Upgrade and Computer-Building Advice Thread

[aliquidparadigm]

Since I often find myself lacking somewhat vital information when trying to help folks asking for upgrade assistance, I figured I'd jot down a template for people to hopefully use so they can get better responses from us/me.

If you want to just reply in this thread rather than start a new one, that will work too; I've set up an instant email subscription, so I may reply very quickly--at worst within a couple of days, should no-one else get to it first.

Template:

Copy and paste this to begin:

PHP Code:

1. [b]Make and Model[/b]: 
a. [b]Motherboard[/b]: 
b. [b]CPU[/b]: 
c. [b]Case Form Factor[/b]: 
d. [b]PSU[/b]: 
e. [b]GPU[/b]:

2. [b]RAM[/b]: 

3. [b]Disk Drive(s)[/b]: 

4. [b]Optical drive(s)[/b]: 

4. [b]Image Quality[/b]: 

5. [b]Case+[/b]: 

6. [b]BUDGET[/b]: 


Explanation:

1. Make and Model(if applicable):

If no make and model:

a. Motherboard:

b. CPU:

c. Case Form Factor--ATX/microATX:

d. PSU--overall wattage and, if possible, +12v amperage:

e. GPU--your current video card, if applicable:

2. RAM--total number of sticks and type (DDR, DDR2, DDR3):

3. Disk Drive(s)--total number, type (IDE/SATA/SCIC/SSD) and speed (5400, 7200, 10000, 15000):

4. Optical drive(s)--total number and type (CD/DVD/BD):

4. Image Quality--resolution you intend to play at, as well as whether or not you care about AA/AF (anti-aliasing/anisotropic filtering) and/or high texture quality:

5. Case+, specifically how many fans you have, LEDs, or other bullshit bells and whistles that some people like which will suck up power:

6. BUDGET (lest we forget):

If you find that you're having issues locating this information, most of it can be gathered from CPUz, except the PSU info, which is always written on the side of the PSU. If you see +12v1, +12v2 (etc.) make sure to note that; there's a very, very large difference between (1 x 30A) and (2 x 15A).

7. Are you in the USA or Canada (and thus able to purchase from Newegg)?


Example:

1. Make and Model: lolz i builded it myselfs
a. Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4
b. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
c. Case Form Factor: ATX
d. PSU: 750w, +12v = 1 x 60A
e. GPU: 2 x 4870

2. RAM: 4 x DDR2

3. Disk Drive(s): 4 x 7200rpm SATA drives

4. Optical drive(s): 1 x DVD, 1 x HD-DVD

4. Image Quality: 1920x1200, max possible AA/AF and texture quality

5. Case+: 6 x 120mm fan, ~1-3 USB items plugged in at a time

6. BUDGET: I AIN'T GOT NO MONEY, BITCHES--but let's pretend I want to upgrade to a pair of 5870s or a pair of 5970s and money isn't an issue.

Using that information--assuming no over-clocking, I can determine that the high-end power consumption (90% overall system load) of the listed components is going to be around 300w, leaving me with 450w to devote to video card use.
If we throw in the two video cards I own (4870s), the approximate power consumption is 600w; since I have a single-rail PSU, there are no worries with how shit is connected, thus I still have 100w before I even need to start worrying about power consumption.
If I wanted to upgrade to a pair of 5870s, I'd be looking at an additional 76w at peak draw. The 676w being drawn would be 90% of the rated power available from this power supply, but that's not so much a worry as the peak is 825w; one thing to note is that some companies market the peak power of their unit... and these PSUs are almost always shit.
Given that I am only left with 75w with two 5870s, it's obvious I do not have enough power available on my current PSU to support a pair of 5970s, so my decision is easy.

Now I just need to get the damn money for it.

[Stubby]

Add operating system to your list. Xp32 vista etc

[aliquidparadigm]

Eh, I guess it should be noted that if you are using an ancient browser (Pre-XP, currently) you will have driver issues with brand new cards... but it doesn't matter if you're using XP, Vista, 7, etc., as long as it isn't an old-ass OS.

[-RK]

No, OS will indeed be important. You wouldn't want to recommend 2gb RAM to someone running a gaming PC on a vista or win7 system now would you?

Also: bump

[aliquidparadigm]

Originally Posted by -RK

No, OS will indeed be important. You wouldn't want to recommend 2gb RAM to someone running a gaming PC on a vista or win7 system now would you?

Touché; I was focused primarily on upgrading video cards, but I can see potential for other upgrades, and thus the usefulness of RAM.

[Narcissus]

It's a good thing I read some other threads before posting. Put me in as a 'yay' for sticking this.

1. Make and Model: Ha, I've never owned a banded pc.
a. Motherboard: Asus P5QL Pro
b. CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500
c. Case Form Factor: ATX
d. PSU: 500W. http://www.apevia.com/ProductsInfo.asp?KEY=WIN-500XSPX
e. GPU: =Fried

2. RAM: 1 x 2g ddr2

3. Disk Drive(s): 1 x 7200rmp SATA (8.77w r/w)

4. Optical drive(s): N/A (that's right...)

4. Image Quality: Meh, Whatever I can squeeze out of my budget.

5. Case+: Just wireless mouse and keyboard drawing from usb on a regular basis

6. BUDGET: ~$100


I'm not sure if I needed to give you all that. I just wanted to know the best nVidia based card I can buy for around $100. And if there's something that costs a little more than that but will give me a lot more, feel free to mention it. Thanks

[Tokin]

I'm putting together a new budget gaming comp because my old one just isn't cutting it. I don't currently own these parts but I have them all in my cart ready to checkout. Was just wondering if they were all decent for the price (future compatibility is an issue since I probably won't upgrade for awhile.) And also was wondering which video card would be the best price to performance for this setup. Trying to make the whole thing under $1000 and the gpu $100 - $200... preferably closer to the $100 mark.

1) Make: My own
2) Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3
3) CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
4) Case: ATX
5) PSU: COOLER MASTER Silent Pro 600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W (also looking at RAIDMAX Blackstone series RX-700AC 700W higher wattage but less trusted brand)
6) GPU: currently looking at HIS IceQ 5 H577QT1GD Radeon HD 5770 Turbo 1GB 128-bit
7) RAM: For the moment just G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 or maybe just the 4GB stick if I can afford it.
8) Optical Drives: currently one cheapo LITE-ON DVD burner, possibly bluray in the future.
9) Image quality: AA/AF and image quality are an issue, but at the moment speed is more important.
10) Case+: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II (Currently owned 6-fan controller, planning on getting all 6 120mm - 140mm, considering my current comp has a couple Vantec 80mm tornado fans and Scythe Ultra Kaze 120mm I need something of similar cooling but WAY less noise)
11) Altogether $1000 at the most, just GPU $100 - $200

I plan on just using my old fan controller, DVD drive, and HDD for now for cost issue, plan to upgrade later. Any suggestions? BTW I guess I'm somewhat noob-ish, only built 4 PCs so far hence the need for input. I know Intel and Nvidia are generally better but I'm looking at cost to performance ratios, and I'm sorry but an I7 is just too expensive.

(Oh and almost forgot, planning on buying Windows 7 64-bit, finally upgrading from XP.)

[saintjimmy]

All checks out to me, except for you might want to get RAM that is 1333 MHz, as Gigabyte boards don't support 1600 MHz memory. That should lower the price a few dollars. Try this set...it's even lower 1.35 voltage too: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231316

[aliquidparadigm]

If you want to future-proof it, just make sure it's capable of being upgraded... and that motherboard isn't. (c: You're at capacity for RAM and GPU expansion with that board... plus it won't overclock for shit.

I just helped a friend put together a computer which cost [the person paying for it, not him] about $1,000--the only things he didn't need were monitor, HDDs, keyboard and mouse.

Honestly, the rest of what you've selected there is great in the cost/performance department, just look at getting a better motherboard. I, honestly, suggest spending the extra money now for something like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130223) so you can drop in additional 5770s when they get down to $100 in, like, a year: three 5770s usually outperform a 5970 (assuming there aren't any driver issues and such, blahblahblah).

If you want to future-proof in the sense of making it so it's cheap to upgrade later, along with that motherboard you'd need a better PSU with at least four PCIe connections (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703027).

But, really, if you don't want to go that route (which you can for less than $1000 now, and possibly overall) and think you can get by with the performance one 5770 can net you (which will be 2-4AA and 8-16AF, depending on resolution and game), the parts you've selected are aces.

Oh, and if you intend to overclock (which you must, given that you value cooling and are buying a BE chip), you should look at a good HSF for your CPU. I had my buddy buy this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118046).

[saintjimmy]

aliquidparadigm is right, if you want to be able to upgrade to multi-GFX cards in the future, you really should get a motherboard with multiple x16 slots. Mind you, it does come at a price.

Here are some:
MSI 890FX-GD70 with 4 full x16 slots
ASUS M4A89GTD Pro with 2 full x16 slots
Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5 with 2 full x16, one x8, one x4 slots

And that's just from the 3 biggest brands. But those are some of the most expandable AMD boards out there.