- Joined
- May 22, 2013
1. What is your budget?
My budget is ideally $1500.00, with a cap of $1700.00 including shipping and tax.
I do not need a monitor, and I am fine using the cheapest keyboard and mouse they have for now, so the entirety of my budget is towards a tower PC. I will also need an OS, preferably windows 7, and I hear I may need pro or ultimate for better rigs that have higher memory.
2. What is the PC being used for?
This PC will be use exclusively for gaming. I like to play open worlds RPGs (Skyrim, The Witcher) mostly, some FPS (Borderlands type games) but I would rather have the graphical prowess be geared towards MMORPGS (Guild Wars 2, or Final Fantasy A Realm Reborn is the main reason I'm buying a new PC) and Open world RPGs, than geared towards FPS like Battlefield, even though I will be playing FPS, its more important to me to run on max settings smoothly for games like Skyrim or Fallout than games like Black ops.
I would like to be able to play games like Skyrim or Guild wars 2 on max settings for long periods of time without stressing my PC because I sometimes dual box, or multitask.
I never upload videos or make videos or anything like that, so all my PC power concerns are geared towards graphical smoothness and power.
The one thing I would like is a Solid State Drive, I realize I would lose out on amount of storage but I don't mind having to buy an external hard drive if it really increases the speed that much. Especially since most of my gaming will be coming off the drive.
My last PC I used my 50" 1080p Plasma tv for a monitor, but I would be willing to use a 27" or 32" or whatever size (or resolution) will get me the most bang for my buck.
Also, I don't care about size, or noise or anything, every cent I can, I would like to go into power, and function. I don't care if its the loudest, largest, ugliest PC ever built lol, as long as it kicks ***.
3. Will you be looking at performing future upgrades?
I am not too worried about upgrading, I will eventually, but not for a couple years hopefully, I just want to be able to play games for awhile on the highest (or damn close to it) settings smoothly for as long as possible. (Everyones dream hehe)
4. What are the full build specs? (if you already have one in mind)
Here is the PC I currently am looking at and feel most comfortable buying. It is an Alienware x51, and the only reason I am most comfortable with this is because I don't know a lot about PC's and the ones I've built (I will post other 2 builds below) I'm not sure if I am overbuying in some areas and underbuying in others. I would rather get more PC for my money but the x51 is the only one that I know will work out of the box and be close to what i'm looking for.
I also have $200.00 of the x51 budget going towards a $550.00 tablet as it will help me with my multitasking. (Reading forums and such on it as I play video games.)
First Build: Alienware x51
Module Description Show Details
Alienware X51 Alienware X51
Operating System Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
Processors 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3770 (8M Cache, up to 3.4 GHz)
Memory 16GB (2 X 8GB) Dual Channel DDR3 up to 1600MHz
Keyboard Alienware Multi-Media Keyboard
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 1.5GB GDDR5
Hard Drive 256GB SATA 6Gb/s Samsung Solid State Drive
Adobe Reader Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
Optical Drive Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless DW1506 Wireless-N WLAN Half Mini-Card
Power Supply 330W External Power supply
Final Price $1,648.00 With a 32G XPS 10 Tablet included.
Here is a PC i built for around the same price that I think has a lot more capabilities, but again i'm not sure if I overbought in some, or if everything is even compatible. This is why I need help.
Second Build: Cypher build
Configuration
CARE1: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
CAS: * Cooler Master HAF-XM Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ 2x 200mm fan, Front USB 3.0 & X-Dock HDD HotSwap [+54]
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3770K 3.50 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
FA_HDD: Vigor iSURF II Hard Disk Drive Cooling System [+21] (1 x System)
FAN: Cooler Master Seidon 120M Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator [+7] (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+9])
HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (1TB x 2 (2 TB Capacity) Raid 0 Extreme Performance [+85])
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
MB_SRT: 30 GB Corsair Nova 2 SATA II 3.0Gb/s SSD - 270MB/s Read & 220MB/s Write [+68] (Single Drive)
MEMORY: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory [+89] (G.SKILL Ripjaws X [+29])
MOTHERBOARD: * [CrossFireX] GIGABYTE GA-Z77-HD3 Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Ultra Durable 4 Classic, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x Gen3 PCIe x16, 2x PCIe x1 & 2 PCI (Extreme OC Certified)
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional [+135] (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: Pro OC (Performance Overclock 10% or more) [+19]
POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
TUNING: Intel® Core™ i7-3770K Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel [+29]
USBX: NZXT Internal USB 6-PORT Expansion Module [+19]
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+69] (EVGA Superclocked [-30])
WNC: 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card [+26]
Final Price: $1,616.00
Again, not knowing much about PC's, I'm not even sure if I have everything there I need… USB ports.. is it wireless capable?… Is there some parts that are overkill and some not enough? Could I get more bang for my buck with a different configuration?
And lastly, here is a PC I built on Ibuypower.com… I like a lot of there pre made configurations, but I can't seem to find one that has the right amount of memory I want, or some other feature… although I admit I don't know all that much about it.
As stated above I would prefer a solid state drive (I believe!) because I hear they are way faster at loading, but I don't know much about the RAID thing. Having 2 drives side by side… to me using 2 HDD's seems like it would be much faster than one… if using 2, 1TB drives is pretty dang fast, I suppose I would go with dual 1TB drives over a solid state.. unless solid state still blows the 2 HDD configuration out of the water… but I digress.. I don't know enough to make that decision.
Anyways, heres my Ibuypower.com build; On this, I'm not sure whether its better to keep this HDD, or go with the 1TB Dual RAID thing.. where it uses 2 HDD's… or if I should just go with single 1TB HDD and up the Nvidia card to the GTX 660 Ti 2GB.. or go with GTX 660 3GB… this is where my knowledge fails, I don't' know what is overkill, or what will help and what increases won't help. Feel free to change the configuration around for whatever you think will be better. I thought about going with 32GB of memory instead of 16 and go down a notch in video card to GTX 660 2GB… The 1TB velocirapter HDD or a 256GB SSD… its killing me! lol I just don't know what to tweak to get the best for my money.. anyways.. I digress.
Final Build: ibuypower.com Gamer Paladin D855
1 x Case ( Thermaltake Chaser A31 Gaming Case - White )
1 x Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 3820 Processor (4x 3.60GHz/10MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i7 3820 w/ Intel Performance Tuning Protection )
1 x Processor Cooling ( Liquid CPU Cooling System [Intel] - Standard 120mm Fan )
1 x Memory ( 16 GB [4 GB X4] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - G.Skill Ripjaws X )
1 x Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 - 2GB - Single Card )
1 x Free Stuff ( [FREE Game Voucher] - Metro: Last Light - Free with purchase of NVIDIA GeForce GTX660 or above )
1 x Motherboard ( Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 -- 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16 )
1 x Power Supply ( 600 Watt - Standard - FREE Upgrade to 650 Watt NZXT HALE82N-SI )
1 x Primary Hard Drive ( 1 TB WD VelociRaptor HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 10000 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
0 x Data Hard Drive ( None ) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Do I need a Data Hard drive? What is it?
1 x Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
0 x 2nd Optical Drive ( None )
1 x Flash Media Reader / Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black )
1 x Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
1 x Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
1 x Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit )
1 x Speaker System ( Logitech S120 2.0 Speaker System )
1 x Advanced Build Options ( Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound - The best interface between your CPU and the heatsinks )
1 x Advanced Build Options ( Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower - Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis )
1 x Advanced Build Options ( Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower - Basic Pro Wiring )
Final Price: $1.552.00
Feel free to tweak these or let me know what I want to change to get the most for my money. I would rather buy one that I built to get more for my money than an x51 … (I think..) but I'm just not confident enough in building a PC here to know that it will
A: work
B: work correctly and out of the box
C: include everything I need to use it
D: be setup correctly
E: be any faster or better than a prebuilt/configured x51
DUE TO LACK OF KNOWLEDGE I AM ALSO WORRIED ABOUT IF THE 2 BUILDS ARE BOTTLENECKED OR OVERPOWERED IN AREAS.
Sorry for the massive post, and thank you in advance for your help, tips, comments and concerns. They are all very much appreciated! I am not trying to be rude, but please don't post comments and such if you haven't read my post in its entirety and understand what its saying. This same post on another forum is full of people saying "Just build your own" which doesn't address the issue at all lol. I am trying to build my own thats why I'm here!
I will have to go with the x51 if I don't get some feedback on the other 2 builds or have someone post a build for me that makes me confident enough to go with self built.(website built I should say, I will not assemble myself)
PLEASE READ: While I appreciate everyone's suggestions about building my own, and believe me, I am taking them to heart. I am throwing together some parts lists and may do that, I would still appreciate it if you would tell me which of the 3 builds above would be best, and if possible where I could make adjustments on one of those 3 to make it the best of the 3. Thanks in advance. I really do appreciate it.
My budget is ideally $1500.00, with a cap of $1700.00 including shipping and tax.
I do not need a monitor, and I am fine using the cheapest keyboard and mouse they have for now, so the entirety of my budget is towards a tower PC. I will also need an OS, preferably windows 7, and I hear I may need pro or ultimate for better rigs that have higher memory.
2. What is the PC being used for?
This PC will be use exclusively for gaming. I like to play open worlds RPGs (Skyrim, The Witcher) mostly, some FPS (Borderlands type games) but I would rather have the graphical prowess be geared towards MMORPGS (Guild Wars 2, or Final Fantasy A Realm Reborn is the main reason I'm buying a new PC) and Open world RPGs, than geared towards FPS like Battlefield, even though I will be playing FPS, its more important to me to run on max settings smoothly for games like Skyrim or Fallout than games like Black ops.
I would like to be able to play games like Skyrim or Guild wars 2 on max settings for long periods of time without stressing my PC because I sometimes dual box, or multitask.
I never upload videos or make videos or anything like that, so all my PC power concerns are geared towards graphical smoothness and power.
The one thing I would like is a Solid State Drive, I realize I would lose out on amount of storage but I don't mind having to buy an external hard drive if it really increases the speed that much. Especially since most of my gaming will be coming off the drive.
My last PC I used my 50" 1080p Plasma tv for a monitor, but I would be willing to use a 27" or 32" or whatever size (or resolution) will get me the most bang for my buck.
Also, I don't care about size, or noise or anything, every cent I can, I would like to go into power, and function. I don't care if its the loudest, largest, ugliest PC ever built lol, as long as it kicks ***.
3. Will you be looking at performing future upgrades?
I am not too worried about upgrading, I will eventually, but not for a couple years hopefully, I just want to be able to play games for awhile on the highest (or damn close to it) settings smoothly for as long as possible. (Everyones dream hehe)
4. What are the full build specs? (if you already have one in mind)
Here is the PC I currently am looking at and feel most comfortable buying. It is an Alienware x51, and the only reason I am most comfortable with this is because I don't know a lot about PC's and the ones I've built (I will post other 2 builds below) I'm not sure if I am overbuying in some areas and underbuying in others. I would rather get more PC for my money but the x51 is the only one that I know will work out of the box and be close to what i'm looking for.
I also have $200.00 of the x51 budget going towards a $550.00 tablet as it will help me with my multitasking. (Reading forums and such on it as I play video games.)
First Build: Alienware x51
Module Description Show Details
Alienware X51 Alienware X51
Operating System Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English
Processors 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3770 (8M Cache, up to 3.4 GHz)
Memory 16GB (2 X 8GB) Dual Channel DDR3 up to 1600MHz
Keyboard Alienware Multi-Media Keyboard
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660 1.5GB GDDR5
Hard Drive 256GB SATA 6Gb/s Samsung Solid State Drive
Adobe Reader Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
Optical Drive Slot-Loading Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless DW1506 Wireless-N WLAN Half Mini-Card
Power Supply 330W External Power supply
Final Price $1,648.00 With a 32G XPS 10 Tablet included.
Here is a PC i built for around the same price that I think has a lot more capabilities, but again i'm not sure if I overbought in some, or if everything is even compatible. This is why I need help.
Second Build: Cypher build
Configuration
CARE1: Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]
CAS: * Cooler Master HAF-XM Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ 2x 200mm fan, Front USB 3.0 & X-Dock HDD HotSwap [+54]
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
COOLANT: Standard Coolant
CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3770K 3.50 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified)
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
FA_HDD: Vigor iSURF II Hard Disk Drive Cooling System [+21] (1 x System)
FAN: Cooler Master Seidon 120M Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator [+7] (Dual Standard 120MM Fans (Push-Pull) [+9])
HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (1TB x 2 (2 TB Capacity) Raid 0 Extreme Performance [+85])
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
MB_SRT: 30 GB Corsair Nova 2 SATA II 3.0Gb/s SSD - 270MB/s Read & 220MB/s Write [+68] (Single Drive)
MEMORY: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory [+89] (G.SKILL Ripjaws X [+29])
MOTHERBOARD: * [CrossFireX] GIGABYTE GA-Z77-HD3 Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Ultra Durable 4 Classic, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, 2x Gen3 PCIe x16, 2x PCIe x1 & 2 PCI (Extreme OC Certified)
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows 7 Professional [+135] (64-bit Edition)
OVERCLOCK: Pro OC (Performance Overclock 10% or more) [+19]
POWERSUPPLY: 600 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
TUNING: Intel® Core™ i7-3770K Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel [+29]
USBX: NZXT Internal USB 6-PORT Expansion Module [+19]
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+69] (EVGA Superclocked [-30])
WNC: 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card [+26]
Final Price: $1,616.00
Again, not knowing much about PC's, I'm not even sure if I have everything there I need… USB ports.. is it wireless capable?… Is there some parts that are overkill and some not enough? Could I get more bang for my buck with a different configuration?
And lastly, here is a PC I built on Ibuypower.com… I like a lot of there pre made configurations, but I can't seem to find one that has the right amount of memory I want, or some other feature… although I admit I don't know all that much about it.
As stated above I would prefer a solid state drive (I believe!) because I hear they are way faster at loading, but I don't know much about the RAID thing. Having 2 drives side by side… to me using 2 HDD's seems like it would be much faster than one… if using 2, 1TB drives is pretty dang fast, I suppose I would go with dual 1TB drives over a solid state.. unless solid state still blows the 2 HDD configuration out of the water… but I digress.. I don't know enough to make that decision.
Anyways, heres my Ibuypower.com build; On this, I'm not sure whether its better to keep this HDD, or go with the 1TB Dual RAID thing.. where it uses 2 HDD's… or if I should just go with single 1TB HDD and up the Nvidia card to the GTX 660 Ti 2GB.. or go with GTX 660 3GB… this is where my knowledge fails, I don't' know what is overkill, or what will help and what increases won't help. Feel free to change the configuration around for whatever you think will be better. I thought about going with 32GB of memory instead of 16 and go down a notch in video card to GTX 660 2GB… The 1TB velocirapter HDD or a 256GB SSD… its killing me! lol I just don't know what to tweak to get the best for my money.. anyways.. I digress.
Final Build: ibuypower.com Gamer Paladin D855
1 x Case ( Thermaltake Chaser A31 Gaming Case - White )
1 x Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 3820 Processor (4x 3.60GHz/10MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core i7 3820 w/ Intel Performance Tuning Protection )
1 x Processor Cooling ( Liquid CPU Cooling System [Intel] - Standard 120mm Fan )
1 x Memory ( 16 GB [4 GB X4] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - G.Skill Ripjaws X )
1 x Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 - 2GB - Single Card )
1 x Free Stuff ( [FREE Game Voucher] - Metro: Last Light - Free with purchase of NVIDIA GeForce GTX660 or above )
1 x Motherboard ( Gigabyte GA-X79-UP4 -- 4x PCI-E 2.0 x16 )
1 x Power Supply ( 600 Watt - Standard - FREE Upgrade to 650 Watt NZXT HALE82N-SI )
1 x Primary Hard Drive ( 1 TB WD VelociRaptor HARD DRIVE -- 64M Cache, 10000 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive )
0 x Data Hard Drive ( None ) <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Do I need a Data Hard drive? What is it?
1 x Optical Drive ( 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
0 x 2nd Optical Drive ( None )
1 x Flash Media Reader / Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black )
1 x Sound Card ( 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard )
1 x Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
1 x Operating System ( Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + Office Starter 2010 (Includes basic versions of Word and Excel) - 64-Bit )
1 x Speaker System ( Logitech S120 2.0 Speaker System )
1 x Advanced Build Options ( Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound - The best interface between your CPU and the heatsinks )
1 x Advanced Build Options ( Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower - Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis )
1 x Advanced Build Options ( Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower - Basic Pro Wiring )
Final Price: $1.552.00
Feel free to tweak these or let me know what I want to change to get the most for my money. I would rather buy one that I built to get more for my money than an x51 … (I think..) but I'm just not confident enough in building a PC here to know that it will
A: work
B: work correctly and out of the box
C: include everything I need to use it
D: be setup correctly
E: be any faster or better than a prebuilt/configured x51
DUE TO LACK OF KNOWLEDGE I AM ALSO WORRIED ABOUT IF THE 2 BUILDS ARE BOTTLENECKED OR OVERPOWERED IN AREAS.
Sorry for the massive post, and thank you in advance for your help, tips, comments and concerns. They are all very much appreciated! I am not trying to be rude, but please don't post comments and such if you haven't read my post in its entirety and understand what its saying. This same post on another forum is full of people saying "Just build your own" which doesn't address the issue at all lol. I am trying to build my own thats why I'm here!
I will have to go with the x51 if I don't get some feedback on the other 2 builds or have someone post a build for me that makes me confident enough to go with self built.(website built I should say, I will not assemble myself)
PLEASE READ: While I appreciate everyone's suggestions about building my own, and believe me, I am taking them to heart. I am throwing together some parts lists and may do that, I would still appreciate it if you would tell me which of the 3 builds above would be best, and if possible where I could make adjustments on one of those 3 to make it the best of the 3. Thanks in advance. I really do appreciate it.
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