Help Me Build a Computer From ibuypower.com

[Aaurron]

Hey Guys!

I have a deacent PC right now but everything is about three generations behind what it should be. I was going to do all the upgrades on my own but after looking into everything it turns out I'd be replacing a lot more than I was hoping and with tax returns its just not worth the headache. So I've finally decided I'm going to get a custom built computer from ibuypower.com. I'm looking to get the best gaming PC I can get on a budget of around 1000 dollars 1100-1200 absolute max but would like to keep it a little lower. Obviously I would like to have the best performance possible in wow and would decent performance on steam games like half life 2 left for dead 2 team fortress etc. Also looking to give the new fear a shot and possibly the new splinter cell when its released on pc. My only trouble is there is just so many darn options I want to make sure in the end I got the most for my money. So I am looking to you to build the best machine for my money (theorectically of course). I would like to be playing in 1920x1080 without trouble if possible and don't care between AMD or Intel,

Have at it

[chaud]

Hey Guys!

I don't really know how to read the stickies, especially the part about telling you what can be reused, and what all I need.

Have at it

[op3l]

Wow, now this is just a lazy ass post.

ibuypower.com has a configurator like you'd find on an automobile buying website. You're too lazy to even use that...?

Yea well... like it is with everything in life, the more you pay for the part, the more performance it'll give you. So if you want the max performance for your buck, just pick and choose the part that is the most expensive without going over your budget.

My only piece of advice... if you get the Intel i7 chip, get your ram in sticks of 3s.

Have at it

[Aaurron]

Wow, now this is just a lazy ass post.

ibuypower.com has a configurator like you'd find on an automobile buying website. You're too lazy to even use that...?

Yea well... like it is with everything in life, the more you pay for the part, the more performance it'll give you. So if you want the max performance for your buck, just pick and choose the part that is the most expensive without going over your budget.

My only piece of advice... if you get the Intel i7 chip, get your ram in sticks of 3s.

Have at it

For your information this is not a post coming from laziness or stupidity. I am very familiar with ibuypower's site and their multiple amd/intell configurators. I am posting here because after testing out many different sample systems on the site I can't find one I'm perfectly happy with. I am instead looking for some guidance on balancing a good graphics card/processor and staying within my stated budget. For gaming I am unsure weather it would be better to put the money into the video card or the processor or try to find a good balance of both, THAT is why I made this post. But hey thanks for your infinite wisdom on picking the most expensive parts! it was a great help

Edit: Nothing is being reused. I do however have my own version of windows 7 64bit professional so no need to include that in the configurator

[nwo]

CPU: AMD Phenom II 965 BE 3.4GHz or Intel i5 750 2.66GHz
RAM: 4GB
Video card: ATI 5770
PSU: Corsair 650TX

Those are the basic components you should be looking to pick up if you want to build a PC in your price range. I would also recommend investing another 200 bucks into the 30% factory OC if you do not know how to overclock yourself. You have to pay $100 for the 30% overclock + less than $100 for mobo/RAM/HSF upgrade. It is well worth it since both of those CPUs have a lot of OC potential, especially the i5 which can reach a 50% OC @ 4GHz. Do not go with water cooling unless you have had it in one of your PCs.

You probably won't be able to pull off the extra OC with your budget, unless you plan on reusing your current monitor.

[Aaurron]

CPU: AMD Phenom II 965 BE 3.4GHz or Intel i5 750 2.66GHz
RAM: 4GB
Video card: ATI 5770
PSU: Corsair 650TX

Those are the basic components you should be looking to pick up if you want to build a PC in your price range. I would also recommend investing another 200 bucks into the 30% factory OC if you do not know how to overclock yourself. You have to pay $100 for the 30% overclock + less than $100 for mobo/RAM/HSF upgrade. It is well worth it since both of those CPUs have a lot of OC potential, especially the i5 which can reach a 50% OC @ 4GHz. Do not go with water cooling unless you have had it in one of your PCs.

You probably won't be able to pull off the extra OC with your budget, unless you plan on reusing your current monitor.

Thanks for the help! I went ahead and chose the i5 750 and opted for the extra 30 percent overclocking. Also thanks for the heads up on the water cooling I went ahead and changed that for a Thermaltake SpinQ CPU Cooling Fan System. The only question I have is if I am opting to get a formatted hard drive and want to install windows 7 on my own...will they even be able to do the extra 30 percent overclocking I am paying for? Is that overclocking done on software or via hardware?

Oh and I forgot to mention it but I am reusing my monitor mouse and keyboard. I was thinking only in terms of the desktop PC itself

[Cilraaz]

Thanks for the help! I went ahead and chose the i5 750 and opted for the extra 30 percent overclocking. Also thanks for the heads up on the water cooling I went ahead and changed that for a Thermaltake SpinQ CPU Cooling Fan System. The only question I have is if I am opting to get a formatted hard drive and want to install windows 7 on my own...will they even be able to do the extra 30 percent overclocking I am paying for? Is that overclocking done on software or via hardware?

Oh and I forgot to mention it but I am reusing my monitor mouse and keyboard. I was thinking only in terms of the desktop PC itself

Overclocking is done via the BIOS, which can be modified without a hard drive even being installed.

[Aaurron]

thanks for the fast response! only other thing I'm worried about is if the cpu will be running too hot with that much overclocking and no water cooling..I will be using a haf 922 case and the aftermarket cpu cooler I previously mentioned if that makes any difference...

[Cilraaz]

I run an i5 750 at 3.8GHz (43% overclock) on air cooling (Xigmatek Dark Knight cooler) and I reach about 72*C (10*C below max rated temp) with the most heat-generating stress test I've found (OCCT's Linpack test). That was during a hot day before I installed my A/C units, so my ambient was about 5*C higher than usual too.

[TrickieTK]

I don't know what ibuypower uses for water cooling, but maintenance of a Water cooling system is either very hands on or very hands off. I would assume they are using a closed loop which would be pretty easy for the end customer.While it has its serious advantages, the fact that you aren't assembling your own components or are willing to pay for OCing (which you could do for free with a few hours worth of reading), on the off chance their Water cooling loop would require you to top off fluid or drain/replace; maybe you should stick to just air cooling.

the Haf 922 is a great case for air cooling so long as you get some extra case fans and arrange a good intake/exhaust air flow. That and there are some really good and cheap filters you can use for air cooling that will cut down on dust.

[Aaurron]

Ok I have taken in everyone's suggestions and have finally come up with this build...

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Confi...62&t=w&c=22882

Is there anything else I might be lacking? Would it be worth trying to scrounge together another hundred or so dollars and upgrade to the 5850? Or is the upgrade from the 5770 too minimal to be worth it?

[nwo]

Ok I have taken in everyone's suggestions and have finally come up with this build...

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Confi...62&t=w&c=22882

Is there anything else I might be lacking? Would it be worth trying to scrounge together another hundred or so dollars and upgrade to the 5850? Or is the upgrade from the 5770 too minimal to be worth it?

A few things are lacking there:
-PSU: you want to get the Corsair 650TX
-Motherboard: you need to upgrade your motherboard if you opt for level 3 overclocking. Scroll up to the overclocking option and click on more info to get a list of motherboards that are level 3 OC certified.
-RAM: someone with OCing experience should correct me if I am wrong (don't know what an Intel i5 750 runs at stock), but you should invest an extra $19 in DDR3-1600 RAM so that you can take full potential of your overclock since I believe that it runs at 1333 speeds at stock, and if you OC you need to bump up the speeds on the FSB/RAM. You can always do it with crappy RAM, but you won't run at a 1:1 ratio, so you won't be taking full advantage of the overclock.
-Video card: 5770 is fine for any game out there today. With the overclocked CPU, you won't have any troubles in WoW, or any other game out there. A 5850 is not worth it if you ask me, but I'm just an average gamer, I don't like the super high res and AA/AF... I like to keep my pockets half-full and save for future upgrades instead.
-HSF: the air cooling you opted for is going to be plenty for your overclock... If you live in an area where it doesn't get too hot in the summer and/or you have AC, you could probably get a 20% OC on stock cooling. With that said, with the HSF you selected 30% will not be a problem and you will not have any heat issues.

[Cilraaz]

-RAM: someone with OCing experience should correct me if I am wrong (don't know what an Intel i5 750 runs at stock), but you should invest an extra $19 in DDR3-1600 RAM so that you can take full potential of your overclock since I believe that it runs at 1333 speeds at stock, and if you OC you need to bump up the speeds on the FSB/RAM. You can always do it with crappy RAM, but you won't run at a 1:1 ratio, so you won't be taking full advantage of the overclock.

I would go with the 1600MHz RAM. A 30% overclock would likely just be 200MHz base clock by 17 multiplier. That works out to roughly 27.8%. They could also go 181MHz by 19 multiplier, but that would just be odd for the RAM. You'd either have a 2:8 multiplier putting your RAM at 1448MHz or a 2:10 multiplier putting your RAM at 1810MHz. Either way, you'd still want 1600MHz RAM or better.