First time builder, looking for advice

[medievalman1]

Hi guys, thanks in advance.

I'm seriously considering building my own rig. Got a few questions.

First off, are there any reliable websites that have a compare and contrast function between various parts? I realize google is normally one's friend, but I have absolutely no idea if sites such as gpuboss.com are actually legit/reliable/good.

Secondly, the build of the month that gets posted on this website. Are these setups good? If so, are the links to the parts themselves generally the best (or close to it) deals one can find? If not, any helpful, again reliable, websites out there with which I may purchase parts? I'm somewhat familiar with slickdeals.net and newegg.com.

Thirdly, I'd like to avoid downgrading, but due to the first point, find knowing if I'm downgrading or not difficult. I currently have an Alienware X51 R2 that I bought a few years back refurbished and on sale, something like 25% or 30% off. Current specs are as follows:

GGTX 760
I7-4770 @ 3.40 GHz
8gig RAM
Non SSD.

Compare that with any (and all?) of the current monthly builds seen here http://www.mmo-champion.com/build-of-the-month/.

Fourthly, Aside from the actual hardware seen in the various builds... what other expenses should I expect to have to consider (things like OS licenses, office suites, etc.)? I mainly ask this because, as I stated, I'm new at this, and may not realize/think of everything I should consider.

Fifthly, any tips? I have some experience assembling computers... 16 years ago in high school, so I'm not completely ignorant, just mostly.

[Cyrops]

Hi guys, thanks in advance.

I'm seriously considering building my own rig. Got a few questions.

First off, are there any reliable websites that have a compare and contrast function between various parts? I realize google is normally one's friend, but I have absolutely no idea if sites such as gpuboss.com are actually legit/reliable/good.

Secondly, the build of the month that gets posted on this website. Are these setups good? If so, are the links to the parts themselves generally the best (or close to it) deals one can find? If not, any helpful, again reliable, websites out there with which I may purchase parts? I'm somewhat familiar with slickdeals.net and newegg.com.

Thirdly, I'd like to avoid downgrading, but due to the first point, find knowing if I'm downgrading or not difficult. I currently have an Alienware X51 R2 that I bought a few years back refurbished and on sale, something like 25% or 30% off. Current specs are as follows:

GGTX 760
I7-4770 @ 3.40 GHz
8gig RAM
Non SSD.

Compare that with any (and all?) of the current monthly builds seen here http://www.mmo-champion.com/build-of-the-month/.

Fourthly, Aside from the actual hardware seen in the various builds... what other expenses should I expect to have to consider (things like OS licenses, office suites, etc.)? I mainly ask this because, as I stated, I'm new at this, and may not realize/think of everything I should consider.

Fifthly, any tips? I have some experience assembling computers... 16 years ago in high school, so I'm not completely ignorant, just mostly.

Hey there,

Those specs look decent, are you having trouble running any games? I have 4771 personally and I don't think I will be getting new CPU any time soon, seems to me all you need is an SSD, maybe new GPU if you feel like yours is lacking.

Edit: for best prices check http://pcpartpicker.com/

As for CPU, use https://www.cpubenchmark.net/
Tip: if you play mostly online games, you want high single thread performance. For example if you compare your CPU with new 6700 you will see even though yours overall score is lower, the single thread performance is higher
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php...70+%40+3.40GHz
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?...00+%40+3.40GHz

Edit 2: as for month builds posted on MMO, it's a matter of opinion, actually.

[Mythbredor]

Could you fill this out for us please? Would greatly help in figuring out what you need in your build.

Budget
Resolution
Games / Settings Desired
Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc)
Country
Parts that can be reused
Do you need an OS?
Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?

[medievalman1]

Budget: I don't have one per se. I mean, I'm not going to throw down 4k on a gaming rig, but I'm not strictly limited by "I can only spend $500" limit. I've got plenty of wiggle room. I would want the most bang for my buck, that's one of the reasons why I'd love to have some reliable sites to compare and contrast various components.
Resolution: I suppose 1080, not too picky on this though.
Games/Settings Desired: Currently I mostly play WoW. Although, I would love for my rig to be able to comfortable play other games at reasonably high graphics settings-not necessarily the absolute highest (this goes for WoW as well). "Recently" I thoroughly enjoyed playing Witcher 3. I'll likely look into getting Star Citizen (assuming its released within this computer's lifetime) and FFVX (if its coming for PC). Bottomline though, I don't want to build a rig specifically and exclusively for WoW, but don't expect the highest settings for all games.
Any other intensive software or special things you do: No video encoding, 3d modeling, rendering. Generally when I play I watch hulu/netflix. So dual monitor while streaming video (not necessarily HD) and playing "x" game.
Country: USA
Parts that can be reused: Not sure on this one quite yet. I could potentially scavenge parts from my current rig, but its up in the air about what will happen to it. So, for the sake of the post, assume no reusing of parts.
Do you need an OS: Yes
Do you need peripherals: No

Hey there,

Those specs look decent, are you having trouble running any games? I have 4771 personally and I don't think I will be getting new CPU any time soon, seems to me all you need is an SSD, maybe new GPU if you feel like yours is lacking.

Edit: for best prices check http://pcpartpicker.com/

As for CPU, use https://www.cpubenchmark.net/
Tip: if you play mostly online games, you want high single thread performance. For example if you compare your CPU with new 6700 you will see even though yours overall score is lower, the single thread performance is higher
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php...70+%40+3.40GHz
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?...00+%40+3.40GHz

Edit 2: as for month builds posted on MMO, it's a matter of opinion, actually.

I'm actually running into a number of issues that I believe are from my graphics card. Crashes, blackouts, graphical stuttering, popups that report nvidia drivers not responding. I've looked in a number of places and attempted numerous solutions to the problem, none have worked. System restores, physically opening up the machine to ensure no buildup of dust, updated drivers, clean installation of up to date drivers, rolling back driver versions, etc. I have noticed that if I have graphics settings at their minimum it significantly helps with my problems. The main issue with taking more drastic steps to correct things is that I currently do online classes full time and need something-and this finicky pc is my only reliable access to classwork.

Thank you for the sites as well.

[Mythbredor]

Right so with the information you provided I threw this build together. It's a bit on the higher end side assuming you may get into some more demanding games (Witcher 3) stuff like that. The 1060 just game out so prices are hit or miss. This build should look to be around 1000$-1100$ with GPU included.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($237.89 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6GB GAMING Video Card
Case: NZXT S340 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($77.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($83.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $842.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-07-24 17:49 EDT-0400

Also your last PC has got huge issues have you formatted your drive and did a completely fresh install?

[Thunderball]

I suggest getting a case, PSU, videocard (you can get a GTX 1070 and have a lot of breathing room for 1080p in a couple of years) and SSD. You will be fine with the rest of it for a couple of years and will have more room for upgrades later.

[Cyrops]

Budget: -snip-
I'm actually running into a number of issues that I believe are from my graphics card. Crashes, blackouts, graphical stuttering, popups that report nvidia drivers not responding. I've looked in a number of places and attempted numerous solutions to the problem, none have worked. System restores, physically opening up the machine to ensure no buildup of dust, updated drivers, clean installation of up to date drivers, rolling back driver versions, etc. I have noticed that if I have graphics settings at their minimum it significantly helps with my problems. The main issue with taking more drastic steps to correct things is that I currently do online classes full time and need something-and this finicky pc is my only reliable access to classwork.

Thank you for the sites as well.

Have you tried monitoring temperature? It could be your GPU itself, it could be motherboard, there are a number of posibilities. Personally I had same issue with 'driver stopped responding' I was using Vista back then, switched to W7 and the issue was gone.

[medievalman1]

Have you tried monitoring temperature? It could be your GPU itself, it could be motherboard, there are a number of posibilities. Personally I had same issue with 'driver stopped responding' I was using Vista back then, switched to W7 and the issue was gone.

I've been dealing with this particular issue for a very long time now, its just gotten worse as of late. Early on, I was monitoring the temp, and saw no overt spikes or worrisome rises in temp. Now things could be different. I've tried numerous fixes for it and none have worked, so I'm just getting done with this rig.

So, just had another black-screen unresponsive-for-a-few-seconds display driver error event. I was actively monitoring the temp as well. Had just booted up WoW and was staring at the temp display when it went dark for a few. GPU temp was 70C, cpu cores varied but all were high 60's or low 70's immediately prior to it going dark.

[Cyrops]

I've been dealing with this particular issue for a very long time now, its just gotten worse as of late. Early on, I was monitoring the temp, and saw no overt spikes or worrisome rises in temp. Now things could be different. I've tried numerous fixes for it and none have worked, so I'm just getting done with this rig.

So, just had another black-screen unresponsive-for-a-few-seconds display driver error event. I was actively monitoring the temp as well. Had just booted up WoW and was staring at the temp display when it went dark for a few. GPU temp was 70C, cpu cores varied but all were high 60's or low 70's immediately prior to it going dark.

Could be an issue with PSU, since it's a prebuilt PC. If you decide to buy new parts, there won't be much of an upgrade for your CPU, I would highly suggest to buy only GPU and PSU, gettin an SSD is a no brainer with current prices, having more RAM won't hurt but it's a minor thing.

Personally I have R9 390 Nitro and I don't see me upgrading until there's OLED Monitors going for a decent price.

[Fascinate]

Someone on this forum recently upgraded from a gtx 760 to a 1060 and saw zero difference in WoW performance, just so you know that if you spend money you wont see gains in the game you play the most.

[Deleted]

I would suggest taking some steps as your setup is decent for wow at least. Buy a good new psu and an ssd with a fresh win install. If you play other games than wow you could grab a gtx1060/70.