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Gaming Computer - Recommendations?

Fishstick said:
This. I'm running an i5 2500k, most games are heavy on the RAM/GPU and less CPU dependant these days. An i5 will do more than well enough for any gaming pc - especially with a decent video card. I went from a 560ti to a 670 as well a few months ago, and I haven't run into anything I couldn't max out yet. Bioshock infinite ran like a dream and I have high hopes for Rome II :D.
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Sandy Bridges I5-2xxx, I7-2xxx, I7-3820,3930K,3960X and 3970X are fine, newer Ivy bridge and Hashwell CPU run a little faster clock for clock, but chances are that your Sandy Bridge can be OCed higher than a new IB or Hashwell CPU, making an costly and silly.
 
tyr_13 said:
Any reason no one went with AMD?
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It's kind of sad, isn't it?

From everything I have read, there's still a case for AMD at the bottom end. The AMD 760 at $90 performs as well as an i3 at $130... but you have to buy a good aftermarket cooler for $30-$40 that pretty much neutralizes the cost advantage.

The Radeon 7790 is almost as good at the GTX 650, for less money, but you have to deal with flaky drivers.

AMD retains a following among people who want to build and tweak their own rigs. But I would say Mr. Nay, who just wants a box that will run his games and can afford mainstream components, made the optimum choice with his setup.
 
I was wondering because I need to replace my motherboard (and of course my processor and RAM), and was looking at AM3+ socked boards.
 
tyr_13 said:
I was wondering because I need to replace my motherboard (and of course my processor and RAM), and was looking at AM3+ socked boards.
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I have been an AMD buff for years, and I am currently mulling over a cheap desktop build. But I'm not kidding myself... it's more for fun rather than any great benefit or savings. AMD offers inferior technology at this point, but they thoroughly understand their market, which is kids of all ages. Dude! I'm getting 5 ghz on air!

They do have a CPU - the fx 8350 - that supposedly renders video almost as fast an an i7 for a lot less money. But it burns 125 watts and you have to clamp on an aftermarket cooler that sounds like a Cessna taking off inside your case, if it even fits inside your case.

Take a look at the FM2 CPUs/boards if you want to keep it really cheap.
 
I really appreciate this thread because we are in the market for a good gaming pc. My son wants a great set up and we're willing to pay good money for something that WORKS. We're so tired of paying too much for slow computers in spite of "high speed" internet. Thanks everyone who posted tips.
 
kerryoke said:
I really appreciate this thread because we are in the market for a good gaming pc. My son wants a great set up and we're willing to pay good money for something that WORKS. We're so tired of paying too much for slow computers in spite of "high speed" internet. Thanks everyone who posted tips.
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Well that was last weeks recommendations. They are obviously now obsolete.

:)
 
malicus said:
Well that was last weeks recommendations. They are obviously now obsolete.

:)
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Fully support the gratitude to those who contributed but, yes, pc components are like newspapers. May be a good idea to refresh this thread occasionally. The pc I build 5 years ago is beginning to fail sporadically and sound like a 'copter. :(
 
Charlie Wilkes said:
They do have a CPU - the fx 8350 - that supposedly renders video almost as fast an an i7 for a lot less money. But it burns 125 watts and you have to clamp on an aftermarket cooler that sounds like a Cessna taking off inside your case, if it even fits inside your case.
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I have the fx-8350 and it is not that loud, have not played about with any overclocking nonsense, though I am thinking of buying a liquid cooling system. Plays everything I have thrown at it with a 7790 single card. Crysis 2 is nice and fluid with no slow down at all with everything turned up to 11, ARMA 3 does challenge it a wee bit when turned up, but it will challenge any system.

Go for the 8350, you will not regret it.
 
Captain_Snort said:
I have the fx-8350 and it is not that loud, have not played about with any overclocking nonsense, though I am thinking of buying a liquid cooling system. Plays everything I have thrown at it with a 7790 single card. Crysis 2 is nice and fluid with no slow down at all with everything turned up to 11, ARMA 3 does challenge it a wee bit when turned up, but it will challenge any system.

Go for the 8350, you will not regret it.
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It stands out as quite a bargain for video editing. Isn't 8 cores a bit of overkill for gaming, though? Are you using the stock cooler and heat sink?

The 7790 seems unbeatable for the price.

I built a pretty nice computer in 2010, with an AMD 955, but I gave it away because I sold my mainland residence, and I'm living on an island off the grid and it takes too much power. But I just upgraded my home power system, so now it could handle a desktop machine.

So... I'm mulling over options. I might be tempted to go for the 8320 and overclock it... but I am also looking at the 760 for $90, which I could pair with an MSI board for $60, and keep it really cheap.
 
Actually, for gaming, you rarely need that powerful a PC. Game developers are not interested in only having the few % who own bleeding edge machines as customers.

But, of course, it buys you some extra time before obsolescense sets in.

Hans
 
Charlie Wilkes said:
It stands out as quite a bargain for video editing. Isn't 8 cores a bit of overkill for gaming, though? Are you using the stock cooler and heat sink?
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Even playing GW2 in a busy area, for example killing a world dragon boss, it does not use all the cores , usually a load of 4 cores at about 30-50% utilisation, big change from the old phenom 955 Black which got maxxed out. Yes, and it is stock cooler which works fine. It is nice to have the extra overhead for doing other things such as encoding a video, running teamspeak, skype, a browser with about 39 tabs open...
 
MRC_Hans said:
Actually, for gaming, you rarely need that powerful a PC. Game developers are not interested in only having the few % who own bleeding edge machines as customers.

But, of course, it buys you some extra time before obsolescense sets in.

Hans
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Mm, I'd disagree somewhat. Every PC I've bought has been cheap to middling and when I want to try playing a modern game I have to constantly scale down the graphics and fiddle so that the framerate is playable but doesn't look like a PS1. It can get annoying, but I don't play AAA games that often.
 
kerryoke said:
I really appreciate this thread because we are in the market for a good gaming pc. My son wants a great set up and we're willing to pay good money for something that WORKS. We're so tired of paying too much for slow computers in spite of "high speed" internet. Thanks everyone who posted tips.
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:) Thanks! I'm glad it's helping you.

Just to summarise, since I messed up the stats when I first posted them, this is the final rig's stats:


i5-4570 processor
GeForce GTX760 video card
16 Gig RAM
No water cooling
1T hard drive

All for $990.


And note, Mr Nay didn't ask for 16GB RAM, as it was not recommended in this thread. He ordered 8GB, but got an extra 8 for free.
 
Tsukasa Buddha said:
Mm, I'd disagree somewhat. Every PC I've bought has been cheap to middling and when I want to try playing a modern game I have to constantly scale down the graphics and fiddle so that the framerate is playable but doesn't look like a PS1. It can get annoying, but I don't play AAA games that often.
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Well. I have, an about 4 years old:

Dell XPS 420
Intel Core 2 duo 3.16 GHz
RAM 4G

With a (later mounted) ATI Radeon HT 5700 Graphics adapter.

It runs Skyrim at max settings.
It can run GW2 at max, but the framerate gets occasionally jerky, so I've backed off a bit.

But we also have a recently aquired laptop with very median stats (does have 8G RAM, though) and certainly not a gaming machine, and it will also run GW2, albeit with somewhat downgraded settings (still quite nifty, however).

So I maintain that while top class ratings may be nice to have (in fact a satisfaction in itself), your need to have level for gaming is much more humble.

Hans
 
Orphia Nay said:
:) Thanks! I'm glad it's helping you.

Just to summarise, since I messed up the stats when I first posted them, this is the final rig's stats:


i5-4570 processor
GeForce GTX760 video card
16 Gig RAM
No water cooling
1T hard drive

All for $990.


And note, Mr Nay didn't ask for 16GB RAM, as it was not recommended in this thread. He ordered 8GB, but got an extra 8 for free.
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Well, you can never get too much RAM.

- Funny, it wasn't that long ago when 16G was a whopping big harddisk.

- Actually, I remember when 40MB was a big HD, but then, I'm ancient.:blush:

Hans
 
MRC_Hans said:
Well. I have, an about 4 years old:

Dell XPS 420
Intel Core 2 duo 3.16 GHz
RAM 4G

With a (later mounted) ATI Radeon HT 5700 Graphics adapter.

It runs Skyrim at max settings.
It can run GW2 at max, but the framerate gets occasionally jerky, so I've backed off a bit.

But we also have a recently aquired laptop with very median stats (does have 8G RAM, though) and certainly not a gaming machine, and it will also run GW2, albeit with somewhat downgraded settings (still quite nifty, however).

So I maintain that while top class ratings may be nice to have (in fact a satisfaction in itself), your need to have level for gaming is much more humble.

Hans
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You're right of course.

A powerful desktop computer is a luxury, but one that can be had and enjoyed for a modest price, unlike a high-performance car or an indoor swimming pool.
 
Mine was an HP and at the time I couldn't buy the parts (including the 24" LCD) for the price that we were selling it for at work. My problems are that I can't run the CreationKit for Skyrim very well and I'm bottlenecked at both the RAM and SATA. I added a Samsung 470 SDD and migrated my OS there, but because it's an older SATA connection it has hardly decreased my boot time. I could add more RAM, but it wouldn't be higher speed than what I'm already running. I've switched the case and replaced the power supply.

AMD Phenom 9500 Quad-Core 2.2 GHz
5 GB of RAM 640 GB in two HDD and 120GB on SDD
My roommate's old ATI Radeon HD 5700

EDIT: Mine will not run Skyrim at full settings, but I do have a ton of mods. I want to be able to run the Creation Kit well, and the new X game when it comes out at full settings on my two screens. I won't be able to because I don't see myself having any money in the next few months...*sigh*
 
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