Cooler Master CM Storm Scout ATX Gaming Case - 72.99 (looks decent, FANS)
Corsair RAM (4 GB) - 54.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7,200 RPM - 74.99 - 1k GB is enough for me :)
LG 10x Internal Blu-ray Disc Rewriter- OEM - 99.99
Total - 677.80 (all from micro center)
Already have a nvidia 9800 GT and a 600W thermaltake power supply. Will this work for a decent PC? I know it isn't amazing, but I just want to know if it's worth it.
Yeah it is :( I was going to get an i5 but o well... Right now I got an hp pavillion from 2 years ago. It has AMD 64 processor in it. I think 4 GB ram 500 GB hard drive nvidia 9800 gt card I upgraded like 8 months ago. I want a 64 bit processor so I can have 6 GB RAM but it's pushing the costs.
What exactly is old about this build? The i3?
I like the motherboard.....
I am hoping to do homework and play games like SC2 on it. Also, I can't spend more than 800 probably...
nah im just kidding its decent build should be able to push medium-high on sc2 i think :) i doubt you need blu ray but its your choice. and generic cases are fine if you know how to look after it.
Hmmm, I may be able to swap the custom case and blue-ray for an i5 then :) What will it do if I get a better graphics card as well?
Good, you should do that. You're going to get a bottleneck with the i3. A better graphics card is going to increase game performance. There is no point in your upgrade currently because the CPU and GPU will be the weakest links. Those two should be the best parts you have (along with RAM, which you have covered).
Also, don't buy anything at Micro Center except the CPU. Go to www.newegg.com and you'll save money without even having to deal with eBay. Micro Center sells CPU below retail so for that part it's about the best deal you can find.
Your power supply should be more than adequate. Your motherboard is a tad pricey. You'll need a new one anyway if you upgrade your graphics. If you don't need 1 TB then get a 600 GB drive or something. Cost savings can be applied to better CPU/GPU.
No information on your RAM but 4 GB should be enough. Try and get the lowest latency and dual channel.
It doesn't sound like you are the overclocking type. I don't think you need the gaming case. At least not that one. You can find cheaper ones that have more fans than your typical HP/Dell case and will do the trick just fine.
Well, I did get the i5 - 760 for 169.99 :) I will upgrade graphics in a while, but not right, right now (want the nvidia 460) Actually, this is my first build and do plan to look into overclocking, just after I get the damn thing to turn on first. Right now, just need to wire it up at this point.
I got the CM case because because it came with 3 fans stock AND it has great organization. My dad's work has a tech support person that said he recommended an ASUS motherboard for about 90. This was a step up from that with multiple PCI express slots, USB 3.0 and fast data transfer.
The micro center was less than an hour from my house and everything was right there so I did get it. Sorry about not using newegg.... I did hear it was a good site but I was there and all.
Definitely make the graphics upgrade your top priority though. It should be your very next computer purchase.
You don't need multiple PCI-E slots. That is simply a giant waste for you. Not sure what you mean about fast data transfer, MBs all have the same rates for SATA etc.. Your post was unclear but it sounds like you didn't get the $90 one, which was a mistake (if you did, disregard this).
No need to apologize for going to Micro Center, your loss not ours. Not trying to be mean but if you don't value your money enough to save it then no one else is going to care either. You could have easily saved 20% (minus CPU) or possibly even more.
Finally, be very careful about overclocking. The best advice I can give is take it slow. Increment until you find something stable, don't try large % right off the bat. The i5 is a great overclocker, my 750 is running at 3.2 up from 2.67.
It's easy for me to point out the mistakes you made because I'm no noob at this. But, don't be discouraged. You saved good money and got a better computer compared with going the Dell path. For someone doing this their first time and with little knowledge, you did just fine.
Well thanks. My parents don't exactly like putting credit cards online as well. What I meant by data transfer was that it has some upgraded SATA speed, 6GB/second or MB/second (not sure the but ik it was 6) USB 3.0 is fully supported and also if I got the $90 one, dad would not have been able to put in this thing that saved $8 a month from verizon, not needing a box or something.
not to seem spoiled, but I worked out a deal where I paid $300 and dad got the rest.
Ah, that complicates things. You should tell them about PayPal because you can shop online without ever giving your credit card info out.
Upgraded SATA speed is completely irrelevant because it's not the MB that is the bottleneck. The blame for that goes to the HDD. Now, if you ever get around to buying a SSD then you will notice the 6 GB over the 3 GB.
I'm not familiar with USB 3.0. My intuition tells me that what you're connecting to the computer may end up being the bottleneck. It certainly can't hurt to have though.
$8 a month savings adds up so if that deal lasts at least half a year then you did end up making the right choice for MB.
Well that's good :) Like I said I am going to use it for fun and homework. Microsoft (word, powerpoint, excel) maybe photoshop and digital pictures. That's where the 1 TB is useful, extra breathing room. I think I may finish the wiring tomorrow and start testing in the afternoon :) I will make the GPU my next purchase (was going to anyway) Probably going to wait for them to drop a bit though.
I can also have fun with SC2 not lagging with single player (it sometimes slows down a bit). Maybe going to try other games too, depending if I find any good ones.
Just as note: the i5-2400 (3.1GHz 4cores; sandy bridge etc.) costs 180€ or 194$ on amazon.com (so approx 180$ at other dealers) iirc; i bought it because there was a 2.8GHz one from intel costing more than that one oO; and motherboards fully supporting LGA 1155 sockets (Sandy-bridge) costs approx 100€ ie ASUS P8P67 - but that that does not support SLI j4i
btw.
The OS you are planning to use would be a great info; if you are using Win7 4GB RAM is almost just 2 ... as it already "nom noms" your pretty RAM
btw. The OS you are planning to use would be a great info; if you are using Win7 4GB RAM is almost just 2 ... as it already "nom noms" your pretty RAM
Eh, that's not exactly true. Yes, Win7 eats RAM compared to WinXP. But, it doesn't eat 2 GB more like 1 GB. I'm typing right now with 1.5 GB used and I have FF open and Symantec AVS running in the background. If you put care into disabling unneeded services and stopping unneeded program startups then you can definitely trim it down (and speed up boot).
I have windows 7 but it's coupled with 4 GB pf RAM so I hope it won't cause a problem. Also, I did get the i5 - 760. Not the top of the line processor, but it is waaaaay better than AMD 64 :)
I have windows 7 but it's coupled with 4 GB pf RAM so I hope it won't cause a problem. Also, I did get the i5 - 760. Not the top of the line processor, but it is waaaaay better than AMD 64 :)
You should be fine with 4 GB of RAM. Just read up on some tutorials online about disabling useless services and startup programs. My i5 750 overclocks to 3.2 up from 2.67. Runs great so far. :) I was thinking of upgrading to i7 but all the reviews and benchmarks online did not justify the cost (not much performance gain for games).
The i5 is a great deal, the main advantage that the i7(1156) has over the i5 is the Hyper-Threading, but that only makes a difference on a few applications that take advantage of the extra cores I believe. I have my i5 750 cranked up to about 3.6ghz and as far as CPU performance goes, it's quite satisfying. :)
The i5 is a great deal, the main advantage that the i7(1156) has over the i5 is the Hyper-Threading, but that only makes a difference on a few applications that take advantage of the extra cores I believe. I have my i5 750 cranked up to about 3.6ghz and as far as CPU performance goes, it's quite satisfying. :)
3.6? Damn dude. I should really consider bumping up my overclock seeing that my idle temps are high 30s and my load temps are high 40s.
I decided that I want this PC and I just wanted to check to see if it's ok.
Intel i3 550 - 99.99
ASUS P7P55D-E LX LGA 1156 P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - 124.99
Cooler Master CM Storm Scout ATX Gaming Case - 72.99 (looks decent, FANS)
Corsair RAM (4 GB) - 54.99
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 7,200 RPM - 74.99 - 1k GB is enough for me :)
LG 10x Internal Blu-ray Disc Rewriter- OEM - 99.99
Total - 677.80 (all from micro center)
Already have a nvidia 9800 GT and a 600W thermaltake power supply. Will this work for a decent PC? I know it isn't amazing, but I just want to know if it's worth it.
thats oldddddd as what you want to be doing on it?
whats your current pc build
@zeropoints: Go
Yeah it is :( I was going to get an i5 but o well... Right now I got an hp pavillion from 2 years ago. It has AMD 64 processor in it. I think 4 GB ram 500 GB hard drive nvidia 9800 gt card I upgraded like 8 months ago. I want a 64 bit processor so I can have 6 GB RAM but it's pushing the costs.
What exactly is old about this build? The i3?
I like the motherboard.....
I am hoping to do homework and play games like SC2 on it. Also, I can't spend more than 800 probably...
nah im just kidding its decent build should be able to push medium-high on sc2 i think :) i doubt you need blu ray but its your choice. and generic cases are fine if you know how to look after it.
@zeropoints: Go
Hmmm, I may be able to swap the custom case and blue-ray for an i5 then :) What will it do if I get a better graphics card as well?
Good, you should do that. You're going to get a bottleneck with the i3. A better graphics card is going to increase game performance. There is no point in your upgrade currently because the CPU and GPU will be the weakest links. Those two should be the best parts you have (along with RAM, which you have covered).
Also, don't buy anything at Micro Center except the CPU. Go to www.newegg.com and you'll save money without even having to deal with eBay. Micro Center sells CPU below retail so for that part it's about the best deal you can find.
Your power supply should be more than adequate. Your motherboard is a tad pricey. You'll need a new one anyway if you upgrade your graphics. If you don't need 1 TB then get a 600 GB drive or something. Cost savings can be applied to better CPU/GPU.
No information on your RAM but 4 GB should be enough. Try and get the lowest latency and dual channel.
It doesn't sound like you are the overclocking type. I don't think you need the gaming case. At least not that one. You can find cheaper ones that have more fans than your typical HP/Dell case and will do the trick just fine.
more fans
+1 (edit: funsies: fans of a ..., fans to cool down)
Well, I did get the i5 - 760 for 169.99 :) I will upgrade graphics in a while, but not right, right now (want the nvidia 460) Actually, this is my first build and do plan to look into overclocking, just after I get the damn thing to turn on first. Right now, just need to wire it up at this point.
I got the CM case because because it came with 3 fans stock AND it has great organization. My dad's work has a tech support person that said he recommended an ASUS motherboard for about 90. This was a step up from that with multiple PCI express slots, USB 3.0 and fast data transfer.
The micro center was less than an hour from my house and everything was right there so I did get it. Sorry about not using newegg.... I did hear it was a good site but I was there and all.
@Reaper872: Go
Good choice on the i5.
Definitely make the graphics upgrade your top priority though. It should be your very next computer purchase.
You don't need multiple PCI-E slots. That is simply a giant waste for you. Not sure what you mean about fast data transfer, MBs all have the same rates for SATA etc.. Your post was unclear but it sounds like you didn't get the $90 one, which was a mistake (if you did, disregard this).
No need to apologize for going to Micro Center, your loss not ours. Not trying to be mean but if you don't value your money enough to save it then no one else is going to care either. You could have easily saved 20% (minus CPU) or possibly even more.
Finally, be very careful about overclocking. The best advice I can give is take it slow. Increment until you find something stable, don't try large % right off the bat. The i5 is a great overclocker, my 750 is running at 3.2 up from 2.67.
It's easy for me to point out the mistakes you made because I'm no noob at this. But, don't be discouraged. You saved good money and got a better computer compared with going the Dell path. For someone doing this their first time and with little knowledge, you did just fine.
@Karawasa: Go
Well thanks. My parents don't exactly like putting credit cards online as well. What I meant by data transfer was that it has some upgraded SATA speed, 6GB/second or MB/second (not sure the but ik it was 6) USB 3.0 is fully supported and also if I got the $90 one, dad would not have been able to put in this thing that saved $8 a month from verizon, not needing a box or something.
not to seem spoiled, but I worked out a deal where I paid $300 and dad got the rest.
@Reaper872: Go
Ah, that complicates things. You should tell them about PayPal because you can shop online without ever giving your credit card info out.
Upgraded SATA speed is completely irrelevant because it's not the MB that is the bottleneck. The blame for that goes to the HDD. Now, if you ever get around to buying a SSD then you will notice the 6 GB over the 3 GB.
I'm not familiar with USB 3.0. My intuition tells me that what you're connecting to the computer may end up being the bottleneck. It certainly can't hurt to have though.
$8 a month savings adds up so if that deal lasts at least half a year then you did end up making the right choice for MB.
@Karawasa: Go
Well that's good :) Like I said I am going to use it for fun and homework. Microsoft (word, powerpoint, excel) maybe photoshop and digital pictures. That's where the 1 TB is useful, extra breathing room. I think I may finish the wiring tomorrow and start testing in the afternoon :) I will make the GPU my next purchase (was going to anyway) Probably going to wait for them to drop a bit though.
I can also have fun with SC2 not lagging with single player (it sometimes slows down a bit). Maybe going to try other games too, depending if I find any good ones.
Just as note: the i5-2400 (3.1GHz 4cores; sandy bridge etc.) costs 180€ or 194$ on amazon.com (so approx 180$ at other dealers) iirc; i bought it because there was a 2.8GHz one from intel costing more than that one oO; and motherboards fully supporting LGA 1155 sockets (Sandy-bridge) costs approx 100€ ie ASUS P8P67 - but that that does not support SLI j4i
btw. The OS you are planning to use would be a great info; if you are using Win7 4GB RAM is almost just 2 ... as it already "nom noms" your pretty RAM
Eh, that's not exactly true. Yes, Win7 eats RAM compared to WinXP. But, it doesn't eat 2 GB more like 1 GB. I'm typing right now with 1.5 GB used and I have FF open and Symantec AVS running in the background. If you put care into disabling unneeded services and stopping unneeded program startups then you can definitely trim it down (and speed up boot).
@Karawasa: Go
I have windows 7 but it's coupled with 4 GB pf RAM so I hope it won't cause a problem. Also, I did get the i5 - 760. Not the top of the line processor, but it is waaaaay better than AMD 64 :)
You should be fine with 4 GB of RAM. Just read up on some tutorials online about disabling useless services and startup programs. My i5 750 overclocks to 3.2 up from 2.67. Runs great so far. :) I was thinking of upgrading to i7 but all the reviews and benchmarks online did not justify the cost (not much performance gain for games).
@Karawasa: Go
great! You made me feel better :) Also, I am loving the $73 cooler master case. So organized and styled.
The i5 is a great deal, the main advantage that the i7(1156) has over the i5 is the Hyper-Threading, but that only makes a difference on a few applications that take advantage of the extra cores I believe. I have my i5 750 cranked up to about 3.6ghz and as far as CPU performance goes, it's quite satisfying. :)
3.6? Damn dude. I should really consider bumping up my overclock seeing that my idle temps are high 30s and my load temps are high 40s.
@Karawasa: Go
well, I think it came 2.8 stock. Don't wanna void the warranty just yet :(