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SOLVED Looking for expert opinion on list of computer components for a first timer.

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Atomik

New Member
Joined
May 27, 2013
I'll start by saying that I'm new to building a computer, and I know nobody that has any experience in the field who could tutor me. I've spent some time reading various articles and forums, giving me an idea of what to shoot for.
My interests in building my own system is full optimization, saving a few bucks, and mostly for the experience and the knowledge of how it all comes together.

What I desire out of my machine is purely gaming. OC'ing is not something I am currently interested in, but something I would like to learn down the road. Graphics are important to me, and would like to run modern games on near ultra settings without even a hiccup. Bottle-necking is a major concern of mine, and I expect some revision to my component list to prevent this. I am also a bit of an audiophile, and I wonder if it would be worth it to add a soundcard to my list of components simply to listen to media at its full potential.

Well here's my base list. My price range is $700-1500, and I am open to ANY suggestions.

Case_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133228
CPU_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
PSU_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153143
MoBo_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130686
RAM_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
HDD_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148913
GPU_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo
DvdBurner_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118073
 
:welcome: to OCF

First off, i want to say that you pick out some very solid pc part there, a few thing i woulds like to change is the PSU, GPU and HDD
For PSU, you don't really need a 850w PSU, unless you plan to run another video card in the future, a 650w PSU is good enough
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Enthu...d=1369696056&sr=8-1&keywords=Corsair+650w+psu
For GPU, a Radeon HD7950 is much better then a GTX 660, plus you get 4 free awesome game with any Radeon HD 7950/ 7970 card
This card is brutally fast for a 7950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202003
For HDD, you may want to go with this
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Solid...69696397&sr=8-1&keywords=seagate+hybrid+drive
Much faster then your average hdd= faster boot time, faster loading
 
Hey, welcome to OCF! :beer:

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

  • What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.
  • What is your budget?
    1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
    2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
  • Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
    1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
    2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?
  • Do you have any specific requests with the build?
    1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
    2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
    3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
    4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
    5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF! :)
 
Hello Knufire, thank you for your assistance. I will try to be clear on what specifications I'm looking for in my rig. Starting with it's intended use. I seek a rig capable of playing modern games on very high settings, as well as being able to watch and listen to various media at a high quality. I'm trying to build a gaming machine to replace my Xbox.

My budget is quite flexible at a range of 700-1500$. This does not include a copy of windows or any peripherals, as I will take them into account separately. I live in the US and was planning on ordering my components from NewEgg. I do not live by a Microcenter. I have never heard of Microcenter before so I did a search on it to see what it was about, and I wish that I did live by one.

Overclocking is something that I would be interested in having the capability of performing, but at this time until I learn more about OC'ing I would be content running at the regular clock speed. As for the size of the build I want full ATX sized tower. Concerning the sound of the build, I would prefer it to be quiet, but complete silence isn't necessary. Also, I would like my rig to be capable of continuous upgrading as new technology arises. I have never heard of Nvidia's SLI feature before so I did a search on it, and I am interested in having the capability of running dual GPU's to increase my performance.

If there are any other questions you have, please ask and I will do my best to answer. Thanks to everyone for their input. I would hate to jump into something like this with no guidance.
 
Don't bother with a sound card for logitech speakers, quality audio is expensive. At least $100+ for a quality pair of headphones. For speakers...I'd try to find some Kilpsch Promedia's, and if not those, probably have to spend $300+ for a pair of proper studio monitors.

IMO a good pair of headphones is a superior audio solution for gaming, as well as being more affordable.

Check out Mad Lust Envy's guide to gaming headphones on HeadFi.
 
I like what I see with the Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 Speakers. Scratch the Logitech speakers, instead I'm going to take your word on getting the Klipsch. Here's the link.
http://www.klipsch.com/promedia-2-1-computer-speakers
I agree that headphones are far superior for gaming, and I will get a pair with a mic for that purpose, but I also require a system to listen to music on capable of shaking the very foundation of my house. hahaha
I will definitely look into Mad Lust Envy's guide, thanks for the reference.
 
Don't skimp on the headphones...I can also tell you there are very few good quality headphones with a mic attached and nearly anything marketed as "for gaming" is not that great. With a sound card, you can enable virtual surround sound (which the guide on HeadFi reviews headphone performance using this software enhancement).
 
Okay, thanks for the info on proper headphones. What about my original post of my components list. I did my best to have it all be compatible, and keep any parts from bottle-necking. I am not so confident though that I picked the right parts to have everything run smoothly, being that this is my first time doing this. Do all these parts listed above appear to be a legitimate high performance build for gaming?
 
I'll start by saying that I'm new to building a computer, and I know nobody that has any experience in the field who could tutor me. I've spent some time reading various articles and forums, giving me an idea of what to shoot for.
My interests in building my own system is full optimization, saving a few bucks, and mostly for the experience and the knowledge of how it all comes together.

What I desire out of my machine is purely gaming. OC'ing is not something I am currently interested in, but something I would like to learn down the road. Graphics are important to me, and would like to run modern games on near ultra settings without even a hiccup. Bottle-necking is a major concern of mine, and I expect some revision to my component list to prevent this. I am also a bit of an audiophile, and I wonder if it would be worth it to add a soundcard to my list of components simply to listen to media at its full potential.

Well here's my base list. My price range is $700-1500, and I am open to ANY suggestions.

Case_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133228
CPU_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504
PSU_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153143
MoBo_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130686
RAM_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
HDD_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148913
GPU_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo
DvdBurner_http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118073

I'll make it simple, since im lazy :)
case - fine, quality is fine and the design is what counts, if you personally like or not
cpu - great if you plan to overclock, do you ? if so get a good hsf too, cheap option is coolermaster 212 evo
psu - not the best choice, get a seasonic or xfx (which is same seasonic, yet cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207022
say this, trust me u dont need 850w with this pc, unless u plan to go crossfire/sli later on
mobo - fine, but personally id recommend an asrock or gigabyte z77, say the asrock extreme4/6 or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128546
ram - fine, personally i prefer gskills, but without cutting edge overclocking, it wont make a huge difference
hdd - 5900rpm?why? get a 7200 full and get a wd (better quality) say wd black or blue
gpu - very good, esp the brand ;) the radeon 7870 is also a good option at this price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418, ok a bit more, but worth it too, do some googling on perf comparison
dvd - u sure u need one ? but anything works really these days if you do ever need it


D
 
Thank you Knufire, ASUS ROG, and ZL1 for your suggestions. I will wait and see if any more ideas trickle in, and I will soon mark this thread as "solved".
 
ur welcome, if any questions ping
btw i personally own an asrock extreme6 and have to say I love that board, seasonic psus for ages and always been good to me, same with wd hdds and gigabyte boards and cards, asus vcards are good too though; my experience with msi has been mediocre at best and Ive been at this for nearly 20 years now .. dam it im getting old :(

btw you may consider waiting for the haswell if not a huge rush, may be something worth it
but keep in mind that z77 is a tested platform and if you buy a K proc, then who cares, the perf diff is not that huge
 
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