PC Gaming Thread

[njx9]

i generally find pricewatch best for single parts. if i need a bunch of things, even where like, newegg might be a bit more expensive, it's made up on the shipping.

[Forenci]

I share pretty much go to the same sites as Damix. Microcenter, Newegg, Tigerdirect, etc.

Unlike past computers, I was pretty patient with buying my parts, which has saved me a ton of money by finding some great promotional deals. Microcenter slashed all their processor prices because the release of the new Sandy Bridge processors. There are some awesome deals there.

Only problem is that some are in-store only. I'm planning a trip to Long Island so I can pick up a couple parts. It's worth the travel costs, haha.

[Damix]

I keep telling myself I just need to buy the great deals as they come, and in like 3 months I'll have a new desktop with great stats for cheap.

But I'm entirely too impatient, so I tend to just buy everything at once.

I'm debating buying a new TV, or to do a build. If I build a new one, I'll def post up here stats and pictures

[nobodyinparticular]

Fun little story on how I got to the point of building a new budget/gaming rig.

For context, here's my old build from August of '07
Raidmax Smilodon tower w/ 500w PSU (PSU is since replaced due to a short that thankfully did not blowup my mobo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-062-_-Product

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131142

Intel Pentium D 3.00 GHz LGA 775 processor
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?spec=sl88s

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145034

EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130085

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701

Running 32-bit Vista

You'll notice that, at the time of the build the build everything was fairly competitive except for the monster of a CPU--a model that was already over 2 years old at the time I built my rig. The plan was to get a quality mobo and components and then upgrade to a Core 2 Duo or Quad Core in 6-12 months when I had a little more money. Well, certain scholarships I had lined up at my private college fell through and thus the money flow for the upgraded CPU fell through as well.

This Christmas, my bro blessed me with the wonderful gift of a new graphics card.

This beauty:
EVGA 01G-P3-1145-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130538

I plugged it in to my decrepit computer, DL'ed the current drivers, ran an old GPU benchmark and VOILA! a beautiful new GPU! Get ready to play Borderlands online with my bro and as the game is loading up--ZZZT! Computer shuts off.

I reboot my computer and think to myself, okay... maybe I was just doing way too much with a multitude of programs running in the background. Let's try this again. I load up Borderlands, start a new game, get all the way to the point of naming my character and---ZZZT! Computer shuts off again.

I run a quick PSU calculator on my rig and it says I should only need 420-ish watts, but I have a 500w Thermaltake PSU. I do a little more research and find that with heavy usage, a PSU loses close to 20% of its capacity after a year. After 2 years of using this 500W, apparently my rig doesn't have the guts to run the components with the new graphics card at full draw.

This got me thinking. As I ran the benchmark, my performance wasn't as good as I wanted. I still need that new processor. But what do I go for? Do I stick with an LGA 775 socket CPU or do I upgrade my motherboard and get an 1156 socket so I can at least tap into the i5 and i7 CPUs in a year or two?

So I did some benchmark research. And after weeks of really looking for the best deals, this is my new build.

Thermaltake Element T = $45 after $20 MIR at Fry's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=element%20t

APEVIA ATX-AQ700W-BK 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply = $40 after MIR on Newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817148040

ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131402

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103871
Combo CPU+Motherboard = $169 after MIR

EVGA 01G-P3-1145-TR GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card = $55 after MIR (free to me after gift from brother)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130538

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model = $30 after MIR from Fry's
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-263-_-Product

Grandfathered in:

The same 250 GB HDD, DVD-RW and 32-bit Vista

A brand new build minus the HDD, optical drive, OS and peripherals (a sweet 23" Acer LCD and wireless keyboard/mouse combo).

Total cost = $339
Total cost to me = $284

And this thing should benchmark very well for the cost.

What do you think? It's not a gamer PC and it's certainly not an enthusiast's PC (i.e. cutting edge like the guy on here who was going to have 6TB of hard drive space on his 2005 build), but on a very tight budget I think it is a very good value.

Lot's of mail-in-rebates though...

[njx9]

not too bad, though i'd guess you could've kept the old rig by removing some useless components.

[djp]

My current rig:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHZ Quad Core
ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB

Those are the important parts. I have a Corsair 750W power supply as well. Along with a crappy 19' LCD that's about 7 years old. That's next on my upgrade list.

[nobodyinparticular]

Originally Posted by njx9

not too bad, though i'd guess you could've kept the old rig by removing some useless components.

I'm keeping my mind open to keeping the Raidmax tower. If I were to keep it, however, I would need to replace all of the case fans since they are all noisy and only work at about 1/2 the functionality. I am also disappointed in the tower because the front I/O ports do not work so if I want to hookup a mic, I have to trail the cord all the way to the back.

All in all, I like the idea of replacing the tower with the Thermaltake tower because I expect it moves more air, the PSU at the bottom makes for better ventilation and to replace all the fans on the old tower would cost just about half as much as simply replacing the entire tower (and receiving the bonus of front I/O port functionality).

I strongly considered just replacing the CPU, but to find a CPU for the LGA775 motherboard at the similar level of power, it would cost a $160-170. At that point, I'm still stuck with DDR2 RAM and unable to really upgrade the CPU further. By going with the AMD system, I am getting a better bang for my buck while also opening the doors to DDR RAM at higher speeds.

[nobodyinparticular]

Originally Posted by djp

My current rig:

AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4GHZ Quad Core
ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB

Those are the important parts. I have a Corsair 750W power supply as well. Along with a crappy 19' LCD that's about 7 years old. That's next on my upgrade list.

How do you like your 965?

[njx9]

Originally Posted by nobodyinparticular

I'm keeping my mind open to keeping the Raidmax tower. If I were to keep it, however, I would need to replace all of the case fans since they are all noisy and only work at about 1/2 the functionality. I am also disappointed in the tower because the front I/O ports do not work so if I want to hookup a mic, I have to trail the cord all the way to the back.

All in all, I like the idea of replacing the tower with the Thermaltake tower because I expect it moves more air, the PSU at the bottom makes for better ventilation and to replace all the fans on the old tower would cost just about half as much as simply replacing the entire tower (and receiving the bonus of front I/O port functionality).

I strongly considered just replacing the CPU, but to find a CPU for the LGA775 motherboard at the similar level of power, it would cost a $160-170. At that point, I'm still stuck with DDR2 RAM and unable to really upgrade the CPU further. By going with the AMD system, I am getting a better bang for my buck while also opening the doors to DDR RAM at higher speeds.

if noise is an issue, i'd change the case and never look back. for the last few years, i've been replacing components to try to get as close to silent as i can. i don't really play the latest games (at least until hl2 ep3 comes out), so it's far more important to me that the thing is dead silent as much as possible.

i've always liked amd components, though i think i might've spent a little more on an i5/i7, as they're just dramatically better. then again, all of my boxes have run AMD forever, so sentimentality may still win out at some point.

[nobodyinparticular]

Originally Posted by njx9

if noise is an issue, i'd change the case and never look back. for the last few years, i've been replacing components to try to get as close to silent as i can. i don't really play the latest games (at least until hl2 ep3 comes out), so it's far more important to me that the thing is dead silent as much as possible.

i've always liked amd components, though i think i might've spent a little more on an i5/i7, as they're just dramatically better. then again, all of my boxes have run AMD forever, so sentimentality may still win out at some point.

i5/i7 sockets don't fit the current Intel mobo I have. Just a motherboard/CPU combo for an i5-660 would cost $290 on Newegg. That means for the cost of the entire rebuild, I get a motherboard and processor.

For comparison's sake, here's the i5-660 in a benchmark comparison to the Athlon II X4 640 for my new build.

Tom's Hardware - Benchmark

When I saw the 640 head-to-head with some of the best LGA775 and the middle-class i5 CPUs, I was SHOCKED. I have been an Intel-only man my entire life. When I look at this and see the X4 640 is only a step and a half behind in most of these and in some even better than the i5, I had to do a double-take. Then I look at the prices up top and see one costs more than twice as much as the other, I felt the switch was a no brainer.

[Forenci]

I highly recommend buying a new motherboard, preferably in the LGA1156 socket. If you want to save money, it'd be an excellent idea. A lot of core i5 and even i7's will be dropping dramatically in price with the release of the new Intel Sandy Bridge series of processors so you can save some money with the price drops.

Heck, even the new Sandy Bridge stuff is reasonably priced, but it doesn't sound like you're looking for cutting edge stuff, as you mentioned. I'm actually kind of upset I purchased my mother board already because the pricing is so damn good on them. Ugh.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0319779

That's what I'm going to be grabbing pretty soon. Even with the new releases it's still one of the best on the market but the price cut makes it insanely affordable.

[djp]

Originally Posted by nobodyinparticular

How do you like your 965?

Haven't had a problem with it yet. Runs every game just fine. Never going back to Intel.

[Forenci]

Originally Posted by djp

Haven't had a problem with it yet. Runs every game just fine. Never going back to Intel.

Haha, I just have never been able to get to liking AMD. For graphics cards I've had success with both Nvidia and ATI, but when it comes to processors it's Intel allllll the way for me.

[djp]

Originally Posted by Forenci

Haha, I just have never been able to get to liking AMD. For graphics cards I've had success with both Nvidia and ATI, but when it comes to processors it's Intel allllll the way for me.

I think they're very overpriced.

[Forenci]

Originally Posted by djp

I think they're very overpriced.

It depends where you shop for them. They're performance is also is much better than AMD processors too so in the end it's probably worth it.

[Cicero]

Has anyone checked out Firefall? That game looks like it has the potential to be incredibly fun to play.

[njx9]

Originally Posted by djp

I think they're very overpriced.

Originally Posted by Forenci

It depends where you shop for them. They're performance is also is much better than AMD processors too so in the end it's probably worth it.

intel was *garbage* until core 2. amd was a much better processor for much less money. core 2 saw intel outpace amd by as much as amd had previously had the lead, and intel hasn't looked back with the i5 and i7 chips. that said, amd has always filled in the lower-end markets much better. it's cheap chips have generally been much, much better than intel's.

it was actually painful to price out an intel system, after so long with AMD (since the athlon, slotA days).

[General Zod]

Originally Posted by Cicero

Has anyone checked out Firefall? That game looks like it has the potential to be incredibly fun to play.

I have not, has someone here posted earlier, Diablo II has taken over my life for the time being. lol

[nobodyinparticular]

Does anyone have any experience with motherboard that has onboard video? Obviously I want to disable it, has anyone had any problems with motherboards that had a difficult time disabling the onboard video chipset?

[General Zod]

Originally Posted by nobodyinparticular

Does anyone have any experience with motherboard that has onboard video? Obviously I want to disable it, has anyone had any problems with motherboards that had a difficult time disabling the onboard video chipset?

There isnt an option to disable it in Bios?

[Crickett]

Originally Posted by General Zod

I have not, has someone here posted earlier, Diablo II has taken over my life for the time being. lol

Lmk if you decide to play on the USeast server.

[yourfavestoner]

Originally Posted by General Zod

I have not, has someone here posted earlier, Diablo II has taken over my life for the time being. lol

I told you!!!

[njx9]

i hate both of you. i finally bought the damn game. ugh.

i still think the first one was better. /hipster

[JoeJoeBrown]

Originally Posted by yourfavestoner

I told you!!!

That happened to me in 2001. Holy Sheeeeet did I waste a lot of time playing that stupid game.

[General Zod]

Originally Posted by yourfavestoner

I told you!!!

Yeah lol, what can I say Im getting ready D III.

Call me Blizzard fanboy if you want, but I havent been so stoked for a game in a long time.