Real World

Hi all. I'm an avid gamer, and I've decided to upgrade my gaming PC here at home. I play shooters mainly on the Pc, as I leave the sports games to my PS3. Anyhow, I've been giving it some thought, and I've decided to build it myself. This will be my first build, so I'm looking for any, and all advice. I've replaced parts on computers, and understand the basic components that make up a PC. So while I'm by no means an expert, I'm not clueless either. Some online buds of mine have built their own in the last year or so, and have stressed to me that I should do the same, as I'd save a decent amount of money, while being able to buy better parts. While all that is attractive, I think the challenge of building it myself (I'm a builder in real life), is what has me sold. Ok, now to the computer itself.

*I'm looking to spend somewhere in between $1,000-1,500, and I will need a monitor as well. I can spend more, but I'd prefer not to.

I've decided on using the Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem. Some have recommended the i5 Lynnfield, since it's cheaper, but Microcenter.com (there's an actual store in Cambridge) has it for $199 (Newegg has it at $279). From all the articles I've read on bench mark tests, the i7 920 seems to be the people's choice for processors, inside of my price range.

That brings us to the Motherboard. Some have warned against going with an Asrock x58 Extreme board, while some swear by it. Some others suggest going with ASUS P6T, Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P, or ASUS P6T Deluxe V2.

RAM - I'm debating between 6 GB's, and 12. I know that 12GB's is massive overkill, so I'll likely go with 6. These are some rcommendations people made elsewhere:

-OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model 131.99

-G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory 129.99

-G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 144.99

-CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 139.99

-OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model 149.99

-Kingston HyperX 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 159.99


I'm undecided on a case, power supply, heatsink, and graphics card. The monitor is pretty straight forward. As for the graphics card, I'll be using one, and not two. Any and all advice is much appreciated.

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

OnTheHeights

Yeah man go with the i7, it'll be worth it in the long run and that's a beautiful deal. Btw, microcenter is amazing isn't it?

Just pay attention to the particular gripes of peoples' reviews on Newegg and Tigerdirect, some motherboards have weird issues and conflicts with certain other hardware so just keep an eye out. Personally I've never used an Asrock before and I've got a pretty good record with ASUS mobos, but if the reviews are good, go for it.

Don't buy into this "low voltage" crap, first of all. If you've got the power supply for it, what does it matter anyway? I've had a good experience with G.Skill in the past so I'd highly recommend them.


I'm sure you know, but it's all about the contrast ratio on the monitor. Don't cheap on that because you'll regret it. What are you looking at for a graphics card?

sdaniels7114

My biggest mistake was not thinking about noise. Relatively speaking my computer is as loud as a busted chainsaw.

Don't screw up the connections for USB ports if you have a couple on the front of the case. That could be very, very bad.

If the Mobo instructions say to clear the Cmoss memory(by moving a jumper for a few seconds) do it.

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reflexblue

Hve one built custom from a local cumputer shop. Thats wht i did for my first one, i was taking a class in computer science but didn't have a computer I talked to the professor teaching the course and thats what he told me to do. He wrote down the specs and i went to a local store with a good rep, they built me an ultra fast com. with a lot of memory for that time. It was cheaper than if i had bought a name brand.

Also if anything happens you just bring it back to where it was made. Theres no trouble shooting over the phone.

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2000army

Definately I7 920 and G.skill Ram ... best your mobo can support.

And Win 7