Omnimaga

General Discussion => Technology and Development => Other => Topic started by: BlakPilar on March 12, 2012, 07:55:52 pm

Title: Help with a custom build?
Post by: BlakPilar on March 12, 2012, 07:55:52 pm
So I was thinking about making my own build for a desktop. My only problem is I don't know which parts are good, which are bad, and which only work/don't work with which other parts. I talked to two of my friends who make their own computers, use them for a bit, then sell them and this is the part list we've come up with:

I know SSDs are faster than HDDs, but I don't really want one. So um, yeah... Will all of these parts work together, and would this make for a good/decent gaming computer?
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 13, 2012, 11:03:02 pm
To be honest, this is a very weak computer. How much is your budget?
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: nxtboy III on March 13, 2012, 11:14:37 pm
To be honest, this is a very weak computer. How much is your budget?

Weak? This is not weak! It should actually run quite fast, but of course it depends on what you do on your computer  (IDK if they are the right parts).
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 13, 2012, 11:18:51 pm
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 (I would suggest the Thermaltake V3, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094 $5 rebate ends tomorrow)
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 (I'm an Intel freak, but check this http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-3.html
if you go to microcenter.com and you live in the US, you could get the Core i5 2500k (unlocked multipliers so you could overclock) for only $179)
RAM: 4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport 4 Dual Channel DDR3 (You need probably at least 6 gb of ram for gaming, 8 is optimal. The speed, at 1600mhz, is what would be prefered, so maybe buy 2 sets of these)
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W (The most you'll ever need is 500-600W power supply for both your build and the build I am pointing you towards.)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB DDR5 (ATi has 3 tiers of graphics cards: 5000 series, 6000 series, and the 7000 series, you are looking at a series that is dying out, and shouldn't even be sold anymore. Check this out http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html
If you want to play skyrim or bf3, I would suggest higher than a 6850)
Mobo: MSI Socket...(This works for the AMD chip, but if you want to go for an Intel chip, the cost will be about 90-100 for the cheapest mobo.)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM (Great choice (my dad works for Seagate so I'm biased LOL), but do you really need 1tb? I'm using only 500gb)
OS: Windows 7 64-bit (pirate it and save 100 bucks :D lol)
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 13, 2012, 11:24:51 pm
"Today, Intel's LGA 1155 platform remains the best bet for a gaming rig. And not only for its budget-oriented performance, which is great, but also for its potential. Start with a cheap Core i3 and an inexpensive discrete GPU. Then, upgrade later to an Ivy Bridge-based chip and a faster graphics card without imposing any sort of bottleneck. SLI and CrossFire are both viable with a fast-enough CPU (even splitting PCI Express connectivity between two x8 slots), and the $180 Core i5-2400 is a gaming beast that AMD's overclocked processors cannot touch."
Straight from Tom's hardware
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/fx-4100-core-i3-2100-gaming-benchmark,3136-9.html
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: nxtboy III on March 13, 2012, 11:40:08 pm
D4rkr4in-
Triple and double posting are frowned upon here, especially over such little time. Next time please use the "edit" button.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 14, 2012, 01:34:31 am
Oh, sorry, I only posted multiple consecutive posts because they were individual and separate thoughts, but again, my highest apologies
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: BlakPilar on March 14, 2012, 06:32:46 am
I was talking to some friends yesterday and we came to an agreement that I should try to go for at least an i5 processor. As for the case, does it really matter as long as it has some kind of built-in cooling system (i.e. a fan)? I mean, I don't really plan to overclock it unless I'll need to to play Crysis (inb4 I do :P). But thanks for the links D4rkr4in, I'll check them out.

P.S. Yes, 1TB is completely necessary for me lol. I somehow managed to nearly fill 500GB in a year or two, and I'd want to be able to be able to use this build for a while.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: nxtboy III on March 14, 2012, 02:23:19 pm
It's weak, you have no idea what you are talking about

Maybe that's just because I have such a crappy computer (It has an intel atom with intel gma gpu). :P
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 14, 2012, 02:38:50 pm
It's weak, you have no idea what you are talking about
Aside from avoiding double posting within such short time and using the edit button instead, on Omnimaga you also must remain polite and respectful towards other members. With the negative post ratings enabled you would probably be at minus 3 post ratings withthis post. Everyone gotta start somewhere. As for custom builds I never ventured into that stuff myself because in Quebec I remember it was costing me higher total for separate parts than it did for a pre built system, most likely due to shipping costs and exchange rate at the time.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: BlakPilar on March 14, 2012, 05:13:55 pm
So I was talking to one of my friends today and we've decided that an i5/i7 would be better than an AMD, and since I don't really plan to overclock anything, I'm going to say i5. Now I just need a new mobo, GPU (I'm going to go with an ATi Radeon HD :P), and I guess I'll go with 8GB RAM.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 14, 2012, 06:39:17 pm
Generally, a case needs to have good airflow and good cable management. I have a GTX 580, but I used this really bad microatx case from Dell (I added the 580 myself). I changed to a HAF 922 from CoolerMaster ($80 on discount, probably out of your budget), the 580's usual 55 to a 35 (I have an intake fan blowing straight at it lol)

EDIT: degrees C for temps
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: BlakPilar on March 14, 2012, 07:41:21 pm
My max budget is around USD$700-$750 (all of the parts for this build will be for my birthday and Christmas because I really don't need anything else lol). The Cooler Master I linked to has good reviews, though, so I think I'll just stick with that and if need be I'll upgrade in the future or just add a fan.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: nxtboy III on March 14, 2012, 09:08:59 pm
Wow, I wish I had that much money. :P
(I should probably stay on topic...)
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 14, 2012, 10:24:33 pm
Case: $35
Mobo: $90-100 (The mobo is really my least decidable part, this is the cheapest you can get a lga 1155 p67/z68 mobo (difference between p67 and z68 is that z68 can use the integrated graphics (Intel HD 3000) when your graphics card fails) sometimes z68 is cheaper than p67, other times its the opposite
CPU: I recommend the Core i5 2500k as I said earlier, but if you went to the links I sent you, it shows that the g620 can get just as good performance with a more powerful graphics card. But, it does have a very small l3 cache, 3mb compared to the 6mb in the core i5. The core i3 is ok, but the Core i7 2600k would probably burst your budget at $300 (or more). Check out microcenter.com, you can get the core i5 for only $179 and the core i7 for $279, and it's a year round price  ;D
Don't even consider the X79 core i7 and mobos, they are not for gaming and way overrated (not as bad as the bulldozer from amd, but I'm just rambling here)
Ram: You are going with the ballistics, great choice since they are already ddr3 1600, but if you want to overclock them, you might want to get the Corsair Vengeance or the g.skill ripjaws/sniper
Graphics card: I previously mentioned that the 5770 is too old to even consider, gtx460 1gb or upwards is the only way to go. You could also try the 550ti since you're on a budget, but has low gpu mem clocks
power supply: go to extreme.outervision.com and check out the power supply calculator, very accurate. It seems that 700w is a lot for your build, but a little headroom is always great.
hdd: Seaaget 4eva! lol :D

 
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 14, 2012, 10:27:24 pm
It's weak, you have no idea what you are talking about
Aside from avoiding double posting within such short time and using the edit button instead, on Omnimaga you also must remain polite and respectful towards other members. With the negative post ratings enabled you would probably be at minus 3 post ratings withthis post.

"Another great evil arising from this desire to be thought rich; or rather, from the desire not to be thought poor, is the destructive thing which has been honored by the name of "speculation"; but which ought to be called Gambling."

-William Cobbett
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 14, 2012, 10:41:08 pm
Could you explain what this quote have to do with my post?
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 14, 2012, 10:58:29 pm
It's weak, you have no idea what you are talking about
you would probably be at minus 3 post ratings withthis post.

"Another great evil arising from this desire to be thought rich; or rather, from the desire not to be thought poor, is the destructive thing which has been honored by the name of "speculation"; but which ought to be called Gambling."

-William Cobbett

Speculation is destructive
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: nxtboy III on March 14, 2012, 10:59:30 pm
Hey, don't mess with DJ_O. No, jk. :P (maybe...)
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 14, 2012, 11:02:52 pm
Yea, let's keep to the topic, shouldn't have brought this back up lol
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: nxtboy III on March 14, 2012, 11:03:42 pm
That's probably a good idea.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 14, 2012, 11:12:38 pm
Well I was not speculating, I said that because your post I quoted earlier today (or the way it was worded) was rude and offensive. I was just making sure that you be careful in the future, to avoid you staff warnings or even temp bans due to many misworded or purposely rude posts.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 14, 2012, 11:16:44 pm
But you said I would probably have 3 downvotes by then. I was just pointing out that it's not necessarily going to be 3, maybe blakpilar would ignore the comment and that would only be two, presumably if you and nxtboy downvoted it
btw nxtboy, if you were offended by that, i apologize yet again
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: nxtboy III on March 14, 2012, 11:20:46 pm
btw nxtboy, if you were offended by that, i apologize yet again
That's fine. :)
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 15, 2012, 11:33:12 am
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500190 $179 GTX 560 Ti, great deal, Zotac has decent build quality
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL031512&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL031512-_-EMC-031512-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11119197-L04D $70 fml!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604 Heavily discounted this week, if you buy it, you'll get entered into a sweepstakes for free nVidia cards for life (a new one every 2 years)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389 First ATi graphics card I've posted in this post

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html New updated Graphics card hierarchy
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: shmibs on March 15, 2012, 12:00:47 pm
courtesy is important. even if you didn't intend something to be hurtful or insulting, if someone else sees it as such, and says so in a civil manner, you should avoid bringing it up again. such things can very easily turn into flaming and provocative comments, which are disallowed.

oh, and on a different note, you can use bbcode to clean up your links and make them more readable, like so:
Code: [Select]
[url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500190]$179 GTX 560 Ti[/url]
$179 GTX 560 Ti (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500190)
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 15, 2012, 12:29:28 pm
oh, I didnt know how do to that

btw, you just brought it up again yourself
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: sammyMaX on March 15, 2012, 05:40:52 pm
It would be a very good idea to wait at least a month. Intel's Ivy Bridge, Nvidia's Kepler, and the rest of AMD's Southern Islands architectures are all coming out very soon, with increases in efficiency and power.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 15, 2012, 06:29:44 pm
True, I wasn't counting that in as I assumed that he wanted it now and couldn't wait, but probably in reality it isn't that way :P
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: LincolnB on March 15, 2012, 07:00:28 pm
A 3.0 GHz processor isn't weak at all - my fastest computer here has a 1.6 GHz w/ ~2Gb RAM, and while it's not that fastest, I only ever notice it when I'm playing Minecraft. If you purchase everything detailed in your first post, as far as I can see, you can't go wrong.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 15, 2012, 10:18:32 pm
The clock speed isn't everything. It may seem like a very impressive clock speed, but compared to the cpu we are talking about right now, the core i5 2500k, the phenom can't even compete in many tasks. Since we are talking about cpu raw power and not including what games will play like, the core i5 2500k will destroy the phenom in sysmark and cinebench. Plus, the core i5 2500k can overclock to 5ghz.
The core i5 2500k may seem expensive, but if you check out microcenter.com (which I have mentioned like 90 times in this topic) you can get it for $179, only about $20 more expensive.

Edit: You forgot about the gpu too, the 5770 is a dying gpu...in fact, the 5000 series is totally fading out just like the gtx 200s...For newer games such as skyrim and bf3, you need to have greater than (or equal to) a gtx 460 1gb or a 6850
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: Netham45 on March 16, 2012, 01:08:44 pm
Edit: You forgot about the gpu too, the 5770 is a dying gpu...in fact, the 5000 series is totally fading out just like the gtx 200s...For newer games such as skyrim and bf3, you need to have greater than (or equal to) a gtx 460 1gb or a 6850

The 5770 should be able to run skyrim no problem at full. BF3, though, would require you to run at low graphics settings, but it should still be playable. Yes, the 5000 series is dated and dying, but that doesn't mean it's completely incapable of running modern games.

(Offtopic: I just bought a 5870 off of one of my friends yesterday.)

A 3.0 GHz processor isn't weak at all - my fastest computer here has a 1.6 GHz w/ ~2Gb RAM, and while it's not that fastest, I only ever notice it when I'm playing Minecraft. If you purchase everything detailed in your first post, as far as I can see, you can't go wrong.

GHz really has no impact on speed anymore. The number of cores coupled with the efficiency of the memory/instruction pipeline is where we're seeing the most increase these days. The i5 2500k pretty much beats all of AMD's current offerings hands-down. I'd definitely say the extra $20 is worth it.

For Minecraft that 2GB of RAM is going to be your main limiting factor.

@OP:
Case: CoolerMaster makes top of the line cases. I have the HAF 932, and I know people who have the one you're looking at, they're happy with it.
Processor: See previous thoughts
RAM: Looks good. With RAM being so cheap, though, why not go for 8GB?
PSU: I have that PSU, I haven't had any issues with it. One of my friends swears that OCZ is the devil, though.
GPU: See previous thoughts
Mobo: No USB 3, only two PCI-E slots. That may limit future upgradability, I'd definitely get one with at least USB 3.
HDD: Looks like a good HDD. I know you said no SSD, but the performance gain from a good SSD to put your OS on is amazing, you may want to consider it.
OS: I'd go for Win 7 Home Premium or Professional, x64 obviously.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 16, 2012, 01:40:52 pm
Edit: You forgot about the gpu too, the 5770 is a dying gpu...in fact, the 5000 series is totally fading out just like the gtx 200s...For newer games such as skyrim and bf3, you need to have greater than (or equal to) a gtx 460 1gb or a 6850

The 5770 should be able to run skyrim no problem at full. BF3, though, would require you to run at low graphics settings, but it should still be playable. Yes, the 5000 series is dated and dying, but that doesn't mean it's completely incapable of running modern games.

(Offtopic: I just bought a 5870 off of one of my friends yesterday.)

@OP:
Case: CoolerMaster makes top of the line cases. I have the HAF 932, and I know people who have the one you're looking at, they're happy with it.
Processor: See previous thoughts
RAM: Looks good. With RAM being so cheap, though, why not go for 8GB?
PSU: I have that PSU, I haven't had any issues with it. One of my friends swears that OCZ is the devil, though.
GPU: See previous thoughts
Mobo: No USB 3, only two PCI-E slots. That may limit future upgradability, I'd definitely get one with at least USB 3.
HDD: Looks like a good HDD. I know you said no SSD, but the performance gain from a good SSD to put your OS on is amazing, you may want to consider it.
OS: I'd go for Win 7 Home Premium or Professional, x64 obviously.

The 5000 series would run skyrim at such a low fps...the max during outdoors is only 40 with everything off.

I also had suggested 8 gigs earlier, if you read the previous posts.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: Netham45 on March 16, 2012, 02:01:45 pm
The 5000 series would run skyrim at such a low fps...the max during outdoors is only 40 with everything off.

I also had suggested 8 gigs earlier, if you read the previous posts.

I played through Skyrim on a 240m at medium-low settings just fine, a high-end 5000 series (As in > 5670) series should be able to handle it quite well (60fps on max settings at 1920x1080)
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 16, 2012, 10:44:04 pm
It depends. Some games might run friggin fast at medium settings or even high, but the minute you turn up one setting, especially shaders or anti-aliasing, suddenly you drop to 3 FPS.

And if you want to run Minecraft I think you need about 512 terabytes of RAM, right? :P
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: Netham45 on March 18, 2012, 08:47:38 am
Edit: You forgot about the gpu too, the 5770 is a dying gpu...in fact, the 5000 series is totally fading out just like the gtx 200s...For newer games such as skyrim and bf3, you need to have greater than (or equal to) a gtx 460 1gb or a 6850

The 5770 should be able to run skyrim no problem at full. BF3, though, would require you to run at low graphics settings, but it should still be playable. Yes, the 5000 series is dated and dying, but that doesn't mean it's completely incapable of running modern games.

(Offtopic: I just bought a 5870 off of one of my friends yesterday.)

@OP:
Case: CoolerMaster makes top of the line cases. I have the HAF 932, and I know people who have the one you're looking at, they're happy with it.
Processor: See previous thoughts
RAM: Looks good. With RAM being so cheap, though, why not go for 8GB?
PSU: I have that PSU, I haven't had any issues with it. One of my friends swears that OCZ is the devil, though.
GPU: See previous thoughts
Mobo: No USB 3, only two PCI-E slots. That may limit future upgradability, I'd definitely get one with at least USB 3.
HDD: Looks like a good HDD. I know you said no SSD, but the performance gain from a good SSD to put your OS on is amazing, you may want to consider it.
OS: I'd go for Win 7 Home Premium or Professional, x64 obviously.

The 5000 series would run skyrim at such a low fps...the max during outdoors is only 40 with everything off.

I also had suggested 8 gigs earlier, if you read the previous posts.

Just an update: I got my 5870 yesterday. It's playing battlefield 3 on high at a decent framerate, which would be way more than Skyrim would need.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 18, 2012, 02:40:50 pm
Doesn't Skyrim have like 100 NPCs in one map like most newer RPGs, though? I know some RPGs, even on consoles, tend to lag when visiting the middle of big villages where there's some sort of fountain with a shitload of characters hanging around there, same for huge plains with plenty of enemies.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: Netham45 on March 18, 2012, 02:44:17 pm
Doesn't Skyrim have like 100 NPCs in one map like most newer RPGs, though? I know some RPGs, even on consoles, tend to lag when visiting the middle of big villages where there's some sort of fountain with a shitload of characters hanging around there, same for huge plains with plenty of enemies.

BF3 has giant 64-player maps that I've been able to play on no problem.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 18, 2012, 03:04:34 pm
DirectX 11.1 is coming out with Windows 8, the 5k series probably won't support it, and left to rot like the iphone 3g with iOS 4.21 (off topic)
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 19, 2012, 01:19:32 am
I certainly hope that games won't start being Windows 8-only like back when halo 2 got released for Windows Vista and not XP (in years where XP was still very popular and Vista wasn't). I heard that Windows 8 interface was very different. Or will Direct X 11.1 be compatible with Vista/7?
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 19, 2012, 01:25:37 am
I heard that Windows 8 interface was very different. Or will Direct X 11.1 be compatible with Vista/7?

Yea, their new theme, "metro" is made more for tablets than computers, so it will suck. The consumer preview is already out, if anyone wants to try. Idk if 11.1 will be compatible with Vista/7. The point of my post was that the 5k series is something you want to stay away from at this point in time.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: DJ Omnimaga on March 19, 2012, 03:39:43 am
Actually I would love this theme on a tablet. Just not an actual computer. They need to add a classic mode where we can use the old Windows 95 or Vista like themes. And yeah I know about the preview. I don't know if I'll try it yet, but I might in VirtualBox or something.
Title: Re: Help with a custom build?
Post by: D4rkr4in on March 19, 2012, 11:01:24 am
Actually I would love this theme on a tablet. Just not an actual computer.

Yea, that's what I meant lol

Because I can't double post, here's something that will get us back on topic...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL032012&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL032012-_-EMC-032012-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11119227-L014B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL032012&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL032012-_-EMC-032012-Index-_-ComputerCases-_-11119227-L014B)
the elite 430 for 30 bucks
idk how to embed links or whatever