Gaming My pc build

[kjb1686]

I am looking for any advice on how to make this build either better or cheaper my limit is 600 and im fairly close.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157241
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130752
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371045
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115076
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126198
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121096

this is my build before i bought a raidmax psu before researching so im buying a new one since i hear there is a fairly high failure rate to them.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028

this is the psu i bought but am not planning to use at all anymore.

 

[Originality]

You bought a PSU but you're not going to use it because you hear it has a high failure rate? That's the same as declaring it failed from the start. I say use the damn thing and replace it IF it does fail. The reason I say this? It's not brandless, so it probably won't explode when it fails.

 

[kjb1686]

So your saying that even though it is a raidmax i should use it even though they fail very often.

 

[Originality]

I'm just against wasting money when on a tight budget. Unless its DoA or overloaded, it shouldnt fail that quickly. Use it until I does fail (if it does fail) since its mainly brandless PSUs that fail catastrophically (by exploding and/or surging the VRMs). In fact, I've got a brandless PSU that's worked over 10 years, although that was on a low budget PC too.

 

[marcus134]

if you're short on budget, you would just be wasting money by spending on another psu while this one could probably last you 2 years (if not a little bit more, has a 2yr warranty anyway).
I can however make you a recommendation if you're worried about your power, replace the gtx 460 with a hd 6850, they perform the same but the 6850 consume 30w less power and will be less stressful on your psu.

- the raidmax psu has roughly the same spec the antec 450 has, using it like you would with a good 530w psu would be an error and would most likely result in a failure or a short life expectancy. As long as you don't add a bunch of hdd or other accessory you should be fine

 

[kjb1686]

okay so i shouldn't buy a new psu and just use the one that i have right now until it stops and then get a new one i was reading stories online of how raidmax psus blew up and took the whole computer with it is this a myth or real

 

[marcus134]

raidmax psus blew up and took the whole computer with it is this a myth or real

unfortunately it's real and it may happen with any psu, but it happen more often with cheap ones.

 

[kjb1686]

ok so is the raidmax psu one of the cheap ones

 

[marcus134]

ok so is the raidmax psu one of the cheap ones

yes, price vs power rating is usually a good measure of cheapness in psu, raidmax 530 price = antec 450 price = seasonic 300w price.
in general, when people build gaming computer, it's recommended to spend 60$+ on a psu.

When bulding on a budget, the game is to balance the risk vs the specs. you went with a cheap psu and mobo and put all your money on a cpu and gpu, you went for the spec and you're taking some risk. The risk you're taking are somewhere between what some people may find themselves uncomfortable and what others are ready to take in order to get what they want.

the gtx 460 vs hd6850 suggestion I gave earlier will get you a bit more on the safe side without trading the specs.

 

[kjb1686]

so should i either buy a new psu and upgrade the motherboard and buy those parts i can spend a little extra get 6gb ram instead of 8 any suggestions.

 

[TheDreamLord]

so should i either buy a new psu and upgrade the motherboard and buy those parts i can spend a little extra get 6gb ram instead of 8 any suggestions.

I usually say 4gb is enough. Upgrade the mobo.and psu.

 

[Originality]

You don't even need 6GB. 4GB is all you should be getting, however RAM is cheap so 8GB is easy to get.

I don't know about others, but I don't want to tell you what parts to get - I prefer making suggestions, letting you weigh them up, and ultimately decide for yourself what would be best for you. It's much better for you to build a computer you decided on (with a little guidance) than to just get the parts others tell you to get and not know why they recommended those parts.

To that end, a couple tips:
For a workstation: Get a strong CPU. Graphics don't matter for the basic programs like Office, Dreamweaver or other work/internet related programs. 2GB of RAM is enough. I also tell people who aim for this to get a laptop instead.
For a gamestation: You only need a weak CPU such as AMD A6/A8 or Intel Core i3, then put more of your money into stronger graphics. 4GB of RAM is enough.
For video editing/animation/rendering: You need a good balance between CPU and GPU, leaning towards the GPU. You also need more than 4GB of RAM (for working on bigger pictures/projects).
Other notes: The case only needs an intake and exhaust fan to create airflow for effective cooling (or HDDs will fry). The PSU should never be overtaxed by your graphics card (if you get a good graphics card like the HD 6850, you should also aim for more than 500W of power, ideally over 600W) and brandless PSUs explode (cheaper branded PSUs may fail easily, but I don't usually hear of them exploding). Get a decent HDD like WD Caviar Blue or Samsung Spinpoint F3 (never get Seagate). DVD doesn't matter much these days - the cheapest ($13) DVD drive on newegg is more than enough. Also getting a third party cooler like the Actic Freezer Pro 7 (or 13) makes for a cooler and quieter PC (at a low cost) but is entirely optional. Finally for the motherboard, I usually recommend getting a decent MoBo (because it's the last component you want to change) but when on a budget, even the cheapest MSI H61 MoBo is good enough to work.

I can't be more specific without knowing what you're using the computer for, and how much experience with computers you have.

 

[kjb1686]

I have quite a bit of experience with computers mainly building and fixing, upgrading and other things. Ok this is going to be mainly a gaming computer i have a laptop to do everything else. I found this psu how is this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 are there any others that are recommended. I found a caviar green and blue hard drive what is the difference between them the blue has a promo ending today here they both are the blue http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769 and the green http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136358. As for the DVD drive the cheapest i could find was this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240. Is a i3 processor going to work for games such as crysis or battlefield or should i stick with the I5 as for the mobo is there any recommendations for better ones than the one i have listed or would that work for everything i need it to do. Also i don't know if i want a Amd either processor or graphics card i dont really know if i would like them if you can convince me otherwise thats an entirely different matter also any further suggestions i would appreciate.

 

[Originality]

HDDs: Western Digital has 3 (main) ranges, Caviar Black (high performance), Blue (lower performance but good value), and Green (low performance, low energy usage, higher capacity - up to 3TB). For booting, loading, and gaming, a higher performance HDD is usually recommended, whilst less important stuff (like your collection of downloads, music, pictures, videos, uninstalled game ISOs, porn, etc) can be shoved onto the high capacity "green" HDDs which are more economic.

CPUs: The world is a very different place from when Crysis was released. Dual-core CPUs (like the Pentium G850 and Core i3) are much faster and stronger than their Core 2 Duo counterparts, so as long as they're coupled with at least a mid-ranged GPU, it'll run Crysis easily. Battlefield 3 on the other hand lags even on my friends Core i5-2500K + GTX 560 Ti build, and he's got it running off a SSD. It recommends a quad core CPU and high/mid ranged graphics. The general rule is, for gaming, focus on the graphics (the processor will take care of itself... assuming it's new enough). For this reason, AMD CPUs (technically called APUs these days) are also good enough for gaming (even if they have lower performance) if you want to keep your budget lower, but they also run hotter.

DVD: I'm surprised, I used to be able to find them for $11.99 on newegg. Must've bumped the prices since I last checked.

GPUs: AMD vs nVidia is a sticky battle. Generally, no matter which way you go, the more money you put into it, the better the performance you'll get out of it. The extra rule is, if you want better multi-monitor display, AMD is better (EyeFinite), whilst if you want 3D, nVidia is better (but you have to buy the goofy glasses separately). The slightly harder to explain rule is if you're purely gaming, AMD gets higher framerates, but if you're animating or rendering (e.g. video editing or 3D modelling), stay the hell away from AMD and stick to nVidia like it's a bible or something. At lower price ranges, nVidia tends to offer better value... somewhat.

Motherboards: the more you spend, the more features you get. For Intel, H61 is the budget board, H67 is fully featured but no overclocking, P67 allows for overclocking (but you can't use integrated graphics), and Z68 has everthing plus SSD/HDD and iGPU virtualization technologies. For AMD... I honestly don't know, but it should be the same. Also more expensive boards tend to have better power phasing so are more reliable.

Here's a handy little table Midna linked on the other thread, that I used to keep pasting all the time but forgot until now: tinyurl.com/falconguide

 

[kjb1686]

HDD: Okay here is my HDD that i am planning to get is this pretty good http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136769

CPU: What would you recommend for me for a CPU get the I5 that i have on my list or downgrade to a I3 and grab that or even a Quad Core which is the better bang for the buck also AMD or INTEL for the CPU

GPU: Okay should i get the 460 that I have on there or spring for something else also all im going to be doing is playing games on this computer and watching movies and probably some low end video conversions should i get AMD or NVIDIA.

PSU: Okay this is the same PSU i was looking at is this a good brand or not http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139027 should i look for any specific brands for them

Motherboard: Okay i found two 80 dollar motherboards but i dont know if one is better than the other also i dont know if they would be compatitable with the I5 i selected here they are
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813153218
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813138327

Any other suggestions once again are appreciated

Also i forgot to say i went from 8gb to 4gb ram

 

[Originality]

That HDD is definitely good. Not the best, but still very good.

I'm not going to tell you what to get - I leave that balancing act down to you and your budget considerations. AMD if you are aiming at a lower budget, Intel if you're aiming at a higher budget. Intel are always stronger than AMD, but cost more. For gaming, it's not so important, although BF3 does want a quad core so you do have to take that into account if you want to play BF3 at full speed. That's just one game though.

Again, I won't tell you what GPU to get. The 460 is good. The 560 is better. The 560 Ti is better yet. There are also many good AMD graphics cards like the HD 5870 and HD 6950. You could also get a HD 7950 if you could spare the budget, but that's probably a few steps too high up the GPU scale for you to afford. It's about money on this one.

PSU... I forgot to mention. The best brands are Antec, Corsair, Tagan and Enermax. The mid-ranged are OCZ, XFX, CoolerMaster... And that's all I remember. There are far too many brands to remember them all, but any brand is better than no brand. The Corsair PSU you picked is a very safe bet since Corsair are very well known for stability.

Motherboard... Somehow, you managed to pick 2 brands that I didn't know even existed anymore. I don't trust them. Try MSI, Gigabyte or ASUS for motherboards. Or look at the Asrock Z68M. Remember, if it has any of the following in the name, it will be compatible with LGA1155 (Sandy Bridge Core i3/5/7): H61, H67, P67, Z68.

 

[kjb1686]

what would be better for me a dual core i3 http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.841789 or a quad core i5 http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.840157 both are combos are they good enough for all of my items. edit nevermind about thos two items but my question bout the i3 and i5 stands.

 

[Originality]

Pentium G850 is dual core. Core i3-2100 is Dual core with HyperThreading (2+2 cores). Core i5-2400 is quad core. Core i7-2600 is quad core with HyperThreading (4+4 cores). The only other differences between them are frequency ranges.

Only the K series desktop CPUs have Intel HD3000 graphics built in, the non-K CPUs have Intel HD2000.

 

[kjb1686]

Okay so here is my questions among the many games out there are there many that require a quad core processor or would a dual core be more than sufficient if that is the case i might get the i3 and at a later time upgrade into the i5 or i7 or whatever ends up coming out. this is the cpu i was looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078. also i was wondering about this motherboard http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813130603

 

[Splych]

Keep in mind, if you have no interest in overclocking, there's no need to invest extra money towards the "K" marked CPUs from Intel. They are unlocked which allow you to overclock as opposed to other CPUs from Intel w/o the K. A dual core is sufficient for now as most games haven't reached that point to use all 4 cores. Most games require a minimum from a dual core, and if you choose to pick a CPU from Intel that is from Socket 1155, you can upgrade in the future for when Ivy Bridge comes out.