1. #1

    Building new a new pc, lost without going pre built

    Hello,

    I posted a thread a while back, I was having an issue with my home built first attempt, it's only a year old but it seems I messed it up, my ssd died and I want more power as it ain't delivering the performance I desire.

    I only spent £450 inc os so I can't grumble.

    What I'm looking to attain is a build that will play wow on max settings on a 24" screen with a second screen for general stuff whilst I play, also the ability to play black ops 2 on max settings.

    My current setup won't let me run 2 screens with any kind of stability.

    I'm a fan of amd processors and nvidia gpus but I'm willing to go either way
    I'm also in love with ssd so one of them is a must

    One of the reasons I'm looking at pre built is that I can pay monthly.

    I know Alienware seems to be expensive but for £100a month I can get a new araura with a 4.2hz i7 gtx690 500gig ssd and 32 gig of 1600 ram.

    It totals at about £3k I'm sure I could build it myself cheaper but I wouldn't trust myself on the compatibility front.

    So does anyone know a site where you can build it through them and pay monthly? Or buy all the parts through them and build myself?

    Any advice would be appreciated on what parts to get but ideally I would love to not need to replace any parts within the next 2 years

    ---------- Post added 2013-01-03 at 12:42 PM ----------

    http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...upgrade-advice

    My old thread. Posted so I can show you my current parts

  2. #2
    I'd have a look at local stores, especially the ones without a website, or a good one anyway lol. Quite often you can get really good deals from these places, probably because they have a hard time selling things.

    Anyways, here is what I have if you are looking at something to compare. This runs the vast majority of games on the highest settings, including the witcher 2, however you do have to lower shadows a bit (Usually to medium), including in WoW.

    CPU: AMD FX-8120 Eight-Core
    8GB ram
    GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6950 2gb

    Edit: My fps is usually at a comfortable 30fps in most games. In WoW it depends on where I am, ~30 fps in an extremely populated servers major city, up to 100 everywhere else.

    Everything else is optional, but you would probably want to aim above my GPU if you want to include shadows at max settings.
    Last edited by Asphyxiate9; 2013-01-03 at 12:59 PM.

  3. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by orangelemonrain View Post
    I'd have a look at local stores, especially the ones without a website, or a good one anyway lol. Quite often you can get really good deals from these places, probably because they have a hard time selling things.
    All I have near me is a pc world and a maplin, I'm trying to avoid maplin due to personal experience with them.

    Also I have just looked on scan.co.uk and overclockers for pay monthly, both offer this service so now it's just a question of what parts should I buy

  4. #4
    Whatever you do, don't save money on gpu, I use gtx 690 atm, of course it's abit expensive but you will not struggle with any game. It's better to save money elsewhere, you don't need ivy bridges to pull max graphics in games, I got i2500k at 4ghz can easly pull higher since I got watercooling but don't see the point since I already drive any game on highest setting without lag or fps drop.

    I only buy my computers from komplett.no, while they only have specific builds available which you can customize a tiny bit, I've been buying there for 10years so I just give em a call and ask them to build me a system, all I have to do is tell em my max price and what I expect out of it and they hook me up with a computer, assembled free of charge.
    Side tracked a bit but my point is if you want a pre built computer which has components you want just give any website a call, it's amazing what kinda deals you can pull since the competition is very hard and they have to fight for customers, but you need to push them.

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Speedlance View Post

    I only buy my computers from komplett.no, while they only have specific builds available which you can customize a tiny bit, I've been buying there for 10years so I just give em a call and ask them to build me a system, all I have to do is tell em my max price and what I expect out of it and they hook me up with a computer, assembled free of charge.
    Side tracked a bit but my point is if you want a pre built computer which has components you want just give any website a call, it's amazing what kinda deals you can pull since the competition is very hard and they have to fight for customers, but you need to push them.

    Thanks for the advice will have to make some calls

  6. #6
    I buy at newegg but that is because I build my own. They have pre-builts but I believe they aren't customizable at all so there are plenty of better places for that.

    The main thing you have to worry about with pre-builts is that they often throw in an overly expensive CPU along with a underpowered GPU (especially when compared to the CPU) which should be somewhat of the opposite for a gaming PC. Better off cutting some $ off the processor and adding it to a better GPU if you are on a budget.

    Using two monitors for different things is different than combining their resolutions, so you will not need a stupidly overpriced 690. Usually if someone isn't using a resolution higher than 1920x1200 I wouldn't even recommend the 680 but in your case since you seem to consider buying the 690, why not? Sounds like you can afford it. Anyhow, the 670 or the 7970 can max anything and still have over 60 FPS with the exception of like Metro2033.

    32GB of RAM is beyond overkill. 8GB is usually enough for most people but there is nothing wrong getting 16GB since RAM is so cheap. 32GB, nah, for most people that is like giving money to a drug addict and hoping it is put to good use.

    i5 processors are currently the best for gaming since it has some of the strongest individual cores for games that cannot fully utilize the processor. For an AMD fanboy tho, something like a FX-8350 or FX-6300 will be more than good enough to achieve higher than the most desired 60 FPS, assuming your GPU is good enough. I'd say the i5 will usually achieve between 0-25% more FPS compared to FX processors with the strongest individual cores such as the 8350 or 6300.

  7. #7

    Arrow

    Quote Originally Posted by Asurakai View Post
    I buy at newegg but that is because I build my own. They have pre-builts but I believe they aren't customizable at all so there are plenty of better places for that.

    The main thing you have to worry about with pre-builts is that they often throw in an overly expensive CPU along with a underpowered GPU (especially when compared to the CPU) which should be somewhat of the opposite for a gaming PC. Better off cutting some $ off the processor and adding it to a better GPU if you are on a budget.

    Using two monitors for different things is different than combining their resolutions, so you will not need a stupidly overpriced 690. Usually if someone isn't using a resolution higher than 1920x1200 I wouldn't even recommend the 680 but in your case since you seem to consider buying the 690, why not? Sounds like you can afford it. Anyhow, the 670 or the 7970 can max anything and still have over 60 FPS with the exception of like Metro2033.

    32GB of RAM is beyond overkill. 8GB is usually enough for most people but there is nothing wrong getting 16GB since RAM is so cheap. 32GB, nah, for most people that is like giving money to a drug addict and hoping it is put to good use.

    i5 processors are currently the best for gaming since it has some of the strongest individual cores for games that cannot fully utilize the processor. For an AMD fanboy tho, something like a FX-8350 or FX-6300 will be more than good enough to achieve higher than the most desired 60 FPS, assuming your GPU is good enough. I'd say the i5 will usually achieve between 0-25% more FPS compared to FX processors with the strongest individual cores such as the 8350 or 6300.

    Thanks for the great response. So all I need for decent multinsceeen capability is a better gfx card then my current gts450?
    As currently when I run 2 screens with that they freeze in spikes or my drivers stop responding.

    And looks like your saved me some cash as I was almost ready to get an i7 but if te i5 is better for games
    Ill grab that...

    And to be fair if i ain't gonna see the diff between a 670 and a 690 in wow I may grab an ati card

  8. #8
    I forgot to look at your system build. It looks like the graphics card is definitely the offender. I don't know too much about Black Ops 2 but I did a quick skim on a few benchmarks. It looks like if you want to literally max everything out, to keep an average of 60 fps or higher you may need a 7950, 7970, or a 670. If you tune it down a little the 7850 or a 7870 should be more than enough. As for WoW, the 7850 and anything above it should completely destroy it... in a good way. All 5 cards I mentioned just now have the best price-per-performances on newegg. There are other good cards, but they are currently somewhat overpriced compared to these ones.

    your processor may be fine but if it is causing any problems, it will likely have to do with heavy multitasking or being around areas in games that are too heavily populated. If you like the idea of possibly saving some money, you could do some tests by getting a new graphics card while sticking with your current processor for now. Mess around with that for awhile, play some black ops multiplayer games, do a 25-man raid if you can, and run a few of the most populated battlegrounds. If you notice some significant lag, either get a 6300, 8350 since either one will fit into your current mobo, or better yet, an Intel Quad core (which would need a new motherboard).

    oh ya, as for the i5 vs. i7, they both have about the same gaming performance. i7's are more for workstations and people who don't give a care about blowing extra money.

    I am not sure if graphic card memory will have any impact on your type of a dual monitor setup but it is rather easy to avoid 1GB cards because there are plenty of 2GB and 3GB cards out there. Perhaps someone can education me on this as well.
    Last edited by Asurakai; 2013-01-03 at 10:15 PM.

  9. #9
    Ahhh sweet may well have to do that as a start, cause when I get my full new rig I can pop the new card in it thanks,

    Slightly off topic but my blue screen issue has gone now I took out my ssd

  10. #10
    I was just about to edit and say something like the blue screen problem could very well having nothing to do with the GPU or CPU.

  11. #11
    I was properly upset about removing my ssd, boot times and load times are now pathetic in comparison

  12. #12
    Warchief Tucci's Avatar
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    Intel/Nvidia are the kings right now for gaming, especially for WoW. Definitely go Intel for a gaming rig. Tom's Hardware will give you some nice reviews and tell you the best price/performance options.
    Ryzen 9 5900X/Trident Z Neo 32GB 3600 CL16/AORUS 1080 Ti Xtreme/Crosshair VIII Hero Wi-Fi/Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240/Optane 900p 3D XPoint/EVGA SuperNOVA 1200 P2/Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL/Steelcase Leap/BenQ XL2411Z/Philips Fidelio X2HR/Noppoo Choc Mini (RIP Reckful)/Razer Viper Ultimate/QcK Heavy

  13. #13
    Alright thanks, I guess the i5 ain't too badly priced

  14. #14
    Dreadlord Kegler's Avatar
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    I have an i7, but i guarantee you the i5 would be plenty, and save you a good chunk of cash.

    I'd spring for a GTX670 video card. Really strong performance without the money dump of a 680 or 690.

  15. #15
    Okay some good advice coming my way what I have gathered so far:

    Go for an i5 and a gtx670

    Not that I just blindly do as I'm told or anything...

    As for ram... Some say 16 gig most say 8 is fine, as for ddr3, what speed would do my soon to be set up justice? 1333,1600,2133?

  16. #16
    anything above 1333 doesn't make much of an impact in real world usage, however, 1600 is the most common and is extremely cheap as well... so I'd say 1600.

  17. #17
    Alright sweet well thank you all, I know what I'll be buying now

    My intended build is an i5, 670, 16 gig of 1600 ddr3 and a corsair 850w psu.

    Thanks all you have been awesome

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