Complete newbie wanting to build a budget gaming rig

[zaphthegreat]

Good luck and let us know what you finally decide.

 

Oh - by the way. The LianLi Lancool K62 is a very large and roomy mid-tower cae

 

Unless you need to stuff dual 120x2 radiators, two or three water pumps, 10 hard drives, three or four video cards etc. into your case - the K62 is adequate for any enthusiast build. It is priced right, cooling is good but not outstanding. It is a pretty quiet case. Interior is already finished in black and the tool-less design actually works. It's a great case to work in and for me a pleasure to look at. You can also buy accessories or mod to your heart's content. You won't be disappointed in the case I promise.

 

And...

 

For cases, I'd recommend this one

 

COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced

 

 

Well built, fantastic cable mamagement and designed for ease of use and easy to get to parts. On top of that, it has a SATA drive dock on the top! Easily the best case in the $100 range in my opinion

 

Thanks a lot to both of you. This clears things up. Now it does raise one more question: if we assume that I don't care about looks, but want to get the most cooling I can possibly get at my price range while keeping the case reasonably large, would your recommendations remain the same?

 

Now on a slightly different note, while running price comparisons with other sites for parts, I came across a PC that has similar specs to my build, but seems to run much cheaper than anything I could build. The case looks cheap and poorly ventilated and I think they used cheap components for it in general. That said, it is cheap:

 

http://pccyber.com/?v=Product&i=SYS-AMD-E-GAMER

 

They also have an Intel i5 model for a couple of hundred bucks more, but still considerably cheaper than my build:

 

http://pccyber.com/?v=Product&i=SYS-INTEL-E-GAMER

 

Is this a case of "you get what you pay for", or did I magically find a sweet deal and should jump on it right away?

 

It's worth mentioning that this place seems to have better prices on parts than newegg.ca, but they don't seem to have quite as broad a selection. On the other hand, they have a retail outlet right here in Montreal, so I think I might go check them out this week-end.

 

I'd move that Athlon to a Phenom if you can afford it

 

I'd have to cut costs on other components. From what I can see, Phenom will cost about 90 bucks more than Athlon.

 

Is the difference in performance considerable?

[suedenim]

What monitor resolution are you currently using and do you plan to upgrade it anytime soon as this will influence the GPU and CPU options

 

Better HDD (slightly): Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

[zaphthegreat]

What monitor resolution are you currently using and do you plan to upgrade it anytime soon as this will influence the GPU and CPU options

 

Better HDD (slightly): Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

 

I'm not at home right now, but off the top of my head, I think the monitor I'm currently using runs at 1680 by 1050. However, I do plan on upgrading it some time in the near(ish) future.

 

 

Thanks for the HDD advice! I'd seen it, but mine was a bit cheaper at the time. Now, they're the same price! I added it to my wish list and will probably get it unless the price changes again.

[wevsspot]

That is a good price on the pre-built that you found. But I would immediately swap out the the generic 450W power supply for something a bit more capable and from a brand name that we know and trust (i.e. Corsair, Antec, OCZ etc.)

 

If absolute cooling performance is a serious consideration then you should take a look at the Antec 900 or 902. The CM suggested by Rok would also be a good choice. Since I'm on water I don't necessarily need the ultimate case cooling performance - and that landed the K62 on my buy list because I loved the appearance, it is very functional and everyone that had one was raving about it. It's a decision I'm glad that I made.

 

If you can buy the WD 640Gb Black for the same price as the Blue - then definitely go with the Black.

 

Good luck.

[zaphthegreat]

That is a good price on the pre-built that you found. But I would immediately swap out the the generic 450W power supply for something a bit more capable and from a brand name that we know and trust (i.e. Corsair, Antec, OCZ etc.)

 

If absolute cooling performance is a serious consideration then you should take a look at the Antec 900 or 902. The CM suggested by Rok would also be a good choice. Since I'm on water I don't necessarily need the ultimate case cooling performance - and that landed the K62 on my buy list because I loved the appearance, it is very functional and everyone that had one was raving about it. It's a decision I'm glad that I made.

 

If you can buy the WD 640Gb Black for the same price as the Blue - then definitely go with the Black.

 

Good luck.

 

I'm dropping by that store this weekend. I'll have a look at that pre-built and will definitely change the PSU if I get it, but that case scares me.

 

Thanks for the tip on the cooling cases. I'll have a look at those Antec cases and will take a closer look at the Cooler Master Rok suggested. Since its price fits right into my budget, it's getting pretty strong consideration. My computer room tends to get a bit warm. Since we moved to our newish place, I didn't bother putting the window AC unit back up, because the wife tends to complain about it anyway. As a result, I need my computers to get every edge they can get when it comes to beating the heat. I think I'll just have to bite the bullet and reinstall that AC, but I might as well cover my bases.

 

Thanks again for all the advice. As advertised, the people on this board are very helpful!

[joel.monteiro]

acc is like a feature that unlocks the potential of ur cpu like i think u can unlock the L3 6 MB Cache.

[zaphthegreat]

Hi again.

 

My purchase got postponed for a few days, due to my new love affair with Red Dead Redemption. However, I'm now back on this project and about an inch away from closing the deal.

 

That said, I lost the deal on the Antec Nine Hundred and Two case and it went up by 50$. So, I started looking around at other sites. I've found a deal on another site that's overall better for me right now. Most items are slightly cheaper and the shipping is free on large(ish) orders. However, due to a slightly more limited inventory, I had to make a couple of small substitutions, so I thought I'd seek advice here. The GPU is the same, but another brand, whereas the PSU is the same brand, but slightly different:

 

GPU:

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/224530/HD577XZNFC/XFX/

 

PSU:

http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/177363/EA650/ANTEC/

 

Do either of these two items set off alarm bells for anyone?

 

Thanks again.

[zaphthegreat]

Impatience got the best of me.

 

 

Antec Nine Hundred Two Mid Tower Gamer Case 902 ATX 9 Drive Bay No PS Top USB2.0 eSATA Audio

 

AMD Athlon II X4 630 Quad Core Processor Socket AM3 2.8GHZ 2MB Cache 95W Retail Box

 

Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H 890GX AM3 ATX DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI GBLAN CrossFireX Motherboard

 

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN SATA Hard Drive OEM 5YR Mfg Warranty

 

Antec Earthwatts 650W Power Supply ATX12V V2.2 EPS12V Active PFC 80PLUS 120MM Fan

 

XFX Radeon HD 5770 850MHZ 1GB 4.8GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card

 

ASUS DRW-24B1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer Black Retail Box

 

G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Core i5 1.5V Memory Kit

 

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM

 

Grand total after tax and (free) shipping: $986.54 Canadian.

 

I'm happy.

[zaphthegreat]

Ack! Help!

 

I've built the computer. I powered it up and all the LEDs and fans came on, including the CPU fan. However, nothing showed up on the monitor. I tried it at first with the discrete GPU, and then I removed it and tried a direct connection to the on-board GPU. I tried it in DVI and VGA, on two different monitors. I'm getting worried about shutting this machine down over and over again like this.

 

What could cause this?

 

One thing I should point out, most articles I've looked at about building computers mention a 4-pin CPU plug. I've found the CPU fan plug (as evidenced by the fact that it spins), but I saw nothing like a connector for a 4 pin CPU plug on the motherboard. The manual doesn't seem to mention one either, unless I'm completely blind and/or stupid.

 

Otherwise, I have no idea.

 

Thanks for any help.

[Deathmineral]

 

I'm guessing you mean this kind of connector?

 

It looks like it's a little hidden by the heatsink to the left of your cpu slot, maybe that's why you can't see it?

[zaphthegreat]

 

I'm guessing you mean this kind of connector?

 

It looks like it's a little hidden by the heatsink to the left of your cpu slot, maybe that's why you can't see it?

I don't have the Asus.

 

I finally got the Gigabyte one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128435&Tpk=Gigabyte%20890GPA-UD3H%20890GX

[CowKing]

that 890GPA-UD3H has an 8-pin EPS power connector, and any power supply should have one