Hardcore PC gamers, need your help

[Djmikeyd]

I like to game and also need a good computer for every day use as in college stuff. I need either a website, info on a good ass graphic card, how much GB of ram should I get , where, what type of cooling,power outlet, blah blah and so on.

My budget is around 1000$. Can probably stretch to 1200 or so. Do not need a monitor or speakers or keyboard or mouse or any of that bs. Thanks!

 

[thedude4bides]

Not a hardcore gamer, but www.tomshardware.com will steer you right.

 

[troyguitar]

If you want to buy something pre-built these guys are decent:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Gamer_Xtreme_1000

Great basic gaming setup:

any current i5 processor
Z77 motherboard
8GB ram any speed
AMD 7950 GPU (GTX 660 if you want to save a bit of $$)
600-700 watt power supply
~128GB SSD for OS and applications
big regular HDD for data

Stock cpu cooler is fine unless you get the 3570k and overclock it.

 

[socal87]

Depends on how hardcore of a gamer you are. I can easily build a home PC for $1000, but it won't run Battlefield 3 on Ultra. $1500 is easier, but don't blow your budget just for some fun.

Here's a list I made on Newegg on a $1500 budget (haven't got around to ordering or building yet)

Antec Nine Hundred black case
ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 motherboard with SATA 6Gb/s
EVGA 02G-P4-2680-KR GeForce GTX 680
Corsair HX750 750 watt power supply
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge, 3.4GHz quad core
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL (qty 4 for 16GB)
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
ASUS VW246H 24" widescreen HDMI monitor
Lite-ON iHAS424-98 24x DVD burner with LightScribe

With shipping and everything it would probably come out to $1700. You could easily go with less RAM (though it isn't expensive), a lower end CPU and GPU, and omit the monitor to get closer to $1k. If you go AMD for your processor, you can save some money but you won't get nearly the power....you get what you pay for. I personally wouldn't game on anything other than Intel, but I haven't been gaming for a long time, either.

 

[lilfleck]

You don't need to spend that much coin.. stick to your budget and focus on the CPU, GPU, and PSU. I would second CyberpowerPC if you want it already built.

I used to be a very active member @ Overclock.net. It is a VERY helpful community.

 

[troyguitar]

The i5-3570k and i7-3770k when swapped into the same computer gave me the exact same frame rates, so you can save $100 right there by getting an i5 instead of an i7. Even overclocking to 5GHz barely changes framerates for me. (I sold the i7 on ebay and kept the i5)

GTX 680 is also overkill for single monitor and now outclassed by AMD 7970 in triple monitor gaming. (I have a GTX 670 running triple monitors at just barely acceptable framerates, wish I'd gone AMD 7950 instead).

 

[Djmikeyd]

Yeah I will have only a single monitor. My main objective is to have crystal clear image and best FPS possible. I'm getting a big ass headache lol. I also want to do alot of multitasking. On my current pc If i open 1 pixel game, and itunes at the same time, it freezes. Then agian, the pc is 8 years old.

 

[troyguitar]

AMD 7950 or GTX 670 along with any i5 processor will do it no problem unless you need 120+ fps for 3D/120Hz monitor.

 

[racinrabbit1]

Try www.ibuypower.com if you don't want to build your own computer. Pretty decent prices for good computers.

 

[thedude4bides]

Yeah, I have a cyberpower and the quality is not good. The USB ports are finicky, the headphone jack sends all kinds of alien noises through the speakers/headphones. The components inside are good and this thing churns out good graphics and computational power but it is put together hastily, is cheap and plasticky, and is noisy as fuck, and on top of the normal noise the fans squeal from time to time. I do get pretty darn good frame rates when I fire it up every few weeks...

 

[Randum]

I had a small company building gaming machines in college and still do the same as a hobby today- I can say for budget you can build under $800 and get a killer machine ready to handle just about anything you throw at it.

You can PM me if you want to take the gritty details but a few things based on all my builds:
Motherboard- don't skip on this, its probably the most important part of your build, I prefer the brand ASUS, but plenty of competitors offer solid boards

And about RAM, personally gaming, watching movies at the same time/streaming 8GB should be sufficient, I see about a 40% load when I do this (battlefield 3, Guild Wars 2 for example). The 2011 socket will support up to 64GB and its really cheap if you hit the ceiling over time.

And Tom's hardware is pretty good, but always remember you reach a point where the cost will not yield a big benefit until years down the road when that piece of hardware is near worthless and something new has come along, so I would try to find the sweet spot with each component. CPU under $300 range USUALLY yields a good chip, and GPU, try to keep around the $200 mark and you should be just fine for the next 6-12 months until something kicks its butt, but again completely depends on how picky you are with the visuals.

Ok that was a pile of info, but again, feel free to shoot me a PM.

 

[xxmagnusxx]

Don't forget, if you want speed and performance, go SSD! Network lag won't be your only bottleneck.

 

[Icewinsagain]

AMD 7950 or GTX 670 along with any i5 processor will do it no problem unless you need 120+ fps for 3D/120Hz monitor.

Samsung Syncmaster sa950 I5-3570 2 240 gig ssd in raid zero and a gtx680 lots of eye candy in every game

 

[JDM713]

newegg.com

huge selection and best prices

 

[SayaGTI]

Core i7 3820 OC'ed to 5ghz
EVGA Z77 board
2x EVGA GTX 670 in SLi
16gb Patriot RAM
256gb intel SSD

It's an expensive build but I got smokin deals from Newegg. Just drop down a few models on some of those and cut one of the cards. You'll hit your mark without compromising too much.