The Wonderful Story of Rikka and his New Computer

Rikka

L5: Dapper Member
Feb 10, 2009
208
388
So I'm building a desktop. After two crappy laptops (only one was mine) that ran at 20 fps before eventually succumbing and jumping between 20 and 2, time to get a desktop that will last and maybe even hit 30 fps.

Problem is, I have no idea what actually would make a good purchase. I have tech-savvy friends who can help me decide and put it together, but I always figure I have tech-savvy friends(?) here as well. So I'll put up the current part I'm thinking about courtesy of Fireslash.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130572 GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138179 MOBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129044 Case

I've already heard complaints about some of these, so if you have suggestions or comments, they would be much appreciated. Any advice would really, because there's undoubtedly things I'm not thinking about I should be.

Currently running on a 600 dollar budget.
 
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Mr. Happy

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 16, 2008
320
158
I would definitely avoid Astar ram and the biostar mobo. Go with GSkill ram and an ASRock motherboard. Otherwise everything looks in order!

And youll definitely be getting a much better fps than 30 with that!
 

Ravidge

Grand Vizier
aa
May 14, 2008
1,544
2,818
As I said in chat earlier.. When buying a case, it's not the best place to throw your money.
There's basically 3 types of cases:
1. cheap and not optimal for cooling.
2. expensive with flashy design.
3. expensive quality cases that last.

Personally I always go for category 1, based on reviews and company, the cheaper the better. Because once you're set to get a cheap case, they are ALL the same more or less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=antec_sonata_ii-_-11-129-086-_-Product is what I'm using currently, cheap and black
You need to add a power supply though (both for the one you chose, and mine).

For memory, more is always better than faster. Unless you're trying to build a monster machine and can afford both fast and massive.
Looking at your selected mobo and ram I'm not sure they fit together though? (I might be reading it wrong) Looks to me like your mobo supports DDR3 800/1066/1333, while your ram is DDR3 1600.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...322&cm_re=ddr3_corsair-_-20-145-322-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...278&cm_re=ddr3_corsair-_-20-145-278-_-Product
One of those would be my pick, roughly the same price and from a company I trust.

Rest I have no opinion on..
 
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A Boojum Snark

Toraipoddodezain Mazahabado
aa
Nov 2, 2007
4,775
7,669
Asus is one of the better motherboard manufacturers that isn't the extremely high end, I would put my recommendation on getting one by them.

Side note: make sure to google your choices, and a trick is to search for "<modelnum> problems" or "<modelnum> issues", often times it's easier to tell how good something is by the number and severity of issues people have, or the lack thereof, rather than sifting through reviews that may or may not be biased.
 

lana

Currently On: ?????
aa
Sep 28, 2009
3,075
2,778
Just want to point out that even if the cheap case that Ravidge is pointing out isn't optimal for cooling, it at least provides some space between components.
 

Mr. Happy

L6: Sharp Member
Jul 16, 2008
320
158
I agree with ABS, which is why I recommended ASRock. ASRock is a subbrand of ASUS that makes solid high quality boards without the flashiness of ASUS. Their stuff is intended for boutique OEM's and systembuilders and is a little cheaper. Not as many options though, but that means fewer fancy feature fails. I've had several ASUS boards DOA and no ASRock boards.

I've built four computers in this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 and love them.

You might consider this CPU instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E1681910385 . Lower clock speed but more cores which is nicer for threaded applications like photoshop and compiling your maps.

Ravidge is right about RAM, one interesting thing also is that the more sticks you have the better, even if it's the same quantity. That is, 4 1GB sticks always better than 1 4GB stick assuming identical latencies (and the 1 4GB stick will probably have worse latencies anyway) unless you plan on upgrading later and want to have room. As for his suggestion, I've had tons of Corsair ram DOA, TONS, like all of it I've ever bought had to be RMA'd. That said, they are very reputable and that was years ago, my experience is the exception. They tend to be a little more expensive too. I'd still recommend GSkill. Mushkin is high quality too.
 
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Numerous

L4: Comfortable Member
Oct 14, 2009
150
72
Screw what everyone says, the faster the better, no matter what the cost. If hacking into military databases so you can sneak into clandestine research laboratories to steal an ultra-advanced military prototype will get you a better rig, so be it.

despite what people say, it IS possible to have a 32-core CPU. You just need the right technology.
 

drp

aa
Oct 25, 2007
2,273
2,628
So I'm building a desktop. After two crappy laptops (only one was mine) that ran at 20 fps before eventually succumbing and jumping between 20 and 2, time to get a desktop that will last and maybe even hit 30 fps.

Problem is, I have no idea what actually would make a good purchase. I have tech-savvy friends who can help me decide and put it together, but I always figure I have tech-savvy friends(?) here as well. So I'll put up the current part I'm thinking about courtesy of Fireslash.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130572 GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138179 MOBO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129044 Case

I've already heard complaints about some of these, so if you have suggestions or comments, they would be much appreciated. Any advice would really, because there's undoubtedly things I'm not thinking about I should be.
is money an issue? if so, what is your budget?
 

Rikka

L5: Dapper Member
Feb 10, 2009
208
388
600 dollar. Can't believe I forgot.
 

Impulse

L2: Junior Member
Nov 1, 2009
51
18
CPU - Phenom II X2 555 $90 (Quad core is nice but not necesarry, if you want quad core on your budget i'd recommend and athlon II x4 and not a phenom II x4)
Mobo - Asus Evo AM3 USB3.0 $110
RAM - A-DATA DDR3 RAM 4GB $85 (personally i own this ram and i have it running at 1800mhz stable at 9-9-9-12 and it doesn't go above 70c in stress tests so i would recommend this above all others from experience)
GPU - Saphire VAPOR-X 5770 DX10 GPU $150
Case - ANTEC 300 $60
DVD - Lite-ON DVD Burner $25
Hdd - Seagate 750GB HDD $60
PSU - OCZ Mod Xstream PRO $60 (45 after rebate) (i have built 4 computers 2 of them being over 2 years old with OCZ psu's and none of them have failed and their dead silent)

Thats just under $580 for a total not including shipping
 

WastedMeerkat

L3: Member
Aug 15, 2009
144
142
As I said in chat earlier.. When buying a case, it's not the best place to throw your money.
There's basically 3 types of cases:
1. cheap and not optimal for cooling.
2. expensive with flashy design.
3. expensive quality cases that last.

Personally I always go for category 1, based on reviews and company, the cheaper the better. Because once you're set to get a cheap case, they are ALL the same more or less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=antec_sonata_ii-_-11-129-086-_-Product is what I'm using currently, cheap and black
You need to add a power supply though (both for the one you chose, and mine).

Well, I have one that's cheap AND optimal for cooling. Grim actually suggested it to me and I love it. The only problem with it is that the power supply is bottom mounted and the case needs to be elevated so the PSU fan can get some ventilation. Other than that, my Radeon HD 5850 runs at a steady 30* celsius. (very good temperature)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146059&Tpk=beta evo