Recommendations for a new box

[Linsivi]

It's about time to update my PC from scratch, I doubt I will be salvaging anything from it save maybe the case (and PSU if the card I get can run on it) and the DVD drive. I may potentially be using the current rig as a media server for my various media needs.

I currently have:
CPU: 2.4 Q6600
PSU: Antec 650w
Case: Antec 900
RAM: 4 GB
HDD: 7200 RPM 750 GB
Video: GeForce 8800 GTS 512 (woo!)

Assuming I go from scratch, what are some recommendations for the games coming out later this year (or next I guess..) specifically Diablo 3. Right now all I really play on PC is Starcraft 2 and Steam games, but would like to be prepared for the future releases.

[Jojimbo]

What is your budget? Something like

i5 2500k
4GB RAM
560Ti GTX / HD6870
1TB HDD

Would be a fairly cheap option. If you want more power you could upgrade GPU to a 570 GTX or HD6970 and add a 60~120GB SSD (plus maybe upgrading RAM to 8GB). For a gaming machine the i7 2600k isn't worth the extra cost.


Alternatively you could upgrade the GPU (your PSU will support an upgrade) as your CPU is still half decent and wait until the next gen of CPU to upgrade.

[Linsivi]

Looking between 1k and 1.5 for budget for a PC, good to hear the Q6600 is still workable. Might just got for a bunch of ram and new video card for now then.

[Ohemgee]

With a budget of 1500, AMD six core or Quad Core i7?

[Jojimbo]

I wouldn't recommend getting RAM for your current CPU, 4GB is enough for general gaming and the RAM that you would need for that MB isn't really usable with a MB for recent CPUs.

As for the build, you could make this with that budget. Moving stuff into the Antec 900 and reusing the PSU. Or just get a GPU (and maybe SSD, although they rapidly improve) and leave the rest for next gen.

Spoiler: show

Not 100% on MB as I haven't kept up with what's good and not for this gen. May want to use an Intel SSD (slower and more expensive) as they are suppose to be more reliable.

[Yousir]

A lot of what's being recommended is great, but keep in mind that Blizzard designs all their games with the notion of making them available to a large audience, which means can be played on lower PC specs. You aren't going to need to go overboard for Diablo 3 and SC2 can look really good with good specs, but it's not required. Just sayin'

[Cayos]

I have a Q6600 with a GTX470 and 4 GBs of RAM. Runs all current gen games pretty well. If you want to save, buy a better heatsink and overclock your CPU.

[Linsivi]

A lot of what's being recommended is great, but keep in mind that Blizzard designs all their games with the notion of making them available to a large audience, which means can be played on lower PC specs. You aren't going to need to go overboard for Diablo 3 and SC2 can look really good with good specs, but it's not required. Just sayin'

Agreed, but I would also be intending on playing more hardware intensive games as well. I would OC my system, but I'm a little concerned about overheating due to having heat issues last year. I have a new heatsink/fan on my processor, but my systems seems to lag right now, especially when transitioning from fullscreen to normal from videos (especially youtube). I figured this was a good enough sign to start building a new system.

[Arkanna]

Agreed, but I would also be intending on playing more hardware intensive games as well. I would OC my system, but I'm a little concerned about overheating due to having heat issues last year. I have a new heatsink/fan on my processor, but my systems seems to lag right now, especially when transitioning from fullscreen to normal from videos (especially youtube). I figured this was a good enough sign to start building a new system.

Well, if you do end up keeping your current box for a media server and you need a PSU for the new box, check out my thread: http://www.bluegartr.com/threads/106...-Silencer-750w

Don't mean to plug my own thread but that PSU really is fantastic, especially at that price point.

[Tymon]

Just off an earlier post, about AMD 6-cores vs i7.. not even a contest.

The best AMD 6-core is outperformed in every department by an i5 2500k. An i7 2600k is even worse.

Hell, the 955, the best AMD 4-core is out performed by the i3 2100, a dual core.

[Cheerios]

I have a Q6600 with a GTX470 and 4 GBs of RAM. Runs all current gen games pretty well. If you want to save, buy a better heatsink and overclock your CPU.

That's also what I did for my own Build. Q6600 Stock is pretty meh at best, but even a shitty $15 heatsink can get you to 3.0 Ghz easily. A $30-$40 heatsink can get your processor to 3.4, and I think it'd top out at 3.6 on the best air cooling (stay at 3.4 to be safe).

Running stock on that powerful of a processor is just a waste of money, tbh.

My advice would be to OC your processor and just upgrade your video card for the time being. You can test the waters that way, and if your PC still under performs somehow, you aren't really losing out because you can just use the new video card for your next build.