Tek's next desktop gaming rig

Tek7

Tek7

CGA President, Tribe of Judah Founder & President
Staff member
Well, it's been over a decade since I last built a computer for gaming. Now that my wife and I have picked out and ordered a laptop to replace her HP Pavilion dv676se (with its dead GeForce 8400M), it's time for me to start researching what parts I want to put into my next desktop gaming rig.

I'm still a little burnt out on technology research, but the benefit of building a desktop is that I can pick out one piece at a time. I also have the luxury of not being in a rush (though that may change once I see how awesomely fast my wife's new laptop is when it arrives).

So this thread is set aside for advice for selecting parts, notices of awesome sales, and general rejoicing that I'm finally getting ready to build a new desktop for the first time in over 10 years.

Interesting side note: The computer I built over 10 years ago is still in use, though it needed a few upgrades along the way thanks to a blown mainboard capacitor that also took out some other hardware (which was frustrating because the computer was connected to a good UPS with surge protection). My wife and I use the old computer mostly for downloading fansubbed anime and watching it on our HDTV. More recently, my wife has been using it for e-mail and web surfing since her laptop died.

Here are a few things I already know I want:
  • High-end (but not crazy expensive) CPU
  • High-end (but not crazy expensive) video card
  • High-end (but not crazy expensive) mainboard
  • 8GB or more of fast RAM
  • 256GB SSD (solid state drive)
  • At least one monitor, probably widescreen and ~23", with plans to add at least one more monitor at a later date
  • A mid-size tower/case with a solid power supply
  • Wireless network card (if not included on mainboard)
  • Blu-ray reader/DVD burner (Blu-ray isn't strictly necessary, but it would be cool. Will reconsider depending on price)
  • UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)
  • Optional: Awesome (but sanely priced) gaming headset
  • Optional: Bluetooth adapter (if not included on mainboard)
I may wait until hard drive prices come back down before picking up a hard drive for storage (and then probably a 1TB or 2TB drive).

I plan to keep using the same keyboard (Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite), mouse (Logitech MX518, still going strong after almost 6 years), and trackball (Logitech Marble Mouse, another long-lasting item).

I'll probably keep using the same speakers (a modest but good quality Logitech 2.1 set) until I'm ready to spend more money some day. I'll probably use a headset when gaming most of the time anyway.

I already have a spare key for Windows 7 Home Premium (bought a 3-pack for $150 shortly after it was released), so no need to buy an OS license.

I'm not really interested in overclocking. I'd rather my hardware last longer than run faster. If I can safely overclock without decreasing product life, I'm not opposed.

TL;DR: I'm getting ready to build a desktop gaming rig. Post suggestions and celebrate with me.
 
YEAH TEK! I love building new systems and upgrading. I just recently upgraded my mobo, cpu and ram. Here is the hardware i used:


Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000

ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model PGV38G1333ELK


I am running a 1 year old Radeon 5870. GREAT CARD but the 6000 or even 7000 series is out now. I have found that a good price point on video cards seems to be around $175-200. Also on Newegg they often package a free game with a new GPU! WIN WIN.

Windows score of 7.7 minus the HD score of 6.0.

I don't know if I would invest in a SSD just for gaming purposes. I have found it doesn't really make a big difference. If you going to be ripping and encoding A/V then yes its nice but for gaming performance its not worth the money in my opinion.

Same with BluRay drive. Unless you plan on watching movies on your computer then skip it as well.

Have fun in the build and ask around for peoples thoughts. The guys from PCGamer Magazine and Tested.com helped me a lot with hardware questions. Just Tweet them directly on Twitter or email them and they usually will get back to you.

As far as your monitor. 24" is a nice sweet spot just make sure it is minimum 1680X1050 but 1600X1200 would be preferable at 27" to 30"

Well my two cents....

Have FUN!
 
For processors I prefer Intel, and if you're going Intel then at least get an i5. I'm not familiar with AMD processors but I've heard they are very good.

For motherboards, all the major brands you remember from 10 years ago should still be very good. Gigabyte is my favorite, but there's also ASUS and others. If it's not GB or ASUS though, then I'd have to do a lot of research before buying. I'm sure you already know this, but I recommend that you be picky with your motherboard because it's the one piece that makes everything work together. If you compromise on a motherboard but then get a really awesome processor, then you're not really not using the machine efficiently. HDMI, SATA III, USB 3.0, and BIOS are all important options to consider.

nVidia and Radeon are both very good right now. I now prefer nVidia, but from what I hear Radeon supports Linux drivers much better than they did in the past, if you decide to go that route (nVidia overall has been more stable in the long-run, I think)

Both Seagate and Western Digital mechanical drives have the same issues they've had for 20 years. If you get a rust bucket HD, I might recommend also getting an SSD.

I realize this didn't really help that much, haha, I was just kind of bored and thought I would chime in. :)
 
ewoksrule said:
We need a price range/ceiling to do this right.
Click to expand...
Yes. Yes, we do.

...Unfortunately, I'm not certain what that is yet. ^^;;

My best estimate at this time is under $1000 for the PC (not counting the monitor) with tentative hopes that I can keep it at or under $800.
 
Tek7 said:
Yes. Yes, we do.

...Unfortunately, I'm not certain what that is yet. ^^;;

My best estimate at this time is under $1000 for the PC (not counting the monitor) with tentative hopes that I can keep it at or under $800.
Click to expand...

So that means you'll be going with AMD foundation to get all all of your other needs I guess? heh
 
Odale said:
So that means you'll be going with AMD foundation to get all all of your other needs I guess? heh
Click to expand...
Possibly. I may set up two lists (one Intel, one AMD) and go from there.
 
Processor - Processor - AMD FX 8120 - 8-Cores - $169.99 (Free shipping)
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 - $144.99 (Free shipping)
Video card - Sapphire HD 7850 - $249.99 (Free shipping)
SSD - Crucial 128GB SSD - $159.99 (Free shipping)
Case - Coolermaster Midtower - $41.98 (Free shipping)
Memory - PNY 8GB (2x4GB) - $59.99 (Free shipping)
Wireless - Asus PCE-N15 - $27.99 (Free shipping)
PSU - Antec 550w Continuous Power - $64.99 (Free shipping)
DVD Burner - Asus 24x DVD Burner - $22.98 (Price includes shipping)

Price so far - $942.89

Additional:
Monitor - Samsung 23" LED S23A300B - $199.99
UPS - APC BR1000G - 600w - $143.99 (You need at least 500w for your video card.)

Other:
SSD - 256GB - Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 - $299.99 (Free shipping)
HD - Seagate Barracuda 500GB - $79.99 (Free shipping)

Notes:
I'm not sure why you want an APC - just get a good quality surge protector and you'll be fine. Also, in lieu of a giant SSD which costs an arm and a leg, get one smaller SSD for your OS and a decent sized traditional HD for everything else to keep costs down.
 
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/shrug

I still have an AMD Athlon XP 2700+ running in the box I use for a media center PC connected to my HDTV, but I have no particular loyalty to either AMD or Intel when it comes to desktop CPUs.

If I can get the same or nearly the same performance AND the same or nearly the same long-term reliability at a lower price, I'll go with the less expensive option.
 
stay away form AMD on the cpu side. they are hot, slow and inefficient(much like the p-4). On the gpu side stay WITH AMD though..:)
 
the i5s and i7s have been killing AMDs "comparable" CPUs >.>

I'll see if I can get a nice build up tonight, however school work may interfere.
 
While the 2500k may be superior to AMDs 8120, I'm not sure its worth the $40 price jump.

It should be noted that even an AMD Athlon II can run most games (save Crysis II and perhaps Skyrim), and that's a $65 chip. In a gaming PC, it's all about the video card.

Edit: After doing more reading on the AMD FX series, my list I made earlier may need to be fixed by someone who is more familiar with Intel chips than I am. I was under the impression that it was AMD business as usual - not quite as good as Intel, but the lower price justifies the lower performance (Think Phenom and Phenom II-era chips). That may not be true this go 'round.
 
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Here's my current build (built it in late 2010):

CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 740 (4th core unlocked by motherboard to make it a Phenom II X4 40)

MB: MSI 870A-G54 AM3

Memory: 2x CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2x2GB)

GCard: GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi)

SDD: SAMSUNG 830 128GB (This was a more recent purchase)

This still gets me a windows rating of 7.3 overall (CPU is the lowest)

So, something comparable to this now would be like Maximum PC's $830 build, minus the SSD. Their build seems like a good starting point to customize it to your personal needs, hopefully keeping the total under $1000.
 
I did a little reading on Intels and what not and did some dreaming of my own.

Intel i5 2550k - 229.99
Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H - 159.99
G.Skill 8GB (2x 4GB Sticks) - 41.99
Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 - 249.99
Antec LanBoy - 169.99
Antec EarthWatts 650W - 79.99
Cooler Master Hyper N 520 - 33.99

Total: $965.93

Its missing a hard drive of some sort, DVD burner, and wireless... but I think if I were to build something for myself it would closely mirror this.

(I know Intels are finicky with their ram, so I'm not so sure about what I chose...)
 
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My current box:
core i-3 540
8 gigs ddr3
500 gig hdd(stay away from ssd's as they have long term performance and durability issues)
Intel motherboard
radeon hd 6770
core i-5 is't worth the price jump..stick with core i-3....or go for i-7.
 
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