Advices for Hard-Core Gaming System

[WickedCat]

Hey guys

 

I am planning to build my upcoming gaming system.

Though I need your advices since I don't lookout what the best current parts are.

 

Also, I'm not much of a computer builder, so I don't really know what part can go with another to maximize its efficiency.

 

 

My goal:

I wan't to be able to play any current game in ultra.

I have been playing Lineage II for a while now, and still the game can get really laggy even if only a few people are displayed on the screen.

Still, I don't want to spend loads of money into this, 800$ at most I would say.

Also, I would like to take advantage of any upcoming sales to lower the prices!!

 

My specs:

Case: Antec p182

Mobo: Asus P5Q Pro

CPU: INTEL Dual Core E5800 - 3.2 GHz - Socket LGA775

GPU: Sapphire HD 4850 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E

HDD: Seagate 7200 RPM 500GB

RAM: 2x2GB

PSU: SeaSonic 430W

OS: W7

 

About my current specs:

First, do you think I can play Skyrim / BF3 / MW3 / basically any greedy current game (even if not in ultra) without freezing ?

 

If no, then lets move on.

 

What to buy:

I want my upcoming system to last, so I will go for "among the best".

 

First, I am considering in buying a SSD to make the games and the OS even smoother and faster to load with the new parts.

 

As for the processor, is Intel better than AMD for gaming ?

If they're the same, then I will stick with Intel and I will go with an i7 QuadCore.

I checked the prices of the 6cores, it's just insane and out of the question.

 

Concerning the GPU, I noticed many players use the NVidia GTX 560 nowdays when watching some random "skyrim ultra settings" videos on youtube, so maybe I should get it as well.

I have no idea what would be a clever choice to save money and have the guarantee to play any games with ultra settings.

 

The mother board is a part I am not really paying attention to. As long as the socket matches the processor I think it's ok. That's all I know about mobo honestly.

 

As for the memory, I think 4GB is enough, then again discuss.

Also is 2x2gb better than 1 single 4gb pin ?

 

Regarding the cooling system, I have never tried any water cooling system so far.

I think my case is good enough in that purpose, but still let me know.

 

 

Ok, I leave you with all those questions,

tell me about the sales, what website to check to see the best offers

and thank you in advance!

Edited January 3, 2012 by WickedCat

[Pronam]

My advice in order of importance vs your current system:

-Better video card, that card is quite outdated. I'm on a low budget but I still got the HD 6770, which runs better than that one. The GTX560 is waaaay better than the AMD4580 and will make your games much more stunning. The most important part of newer video cards is that it has updated shader model versions and OpenGL that make the newest games look at their best (or even working in the first place).

-More ram. 4gb might look much, but windows 7 already needs 1-1,5gb. Any games using more than 2gb will let you hit the 4gb limit quickly. (I had it recently upped to 8gb because I couldn't leave my browser open while gaming)

-Better CPU. Quad core is the new standard, dual core is usually the minimum. So I recommend getting a better one.

-Bigger hard disk. (Or SSD next to it) It's not a big problem, but 500gb will fill up quite quickly, it's wise to get at least 1tb if you want to have space for all games, upcoming games and your personal photos and HD videos.

 

Others will probably give some examples what to get probably, so I'll leave that to them ;D.

The only thing you should really pay attention to with, is that your motherboard is compatible with the Ram and CPU.

 

Will it run the games? Yeah. Lineage II? Be sure to have a proper internet connection, close server , and have a lot of ram. Online games usually eat ram. People with bad connections playing an online game can lag a whole server btw.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Pronam

[hoofhearted4]

CPU. do not got the i7-2600k. not only will you be paying more then you have to, but the 2600k is actually worse for gaming (or so i hear) because of the hyper threading. not sure how true it is, but your waaay better off getting the i5-2500k cheaper, and very good.

 

GPU. i reccomend this 560 ti. it will play most games on ultra (not sure about BF3) but its got the higher VRAM which is nice. if your willing to spend a little more, id get this card, not only is it a little faster then the 560ti, but its also factory over clocked which means its a little faster still. 2gb VRAM which is good since BF3 is a VRAM hog, and its MSI who is a good manufacturer of PC parts.

 

RAM. 8gb. dont go less. you cant go wrong. here is an example.

 

Mobo. if your going with an SSD, deff get the z68 chipset. not only is it the newest chipset out atm, but it also uses intel smart response technology. what that means is basically stuff will get cached to your SSD, so instead of your PC searching for stuff on your HDD everytime, it can use the cached info on your SSD to make things faster. here is a good mobo. good price. good company. best of all it has PCIe 3.0. nothing uses it yet, but they will, probably the next series of GPUs and is going to be supported by Ivy Bridge, its a great thing to have. also has a USB 3.0 header which is nice, as well as 3 PCIe slots, meaning you can get up to 3 GPUs. and, imo, it looks cool, black and gold.

 

SSD. if you want OS and games on there, you should spend the extra money and get a 128gb SSD.

 

HDD. unless your running out of room on your current one, dont bother getting a new one.

 

your case should be fine. i doubt youll run into any issues there.

 

lastly, you didnt list your PSU. but your going to want at least like 650W PSU, that should give you about 150W head room. but if you ever wanna go SLI, then your gunna wanna go for an 850W PSU. if you buy a new one, just make sure you get one that is 80 plus certified. just means its more power efficient. dont go for the cheapest one. look at reviews. you need a good strong stable PSU. cause if that goes, it could ruin your whole system.

 

 

the main items (CPU, GPU, Mobo, and RAM) come up to a little over $800. (so not counting SSD or PSU) however those are pretty top of the line products....compare between http://www.newegg.com and http://www.tigerdirect.com they usually have very similar prices, but one still could be cheaper then the other. Newegg has deals all the time almost always have some amount of money taken off, and a lot of the time rebates too. they have a lot of combo items too, so you can look for that as well.

Edited January 2, 2012 by hoofhearted4

[Ihoe]

I try to cut this short.

 

• 
   
  
• No PC can run run Skyrim® lag-free on ultra. not without the necessary tweaks to make it so.
  
• an 800$ (American) PC won't be able to Play the latest (or even the older) releases maxed.
  
• Your monitor size is one of the factors lowering your FPS.
  
• The Prices depend on where you live.
  

I recommend Taking a look at This and This. compare the two Systems and find a happy medium for yourself. also, you can use the same website to check for sales at various locations.

 

Some Tips.

• 
   
  
• Don't go Crossfire™ or SLI™, they are Not Very effective most of the time, driver issues are annoying. half the PC games getting released require a Driver update after to have Crossfire™ or SLI™ enabled in them.
  
• Don't Rely on Overclocking, as it may or may not be effective.
  
• Don't go for CPUs with above 4 Cores.
   
  

That's most I could say currently.

[Dan3345]

I try to cut this short.

 

• 
   
  
• No PC can run run Skyrim® lag-free on ultra. not without the necessary tweaks to make it so.
  
• an 800$ (American) PC won't be able to Play the latest (or even the older) releases maxed.
  
• Your monitor size is one of the factors lowering your FPS.
  
• The Prices depend on where you live.
  

I recommend Taking a look at This and This. compare the two Systems and find a happy medium for yourself. also, you can use the same website to check for sales at various locations.

 

Some Tips.

• 
   
  
• Don't go Crossfire™ or SLI™, they are Not Very effective most of the time, driver issues are annoying. half the PC games getting released require a Driver update after to have Crossfire™ or SLI™ enabled in them.
  
• Don't Rely on Overclocking, as it may or may not be effective.
  
• Don't go for CPUs with above 4 Cores.
   
  

That's most I could say currently.

 

 

I would say all of the above are very good advice except for one thing. The CPU. I have an 1100T black 6-core system, and for 189$ this was money so well spent. It handles every game with ease and can do great multitasking. Though do not expect quick rendering on this, it isn't designed for it. If you plan on doing anything like that go for an intel.

 

Now here's my other really big piece of advice. If you are going all out one area that may seem like a no brainer but isn't is the motherboard. It is absolutely imperative for the future longevity of your computer that you have a quality motherboard. Without a good motherboard you may not be able to upgrade your CPU to a new model in the future, or SLI/Crossfire may not be possible. You may not get enough USB 3.0/2.0 that you wanted. So pay close attention to the motherboard and when in doubt come back on here and ask.

 

I think another thing to decide early on is what you want to build your computer around. I chose AMD because it is relatively cheap (compared to intel) but still meets and exceeds my needs. That said, I have an gigabyte 990 FX board, 6950 2gb's in crossfire and the above 1100T. So for me money was an immediate issue which was I chose AMD, but if it isn't for you then Intel would be what you would want to build around. If you don't plan to use SLI/Crossfire in the beginning due to money constraints (like I had) but want to leave the door open ensure the motherboard you buy has the extra Pcie-x16 slots. So all I am saying here is that you should think down the future. Don't not buy a motherboard because right now at this moment you don't think you will be doing SLI/Crossfire. Buy the mobo with the extra slots etc etc, and leave the option open. There is nothing worse then not having the option without building a new computer as I learned the hard way on my first build.

 

And thats all I got for now.

[hoofhearted4]

[*]Your monitor size is one of the factors lowering your FPS.

 

monitor size? no. monitor quality yes. but basically any monitor today with a 60Hz refresh rate will get the same FPS with the same hardware. doesnt matter if its a 22" or a 27" or what have you

[Ihoe]

@dan3345:

Well said sir, while I aimed at CPUs with stock prices, I must say that while I concur with you mostly, my research on CPU core- FPS efficiency benchmarks proved to me that most of the games today hardly utilize more than two CPU cores. Yet alone six. Yours seems to be more long-lived AND cheap. Who wouldn't want a deal like that?

 

@hoofhearted:

My error. I meant monitor resolution. One hardly can play games in non-native resolutions and be happy, eh?

 

Sorry for not quoting properly. Gosh darned iPhones.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Ihoe

[Vecna6667]

[*]Your monitor size is one of the factors lowering your FPS.

 

monitor size? no. monitor quality yes. but basically any monitor today with a 60Hz refresh rate will get the same FPS with the same hardware. doesnt matter if its a 22" or a 27" or what have you

 

I believe he meant resolution. A 2560 X 1600 monitor(a resolution reserved for 30 inch or larger monitors) will have games run at a slower speed than a 1920 X 1080 which is why most techs will recommend an SLI/Crossfire setup for that resolution or for three monitor setup. I chime in with a parts list later on. It won't have the absolute best but it should still do for a gaming computer.

[hoofhearted4]

oh yes of course. resolution will deff have an impact on your FPS. right you are sir.

 

monitor size however in and of itself, wont :P

 

:) :)

[Vecna6667]

I did get a list going. If you keep your case and let us know what your power supply unit is in wattage, an i5-2500k is possible and maybe an SSD as a cache drive(I managed to find a budget Z68 chipset motherboard.) I need to know if you have a 500 watt or more power supply unit on your current rig and is it still running very well. If you can keep the case and PSU, i'll be able to drop the $65 psu and use the savings for the i5-2500k, otherwise the i5-2300 is the best I could find unless I make sacrifices elsewhere. The list should be up tomorrow.

 

Edit: This afternoon. I'm going to make adjustments on the assumption of a full system including case and psu and the changes you can make to make the system better.

Edited January 3, 2012 by Vecna6667