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Val155

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Joined
Jul 10, 2003
I just want to start out by saying that I have been visiting this site since 2003 and have taken a lot of awesome advice and suggestions from all of you over the years. Thank you so much!

I’m writing this post because the time has come for me to build a new gaming rig and take advantage of all of the newer technology. The forums helped me in 2008 with my last machine (specs are below). I use my rig mainly for MMO gaming and internet. I do not do any art/graphic based computing. I also do not do any overclocking, mainly because I have never tried or really have never needed to (I don’t think). I strictly do gaming and your typical internet/email tasks.

I’ll admit, I am in no way up to speed on the new tech as well as what criteria I need to look at that needs to coincide with other parts, etc., so I am hoping you can recommend parts as I plan to build from scratch with a new mid-size tower.
I will probably have questions as well. My budget is around $1k.

Current built PC since 2008:
- EVGA LGA 775 Nividia NForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.46hz LGA 775 Processor
- EVGA Geforce 8800GT Akimbo 512MB 256bit GPDR3 PCI Express 2.o x 16 HDCP SLI ready video card
- Western Digital RE2 400GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
- Corsair Dominator 4GM (2x2GB) DDR SDRAM
- LITE-ON 20x DVDR SATA
- Raidmax Sagita ATX Mid-Tower Case
- Thermaltake Black Widow 850W ATX Powersupply

Any advice or direction would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you all again for your time.
 
I don't see anything you could reuse from your old build. I'd throw it up on craigslist and see if you can get a little bit out of it.

Are you going to need a new monitor? What about an OS? Peripherals?
 
Currently have Windows 7 64 bit. I have two monitors that I use and a USB keyboard and trackball mouse. Those I am keeping.
 
What resolution are your montiors?
I'm assuming you only game on one monitor?
 
You will definitely need to replace the CPU, motherboard, and RAM which will run you ~$410 for a 4670K, mATX Z87, and 2x4GB DDR3. Everything else will work with the new platform, so you could use the 8800GT in the meantime in case you need to save some money. You could also wait on the GPU upgrade and test the 8800GT on the games you play with a new platform before upgrading it. Then, you can decide if you want an upgrade or not, but you probably will want a new one since you'll be overhauling everything else.

MMO games are typically weak on the graphics side so more PCs are able to run them, so you may not need a strong GPU. The lowest I'd probably go for a gaming GPU would be the GTX 750 Ti or R9 270.

What games and resolution do you run them at?
 
Intel Core i5-4670K $239
ASUS Z87-A $129
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1600 $74
SAPPHIRE 100363L Radeon R9 280X 3GB $299
CORSAIR CX series CX500 $59
Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB $59
Random DVD/RW $19
Corsair Carbide Series 200R $59
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $34
$971

Add a 120-240GB SSD when you have some spare cash down the road.
OR Gimp the GPU (not recommended by me) down to an R9 270 and grab an SSD.
 
How many GBs of space are you using on your existing setup for your games? I would make sure to pick up say a 250GB if you're not using it all for OS. That right there with the new components will be the biggest increase you've ever felt or seen, let alone the CPU/MB and RAM. As for gaming, if its 1080p and want to future proof it, grab a new or used GTX 770 4GB.
 
MattNo5ss said:
You will definitely need to replace the CPU, motherboard, and RAM which will run you ~$410 for a 4670K, mATX Z87, and 2x4GB DDR3. Everything else will work with the new platform, so you could use the 8800GT in the meantime in case you need to save some money. You could also wait on the GPU upgrade and test the 8800GT on the games you play with a new platform before upgrading it. Then, you can decide if you want an upgrade or not, but you probably will want a new one since you'll be overhauling everything else.

MMO games are typically weak on the graphics side so more PCs are able to run them, so you may not need a strong GPU. The lowest I'd probably go for a gaming GPU would be the GTX 750 Ti or R9 270.

What games and resolution do you run them at?
Click to expand...

I would like a completely new rig as I am going to give this one to my kids.
 
GTXJackBauer said:
How many GBs of space are you using on your existing setup for your games? I would make sure to pick up say a 250GB if you're not using it all for OS. That right there with the new components will be the biggest increase you've ever felt or seen, let alone the CPU/MB and RAM. As for gaming, if its 1080p and want to future proof it, grab a new or used GTX 770 4GB.
Click to expand...

I have 176GB used and 195GB free currently.
 
Theocnoob said:
Intel Core i5-4670K $239
ASUS Z87-A $129
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1600 $74
SAPPHIRE 100363L Radeon R9 280X 3GB $299
CORSAIR CX series CX500 $59
Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB $59
Random DVD/RW $19
Corsair Carbide Series 200R $59
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $34
$971

Add a 120-240GB SSD when you have some spare cash down the road.
OR Gimp the GPU (not recommended by me) down to an R9 270 and grab an SSD.
Click to expand...

Is the Western Digital a solid state drive? Should I even be looking at those? I also have always purchased Nvidia... have never tried Radeon. Which is the leader now a days?
 
Val155 said:
Is the Western Digital a solid state drive? Should I even be looking at those? I also have always purchased Nvidia... have never tried Radeon. Which is the leader now a days?
Click to expand...

No it isn't an SSD. You don't have the money for an SSD unless you sacrifice the performance of CPU/GPU or both. I don't recommend that. I recommend buying a powerful system from the get-go with a hard drive, then adding an SSD later when you can afford it.

Don't worry about who the leader is in graphics right now (I think it's AMD). Just buy the card that best suits your budget. IMO it's the 280X.
 
Val155 said:
Is the Western Digital a solid state drive? Should I even be looking at those? I also have always purchased Nvidia... have never tried Radeon. Which is the leader now a days?
Click to expand...
Like he said, you cannot afford it with the current budget really....

The overall single GPU performance crown goes to Nvidia with its 780ti or Titan Black. But that really isn't relevent as you are not buying $700+ GPUs. Both companies have cards in your price range that essentially exchange blows.
 
You've had that computer since 2008 and still have 195Gb free space on that 400gb drive. I'd recommend you do what MattNo5ss said and keep the GPU and use that money to add an SSD for your operating system. Keep the 400gb drive for loading other programs. Keep your PSU and save that money also.
 
Twiggz said:
You've had that computer since 2008 and still have 195Gb free space on that 400gb drive. I'd recommend you do what MattNo5ss said and keep the GPU and use that money to add an SSD for your operating system. Keep the 400gb drive for loading other programs. Keep your PSU and save that money also.
Click to expand...

The current computer is being repurposed for other uses.
 
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