gaming pc for D3 and GW2

[mithcol]

So a few months ago I put together this computer for diablo2 and guild wars 2. It ran great but I recently moved and couldnt take the computer with me so now Im looking to build something similar again but I need to save some money for a monitor this time. This was the original build

Where can I save some money? I dont want to sacrifice any performance so if I have to spend the same money its ok.

This is the system requirements for the games;

d3

• Windows® Vista/7 (latest service packs)
• Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5600+ 2.8 GHz
• 2 GB RAM
• NVIDIA® GeForce® 260 or ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 or better

gw2


OS: Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7 64-bit
2gb ram
Processor: Intel Core2Duo E7500 2.93 GHz, AMD Athlon 64 X2 or better.
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 4000 series




additional info;
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

just the 2 games, nothing else

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$1000 max but i would like to save 200-300 for a monitor

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

no preference this will be the second pc i will ever build

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

*
none

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

default

8. What resolution will you be using?

Im not sure, what is best for gaming?

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

2 - 3 weeks

any other comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated! thank you!

 

[supremor]

If those are the only 2 games you will be playing you could probably get away with a cheaper GPU, other than that it looks pretty solid.
Also it's pretty hard to read any text on your picture, some people might have trouble distinguishing the hardware listed there so you might want to put up a better one.

 

[mithcol]

If those are the only 2 games you will be playing you could probably get away with a cheaper GPU, other than that it looks pretty solid.
Also it's pretty hard to read any text on your picture, some people might have trouble distinguishing the hardware listed there so you might want to put up a better one.

thanks, could I get a suggestion for the GPU? I also made the pic more clear

 

[ShintaiDK]

Depending on resolution I wouldnt go lower in the GPU.

Also I would get the 3570K and a Z77 board if possible.

I would remove the SSD. Its also so small its close to useless.

 

[Ken g6]

Could you either answer [thread=80121]the usual questions[/thread], or link to your previous thread if you answered them there?

 

[mithcol]

i answered some additional questions

 

[ther00kie16]

$50 Rosewill challenger case

$110 ASRock z77 mobo w/ free 60gb SSD & no k OC

$185 Intel i5 3470 after promo code. Save $50 compared to a K chip & cooler and only 500-700MHz slower, which is negligible in game framerate performance

$40 Corsair Builder Series 600W after rebate & promo code

$34 2x4gb ram after rebate

$85 1TB Samsung F3

$60 LG Blu-ray burner. No point in buying $20 DVD burners unless you absolutely see no use for Blu-ray in your future

Total about $560 without choosing a GPU & OS.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/guild-wars-2-performance-benchmark,3268-4.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diablo-iii-performance-benchmark,3195-5.html

Even a $100 7750 would be fine at 1080p. It's a huge jump up to $200+ cards at 7850.
If you want nVidia, maybe the 560ti or 550ti.

 

[krnmastersgt]

I honestly don't know why people keep looking at the Best Performance preset for the TH benchmarks. Yes a 7750 can run it at 100+ FPS, but the game is quite ugly compared to what it is at Best Detail, I'd say getting a 7850 is more than justified.

I'd also like to throw in this PCP&C Silencer MKIII 500W Modular for $48 AR AP instead of the CX600.

The rest of the build should be fine for the most part thought OCZ SSD's are rather infamous for stability issues, mainly due to the controllers and firmware issues.

 

[ther00kie16]

I honestly don't know why people keep looking at the Best Performance preset for the TH benchmarks. Yes a 7750 can run it at 100+ FPS, but the game is quite ugly compared to what it is at Best Detail, I'd say getting a 7850 is more than justified.

I'd also like to throw in this PCP&C Silencer MKIII 500W Modular for $48 AR AP instead of the CX600.

The rest of the build should be fine for the most part thought OCZ SSD's are rather infamous for stability issues, mainly due to the controllers and firmware issues.

I didn't pay attention to which page I linked from TH. I'd recommend the 660 but that's a bit too much for him unless he cut back on everything else. 7850 is fine but I don't see it as a good bang for buck option in a lower budget gaming PC.

PSU & case options are largely up to opinion as they are the least complex components so any reputable brand should be fine these days.

 

[mithcol]

Hey guys, Thanks for all that advice,

I found a computer in the garage it looks about 10 years old but I turned it on and it seems to be working fine so far, I was wondering if there are any parts i can reuse except the case, which i will use for sure. I want to post the details on here but Im not sure how to find the info on the computer and what exactly to post. Can someone direct me with finding what needs to be posted? Its running windows xp.

Thanks again.
Leo

ps; i also dont need a cd dvd drive or to much memory at all, just to fit the two games.

 

[riversend]

mithcol, I admire your desire to find ways to save some cash! 10 year old computers are not likely to have much useful, even an older CD drive would require a PATA to SATA adapter, which are not much, but considering how cheap DVD drives can be had for it would not be worth the effort IMHO. If it is within the last 5 years, then maybe something is good, but still not likely, outside maybe the case as you mentioned.

Pop it open and take a look at the parts. Win XP should be able to show you the processor type and maybe other info in the device manager.

 

[mfenn]

Start with this build.

Drop the SSD -$100
Drop the GPU to a 7850 -$90
Drop the PSU to the 500W version -$9

That should put you at $729 AR AP, leaving plenty of room for a monitor.

 

[mithcol]

I honestly don't know why people keep looking at the Best Performance preset for the TH benchmarks. Yes a 7750 can run it at 100+ FPS, but the game is quite ugly compared to what it is at Best Detail, I'd say getting a 7850 is more than justified.

I'd also like to throw in this PCP&C Silencer MKIII 500W Modular for $48 AR AP instead of the CX600.

The rest of the build should be fine for the most part thought OCZ SSD's are rather infamous for stability issues, mainly due to the controllers and firmware issues.

First of, thank you all for the advise I am a complete noob at all this but its been real fun comparing and learning about all the parts. This will be my second build.

Start with this build.

Drop the SSD -$100
Drop the GPU to a 7850 -$90
Drop the PSU to the 500W version -$9

That should put you at $729 AR AP, leaving plenty of room for a monitor.

Thanks, so im switching the graphics card to the 7850 and droping the ssd. What is the difference between internal and ssd btw? and why do people get both?

 

[ther00kie16]

First of, thank you all for the advise I am a complete noob at all this but its been real fun comparing and learning about all the parts. This will be my second build.




Thanks, so im switching the graphics card to the 7850 and droping the ssd. What is the difference between internal and ssd btw? and why do people get both?

SSD has way shorter access time so people use it for their OS & a few programs. Some use programs to swap files (think large games) between a small SSD and a hard drive so the loading times are shorter. Get the mobo I listed and it comes with a free 60gb SSD, not to mention a small overclock on non k CPUs. If you aren't serious about overclocking, for which you'll need to buy a cooler as well, then there's no need to get a k CPU as the extra 500-700MHz don't buy you any more in-game performance. Better to spend that $40 extra on a better GPU.

 

[mithcol]

thanks for that, i added the motherboard. I wont be overclocking I dont think.

Is it ok not to get a internal hard drive if im going to have the ssd

im not sure between these two cards;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150560
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102999

 

[ther00kie16]

Windows 7, drivers, Diablo 3 & GW2 will be more than 60GB so you'll need a mechanical hard drive. People usually use the SSD for OS, Office and browser. You can hold off on buying a hard drive at the moment to wait for a deal but you won't be installing more than 1 game on the 60GB SSD.
Get the 7850 if your budget allows so you can turn all the eye-candy on.

 

[mithcol]

Windows 7, drivers, Diablo 3 & GW2 will be more than 60GB so you'll need a mechanical hard drive. People usually use the SSD for OS, Office and browser. You can hold off on buying a hard drive at the moment to wait for a deal but you won't be installing more than 1 game on the 60GB SSD.
Get the 7850 if your budget allows so you can turn all the eye-candy on.

I think im going to hold off on the hard drive for now. Ill only be playing d3 for the first while anyway. So how does this look am I missing anything??

i was also wondering about what the memory sticks are for, how do they effect gameplay, what do they do?

 

[ther00kie16]

Operating system?
Also, read up on updating the firmware of the OCZ SSD before installing Windows.
Also, for $8 more, the modular power supply others linked is a bit better in quality if you can spare the $8.

 

[mithcol]

Operating system?
Also, read up on updating the firmware of the OCZ SSD before installing Windows.
Also, for $8 more, the modular power supply others linked is a bit better in quality if you can spare the $8.

Would I be able to update it without installing windows first?
Im guessing you mean this power supply; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

 

[ther00kie16]

Would I be able to update it without installing windows first?
Im guessing you mean this power supply; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

Yes, that's the PSU.
http://www.ocztechnology.com/ssd_tools/SandForce_Based/
It may already be 2.22 but make sure it is before installing Windows.
If you can plug it into another PC, that'd be easiest. Otherwise, you'll have to follow the instructions to make a bootable linux flash drive.

 

[mfenn]

With only a 60GB SSD, you are completely screwing yourself if you don't also buy an HDD for extra storage, especially on a gaming PC.

The build you posted is missing a case as well. Did you have an issue with the Tempest 210?

 

[mithcol]

With only a 60GB SSD, you are completely screwing yourself if you don't also buy an HDD for extra storage, especially on a gaming PC.

The build you posted is missing a case as well. Did you have an issue with the Tempest 210?

I really only will be playing these two games, and only 1 for the first 2 3 months. Can I at least hold off the hdd until I need to install the second game?

Im going to use the case from the computer I found.

 

[mfenn]

I really only will be playing these two games, and only 1 for the first 2 3 months. Can I at least hold off the hdd until I need to install the second game?

You're going to be cutting it really damn close with a 60GB drive. Running an SSD very close to its maximum capacity is a great way to run into performance problems.

By my accounting, you still have plenty of room in the budget for a 1TB HDD that I recommended in the original build. Has the budget shrank from the $1K originally posted?

 

[Yuriman]

I'd say even a 7850 is overkill for those 2 games, but it's a good value. An HD5850 is just about what you need to max those games out at 1920x1200.

It looks solid except for the hard drive. You can fit your OS and those 2 games with room to spare if your trim your Windows installation down but it's still going to be rather restrictive.

 

[mithcol]

You're going to be cutting it really damn close with a 60GB drive. Running an SSD very close to its maximum capacity is a great way to run into performance problems.

By my accounting, you still have plenty of room in the budget for a 1TB HDD that I recommended in the original build. Has the budget shrank from the $1K originally posted?

i cut the budget $200 because i realized I need a few other things for the room I will be playing in, and a new mouse.

So I would install windows on the HDD and the games on the SSD? Im still have a hard time understanding what the difference between HDD and SSD is.