% of cost = motherboard
10% = power supply
10% = Hard Drive
10% = Case
10% = Accessories
5% = Memory
15% = CPU
40% = Graphics Card


Sites to check out for reviews:
anandtech.com
tomshardware.com
firingsquad.com

Sites to buy parts:
tigerdirect.ca
newegg.ca


Good luck on reviewing.

As far as building the computer, the motherboard manual is usually pretty specific unless you get some crap no-name brand from Taiwan. There are also plenty of tutorials on Youtube for how to install/replace parts if you get lost. Plan to spend 4 - 6 hours building the computer your first time. Subsequent builds will only take 1 - 2 hours. The most important thing about building a computer is preventing static discharge and making sure you're grounded to the case before doing any work on the computer.

Thanks for the help. I've already got a monitor and keyboard from and older computer I had and it should do the job. (SyncMaster 172n)

I've been looking into it a little bit and I've seen that motherboards have different types. What would be the best? I don't really need a small computer, and I'm looking for upgradability.

Pick the CPU first. The CPU will force you to pick a memory type. Then choose a motherboard which supports the CPU/memory type. Then choose a case which fits the motherboard. A standard ATX case will house any ATX motherboard (mini, micro, standard)

Choose a full size tower so you can have room for a huge graphics card. Make sure the tower has a fan slot in the front of it so you can have air intake through the front and an outtake fan on the back for proper air flow.

When you pick a CPU, make sure the CPU is RETAIL, not OEM. A retail CPU comes with the heatsink/fan and the OEM only comes with the CPU and no heatsink/fan.

I guess there are a lot of little things to know when it comes to building a PC, eh? I haven't even scratched the surface yet.

Check this place out. Read each section and what people have to say about parts. You'll get used to it within a few weeks.

Don't go with AMD there CPU's are still not worth it.
Hey Fiel, Can i post a link to another forum, that can really help him out?
Reccomended brands for any major parts:
Corsair Memory/PSU/Case
XFX GPU's
EVGA motherboards/GPU's'

The reason is because they have the best customer support if anything goes wrong and the best warranties when it comes to products.

The places to review:
PSU-johnnyguru
Hardwarecanucks-almost anything

GPU- Ati best bang for buck
CPU-Intel core i5,

Edit since you have harvested an 17 inch I reccomend going with a ati 4870/5750/4890
Only difference is that 5750 runs cooler supports dx11 and 4870 is better in most games, 4890 is just a slightly more oc'ed 4870 and is worth getting if you can find it

For my CPU, I've decided on an Athlon II X4 635. On newegg it's only a few dollars more than the 630, and I'm thinking that the 100 MHz will be worth a few dollars. The 640, is about $16 more, for an additional 100 MHz. Would you say it's worth it?

For the graphics card, I'm either gonna get a GTX 460 or 470. Which one would be better? I know that the 470 is better, but is the increase in performance worth it? It costs quite a bit more. I've also been looking at this because someone said that "it is basically guaranteed to be flashed into a GTX 470". What does this mean, and is it true?

Because of my CPU, I'm looking for a motherboard with a AM3 slot, right? What should I be looking for in a motherboard, and what's the difference between microATX and ATX? I'm going to assume that because ATX is larger, it'll have more slots, and more upgradability.

For RAM, how do I tell good RAM from bad? I see things like "Timing: 9-9-9-24" and "Cas latency: 9" What does it mean?

Thanks. This stuff is pretty confusing, but it's starting to sink in.

Well you want to think of it this way
More GPU power = Bigger resolution. a GTX 470 is good for the 24 inch range of screens, a few of them are good for 30inch 2560x1600 screens
You have a mere 17inch screen which will be complete overkill and a waste of money. Nvidia is not the brand to go for. Those cards cost 300 dollars when something 100 dollars cheaper can you get the job done...
If you don't mind me asking, what is the resolution of the screen and what kind of games would you like to play..

Don't go with AMD there CPU's are still not worth it.

Hey now. AMD makes a great gaming CPU. In my opinion ATI is a much superior graphics card. It's definitely not the greatest thing in a little student laptop though...if I'm not plugged into a wall all the time my battery life is awful, and it can sort of burn a hole through my leg...

Don't go with AMD there CPU's are still not worth it.

Unless you're jacking off to Synthetic benchmarks, your statement is the farthest thing from the truth lol

Sure the i7's are faster, but we're talking about "gaming" here. A phen II and i7 rig will produce simular frames unless the game itself is highly optimized for a certain architecture. Example: Farcry2 and Nehalem...

Chewy, be careful about saying "For just $16 more, I can get this...". That's exactly what the manufacturers want you to think. It's a slippery slope problem. Be a machine and stick perfectly to your budget. If your budget allows for $300 on a graphics card, do not spend more than that. Otherwise, you will nickel and dime yourself into spending a lot more than what you had intended. Always, always stick to the budget.

You're correct about motherboards. MicroATX is the smallest kind of ATX board and trades upgradeability for small size. You want the full, standard ATX.

Since you're going AMD for the processor, make sure it supports AM3, DDR3, PCI-E x16 (don't bother looking for an SLI/CF board). Make sure the motherboard is RETAIL, not OEM. The motherboard being RETAIL is absolutely critical.

For RAM, the importance factor goes:

1. Interface (make sure it matches the mobo)
2. Brand
3. Size
4. Speed
5. CAS timings

Good RAM manufacturers are OCZ, Crucial, and Kingston, though Geil, G.SKILL, and Rosewill will work if you don't mind a budget brand. Don't bother too much with CAS latencies. It makes a negligible performance impact in real world applications.

For the graphics card, this is the ultimate place where you do not want to skimp on a gaming PC. For those who are saying, "It's guaranteed to be flashed into a GTX 470", these people are referring to overclocking, overvolting, or using soft-mods to unlock shaders/pipes on the card. I tend to shy away from doing this as it can cause system instability. Furthermore, unlocking these shaders may cause the card to overheat because the 470 might have a better cooling solution than a 460. If you only have a 17" monitor and don't plan on upgrading the monitor anytime soon, stick with the 460 as it will easily max anything and everything you play at the native resolution of the monitor.

You could try http://www.ibuypower.com/ for some okay deals on custom laptops. They dont have the "HP" or "Sony" or whatever insignia, but theyre pretty okay for laptops. If youre going desktop, then i suggest you build.

If your looking to buy a computer, I'd suggest http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/S...CatId=4928 . It runs well for $900 and plays most games. I have it

GTX 460 smashes the 320 GT. >_>

T.T I need a new computer.. I need to leave this thread before i start wishing i had a credit card.

320GT I believe was a renamed product of a 285GTX
Just as how the 250 GTS is the same as a 9600 GT
For the motherboard look for a updated chipsets. As they provide support for USB 3.0, Sata 6 gb/sec, make sure it has room for 1 extra Graphics card slot. PCI-E x8 isn't that big of a performance loss.
Having the extra slot will let you upgrade in the future if you ever need to.
The chipset is 880G (northbridge) + SB850 (southbridge)
CPU- Go with a Phenom II x4 965, don't go with Phenom II x6 as you won't be needing the extra firepower.
@my earlier post
I forgot this was strictly for gaming purposes. AMD has good CPU's but not the best.. is what I ment to say.

Hey guys, I'm back. I've decided on this for my mobo.
For memory, I've decided on this

What do you think about it? Anything I should get instead, or are these good?

@above. Chipset? Explain?

Looks fine to me.

For the case, I'm gonna go for a Cooler Master HAF 932. Read a few reviews and it seems awesome. Comments or concerns?

Looking for a graphics card now. I know I want a GTX 460. There are a ton of brands but EVGA seems to be the most reputable. Having narrowed it down to that, there's yet another thing I'm confused about.

So, when looking for a GTX 460 from EVGA, there are 6 different options. I'm confused about what's different between them. I see some "superclocked" ones that have a higher clock speed, but there are different superclocked ones. What's the difference? There's also different normal ones too. Here is the link

Edit: Double Post. Delete this.

Just grab the cheapest. The difference between the regular and superclocked is maybe 3 - 4 FPS which, in the grand scheme of things, is not too much.

For reviews, don't focus on the number of eggs that people give a product. When you read the reviews, look for multiple users saying the same thing. Important installation information is also given in comments, such as needing firmware updates, BIOS flashes, etc..

The case is badass. Definitely good for gaming. Lots of space, built-in HDD coolers, huge fans, etc.