My First Gaming PC Build

By DJ Idol - 08-15-2012, 05:02 PM - Boxden > BX GameSpot

What's up BX. Basically, I've finally decided I'm going to build a gaming PC. Back in the days of CS 1.5 I only used to game on PC then eventually I switched to consoles because I couldn't afford to upgrade my !! as I was too young to have a job. I know there's some of you on here who have gaming PC's so I just wanted some feedback on my plans so far.

As of right now the case is open to suggestions, trying to find a case I like that also has features I want/need is such a !!ing pain-in-the-a#s I eventually just picked one and said !! it. My main thing is, if it's going to have LED accents they have to be blue. I'm not down for red it just looks too heavy metal rocker style to me.

Anyways, here's the parts so far:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/eWM4

The main things I'm interested in hearing feedback on are the graphics card (It seems this is about the standard in higher-level cards as of right now..and I believe I should be able to play games like BF3 on maxed settings?) and my motherboard.

[pic]

05:18 PM

If you can expand your budget by ~ $100, I highly recommend that you buy a 4GB variation of the 680. Vram is fairly taxing these days -[..]uming you intend to play on a resolution greater than 1080p.

And get yourself a soundcard, as a producer you should know better unless you're using external sources.

08-15-2012, 05:35 PM

1st, I would recommend getting a larger SSD. Installing Windows alone will take up about half of that leaving you with enough room to only have about 2 games installed at a time, or you would run out of room just installing Max Payne 3. I have a 150GB SSD and I feel like getting a larger one since I'm always copying installed games back and forth to one of my other drives when I'm not playing them for a while.

Video card, I would say go with a 680 with 4GB instead of 2GB. It'll be about $50-60 more. I know Max Payne 3 won't even let you set it to max settings if you have less than 3GB of video memory.

I've never used an ASRock MoBo so I can't really comment on that but it seems legit.

If you don't want your PC to be loud, I'd also recommend getting something like a Corsair hydro-series cpu cooler. My old PC used to sound like a plane taking off. I put one of these in my new build and it makes no noise at all.

08-15-2012, 05:49 PM

Thanks everyone for the input.

@EskimoTV - That crossed my mind but I'll probably be sticking with my Macbook Pro for my producing right now...there's too much !! scattered all over the place for me to even begin transferring everything. Along with trying to find all my serial #'s n !!.

@IGOT!!TZ Can I not install software on my 2TB HD? I thought SSD's were basically strictly for running your OS and HD's were used for installing software. If not...that sucks. I'll definitely have to upgrade that. I'll also check out that CPU cooler.

As for the video card, I'll definitely be upgrading to the 4GB.

08-15-2012, 06:07 PM

Originally Posted by DJ Idol

@IGOT!!TZ Can I not install software on my 2TB HD? I thought SSD's were basically strictly for running your OS and HD's were used for installing software. If not...that sucks. I'll definitely have to upgrade that. I'll also check out that CPU cooler.

As for the video card, I'll definitely be upgrading to the 4GB.

A lot of people use the SSD just for Windows and other apps on while using the HDD to save info one. The difference between having a game on an SSD vs HDD is minimal. If you can spare an extra few seconds of your life then install your games on there.

As for you parts

CPU is good. You can overclock that !! with ease. Since you have the liquid cooling you'll be able to OC a bit more

CPU Cooler. I've tried the Corsair H100 TWICE and BOTH units failed on me which pissed me off so now I have a fan on there which I forgot it's name

Mobo - ASRock is good. If your NOT going to go crazy with overclocking and stuff like that then you can look for a cheaper mobo. Just remember this mobo is set up for DUAL CHANNEL RAM meaning you have to put the ram in the correct slots ex. 1 & 3 or 2 & 4.

RAM - Change that !! immediatelyand get yourself some ram with the speed of 1600Mhz! You always want RAM for a gaming pc to be 1600Mhz+

Storage - See my above comments

Vid Card - You'll be more then set with that

PSU - Plenty of juice.

07:11 PM

Originally Posted by DarkSidesHero

CPU Cooler. I've tried the Corsair H100 TWICE and BOTH units failed on me which pissed me off so now I have a fan on there which I forgot it's name

I've been using the H50 (unavailable now) on an i7 950 OC'd to 3.71 for about 18 months no problems. The only noise my PC makes is cds/dvds spinning. Don't think I could ever go back to load[..] fans.

As for installing games, that's just the way I do it and most the people I game with do the same.

08-15-2012, 07:00 PM

Should get a 6 core Phenom black like mine. !! is awesome.

08-15-2012, 07:35 PM

Originally Posted by DarkSidesHero

A lot of people use the SSD just for Windows and other apps on while using the HDD to save info one. The difference between having a game on an SSD vs HDD is minimal. If you can spare an extra few seconds of your life then install your games on there.

As for you parts

CPU is good. You can overclock that !! with ease. Since you have the liquid cooling you'll be able to OC a bit more

CPU Cooler. I've tried the Corsair H100 TWICE and BOTH units failed on me which pissed me off so now I have a fan on there which I forgot it's name

Mobo - ASRock is good. If your NOT going to go crazy with overclocking and stuff like that then you can look for a cheaper mobo. Just remember this mobo is set up for DUAL CHANNEL RAM meaning you have to put the ram in the correct slots ex. 1 & 3 or 2 & 4.

RAM - Change that !! immediatelyand get yourself some ram with the speed of 1600Mhz! You always want RAM for a gaming pc to be 1600Mhz+

Storage - See my above comments

Vid Card - You'll be more then set with that

PSU - Plenty of juice.

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely be changing my RAM out. As far as the motherboard goes, thanks for the heads-up on the dual channel !!, I would have got pissed if I couldn't figure it out lmao. And would you really consider my CPU cooler as liquid cooling? I guess so, I always thought it was more complicated I guess lol.

Off to find different RAM.

08-15-2012, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by DJ Idol

Thanks for the info. I'll definitely be changing my RAM out. As far as the motherboard goes, thanks for the heads-up on the dual channel !!, I would have got pissed if I couldn't figure it out lmao. And would you really consider my CPU cooler as liquid cooling? I guess so, I always thought it was more complicated I guess lol.

Off to find different RAM.

Liquid cooling can get crazy. The unit you have is a simple CPU cooling solution. I'd love to do a CPU + GPU cooling system but can't right now.

08-15-2012, 08:37 PM

I'm thinking about making me a gaming PC soon.

08-15-2012, 09:29 PM

thanks for the read im about to build me a gaming pc i got a decent pc but i only got a wack a*s 6450 raedeon im about to build me a monster and give my other pc to my wife

08-15-2012, 10:04 PM

Honest to your mother I was planning on blowing $2k on a gaming PC but can't really come up with games worth playing at 1080p 16xAA maxed out except for FPS', which I don't play.

I had a hard time coming up with a list but... I'll try anyway...

1. Witcher 2
2. DA:O
3. Civilization V
4. SC II
5. D3
6. Sins of a Solar Empire
7. Total War: Shogun
8. Anno 2070

...and that's about it. I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to play any console port on the PC. Any other games I should be on the lookout for?

08-15-2012, 10:14 PM

Seems like your into those rpg rts games so I really can't help there.

08-15-2012, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by Kuchiki_Byakuya

Honest to your mother I was planning on blowing $2k on a gaming PC but can't really come up with games worth playing at 1080p 16xAA maxed out except for FPS', which I don't play.

I had a hard time coming up with a list but... I'll try anyway...

1. Witcher 2
2. DA:O
3. Civilization V
4. SC II
5. D3
6. Sins of a Solar Empire
7. Total War: Shogun
8. Anno 2070

...and that's about it. I ABSOLUTELY REFUSE to play any console port on the PC. Any other games I should be on the lookout for?

Since your into RTS check out some of these. Alot of them aren't bleeding edge !! but look great.

Company of Heroes
Warhammer 40k
World in Conflict
Age of Empires 3
DOTA 2
League of Legends
The Secret World (This and GW2 are MMORPGs)
Guild Wars 2 (Not out yet)

08-16-2012, 02:01 AM

^good !!... thinking of hopping on that DOTA 2 bandwagon when it comes out.

You got a release date or something?

08-16-2012, 02:30 AM

Originally Posted by Kuchiki_Byakuya

^good !!... thinking of hopping on that DOTA 2 bandwagon when it comes out.

You got a release date or something?

Nah I don't think it has a release date yet. League of Legends ain't bad either though and thats already out. You can try your luck and sign up on their website for the beta.

08-16-2012, 02:58 AM

From my knowledge (not saying I'm right) when I was building my PC last summer for BF3, I did a lot of research and talked to some friends who also PC game, you could save some money on the CPU, not a lot of money since the prices are similar. An I7 is overkill if your just using it for PC gaming. From my understanding, an I5 and I7 will give you the same performance gaming wise, if you do a lot of threading, Photoshop, DVD ripping etc, then you will see the perks of an I7 over an I5. I could be wrong so someone let me know if I am lol. just giving you my two cents. Everything else looks good except the ram which they already told you. Good stuff on getting a PC computer again [pic]

08-16-2012, 05:18 AM

Originally Posted by IeatDatAzz04

You don't need a sound.card

The difference between onboard audio vs. a dedicated sound card is comparable to SD vs. HD.

08-16-2012, 06:51 AM

if you are not doing alot of video encoding I suggest you drop down to an i5, then get a better cooler. the h60 sucks ballz, had two of em and both of em !!ed up. I ended up going back to air with a Noctua nh-d14, !!s a monster.

I would also have a look at a factory overclocked 670. they run as fast if not faster than a 680 and can cost about 100 bucks less.

07:48 AM

Originally Posted by +HydrO+

if you are not doing alot of video encoding I suggest you drop down to an i5, then get a better cooler. the h60 sucks ballz, had two of em and both of em !!ed up. I ended up going back to air with a Noctua nh-d14, !!s a monster.

I would also have a look at a factory overclocked 670. they run as fast if not faster than a 680 and can cost about 100 bucks less.

THIS x1,0000... THEM NOCTUA AIR COOLERS ARE A FKEN BEAST. I'VE HEARD THEY EVEN OUT PERFORM THE H100s

AND I WAS ALSO GOING TO SAY GO WITH A GTX670 THERES NO NEED TO SPEND ALL THAT EXTRA MONEY ON THE 680 OR 690.2GB IS GOOD ENOUGH. TAKE A LOOK AT THE ASUS 670

FOR SOUNDCARD I WOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THIS ASUS 5.1

SSD SIZE IS GOOD FOR YOUR OS AND FOR NECESSARY EVERYDAY APPS ITS WHAT I USE. FOR GAMES ON HD I WOULD GO WITH A SAMSUNG F4 OR F3. THOSE ARE REALLY UNDERATED FOR THEIR PERFOMANCE.

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