Tips on building a PC for PC Gaming. (MMO's in particular)

[Lockecole7]

Soooo, havent played a game on the PC for a long time since FFXI, currently looking at Warhammer Online with my brother, and needless to say my current rig is a total bitch in the CPU department, and it's just not going to be enough. I'm familiar with newegg.com and stuff, but some of the newer PC lingo is just way out of my league, I'm not sure what's overkill and what's enough. I'm looking for pretty much a poor man's guide to a rig that can do the below.

Minimum requirements:
* 2.5 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
* 1 Gigabyte RAM
* A 128 MB Video Card, with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
* At least 15 GB of hard drive space

Apparently that's for XP, Vista is just a difference in RAM. Granted I'm aware that the above is crap and minimum, I'm looking at something that could play the game on average to very good settings, with a good FPS in PvP situations. They recommend dual core AT LEAST, obviously at least 2gigs of RAM, and not so sure about the video cards. (It's all Latin to me).

I have pretty much everything available to me except the core tower parts, (monitor, keyboard/mouse, etc) so only the guts would be necessary. I realize this is an FFXI website, but I trust you guys after being here so long, I know Ill get a legit answer. Appreciate any input.

[Kohan]

You've said you're looking for a "poor man's guide," but what's your ceiling exactly? $500? $1,000?

As some quick notes: you'll want to get a dual core processor at the very least, 2GB of RAM is suggested, don't buy Vista and either use XP x86 or x64 (many, many programs work just fine with the latter), make sure you don't skimp on a quality PSU.

[Lockecole7]

Well looking at prices on ibuypower (don't plan on buying from there, just getting a ballpark) the $500 range actually looks pretty doable, considering they don't charge for shipping there as long as you know how to buy your way around there.

Edit: I know, I know...people might think Im cheap, but I know me. I'll play a game and be stuck with it for a couple years. No reason to get a rig that can play tomorrow's standard of gaming. I KNOW I will only play WAR on this PC....so I'll be set for awhile.

[Lockecole7]

https://ecomm2.dell.com/dellstore/ba...5f3300efd94#~1

I heard people recommend Dell. Does the above look like a good gaming PC for what I'm looking for? They only give the option to buy Vista which is an issue for me, not sure if that could be corrected, as I'd rather just use XP, (or if I already have it installed on another PC is that possible to just use it on the one I own currently.)

[Avanarius]

The $500 range for computers is pretty epic right now.

You can get a 9800GT for $130 or less if you shop around

There's plenty of options for CPUs ranging from $80-$180 for budget systems, I'd personally take a look at the E7200 or E7300. They really offer amazing performance/price. And I believe the E7200 is $150 or so.

mobo you can probably get for under $100 if you don't want to plan for future upgrades or overclocking.

Memory ehh there's tons of deals floating around for 2gb or so.

As for psu drop in some sort of 420w corsair or equivalent.

HDD your choice

Happy Computing!

edit* holy fuck me I just spotted this board: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

That's one fucking sick ass I/O I might buy this tomorrow for a media pc lol....

[Shuemue]

WAR is actually a greedy little bitch.

Are you willing to build it yourself?

[Lockecole7]

The $500 range for computers is pretty epic right now.

You can get a 9800GT for $130 or less if you shop around

There's plenty of options for CPUs ranging from $80-$180 for budget systems, I'd personally take a look at the E7200 or E7300. They really offer amazing performance/price. And I believe the E7200 is $150 or so.

mobo you can probably get for under $100 if you don't want to plan for future upgrades or overclocking.

Memory ehh there's tons of deals floating around for 2gb or so.

As for psu drop in some sort of 420w corsair or equivalent.

HDD your choice

Happy Computing!

edit* holy fuck me I just spotted this board: http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...nufacture=ASUS

That's one fucking sick ass I/O I might buy this tomorrow for a media pc lol....

A friend said he got this, said it played WAR amazingly.

CPU: Intell Core 2 Duo E8500 $189.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036

GPU: Could you more specifically point to a good one in that same price range? Approx $130

Mobo: $104.99 ($89.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128345

RAM: 4G DDR2 $69.99 ($44.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184

PCU: Corsair HX-520 $69.99 ($44.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139003

Total Price: $563.97 ($499 after rebates)

Only thing I'm worried about is the heat of the GPU. Is this something I should just buy a whole case with a cooling system for? Or just individual fans would be good? Anything I'm missing when working from scratch than what I have here?

WAR is actually a greedy little bitch.

Are you willing to build it yourself?

Yes I'm willing to build it, have a very knowledgable PC builder at my disposal, just not a very avid gamer. I'm aware of how much of a greedy bitch WAR can be, which is why Im not skimping on the CPU.

[Avanarius]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130380 something like that, I like evga, but pretty much every 9800gt is around this price normal.

*edit if your worried about cooling on graphics card shoot for the 9800gt dual slot: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130397 the fan is a lot quieter then the single slot and it exhausts heat out the back. I wouldn't even worry about providing direct air to it via another fan.

[Kohan]

PCU: Corsair HX-520 $69.99 ($44.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139003

Only one +12V rail? Boo. Corsair makes good PSUs, undeniably, but that still doesn't excuse getting a PSU with just one +12V rail.

At the same time, there are plenty of trashy dual +12V rail PSUs out there (just as you'll usually not gain greater performance from a quad core CPU over a dual core CPU). Thus, it takes some research to make sure you buy something that's a real value.

Here's a better deal:

Antec NeoPower 550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103941

Three +12V rails, 100w more power, and the more recent Antec PSUs tend to have pretty good parts on the inside if you take 'em apart. Don't mind the people who say theirs were DOA, that will happen sometimes with any hardware from any manufacturer. No one has perfect machinery coming out of their factories.

Of course, a high failure rate would be an issue, but eh, tangent.

Lower wattage with power that flows better is what you go for when you want a bargain. High wattage that's distributed inefficiently isn't worth your time and is best avoided.

[Shuemue]

Okay, for WAR specifically, I'm running an E8400, so that E8500 you've picked will be awesome. You really could roll with the E8400 though and save a few bucks. I'm also running an ATI HD4850 and 4gb RAM. WAR settings are maxed and I very rarely lag. I have done a 20% overclock, but really not essential for WAR.

I'll raid newegg for bargains shortly.

[levish]

Only one +12V rail? Boo. Corsair makes good PSUs, undeniably, but that still doesn't excuse getting a PSU with just one +12V rail.

one 12v rail > multiple :s

[Shuemue]

one 12v rail > multiple :s

It's all about the a

[Shuemue]

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Item #:N82E16819115036
$189.99

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
Item #:N82E16835186134
$26.99

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820145184
$25.00 Mail-in Rebate
$69.99

Foxconn G31MV-K Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #:N82E16813186145
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$51.99

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850 100245L Video Card
Item #:N82E16814102770
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate
$159.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817139004
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate
$97.99

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811119115
$39.99

Grand Total: $636.93

$561.93 after rebates, but before delivery, idk your zip

[Shuemue]

That's pretty close to what I built for myself recently, I just have a fancier motherboard and the slightly nicer modular PSU that Corsair do, while this build has a slightly faster CPU.

If you can stretch the budget any, we can try to fit in a better mobo and even a HD4870 GPU

[Man0warr]

Only one +12V rail? Boo. Corsair makes good PSUs, undeniably, but that still doesn't excuse getting a PSU with just one +12V rail.

At the same time, there are plenty of trashy dual +12V rail PSUs out there (just as you'll usually not gain greater performance from a quad core CPU over a dual core CPU). Thus, it takes some research to make sure you buy something that's a real value.

Here's a better deal:

Antec NeoPower 550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103941

Three +12V rails, 100w more power, and the more recent Antec PSUs tend to have pretty good parts on the inside if you take 'em apart. Don't mind the people who say theirs were DOA, that will happen sometimes with any hardware from any manufacturer. No one has perfect machinery coming out of their factories.

Bad bad bad.

One rail is fine if its up to spec, Corsair make amazing PSUs. Antec makes garbage that they shove in their cases. One quality rail > bunch of shit ones.

[Shuemue]

To be fair, Antec make decent PSUs, but yeah, they're not up to Corsair standards.

[Isiolia]

I built a very similar PC for myself recently (as in, parts arrived last night recently).

I used the 500W Antec Earthwatts PSU, which isn't modular or anything (my old PC has a modular Antec), but it was a bit less than the Corsair and still has multiple 12V rails.

Mine was overall a bit more expensive due to a nicer mobo, faster RAM, and because I included drives (originally was going to just do a mobo/cpu/ram/video swap, but I decided to spend the extra money so I could keep my old system intact).

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128359
$119.99

Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817371007
$49.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115036
$189.99

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227298
$99.99 ($30 rebate available)

GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814125238
$169.99 ($20 rebate available)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148262
$54.99 (I bought two for a RAID1 system drive array)

ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
Item #: N82E16827135156
$34.99

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129042
$59.95


I got a "combo" deal on the mobo/cpu, so -$15.00, and a "free" $10 2GB USB drive. As I'm not overclocking or whatnot, I'm just using the stock heatsink/fan too. Seems fine so far. Before mail in rebates, it was about $830, but again that's with HDDs and all too, which the other builds here don't seem to have.


Also, I upgraded my HTPC a few months ago using an Athlon 4850e and a 780G based mobo. That plus a PSU and 4GB of PC800 was under $300 and may be serviceable (though a budget PCI-e card would be preferable). I would still try to push for an E8400/8500 bases system though, unless you're really really poor >.>

[Shuemue]

which the other builds here don't seem to have.

intentional, was hoping he'd come back with an increased budget so I could suggest the same board you picked, and some decent storage

[Isiolia]

Yeah, that board seems really nice so far. The only thing building were that the heatsinks on the chipsets could get in the way of the CPU hsf (the little clips the stock Intel fan has almost posed a problem). However, I imagine that's not a unique issue, as plenty of boards have decent cooling on those parts.

[Shuemue]

I'm running a Gigabyte P45 board, the DS3 iirc, very happy with it, everything worked immediately.