73 réponses à ce sujet

[Ballsagne]

I played DAO on my PS3, and I also reserved DAII for PS3 to use my save files. With that said Ive been kicking around the idea of building a PC for gaming (this would be my first one) for a while now and I finally have enough money to possibly do it. The only problem is I dont know the first thing about building a computer. I know I need a motherboard, processor, graphics card, and a case to put it all in, but Im basically clueless after that.
 
Basically I want to build something that will run DAII on the highest possible settings with no lagging problems etc (otherwise Id happily play on PS3). The only other game I know right off the bat I want to buy is that new Elder Scrolls at the end of the year, so yes that should run that at max settings without an issue as well. I would also like it to have an HDMI out to hook it up to a TV, and I would like to set it up with a controller since I dont always like mouse and keyboard. Im not really sure what else to look for, but as long as it runs these games (and similar ones) at max settings with no issues I dont need the most expensive thing. I would like to spend as little as possible as long as it meets that requirement (though I know it will still cost a bunch).

I probably posted this in the wrong place, so if I did I would appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction. Otherwise if anyone can show me all the things I would have to buy (I know newegg and tigerdirect are good places to start) and help me build a nice computer at a decent price I would be forever grateful.

[esochan]

Here's what I would do:



First go to one of the many gaming rig computer web sites; like AlienWare or CyberPowerPC (where I got mine), and start customizing. Motherboard, amount of RAM, video card, etc etc. Use what they have listed as a general baseline for what you might be looking for.



After you get an idea, you can use the item list and go to Newegg and compare prices with a prebuilt system vs building it yourself.

[Ballsagne]

Very interesting. Ill check that out thank you

[Lord_Saulot]

I don't think Skyrim has any requirements listed yet, though I may be wrong.



They key questions are what resolution you want to play at, and how much money you plan on spending.

[Ballsagne]

Im looking to spend between $800 and $1200, but if possible id prefer to stay on the lower half of that

[Kloreep]

I'd say $600 is a good minimum for gaming PC components. Adding another $100 to $200 on to that is probably a good idea if you can, though. You can easily spend $1000 on just components, if you get the top parts. Perhaps more like $1200 if you go for a dual-graphics card setup or something high-end like that.
But note that I do not include a copy of Windows in that, nor a monitor or other peripherals like mouse and keyboard. If you need a screen, a decent monitor will probably run you $150 easily, or even more if you want one that's on the bigger side and/or does 1920 x 1080. So while I say $600 is the minimum, the real minimum may be higher if you're also buying a monitor and/or Windows.

Here's my advice:
-If you've never assembled a computer before, watching someone else is quite helpful. I'd recommend this video from PC Perspective. The exact build is a bit more ridiculous/expensive than you're probably looking to put together, at least in some areas like the case, power supply, and use of expensive Solid State Drives. But it should still be very instructive about how to put all the pieces together.

-Tom's Hardware has good "Best Graphics Cards for the Money" and "Best Gaming CPUs for the Money" columns that they publish monthly. They aren't heavy in detail, but they can help you get the lay of the land. Even if you don't follow their exact advice (and indeed, it's often outdated as soon as it goes up thanks to pricing changes) their hierarchy charts can help put parts in perspective.

-Consider waiting. Especially if you're thinking of spending more towards the $1000 than the $600. This may not apply if you want to be playing DA2 on release date with your new PC, but new processors are just around the corner. Intel already launched their Sandy Bridge (Core i-whatsit 2000 series) processors already, and although they had to recall all the motherboards recently, I believe I've read they're expected to be available again sometime in April. Meanwhile, AMD's new Bulldozer architecture is going to launch sometime this year too. In short, the high end is changing this year for both ends of the CPU duopoly.

-Edit: And I'll pass on advice I've thankfully never lived, but have received myself: don't skimp on the power supply. I don't mean the claimed wattage rating, which probably won't need to be too high unless you're buying expensive GPUs. I mean buy from a known brand: Antec, Corsair, etc. - forums at a place like Tom's Hardware can help you sort out the quality ones from the chaff.
The power supply is the component that, if it fails badly enough, might take other components with it. If cheap power supplies sound too good to be true, they probably are.

Modifié par Kloreep, 24 février 2011 - 10:32 .

[Doofus42]

Here is a quick checklist of parts that you will need:

1. Case - good airflow for cooling is important
2. Power Supply - get a good one
3. Motherboard (cables usually included) - look into what features it has.
4. CPU
5. CPU Cooler (included in most CPU retail kits)
6. Memory 4GB minumum
7. Hard Disk
8. DVD Drive
9. Windows OEM version (cheaper than retail)
10. Monitor
11. Keyboard and Mouse
12.  Graphics Card - edit

I agree with Kloreep about the power supply - don't be cheap and give your self plenty of headroom.

Also decide if you want to overclock your CPU now. If you do get a motherboard that will support this and a better CPU cooler. Many folks in this forum will be telling you that DA and ME don't like overclocked systems. DA and ME do not like unstable systems, overclocked or not. I have built two stable overclocked systems that played DA and ME quite well, but I did not consider them stable until they could run Prime95 or LinX for 48 hours with no issues. This is quite different from booting into Windows. Overclocking is entirely optional. I am not advocating overclocking just suggesting if you might want to do this, buy what you can afford now so you don't replace it later.

Good luck and hope your new system works well for you.

DOOH!!! Yep I forgot the Graphics card.  You would think that I would remember that!

Modifié par Doofus42, 25 février 2011 - 12:06 .

[Ballsagne]

For the time being I probably wont need a monitor because I can hook it up to the monitor I have now (which is actually pretty nice) or my TV which is probably the direction Im going. Also for mouse and keyboard etc Im not worried about that now as I could just use what I have and replace them when its worth doing so. I really just need the computer itself for now. With that said could I safely assume I just need the first 9 things on your list? would I be missing anything else (I think you forgot Graphics Card)?

[Kloreep]

Good advice, Doofus42.



Just want to note on #9 - OEM is indeed cheaper, but I believe the license technically does not allow you to keep using it if you swap out parts. I've heard you can sometimes get around this by lying and saying your old part died, but that seems like an immoral and not very dependable way to go. If you think you may want to tinker and upgrade with your comp, rather than just leaving it as-is for several years, you might want to pay extra for a non-OEM Windows license.

[IndelibleJester]

esochan wrote...

Here's what I would do:

First go to one of the many gaming rig computer web sites; like AlienWare or CyberPowerPC (where I got mine), and start customizing. Motherboard, amount of RAM, video card, etc etc. Use what they have listed as a general baseline for what you might be looking for.

After you get an idea, you can use the item list and go to Newegg and compare prices with a prebuilt system vs building it yourself.

Wayyy too overpriced to get it from Alienware, though, so make sure to do the second part of this post!

[Kloreep]

You're right, that list does omit the GPU. I think the first 9 things do include everything else. Just do be sure to double-check that cables are indeed included. Nothing more frustrating than having everything except being short one SATA cable.



Good to hear you have peripherals already. If you're willing to spend up to $1000 on the case & everything inside alone, you can easily build a great gaming PC, even with a copy of Windows thrown in.

[Doofus42]

Yes items 1 - 9 + Graphics card would get you a working system.

On my last system build I recycled the Hard Disks, DVD, and one Graphics card from another system.

Modifié par Doofus42, 25 février 2011 - 12:10 .

[Ballsagne]

Out of the 10 things you have listed that I would need how would you rank them in terms of importance? just so I know which things to put more money into. Like I said I dont know much, but Im figuring CPU and GPU would be tops?

[Doofus42]

Actually when I built my last system the CPU and GPU were some of the last things I focused on. I have had experience with with these brands and products. These are just my recommendations, nothing more.

1. Case - I like the CoolerMaster HAF series of cases. I have used both the HAF 922 and HAF-X. Both are very nice with great airflow. This is important to keep things cool. The HAF 922 is $100 or so at the usual online places like Amazon and Newegg.

2. Power Supplies - I have used Corsair in the past, TX850 and AX1200. The 750TX is about $100 after rebate.

Both these would be a very good start.

3. Motherboard. I have used EVGA in the past. I have also heard good things about ASUS. I don't have any experience with AMD based systems. You should be able to get something in the $175 to $225 range.

4. CPU - I would recommend a Quad core. AMD has a cost advantage while Intel has a performance advantage. Estimated cost less than $250.

5. CPU cooler - use the one in the retail kit unless it does not work well enough. A good CPU cooler can be had for $50 - $75. And this can be added later. I have used the Corsair H50 and H70 and been very pleased with them.

6. Memory - You will need DDR3 and a 2x2GB kit can be had for under $100. I have seen some on sale for about $60-$70.

7. Hard Disk - 500 GB can be found for $50.

8. DVD Drive can be found for $30.

12. Graphics card - For the graphics cards you have a choice of nVidia or AMD ATI. From nVidia the GTX460 or GTX5x0 series. From ATI 5770+ or 6850+. These will cost from $160 for the GTX460 and ATI 6850.

I think that this list of parts is about $900 to $1000 and this would be a good system. I would tend to want to spend more on the GPU than the CPU. My experience with the DA2 demo is that GPU power is more needed than CPU power. My i7-950 Quad @4.2 GHz is running at abot 30% to 45% utilization with all 4 cores being utilized. My nVidia GTX570s in SLI are running at about 50% to 60% utilization each. I do have the settings in the driver set very high, 32X AA.

just my 0.02 worth. Hope this helps.

Modifié par Doofus42, 25 février 2011 - 01:11 .

[Ballsagne]

Ive been looking at this unit to get an idea: http://www.cyberpowe...8_Configurator/



the only thing I changed on it was the graphics card to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 2GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA) [+0] More Brand ...

which brought the price to 1050 instead of the 8something that it starts at. Would all of the other specs be what I need or would other parts need to be upgraded as well? I probably wont order from there but at least if I build here I can see what I need

[VioletB]

Good place to go for putting together your new rig:

How to Geek

This is a step by step guide for building your first computer. Starts with choosing components to putting together and testing the set up. They also have a forum where you can post your proposed components and get opinions. Used this for my first build.  Hope this helps!

Modifié par VioletB, 25 février 2011 - 01:31 .

[Doofus42]

This is an X58 LGA1366 based system which is more expensive that the LGA1156 or LGA1155 Sandy Bridge systems. The main reason to get an X58 based system is that it will support 3 GPUs. The other two systems will only support 2 at most.



First the 450 Watt Power Supply is asking for extreme trouble. You need much better than this. You don't want to lose your magic smoke! Are you planning to junk this power supply and replace it with something else?



Also I don't think the 2GB Video card is needed unless you have a display resolution much greater than 1920x1080. This you will need one of those $1200 30" monitors for that. My memory usage is usually well below 1GB and I have a 1920x1080 monitor. In my opinion the 2nd GB of GPU memory is a waste.



Part of the price you are seeing is for them to build the system for you, which for me is part of the fun. Also I am good at building systems so there is no fear factor for me. Do you feel comfortable building a system?



Cheers

[Ballsagne]

Thanks for the responses. I dont plan to order from them I just wanted to see how the parts measure up. Ill definately take your advice on the 2GB video card then and get 1GB, and ill look for a better power supply. How many watts should I be looking at? I actually like the look of the case that they use, but should I be looking for a full size or is mid size ok?

[Doofus42]

For a single GPU the 750 Watt will be enough. If you want to go SLI with a 2rd GPU I would look at something with about 850 Watts.

Cases are not the most critical part for sure.  And looks do matter!  Any of those cases in the list would be OK.  The mid height is fine unless you want lots of disks or an E-ATX+ mother board.

The X58 i7-9x0 based systems are very powerful.  This is what I have and it is a monster.  The single GTX 460 will be the weakest link in this system by far.

Modifié par Doofus42, 25 février 2011 - 02:13 .

[VioletB]

If you are looking into power supply needs, there are actually calcuators on the web.  Here's one:

Newegg PSU calculator

This way you can play around with your build and see what you need.

[Doofus42]

That calculator seems very very generous. It said I needed 1300+ Watts on my system. Yikes!! The power supply calculator at www.corsair.com said I only needed 950W which is about what I expected.



Good thing I have 1200 Watts and I thought I was way over as far as power goes.



Well too much is lots better than not enough when it comes to power.

[VioletB]

I just pulled one from the web. I used the Antec PSU calculator on their site for my build (made sense as I have an Antec PSU). Generally, I will look at the specs for my gpu and use a couple of psu calculators.

[Kloreep]

You can find several power supply calculators quickly via google. I'm afraid I don't know enough to recommend one over the other, but you can always use several to get a few different answers once you have a clearer idea of your build.



Unless you're going for a dual GPU setup, you'll probably find that, even with a single gaming graphics card, you won't need that much power. While you certainly want some headroom, somewhere in the range of 600 watts for your Power Supply Unit may certainly be sufficient, depending on just how power-hungry a graphics card you get. (Just again, remember to check around a forum like Tom's Hardware and make sure that the brand of PSU you are buying is known as good quality/reliable. That's just as important as the wattage number that's slapped on the PSU.)



I'm dubious about the idea of building a x58 LGA 1366 system. Unless you want to really load up your system with multiple video cards, it's typically a needless increase in expense. I'd say go with, at the moment, a LGA 1156 motherboard and a Core i5-7xx, or, cheaper and less powerful, an AM3 motherboard and either an Athlon II or Phenom II. (See Tom's Hardware's latest CPU guide for a few AM3 recommendations at different price points. For the moment, AMD is often the best bet for anything less expensive than the Core i5 700s.)

Or, most powerful of all and not too much more expensive than LGA 1156, wait for LGA 1155 to come back on the market and get a Core i5-2x00.

[RaenImrahl]

Ballsagne wrote...

For the time being I probably wont need a monitor because I can hook it up to the monitor I have now (which is actually pretty nice) or my TV which is probably the direction Im going.

*snip*

I'd be careful about this.  Just don't want you to be let down. As I've mentioned elsewhere on this forum, a lot of PC gamers are disappointed when they try to play on a big-screen TV.  Text, especially, can be a problem on a television set, even if it's HD.  For example, my 25" PC monitor and my 40" plamsa HDTV both display images at 1920x1080 resolution.  The only difference is that my 40" HDTV has bigger pixels... which is fine when I am watching movies sitting across the room.  I do have a PC hooked up to it, but text and icons look awful (small and indistinct on it).  So unless you're planning to sit as close to your TV as you do your PC screen... see?

(Finally, a topic where my 15 years in the TV biz pays off!)