Computer Buying Advice

[Johan78]

Hi everybody,

I don't know a whole lot about computers but used to play games sometimes before (counter strike, star craft, unreal tournament etc). Now I have a more time again so thought I'd take it up again but need a new computer to be able to play all the new games but don't know what to get so thought I'd ask for some advice.

The computer shop I usually go to asked if I wanted the i5 or i7 processor, 4 or 8 GB DDR3 ram and the Nvidia GTX450 or Ati Radeon 6870 graphics. Is this good products, what do I need and what more should I think about? Was quoted around 30k for the lower spec one and around 50k for the higher spec one.

Grateful for any suggestions or input!

Johan

[Supernova]

50k for a PC... You're kidding right? Even "enthusiasts" don't spend that much. You can build a kick-ass gaming rig for roughly half the price. What's your budget? Personally, I wouldn't spend over 30k, but that's just me.

For starters, get a P67 motherboard and the Core i5-2500K instead of an i7 processor. Use the extra cash savings from that to invest in high performance RAM (Corsair or G.Skill) and a decent graphics card. The Nvidia GTX 460/470 or ATI Radeon HD 58xx/68xx should be enough to satisfy your gaming needs; or spend a little more and get the GTX 560 or HD 6950 which is almost guaranteed to last you a couple of years.

[tariq786]

Just bought AMD Phenom X6 (Six Core), Gigabyte 880GA Motherboard, RAM 4GB/1333 DDR3, ATI Radeon HD6950 2GB, HDD 1 TB SATA III , 730 Watts Power supply and a High Tower Casing with Extra cooling Fans and External DVD, Keyboard Mouse for 26,600 Baht

You can get a decent computer below 30,000

[Crushdepth]

50k for a PC... You're kidding right? Even "enthusiasts" don't spend that much.

I did

* Intel i7-2600k cpu (3.4 GHz, 4 cores / 8 threads, 8MB cache) [now overclocked to 4.4 GHz]

* Asus P8P67 Deluxe B3 motherboard

* 8 gigs G.Skill Ripjaws DDR-3 1600 RAM (F3-1600CL9D)

* OCZ Vertex 3 Pro SSD (120 gigs)

* AMD Radeon 6950 GPU [flashed the firmware and boost power to upgrade it to a 6970]

* Silverstone Strider Plus 750w power supply

* Zalman CNSP 9900 LED heat sink

* Corsair Graphite 600T case

I think it worked out at about 55K. But whatever your price point, you get an amazing amount of hardware for your $ these days.

[Supernova]

* AMD Radeon 6950 GPU [flashed the firmware and boost power to upgrade it to a 6970]

You've certainly done your homework.

I remember reading about it somewhere (can't find the article). One of the main selling points for that card.

But whatever your price point, you get an amazing amount of hardware for your $ these days.

I couldn't agree more.

[Johan78]

Thank you for the replies!

Don't know all the brand names but similar the specs in post 3 was what they said would be around 30k and similar to the specs in post 4 (again, not familiar with brands but would presume not as good) was what they said would be around 50k. Presumably they left a bit of margin for negotiation so at least it doesn't look like they were trying to rip me off :-)

Question still remains though what I should buy... Processor? Ram? Graphics? Anything else I need to think about?

// Johan

[Crushdepth]

Take a look at the i5-2500 processor, it is pretty solid choice for gaming. You probably don't need more than 4 gigs of RAM. Get the fastest RAM your motherboard supports without overclocking (RAM is cheap). The graphics card - well, basically decide how much you want to spend and then look for the best card in that price range.

Best gaming CPUs for the money, May 2011.

Best graphics cards for the money, May 2011.

SSDs are worth looking at for your OS drive, if you don't mind spending a bit more.

[Supernova]

Question still remains though what I should buy... Processor? Ram? Graphics? Anything else I need to think about?

Processor

Whether you choose AMD or Intel as your CPU doesn't make much difference. However, Intel does have the lead in the performance category but also costs a bit more than AMD. This is not to say AMD is inferior, because it isn't. As a matter of fact, I've come across more AMD gaming rigs over the years than I've Intel.

Memory

4GB should be plentiful. I'm not aware of any modern games which use over 3 gigs of RAM, except maybe Crysis at maximum settings. If you do settle on 4GB, make sure you buy 2x2GB modules instead of a single 4GB stick. It's cheaper, plus you'll get the added benefit of running 4 gigs of DDR3 in "dual channel" mode. Corsair and G.Skill are top brands that are known for their high performance RAM.

Graphics

If you want something high-end that will last a couple of years, get the GTX 560 or HD 6950. Otherwise go for one of the cards mentioned in my initial post.

Last but not least, do your homework! Spend some time reading hardware reviews to get a general idea of what others are buying / recommending. Trust me, it'll be well worth it.

[Johan78]

Thank you guys, both very informative replies, exactly what I needed. Will do some more research but a lot easier now that you have narrowed it down a bit. // Johan

[Supernova]

One thing that hadn't been mentioned, perhaps the most overlooked component when building a PC is the power supply unit (PSU). Make sure you get the right PSU that meets your needs.

How to Buy a Power Supply

How to Buy a Power Supply Unit

[Johan78]

Wow! A lot of things to think about when you buy a computer, had no idea. Thanks, will research PSUs as well

What about all the other stuff like motherboard, sound card, fans/cooling etc? Same kind of research needed there or is one as good as the other?

[Supernova]

Choosing a CPU and motherboard go hand in hand. You can't install an AMD processor on an Intel chipset and vice versa. The same also applies to memory modules, although the rules are a bit different when dealing with RAM and isn't as strict. RAM can be swapped from one machine to the next as long as the chipset supports it. For example, DDR3 modules will work on any motherboard that supports DDR3.

All motherboards nowadays have onboard audio. So unless you absolutely have to have the "best" sound (e.g. production environment), a dedicated sound card isn't needed. Besides, the sound quality of most integrated audio solutions is pretty darn good.

[spacemunk]

Most important for a Gaming Systems is -

Power Supply - How stable it is. Current good brands (Corsair/Seasonic X gold Series)

Motherboard - Doesnt matter for gaming.

Sound - Doesnt matter or depends on what sound system you're using.

Memory - Currently 6gig is more than enough or if you run multi background progs 12gigs(4x3gigs) for win7 64bit

Graphics - Depends if you are into Eyecandy and how large your screen is.

CPU - Doesnt matter if its Intel/AMD. Just make sure the CPU chip you're getting doesnt bottleneck your graphic card.

HDD - 2 x SSD( 1 for OS , 1 for Games). 2 x 2TB mechanical drives for music/movies

[SweRob]

50k is way too much for a stationary gaming PC. If we were talking Laptop gaming PC it would be a fair price.

[Johan78]

Thanks for all the advice!

Thought I'd let you know that I took most of it and ended up with the i5 2500, 2x2GB Corsair RAM, a Western Digital 1TB HDD, the GeForce GTX 550 Ti and a 750W PSU (not sure if that was worth it though since I only bought a 600W UPS?!?) and everything seem to be working well :-)

// Johan