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Advice on new gaming PC
I'm not looking for an uber machine that can run all games on high for the next 4 years at some super high resolution. I wanna build a pc that will be able to smoothly play any game I want for the next 3 (or more if possible) years, allowing for some tuning down of settings as time goes on. I'm pretty good on the software side of computer geekness, but I ignore hardware for so long as I can play my games. I first set out to find out the specs I would want and decided on this:
6GB DDR3 ram
GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB (or something close)
Intel i-7 920 (or something close)
Considering what I expect of the machine, are those reasonable specs?
Now, on to actually acquiring said machine. I don't need new speakers, monitors or anything like that, and I have a cheap way of getting Windows 7, so I don't need to consider those in the price. I figure I can afford to spend about $1,000, maybe a tiny bit more.
I spent some time working at a computer store where I assembled a few computers, so I figure I can build one to save money. However, I never actually picked out the parts for those computers, I only assembled them and set them up. Keeping that in mind, this is what I'm looking at on newegg:
GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB $184.99(link)
i-7 920 and mobo combo $473.98(link)
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $149.99(link)
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W $114.99(link)
Disk drive $25.99(link)
500gb hardrive $54.99 (link)
cheap case $59.99(link)
total: $1064.92
Is there anything I can do to get a similarly powerful computer while bringing the price down? I also went to a few sites that build PC's and found one called cyberpowerpc.com (I also looked at Falcon Northwest but they don't have anything below $1400). Cyberpower can build a computer with pretty much the same specs as I assembled above for $1015. Does anyone know how reliable this company is?
Again, I'm pretty much a hardware noob, so feel free to suggest changes.
Comments
You overestimate the value of the CPU.
A good CPU is still a very stable brick in building your PC, but the most important piece of hardware in gaming is still the GPU.
It's just my opinion, but for that budget, I'd consider dropping to an i5/AMD quad build and try to get a far more powerful GPU, aka an ATI HD58xx or even the 5970.
GTX260 is outdated.
buy amd /ati chipset
cheapper overhall and graphic card will be dx11 since last i checked nvidia only got low lvl dx11 support
the 220 or the 240 if i recall and they re quite expensive for what you get since nvidia is close to a year behind ati technology(TY IBM)
How much difference is there between an ATI 5770 and a 5850? And how do both compare the GTX260?
As for AMD, what do they have that is good bang for buck? Or rather, what specific models should I be looking at?
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/EAH5970/31.html
Here, check this link.
Using the 5970 review because it shows many cards and the GTX260.
You can check the games around and stuff, at the end of the page by navigating through the Page menu.
I agree with the post suggesting the i5.. probably the i5 750 is the best bet for upper end cpu. The ATI 5770 is roughly equal to the GTX260, and you can get one for ~$160, and it supports DX11. xbitlabs.com benchmarks for the 5770 has it slightly faster than the GTX260 in 7/13 benches, and even beats the GTX275 in some, so it is a really good deal (you wouldn't need anything faster than a Phenom II X4 945 or so for that GPU).
But in a $1000 system I'd step up to the i5+5850 especially with the sweet PSU+5850 combo deal at newegg. i7 wouldn't be necessary unless you are getting a 5870 or 5970.
i5 750 $200
4GB DDR3-1600 RAM $100
Radeon 5850 combo'd with Thermaltake 600W PSU $300 total (effectively $230 for gpu $70 for PSU after -$70 combo deal)
Gigabyte P55 Socket 1156 Crossfire/SLI mobo $135
Samsung F3 500GB hd $55
New Case $60
$850
edit: about the HD, do not get a WD Green! The green is a low performance - low power drive, you should only use for data storage. WD Black is the performance drive but it's $20 more than the faster Samsung F3, and the almost as fast Seagate 7200.12.
ati 5670 (if i recall)is dx11 their newest.and its fairly cheap and its a good card
aas long as your futur card is dx11 and its cheap its all that mather
check me i use an 8800 gt nvidia ,and ill trade it only because i need dx11 it perform faster them most game
saw guys with max setting not going faster then me.since we are all limited at 32 bit
once 64 game come then those monster card will pull away but for now they are stuck like me at the 32 bit speed limit.
dont know how long that will last but its been 5 or 6 years since 64 bit came out and they showed the limit back then on various site like
tomshardware.com or amd !but the fact is only a few are 64 bit.crysis engine got 64 bit,hellgate london,half-life got 64 the chronicle of reddick(atari)got 64 bit and a few other probably.for the rest the way it goes it looks like not many game designer are able to do 64 bit so you can max all setting at HD QUALITY.
What about going with AMD PhenomII X4 965 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU and ATI 5850? That cpu benches below the i7's but it takes a good amount off the price, and if the cpu is less important than the GPU anyway, would that be a good compromise?
Yes the PhenomII X4 965 and i5 750 are both just enough to push the 5850 to GPU limit in games (provided you're at 1920x1080 resolution). Both CPU's are the same price, but the i5 mobo's are a little more expensive.
You should compare the price of a Phenom II 965 + mobo vs the i5 750 + mobo, if the price is negligible get the i5 750 as it's slightly faster.
At 1920x1080 the GPU becomes the limitation so you only need so much CPU to keep it fed.
The lower your resolution the more CPU you want in order to max out the GPU. The GPU has an easier time rendering frames at lower resolution so it needs more CPU power to keep it fed. If you're below 1920x1080 or plan on using Crossfire dual 5850's in the future then an i7 920 is in order.
The returns past i7 920 are not worth the cash at all, you get much better returns going from 5850 -> 5870 then i7 920 -> i7 940, because CPU is rarely the bottleneck.
Other people have suggested good stuff idd, but I DON'T think you need 750 Watts for the system your building so you could get it down to 650 and probably give ya a bit more cash on a more decent GPU, although you wouldn't save a load but still I don't think 750 Watt is needed? Although thats my opinion ;P
Edit: Unless your going for Xfire or SLI in the future you might need a 750 or thats probably a bit to low for Xfire or SLI depending on the cards :P
i got a x2 550 corillo (cost 115$)runs at 15% when im pushing it
my old x2 4600 was running at about same 12 to 15%
processor is just hype its never an issue,the only reason to go for the more expensive intel is this
if you want direct cache access so your network bypass the slow memory and access directly the processor cache then in that
situation an intel is better but for the rest lol an x2 250 is plenty for average user its a real dual core its not a 4 core like my 550 with 2 broken core
if i had to buy again i would buy a x2 255 (75$) with the cheapest ati graphic card that still support dx11
then make sure your motherboard is am3 so that you can put a x4 975 black edition if you ever need it
(i dont believe you ll ever need that lol.)
put the fastest memory for the money .and your good .
For gaming the CPU matters very little past a certain point. What noquarter is talking about only happens when you are running 4 GPUs at once. Hardly anything to worry about with just one.
My advice is to get a midrange system that maxes games today, then replace parts in a few years. You will save money in the long run. Midrange would be an AMD 790GX board with Triple Core Phenom II and an ATI HD4770.
I was cross referencing CPU scaling on 5870 with performance of 5850. You're right most games don't require any CPU power but a few of the AI heavy RTS style games do.
To cross reference the 2 charts look at the resolution you're playing at (only relevant bar should be the 1920x1080 @ max settings), find the fps the 5850 gets, then see what CPU in the scaling test can push that many or more fps on the 5870. The 3.7GHz Phenom II usually puts out enough fps for the 5850 but sometimes it takes the Phenom II @4.1GHz.