Tell me about building a gaming PC

I've gotten the bug to build a gaming PC ever since seeing my room mate playing BF3 and Skyrim on his. It's obviously way superior to my crappy Xbox, and I really want to be able to mod games. The thing is, I don't know much at all about computers and have no idea where to start. All I really know is that I want to be able to play games such as Battlefield 3, Skyrim, Arma2, etc on the best graphic settings with no lag or anything.

I would really appreciate any advice on this. Thanks.

Highest resolution screen.

Fast video with lots of dedicated memory.

Fast processor.

A shitload of RAM.

Solid state HD(?)

Budget?

It can be overwhelming but a Intel I7 or a solid AMD, 8 gigs of Ram, and a good video card will allow you to play all those games on high settings.

Add a solid state drive that holds your games and you are about peaked out.

This is what I went with when I picked up a PC for BF3. It plays BF3, Skyrim, Age of Conan, on highest settings on a 22" monitor.

It may be cheaper than listed here because it's been about 6 months.

If you find a package on cyberpower.com that you like you can compare it to the choices I made and piece together your own machine, have them build it, warranty it, and mail it to your door.



Current Gamer Dragon Package : http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Dragon/


My Rig:

Code: DRAGON9000Z $1,363.00 x 1 $1,363.00
Gamer Dragon 9000 (NO MONITOR)
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Dragon_9000/

*BASE_PRICE: [+1179]
BLUETOOTH: None
CAS: * Apevia X-Cruiser 2 Mid-Tower Case w/ Side-Panel Window & MultiMeter Display [-26] (Silver Color [+0])
CASUPGRADE: 12in Liquid Neon Thunder Pattern Light [+15] (Blue Color)
CD: Samsung SH-B123L 12X BLU-RAY Player & DVDRW Combo (SILVER COLOR [+9])
CD2: None
CPU: AMD Phenom™II X6 1100T Six-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
CS_FAN: Default case fans
FA_HDD: None
FAN: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
FLASHMEDIA: None
FREEGAME_VC02: None
GLASSES: None
HDD: 30 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Single Hard Drive)
HDD2: 2TB (2TBx1) SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
HEADSET1: Razer Megalodon 7.1 Surround Sound Gaming Headset [+154]
IEEE_CARD: None
KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
MB_ADDON: None
MEMORY: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
MONITOR: None
MONITOR2: None
MONITOR3: None
MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte GA-770T-USB3 AMD 770 Chipset Support DDR3 Ultra Durable™3 Socket AM3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-II, RAID, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 4 PCIe X1, & 2 PCI [-15]
MOUSE: Razer Deathadder 3500 DPI High Precision 3.5G Infrared Gaming Mouse [+47]
MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
NCSW: None
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: 700 Watts - XtremeGear SLI/CrossFireX Ready Power Supply
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
TEMP: None
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBFLASH: None
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VC_PHYSX: None
VIDEO: AMD Radeon HD 6950 2GB GDDR5 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by AMD)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
WNC: None
_PRICE: (+1363)
_view_: {2ABFAEA0-2AE7-41A2-8C16-EFCFAA6A9114}
_load_: 5/15/2011 7:39:02 PM
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
SUBTOTAL $1,363.00
Sales Tax (N/A) $0.00
Shipping: UPS Ground $75.00
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
GRAND TOTAL $1,438.00

+1

My friend has his hooked up to a 26" HD tv. Is this good to do, or is it better to get an actual computer monitor?

I'd like to keep it pretty close to $1000, but I want to build it right the first time. I don't want to have to spend more money down the road because I was too cheap to buy something the first time around. I could probably spend $1500 if I had to.

I think you'd better plan on the $1500 figure.

You don't say if this is going too be a laptop or a desktop.

I was thinking a desktop. Do either have an advantage over the other?

This depends. Are you satisfied with 1080p, or do you want higher resolutions?

Also, if you don't know much about PCs, another route would be, for an easy "in" to the PC gaming world is to buy a decent prebuilt computer with good specs, make sure it's got a PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot, make sure it's big enough to house a beefy video card, and then install a beefy video card, possibly upgrade the power supply if you need. This will get you some experience with installing parts, and working inside of a computer without the overwhelming feeling of having to build one from just parts.

When I say I don't know much about computers, I mean I don't know anything about computers.

It's probably gunna be a project I'll get my room mate to walk me through.

where in TX are you?

If in Houston, I can help.

Desktops are more modular and flexible and almost certainly will either cost less, or you will get more for your money, depending on how you look at it.

Consult a good Computer Geek, if you (like me) know nothing.

Case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

DVD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

HDD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226178

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128546

Power:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

SSD: (for caching, smart response technology)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167119

Video card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130782

Total is $1372.91, with discounts/rebates its $1342.91.

Windows 7 license is $99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986


This would be a decent monitor choice:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&sku=320-2736&baynote_bnrank=0&baynote_irrank=0&~ck=baynoteSearch&redirect=1

http://www.digitalstormonline.com/compspecialdeals.asp

Go buy a gaming PC, what most people do not tell you about building your own pc, especially a gaming pc is all the headaches involved in actually getting it to run properly.

First you need to know how to actually put one together, not hard but you need to have some degree of mechanical knowledge. Then you have the problem of having parts fail straight from the factory, it happens, I say about 5% of the time, which is about normal for electronic components .

Well then you have a bad part, the pc will not boot up, you need to know how to diagnose it and then warranty the bad item. Which might take a few weeks even and dicking around.

Then once the pc finally boots up you need to install the proper bios settings, using the standard boot config is normally shit and also need to manually locate and update each individual driver and make sure they are all functioning without problems.
90% of the people will come here and tell you how they threw parts together and booted up the pc and never did anything else, well they are doing it the wrong way and their computer is running about a third of its potential.

Personally for gaming, or really no hassle bullshit I would purchase one already built, all the BS is done with, you honestly are only paying a labor and warranty premium which will be about a hundred to two hundred more and save you a lot of headaches in the long run.
Trust me this is coming from a guy who was building computers since the mid 90's


Also on a second note, buying a prebuilt PC from one of the box stores, such as a HP or anything like that, the parts they use are normally lower quality Indian items, their life span is not that long and do not run that well to begin with, you might have your new computer start acting funny a year or so in and need replacing, the higher custom gaming companies use much higher tier parts that work the way they are supposed to and last many years.

Spending too much on the PSU. I got my Antec Earthwatts 650 for $70. It is not modular, but you can get good deals on 650s every now and then. A friend of mine got an Antec High Current Gamer 750 (again not modular) for $90 some months back. Also, get a better CPU cooler. The OEM Intel/AMD CPU coolers are garbage. For a cheap but decent cooler I would look at the Thermalright 120mm or Xigmatek Gia 120mm.

OP, building a PC is not too hard.

If you get a good case (I am going to suggest the Corsair 500R, 550D, and 600) and modern components it is rather simple. Somethings to remember:

Make sure the PSU is off and unplugged.
Touch the metal of the case frequently to ground yourself.
Be gentle with the motherboard. If something doesn't fit don't put too much force.

Antec PSU's tend to be a bit more flaky than Corsairs/Seasonic's from what I've seen and experienced.

Plus that Corsair has a nice 7 year warranty, which those antec psu's don't have.

Also 38-40 amps on the +12V rail is cutting it too close, the corsair gives you 52 amps which leave some breathing room.

Plus with the rebate, @$109 it really isn't that much at all.

The intel heatsinks are find if you don't overclock, though using 3rd party thermal past is a good idea for more consistent temps.

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