Building a new Gaming Computer

[ashman12]

Ok so as the title says, im building a new gaming computer.


I read good reviews about the Cyberpower Black Pearl gaming PC and so decided to go to their website to see how much they where selling for. Turns out i get to choose what parts where in it.


This is everything that i have chosen (and some things that come standard with it).

Code: [Select]



BLUETOOTH:None


CARE1:Professional Wiring for All WIRING Inside The System Chassis - Minimize Cable Exposure, Maximize Airflow in Your System [+19]


CASE:Azza Orion Gaming Mid-Tower Case with See-Thru Side Panel [-65] (Black with Red Lightning)




CD:24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)


CD2:None


CPU:Intel® Core™ i7-960 3.20 GHz 8M Intel Smart Cache LGA1366


CS_FAN:Default case fans


FA_HDD:None


FAN:XtremeGear Ultra Triple Heatpipes Cool Copper Heatsink CPU Cooling Fan (Extreme Silent at 20dBA & Overclock Proof) [-11]


FLASHMEDIA:INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)


FREEBIE_CU1:FREE! Killer Xeno Pro Gigabit High Speed Online Gaming PCI Network Interface Card [+0]


FREEBIE_HD:None


FREEBIE_VC:FREE Game - Dungeon Siege 3 [+0]


3D_GLASSES:None


HDD:1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)


HDD2:1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+59] (Single Hard Drive)


HEADSET1:Connectland™ Stereo Headphone with Microphone [+8]


IEEE_CARD:None


KEYBOARD:Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard


MEMORY:12GB (2GBx6) DDR3/1600MHz Triple Channel Memory Module (Kingston HyperX)


MONITOR:None


MONITOR2:None


MONITOR3:None


MOPAD1:Razer Goliathus Fragged Omega Mouse Pad - Speed [+13]


MOTHERBOARD:(2-Way SLI Support) Asus Sabertooth X58 Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3 FCLGA1366 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III, SATA-II RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 1 PCI [+21]


MOUSE:XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse


MULTIVIEW:Xtreme Performance in SLI/CrossFireX Gaming Mode Supports Single Monitor [+0]


NCSW:None


NETWORK:Onboard Gigabit LAN Network


OS:None - FORMAT HARD DRIVE ONLY [-83]


OVERCLOCK:No Overclocking


POWERSUPPLY:800 Watts - XtremeGear Gaming Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready


RUSH:NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS


SERVICE:STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT


SOUND:HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO


SPEAKERS:None


TEMP:None


TVRC:None


USB:Built-in USB 2.0 Ports


USBFLASH:None


USBHD:None


USBX:None


VC_PHYSX:None


VIDEO:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2GB 16X PCIe Video Card [-6] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5])


VIDEO2:NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+156] (EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5])


VIDEO3:None


WNC:None




______________________________________________________________________
Note:
Final Price = $1290


Final Price = £802.65


What im wanting though, is for someone to tell me, what they think, the best game it will run, what settings and how well it will run it.

[Sage]

woah, that's an amazing deal. oh wait it's a desktop... i've been too concentrated on lap top prices xD

that will run pretty much whatever you want.

[COOLRUNNER87]

That is a decent price, BUT you may want to look at getting the same graphics card for both slots, since they're not quite exactly the same (one is 1GB of Video RAM, the other is 2GB). I'm not sure if that will screw up your SLI, but it just may.

[xanosz]

Would it be cheaper to get 1 2tb Hard drive opposed to 2 1tb hard drives?

[ashman12]

Yea It was the only GTX 550 options available.

I think I'm just going to stick with the single card though instead of running two and may buy a monitor instead.

One card should do the job and I need a new monitor anyway.

@Xanosz, I don't think it had a 2TB option.

Besides, I'm going to have 1 HDD for all my gaming stuff, and the other for all my non-gaming stuff.

[Noodle]

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CyberPower_Black_Pearl/

I assume that's the computer you're looking at.  Twelve hundred bucks is a hefty price tag, even for a computer that good.

Trust me, if you take the time to build your own computer (not order it, I mean actually order the separate parts and put it together yourself) then you could save a lot of money and still get an equally as satisfying computer.

[COOLRUNNER87]

Would it be cheaper to get 1 2tb Hard drive opposed to 2 1tb hard drives?

It may be cheaper, but if Ashman looked into RAID 1, it could help him out exponentially especially if one of the hard drives decides to break down.

Also, a quick synopsis of RAID 1:
RAID 1 copies all information from one hard drive to another. If one of the hard drives malfunctions and breaks down, the system would be at no appreciable loss since all the information that is stored on the hard drives are exactly the same.

Also, Noodle is right. You can put together a machine that can absolutely knock the socks off of the base configuration for cheaper than what they are offering. I'll put together something and show it to you guys in the morning just for a demonstration.

[LiNcK]

Would it be cheaper to get 1 2tb Hard drive opposed to 2 1tb hard drives?

It may be cheaper, but if Ashman looked into RAID 1, it could help him out exponentially especially if one of the hard drives decides to break down.

Also, a quick synopsis of RAID 1:
RAID 1 copies all information from one hard drive to another. If one of the hard drives malfunctions and breaks down, the system would be at no appreciable loss since all the information that is stored on the hard drives are exactly the same.

Also, Noodle is right. You can put together a machine that can absolutely knock the socks off of the base configuration for cheaper than what they are offering. I'll put together something and show it to you guys in the morning just for a demonstration.

Its a desktop, HDDs dont break down unless you really do something odd with your PC. That problem could be there with a laptop that gets moved around alot, But for a HDD to get damaged on a desktop you either gotta drop it hard or move it alot whiel its on (Wich nobody does?)
If you want speed, Go with a SSD (Get a 30/60GB SSD to install your Windows & A 1/2TB 7200/10000 RPM HDD for your personal files)
A HDD is the slowest & Only mechanical part of a PC, With an SSD that bottleneck is gone. Youll boot up your PC in less than 15 secs & Your OS will run faster altogether.
The 1/2 TB HDD is to save your personal files (Redirect Documents, Download & Everything to that HDD). Only keep the SSD for your Windows & Things you installed (Program Files)
That way you get SSD power but not THAT extremely expensive, SSDs are very expensive so if you dont wanna spend thousands you gotta get a small one :P

Anyways, I would recommend buying pieces 1 by 1, You can try Newegg.com, Thats the best place to check for pieces.
You can get the same pieces of that PC but ALOT cheaper (I bought an HP for $1000, Just looked at Newegg for every piece & It summed up $600)
You can also customize it completely (In my opinion, Those motherboards are too much really, I dont think youll need 7.1 Sound & Didnt check more but still)

If youre gonna get a 550 Ti it would be ALOT better to get a 560 Ti (I was thinking of a 550 Ti myself, But bought a 560 Ti later... It IS $100 more though)
Also, You should buy ones with 2 fans (Usually the OCed ones, Theyre like $15 more?)

But what Im tellign you is if you buy every piece one by one. Youre GUARANTEED to buy the same build but cheaper, Or spend the same ammount of money & Get a (Considerably) better PC.

[ashman12]

I had been thinking of getting a SSD Drive (This in specific :Crucial RealSSD 128 GB Internal hard drive) but i was unsure about something.
Seeing as im going to be playing a bunch of different games (Hence the 1/2 TB HDD to store them) would i be able to load up the SSD and then go onto the 1TB HDD through My Computer and load up the games from the program files of the other HDD?

Also would having an Solid State Drive mean that games would run slightly quicker (Like how RAM does) or does it just speed up the OS?This is the setup im now looking at. Less RAM, only one 550TI but it comes with a monitor + mouse/keyboard/speakers set. And its £100 cheaper.

Code: [Select]

Veloce i5-2500 Package (veloce2500p)

CPU:2065 - Intel Core i5 2500CPU
Cooler:3013 - NEW! Corsair H60 Water Cooler
Operating System:11001 - No Operating System - I will install my own
Motherboard:4105 - NEW! Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3-B3
Memory:5028 - 4GB DDR3 1333mhz (2x 2GB)
Hard Drives:6006 - 1TB S-ATAII 3.0Gb/s
Optical Drive:7003 - 22x DVD±RW DL S-ATA
Graphics card:8063 - NEW! NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB
Sound card:10001 - Onboard 7.1 Audio
Keyboard and mouse:14001 - Keyboard, mouse and speakers
Monitors:15002 - 22" Widescreen LCD
Case:17024 - Xigmatek Asgard
PSU:18034 - 700W Xigmatek
Warranty:1003 - 3 Year Platinum Warranty

P.S, If this is messed up, i don't know what's causing it.

[LiNcK]

Ofcourse, I have 2 300GB HDDs.
One has my OS & The other has my Downloads folder (Like 200GB in Game ISOs)

What I did is just redirect the Downloads folder in Windows to go to D:\Downloads isntead of C:\Downloads, Then I deleted C:\Downloads
You could do that with Documents, Pics, Music & Those things so it doesnt use so much space in you SSD if youre worried about space.

Having your OS on a SSD would make everything run faster, The OS itself, Games & Everything you have installed.
A 128GB SSD is quite alot, I remember when 100GB+ SSDs costed around $500 & The 60GB ones costed 100-300, That was a few months ago, Thats why I recommended 60GB.

Anyways, If your PC is a prebuilt customized PC you shouldnt have a prob, Those peeps make sure the options they give you fit together :P
Also, That case doesnt convince me much (Never heard of it) A good one would be a Cooler Master case (HAF ones) or Thermaltake ones, Those are usually VERY good.
(I have a Thermaltake myself)

Also, Why dont you get an i7 2600? Its not so much more expensive & It surely is alot better :P

Water cooling is not really necesary, Specially with that CPU, Wich is not unlocked (Its now 2500K)
You have to think about what you need & What you dont, Do you need that monitor, Mouse & keyboard the 550 Ti comes with? Coz you could sacrifise those & Get 2 TIs. (Getting 1 better vid card is better than getting 2 less good vid cards though, Some games dont support SLI/Corssfire)
-

Everything is alot easier if youre building your own build, Besides the pieces themselves being cheaper you can cut out stuff you dont need & Use that money into other parts (Or just dont, Itll be even more cheap!)
For example: You could take out that water cooling, If youre nervous buy an aftermarket CPU cooling (Not water cooling though), Same with the Monitor if you already have one & So :P

[ashman12]

I may just do that then, take a 1 TB HDD and get a 60/128 GB SSD for running the OS and stuff off of.


The case itself doesn't really bother me, it was just the one that came standard im sure and so i just left it.


The reason i would be getting the i5 Is that (From what i've been told) if you buy and i5 you can then overclock it to the same performance as the i5 and it's cheaper (I know someone who knows how to overclock processors/GFX Cards without screwing it up).

The monitor is needed seeing as the one i have now is definitely on it's way out (Screen Flickers on and off, sometimes just turns off and wont go back on for a while) and the mouse is also needed (Goes through batteries like nothing else (The Good Duracell one's too) and half the time when i click it doesn't do anything) and the keyboard/speakers comes with the mouse (Its all standard and doesn't add any price, except the monitor).


Also about the cards, im really not too bothered about the dual cards, because im not going to be playing games like Crysis 2 (Which pushes the boundaries of computers) and so i won't need something amazing, besides this setup should play most games fine anyway, right?

[Serge]

Its a desktop, HDDs dont break down unless you really do something odd with your PC.

Rule of thumb from someone who is partially responsible for data integrity on ~200 Minecraft servers: never ever trust HDDs, always act as if they could all break down in 5 minutes. Have a solid backup plan, be it off-site backups over the internet, a RAID1 configuration, an auto-synced NAS or even burning to CDs. Never store your important data in just one place.

[LiNcK]

Its a desktop, HDDs dont break down unless you really do something odd with your PC.

Rule of thumb from someone who is partially responsible for data integrity on ~200 Minecraft servers: never ever trust HDDs, always act as if they could all break down in 5 minutes. Have a solid backup plan, be it off-site backups over the internet, a RAID1 configuration, an auto-synced NAS or even burning to CDs. Never store your important data in just one place.

Ive never had a HDD break on me, Nobody I know that owns a desktop has ever had a HDD break on em.
Even one of my brothers, That runs his PC with the case open & Just likes to mess around with the stuff inside ALOT, He has broken a motherboard & A GPU (Literally broken) but never a HDD.


The only person that I know of that has broken a HDD is my OTHER brother, But he owns a laptop & It lasted 3 years none the less :P
Anyways, I myself dont see a HUGE loss if my HDD breaks since I do not have important data (I have data important to me, But not something thatll ruin my life orso)
But I understand thw loss that someone would suffer if their HDD stops working & They have important work data orso, But its very unlikely judging from my own experiences.

I may just do that then, take a 1 TB HDD and get a 60/128 GB SSD for running the OS and stuff off of.


The case itself doesn't really bother me, it was just the one that came standard im sure and so i just left it.


The reason i would be getting the i5 Is that (From what i've been told) if you buy and i5 you can then overclock it to the same performance as the i5 and it's cheaper (I know someone who knows how to overclock processors/GFX Cards without screwing it up).

The monitor is needed seeing as the one i have now is definitely on it's way out (Screen Flickers on and off, sometimes just turns off and wont go back on for a while) and the mouse is also needed (Goes through batteries like nothing else (The Good Duracell one's too) and half the time when i click it doesn't do anything) and the keyboard/speakers comes with the mouse (Its all standard and doesn't add any price, except the monitor).


Also about the cards, im really not too bothered about the dual cards, because im not going to be playing games like Crysis 2 (Which pushes the boundaries of computers) and so i won't need something amazing, besides this setup should play most games fine anyway, right?

Ofcourse youll play games perfectly fine :P
But Im talking about how Future Proof your PC will be... Ive had this PC (Q6600 Quad Core @ 2.4) for 3 years, And I have exhausted its power.
I recently bought a GTX 560 Ti to be able to play the biggest games, And now my CPU is the bottleneck. Some games still lag coz my CPU cant handle it anymore.
To upgrade my CPU ill need $500 (For an i7 @ 3.4 & A new motherboard) The i7 is only $100 more than a i5 at Newegg so I prefer to go with that, Also IDK if the i5 is just like the i7 but just different clock speeds, The whole architecture is different. Its your choice though :3


Like you said, The case isnt really important in this case, Since its still a Mid Tower & Its decent.
I used to have a Small Tower & Everything was crumpled inside, My stuff was Idling at 70C, Now everything is at 30-40 C :) Butyeah, That case is decent, Stuffing fans were you can is always good though (Not all cases comes with fans everywere they can)


I recommend making sure the processor youre buying is Sandy Bridge, Thats the 2nd Gen i3/i5/i7 CPUs.
Just checked out this page: http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/48391.aspx
Biggest difference between i7 & i5 is Hyper Threading & Clocks speeds, Butyeah... Im sure games dont use 8 Cores & Almost nothing does, So I guess i5 is good enough :D
Im still hoping to get an i7 myself soon :P

[COOLRUNNER87]

Its a desktop, HDDs dont break down unless you really do something odd with your PC.

Rule of thumb from someone who is partially responsible for data integrity on ~200 Minecraft servers: never ever trust HDDs, always act as if they could all break down in 5 minutes. Have a solid backup plan, be it off-site backups over the internet, a RAID1 configuration, an auto-synced NAS or even burning to CDs. Never store your important data in just one place.

Ive never had a HDD break on me, Nobody I know that owns a desktop has ever had a HDD break on em.
Even one of my brothers, That runs his PC with the case open & Just likes to mess around with the stuff inside ALOT, He has broken a motherboard & A GPU (Literally broken) but never a HDD.


The only person that I know of that has broken a HDD is my OTHER brother, But he owns a laptop & It lasted 3 years none the less :P

However, depending on the manufacturer, a hard drive could go kaput within a year. I've heard plenty of horror stories about one certain manufacturer (Seagate) having poor HDD's which have regularly stopped working after as little as 2 weeks.

[Serge]

However, depending on the manufacturer, a hard drive could go kaput within a year. I've heard plenty of horror stories about one certain manufacturer (Seagate) having poor HDD's which have regularly stopped working after as little as 2 weeks.

Exactly. The only HDDs that failed on me were Maxtors and Seagates, which are the same thing.

[LiNcK]

Oh well, Thanks for the info :P I wont be getting any Seagate drives then.
I have a few Seagate External drives for a few years now Never failed on me. Theyre the 1TB ones, Bought em as soon as they came out :D

[Nate Tech]

Both of the seagate drives that I had failed on me, I reccomend WD