I want to switch to PC from consoles.

[œaœa]

Sorry if this is in the wrong section. If it is, then please move it.

 

I own both an Xbox 360 and PS3. But with all these cool mods going on like San AndReAGE, Vice City Rage and ICEnhancer , PC seems like the way to go. Besides, the graphics are just better.

 

I want to build my own PC that will be powerful enough to run mods like ENB and ICEnhancer and generally just new games that will be coming out in the next few years. Any ideas where I could start? I don't want to spend more than $1500.

 

 

[Exxon]

The most important things to buy as a gamer are

 

Intel Core i5-2500k @ 3.3 GHz

 

4 GB 1600 MHz RAM (or 8 if you got the money to)

 

nVidia GeForce GTX 570

 

A good and nice case like a zalman Z9 Plus (IMO)

 

OverTheBelow or Yojo2 will fill in the rest for you

[œaœa]

The most important things to buy as a gamer are

 

Intel Core i5-2500k @ 3.3 GHz

 

4 GB 1600 MHz RAM (or 8 if you got the money to)

 

nVidia GeForce GTX 570

 

A good and nice case like a zalman Z9 Plus (IMO)

 

OverTheBelow or Yojo2 will fill in the rest for you

Thanks for the start! But I have to ask, why an Intel i5 and not an i7? What is the main difference between those?

[OverTheBelow]

The most important things to buy as a gamer are

 

Intel Core i5-2500k @ 3.3 GHz

 

4 GB 1600 MHz RAM (or 8 if you got the money to)

 

nVidia GeForce GTX 570

 

A good and nice case like a zalman Z9 Plus (IMO)

 

OverTheBelow or Yojo2 will fill in the rest for you

Thanks for the start! But I have to ask, why an Intel i5 and not an i7? What is the main difference between those?

Gamers don't really need the extra threads of an i7; they are more suited to those than often do film editing/rendering/benchmarking and the likes. You won't see a difference vs an i5 in games.

 

The main difference with an i7 is the hyperthreading, which basically just allows each core to have two threads, rather than one. Games rarely ever use (or even need) more than 4 threads.

[blitz]

First of all, I recommend you read this pinned topic right here because it will really help you. It's about building your own PC.

 

For starters, these are the actual requirements that you need to be able to run IV smoothly:

 

•OS: Windows XP SP2

•Processor: Dual core processor (Intel Pentium D or better)

•RAM: 2GB

•Hard Drive: 18GB free hard disk space

•Video Card: 512MB Direct3D 10 compatible video card or Direct3D 9 card compatible with Shader

•Drive: DVD-ROM dual-layer drive

 

I'm not a big PC nerd and I know little about them, but I've been doing some research online for the past hour to help you and got this:

 

CPU: Core 2 Quad 9400 @ 2.66gHz or Cooler CM Hyper N620

 

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel ATX Intel

 

RAM: G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) or Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

 

Graphics Card: MSI R6850 Cyclone PE/OC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit or this one, which is a bit more expensive. PNY NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 550 Ti 1GB DDR5 PC

 

Case: LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W Black 0.8 mm SECC or Cooler Master Mystique RC-632S-KKN1-GP which is unfortunately out of stock there.

 

Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V v2.2

 

I hope you find this useful, and if you don't then I guess someone else can help

 

 

About the i5 or i7, well if you did get i7 then you'd be spending more money in something you don't really need. As OTB said, gamers don't really need i7 but if you prefer that then you can get it instead.

Edited August 14, 2011 by -blitz

[Wolf68k]

@-blitz

CPU and thus the mobo are already outdated. He's got the cash to spend so an Intel Core i system would better and more easily upgraded. The SandyBridge is the new hotness and most mobos with the newer chipsets should be able to be updated to support the IvyBridge when it comes out with a simple BIOS update.

 

And the second case isn't just out of stock it's also deactivated. Either way why even bring it up?

 

I built a i7-2600k system for just under $1000. Granted no I didn't have to buy a case, HDD, or OS since I already had that. My money was spend on: CPU, mobo, RAM, gfx, DVD burner, PSU, and CPU cooler. Drop the i7 down to an i5-2500k and then yes a case and HDD can still fit in the budget and maybe squeeze in a copy Win7 as well.

[blitz]

@-blitz

CPU and thus the mobo are already outdated. He's got the cash to spend so an Intel Core i system would better and more easily upgraded. The SandyBridge is the new hotness and most mobos with the newer chipsets should be able to be updated to support the IvyBridge when it comes out with a simple BIOS update.

 

And the second case isn't just out of stock it's also deactivated. Either way why even bring it up?

 

I built a i7-2600k system for just under $1000. Granted no I didn't have to buy a case, HDD, or OS since I already had that. My money was spend on: CPU, mobo, RAM, gfx, DVD burner, PSU, and CPU cooler. Drop the i7 down to an i5-2500k and then yes a case and HDD can still fit in the budget and maybe squeeze in a copy Win7 as well.

sh*t, sorry about that then. As I mentioned earlier I'm still pretty much a noob in all this, I'm more of a Mac person

 

And deactivated ones, then I didn't check it.

 

If I have the time I'll find some other components.

[Finn 7 five 11]

Disregard, bad information.

Edited August 17, 2011 by finn4life

[Ronnyboy]

I'm assuming you're American, so you can use Newegg.com. I've got a nice build for you here:

 

CPU: Intel i5 3.1ghz Quadcore

 

GPU: AMD Radeon 6950 1GB

 

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V

 

RAM: Corsair 8 GB DDR3

 

Boot SSD: OCZ 32 GB SSD

 

Regular HDD: Samsung 1 TB

 

Case: NZXT M59 (My Personal Case)

 

PSU

 

Optional Stuff:

Corsair H60 HiPo Cooler

Windows 7 Pro

 

You'd have to get your own monitor, keyboard, etc. But all in all, with optional stuff, your grand total is $1,079.80 minus shipping. Without the high performance cooler and SSD, it's $944.43

 

Almost forgot, you need a PSU, so add $139 to the price tag!

Edited August 15, 2011 by Ronnyboy

[œaœa]

I'm assuming you're American, so you can use Newegg.com. I've got a nice build for you here:

 

CPU: Intel i5 3.1ghz Quadcore

 

GPU: AMD Radeon 6950 1GB

 

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V

 

RAM: Corsair 8 GB DDR3

 

Boot SSD: OCZ 32 GB SSD

 

Regular HDD: Samsung 1 TB

 

Case: NZXT M59 (My Personal Case)

 

Optional Stuff:

Corsair H60 HiPo Cooler

Windows 7 Pro

 

You'd have to get your own monitor, keyboard, etc. But all in all, with optional stuff, your grand total is $1,079.80 minus shipping. Without the high performance cooler and SSD, it's $944.43

Thank you for the list!

 

But I still have a few questions.

 

1. Will I be able to run GTA IV, and other games that will be coming out soon at high settings?

 

 

2. Will those specs support things like Visual IV or ENB or SA/Vice City Rage?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ronnyboy]

Oh it'll take those games and run them like no ones business!

[OverTheBelow]

 

But I still have a few questions.

 

1. Will I be able to run GTA IV, and other games that will be coming out soon at high settings?

 

 

2. Will those specs support things like Visual IV or ENB or SA/Vice City Rage?

Pretty much, yeah.

 

 

Though don't forget you'll have to build this yourself, or have someone build it for you.

[œaœa]

Yeah I know. I think the best thing is to do that. I feel so much more good about this then when I spent 1500 on a black MacBook in 2008.. the thing broke in a year! But thank you to all you guys for your answers!

[YankeesPwnMets]

No no, ronnyboy, you don't recommend someone to install Windows 7 32bit if they have 8GB of RAM. If you are going to get Win 7, get one of these (your choice)

 

$94.99 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116986

 

$139.99 Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116992

 

$184.99 Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16832116997

[œaœa]

What about graphics? Which is better? Radeon or GeForce ?

Edited August 14, 2011 by sibs44

[Ronnyboy]

sh*t, I swear I linked a 64 bit. My bad.

 

And it all depends, AMD have very powerful cards, that draw less energy, are cheaper, and have been known to be only an fps or 2 behind nVidia cards.

[blitz]

Here's a nice link I found, with great components for $1,250.

 

If you're not going with that, then I've built another separate list.

 

Motherboard: Asus P8P67 EVO

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Unlocked

 

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB

 

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3

 

Optical Drive: ASUS 24X OEM DVDRW

 

Power Supply: Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 800W

 

I know it's missing some parts, but I still hope it helps

[œaœa]

So I have picked my final set up, if I missed anything please tell me.

 

Case: NZXT M59

 

Motherboard: Asus P8P67 EVO Intel

 

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD

 

CPU: Intel i5 2500K

 

RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance

 

PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series 750W

 

HDD: Samsung 1TB HDD

 

Optical: Asus DRW-24B1ST

 

And it all comes to a total of $1,042.92. Not bad.

 

BTW What is the best thermal compound to use?

 

 

[OverTheBelow]

So I have picked my final set up, if I missed anything please tell me.

 

Case: NZXT M59

 

Motherboard: Asus P8P67 EVO Intel

 

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 HD

 

CPU: Intel i5 2500K

 

RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance

 

PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series 750W

 

HDD: Samsung 1TB HDD

 

Optical: Asus DRW-24B1ST

 

And it all comes to a total of $1,042.92. Not bad.

 

BTW What is the best thermal compound to use?

Artic Silver 5 is a good compound.

 

Looks like you''re all set.

[Ronnyboy]

Arctic Silver 5 will do it. But your stock CPU will come with a crappy fan, that's why I recommended a H60 for optimal cooling.

[œaœa]

Arctic Silver 5 will do it. But your stock CPU will come with a crappy fan, that's why I recommended a H60 for optimal cooling.

Doesn't Arctic Silver 5 have a 200 hour cure time?

[Ronnyboy]

Yeah, so you let your computer run for 200 hours!

[œaœa]

Yeah, so you let your computer run for 200 hours!

Its funny because when I sent my PS3 to Gophermods, a small business from MN who fixes PS3's, they told me to only play the PS3 for 2 hours so the AS5 could settle and eventually get up to 200 hours.

[Ronnyboy]

I've heard that you should just run it for 200. I've also heard build, install windows, turn off for a few hours, then start up and Prime95 for 2 hours, then run normal.

[OverTheBelow]

Arctic Silver 5 will do it. But your stock CPU will come with a crappy fan, that's why I recommended a H60 for optimal cooling.

The stock fan is more than enough for usage at stock speeds.

 

 

With that said though, if you plan on overclocking in the future you should buy a cooler now. It's a bit of a pain taking the motherboard off later on to install the backplate.

[Finn 7 five 11]

 

Arctic Silver 5 will do it. But your stock CPU will come with a crappy fan, that's why I recommended a H60 for optimal cooling.

The stock fan is more than enough for usage at stock speeds.

 

 

With that said though, if you plan on overclocking in the future you should buy a cooler now. It's a bit of a pain taking the motherboard off later on to install the backplate.

If its a really hot day though you might want the extra cooling.

Better safe than your computer getting waay too hot, and a better fan helps keep dust out.

[GTA3Freak-2001]

Just something I've noticed but I see that everyone is quick to just suggest the K edition of the i5 without explaining or asking whether the person wants to overclock or not. I know there is not a massive difference in price between the K and non-K versions and its nice to have the option there but I think people should be aware of it.

[Garfield 2]

I'm assuming you're American, so you can use Newegg.com. I've got a nice build for you here:

 

CPU: Intel i5 3.1ghz Quadcore

 

GPU: AMD Radeon 6950 1GB

 

Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V

 

RAM: Corsair 8 GB DDR3

 

Boot SSD: OCZ 32 GB SSD

 

Regular HDD: Samsung 1 TB

 

Case: NZXT M59 (My Personal Case)

 

Optional Stuff:

Corsair H60 HiPo Cooler

Windows 7 Pro

 

You'd have to get your own monitor, keyboard, etc. But all in all, with optional stuff, your grand total is $1,079.80 minus shipping. Without the high performance cooler and SSD, it's $944.43

Thank you for the list!

 

But I still have a few questions.

 

1. Will I be able to run GTA IV, and other games that will be coming out soon at high settings?

 

 

2. Will those specs support things like Visual IV or ENB or SA/Vice City Rage?

2400 with an HD 6950? I see a major bottleneck here. I'd rather go for a 2500k and overclock that baby.

8GB of RAM is an overkill - he only does gaming not benchmarking neither 3d work.

SSD is not really necessary at this point. They are faster but just not worth the money yet.

High Peformance cooler is for what? He's not going to overclock that CPU. Once again - the 2500k is the option here.

The case is good value - I'll give you that.

 

You will be able to play IV at high settings but I'm not sure about the resolution. As long as you keep your shadows off from very high, draw distance and detail distance to around 40s - you'll be playing this fine.

 

VisualIV, ENB and SA/Vice Rage should all run fine as well.

 

This is my spec:

 

ASUS P8H67-M Motherboard

Intel Core i5 2500k

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz

PNY GeForce GTX 460 1GB

Samsung HD103SJ 1TB

LG GH22NS50 DVD Writer

Corsair CX600 V2 600W PSU

Antec VSK-2000 Case

 

Total: $726.92

 

Will get you started as a great computer. It'll last for a while definitely.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EnBti2aD5w

 

 

 

[Stinky12]

^

The H67 won't allow CPU OC, it only allows IGP OC.

You will need a P67 to OC that 2500K.

 

Here is a build for less than $1500

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K $219.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16819115072

Mobo: Asus P8Z68-V $179.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16813131729

RAM: Mushkin 8GB DDR3 1600 $59.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820226217

PSU: Antec HCG 750w $94.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817371049

GPU: EVGA GTX 570 2.5GB $394.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814130687

HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB $59.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822152185

SSD: Crucial M4 128GB SATA 6Gb/s $218.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820148442

Disc: LG Blu-Ray burner $69.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16827136226

HSF: Cooler Master Hyper 212 $28.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16835103065

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 w/f USB 3 $159.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811119160

 

$1,487.90

 

A "K" unlock CPU so OC that sucker to the max

Z68 for Virtu where QuickSync can be tapped to speed up encoding. No graphic card including the GTX 580 is faster than Intel IGP when it comes to encoding.

SSD for your OS and programs, 128GB is plenty of space

GTX 570 to play the current most popular games and this one comes with more than 2GB of VRAM so can load lots of textures in GTA IV.

Large full tower case, lots of room and no need to worry about large video cards.

 

 

[Wolf68k]

@finn4life

 

Also the i5 series will be compatible with Intels new CPU's known as Ivy Bridge, where i7 socket won't be.

 

So having an i5 you leave room for an upgrade later on.

 

WHAT?!?! That makes no sense at all.

First off i5 and i7 as well as i3 use the same socket. There is Socket 1155, 1156 and 1366. The 1155 is the SandyBridge and it will also become the new IvyBridge.

Now for the Socket 1366 there is only i7, no i5 or i3. And the Socket 1156 does have all 3 Core i CPUs but will NOT be upgraded to the IvyBridge, it might even start to be obsolete soon enough as will the 1366.

 

 

 

 

As to the argument of Arctic Silver 5. AS5 is a great product, of that will not argue. However the stock cooler comes with a good silver thermal compound already applied that will work just fine. Most after market cooler these days also come with a silver based thermal compound pre-applied as well.

Arctic-Cooling coolers, no association to the people that make AS5, pre-applies their thermal compound that they sell (or use to) separately from their coolers which compared to AS5 is right up there in it's performance and quality. Zalman I think now pre-applies as well.

My point being that for the most part there is no need to worry about buying and applying thermal compounds any more. The only time you would need to worry about doing this is if you're keeping the same cooler but changing the CPU.

 

 

Something else to keep in mind for buying Win7. If you know someone in college, or you are yourself, you can get Win 7 Pro Upgrade directly from Microsoft for $30 (if the sale is still on) or normal price $70. Yes you can install Win7 Upgrade as a fresh install without the need to have a previously installed OS first. And even though MS calls it OEM you can upgrade the mobo and activated it again without any issue unlike what you might get if you buy OEM from some place like Newegg. Now you do have to choose between 32-bit or 64-bit and I highly suggest the 64-bit if you're going to be using a lot of RAM.

Speaking of which, @Ronnyboy, why would you give a parts list that includes 8GB of RAM but then link to an 32-bit version of Win7? And I must have been the only one that caught this.