Thursday, April 30, 2009

Gaming Computer Build

HAHA this should be fun for you.I am looking to build my own setup. Looking for some recommendations on all the parts I would need. (with their specs, and price. if possible) I want to spend $800-$1300. As you know, I am a gamer. But I am also a Teaching Assistant at PSU, so I do a lot of word processing, email, etc. I am also a hardcore pirate, but I have an external hard drive for storage. (I have a TV that I use as a monitor) (also I have several Computers in my computer graveyard that I can pull parts from, depending on if they are compatible) GIVE ME YOUR SUGGESTIONS!!!!!

-INFIA on nades forum

First of all what kind of parts

Well what kind of parts do you have from that computer?

Tools - $105

Before I start taking about the computer I gotta talk about some tools. It's always good to invest in a nice set of tools as it will make the building process much more comfortable and safe, don't want to fry your $800 dollar plus PC just because you didn't get a wrist band.

Anti-Static Wrist Band - $25

Anti-Static wrist bands are super important as they prevent you from, to put it eloquently, frying your PC. Every time you sit down or touch something you get static electricity. Static can instantly fry your $100 video card and sometimes it may not fry it but it may damage your components more subtly and lower their life. While some say you can take away static just by touching the computer case it's safer to get a band. The cheapest bands are ones that are connected to a ground and it takes away static by grounding you. The only problem with that is that it is super annoying because you feel tethered to the ground. For a little extra you can get a wireless wrist band which takes away static electricity passively. Though, with wireless bands you need to wait about 15 minutes before starting.

Ace Recommends

  • CABLES UNLIMITED ACC-1410C Wireless Clean Room Approved Anti Static Wrist Strap $25 ($22 + $3 shipping)


 

Kits - $39

The rest of the tools you need you can usually get in a kit. Personally I like those little screw drivers that turn as they make screwing so much easier, especially in the confined spaces of my computer. Heck I hold it in place with my mouth when I'm doing hard drives as I have to hold the hard drive with my other hand. Just get one from RadioShack or whatever.

Ace Recommends

  • You might want to get a full kit just for good measure.
  • Tech Kit 1- Includes Ultra 107 Piece Tool Kit, Antistatic Wrist Strap, All Purpose Assembly Screws & Ultra 20/24 Pin Power Supply Tester - $39 ($30 + $9 shipping)
    • http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2782423&CatId=1801
    • Comes with a boat load of stuff and is cheap.
      • I mean its nice to have a soldering iron, pliers, and all that stuff.
    • I am a huge ultra fan.
    • Has a power supply tester which for the price of this kit is pretty darn good.
      • Power supply testers are good for troubleshooting as a lot of times you just can't figure out what's wrong and then it turns out to be your power supply…not fun…not fun at all
    • It has a decent wrist band if you don't mind being tethered. I would still get the wireless one but this one might be nice to have around if you lose your wireless one.

Screws -$12

It's always good to have a nice set of screws. Also the screws that come with cases are typically not all that great. I got some Ultra screws and replaced all of the screws in my computer with Ultra ones and they are so much easier to take out and put back as they have bigger heads and better threads. They are also a bit longer. Also keep in mind that you must get screws as OEM disk and disc drives don't come with screws.

Dust Cans -$6

Dust cans are always a helpful tool. You can just them to blow dust out and stuff like that. It helps to blow dust off when you're working inside your computer.
They are super cheap and you can find them at Walgreens, Best Buy, Office Max, costco, etc. Don't get them online though, the shipping costs too much.

Cables - $23

You're going to need a couple of cables for everything. OEM disks and disc drives don't come with SATA cables. You're going to want to get a cable with a one end straight and one end at an angle as you need it to be straight to plug into your motherboard and the end being at an angle helps keep it secure and it can fit in tighter spaces.

Your also going to want a molex splitter and a molex to a 2x SATA power adapter. I also find that using a molex to a 2x SATA power adapter is better than using running SATA power from your PSU as it splits it right where the drives are.

  • SATA Cable
    • Get like five of these.
    • OKGEAR 18" SATA II Cable Model GC18AKM12 $3 ($2 + $1 shipping)
  • Molex to SATA Power cable

Other

Always have a flash light handy, a sharpie, and patience. Although building your own computer is easy, fun, and rewarding stuff might happen and you might need to troubleshoot stuff. There is also always a chance of getting something DOA.


 


 


 


 

Your preference - $175

Case is 100% preference so I'm not going to go around recommending one, that would be like me recommending what T-shirt you should buy. Allot about $100 for your case. Although I must say a case that is tool less is great, I have a tooled case and I really wish I would have sprung for a tooless case as it can be a pain in the ass to screw in the hard drives and the thumb screws aren't always perfect.

Keyboard/mouse is also 100% preference, but since you're a gamer let's say about $75 in total.

Main Parts- $295

Motherboard "Routes"

You pretty much have four key routes, AMD/ATI, Intel/Nvidia, AMD/Nvidia, or Intel/ATI but for the sake of this article I'm going with AMD/ATI since you're on a budget. Also keep in mind you can use any single video card without SLI/Crossfire but you're better off just get a matching chipset.

Motherboard - $145

Motherboard is more or less preference but I recommend investing extra money in a motherboard as it will be cheaper and easier in the long run to upgrade your PC. My recommendation is to go for a mid to low high end motherboard if you are on a medium budget. Motherboards are also kind of about preference but here is what you should have.

  • DDR3 RAM- 1600 should be fine.
    • Go for DDR3 because it is actually better value now than DDR2. Average DDR3 RAM costs less than the best DDR2 RAM and is obviously much faster.
  • ATX form factor
  • Get a board without a video chipset, its just a waste of money, your already getting a video card.
  • Search URL http://tinyurl.com/egg-ati-amd-ddr3-mobo

Ace Recommends

  • Open Box ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX ATX AMD Motherboard $145 ($137 + $8 shipping)
    • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131363R
    • Open box is typically a good deal and this motherboard has everything you could ever want. It supports DDR3 1600 which is a plus. It also can do crossfire and it has an eSATA port. It also has great CPU support.
    • Asus is a good brand and they make solid boards..no complaints.

RAM -$65

RAM is by far the most easily upgradable component there is. A trained monkey could upgrade it, I mean seriously. That and it goes down in price in an extremely fast rate. So go for just the middle-end. Besides ANY DDR3 RAM will be good as they start off at 1333 MHZ.

  • "Norm" atm
    • 2GB x 2
    • 1600mhz
    • DDR3
  • Check out the "timings"
    • Lower is better
    • They have four numbers, all you need to know is that the lower they are the better.
  • RAM goes down really, really fast and while I'm going to recommend one it's not hard to look for RAM.
  • Get RAM that's rated for gaming, it usually has lower timing and doesn't cost too much more.
  • Go for a name brand, doesn't matter which one just don't go for some random brand because they usually suck
  • Heat spreaders are helpful but they are by no means required, though almost all "gaming RAM" will have heat spreaders.
  • Remember you must use the same RAM for both slots which is why they are always in pairs.
  • Search URL: http://tinyurl.com/egg-ddr3-2gbx2-desktop

Ace Recommends

Power Supply Unit (PSU)- $85

Power supplies simply power your computers components. Power supplies are rated in maximum wattage and you must make sure you have more than enough wattage for your components. A lot of research must be put it into PSUs and be careful as PSUs are often over rated as all for the ratings are done by the manufacturer. Invest in a higher end PSU as PSUs have a definite lifetime and cheap PSUs waste a lot of power.

  • Don't get rosewill PSUs…they suck
  • Get t lest 500W just to be safe as the real rating is usually a little less and you also don't want the PSU to be at near max capacity because it will lower the life.
  • http://tinyurl.com/egg-psus-eightwatt
  • Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active $85 (free shipping)
    • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015
    • I have an Antec power supply and it's great. They last a good long while and they are great quality. It is also modular so it has a lot less clutter than other PSUs as you just plug in what you need.
    • It's a good wattage and it should last a good long while.
    • It also has a great price, free shipping, has less energy loss, and is crossfire ready.


 

Cooling

One thing to note about cooling is that it really never goes down in price. It's not like other components which follow Moore's law to different degrees. Metal and the manufacturing costs on cooling doesn't go down much. Since you're on a budget go for air cooling, and don't chinch here. Cooling helps the life of your components and keeps your computer running smoothly and keeps it from randomly freezing. Also when it comes to your case, HD, and chipset fans I would spend a little extra since you have to pay for shipping anyways. I think it's kind of stupid to get a super cheapo fan when you have to pay $2 for shipping anyways. If your shopping at a store than I guess it's a little different but like I said don't chinch. You can have an insane computer but if you chinch on cooling then it will really hurt. Water cooling also isn't a bad idea and it really isn't that expansive anymore.

I would say go for water cooling if you have some skill building PCs and your computer is in a place where noise matters, like next to your bed. I used to have my computer on my desk in my room before I got a new laptop and I always wished I would have gotten water cooling as it was annoying as all heck and I would put my computer to sleep because of it…and even in sleep the fans still go a little bit. Also you said you were a pirate so water cooling isn't a bad idea since you, like me like to use your computer to download stuff 24/7.

I will go over both of these now and say the pros and cons. Also one thing to note is that water cooling is an all-in-one thing and you buy one pump which cools everything from your RAM to your CPU.

Air Cooling- $44

Case Fans- $20

Case fans are usually incredibly cheap and how many case fans depends on your case. I'm just going allot $25 to case fans. You're pretty much on your own here as they really are an insignificant factor (money wise) and they are all the same. Also depending on whether or not you have a see-through case you might want to spend a little extra for ones with lights. I would say go for it, it's a nominal price difference and it helps aesthetically.

  • Get one with LEDs
  • Typical size is 120mm for cases
  • Look at their RPM and noise ratio
    • Different fans have different amount of noise. This all depends on where your computer is. If it's in your room try to get the best noise ratio and get them slightly slower. If it is in an office than get one that's faster but still try to make sure it has a decent noise ratio.
  • You can also save a couple of dollars and take the fans out of your old system, although really just get new ones. They are so damn cheap.

Chipset Fan -$16

Chipset fans are helpful and super cheap. They certainly can't hurt so just slap one on and that's it. Also they will keep your $145 motherboard from failing. There really much choice here though, for example newegg only selsl 3 fans. Go for a slimline one as the taller ones can get annoying with your expansion cards.

Ace Recommends

Hard Drive Cooler - $8

Hard drive coolers are cheap and good. If you have an extra HD slot or two get one two and throw it in. They keep your drives running smoothly and more importantly make them last a bit longer. They are worth the extra couple bucks. You can just get one per drive.

  • Pretty much all of the HDD coolers are good. They are just standard fans in a 3.5' enclosure.
  • They all use standard molex power adapters and most have a double sided connector which means that you can also plug in another thing into the other side of it.
  • Just like case fans hard drive coolers have DB and RPM ratings.
  • I would go with the ones with the largest fans, as you mind as well get as much out of the slot as you can.
  • Remember, like I said in my previous RAID article, hard drives are the most sensitive part of your computer as they are the only moving part. Hard drive are sensitive to temperature and at a certain threshold they will run fine but life will be diminished. Last thing you need is to risk your data and hard drives are still about $100 so it's worth cooling them.

Ace Recommends

  • VANTEC HDC-502A Aluminum Aluminum Hard Disk Cooler – Retail $8 ($6 + $2)

CPU Cooler - $0

This is your most important cooling part. If there is anything you shouldn't chinch on it's your CPU cooling. You can get cheapo case fans and no HD and chipset cooler but get a decent CPU cooler as CPU coolers directly affect performance . But since you're not getting an average processor you might be fine just sticking with the included fan.

Components

Video Card - $100

Video cards are one of the most important parts of a gaming computer build. Video cards are typically the bottleneck in most games these days. Ati has come out with some pretty sweet cards lately and they are pretty darn cheap. I have always used Nvidia but ATI is really competing on price lately. I would go with the brand new (like only days old) ATI Radeon 4770 for $100 for your build although I don't think it's on newegg yet. It has gotten some pretty stellar reviews. Just read up on these two articles.

  • http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/28/1823234
  • http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/ati-radeon-hd-4770-gpu-review-roundup/


     

    CPU - $70

CPUs are not as important as you might think for gaming PCs. Sure you need make sure your CPU can keep up with your video card but this CPU should be fine for almost any game. It's cheap as all heck and has had stellar reviews. Also AMD has also been pretty good for gaming as AMD processors are better for gaming whereas Intel processors are better for other processing tasks. AMD processors have are better at large calculations, like physics calculations in games, whereas Intel processors are better at small calculations.

Ace Recommends

DVD Drives - $50

DVD Drives are of course a necessity. DVD Drives are also super cheap now-en-days at about $25 each. Some DVD Drives have different features such as light scribe, but they are pretty much all the same.

  • Get two drives, you have the slots on your computer case, use em'
  • DVD Drives are mostly about preference as they are pretty much all the same.
    • You may like a certain brand just because or you may find that this drive is better for burning wii backups or certain media than others.
    • Personally I like lite-on, they have always given me great burns and I have even used crappy Memorex media that I had lying around to burn wii backups.
  • Get one with a SATA interface, the cords are smaller so less clutter, I used to have an IDE drive and I ditched it
  • Just look around and pick one I'll recommend a few but it really doesn't matter
  • I would get two completely different as one drive might be better for doing burning some types of media and the other for other types of media, just best to get two different ones just for probabilities sake
  • Get a light scribe drive if you can, it's an extra buck, it certainly can't hurt
  • Get an OEM drive, they are half the price. Though you need to make sure to buy some screws and SATA cables.

Ace Recommends

Like I said just look around. I just randomly picked those, but you should probably browse, or you could just pick a pioneer and a lite-on, that would not be a bad idea. Pioneer is supposed to be the best quality burner and lite-on is supposed to be the absolute best at disc quality scanning.

Hard Disks

Hard disks are of course a super important part of a PC. They are essential to running your computer and storing your data.


 


 


 
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1 comment:

  1. RequiemJune 24, 2009 at 6:06 PM

    the 7850 isnt that great at overclocking... on a gigabyte ma790x-ud4p i was able to get it to a stable 3.0GHz with the stock cooler. only way to OC was to up the multiplier (and increasing voltages), upping the FSB would cause it not to post or crash when stress tested. perhaps the newer phenom II 550 x2 Callisto (3.1GHz)is a better way to go. ~$110 tho...

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