Looking to Build a Gaming PC for the First Time

[IceSprayerMike]

Hey everyone, I'm looking to build my first PC at some point over the next few months. I'm a gamer, I usually play Heroes of Newerth, Starcraft 2 and Counter Strike Source and will be playing Diablo 3 and DotA 2 when they come out. However, I also like to use my PC to multitask as well. I like to have multiple things open, like whatever game I'm playing along with Ventrilo, multiple Firefox browsers and iTunes.

I'm planning on building a decent gaming PC, albeit a fairly cheap one. The things I won't be needing are a monitor, mouse and keyboard, as I already have them.

I've been looking at CPUs, motherboards, video cards, RAM, cases and power supplies on Newegg. How do I know which parts are compatible with one another though? Also, are there any other sites with decent prices that are trusted in addition to Newegg?

I don't know what exactly I'm getting at the moment but within the next couple weeks I'd like to get a list of the potential parts I would want for my PC. The other thing is I cannot buy all the parts immediately as I'm currently tight on money. I'm just trying to plan ahead a bit so I can watch the prices of some parts and hopefully buy them when they go on sale or their prices drop. Ideally, I'd be able to have all the parts to my new PC buy the end of May. Is this even realistic looking at parts now, though? I know the technology of computer parts tend to change very quickly.

Like I said, I'm new to building PCs so I welcome any and all advice. Thank you for your time!

[EzyStvy]

There are a few hundred threads here just like yours. Might spend some time reading through them

[David M]

Put together a list of what you think you may want but as you said, keep an eye on changes in technology and prices and when you have all your money saved up, post your parts list and we will refine it for you....and then you can purchase all your parts at the same time.

This really is the best way of building a computer.

So in the mean time as Ezy says, enjoy looking around the forum at other builds so you can learn more and begin to get a better sense of how this forum recommends computers for people.

[glc]

Please post a budget.

[IceSprayerMike]

Thanks guys, I'll be sure to read different threads around here and come up with a tentative list of parts. And my target budget would be in around the $700-$800 range.

[glc]

Something like this -

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case

Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400

Newegg.com - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD3U1333B2G9-DRH

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Newegg.com - ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card -OR-
Newegg.com - ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

[IceSprayerMike]

Excellent, thanks for the help! Also, I was just planning on using my Dell flat screen monitor for my new computer at least initially, until I can afford to invest in a nicer one. Will this monitor be compatible with my new PC? Thanks again!

[Extremerc12]

Your monitor will work fine. It might be Analog, but there is an adapter with the video card to fix that. One thing I didn't see asked. Do you have an operating system already, or are you going to need one?

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

[IceSprayerMike]

The operating system was someone I completely forgot to consider. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I think I may be able to get it at a discounted price through my school. I will definitely be looking into this.

[IceSprayerMike]

I'm looking to order my PC parts here within the next few days or so, as I now have enough money to spend and not be completely broke.

Is the following parts list still sufficient with current technology? I'm able to spend up to about $900 right now and I'd like to get the best that I can for the money.

Thanks again for any help guys, I really appreciate it!

Originally Posted by glc Something like this - Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 LE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400 Newegg.com - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD3U1333B2G9-DRH Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Newegg.com - LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive - CD / DVD Burners Newegg.com - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply Newegg.com - ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card -OR- Newegg.com - ASUS EAH6850 DC/2DIS/1GD5/V2 Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

[Sourtop]

Since you have a slightly higher budget I would suggest upgrading to the i5-2400k.

Upgrade to 8 Gb (2 x 4Gb) of ram as well.

Newegg.com - ADATA XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GC4G9-2G

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

And if you have the extra cash maybe get the Hyper 212+ to overclock your CPU a little.

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7

If you're not interested in overclocking you should put your money into a more powerful video card like a GTX 570 (EVGA) or a Radeon 6950/6970 (Asus).

[Katreat]

Originally Posted by Sourtop Since you have a slightly higher budget I would suggest upgrading to the i5-2400k. Upgrade to 8 Gb (2 x 4Gb) of ram as well. Newegg.com - ADATA XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GC4G9-2G Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K And if you have the extra cash maybe get the Hyper 212+ to overclock your CPU a little. Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 If you're not interested in overclocking you should put your money into a more powerful video card like a GTX 570 (EVGA) or a Radeon 6950/6970 (Asus).

Personally, I would not recommending messing with overclocking your first PC build. The processor is fast enough for gaming and if you have some extra money spend it on a better video card. For gaming you will see more improvement from upgrading the video card than OC the processor.

Kat

[David M]

That processor is a no brainer to overclock. All you need is a decent aftermarket heatsink.

With a 2600K I hit 5.1 GHz by changing what used to be called the multiplier and by leaving the voltage on Auto.

I did it because I was curious, not for gaming. I wound it back to 4.7 GHz just to make sure I would have stability while gaming.

[birddog_61]

Also the Asus motherboards have a setting in the bios that you can change and it will OC the processor for you. However your not going to see a lot of performance boost from OC that processor as its already blazing fast. Personally I would stick with that processor, which can be OC it just has the multipliers locked. Depending on the resolution you will be be gaming at will determan the Graphics card you need

[Khalil]

Since you have a slightly higher budget I would suggest upgrading to the i5-2400k

Did the OP say gaming?
To the OP
If you have more money to spend, put it into the graphics card and not in the processor! That is what makes a gaming rig, you can also even drop down to an i3 and put more money into the Graphics card!
If you want to go Nvidia I recommend getting a 570 at least if you want to enjoy games at high settings. The processor has less than 15% of load handling when you are gaming!