Building a gaming PC

[Mike2228]

I am planning to build a gaming PC. I've been doing a little research and have settled on the following pieces. (unless a bunch of you figure I would be better off with different pieces)

Case, including fans and PSU.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...02042&csid=_22

CPU

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&Sku=I69-3570K

RAM

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...6&Sku=K24-9917

I know I need a motherboard too but I don't really know much about them.
Can anyone make a recommendation and point me in the right direction?

And I also don't really know much about video cards. I need some guidance here too.


As far as hard drives go I will probably just take my hard drive from my present computer and put it in my new one. (i think that is possible)


Have I forgotten anything else?

Thanks.

[Swissv2]

You are gonna get a ton of different opinions on this topic, though most of us are more interested in tennis equipment than PC equipment.

One thing you forgot: a better sound card. For video cards, if you are purely gaming, go here to see performance benchmarks: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/

If you are on a budget, then check the newegg discount deals.

[Mike2228]

Originally Posted by Swissv2

You are gonna get a ton of different opinions on this topic, though most of us are more interested in tennis equipment than PC equipment.

One thing you forgot: a better sound card. For video cards, if you are purely gaming, go here to see performance benchmarks: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/

If you are on a budget, then check the newegg discount deals.

thanks

10char

[Noodles]

Intel is overrated

[Mike2228]

Originally Posted by Noodles

Intel is overrated

Would you care to recommend an AMD?

[Swissv2]

Originally Posted by Noodles

Intel is overrated

The benchmarks reports otherwise.

[kimbahpnam]

I'd say you'd get a better answer on a more relevant forum

[Mike2228]

Originally Posted by kimbahpnam

I'd say you'd get a better answer on a more relevant forum

Probably would but I don't feel like signing up anywhere else. There must be someone here with some knowledge and a willingness to lend some advice.

[ninman]

If you want to do serious gaming then go for a NVIDIA video card. The better quality your graphics card, the better your experience. You'll want at least 512mb, although I'm not sure if you get 1GB now.

As far as casing, hard drives, fans etc, goes, most of that stuff is pretty similar. Basically you want to get good quality casing, and fans, with lots of ventilation to keep the system cool.

You'll also want a powerful processor, and a lot of RAM (at least 8GB). I would also recommend the latest LCD screen, not too familiar with specific manufacturers.

A general rule thumb though is performance. Gaming PC's need very, very high performance. You're using the machine to the limit of it's ability, so the best quality equipment and the most powerful.

You'll also want a fast, responsive mouse, particularly if you like FPS games. Hope that helped.

[Mike2228]

Thanks.

10char

[Mike2228]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mike222...edbuild_156531

i think that is what I'm going with.

[chollyred]

Cooling is the key word. High power CPUs and video cards generate LOTS of heat. I've seen some gaming cases with as many as 7 fans, and water cooled CPUs.

Depending on the type and complexity of the games you want to play, you may consider a dual GPU setup and an I7 processor. The newer games are resource killers.

Check out the reviews of the different cards at Tom's Hardware, Maximum PC, etc. Do the homework or you'll spend a ton of money and still won't be able to play the games anywhere near maximum speeds or resolutions.

I bought a top of the line video card for my teen about 3 years ago, it lasted about a year before dusty conditions caused it to overheat and killed it. It didn't appear that dusty, but after I removed it from the case, it was clogged inside.

[Peters]

Originally Posted by ninman

If you want to do serious gaming then go for a NVIDIA video card.

Nah, Ati (AMD) are just as good. If anything, you often get more bang-for-buck at the price.

The only downside is some games use Nvidia PhysX for extra little graphical effects which don't appear in Ati cards. But it's never really bothered me, personally.

[Shangri La]

OP, you've got a very nice CPU. Refer to these articles for a balanced system. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...mark,3276.html What's your total budget? Look here for your video card http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...phics-Cards,4/ I'd suggest at least a GTX 660Ti/ Radeon 7870 level of card if you're going to game a lot.

And you will get more replies if you post your question here http://forums.anandtech.com/

[Mike2228]

Originally Posted by Shangri La

OP, you've got a very nice CPU. Refer to these articles for a balanced system. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...mark,3276.html What's your total budget? Look here for your video card http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...phics-Cards,4/ I'd suggest at least a GTX 660Ti/ Radeon 7870 level of card if you're going to game a lot.

And you will get more replies if you post your question here http://forums.anandtech.com/

thanks. And my budget is probably 900ish.

[LuckyR]

A lot of good advice. I would put it this way: stretch the budget on the video card, go a few clicks (3-4) short of the top of the line CPU, consider a RAID setup, get decent MB, memory, cooling and drives. Go low on the sound card, case and software.

[tennisplayer1993]

do it if you're able to, its a lot cheaper than buying lets say an alienware. have a friend whose cousin made his own computer and spent $1200. thing was ridiculously fast at downloading games and he had cool lighting on it too.

[mucat]

Originally Posted by LuckyR

A lot of good advice. I would put it this way: stretch the budget on the video card, go a few clicks (3-4) short of the top of the line CPU, consider a RAID setup, get decent MB, memory, cooling and drives. Go low on the sound card, case and software.

Agree. Video card is the most important component in a gaming PC.

If you have the budget and space for multi-monitor setup, you should look into that. $100 can get you a single 21" 1080p monitor. $200 more (2X LCD) and a capable video card ($200?) can get you into surround gaming.

[Dharmaboy]

I'd like to chime in as I build gaming rigs and choose gaming laptops for friends all the time.

I can't stress the importance of a good solid motherboard. Make sure you pick something that will support the near CPUs coming out. Bios updates usually fix newer chip support.

i7 should be a minimum for heavy gaming. I am not familiar with AMD chips as of now.

New 660ti from nVidia is out. Make sure your new mobo can support SLI later down the road. I currently have 2 x GTX 560ti super clocked in mine. Started out with 1 originally so I was happy my PSU and Mobo could support the new addition.

8gb RAM minimum as its cheap as everything is 64bit now and in the future can actually utilize the RAM.

I live by the rule of a good Power Supply. Corsair TX series is a sure fire win now and down the road for SLI.

I went with Corsair water cooler h series. Really good push pull radiator cooling system.

I used to be an AMD guy for years but the easy Intel way made it an easy choice for me.

Remember don't cheap out on a good case for gaming. Good air circulation is key with vid cards specially nVidia.

Evga vid cards are great. Their warranty is solid as I recently got an RMA within a week. And I live in Canada!

Hope this helps.

ps. if you can go with a 128GB Solid State Drive. You will fall to your knees with the speed. I can never go back. All 3 of my gaming rigs and both laptops have SSD in them.

[Mike2228]

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in.