Help with building first gaming computer

M

mrcrazyshoes

New Member
This is my first computer build so I'm not really sure if it will all work out. I would really appreciate it if you could tell me what the performance is going to be like and if there is any problems with it or even if you just have some suggestions for different parts. Its mostly geared towards gaming.

DVD Drive-Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM

Case-Rosewill R101-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Hard Drive-Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Monitor-Acer S211HLbd 21.5'' 5ms LED-Backlight LCD Monitor Slim Design

Graphics Card-Galaxy 60XGH3HS3CUD GeForce GTX 465 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Sound Card-ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Xonar DG Sound Card

PSU-LOGISYS Computer PS550ABK 550Watts ATX12V Power Supply With SATA and 20/24 Pin connectors.

Ram-G.SKILL Value Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBNT

Mobo-BIOSTAR H61MU3 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU-Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400

OS-Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Thanks a ton! :)
 
here's some other cases

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...15-004^11-815-004-TS,11-154-108^11-154-108-TS

Caviar green is a bad idea, it is more of a storage drive and you will notice the boost in speed of a good 7200rpm drive.

a sound card is a waste of money unless you spend over 100 dollars on the speakers too.

a logysis psu is likely to fry the entire thing, espesially with a gtx465

if you get a i5 you want the 2500k, otherwise overclocking isn't going to go anywhere.

if you tell us your budget we can get something better going.
 
What johnny said, especially about the hard drive. But that sound card is probably just as good as your on-board RAM. If you have decent speakers, and you want really good sound, get a sound card $50+.

I would also choose a different MoBo, probably a full ATX that supports some faster RAM, like 1600. And I have had bad experiences with Biostar brand. Maybe its just me, though.
 
Thanks a lot for the replies! My budget was supposed to be $500-$600, but it's turning out to be more like $800. How about this hard drive (HITACHI Deskstar H3IK10003272SP (0S02860) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive)? I was thinking about not getting the sound card so thanks for the clarification. Johnny, what do u mean the PSU is going to fry the entire thing? (sorry I'm kinda new to this) and also, I was thinking of getting a full ATX instead of a micro and then I would change the case too. Also, do you think I should change to AMD or stay with Intel? And do I need extra cooling fans and stuff like that? Again thanks
 
Your PSU is of low quality. You're better off getting a Antec, corsair, silverstone, seasonic, xfx, or PC power and cooling brand.
 
AMD in general is cheaper than Intel.

Intel offers higher end processors but for your budget I would go with AMD.

A Phenom II Quad Core would be good for gaming for a while and if you get a motherboard that has AM3+ socket then you can upgrade to a Bulldozer soon. These are AMD's new line of processors supposedly coming out in September. I don't know a whole lot about them but I do know that AM3+ would be a better route for your motherboard so you can upgrade in the future.
 
I disagree on the sound card, the Xonar is a really good card. I'd get it.

CPU: Get "k" version if you want to overclock

HDD: Get Samsung F3 1TB

PSU: Logisys is junk. Get a ~600w Corsair/Antec/Seasonic/Silverstone

RAM: Don't get 1333mhz CAS9 - it's slow. Get 1600mhz cas9 at least.

GPU: GTX 465 is hotter, more power hungry and a poorer performer than GTX 460 1GB. Get a 460 or a 560 ti instead.
 
ok i tried to take in all of your suggestions and here's my new list. (the things i left out i didn't change)

Sound Card: None

Case: NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Mobo: ASRock 880G PRO3 AM3+ AMD 880G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Video Card: EVGA 01G-P3-1366-TR GeForce GTX 460 SE (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

also, do i nee to get a different psu because the video card requires so much power? It says that it needs 2 x 6 Pin power connectors. Does my psu have enough of the cables needed? Also, on Newegg, their are two versions of the graphics card, the SE and EE versions, are they any different besides the fan position and that the EE one puts in air and the SE one sucks out air? Do they preform the same?
 
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go for a 900 series chipset and an asus/msi/gigabyte motherboard and i a 955 will work just as well and can be overclocked just as far, correct me if wrong but aren't they the same chip with 1 lower multiplier.
 
jonnyp11 said:
go for a 900 series chipset and an asus/msi/gigabyte motherboard and i a 955 will work just as well and can be overclocked just as far, correct me if wrong but aren't they the same chip with 1 lower multiplier.
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They are, but with the higher model ones, you stand a chance of getting a better overclocking chip, because it has to run a higher clock speed within a certain voltage. Let's say for a 980BE, it needs to hit 3.7GHz at 1.35v. If it can't do that, they would test it as a 975BE, or 3.6GHz at 1.35v (note the voltage is made up, just for theory). If it's not stable at that, then they try it at 3.4GHz/1.35v, or 965BE. If it doesn't meet that, then 955BE at 3.2GHz 1.35v.

And some chips simply can't hit a certain clock no matter what you throw at them.

A 990FX board is a good idea, but they don't have integrated graphics. Get the cheaper 970 board. 990GX should be out with BD.
 
Look, at the end of the day, ask yourself this, is $100 a lot of money to you? If yes, the AMD system is a fine, however if no, a 2500K with a MS1 967A-65 (B3) will be much better for gaming at stock, and destroy it when overclocked. A benefit of the AMD system is BD potential, which is an unknown. I would wait a few weeks and see what BD is like if i were you, but on what is available today, the 2500K is pretty hard to beat for gaming and worth the 100 buck imho.
 
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but in the end the user of a 2500k will notice little difference between it and the 955 or 65 or whatever cuz they're all powerfull enough just the i5 has better benches, in the real world it still is faster than the majority of people will ever need, especially if we go back to the system bottling again, that was a fun conversation.
 
Meanwhile AMD fans are seeing their horse fall even further behind in the race. The top-of-the-line Phenom II's can't touch Sandy Bridge's speed, nor can they compete in energy efficiency. There is a possible light at the end of the tunnel as AMD is slated to launch the new processor, Bulldozer, this summer. But given the prowess of Sandy Bridge, AMD has to knock it out of the park. This is especially true as Intel has yet another CPU line coming out in Q3 for socket LGA2011, the official successor to LGA1366. Currently, AMD on the desktop seems advisable only if you're on a tight budget.
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I suggest the OP reads this artical and decides whether the 100 bucks is worth it. In my opinion, wait until BD comes out, and do a direct comparison with SB. But if you have the extra 100, thenI would go Sandy Bridge at this point. 2500K - 4.5ghz on stock cooling, that's $220. There is simply nothing else that comes close. http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1156-page6.html

But yeah, they're both good cpus, i would wait until BD comes out.

Basically from what i can tell, a ocd 965 is equivalent to a 980, which is slower than a stock 2500k.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Phenom_II_X4_980/9.html
 
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Ok so i really don't want to spend the extra 100 because originally i wanted this build to cost like 600, but now its like 850 which is not good. I think switching to the 970 motherboard and the 955 CPU is a good idea. Also, i agree with Johnny that i probably wont notice the difference between a great CPU and a good CPU. I don't really want to wait for the BD cause school starts for me in September and i want to get it finished before then, but i might upgrade later.
 
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