Building a Gaming PC

[njitjk68]

The manuals that come with motherboard and case usually does a pretty good job explaining/illustrating how to put things together.

[Olo401]

youtube is a good place to look, so you can see visually how it's done

^ This.. Youtube has amazing homemade how-to videos on just about everything from building computers to flexing your voice like a glam metal singer.

[Flatliner]

Looks like he bought it from cyberpowerpc. I know from personal experience that you have to be very lucky to have a good experience buying from them. Although it's hard to resist, they have pretty low prices.

I'm currently looking into possibly buying a desktop from these guys. What kind of problems did you have? Your the first person that I've heard say anything bad about them, but I haven't looked too terribly much so I'm really curious.

[Maaglin]

Building a computer is nothing more than plug 'n play really. If you are already familiar with swapping RAM, a PSU, graphics card, etc., you're 90% of the way there already.

Biggest issues are things like when your MB won't POST. Or if you get unlucky and recieve a component DOA. There's a plethra of sites you can search for advice and tips when you run into a problem you cannot solve yourself.

If you can install a video game on your computer now, you can install windows on a fresh build. It's really that easy.

Installing drivers? All the basic drivers will come with your hardware's included installation discs or on your windows install disc. Can you insert a CD into a drive and find where it says "install drivers"? If so, you're again 90% of the way there.

Once you get it up and running, you can then start to mess with the BIOS settings, updating drivers, overclocking (if you're into that), tweaking your GPU, etc.

[Omnipotent]

My problem is, my W7 edition is that download off through email. How do I get it so it does everything I need? Do I create an ISO file and put it on a disc? Stupid W7 download!

[Tits]

If you contact the company that is handling all of the student editions and request a burnable version, they should be able to provide you with an ISO.

I think the company is Digital River?

[Omnipotent]

If you contact the company that is handling all of the student editions and request a burnable version, they should be able to provide you with an ISO.

I think the company is Digital River?

Yes, digital river

[Ferien]

If you're comfortable with it and have a spare 4GB key, I'd suggest using a USB drive to install 7 instead of a disc. Also, 7 has a TON of drivers already built in, so don't panic too much about it.

Like they said above, putting together a PC is pretty simple once you actually take a look at the parts. Parts don't fit into places they don't belong, so the only part that gets a little complicated is connecting the case wires to the mobo. Every case and mobo has instructions for that though, and if that fails, the jumper functions are usually etched onto the mobo itself too. Besides that, it's all about maneuvering the power cables around the parts.

Oh, and make sure your CPU fan and power supply fit inside your case. I've had a build where I didn't pay attention to the size of the PSU and it didn't screw in right, and my brother couldn't close his case on his first one because the fan stuck out too far.

[Omnipotent]

If you're comfortable with it and have a spare 4GB key, I'd suggest using a USB drive to install 7 instead of a disc. Also, 7 has a TON of drivers already built in, so don't panic too much about it.

Like they said above, putting together a PC is pretty simple once you actually take a look at the parts. Parts don't fit into places they don't belong, so the only part that gets a little complicated is connecting the case wires to the mobo. Every case and mobo has instructions for that though, and if that fails, the jumper functions are usually etched onto the mobo itself too. Besides that, it's all about maneuvering the power cables around the parts.

Oh, and make sure your CPU fan and power supply fit inside your case. I've had a build where I didn't pay attention to the size of the PSU and it didn't screw in right, and my brother couldn't close his case on his first one because the fan stuck out too far.

Well, the download is only an upgrade from an existing OS, Just got the email. So i will need to purchase W7.... added +150. Back to basically buying a pre-built PC.....fml

[Ferien]

If you have a copy of the RC you can pop the upgrade on top of that. It's what I did. There are specific instructions for it though, you need to modify one of the config files to get it to allow you to do it.

It's the first half of these instructions: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/3075/...s-7-rc-to-rtm/
Instructions for creating a bootable USB key are here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/m.../dd535816.aspx

If you need a copy of or a reg code for the RC, let me know, I should have an extra.

[SaviorSelf]

Well, the download is only an upgrade from an existing OS, Just got the email. So i will need to purchase W7.... added +150. Back to basically buying a pre-built PC.....fml

Trying to find a post for you that Sonomaa made iirc. W7 for students for 30 bucks I believe.

Edit: Here you go.
http://www.win741.com/

As for a build, this is what I'm currently looking at after comparing prices at tigerdirect, newegg, and microcenter. I lucked out with the microcenter only being 20 minutes or so from where I live. All in all I think this CPU will perform very well for gaming. The case is personal preference, but having so many fans on top of looking awesome works for me. The motherboard only has 3 slots for RAM which was disappointing. I believe the RAM was OCZ gold. My build was opting for a 64 GB SSD for the OS and programs, but was unsure how that would work out. SSD was removed from this list for price sake (although a 64GB SSD was on newegg for $150). You could easily scale back on the Case/Mobo if you really wanted to.

EVGA 1366 Intel X58 Motherboard - TigerDirect - $220
CoolerMaster HAF 932 Case - Newegg - $140 (Fixed, said 922 originally but intended the full 932.)
i7 920 CPU - Microcenter - $200
XFX/Sapphire (either) Radeon 5770 HD - Newegg - $180
6GB 240-pin DDR3 1600 - Microcenter - $170
WD 500 GB Internal HDD - Newegg - $55
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - Microcenter - $35
700W OCZ Tech PSU - Microcenter - $90

Total: $1180

Compared to Olo401's post which I mostly agree on. I'm sure it could run on a 550W, but I'm safe facing for any future upgrades that might be more demanding. 1TB isn't exactly needed; I'm sure you'll live with just 500GB. The reviews on the CPU cooler I listed are great from what I've read, and it's $20 cheaper. The case he listed is fine too, again just personal preference for the HAF 932.

[geno]

Any particular reason you'd go for the HAF 922 instead of the 932? I love my 932, but I've always had a penchant for full cases. Its got a fantastic prices on newegg right now, $140 w/ free shipping.

[Olo401]

I think that's the only real difference.. the 932 is a full tower beast and the 922 is a slightly less beastly mid-tower, so yeah it comes down to personal preference and if you have a space tall enough to fit!

[geno]

Well, the cooling on the 932 is pretty sick.. 3x 230mm fans (front, side, top) plus the 120mm back. Thats definitely better than the 922. Space is an issue though and I have to admit, the 932 is fucking huge. I remember when I unboxed it, it could eat my previous full tower alive which is saying a lot, lol. Its heavy with nothing in it, lol.

[Cephius]

Trying to find a post for you that Sonomaa made iirc. W7 for students for 30 bucks I believe.

Edit: Here you go.
http://www.win741.com/

As for a build, this is what I'm currently looking at after comparing prices at tigerdirect, newegg, and microcenter. I lucked out with the microcenter only being 20 minutes or so from where I live. All in all I think this CPU will perform very well for gaming. The case is personal preference, but having so many fans on top of looking awesome works for me. The motherboard only has 3 slots for RAM which was disappointing. I believe the RAM was OCZ gold. My build was opting for a 64 GB SSD for the OS and programs, but was unsure how that would work out. SSD was removed from this list for price sake (although a 64GB SSD was on newegg for $150). You could easily scale back on the Case/Mobo if you really wanted to.

EVGA 1366 Intel X58 Motherboard - TigerDirect - $220
CoolerMaster HAF 922 Case - Newegg - $140
i7 920 CPU - Microcenter - $200
XFX/Sapphire (either) Radeon 5770 HD - Newegg - $180
6GB 240-pin DDR3 1600 - Microcenter - $170
WD 500 GB Internal HDD - Newegg - $55
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - Microcenter - $35
700W OCZ Tech PSU - Microcenter - $90

Total: $1180

Compared to Olo401's post which I mostly agree on. I'm sure it could run on a 550W, but I'm safe facing for any future upgrades that might be more demanding. 1TB isn't exactly needed; I'm sure you'll live with just 500GB. The reviews on the CPU cooler I listed are great from what I've read, and it's $20 cheaper. The case he listed is fine too, again just personal preference for the HAF 932.

If you get the full tower make sure that the cables on the power supply are long enough to reach the plugs on the motherboard... sometimes this can be a problem especially if you're anal about cable management (and you should be). I also wouldn't bother yet with a SSD, the good ones are all way too expensive. The price will come down a lot in 2010.

[Kurp]

6GB 240-pin DDR3 1600 - Microcenter - $170

OCZ DDR3 1600 is $120 after ($30) MIR on Newegg now.

The motherboard only has 3 slots for RAM which was disappointing.

I don't think EVGA makes a 1366 motherboard with three slots for RAM. I think it's mostly Foxconn that does that.

[SaviorSelf]

Oops, just saw the typo. I meant the 932, I have a full case now with my current computer and space isn't an issue for me. <3 the 932.

Just realized I'm also blind, the mobo I was looking at has 6 RAM slots, not 3. It looked like 3 until I zoomed in.

If the prices were similar/close to newegg or TD, I went with microcenter. That way if there are any problems, I can bring it back to the store personally without having to ship something out and wait for them to replace something.

[fishstix]

<3 microcenter

I got a few free harddrive back in the day from them

[CoronA1979]

I couldn't even tell you how much I have dumped into my PC. Somewhere along the lines I broke my FF addiction and apparently passed it on to building my PC up. That's okay though because around the same time I let the FF addiction go I also let the cigarette smoking addiction go, lol.. It's amazing how much I spent on cigarettes...

If I had to guess I would say I have spent between 3,000-3,500.. Granted, that's monitor and all of the mistakes/new parts I bought.

EVGA x58 MOBO
I7 920 (Currently @ 4.2GHz)
Antec 1200 (I don't like it...)
Antec 850w Modular PSU
GTX 275 x2
Corsair Dominators 6GB Triple Channel @ 7-7-7-20
Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Heatsink with 3x Fans on it
120gb OCZ Agility SSD
2x 500gb Seagate .12's HDD's in RAID0
1x 1TB Seagate .12 HDD
Win 7 Ultimate

Blah, I am tired of listing stuff... There's more but I will say an SSD was probably the best investment so far for me. Expensive, but worth it...

The sad part? I am considering a new PSU, Case, and watercooling. Do I need it? No >.> No, I really don't as my GPU's never see 70c and my CPU and max load for over an hour stress testing it @ 4.2GHz maxes out @ 78c.

I had never built a PC before this but the internet is a large place my friend and even myself figured it all out. It's really easy but beware if you build one you are very likely to end up like me.

Addicted!

[Doleman]

I couldn't even tell you how much I have dumped into my PC. Somewhere along the lines I broke my FF addiction and apparently passed it on to building my PC up. That's okay though because around the same time I let the FF addiction go I also let the cigarette smoking addiction go, lol.. It's amazing how much I spent on cigarettes...

If I had to guess I would say I have spent between 3,000-3,500.. Granted, that's monitor and all of the mistakes/new parts I bought.

EVGA x58 MOBO
I7 920 (Currently @ 4.2GHz)
Antec 1200 (I don't like it...)
Antec 850w Modular PSU
GTX 275 x2
Corsair Dominators 6GB Triple Channel @ 7-7-7-20
Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Heatsink with 3x Fans on it
120gb OCZ Agility SSD
2x 500gb Seagate .12's HDD's in RAID0
1x 1TB Seagate .12 HDD
Win 7 Ultimate

Blah, I am tired of listing stuff... There's more but I will say an SSD was probably the best investment so far for me. Expensive, but worth it...

The sad part? I am considering a new PSU, Case, and watercooling. Do I need it? No >.> No, I really don't as my GPU's never see 70c and my CPU and max load for over an hour stress testing it @ 4.2GHz maxes out @ 78c.

I had never built a PC before this but the internet is a large place my friend and even myself figured it all out. It's really easy but beware if you build one you are very likely to end up like me.

Addicted!

What are you playing now since you quit FFXI?