Need Advice On Buying a PC

[Wolfwood]

So I'm thinking about buying a new PC to play games on. I'm not looking to play anything high end, I'm mostly interested in getting back into MMOs like Warcraft and the new Star Wars Old Republic. Problem is, I only have about $600 to spend on a new system. I know that's not much, but I'm hoping maybe someone can show me a good rig that falls in that price range, or perhaps suggest a place where I can find one.

I saw some systems on New Egg, but the reviews are pretty varying on some of the systems.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...36 600030537 4021&IsNodeId=1&name=$500 - $750

So, any advice?

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

For MMO's you don't really don't need a high spec computer. However for that price $600 which is £378 here according to the currency transalator, if you added about another £100 on to the price of that, you would be able to play higher end games, mostly maxed out. Some of them (such as Shogun 2) can easily be considered a generation ahead of current console games. This also includes console ports which you can hook up to your HD TV and play at proper HD, most console games don't even run at proper 720p. The majorty of them automatically pick up the xbox360 pad and work without any fiddling about.

It's worth noting as well, pc games (here anyway) are usually about 1/4 cheaper than console games. Add that up over 10-12 titles and you actually end up saving abit of money. With steam sales you can cut it down even more by up to 75%!

It is generally much cheaper to build a computer yourself. And before you say "ah but I don't know how!" It is not hard Once you know how to do it, it can take less than 20 minutes. It's no harder than building a shelf. When you buy a pre-built computer, the price usually sky-rockets with useless software packed to rocket jump the price. Also, do not buy a laptop. These are more expensive with much weaker hardware.

The motherboard, the graphics card, the cpu, everything, comes with basic instructions. To put a graphic card is, is simply a case of slotting it in, thats all. With the CPU, it's pushing it down in place. Nothing is complicated. This is a myth mostly generated by people who haven't even tried.

This youtube video shows how to build good gaming pc for $400

Buy the parts, follow the instructions given, it will be difficult to go wrong.

 

[Wolfwood]

Haha somehow I knew you'd be the one to reply to this Spock, thanks.

So I thought about what you said and I think I will attempt to build it on my own. I've watched a few videos and it all seems...relatively easy. I looked at the video and looked up the parts, but they weren't as cheap anymore, came out to like 470 and I have to buy a new copy of Windows 7 so on top of that it was going to be a bit. Then I saw this combo pack:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.789255

It was slightly cheaper, but my only thing is that the graphics card is a Radeon 6550 and the mother board seems to have some sketchy reviews. What do you guys think?

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Intrigrated graphics (like laptops). Games will run crap. It's why when people buy laptops they whine they can't run anything. It's a very cheap compact solution for basic graphics but totally inferior to a dedicated graphics card. You can buy that, then a dedicated graphics card (one that slides into a slot rather than already on the board) but that will probably cost you more than the one above as a decent graphic card is about £120-150 which I think in US is something like $200 - $250.

As you can see from this benchmark, it's really poor.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+6550D

Their are tons of guides for building cheap sub $500 gaming pc's that are fairly powerful, so I would look around before decided right off the bat. Remember to check the date as well, as alot of these guides have been sitting for 4-5 years on some websites.

If you are already using windows 7 right now, can't you transfer the key over to this new computer? I haven't needed too since this computer hasn't been touched since Windows 7 launch. It kinda sucks if you can't do that.

Remember though, intrigrated graphics = crap . Look for a card, not a chip on the board.

 

[Wolfwood]

Ah okay. I'll start looking into online guides then, see what I can find. I definitely don't want to rush into this thing.

And my old comp was running XP, twas a very old system, which is why I want to upgrade.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

Pretty much every site you check will recommend the Intel i5-2500k CPU, so you'll want to get a compatible mobo (lot of options. Just skip one that has an HDMI output since your video card will have one)

For the video card, I recommend what I bought, Radeon HD 6850. You can probably get the next best for the price I paid since they've gone down, but it's still an awesome card and can handle everything I've thrown at it (Arkham City, Skyrim)

For cases, get what you want that fits your mobo. I try not to spend more than $50.

PSUs I'm not really sure. I have an OCZ, only problem was the cord to power the CPU could have used about 0.5-1 inch more length. I think Corsair are considered good.

For disc drive, avoid Blu-Ray especially since you want to stay under $600.

The most frustrating thing will be the HDD. The flooding in Thailand has made prices skyrocket. I bought my 750GB one for $65 in August and it's been over twice that for awhile. I recommend Western Digital Caviar Black (best if you're installing an OS on it. Green is better just for extra storage, Blue is in between). Ideally you'd want 1TB but because of your budget and the prices lately, I'd say try to get 750 or 500GB.

 

[Wolfwood]

Alright, I bought all my parts and found a friend with Windows 7, so I saved a few bucks there. Thanks for your help guys, I feel like I've learned so much more about computers now that I'm doing it myself.

Also I opened up my computer to try and see if I had any parts I could use. I found out I had a 512mb stick of Ram in there and a 80gb HD. Yeesh.

 

[Spidey-Bat]

First, 512MB is not enough RAM, especially for gaming. The Old Republic requires 2GB.

Second, you need to make sure the RAM fits your mobo's RAM standard. DDR2 is older and DDR3 is more current, they are not compatible either way. The speed (MHz) is also a factor and you need to be sure it works in your mobo.

If your Windows 7 is 64 bit, you can use up to 16GB of RAM. The best option is 2 4GB sticks for 8GB total.

If your Windows 7 is 32 bit, you can only use up to 4GB. 2x 2GB sticks will give you the best performance but I'd recommend 1x 4GB stick, the difference won't be that great and you can always upgrade if you ever go to a 64 bit machine. I strongly recommend installing a 64 bit Windows 7 just because upgrading from 32 to 64 bit is a chore.

Memory is probably the most affordable part of a PC, so this shouldn't affect your budget too much.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

Check your PSU as well. Check what the card requirments with the PSU and make sure the one you have provides enough power. If it doesn't you will need to purchase one that does, or your system will just shut off when games become too intensive.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

If you want to game, it always comes down to the graphics card. Spend as much as you can manage on that and as Spock said above, make sure your PSU can comfortably handle the load.

Personally, what I try to do is estimate the full load of everything that I will be running in my PC and then give myself a 30% margin for future upgrades.
You do not want to be running a PSU at near full load all the time.

 

[Wolfwood]

Well I went with a set-up that's fairly close to what they built in Spock's video. There they said to get a 430w PSU, but I went with a 500 one.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

When you build it remember to keep grounded. You can buy cheap straps but personally, i'v never bothered using one. As long as you aren't full of static or do something silly like rub your motherboard against a static surface like trying to get a balloon to stick to your head, you shouldn't need to bother with a strap.

 

[Wolfwood]

I got half of my parts on Friday and the rest are supposed to come Monday. This wait is killing me, I can't wait to get this done. This is all very exciting, I now see why people take great joy and pride in building their own computer.

 

[Wolfwood]

Hooray! Finally finished my computer! Took a little longer because I had to send back a couple of parts that were DOA. It's all done though. Proudest moment of my nerd life lol.

 

[Anita18]

Congrats! Yes the sign of a true nerd - when you've built your own computer.

 

[deragoku]

You might be able to get the best for me to pay the price, because they had already gone down, but it still is an awesome card that can handle HP 97 everything I throw it.