188 replies to this topic

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Lord Letto, on 27 May 2013 - 11:17 AM, said:

I have a Acer Aspire AS5560-7679 Laptop with a Broken Screen and I can't use it, I could maybe use the 2.5" 500GB Harddrive from it.

If you're gonna do that, get a case with a 2.5" hard drive slot/adaptor included to save you $15 off an adaptor. Maybe something like this though I'm sure someone else can suggest a better case since I'm not well versed in cases. That'd bring your total cost down to $385 or so for my build.

If you want a full size case you could get a xigmatek asgard for $55 which has a 2.5" slot and is big enough for any size GPU you want to throw in there later plus the fans are very quiet (it's my personal case so I'm biased).

If you still want to spend a bit more I'd invest in a good CPU cooler that fits in your case or a better micro ATX motherboard and then save up for an HD7870 or HD7950 or wait for Kaveri to come out and upgrade at that time which may be the thing to do with an FM2 build.

*Edit* Using memory express, you can do a similar build for about $330-$350 and add an HD6670 for hybrid crossfire for about $60 bucks and way better performance on crossfire enabled games.

Or you could go AM3+ phenom ii x4 965 and add a $100 GPU like a used 6850 or a new 7770 which would have much better performance.

Edited by Narcissistic Martyr, 27 May 2013 - 12:40 PM.

[MavRCK]

I feel your pain trying to build a computer...

but this budge isn't enough to build something you will enjoy and use for the next 6 months....

you will immediately have subpar framerates in mwo...

i know this may be hard to hear... but if you can work and save another 2-300$ and get to that sweet amount of power / price$$... ie i5 cpu (and overclock it) - GTX 460 or better video card -- you will make a computer that works now.. and for at least 1-2 years..

[Lord Letto]

Just wondering, but how about a High clock speed Single core Processor/CPU with a 775 Socket? I know of a P4 660 with HT clocked at 3.6GHz for $20?: http://kitchener.kij...QAdIdZ488551674
http://ark.intel.com/products/27484/
for socket 775 Mobo, there is only 1 option, a Gigabyte GA-G41MT-S2PT for $60: http://www.canadacom...&item_id=046071

Edited by Lord Letto, 27 May 2013 - 01:22 PM.

[Smokeyjedi]

Lord Letto, on 27 May 2013 - 01:21 PM, said:

Just wondering, but how about a High clock speed Single core Processor/CPU with a 775 Socket? I know of a P4 660 with HT clocked at 3.6GHz for $20?: http://kitchener.kij...QAdIdZ488551674
http://ark.intel.com/products/27484/
for socket 775 Mobo, there is only 1 option, a Gigabyte GA-G41MT-S2PT for $60: http://www.canadacom...&item_id=046071

This whole bit is bad. stay away. GAH!

[Lord Letto]

Just got a PM from a member Here That's local to me, I could get a fx 4100 and 2x2GB of G.Skill 1333MHz DDR3 CL7 Ram for $60 and he would throw in a Coolermaster 212+ Cooler just to get rid of it.
What i'm thinking of right now:
AMD FX-4100+2x2GB G.Skill Memory + Cooler master 212+ Cooler for $60
Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Mobo for $65+Tax = about $73.45(Cause 4 Ram slots to add more Ram then the above 2x2GB): http://www.canadacom...&item_id=052729[/url]
Canada Computers Micro ATX Case with 450W PSU For $10+Tax=about $11.30(Upgrade PSU and try to sell the old one of course): http://www.canadacom...&item_id=035050
If None available at the time, then Standard White ATX Case with 350W PSU(Same as above about upgrading and selling old PSU): http://kitchener.kij...QAdIdZ487879175
Used 750GB HDD (Hitachi, mfg: jly 2009, 7200rpm, reformatted, wiped) for $35
500GB Laptop HDD- Owned
Vantec (HDA-250M) 2.5" to 3.5" Mounting Kit-$8+Tax = about $9.04: http://www.canadacom...&item_id=056180[/url]
2x4GB 1333MHz CL9 Ram for $30: http://kitchener.kij...QAdIdZ471717568 or http://kitchener.kij...QAdIdZ487722055 (the 2x2GB plus 2x4GB should give me 12GB of ram)
That would be $218.79, that should leave me with $81.21-$181.21 to Upgrade PSU and Get a Nvidia Video card

Edited by Lord Letto, 27 May 2013 - 03:23 PM.

[reiGngehoWn]

I think you should take this offer. you get alot to start with for only 60$. considering that you already got a HDD you got alot more money left to spend on your mobo/case/PSU(!!!)/gpu.

Think about it...

[reiGngehoWn]

what about this mobo?
http://www.canadacom...&item_id=042746

no µATX but you got SATA3 6GB/s if you ever want to buy a SSD.

I think its the better mainboard. you dont need onboard graphics(wasted money?).


edIt: something important!!! you need to buy the same ram again! or it will caus trouble. you can buy 2x 4gb of the same ram(same CL and same mhz!)

edit2: you will be "ok" with 4GB of ram for the start. maybe upgrade later?

edit3: make it 400$! 300$ is just not enough.... money rulez th3 w0rld

Edited by reiGngehoWn, 27 May 2013 - 04:38 PM.

[Lord Letto]

if I get that mobo I would have to get it soon, Mail in rebate ends May 31 and instant rebate ends June 3rd, without that, regular price is $100, there are 3 others with SATA 6GB/s available for a regular price from $80-$95
as for RAM, if both sets need to be the same CL (CL7 in this Case) then the 4GB would hopefully be ok for now considering it's really hard to find CL7 Ram.
in other news, I may be able to get a old computer from my sister, I'll ask her if I talk to her tomorrow, it's a old 5-7 year old Compaq/HP Desktop, Window's Vista on the HDD (Either 360GB or 500GB 5400RPM) 512MB DDR2 Ram, any more than that I forget, if I could get it though I would check it out and possibly use the HDD as the main for OS and Driver and Picture and Video storage, and maybe a 7200RPM (Laptop Harddrive) as a Spare/Backup/Secondary and use it to put games on. Plus if I could use the OS on one of the HDDs plus if I could reuse the Case and both HDDs, that should really cut down the costs (if installed OS can't be used, Ubuntu it is)

Edited by Lord Letto, 27 May 2013 - 05:57 PM.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Lord Letto, on 27 May 2013 - 01:27 PM, said:

the 2x2GB plus 2x4GB should give me 12GB of ram)

That would be $218.79, that should leave me with $81.21-$181.21 to Upgrade PSU and Get a Nvidia Video card

1) You should always have matched RAM especially in sizes and timings for optimal performance and 4 gb is fine for an entry level computer. It's not ideal, but it's sufficient and they can be replaced at a later date to give you 8 gb of RAM.

2) Assuming you pick up a corsair cx430 for $40-50 which is a good little cheap PSU you'll be in the $100-130 GPU range.

In that range you want either the HD7790 or a 650Ti or if you can find one on sale a 1gb HD7850.

They're all about equal in terms of performance but the 7850 has the most free games assuming you want bioshock and tomb raider anyways whereas the 7790 doesn't come with tombraider. A 650Ti comes with $75 in game credit for a number of F2P games (mwo isn't on the list) so if that works for you it's a good deal.

Also, nvidia does better than AMD in multi GPU situations at the moment so that's another thing to consider.

You'll be fine with any of these choices so buy whatever is the best bang for your buck.

[Lord Letto]

Corsair Builder Series CX430 V2 430 Watt 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Power Supply (CP-9020046-NA/US) would be $50+Tax=around $56.49 : http://www.canadacom...&item_id=052926
as for the GPU, the GTX 650 would be around $120+Tax = $135.59 on the low end for the 1GB Model, ~around $15 More at least for the 2GB ones (Unless I can get it on sale or used). there is a 2GB EVGA GTX 650 used local for $135: http://kitchener.kij...QAdIdZ476417907
would it be possible to get a list of the Nvidia Cards I should be looking at for my budget?

Edit: here is a General Guide to building a Computer for FSX: http://www.flightsim...ht-simulator-x/

Edited by Lord Letto, 27 May 2013 - 07:17 PM.

[Patrick Wolf]

I would highly recommend the corsair PSU, they make great PSU's that last a long time.

For GPUs youre probably looking GTX 650, GTX 650 Ti, GTX 650 Ti Boost, GTX 660 for the 6 series. If you can find them the older 560s and 570s are also quality GPUs however they consume more power. From what i have heard the 480 is also good but runs hot and consumes even more power.

Idk what GPUs AMD would have to offer you, however I know some of them have a pretty sweet game deal going on, as mentioned above.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

This one is the same thing but modular and after MIR is $10 less than your corsair cx430.

[Lord Letto]

that modular one is on sale till June 3 and would only be $5 more off sale so that might be OK also, I might have to get it ordered in though cause the local store got 0 in stock according to the online stock indicator while they have 10+ Listed for the non modular one. as for GPU, as I mentioned before the GTX 650 Series would be ~$120-135+Tax, I checked the GTX 660 and none listed used on local classifieds and new would be $210+Tax Minimum. as for the GTX 560, New would be ~$125+Tax, as for used there's a GTX 560 Ti for $150, there is also 1 person selling 2 GTX 470 Cards (1 Zotac the other ASUS) for $120 each and he says their the same or better then the 560 Ti for Less. for the GTX 570, none listed new but there is a MSi GTX 570 Twin Frozr III used for $210. as for the 480, I can't find anything for it.

looking at a few other GeForce GTX Cards, there's the GTX 260, I could get a BFG GTX 260 for $80 from the local classifieds.
Then I looked at the new ones and I found the GTX 550 Ti (Asus), would be $100-$110 new but can't get new due to stock Level, looked on local classifieds though and found a GTX 650 Ti for $105 (Title says GTX 650Ti, Description said 550Ti though but after comparing the reference pic, I confirmed it's a GTX 650 Ti), looking at New GTX 560 Cards, the Normal GTX 650 is $110+, the GTX 650 Ti would be $135+

Edited by Lord Letto, 28 May 2013 - 08:24 AM.

[Lord Letto]

After doing a bit of research on the ram, I Think it won't work or work as well as it's Designed for Sandy Bridge Processors (Intel Core i Series) and Intel Z77, Z68 and P67 Chipsets (H67 should be alright also, those chipsets are LGA1155 Sockets, AKA Intel Core i Series)). so I would likely have to go for some other ram for the AMD FX-4100 and AM3+ Socket.

[reiGngehoWn]

Lord Letto, on 28 May 2013 - 09:49 AM, said:

After doing a bit of research on the ram, I Think it won't work or work as well as it's Designed for Sandy Bridge Processors

thats bulslhit
they have some marketing agreements going or something. they will work just fine with any AMD cpu(same for intel...)

edit: plz correct me if im wrong, but im pretty sure

Edited by reiGngehoWn, 28 May 2013 - 10:45 AM.

[ArmageddonKnight]

OP.

Honestly . Save urself the hassle and stop.

Save some more money. $300-$400 is not enough for a gaming rig.

Save $800 and then come back for advice, that is a MUCH more reasonable budget, depending on exactly what u need (like accessories keyboard mouse etc) you can build a good rig for the price. But $400 even $500 just isnt enough.

You buying second hand AND old parts of which will not stand up to gaming very well if at all.

I have desgined plenty of rigs for people online on other games like for example GW2, i help out in the tech forum there. And the best price range, in Dollars, for a budget gaming rig is around $700 to $900 depending on if u just need whats inside the Case or if u need extras.

For example :
Intel/nvidia Build-
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/10MDf

AMD/AMD Build-
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/10MGX

Edited by ArmageddonKnight, 28 May 2013 - 11:48 AM.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

OP,

Ignore the person above me. Gotta do what you can with what you've got.

If you want a relative comparison on GPU performance Tom's did a review on the best bang for the buck cards and included a relative performance chart.

Of the options you listed, I'd grab that GTX470 or the GTX560Ti. However, if you overclock your fx4100 too much you may run into power supply issues on a 430W PSU as the capacitors age. So, if you're gonna keep the rig for a while, I'd recommend that you grab the 560Ti since the performance is about the same and it uses less power, plus it'll keep the PSU fan quieter.

For a rough guideline on how much power you need you can use this PSU calculator. It doesn't do amperage which is the important thing, but it'll give you a general idea on how close you are to the line.

[reiGngehoWn]

Narcissistic Martyr, on 28 May 2013 - 05:21 PM, said:

However, if you overclock your fx4100 too much you may run into power supply issues on a 430W PSU as the capacitors age.

hm, me myself got a 400W enermax PSU, FX4100@4x4Ghz (I LOWERED THE CPU VOLTAGE!!!!) with an Thermaltake Macho HR-02, HD7870 Gygabyte OC edition and everything is as stable as it could be!

Spoiler

I dont know why AMD sets the standard voltage of the FX4100 to 1,35V! As you can see, my CPU runs pretty well with only 1,24V. I do not need to mention that the CPU also produces less heat than before ...


All I wanna say is: 430W(if you really got 430W and this corsair PSU has it!!) should be enough for nearly every system. Overclocked or not. At least for non- SLI / Crossfire systems!


Greetz

Edited by reiGngehoWn, 29 May 2013 - 05:15 AM.

[B0oN]

Letto ?
Just make sure you get a good PSU (which should include things like: over current/over voltage/under current/under voltage/temperature-safeties) , preferably modular (if you can fit that into your budget) as it will save you precious space inside your case, which is vital airflow in the end.

Which brings me to the other Point.
Be sure to have some nice Ventilation mounted in the case.

Other than that :
DDR3 RAM will SURELY work on either AMD or Intel Systems, no doubts about that

Have fun getting your rig together !

P.s: Try and get a nice and beefy GPU for your system ^^

Edited by Rad Hanzo, 29 May 2013 - 06:31 AM.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

reiGngehoWn, on 29 May 2013 - 05:09 AM, said:

hm, me myself got a 400W enermax PSU, FX4100@4x4Ghz (I LOWERED THE CPU VOLTAGE!!!!) with an Thermaltake Macho HR-02, HD7870 Gygabyte OC edition and everything is as stable as it could be!

I dont know why AMD sets the standard voltage of the FX4100 to 1,35V! As you can see, my CPU runs pretty well with only 1,24V. I do not need to mention that the CPU also produces less heat than before ...


All I wanna say is: 430W(if you really got 430W and this corsair PSU has it!!) should be enough for nearly every system. Overclocked or not. At least for non- SLI / Crossfire systems!


Greetz

Personal experience trumps my speculation based off of other CPUs I've worked with. Listen to this individual instead of me.