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Help with building new PC.

jstvallyjstvally Member Posts: 3

Hey all. My Pc is a bit dated. So im looking to build a new one from scratch. But to be honest i dont know all that much.

Can anyone suggest some mid price range CPU motherboard Ect i should start my build with.

OR does someone know a good site i should just order off?

I just mean the box aswell. I got mouse ect.

I dont want a beast of a computer just want to be able to play LORTO med-high, SC2. Mainly something i can upgrade later on.

 

Thanks. and please dont abuse because i am a bit clueless.

Comments

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347

    Some questions to get started:

    1)  What's your budget?

    2)  What parts do you need?  It sounds like you need a new case and everything that goes inside it?  You probably need a new OS license?  It sounds like you already have a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and speakers that you'll just keep?

    3)  Do you live in the United States?  This affects which e-tailers you can buy from.

    4)  You can build a new computer from the parts if you have the parts, it sounds like?  And what you want is help in picking the parts?

    5)  How soon do you need it?  Do you really need it right now?  Could you wait until next week for the new video card architecture (AMD's Northern Islands) that will launch?  Could you wait three months for a new processor architecture (Intel's Sandy Bridge)?  A year for some new process nodes and AMD's Bulldozer?

  • jstvallyjstvally Member Posts: 3

    Thanks for the reply first off.

    Aiming to spend about say 250-350 US ? Is that too low for box/inside?

    I have a copy of Windows 7.

    I live in aus.

    I can sort of put the parts together, I put my Graphics card into this computer i bought off a friend.

    Harddrives and memory seem pretty simple, The bigger the better i assume?

    But everyone thing else i am not too sure what will work with that, Whats good.

    And time wise not sure if it would matter because i cant really afford the latest gear.

    I guess i want a machine that has a okay mother board/cpu and everything else i can upgrade later.

     

    Thanks =D

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347

    If you want a new computer on a $250-$350 budget, you're getting a netbook.  A lot of games flatly won't run, and those that do probably will tend to not run as well as they do on what you have right now.

    Buying a new computer with future upgradeability in mind won't work.  Nearly all of the processors that will ever fit into existing desktop processor sockets have already been released.  Future processors will take new processor sockets, and hence you'd have to replace the motherboard.  AMD's "Llano" could conceivably fit into existing Socket AM3 motherboards, but that will surely disable the integrated graphics which is the main point of the chip.  AMD's "Bulldozer" will require a new socket.  Intel's "Sandy Bridge" will require a new socket.  Rather than paying $70 for a new processor today and then $140 a couple of years from now to upgrade it, you might as well just buy the $140 processor today, or else plan on keeping the $70 processor until you replace the computer.

    If you want to put together a passable gaming computer on a tight budget, I'd normally say you need about $600 US.  I guess if you already have the OS license separately, that takes about $100 off.  The parts you should look for:

    Processor:  Get an Athlon II.  You might be able to find an X3 for only slightly more than an X2, in which case, get the X3, as the third core will help.

    Motherboard:  Get a socket AM3 motherboard that takes DDR3 memory.  The 770 chipset tends to be the cheapest, but if you happen to find one with a 780G or 785G chipset for cheaper, get it.

    Memory:  Get 4 GB of DDR3 memory, in a kit with two modules of 2 GB each, and rated at 1333 MHz or higher.  The "higher" doesn't matter, as you're going to run it at 1333 MHz anyway.  This won't need to be upgraded later.

    Video card:  Get the cheapest card with GDDR5 memory that you can find.  It will probably be either a GeForce GT 240 or a Radeon HD 5670.  The latter is faster, but the former often has some big rebates.  Make sure it's GDDR5 memory, though, and not DDR3 or GDDR3 or whatever.  You can upgrade the video card later.

    Power supply:  Get a power supply that is 80 PLUS certified (possibly Bronze) from Corsair, Antec, or Seasonic, and has a 6-pin PCI-E power connector.  (Well, maybe a Silverstone or Zalman unit might be all right, too, depending on what is available in Australia.)  Find the cheapest such power supply that you can; it will probably be rated at around 400 W.  Do note that if you get an Antec EarthWatts Green, it doesn't come with a power cord, so you'll need to reuse the power cord from your previous computer.

    You'll find much cheaper power supplies by other brands that are rated at about the same nominal wattage; don't get them, as a power supply that explodes and fries everything else in your system does not save you money in the long run.  Also don't get a power supply without a 6-pin PCI-E power connector, as it may not have enough power for future expansion.  Don't get a power supply that isn't 80 PLUS certified, as it may be of inferior quality.  In particular, you're likely to see Shaw power supplies in Australia, which might be the worst power supply brand in existence.  If you get one of those, assume that you'll end up having to replace dead hardware sooner rather than later.

    Optical drive:  Get something that can both read and write both CDs and DVDs.  Get the cheapest such drive that you can, unless it's made by LG, in which case, get the next cheapest one.  (LG sometimes includes adware bordering on malware in their optical drive firmware.)  Optical drives are really cheap now.

    Case:  Get something with at least one case fan of size 120 mm or larger.  Make sure it's big enough that your motherboard will fit; you'll likely end up getting a Micro ATX motherboard to save a few dollars.

    Storage:  Get a 7200 RPM hard drive of whatever capacity you need.  Check how much storage space you have in use on your current computer, and if you get double that, it should be plenty for you.  Do not get a 5400 or 5900 RPM hard drive, or one that refuses to say its rotational speed, as those tend to be really, really slow.

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347

    Actually, I should probably ask what you have right now, to make sure this would be a meaningful upgrade for you.  So, what is the hardware in your current computer?

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,347

    I should probably add that Sandy Bridge is going to be out of your budget, so don't wait for that.  The early Northern Islands video cards will be out of your budget, too.  The lower end Northern Islands cards won't be that much better than what is already on the market, so those aren't worth waiting for.

    What you might want to consider waiting for is Llano.  AMD says that there will be production shipments in the first half of 2011.  My guess would be that you'll see a launch in the Spring.  AMD had previously been hoping to launch Llano around the end of this year, but it's delayed.  It's the first chip on a new process node, and yields aren't very good yet.  Llano will launch as soon as AMD is satisfied that yields are high enough for a production run to be profitable, and then AMD has time to do such a production run.

    Llano will have a CPU and GPU on the same die, so it includes integrated graphics built into the processor.  These will be integrated graphics that are actually good, and likely competitive in performance with a $70 video card, not the traditional garbage integrated graphics that basically can't play games.  Llano will surely take a new processor socket, and it's possible that Bulldozer will be able to drop into the same socket, as AMD has done things like that in the past.  AMD has said that Bulldozer will not fit Socket AM3, but that it will fit Socket G34 (Magny-Cours Opteron servers), so they can do backward compatibility on Bulldozer if they want to.

  • jstvallyjstvally Member Posts: 3

    My current system isn't worth mentioning hahaha. I think my graphics is ddr2 haha.

     

    Thanks so much for the infomation. I just got a new job so i think i'll start buying partys now slowly. Like new monitor (need to upgrade from my 17" ) Hopefully going to Dual screen.

    Also when looking for a monitor, Should i just stick with looking for a 1080p or is there something else i should keep in mind also?

     

    Can you recomend a site that would have these parts at a normal price i assume that the computer stores in Australia are other priced and i guess if i order it from overseas i'll save some money.

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