Building a new comp

[hyun]

Pretty new at this. My comp is really shitty so I really do need an upgrade. My objective is to spend little as possible to build a rig that can handle SC2 on Ultra setting and leave ample room for upgrade in the future. I already have keyboard, Mouse, DVD drive, Speaker and Monitor. What you guys think of the build below? The reason for 2 GPUs is because I can't make up my mind yet lol.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Pu...umber=15286126

[MSP611]

dude cant look at ur wish list if we dont have ur acc info lol

[hyun]

I made it to public. I guess it takes awhile for it to become public. You can check it out now. Please give me some feed back before I shell out 1k+

[Haltech]

New Intel chip just dropped... What i need to know is a budget price...

[hyun]

budget is around 1200 for case, psu, cpu, gpu, motherboard, ram and hard drive.. basically everything except os, monitor, speaker, keyboard, mouse etc.

[yearzero]

personally i would go ati/amd to save some coin.

[J03808]

Is what you have in your wishlist all you plan on putting in there? (As in, you're not adding another video card, or some such). Because that power supply's well more than you should need (Antec Power Supply Calculator is handy for figuring this out, looks like about 500W). Unless you're planning to really overclock your CPU, that CPU fan's way more than you need as well. Finally, that's a nice motherboard. It might be more than you need for this build, but that's something I wouldn't skimp on. Hope that helps!

[Vin]

I'd recommend a p55 like a gigabyte ud3 or asus p7p55d board and i5 760. For the cpu cooler, you can check out the cooler master Hyper 212+, it's a good bang for the buck cooler and can be setup as Push/Pull.(approx. $200 saved here)

You can apply that savings and bump up the video card. A quad core i5 shouldn't bottle neck any current vid cards.

Dominators are awesome but not neccessary. The gain from faster memory is not as noticable as a better video card.

Good pick on the PSU.

Just my 2 cents.

[hyun]

I chose the PSU with the upgrade in mind. I might down the line have 2x GPU and multiple hard drive. I heard the CPU can be found for $200 at Microcenter, so that will save me some coin. Other than that, the rig looks good? I think it should be more than enough for SC2 and some of the upcoming games.

I really don't know much difference between AMD and Intel but I am going to start reading about it today before I make the purchase. Back in the days, I heard AMD produce more heat and Intel processors seems to have better 3dmark scores. I don't know, it could have changed. Thanks for suggestions!

[Haltech]

Newegg.com - Intel Core i7-875K Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Unlocked Desktop Processor BX80605I7875K

This CPU has its core unlocked and just dropped in price by $179

Then pick up any decent P55, not sure how you budget motherboards, but one of these two Asus are an excellent choice with an unlocked mutli:


Newegg.com - ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Memory:

Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7D-8GBRL

Can't go wrong with ripjaws

My recommended PSU:

Newegg.com - CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

I'm a power user, dunno about you, so for video, i always recommend a 5870 2 Gig 6Finity model. You could step down and go with a 5850 if you arent a real hardcore gamer.

[hyun]

My computer died while playing sc2. What. The. Hell? I think something fried.. I heard of over heating issue due to high uncapped FPS. Fuck it, getting new computer anyways.

Im not hardcore user, as long as game looks decent and i can run it with zero problem that's all that matters to me. I do need this computer to last me 4-5 years though so down the line I will update ram, vid card and hard drive and such.

I am going to have to go to friends house to compare 5850 and GTX 460. I cant afford $400-$500 GPU right now lol. I guess I can save some coins by going with Ripjaw but they seem little slower than Dominator. Don't know about that CPU, too noob to know the difference except minor difference in clock speed.

Anyways, thanks for the suggestion. Going to compare/research around a bit tonight and then shop around tomorrow.

[Haltech]

Originally Posted by hyun My computer died while playing sc2. What. The. Hell? I think something fried.. I heard of over heating issue due to high uncapped FPS. Fuck it, getting new computer anyways. Im not hardcore user, as long as game looks decent and i can run it with zero problem that's all that matters to me. I do need this computer to last me 4-5 years though so down the line I will update ram, vid card and hard drive and such. I am going to have to go to friends house to compare 5850 and GTX 460. I cant afford $400-$500 GPU right now lol. I guess I can save some coins by going with Ripjaw but they seem little slower than Dominator. Don't know about that CPU, too noob to know the difference except minor difference in clock speed. Anyways, thanks for the suggestion. Going to compare/research around a bit tonight and then shop around tomorrow.

Trust me, the ripjaws smack the dominators. Do not pay attention to stock CAS Lat speeds.. That is what voltage is for. Besides, this CPU has an unlocked multi, so you can save coin and go with shitty ram if you choose.

Fuck the GTX, thing is a heater in your system.

[nue]

Originally Posted by hyun budget is around 1200 for case, psu, cpu, gpu, motherboard, ram and hard drive.. basically everything except os, monitor, speaker, keyboard, mouse etc.

Originally Posted by hyun I am going to have to go to friends house to compare 5850 and GTX 460. I cant afford $400-$500 GPU right now lol.

lolwut. You have 1200 budgeted but you're unwilling to spend 400-500 on a GPU eh?

Anyways I digress. Are you a cheapass like me or are you willing to splurge? SC2 isn't that system intensive, even on ultra settings. I made a computer just for SC2 (too bad it sucks and wasted my money building my computer hah) with about 300 bucks that's able to play at high with no lag. Granted, I also recycled a few parts, like the HD and OS. The only thing holding me back is my video card, and being the cheapass that I am, I'm okay with that.

Your list looks like overkill for SC2 imo, it can do just fine with AMD's line of quad processors (give or take around the $100 mark, and this was at the beginning of the year too) and coolers are kind of a joke unless the CPU is known to run hot or you're overclocking. You can safely go with 4 GB of ram instead imo and it depends heavily on what you're gonna be running it on too as most people won't be multitasking that heavily or running anything that intensive on ram. Try a cheaper brand if you're willing to unless you feel that the speeds of a 1600 DDR3 ram is essential. But be prepared to tinker as well since I remember most mobos don't support 1600 without messing with their settings. Also IIRC, 32-bit OSes can't even make use past of anything past 4 so that's something else to consider if you're not going the 64 route.


Essentially, if you're cheap, you're gonna have to be willing to wait. I accrued pieces gradually as they came around since manufacturers like to dump random stuff at various times with huge savings and they kick back an assload of rebates. Hopefully you're around either a Microcenter or Fry's as they have ridiculous combo deals at various times of the month.

StarCraft II Beta: Game Performance Analyzed : Same Interface, Different Strategies

Try this as a sort of benchmarking the game. Despite it being the beta version, most of it is still applicable in terms of how it performs.

[numbnuts22715]

I would recommend this hard drive: Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
It's a very nice hd, and its actually pretty fast. check some of the reviews