Upgrade and Computer-Building Advice Thread

[ultima]

ya

and really all the new computer parts are "nice" however..

just you would need to get a 64 bit operating system
to use more memory anyways

[ZombiEater]

Hm, well thanks for the advice - both ultima and aliquidparadigm.

[-RK]

One last question...

Has your system been reformatted in the past year or two? It's entirely possible that you've just got far too many background processes running from too much miscellaneous crap installed on the system.

[ZombiEater]

-RK, it has not. Perhaps I should reformat to eliminate that variable. 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.

[Tokin]

I didn't expect so much input so fast, thanks alot guys. I forgot to mention I'm getting a new monitor also which adds $200 to the bill (ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms(GTG) decent?) which is why I was looking at a cheaper mobo. I already have a decent cheapy HS, the RR-910-HTX3-G1 was just thinking of adding a second fan to it, but a new, bigger one might be more beneficial.

And I was thinking about multiple GPUs in the future but dual 8x seems like a rip-off and the dual 16x boards cost a little more. Is dual 8x really much better than a single 16x? And also what are the benefits of 256-bit vs gddr5? Which is more important as in speed?

The PSU came in a combo deal with the case on Newegg making it $20 cheaper and it already has 2 PCI connectors, that's enough for me. Mostly wanted SATA6 and USB 3.0, but I've heard SATA6 doesn't give much benefit. Would 650w be enough for dual GPUs? Oh and modular is important, the less wires laying around the case the better

I was just looking at the current mobo because it also came in a combo deal on Newegg with the CPU, and it says it supports up to DDR3 1866(OC) so I thought it could take the 1600 I chose? I dunno, would I really get much benefit from 1600 compared to 1333? Also I read somewhere with this board that more than 2gb forces the memory to slow down, I plan on getting as much memory as possible eventually so that's a problem. And yes I do plan on OCing, but since you say that board sucks for OCing then I guess it's out.

Altogether the parts I chose (with monitor) including shipping come up to $990 so I was hoping not to go any higher, but I guess for a decent mobo I have to.

BTW I want a system to run most games max settings at 1080 if that helps? I know I ask too many questions, but I'm just trying to learn and don't wanna get a part I'll regret later. Would really appreciate more input.

[Radiator]

Get yourself a 785GT-UD3H Gigabyte mobo , it's fairly cheap and will support 1600 Mhz RAM ( provided you set the speeds and timings correct manually in the BIOS ) . Wont allow for Crossfire or anything , though ... so I'd suggest a HD 5850 or something , rather than a HD 5770 .
Or you could get a mobo that's a bit more expensive and has several full PCI-e X16 lanes ( albeit one with four of them is more than just overkill ) , and get yourself a HD 5770 and add one later on if you need it .