Currently got a 4 year old system with a C2D E6600 (2.4 GHz), 4GB Ram, Nvidia 8800GTS, M-Audio 2496 PCI soundcard.
I've been doing most of my gaming on the xbox these last few years but I've decided to try to PC gaming again as the quality is just so much better. Not going to be doing heavy gaming (will still use my xbox as well) but I'd like to be able to run things like Battlefield 3 on high-ish settings.
Last time I tried a custom build (a long time ago) I melted the CPU (think the cooler was fitted wrong), this is my 2nd attempt so any tips and advice would be great!
Questions:
1. If I want to run games like Battlefield 3 on high settings what kinda price am I going to be looking at?
2. At the moment I have 2x 24" monitors but I'm considering getting a 3rd and maybe a decent sized TV as well. If I want all 3 monitors and the TV hooked up to the PC I assume I'd need 2 graphics cards?
3. Hard Drives:
-If I get an SSD, are there any disadvantages (apart from cost)?
-Would using TrueCrypt whole disk encryption on an SSD decrease its performance?
-Is it worth the extra money for the new OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD?
3. If I want to max out my gigabit network for file transfers am I going to need a dedicated PCI card or will the on-board NIC be fine?
4. Is there anything I can do to reduce the amount of heat generated from day-to-day (not gaming) use, as my room gets pretty hot in the summer with my current PC running.
5. Is it worth buying additional case fans?
Spec so far:
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Processor: Intel i5-2500K
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX560?
-- No idea really, thoughts? Does it need to be ATI eyefinity for triple monitor or does Nvidia have an equivalent?
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
-- 4GB enough?
Case: HAF912+ / CM690 II / Fractal Design R3
-- not sure which yet.
PSU: XFX Black Edition Modular
-- these seem quite well reviewed, how many Watts do I need? 750? 850?
CPU Cooler: ?
-- No idea, something easy to fit as I don't have much experience doing this.
Optical Drive: LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW
-- seems good?
HDD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD
Soundcard: M-Audio 2496 (from current setup)
Thanks for looking, any comments?
I've been doing most of my gaming on the xbox these last few years but I've decided to try to PC gaming again as the quality is just so much better. Not going to be doing heavy gaming (will still use my xbox as well) but I'd like to be able to run things like Battlefield 3 on high-ish settings.
Last time I tried a custom build (a long time ago) I melted the CPU (think the cooler was fitted wrong), this is my 2nd attempt so any tips and advice would be great!
Questions:
1. If I want to run games like Battlefield 3 on high settings what kinda price am I going to be looking at?
2. At the moment I have 2x 24" monitors but I'm considering getting a 3rd and maybe a decent sized TV as well. If I want all 3 monitors and the TV hooked up to the PC I assume I'd need 2 graphics cards?
3. Hard Drives:
-If I get an SSD, are there any disadvantages (apart from cost)?
-Would using TrueCrypt whole disk encryption on an SSD decrease its performance?
-Is it worth the extra money for the new OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD?
3. If I want to max out my gigabit network for file transfers am I going to need a dedicated PCI card or will the on-board NIC be fine?
4. Is there anything I can do to reduce the amount of heat generated from day-to-day (not gaming) use, as my room gets pretty hot in the summer with my current PC running.
5. Is it worth buying additional case fans?
Spec so far:
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Processor: Intel i5-2500K
Graphics Card: Nvidia GTX560?
-- No idea really, thoughts? Does it need to be ATI eyefinity for triple monitor or does Nvidia have an equivalent?
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
-- 4GB enough?
Case: HAF912+ / CM690 II / Fractal Design R3
-- not sure which yet.
PSU: XFX Black Edition Modular
-- these seem quite well reviewed, how many Watts do I need? 750? 850?
CPU Cooler: ?
-- No idea, something easy to fit as I don't have much experience doing this.
Optical Drive: LG BH10LS30 10x BluRay-RW
-- seems good?
HDD: OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD
Soundcard: M-Audio 2496 (from current setup)
Thanks for looking, any comments?
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