Building my first game system, help would be appreciated :)

maxim.mitrokhin

maxim.mitrokhin

maxim.mitrokhin

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Joined
18 Feb 2009
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27
Hi,

It's my first time building a computer, so I took quite a while to research and came up with the build below.
I have razer barracuda headphones and razer lachesis mouse, unfortunately OCuk don't have the sound card AC-1 and I'll have to get it elsewhere.

Please could someone check the build? Purpose is gaming, internet, office stuff, movies. Also would like to avoid really loud components, but this is a very minor issue. I'd rather have power with noise :)

maxtempwq5.png


Graphics card: would like GTX 295/285, but I think they are too expensive, so 260 should be a good alternative?
CPU: 8600 seems a bit overpriced, so think this would be a good choice and could be easily overclocked with the case I'm getting.
Monitor: Really not sure about this, not sure how to go about this, but was choosing on the basis of native resolution - 1920
Motherboard: Here I need help! I'm not sure if I want to have SLI in future or not, or just upgrade to 295 or something when time comes, and not sure which motherboard is good. I need WIFI PCI, soundcard PCI, graphics card PCI, so really confused which motherboard supports which cards and the spacing in between them etc. Anyways could I have some suggestions here.
Case: I'm in love with this case and don't think I'll be able to choose another one as alternative...
Operating system: Think this is all I need for gaming, as for Office programs, already have those
PSU: Please help, I'm not sure how to calculate and which one to get.#
Keyboard: I might as well keep with my razer them, mouse, headphones and keyboard all glowing blue :P
RAM: Want at least 4GBs, but have no idea how to choose it... Need help here!
Harddrive: I never needed large one. So I think this one would do, just for OC, games and music. Also ahve 250Gb external already, that should easily slot into the system when taken out of the case.
Optical Drive: Don't really care, should be silent and fast, writing dvd and cds is a bonus, but I use it very rarely.

Basically could you advise me on what can be changed or improved, but keeping a good quality/price rational. Don't want to go overboard, but would like something that will play all games on almost max settings. Is 1920 preferred resolution for gaming? Or would other resolutions do as well, if yes what size screen is the best for experience, if it will be 0.5m in front of me at most?

Thanks in advance
 
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As far as I understand, any mobo will support any card, even if it has crossfire and I use Nvidia?

I'd rather stick to Intel, somehow I trust them more. What does B grade product mean? And how do cards variate in performance between brands and different things like: Core 216. Also I noticed a significant difference between cards of the same type like - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-079-BG and
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-008-ZT

If CLI or Crossfire are used I guess u can't mix ati and nvidia cards, but is it possible to mix 260 with 295?

Thanks for your replies and sorry about so many questions, I'm trying to educate myself in the process.
 
thanks ro55o for the intel set up, think I'm going to go with that. Except that I'd like to stick to 260 gtx for some reason. But shouldn't be a huge difference in money or capability, right? Does PSU account for the WIFI card, usb and another Harddrive that I already have? and perhaps some margin? I like to be on the safe side :)
 
matt_fsr said:
Graphics card: GTX 260 is probably your best bet, or a 4870 if you prefer AMD/ATi camp. My advice is dont spend £400 on a card now, only to be 12 months down the line wishing you could afford to upgrade....
New card every 12 months or so is a good plan.
CPU: Go for a E7400, and save £60 for other components - clock the 7400 slightly, and it's ace.
PSU: Up to you, but see my signature - I've tested it from the plug socket, and I can only get a maximum draw of 220 watts, running my CPU and GPU full 100% stress testing. No need for 700 watt PSU yet methinks :p
RAM: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-144-OC&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=813 - Should do you fine.
Harddrive: You can never have enough space, get a good fast 500Gb one - price difference is negligible, and bigger drives are usually faster as well.
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I know you can get E7400 to a good speed, but I have some money to spend, so I'm trying to get an up-to-date computer with resonable price. CPU is not something that can be changed easily so would like it to be E8xxx, the logic for graphics card is same for me, I'd rather buy cheaper versions than the top ones and then not see a difference. I agree with the space, what more concerns me is reliability, quitness and speed.

Also is there any point in getting more than 4GBs, and how would 4x2Gb ram cards work together, I read it can cause big problems like BSD
 
ro55o said:
That corsair PSU will be enough for the setup, plus it's modular (only use the cables that you need, it makes building it easier and looks tidy).

Go for the Zotac GTX 260, great card for the money, plus you should get far cry 2 and mirrors edge with it. The 260 will be more than enough to power it, should get any game maxed out (and if you need additional kick, then download rivatuner and overclock the card).

Even though you want the nvidia card I'd still go with the P45 board that I spec'd, you won't be able to go SLi, but to be honest when the time comes you need more graphics power (which won't be soon) then just get the next best card that's out at that time.

I'd just stick with 4gb, you won't need anymore and wouldn't see a difference in gaming.

Go for the intel setup I've spec'd and just swap the 4870 for the GTX 260 ;)

I'm guessing you've already got the wifi card?
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Thanks, you've been great help. Yeah I don't think I'll ever need SLI, by the time I will, there will be something totally different on the market, like in 5 years time, may be you'll be able to buy additional mobo expansion and link any graphics card togetjer :O lol

About the WIFI card, actually not. Need some advice here. The router is 15 meters away through 2 non carrying walls, get 5/5 reception on my laptop. Bthomehub router if that makes any difference. Is there any card that is an obvious buy. Don't think I'll be going for the gamers cards that costs up to 200 pounds.
 
Now that the components are sorted out, all I need is to order them and then build it. I know the theory of building and read a few articles, does anyone know any guides are help articles, may be videos. Obviously I'll be searching myself as well, but may be there is a really good one.
Guess there is a risk in doing it yourself first time, but I have to start sometime.
 
ro55o said:
With the build just take your time, discharge any static from your body (touch something that's earthed, I touch the radiator before touching any of the components), make sure everything is connected in the right place (pretty much one place for everything anyway) and there shouldn't be any problems. It can be pretty rewarding when you finish and it's all up and running.

There are loads of guides on the internet and a few videos on youtube aswell, just google what you need.
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Thanks, also just noticed you have changed the RAM to a slower one that runs on 800Mhz, is it significant speed reduction from 1000, or does it not matter?
 
Ages ago I read there were problems with N networking cards, have those been solved? Am I correct to think that 54Mb/s cards are already too fast for the 8Mb connection I'm getting? Or does it work in dif way?
 
ro55o said:
With the build just take your time, discharge any static from your body (touch something that's earthed, I touch the radiator before touching any of the components), make sure everything is connected in the right place (pretty much one place for everything anyway) and there shouldn't be any problems. It can be pretty rewarding when you finish and it's all up and running.

There are loads of guides on the internet and a few videos on youtube aswell, just google what you need.
Click to expand...


Is there any point in getting an esd mat? I read that they are used for building computers, or is it being overcautios?
 
creed said:
I'd suggest upping the PSU to the HX620 in case u decide to use it in a crossfire or SLi setup in the next few years (PSUs tend to have more longevity than most other components!).

Although Corsair in my experience has been excellent, u may want to consider a brand with a UK RMA procedure to avoid expensive postage fees to the Netherlands if something were to go wrong after the 1st year (during which RMA can be done throught the retailer).
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Funny enough on my other comp that was built for me couple years ago, that was the first thing that broke :O, but back then I didn't even know what they put in there. May be it was really bad make, and they expected me not to know any dif... It was in Russia, so i guess thats to be expected
 
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