Building a Gaming PC

Wh1te Out

Wh1te Out

New Member
Goal: Build new PC by early next year, cheaply, that can play the likes of newer games such as Diablo III, Starcraft II, Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2 (see a trend), all MMOs out currently and The Sims 3.

I don't want them just to sqeak by, I want them to run well. I'd prefer a laptop but due to cost and tougher upgrading ability, I'm pretty much stuck with a big lug of a desktop computer. I need to keep my cost down so I'm hoping those of you with experience can help me to formulate a plan so that I can buy a component here and there and piece this thing together. I'm guessing it's cheaper than buying new?

So, please, shower me with your expertise! Thanks in advance.
 
http://www.warhammeralliance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38651

That goes for Warhammer Online, but I built my new system using some of the parts from the mid/high range. It's a good guide with a lot of information.

My PC is an E8400 (overclockable CPU, from 3.0 up to 3.8Ghz easily), 9800gt (Runs everything atleast), ASUS motherboard, 4 gigs of ram, normal HDD, CD Drive, I added in Vista, mouse/keyboard, and an after market CPU cooler, but so far, the price is at $820 with shipping, and an $80 case. I will be able to run new games on Very High, maybe not Crysis super high, but I'm a fan of smaller resolutions. This is a massive upgrade from a 1.8ghz Sempron and an 8600gt, so, lol, it's going to scream. (When it arrives that is, lol.)

And don't believe the hype about needing to buy 3,000 dollar Alienware or Dell XPS to get great gaming performance. You can build a a low to high gaming system for about 400-700, just mainly do the research, make sure the parts match up, and look at tutorials online. Took about 30 minutes to find what I needed, and I'm building just from scratch.
 
Keero said:
...And don't believe the hype about needing to buy 3,000 dollar Alienware or Dell XPS to get great gaming performance. You can build a a low to high gaming system for about 400-700, just mainly do the research, make sure the parts match up, and look at tutorials online. Took about 30 minutes to find what I needed, and I'm building just from scratch.
Click to expand...
QF to the T.

That is so true.

I have always built my computers. The only computer I have ever bought was my very first one (8 years ago) and my laptop.

Alienwares, Dell XPS's and all of those other "high performance" systems are over rated and most importantly very overpriced.

My most expensive system was around $1100.
 
Mines gonna be about the same price, but that's with a nice extras like wide LCD, gamer mouse/keyboard, headset, etc. If you already have decent parts like case, monitor and even a CD/DVD drive, you can save yourself plenty of green. Upgrading is even cheaper. 300 or so for a new Motherboard/CPU.

And if you don't like the big PCs, you can build using a MicroATX size'd one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144162
Gamecube PC ftw!
 
Keero said:
300 or so for a new Motherboard/CPU.
Click to expand...

My old motherboard died and buying a new mobo/cpu/ram only cost like 250 or so for an AMD quad core and 2GB of DDR2. For the most part you shouldn't need to spend more then 500-800 dollars for a decent system.
 
Thank you everyone for the assistance so far. I really have NO experience in this so I'd like recommendations on specific parts, or if you know of a good guide to walk me through making sure everything matches up, link me to it? I love that gamecube-ish PC box. That is SWEET.
 
Hi White Out. I have recently purshased a gaming latop from MSI. It was cheap (AU$1350, roughly US$1000) and runs Crysis. MSI make great laptops for cheap. The new MSI AMD/ATI 17inch lappy looks great and you should be able to pick it up for a little over US$1000.
 
When you want to build your own system, the key is to do research on all the parts and even more importantly is using that research to buy dependable parts.

You don't want to buy a cheap 50 dollar motherboard and let it die on you 5 or 6 months down the road.

Spending the extra money on "brand names" can be a life saver.

That is my personal experience.
 
Odale said:
You don't want to buy a cheap 50 dollar motherboard and let it die on you 5 or 6 months down the road.
Click to expand...

My motherboard cost almost $70 and it still works. :confused:

Wasn't the best MB that time, but I was the only person that had 4 GB of Ram. :cool:
 
Odale said:
When you want to build your own system, the key is to do research on all the parts and even more importantly is using that research to buy dependable parts.

You don't want to buy a cheap 50 dollar motherboard and let it die on you 5 or 6 months down the road.

Spending the extra money on "brand names" can be a life saver.

That is my personal experience.
Click to expand...
$50 on any motherboard is fine these days. I only stick to names that i know..gigabyte, msi, epox. Asus and abit have had fluctuating quality isues as of late..i won't pay more than 50 bucks most times..as anything above that is filled with fluff. My epox board i ahve now vostt me 45 bucks 8 years ago when i bought it..i'm using that machine right now.
 
Last edited:
Hescominsoon said:
$50 on any motherboard is fine these days. I only stick to names that i know..gigabyte, msi, epox..asus and abit have had fluctuating quality isues as of late..i won't pay more than 50 bucks most times..as anything above that is filled with fluff. My epox board i ahve now vostt me 45 bucks 8 years ago when i bought it..i'm using that machine right now.
Click to expand...

and contrary to HCS experiences because we've had this conversation before, but i always use PcChips motherboards that range 40-50 and i love them. MSI, ASUS, and EPOX are really good brands too.
 
my sentence was structred badly..asus and abit have been ahving quality issues..msi, gigabyte, and epox are all good brands..sorry..:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top