159 replies to this topic

[TheSilken]

Ok so I've been saving up to build a fairly decent desktop gaming rig and now I need some help with what to get since I have never built a PC before. I have a $700-$800 ($900 maybe.....maybe) budget and plan on using it with games such as Supreme Commander (huge scale RTS game), the Total War series, and of course MWO. It needs to be able to run the first 2 games on high settings (if not Ultra) and achieve 40-60 fps at least in MWO. Now for some extra information. I have this old and unused PC just sitting downstairs and I'm wondering if I could essentially gut it and just stuff it with really nice new parts to achieve what I want. Also, I plan on hooking it up to a 44" HD LED TV but I'm not sure if that is possible. Please tell me I can use my nice TV as a monitor for it. Ok let your suggestions roll. If you need more info just ask.

[Bows3r]

Now, I can't really provide decent suggestions for most of what your looking for, but I have extensive experience with NVidia GPU's.

That said I would highly recommend the NVidia GTX 970, IF your willing to sink that much money from your budget just for your GPU. Depending on which one you get, it could run you anywhere from 300$ to 370$. It will run anything you want to run on optimal settings.

My rig is a Intel i7 3770@3.2 GHz with 1 GTX 970 on 8 GB of DDR3 RAM@1366 MHz, and I get 45-85 FPS in MWO with zero inconsistencies with all settings maxed out, even AA @1080P.

If you cannot sink that much money into the GPU, go for a GTX 760 or GTX 660 ti, both cards are quite a bit cheaper then the GTX 970 but you only lose 25-40% performance, so really it's your call.

But if I knew how to properly paste screenshots in this damn forum, I could provide graphs of my performance in real time.

http://i.imgur.com/N5qF4FB.jpg this is my performance in the 'mech lab, and it stays right at this level consistently, worth mentioning is that I have no extra cooling on either my CPU or GPU
Apologies for the bad quality, MW:O likes to turn ingame screenshots yellow for some reason, and imgur must have added some more to that.

EDIT: Clarifying points and cleaning up and adding in screenshots and graphs

Edited by Bows3r, 01 January 2015 - 02:19 AM.

[TheSilken]

CPU and GPU are my main concerns and so they get most of the money. Really I was planning on spending at least $250-$300 on each so I'm definitely ok with that so long as it performs really well.

Edit: I also need to know if it's possible to use my TV as a monitor and if I should use that old PC's case or get a just get a new one.

Edited by TheSilkenPimp, 31 December 2014 - 09:30 PM.

[Chiron]

You will definetly been able to get what you want with that budget. I suggest using Newegg for research, and PcPartsPicker for the best prices (though, if newegg is close, I always go with them). I'd be happy to build you a rig, but one or two quick questions:

1) Overclocking: "hell no" , " I dont know how, but i'm ok doing some simple OC'ing" , " or hell yeah, lets water-cool this ****!"

2) While your budget is best suited for Intel, you never know who's a fan, so AMD or Intel?

[Chiron]

We'd have to see pics of the case, especially the insides, but it MIGHT work....especially if its not some Dell Inspiron or some other mass market box. My first "rig" was a modified Dell, and when i opened it up, it had ONE fan, the CPU fan! they just glued a plastic hood over it, to vent it to the back....

That being said, buying an awesome case that will actually make your installation easier, isn't that expensive! I bought this case on cyber monday for $29, and it was the easiest install I've ever done. and this one is only $39 right now.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

I'm going to presume this post got moved from somewhere else give the replies thus far.

You've listed RTS and MWO as your main games if you want these to run well your going to want a very good CPU as all those games are heavy on CPU cycles as opposed to GPU

TVs don't always make the best platforms to play on because of scaling, response times not being that of decent monitors.. But that's your choice to make.

I'm on my phone atm so it's not easy to check but if the deals are still around you can build somthing like this.

http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__4042205

Now this can be made cheaper depending what you have in spares from the other machine
Does it have a HDD you can use, do you already have a copy of windows.
You can probably drop that 290 gpu down to a 270 or 280 and that will bring it back down towards your budget

Edited by DV McKenna, 01 January 2015 - 03:27 AM.

[Flapdrol]

DV McKenna, on 01 January 2015 - 03:22 AM, said:

You've listed RTS and MWO as your main games if you want these to run well your going to want a very good CPU as all those games are heavy on CPU cycles as opposed to GPU

Yeah, those games want good per-core performance. With that budget an i5 4460 with a basic board, or a 4690K with Z97 board (if you want to overclock for even more performance).

The gtx 960 will probably launch in a few weeks, might be an interesting gpu for such a budget, could also affect prices of the competition and the used card market.

[Chiron]

So I built you 2 rigs, boths based off of 2 important things: Intel CPU's and Solid State Drives. You need the Intels for the games you want, and this Solid State will be significantly faster that those Western Digital Caviar Blues.

This is the pricier, fancier rig.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($212.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax Vortex ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master GXII 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $933.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available


If you don't need the extra storage space, dump the WD Blue and you're under $900

[Chiron]

OK, I lied, I built 3 rigs. This is the very affordable but VERY competent rig. Dont let the word "Pentium" fool you, this CPU is very good at single core performance, beating out almost every single AMD processor at MWO.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax Vortex ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master GXII 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $618.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Edited by chiron, 01 January 2015 - 06:55 AM.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

chiron, on 01 January 2015 - 06:46 AM, said:

So I built you 2 rigs, boths based off of 2 important things: Intel CPU's and Solid State Drives. You need the Intels for the games you want, and this Solid State will be significantly faster that those Western Digital Caviar Blues.

This is the pricier, fancier rig.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($212.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 770 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax Vortex ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master GXII 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $933.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available


If you don't need the extra storage space, dump the WD Blue and you're under $900

I tweaked this one slightly to bring the price down while keeping it all.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($212.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax Vortex ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $899.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 09:56 EST-0500

Edited by DV McKenna, 01 January 2015 - 06:56 AM.

[Chiron]

And here's your GoldiLocks Build.

i5
Radeon 280x
SSD
ready for a casual overclock

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X-UD3H-BK ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($135.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax Vortex ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $844.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.


Hope these helped!

[TheSilken]

That case is really old and I really am skeptical that it would just hold the rest of the rig back. Let me go check and see what model computer it is. 1 sec guys. Oh and thanks for the help so far.

[TheSilken]

Never mind I'll just get a new case. You said that TVs generally don't have as good response times? Is there a stat that I can look up for it to see how fast it should repond?

Edit: I am more comfortable with Intel but I'm willing to try AMD so long as it doesn't negatively effect my fps in MWO.

Edited by TheSilkenPimp, 01 January 2015 - 07:31 AM.

[TheSilken]

I'm leaning towards getting the "Goldilocks" build. Can someone please break down it's pros/cons compared to the tweaked build running at $899.74?

[Oderint dum Metuant]

TheSilkenPimp, on 01 January 2015 - 07:28 AM, said:

Never mind I'll just get a new case. You said that TVs generally don't have as good response times? Is there a stat that I can look up for it to see how fast it should repond?

Edit: I am more comfortable with Intel but I'm willing to try AMD so long as it doesn't negatively effect my fps in MWO.

You'll need to look up your TV model on the manufacturers website.

AMD is an established no no for MWO, they don't have the single thread performance like Intel chips do.

TheSilkenPimp, on 01 January 2015 - 07:42 AM, said:

I'm leaning towards getting the "Goldilocks" build. Can someone please break down it's pros/cons compared to the tweaked build running at $899.74?

Both are good builds, im not a major fan of the low end corsair PSU models at this price point i tend to lean to the EVGA ones (personal preference) is 240GB going to be enough storage for you? typically people advise to do OS and game installs onto SSD not usually day to day junk.

Again tweaked the build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($212.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax Vortex ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $854.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 10:53 EST-0500


All i've done is swap the more expensive motherboard for a cheaper Asrock model, and bumped the standard R9 280 up to a 280x model works out $10 more so i couldn't squeeze out that corsair PSU.

[Flapdrol]

could up the gpu budget with another $40 and get a 290

http://www.newegg.co...2-080-_-Product

280's and 280X's are not compatible with freesync and the 290 is, since you might be buying a screen in the future (if you get sick of the tv latency) this could be interesting.

[TheSilken]

Here's the TV I was planning on switching over to the rig: http://www.cnet.com/...l-40xbr4/specs/

240GB might be enough, I mean my Xbox 360 still has over 160GB left of it's 240GB. Then again desktop rigs are different from gaming consoles...

[Smokeyjedi]

TheSilkenPimp, on 01 January 2015 - 08:11 AM, said:

Here's the TV I was planning on switching over to the rig: http://www.cnet.com/...l-40xbr4/specs/

240GB might be enough, I mean my Xbox 360 still has over 160GB left of it's 240GB. Then again desktop rigs are different from gaming consoles...

Dude thats a 120hz TV. thats a good thing.......You are going to need I5 Kseries for OC....and a huge GPU........if you want to use that thing.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

Smokeyjedi, on 01 January 2015 - 08:30 AM, said:

Dude thats a 120hz TV. thats a good thing.......You are going to need I5 Kseries for OC....and a huge GPU........if you want to use that thing.

It has an 8MS response time, i mean im a bit of a snob but i wouldnt go above 5.
It will look good on it tho

[Smokeyjedi]

DV McKenna, on 01 January 2015 - 08:34 AM, said:

It has an 8MS response time, i mean im a bit of a snob but i wouldnt go above 5.
It will look good on it tho

It will look and feel superior to standard 1080P @ 60hz........