New kid on the block

[curiouspanda]

Hey guys! Just joined because i'm looking to get a nice pimped out desktop for my gaming needs and school work! Planning to game by weekends and work by day. Gaming until my gaming heart goes to heaven.

Questions I have
-How do people determine which parts to spend most on that like to spend extra time on computer games like Battle Field 3 or Starcraft 2 on high settings?
- Are there anything things I should know before buying a Mid tower or any other parts for my desktop? (Location : Bedroom(wireless) or possibly in living room)
-Is there a website where all kool kats go to buy their hot deals on computer parts?
-If I choose wireless is there anything I could do to prevent slow internet connection or drop calls on Skype?
- Planning to get window 7 64-bit but where should I buy for a nice price and any other good software to buy to reset the computer settings in case of a virus of some sort?
-Heard from my friend I could download a nice virus protection program for free from a website and still update does anyone know of this fabled website?

Plans for Desktop
Price range 500 - 1000
Must have
- high fps ingame
- Can play on the maximum graphics like Battle Field 3.
- can work well with multi - tasking of web browser as well as other programs like Microsoft Word
- Load videos at decent speed without pausing to buff

That is pretty much all for my check list but a friend of my older brother suggested I get this microprocessor without overclocking it because it is already a high end microprocessor.

Intel Core i7-950 Bloomfield 3.06GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor BX80601950
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

Would also like to tell people of my experience with computer construction:
- Have only installed a Geforce 9500 graphics card that is no longer with me.

P.S. Would like to be referred to a great thread that teaches newbies how to build.

P.S.S. Will be cut off of computer because it will be shipped someone in the U.S. to my older bro lol but will get back soon.

- Joshua Nguyen

 

[ssjwizard]

Welcome to OCF!

This thread covers the important parts of building your first computer. Its what we call a sticky, every sub forum here at OCF has a few and they are packed full of great info!

Ok so a few years ago the 950 was a very nice CPU now its only pretty good. IMO the I5 2500k is a much better processor and its about $50 less than that bloomfield, also socket 1155 motherboards are less expensive than 1366 motherboards are. Dual channel memory that is as fast as the 1366 memory is double win, get more power from less ram && spend less money on ram.

So the way to decide which components you should focus on is by determining your primary usage. For gaming hyperthreading makes little to no difference which is the primary difference between the 2500k and the 2600k therefore most gamers prefer it.
Gaming focuses HEAVILY on GPU(graphics card) performance, so if games are your primary usage you want to pump this up as much as you can afford. Which brand of GPU to pick comes down to a few common debates which are, driver support, cost, power consumption, hardware acceleration(CUDA/Physx or OpenCL).
Drivers are almost a mute point these days as both camps are offering quality drivers with regular updates the exception being that AMD GFX drivers for linux are still somewhat unreliable.
Cost to performance AMD wins that battle although in the lower range(normal gamers) the cost/performance ratio is alot more even.
Power consumption generally favors the AMD cards but again in the midrange it goes both ways.
Hardware acceleration is the most relevant argument at this point, some games can take advantage of Physx which is an nVidia only technology although it doesnt generally effect gameplay, CUDA is supported by a large number of high end production software(Adobe CS5, maya, some encoding software) and some others can utilize OpenCL. So you need to consider these things if you use software that can use these advanced technologies, if you dont then go for whatever suits your fancy at your price point.
Probably THE MOST IMPORTANT part not to cheap out on is your PSU. ALWAYS buy a PSU slightly larger than you need, and always choose one that has good noise filtering / surge suppression. Independent reviews are your friend here(not newegg reviews) there is a sticky over in the powersupply sub forum that has links to A TON of good reviews/review sites.

 

[curiouspanda]

I think I have been enlightened a little from the first post! I have found the building computer sticky, thank you so much. I will check out the i5 microprocessors as you suggested.

Questions
-AMD Performance to price ratio is best but AMD has a power comsumption problem?
- Nivida is my best bet for a good gaming performance like Starcraft 2 and Battle Field 3?
- What is CUDA? I do not really understand that part.
- Explanation of PSU?
- Which brand of mid towers will be good for an i5 microprocessor to prevent over heating and noise reduction is a plus?

P.S. Thank you ssjwizard!

- Joshua Nguyen

 

[Theocnoob]

-AMD Performance to price ratio is best but AMD has a power comsumption problem?


You do not want AMD right now. Sure, the 1055T is good price/performance for what you want but I suggest a 2500K system. The FX cpu power consumption is terrible and it is less efficient per clock than 2500K

- Nivida is my best bet for a good gaming performance like Starcraft 2 and Battle Field 3?

Not necessarily. AMD cards run those very well also. The choice is up to you

- What is CUDA? I do not really understand that part.

Cuda is a launguage NVIDA cards use that some programs can use for special water effects (Like in Just Cause 2) or to calculate falling trees (PhysX). Few games use it. Mostly it is to accelerate CAD and Photoshop.

- Explanation of PSU?

Power Supply Unit

- Which brand of mid towers will be good for an i5 microprocessor to prevent over heating and noise reduction is a plus?

Any case with lots of fans options. There are many. Cooler master HAF, Corsair 400R, Antec 300. Noise reduction is best done by buying quiet fans

P.S. Thank you ssjwizard!

- Joshua Nguyen[/QUOTE]

 

[ssjwizard]

Think you missed a quote tag in the beginning...

AMD makes great processors, but honestly at the moment Intel is holding all the cards. They have a performance advantage, use less power, and at the same price as AMDs best chip. All the things we used to be able to bag Intel on they are currently free of. However I still love me some AMD CPUs, Ive got a PII 925, an E350, an A8-3850, an Athlon Tbird 1200, couple of Athlon XPs, and a whole box full of socket 939 AMD chips. So on the AMD vs Intel situation go with what you think is interesting or catches your eye. IMO dont get last gen parts though. By that I mean PII or FX from AMD, or Socket 1155 for Intel should be what you consider. The FX chips have some issues right now BUT they do look to be rather future proof with the fact that some of its enhancements wont be utilized until a year or more from now. Either platform will make you happy Id look at cpus and then motherboards for both brands and find the one that has all the features you want and buy a chip to fit it.

If you dont know what CUDA or OpenCL are you probably do not need to concern yourself with picking a card based on that. Lets just say some high end software can use those program languages to do very processing intense jobs much much faster than with your CPU. In general though this should not effect choice in video cards for gaming.

 

[AlwaysMaybe]

Just like it was said above, do lots of research, then some more research, then maybe a little more. To me that is one of the most fun parts of a build. That being said I thought I would try to give you a little direction on your build. You didn't state above if you already had a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or wireless adapter so I left them out for now. Again this is only to give you some direction, if you have to get the above mentioned items with the money from your budget then you are going to have to sacrifice some of your components for less powerful ones but for your budget the below will be a great price to performance machine.


CPU:$219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Ram:$46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Mobo:$129.99 ($10 off promo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

GPU:$249.99 ($229.99 mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

HDD:$99.99 (prices are crap right now, this was the best for price I could find)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098

Case:$89.99 (79.99 mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

PSU:$89.99 (79.99 mail in rebate and a 15% off promo, be around $68)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

OS:$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Drive:$19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204


Total before any savings: $1046.91
After all savings: $984.92 (You can also bundle some of your stuff to save more)

The motherboard I picked has the intel z68 chip set so, if you want you can get a small SSD later and use it as a cache for your hard drive. The prices on HHDs are insane right now so good luck on that one, nothing I can do to help you there. Playing BF3 on max settings with your price range, especially if you have to include the above mentioned peripherals, is kind of difficult but I think the Gpu I picked should do a good job.

The "Fabled Free Anti-Virus Website" would be one of these:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...utTJAw&usg=AFQjCNGC_5wf_ZlpTvTBmerEaNG3uLMPgA

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...srjAAw&usg=AFQjCNGNVI4kx5RK6Rq0qtnMQhbfKAf-ZQ

Hope this helps out with the research. Good luck.

 

[Theocnoob]

If you are in New Mexico I bet you have a Microcenter near by. Lots of good bundles and plain cheaply priced.

The same 2500K thats 220 to 240 on the egg is 180 at microcenter. IMO, THATS the best bang buck for a CPU right now. Better even than the bang buck ratio of the 955

 

[curiouspanda]

Just like it was said above, do lots of research, then some more research, then maybe a little more. To me that is one of the most fun parts of a build. That being said I thought I would try to give you a little direction on your build. You didn't state above if you already had a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or wireless adapter so I left them out for now. Again this is only to give you some direction, if you have to get the above mentioned items with the money from your budget then you are going to have to sacrifice some of your components for less powerful ones but for your budget the below will be a great price to performance machine.


CPU:$219.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Ram:$46.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345

Mobo:$129.99 ($10 off promo)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128512

GPU:$249.99 ($229.99 mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

HDD:$99.99 (prices are crap right now, this was the best for price I could find)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098

Case:$89.99 (79.99 mail in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

PSU:$89.99 (79.99 mail in rebate and a 15% off promo, be around $68)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

OS:$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Drive:$19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204


Total before any savings: $1046.91
After all savings: $984.92 (You can also bundle some of your stuff to save more)

The motherboard I picked has the intel z68 chip set so, if you want you can get a small SSD later and use it as a cache for your hard drive. The prices on HHDs are insane right now so good luck on that one, nothing I can do to help you there. Playing BF3 on max settings with your price range, especially if you have to include the above mentioned peripherals, is kind of difficult but I think the Gpu I picked should do a good job.

The "Fabled Free Anti-Virus Website" would be one of these:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...utTJAw&usg=AFQjCNGC_5wf_ZlpTvTBmerEaNG3uLMPgA

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...srjAAw&usg=AFQjCNGNVI4kx5RK6Rq0qtnMQhbfKAf-ZQ

Hope this helps out with the research. Good luck.

Thank you! I couldn't ask for a better community than this any other way as I now plan on how to save and raise money through the school year, while hopefully picking up hotter deals than they are currently and using my school issued laptop as a reminder of what suites my fancy.
- Almost forgot but yes, I do have a keyboard and mouse as well as a headset. But I might go out and find an awesome LED lit keyboard and maybe mouse just for the cool factor.

 

[snowbrd]

I suggest checking slickdeals when you can because they tend to have a lot of super cheap deals.

 

[killerkid]

you know what would be even cheaper! Buying the parts used and building it, or buying a complete build

 

[curiouspanda]

you know what would be even cheaper! Buying the parts used and building it, or buying a complete build

Fishing for a man feeds him for one day but teaching him how to fish will feed him for a lifetime!

 

[Knufire]

This is probably your best bet for $1000:

 

[snowbrd]

Haha no problem. Theres a hot deals section here but truthfully there are a lot more people over at slickdeals.