Good rig to buy???

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aqil02

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Erm guys this is my first time building a computer
so im not reali experienced
so im looking for a rig which can actually play team fortress 2 or possibly far cry 2 (prefably med/high settings)
ive already decided on some stuff such as:
Cd-rom drive:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031
Hard drive(if u find cheaper tell me):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136195
Mouse(hehe no extra):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826193005
Keyboard(same):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109019
casing:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164135
Ram(If cheaper tell me):http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141300
Psu:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170016
now the onli things i nid are
1.Motheboard
2.Cpu
3.Graphic card
and if im missing anything tell me
i have a budget of 450dollars
 
Are you dead set on that budget? If so, you probably won't be able to get the performance you want out of it.

These are the recommended specs for Far Cry 2.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Family, AMD 64 X2 5200+, AMD Phenom or better
RAM: 2 GB
Video card: NVidia 8600 GTS or better, ATI X1900 or better, 512 Mb of graphic memory
Sound: 5.1 sound card recommended
Supported Video cards:
NVidia 6800, NVidia 7000 series, 8000 series, 9000 series, 200 series. 8800M and 8700M

There are a lot of factors you have to take into consideration. I would highly recommend that you build something that will last at least a couple years...and with a 450 dollar budget that will be difficult.

When I built my system I didn't know much about the process (as i'm guessing you do not either) so I'd do a little homework before you dive in. There is a tutorial in this section written by ASUS that is a great start. Take a look at Tom's Hardware for hardware reviews and FPS reports.

I'm assuming some more knowledgeable members will chime in but that is my .02 cents.

Good luck.
 
hmm wait your geforce 8800gts can use the 350w psu????!!!
i was thinking of buying a psu with more voltage jus incase my graphics blow up or sumthing
sheez.....
 
I use a 500 watt since you are powering your video card, harddrives, motherboard, etc....
 
Integrated graphics chip is not a great idea.
 
My advice is: don't go cheap. Your going for cheap RAM which may mean it's defective or runs slow. Your getting a cheap case which probably doesn't stay cool or hold a DX10 video card. Now you are probably saying "I don't have much money". I spent $1, 600 which should have been $1, 500 and I built my computer in 2007. It still runs everything maxed out and I forsee it running games maxed out well into the next decade. If you buy cheap, you get cheap performance and most likely will cost you more in the long run.

It's kind of like buying cheap tools. Yeah Craftsman gets the job done and it's cheap but Snap-On tools will probably last forever and meanwhile your Craftsman tools keep on breaking.

Here is my setup. Additionally, what you buy depends upon overclocking which not only gives you more bang for your buck, your computer will last better in the long run. Adding up what I'm listing is around $833 without an Operating System, mouse/keyboard/hard drive.

The monitor try and get a 22" widescreen LCD (again not cheap brands, doesn't have to be SONY though). I kept the same keyboard/mouse and hard drive. You want to get Windows 7 as well. For a complete look at my system, look here: http://www.xfire.com/profile/hool10/
 
If you are a gamer then spend more on the GPU (graphics card) than the CPU.

500 Watts is plenty of power for a typical gamer system, even with a high end GPU. Going SLI or Crossfire is another matter (2 graphic cards in 1 system).
That's because most systems will only use a little more than 200 watts when in heavy use. When under full load you want it a little more than half of the PSU's max watts. (They perform the best from about 35% to 65% usage.)
 
TDP is manly looked at by companies who make coolers and the OEMs. It doesn't show how much power it uses under games or other kinds of loads since it is higher (gaming etc doesn't use all transistors in a chip at the same time).

Thermal design power (TDP) for AMD is the MAX heat that the cooler needs to dissipate. AMD used to give a series of CPUs the TDP of the highest CPU in the line but I think they do it per CPU now. (Intel's TDP rating is something like the average heat under use, not MAX so they are different from AMD's)
 
TDP = advertised power consumption in watts?

So what you are saying is that I cannot compare the advertised power consumption between AMD and Intel CPUs?

Just wondering, because part of the interest I have in the Intel Core Duo Quad over the Phenom II x4 is that the Intel chip uses almost half the power (advertised as such, anyway).
 
oops i didnt see the pci express 2.0x16 XD
so maybe ill spend a little more money
what about this card?:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500124
seems great except that would probably kill my budget
my budget is 450 cos my uncle spending on me :D
but maybe ill raise it to 500
thats the max my uncle will give me
if u guys can find me a cheap maybe lg flatron like the one im using right now,
tell me
and wat the heck is a heatsink????
but i wont be overclocking or anything(if i would overclock,i would overclock maybe a gma 950 or something as it can actually withstand higher clocks with gma booster)
so ill stick with my case
and hool10 erm i wouldnt use that mobo cos
1.doesnt have pci express 2.0
2.doesnt even have integrated graphics????(jus in case my card blows up or sumthing :D)
and of course i wont be using sli so ill be sticking with my psu
and ill use that ram
 
Forty? Break your budget?

I'm buying a new PSU and graphics card right now, and it's total going to come to around half of your budget. But, to each their own I suppose.

You really don't need integrated graphics at all, as the chances of your card blowing up are rather slim if you take care of it. And if it blows up, well, you won't be able to play any good games anyway.
 
You're thinking of buying a complete new pc with a 9400GT if you already have a decent dualcore PC with only integrated graphics(like you said in your other threads)??
 
i wan a new com cos im sick of sharing this damnit com with my bro
its annoying
thats why and also dinnesch how much is your whole computer?
looks ultra high end
 
VirusType2 said:
So what you are saying is that I cannot compare the advertised power consumption between AMD and Intel CPUs?
Click to expand...
Right, that is not an accurate comparison. You really should just look at benchmarks showing power consumption under load (usually they use a 3d rendering benchmark to stress the CPU). That is accurate for both AMD and Intel CPUs since they are running the same app and the test is reporting the same kind of measurement (watts). When benchmarked they are both reporting watts under the same type of work load, one is not average and the other is not max.

Check out the 3nd graph.
The AMD X4 955 is rated for 125W TDP yet used less power.
The Intel Q9550 is rated for 95W TDP but it consumed more power than the AMD.

I'm not saying one is better than the other performance wise. And Intel may very well do better at performance/watt. I'm just showing their TDP numbers cannot be compared since they measure it differently. But just look at benchmarks of power consumption if you want to cross compare.
 
ok back to the rig im buying
who cares whos better?
we win cos we get better power everyday
intel is pushing amd to do better processors
and amd is pushing intel to better processors
so at the end of the day we win :D
 
aqil02 said:
thats why and also dinnesch how much is your whole computer?
looks ultra high end
Click to expand...


My PC was euro 900,-(around $1100?) but I bought the expensive CPU with the future in mind(so if I want a new video card in 2-4 years, my CPU won't bottleneck it).
If you're not a graphics whore planning on playing everything on maximum settings on 1080p, you won't need a very expensive PC anyway :)

http://halflife2.net/forums/showpost.php?p=3058899&postcount=2 < a PC i recommended someone else.(not 100% sure if everything works properly together, but just to give you a idea)
 
What PC or parts are you using now? What resolution do you play at and what size is your monitor?

You won't be able to do anything with that power supply. 480watts is fine but it has most of it's power on the +3.3v and +5v rails. It only has 16amps on the +12v rail which is not enough. 25 amps might work but most good PSUs in the 450-500watt range have 30 amps or more. The +12 voltage is where most of the parts today get their power from instead of the +3.3v and +5v rails.

Also, the brand is a cheap one when it comes to power supplies so it probably won't last very long or be that stable. Cheap power supplies are more likely to go out with fireworks if they do die prematurely and take some of your other parts with it.
Some solid brands are PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, Corsair, Enermax.
Here is a detailed list. Check out Tier 1-3. Below that and you start getting the bad models.
 
Asus said:
What PC or parts are you using now? What resolution do you play at and what size is your monitor?

You won't be able to do anything with that power supply. 480watts is fine but it has most of it's power on the +3.3v and +5v rails. It only has 16amps on the +12v rail which is not enough. 25 amps might work but most good PSUs in the 450-500watt range have 30 amps or more. The +12 voltage is where most of the parts today get their power from instead of the +3.3v and +5v rails.

Also, the brand is a cheap one when it comes to power supplies so it probably won't last very long or be that stable. Cheap power supplies are more likely to go out with fireworks if they do die prematurely and take some of your other parts with it.
Some solid brands are PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, Corsair, Enermax.
Here is a detailed list. Check out Tier 1-3. Below that and you start getting the bad models.
Click to expand...

I must admit that I don't understand the first part, I've been trying to understand electricity for very long but still fail :(

Like I said in the post I recommended getting a better quality PSU, but that will be at the cost of other parts/budget. Well like I said before, I don't really understand the electricity thing so I'll shut up.
 
Actually that PSU was in his original post. I was not really looking at the build in the screenshot. But now that I look at picture, I would think it has the same unit since it is the same brand. In your own post you linked to, you too recommend getting a better PSU. :p

Basically the PSU lowers the voltage from the wall (115v or 230v depending on country) into 3 different levels that the parts can be designed to use. 3.3 volts, 5v and 12v. It used to be that most of the CPU and motherboard parts did not get their power at 12volts but the other 2. Mostly hard drives and other parts that used the 4 pin molex plugs just used the 12v rail. But now it seems that is the most heavy hit rail. So if you get a PSU with an old design (low 12v but high on the others) your PC will probably crash since the cpu,mobo, and GPU are not getting enough power (from the +12v). So it's a different balance of the same total power.

Here are some parts that might be in your budget. I'm putting the lower cost parts first since you have a low budget. But I would highly recommend the alternative parts since they will perform better and won't really slow down with future games. And I tried to link to Far Cry 2 benchmarks since that is the game you mentioned.

Lowest price: $410 ($375 after MIR)
Better performance parts: $494 ($474 after MIR)

Add $90 for the stuff you already picked out. Keyboard, mouse etc. Although I highly recommend picking a different case that would be easier to work with and a better mouse.

edit:
How about a MX518.
Or Deathadder.
I think most people say the MX518 feels better if your the kind of person who palms your mouse while the Deathadder feels better if your palm is off the mouse and you grip it with your fingers. I could be mistaken, going from memory. I have a MX518 and love it.
Here is a chart showing how fast different models can be moved and still track. Most people don't move their mouse faster than 2m/s (if you play with high sensitivity then you definitely won't need to move your mouse that quick).

The case you picked is $20 but shipping is probably also $20 (20+20=$40). Get a better case ($40?) with free shipping and it should be similar in price to your pick.
Maybe like this Cooler Master $65 ($40 w/MIR).
Or an Antec Three Hundred Illusion $50
Or a Cooler Master Elite 335 $30 and a 2nd 120mm fan $10.
Notice I'm picking cases with 120mm fans and not 80mm. Lot more air flow even though they spin slower (less noise).
 
Asus's slightly higher spec machine of the two looks perfect for someone looking for a computer on a budget, with potential for future expansion.
 
well i want to play far cry 2 at maybe medium if possible or even high :D
and also i want to max out everything on team fortress 2 (anti-aliasing and aniostopic filtering on if possible and aniostropic at at least x4 :D)
and the specs to still be able to play pristontale(a mmorts type game)
oh and i want to play these games at my native resolution maybe 1280x1024 (if higher ill let u know)
 
You can do Far Cry 2 at medium with the PC above but framerate might dip too much with the lower priced configuration (only dual core, graphics not as fast). I had a link to some benchmarks above. With a fast quad core CPU, some of those GPUs were doing 50 fps average. Some of the better GPUs (GTX 260) would probably dip to 30 in some scenes from what I've read on other forums.

1280x1024 is a good resolution. You won't be needing Crossfire or SLI any time soon.
 
I would have thought that at that resolution the slightly higher spec of the 2 configurations would actually run Far Cry 2 at above medium settings, not far off of max. With the odd framerate dip i'm sure, but pretty well i'd have thought. and TF2 won't be a problem at all.
 
and ive learned 1 thing
NEVER TRUST INTELS GMA!!!!!
they said i could play fc2 on my g31/g33 chipset
but i tried yesterday and it stuck at the splash screen saying far cry 2 with a few bullets ans stuff
 
correct. Don't use Intel graphics for graphics.
Use them for viewing spreadsheets and webpages. :p
 
the day intel finally creates a good integrated graphics is the day i grow wings and fly :D
and also ive decided to just buy a graphic card for my existing system
but one thing is,my dad bought this computer for about 300-400 dollars
plus maybe a 9500gt that would be 500 dollars......
but anyway some people at 9xx gaming community said they are gonna create modded drivers :D
 
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