Need suggestions for building a gaming PC on a $900 budget. Options

[EboyIsNumeroUno]

Hello, everyone

After about 2 weeks of researching and reading reviews on google and various forums, it was apparent in the first 2 days that I am lost. I have been getting many conflicting suggestions about what to buy. What the Tech has always been pretty good to me so I finally decided to ask for help so here's the deal.

My Goal : Build a PC that will be fine for gaming (Mostly BF3 at medium to high settings) with a target price range of about + or - 900 dollars. I plan on using a 47 - 55inch LED tv for my monitor so.... I'm not sure how this will affect my graphics card needs. Also keep in mind I probably DO NOT plan on overclocking, seems like too much hassle.


Here is what I'm leaning towards so far:

i5 2500k or i5 2550k (Some say these are already obsolete.. is that true?)

Asus Z68 Gen3

Radeon 6750 - (Saw an add for 80.00 on NewEgg)

DDR3 12GB - ( I hear this is close to minimum required for some games)

Haven't gotten to anything else but some of the other stuff I've been looking at include.

60GB SSD

CoolIT SYSTEMS ECO-R120 Advanced Liquid Cooling

..Not sure what power supply I would need.

Also I have an old ATX case it's pretty big ( Approx: L15"xW9"xH17") but everyone tells me I need a new one.

The problem I have is that after I'm done building this PC I may only have 4 months to play before my job takes me overseas for a year, (hence why I don't want to spend too much on it.) The plan, if that happens is to give the computer and tv to mom since she needs both and buy something better later.

I'm mostly just looking for guidance on what hardware to look for that will give me the most bang for my buck. I have checked Ibuypower and CyberPowerPC but it started to get confusing. They are the ones who suggested that the i5 is on it's last leg but others disagree. ......Any suggestions?

This post has been edited by EboyIsNumeroUno: Mar 31 2012, 11:04 AM

[Lee]

There is a lot of possibilities here. For starters, the state of games nowadays is worth keeping in mind. Almost all games are now made for consoles and then ported for PC, so if you think you need a super-duper power supply (a quality 500-600w would be plenty) and a top-shelf video-card you would be wrong. Ported console games are just not that demanding of hardware. You will be capped at 30 FPS and your field of view will be more like 60% (less pixels required) rather than 80% because console games are viewed much further away than a PC game. It's called a game developers bag of dirty tricks and they have plenty.

Next consideration is the bigy for a gaming rig, Intel or AMD?
For mid-range cost and upgradeabllity of CPU without having to change your motherboard, I'd go AMD every time (can't be done with Intel CPUs)..Twin-core or quad CPU? For gaming I'd stick to dual-core as a quad -core would be wasted and cost you more. Quad-core would only be worthwhile if you do a lot of video editing or use programs designed for quad-core CPUs and games are definitely not.

For a video-card I'd go mid-level performance and cost with a model that has a good, quiet and non-standard fan (an ASUS GT 450 TOP comes to mind or a similar Radeon 5770 with a good fan). Spending big money on hardware would be a waste on modern gaming.

I always thought that games would keep being developed for PC and the hardware demands would just keep increasing. Not so now, PC gaming has been compromised and "consolized." See here.

Your case would be fine, especially if you added another fan.

A TV as a computer monitor? I don't think so

Just remember this when reading video-card and CPU review and comparisons, notice all the games they use for these tests are (oldish) games made for PC, not modern console games ported as PC games and that is just about all of them! It's all about game developer $$$. Consoles are common, high-end PCs aren't and are a shrinking market.

Cheers,
Lee

This post has been edited by Lee: Apr 1 2012, 02:13 AM

[terry1966]

A TV as a computer monitor? I don't think so laugh.gif

i really don't see why not..

i bought my mum a samsung led tv that has a better response time and higher resolution than the monitor i'm using at the moment, picture is outstanding.

[Lee]

I plan on using a 47 - 55inch LED tv for my monitor

The price of a LED TV in the above size range is from $600 to $1000+
With a total system budget of $900 (computer build + monitor), "I don't think so" was fair comment.

[terry1966]

ah! i see where your coming from, thought you were talking about quality of pic/gaming experience not price.
i didn't think he included the tv as part of the pc price tho.

[Lee]

No, not the quality but the price, which seems a silly amount to spend on a monitor unless it is going to be used as a TV as well.

[EboyIsNumeroUno]

I see what you're saying and thank you very much for the input. I apologize for the delay in my response too, things have been getting pretty hectic. Although I should have made it clear that the budget for my tv is separate from my computer budget. A funny thing I've noticed though is even with searching prices on Newegg and frys (mostly) That the price difference normally isn't much more than 10 to 20 dollars less when I compare building a computer with the same parts as a computer offered by IBUYPOWER.
Say...something like this : http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Gamer_Paladin_D828

Also, what would you guys think about this TV. LG LE5400 http://www.presentationtek.com/2010/10/20/...0-and-32le5400/

I found one brand new on ebay for 800.00 Full Array LED (Which is what I want), 120Hz, but no local dimming? :/

This post has been edited by EboyIsNumeroUno: Apr 7 2012, 01:14 AM

[Lee]

Although I should have made it clear that the budget for my tv is separate from my computer budget.

As you were waxing lyrical in your first post about weather or not to buy a new and better case for your upcoming new build. i assumed you were not thinking about a new and expensive led TV as a monitor as separate from your PC build (if you can't afford a new case, a very expensive LED TV monitor doesn't really make sense). More power to you if you want to go that way.

Cheers,
Lee

[EboyIsNumeroUno]

Yeah I understand. Like I said though part of the reason for wanting to buy a tv instead of a monitor is so that when I do leave I can give the TV and even the computer to my mom, since she doesn't have either. That way if I kept the same set up she could watch tv or get on the computer and keep in touch with me overseas through email.....after she learns how to do it. Haha
As for using the tv to play computer games.. so far I'm looking for a tv that has Full Array LED, 120Hz, and if possible.. Local dimming, progressive scan rate, and internet capability (In case my mom doesn't want it hooked up to the pc but still wants netflix or something.)

As for the computer case, I seem to have a lot of trouble letting stuff go if there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. That's why I was wondering if I could just reuse it. I'm not sure the power switch connections would match up. The case is probably from 2001or something. Here are some pictures of it. Seems like it could still be a nice case at least for light gaming and what my mom would use it for...if it works...
Trying to fit a newer power supply in there might be a problem though if they are any bigger than the current ones..and don't they all install on the bottoms of the computer cases now?

http://i43.tinypic.com/19tvep.jpg

And here is the connection for the power and reset switch:

http://i43.tinypic.com/34y42gm.jpg

Like I said I haven't seen a new case since...2003? So I don't know what kind of crazy things they've come up with. Anyway, thanks again for all your help!

[Lee]

A new PSU for the old case should fit fine as they are mostly a standard size. The power switch connector would need an adapter cable.
If your case PSU is non-standard, I'd buy a new case.

Bottom fitting PSUs are very common in cases now, but my Antec Solo which is still available here and there (a new model is available but it is not as good), has the power supply in the top, stays very cool, is super quite and is never going to be replaced, regardless of my hardware changes

As for your TV as a monitor idea concerning your mother, well that sounds like a fine and generous idea, but as this is a computer forum, I'm not going to walk into the arena of LED TV recommendations. I don't own one and know very little about them. I'm sure there is forum debate and various recommendations on the Internet though, so it's worth googling and reading up on what is being said.

Cheers,
Lee

This post has been edited by Lee: Apr 7 2012, 05:04 PM

[josh1quattro]

Place not to far from me (Liverpool, UK) I don't know your location, but its where I got mine from, they do some pretty decent systems,
http://3bsystems.co.uk/built-base-units-c-113_116.html
I went for the AMD Bulldozer X8 FX-8120 Gaming Computer PC Tower Base Unit but asked them to take the graphics card out which saved on price there, then I bought an XFX Radeon 7870 DD Black edition through them (£206.50 Delivered though, but hey it was Christmas )
I already had a copy of Windows 7 ultimate x64 though.

This is only if you want a completely new pc, but its worth a look in my opinion,
hope it helps in some way

Josh

[josh1quattro]

Apologies, just noticed the age of the topic.
Sorry. :s

Josh

[ryangork]

I'm hoping you guys can help me out cause I'm a newbie to pc gaming and I have no idea what to purchase but I need to get a monitor. I've been looking around everywhere and I finally found this website that has reviews http://www.pcitup.com/ and I'm considering the asus monitor that I found on that site but I was hoping some of you might be able to tell me how asus products work with pc gaming and if it's a good way to go, if not I would appreciate some suggestions of trusted brands for pc gaming?