94 replies to this topic

[acheronlv426]

I was very into computers late 80's early 90's, then I finished my 7 years of college (it was requested that I take a few semesters off) and was off to the work force. Now that this game is coming out and I think I have a line on a good ISP cashspeedwise (thanks those who posted in another thread), I now need to build a new machine, or buy one. After doing some searching at Newegg, they have a package for a bit over 1500, but nearly 600 is just the graphics card. Seriously!!!!!

So I'm over here pulling out what's left of my hair and trying to figure out what my next step is. I guess to be totally forthright I simply have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe I should just have my 12 year old build me something, but his budget is much more limited than mine.

OK, done venting.

I've read many of the threads here and suddenly feel in way over my head. I know I don't want a Walmart special, but where does that leave us aging nerds with no tech skills?

[Vulpesveritas]

acheronlv426, on 13 March 2012 - 07:08 PM, said:

I was very into computers late 80's early 90's, then I finished my 7 years of college (it was requested that I take a few semesters off) and was off to the work force. Now that this game is coming out and I think I have a line on a good ISP cashspeedwise (thanks those who posted in another thread), I now need to build a new machine, or buy one. After doing some searching at Newegg, they have a package for a bit over 1500, but nearly 600 is just the graphics card. Seriously!!!!!

So I'm over here pulling out what's left of my hair and trying to figure out what my next step is. I guess to be totally forthright I simply have no idea what I'm doing. Maybe I should just have my 12 year old build me something, but his budget is much more limited than mine.

OK, done venting.

I've read many of the threads here and suddenly feel in way over my head. I know I don't want a Walmart special, but where does that leave us aging nerds with no tech skills?

Well, you can always tell us a budget and we can recommend something for you.
At bare minimum, you're looking at an AMD A-series APU powered PC. This would be a laptop 400-600. Above that it comes down to five things.
1. Performance (how well do you want it to work.)
2. Durability (how many years do you want it to last - also ties in with above as far as how long it is viable)
3. Power consumption (seeing as there are three kilowatt PCs out there.
4. Ethics (do they matter to you on manufacturers?)
5. Price you have

[HeroicTofu]

Vulpesveritas is quite correct with what we hardware junkies need to know in order to help recommend something. I'd also like to throw in a few more suggestions for information.

6. Do you plan on doing any kind of productivity work on this machine (3DS Max, AutoCAD, Adobe Premier Pro, etc).
7. What other games (if any) do you plan on playing aside from MWO.
8. How customized do you want this baby? For example, do the looks of the case matter to you? A particular color scheme? Do these things matter not?
9. Along the lines of Vulpes' number 4 statement, is there a manufacturer that you do not wish to do business with? Dell, HP, etc.
10. Do you already have a monitor?

This should help finalize any other information that might be needed to help construct a really good computer.

[Seth Deathstalker]

Hi OP. You can expect some really good advice from the tech geeks here. Give them the informations they need, answer some more questions and you will get your new rig running.
I would suggest you follow some of the links to other sites as well. (Neweggs, AnandTech, Tom's Hardware, Ninjalane, Wiki) With a little time invested you should be able to pic up the basics of today's standards and specs. Helps with decision making.

[Vincent Vascaul]

Ninja Lane is a great site for someone like you its been around for over a decade but doesn't have a massive userbase, just tons of hardware reviews and a friendly group of core builders/ overclockers that love to help people out. Also always feel free to pm me or Cata or Vulp we are always here to help.

[LordDeathStrike]

you wont need a 600$ video card for mwo

for now its a safe bet the 200-300$ cards will run it just great as long as you get a properly cooled one.

the best and newest bleeding edge hard ware costs 2-3k as much as stuff thats been out a few months, for a 10-15% increase in performance most of the time. unless you like to **** away money its kind of a waste.

[Beaker]

a quick trot round NewEgg suggests USD$700 for a rig that'll play the game. That's plus Operating System, assuming you already have one.

That's everything, but AMD FX-6100 based.

Edit 2 :: I'm not including peripherals, that's a complete case. Obviously keyboard, mouse and screen you likely already have.

Edited by Beaker, 15 March 2012 - 03:43 PM.

[bawchicawawa]

i5 2500k
212 evo
noctua thermal paste
amd's 7870
ddr3 1600 mhz 1.5v
western digital caviar hdd (really nice hdd with 64 mb of cache.)
Antec One mid--tower gaming atx case (very well optimized case, good cable management, solid construction, i love the hdd setup, good air flow, etc) Although, it doesn't have a clear side panel ( which i usually love, i love seeing the inside of my case personally)
SSD (Last time i check, the m4's were really good, but i haven't been keeping up with the latest SSD's... so you'd have to do some research)
I have no real suggestions on what mobo you should get, as i don't keep up with the latest mobo's either.

[acheronlv426]

I'll need everything. Inexpensive is good, but I'd like to build something that will last a while. I think I can spend about $3K. I may do some video editing, but this rig will first and formost play MWO. I don't care how it looks and I'll need everything. CPU, keyboard, pointer device, I like trackball but for MWO maybe a mouse will be better? Maybe a stick, monitor, other accessories I may need?

[Vincent Vascaul]

3k Oooh I could build you something like this for that http://mwomercs.com/...ing-desk-build/

[bawchicawawa]

Vincent Vascaul, on 16 March 2012 - 03:42 PM, said:

3k Oooh I could build you something like this for that http://mwomercs.com/...ing-desk-build/

Sorry to go offtopic, but how long would a nice desk take to make with good ol' saw and nails? Also, how much would it cost?

[Vincent Vascaul]

post in my thread I will give you all of the details.

[HeroicTofu]

acheronlv426, on 16 March 2012 - 03:19 PM, said:

I'll need everything. Inexpensive is good, but I'd like to build something that will last a while. I think I can spend about $3K. I may do some video editing, but this rig will first and formost play MWO. I don't care how it looks and I'll need everything. CPU, keyboard, pointer device, I like trackball but for MWO maybe a mouse will be better? Maybe a stick, monitor, other accessories I may need?

For that amount of money, you will be able to get a computer -moreeeee- then capable of playing MWO at theoretical maximum settings. Now I've gathered by your first post that you don't really plan on building yourself. I can respect that but do know that you'll be spending about $200 more for the same parts if you were to build it yourself. If this is not a problem, then I can make a few recommendations as far as websites to go to and we can all chip in to help you decide the parts to go inside your machine.

If you're feeling brave and want to try building it yourself, we'll give you all our support and will answer any questions (within reason!) you have.

[Vulpesveritas]

acheronlv426, on 16 March 2012 - 03:19 PM, said:

I'll need everything. Inexpensive is good, but I'd like to build something that will last a while. I think I can spend about $3K. I may do some video editing, but this rig will first and formost play MWO. I don't care how it looks and I'll need everything. CPU, keyboard, pointer device, I like trackball but for MWO maybe a mouse will be better? Maybe a stick, monitor, other accessories I may need?

Okay... as undoubtedly someone else will get an Intel build recommended to you, (and because I do support AMD over Intel.), here is my suggestion.

Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811103040
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157267
PSU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817153143
CPU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103960
GPU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102961
RAM: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820103006 X2
HDD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136792
ODD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827136236
OS: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986
Cooling-
Heatsink: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835181017
TIM: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835426020
Peripherals-
Monitor: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824116508
Keyboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16823816002
Mouse: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826816007
Mousepad; http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826999074
Joystick: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826102004
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826102003
Headset: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826816005
Cables: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16882021128
+~$250 for boot SSD + SATA cable, or higher end version of windows, or better joystick, or better case, or intel processor/motherboard, etc.

[Barbaric Soul]

and here's the Intel build-

CPU- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115071 (change this for the 2600k if you think you'll want to OC it)
CPU heatsink- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835181015 (keeps my 2600k OC'ed at 4.2ghz under 70'c under full load)
MB- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157264 (compare the features this board has with the extreme 3 pro 3 which costs approx $120 and decide which one is better for you. And don't worry because they are Asrock boards. Asrock are thier own company now and are making very good motherboards)
RAM- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145345 (been using this myself for the past few months, no problems)
Video Card- you got a choice, if you like AMD(ATI)- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161399 , if you like Nvidia- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127567 (personally, I don't have a preference between the two, but considering price, I'd pick the GTX580)
SSD(for OS and most commonly used programs)- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820227707 (you could save some money here opting for a 120gig drive instead)
HD- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148697
PSU- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139021 (it's the TX750, what more needs to be said?)
case- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811112238
DVD drive- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827118067
LCD- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824236153
KB- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16823126261 (nothing fancy needed here)
Mouse- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826104318 (using the same mouse, very good product)

$1,919.87 with the GTX580, $2,079.87 with the 7970

edit- Opps, forgot the OS, add $99 to those prices- http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986

Edited by Barbaric Soul, 17 March 2012 - 04:25 AM.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

Either of the above builds will do you just fine, although the Intel build is slightly more expensive but also more powerful.
I would second the GTX 580 i have just brought one, amazing card and the MSI one, is so so quiet.

Edited by DV^McKenna, 17 March 2012 - 04:23 AM.

[Beaker]

Vulpesveritas, on 16 March 2012 - 08:20 PM, said:

Okay... as undoubtedly someone else will get an Intel build recommended to you, (and because I do support AMD over Intel.), here is my suggestion.
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157267

I'd be more inclined to got for an Asus Sabertooth, Sure it probably won't overclock as high, but it's a far better made board.

I'm a cheapass myself with my own rigs, and I'm just using an Asus M5A97

[Barbaric Soul]

DV^McKenna, on 17 March 2012 - 04:22 AM, said:

Either of the above builds will do you just fine, although the Intel build is slightly more expensive but also more powerful.

Uh, Vulpes build without a SSD(my build has a 240gb SSD) and not counting the joystick and headset costs $2,372.85. That's about $200 MORE than my build with the 7970.

Edited by Barbaric Soul, 17 March 2012 - 04:36 AM.

[Oderint dum Metuant]

Barbaric Soul, on 17 March 2012 - 04:33 AM, said:

Uh, Vulpes build without a SSD(my build has a 240gb SSD) and not counting the joystick and headset costs $2,372.85. That's about $200 MORE than my build with the 7970.

Correct, but im excluding the peripherials and looking at the bare hardware. Vul elected to pick up expensive extras (keyboard etc)

[Barbaric Soul]

DV^McKenna, on 17 March 2012 - 04:44 AM, said:

Correct, but im excluding the peripherials and looking at the bare hardware. Vul elected to pick up expensive extras (keyboard etc)

Uh, actually, after removing the peripherials, and in that case, the SSD also, I'm still $200 less expensive with more power-

My build-


Vulpes build-


$219 for a 2TB hard drive compared to the $109 1TB hard drive in my build and the $200 Thermaltake 850 watt PSU over the $104 Corsair TX750 is where I got him(I'll always take a Corsair PSU over a Thermaltake). CPU,MB, and RAM are about equal in price.

Edited by Barbaric Soul, 17 March 2012 - 05:01 AM.