Ready to start buying parts...

[Templar]

So I am looking to enhance my gaming experience and build a new desktop PC. I have some salvageable parts from my old desktop (probably just the new RAM I bought and maybe one of the hard disks), but will be looking to start fairly from scratch.

Looking for some discussion on parts, mostly on the graphics cards and processors. I will also likely be looking into a SSD for boot/startup, maybe. I must admit, I haven't been following developments very closely lately.

Budget wise, well let's see... I don't want to break the bank, but I don't want to be a cheapo either. If a part is a noticeable improvement over it's somewhat cheaper alternative, then I'll pay more. But if vid card X is only going to give me 2 more fps for $400 more, that's probably not worth it to me.

I know we have some genius PC builders here, so spread the knowledge wealth Not looking to pay someone to build it for me. I've never built one myself, but have had quite a bit of experience tinkering with my own, and my neighbor just built himself a pretty nice rig recently and I know he'll help me if I get stuck.

Thanks!

[Templar]

Interesting... Well I did some research and this is what I came up with. The price isn't too bad for me. If there is an area I can cut down on, I'd appreciate any input. I may be able to spare the RAM from my current desktop, but I need to see what I have (I totally forget).

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128558
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130794
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371049
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116501
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147163
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231429
Fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065

Comes a little under $1500 total before shipping (there's a couple items in there with rebates though).

[Rhodes7586]

Originally Posted by Templar

Interesting... Well I did some research and this is what I came up with. The price isn't too bad for me. If there is an area I can cut down on, I'd appreciate any input. I may be able to spare the RAM from my current desktop, but I need to see what I have (I totally forget).

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128558
Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130794
Power: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371049
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116501
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820147163
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231429
Fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065

Comes a little under $1500 total before shipping (there's a couple items in there with rebates though).

It all looks pretty good, should be a great PC for years to come, seeing as most PC games are ported from consol anyway. I would add a storage/media drive as well. Possibly another one for backup. Here is a good price on a 1tb drive

[Rhodes7586]

Also use code EMCJJJF22 in newegg to get $25 off of the power supply.

[Templar]

I have two 500GB hard drives in my current desktop that I would probably transfer over. They are both new, since about 4 months ago one of my old ones crashed and I started over (had it setup in a RAID from when I bought it). I planned on using those as extra storage. Not sure if I really need to drop any more money on another drive since I have a few available, although another $50 isn't a big deal.

Thanks for the input!

Also, I found the RAM I have right now. I'm not versed enough to know the difference between the two:

Here is what I already have and can just use in my new PC: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314 (I have this x3, so 24 GB total)

Here is what I was thinking of ordering: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231429

One is quad channel and the other is dual channel. That's the only difference I can see. My MoBo doesn't say anything about quad channel support, although it does say dual channel. Does this mean the RAM I selected (new purchase) is not compatible with my MoBo?

[Rhodes7586]

Originally Posted by Templar

I have two 500GB hard drives in my current desktop that I would probably transfer over. They are both new, since about 4 months ago one of my old ones crashed and I started over (had it setup in a RAID from when I bought it). I planned on using those as extra storage. Not sure if I really need to drop any more money on another drive since I have a few available, although another $50 isn't a big deal.

Thanks for the input!

I would stick with that, and raid them up again. I have the Samsung 830 SSD also, and it is a very good drive. You could probably wait and catch that on sale. I picked it up for 60, Samsung is coming(came?) out with a new SSD to replace this one, so retailers will be unloading these. Here is a guide to get your windows PC optimized for the SSD, it is a pretty good starting point. Also the Samsung SSD comes with a optimizer disc, it also helps and is very easy to use.

[Rhodes7586]

Originally Posted by Templar

Also, I found the RAM I have right now. I'm not versed enough to know the difference between the two:

Here is what I already have and can just use in my new PC: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314 (I have this x3, so 24 GB total)

Here is what I was thinking of ordering: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231429

One is quad channel and the other is dual channel. That's the only difference I can see. My MoBo doesn't say anything about quad channel support, although it does say dual channel. Does this mean the RAM I selected (new purchase) is not compatible with my MoBo?

Yes your old RAM will work, but it will be more efficient to use ram in multiples of two on a dual channel board, though you probably wouldn't notice a huge difference.

[Templar]

Originally Posted by Rhodes7586

Yes your old RAM will work, but it will be more efficient to use ram in multiples of two on a dual channel board, though you probably wouldn't notice a huge difference.

I gotcha. My old RAM total is 6 sticks of 4 GB, so I think I'll get the full benefit of it.

[ducman]

I had to build a new PC this past summer since the old PC is 8 years old (it was given to me). I haven't build one in 10 years so there were a lot of reading up on the new tech. Here is what I bought:

CASE: Corsair 600T
MB: Asus Maximus V Formula
GPU: 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX670
PS: Corsair AX1200
CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K
SSD: Crucial 256GB
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB
RAM: 2 x Corsair Vengeance LP
FAN: Corsair H100

Everything is pretty good so far. I also bought an Asus blu-ray burner and a Rosewill keyboard (since new mobo doesn't support ps2). The keyboard is mad cheap but it suck really bad. I re-used the Razer Mamba mouse from the old PC which was/is expensive but suck also. I think what you have is good and it's perfect time to buy since deals are popping up all over the place. I got the majority of my stuff on Amazon before they started taxing.

GL