Custom Gaming PC help needed

[Ken g6]

Well, most of that build is pretty rock-bottom. It does help that you don't plan to overclock. Given that, and that you have no SSD, there's no reason not to switch the motherboard to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157255

Savings: $60

So much for the easy savings. If you significantly downgrade your processor...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.695608

That's about $90 more. Total savings: $150

At this point, there's not much left to attack but your video card. The cheapest 6950 I can find is $210 AR:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125385

That's about $35 more. Total savings: $185 Loss: 1 dirt-y game.

If you can scrounge up a keyboard and a mouse, that ought to get you to $200. But that processor change is a big performance hit.

Alternatively:
Here's a better processor, but it costs $50 or so more than the i3 above.

And here's a GPU that costs $55 less.

 

[afs189]

Well, most of that build is pretty rock-bottom. It does help that you don't plan to overclock. Given that, and that you have no SSD, there's no reason not to switch the motherboard to:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157255

Savings: $60

So much for the easy savings. If you significantly downgrade your processor...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.695608

That's about $90 more. Total savings: $150

At this point, there's not much left to attack but your video card. The cheapest 6950 I can find is $210 AR:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125385

That's about $35 more. Total savings: $185 Loss: 1 dirt-y game.

If you can scrounge up a keyboard and a mouse, that ought to get you to $200. But that processor change is a big performance hit.

Alternatively:
Here's a better processor, but it costs $50 or so more than the i3 above.

And here's a GPU that costs $55 less.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not sure I can bring myself to do most of that... but I might have to bite the bullet, I guess.

The motherboard seems doable, but I'm not sure if it's worth it, seeing as how I'm getting Windows 7 OEM, so any possibility of upgrading the motherboard down the line would require re-purchasing 7, wouldn't it?

 

[Ken g6]

The motherboard seems doable, but I'm not sure if it's worth it, seeing as how I'm getting Windows 7 OEM, so any possibility of upgrading the motherboard down the line would require re-purchasing 7, wouldn't it?

True. I was just thinking, what would you miss not getting a higher-end board? Then it hit me: USB 3.0!

So I did another search, and I came up with this $60 AR board.

Edit: You can overclock with this chipset too! (If you get a chip that can overclock.)

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Im just wondering if we can use a USB 2.0 and plug that into a USB 3.0 port

 

[Ken g6]

Im just wondering if we can use a USB 2.0 and plug that into a USB 3.0 port

Yes.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

sweet.

 

[Ken g6]

I found one more combo deal. Saves up to $40 AR AP (on the PSU's main page).

 

[afs189]

True. I was just thinking, what would you miss not getting a higher-end board? Then it hit me: USB 3.0!

So I did another search, and I came up with this $60 AR board.

Edit: You can overclock with this chipset too! (If you get a chip that can overclock.)

A lot of this will help me quite a bit, but I'm again wondering about the MB.

I can't really upgrade the RAM on this one from 8 gigs, can I? Though, I'm not sure that I'll need any more than 8gb of RAM anytime soon.

And, just checking, the 2500/K will work with this one, yes?

 

[wand3r3r]

I didn't notice a location mentioned here, do you happen to live near a Microcenter?

Microcenter locations

They have some pretty sweet deals on the 2500K/MB combos. (more then $100 off)
MC August ad

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Microcenter=awesome

 

[mfenn]

A lot of this will help me quite a bit, but I'm again wondering about the MB.

I can't really upgrade the RAM on this one from 8 gigs, can I? Though, I'm not sure that I'll need any more than 8gb of RAM anytime soon.

And, just checking, the 2500/K will work with this one, yes?

I agree with Ken that your choices are pretty good values as it is. If the main goal is to preserve gaming performance, I would definitely consider the i3 + H61M setup. You won't be able to upgrade beyond 8GB (without 8GB DIMMs), but honestly I don't think that that will be a problem within the CPUs useful lifetime.

 

[afs189]

Alright.

Another technical point I need to check:

With the wireless adapter, and the antenna, do I need two of the antenna, or will one work?

 

[mfenn]

Alright.

Another technical point I need to check:

With the wireless adapter, and the antenna, do I need two of the antenna, or will one work?

One will probably work, but you should get two.

Also, if it hasn't been pointed out yet, you can get the Neo ECO 620C for $30 AR AP.

 

[Ken g6]

Also, if it hasn't been pointed out yet, you can get the Neo ECO 620C for $30 AR AP.

My combo deal:

I found one more combo deal. Saves up to $40 AR AP (on the PSU's main page).

is about $3 better.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

3 dollars can buy 2 mc chicken sandwiches at micdonalds

 

[mfenn]

My combo deal:



is about $3 better.

How so? You can't stack the the HDD promo with the combo, so it turns out to be $100 shipped AR. The 620C + F3 1TB is $90 AP AR (free shipping).

 

[afs189]

I'm slightly confused on drivers...

As I understand it, I only need drivers for the motherboard and graphics card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102945

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157251

The graphics card driver page (http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/downloads/?pid=1235&psn=0006&lid=1&os=6) seems pretty straight forward, but I'm not sure if I need all the drivers listed on the mb page (http://www.asrock.com/MB/download.asp?Model=Z68 Pro3&o=Win764)

 

[Neutralman]

Sounds like you successfully built your own PC from scratch!

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Yeah, but he has some problems.

 

[mfenn]

I'm slightly confused on drivers...

As I understand it, I only need drivers for the motherboard and graphics card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102945

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157251

The graphics card driver page (http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/downloads/?pid=1235&psn=0006&lid=1&os=6) seems pretty straight forward, but I'm not sure if I need all the drivers listed on the mb page (http://www.asrock.com/MB/download.asp?Model=Z68 Pro3&o=Win764)

Honestly, the GPU drivers are all you really need unless there is a particular feature that you want from the mobo drivers and/or something isn't working right.

 

[afs189]

Sounds like you successfully built your own PC from scratch!

I haven't put it together yet (been busy).

Honestly, the GPU drivers are all you really need unless there is a particular feature that you want from the mobo drivers and/or something isn't working right.

What exactly should I expect if something doesn't work right?

 

[lehtv]

What exactly should I expect if something doesn't work right?

You should expect problems such as a particular feature, controlled by a particular driver, not working properly. E.g. RAID or integrated audio or network controller. Or you could expect instability or BSOD in which case it may or may not be due to the motherboard. If it is due to the motherboard and it is possible to fix it, it's more likely to be fixed with a BIOS update than driver update.

I agree with mfenn that in the vast majority of cases, you only need to install drivers for PCI/PCI-E expansion cards, most commonly that means video drivers.

 

[Xerin7]

You also might want to update your SSD firmware (for example, update to version 0009 if you have a Crucial m4 SSD).

 

[afs189]

Honestly, the GPU drivers are all you really need unless there is a particular feature that you want from the mobo drivers and/or something isn't working right.

So, what exactly do I have to download from that site? (There's quite a few things. A bit confusing)

 

[mfenn]

Here's the link to the Catalyst driver page. Just download the main Catalyst Software Suite and you should be good to go.