Gaming PC

[arty-fishL]

I'm thinking of getting a good gaming PC. I'm wandering what actually would make a good gaming PC, one that is capable of playing modern games like BF3.

You see, I'm a noob when it comes to hardware.

Thanks in advance.

[dubastot]

A Mac... :P

So you need a good processor which would probably be a higher end i7 or i5. A tonne of RAM really isn't needed so 6-8GB of it would be good. The Graphics card is very important so you should go with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 Ti or something higher. Ensure your powering system is strong enough and you have sufficient fans, liquid cooling usually isn't needed so forget that.

[Mr Kidnapper]

I don't know what BF3's requirements are, so I'll just post Crysis 2 Ultra + DX11 High Res pack requirements.

You're going to want a 64-bit OS. I suggest Windows 8 Developer Preview (Because it's free right now and exactly like Windows 7 Enterprise.) Your options are pretty broad, but you're going to want to keep them within Windows or else you won't be able to use those fancy DX11 effects. So, Windows 7 64-bit generally. Why 64-bit? Well, unless it's your job to use 20 year old software like my dad (an auto mechanic), then you should get it at least for the 54-fold physical increase in RAM.

You're going to want a Quad Core GPU. Mine's is a Intel Q6600, it has above average load times for most games. I suggest you just go for the new generation i7's.

You're going to want 8-16GB recommended, 24GB max (Physical limit is 192GB) of DDR3 RAM. The RAM market is in a depression right now. I use 8GB of DDR2 Corsair RAM. Generally you want to buy RAM from Corsair.

You're going to want 2 GPUs with 1GB of VRAM each. This is either nVidia SLI or AMD ATI Radeon Crossfire. I am partial to Radeon. Whatever you get, you're going to want GPUs that are at least 2,000 points. I use an XFX Radeon HD5830, because if I went any higher I'd need watercooling.
When buying Radeon, the best come from XFX and MSi from what I hear. I don't know about nVidia.
I can do Crysis 2 with Ultra DX11 + Hi Res texture pack with just the one, but it's pretty laggish. Goes around 20-30 FPS.

You'll want a 7200RPM HDD. Don't get an SSD. Tech-unwise people tend to break those within 2-3 months because they use it as RAM. I don't really care how large your HDD is. I recommend at least 500GB of space minimum. But then, memory's cheap. A 7200RPM HDD with a TB of memory should cost you ~$100. Western Digital is known for making the most durable HDDs.

Having said all that, this probably comes out to a some 800-900W power supply. Using 'The Google', you'd find the good brands, but five days ago I bought a 900W power supply from Antec for ~$140. A regular 700W will go for $100. Antec only sells Continuous Power supplies, which means your PSU won't break if you constantly use up maximum power. If you don't buy Antec, then you're going to want a PSU with a power rating that is several hundred watts higher than your estimated average power usage rate.

At any rate, a computer with 8GBs of RAM, a good amount of HDD space, and is at least a Dual Core will probably never crash.

Don't want to build the computer yourself? Too scared or too lazy? If you're scared, don't be. Making a computer is a lot easier than it sounds nowadays. It's literally like the toddler game where you stick shape blocks into matching holes. In fact, the only hard part about making a computer is finding compatible parts.
So:
ASUS Motherboard supports second generation Core i series as well as Crossfire/SLI at highest settings.
Intel Core i5 2500k @3.3GHz. Will do.
Corsair 8GB (4x2) 1866MHz DDR3 RAM. Get up to three of these. The motherboard I suggested supports that many.
XFX ATI Radeon HD6850 1GB VRAM, scores ~2800 on videobenchmark.net. Get one or two of these. You probably only need one, but if BF3 lags for you then go for the two.
Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s HDD. Best in the business.
Antec 900W Continuous Power Supply. This is what I bought.
Antec ATX Mid-Tower case. No comment.

Costs ~$1000+. Though to be honest all you need is a good graphics card, appropriate cooling, 8GBs of RAM, and a Quad Core CPU. That should run you ~$600.
You should take this post to a tech forum and see if there are any improvements, also get some advice for cooling systems. You might require water cooling.

[dubastot]

Originally Posted by Mr Kidnapper

I don't know what BF3's requirements are, so I'll just post Crysis 2 Ultra + DX11 High Res pack requirements.

You're going to want a 64-bit OS. I suggest Windows 8 Developer Preview (Because it's free right now and exactly like Windows 7 Enterprise.) Your options are pretty broad, but you're going to want to keep them within Windows or else you won't be able to use those fancy DX11 effects. So, Windows 7 64-bit generally. Why 64-bit? Well, unless it's your job to use 20 year old software like my dad (an auto mechanic), then you should get it at least for the 54-fold physical increase in RAM.

You're going to want a Quad Core GPU. Mine's is a Intel Q6600, it has above average load times for most games. I suggest you just go for the new generation i7's.

You're going to want 8-16GB recommended, 24GB max (Physical limit is 192GB) of DDR3 RAM. The RAM market is in a depression right now. I use 8GB of DDR2 Corsair RAM. Generally you want to buy RAM from Corsair.

You're going to want 2 GPUs with 1GB of VRAM each. This is either nVidia SLI or AMD ATI Radeon Crossfire. I am partial to Radeon. Whatever you get, you're going to want GPUs that are at least 2,000 points. I use an XFX Radeon HD5830, because if I went any higher I'd need watercooling.
When buying Radeon, the best come from XFX and MSi from what I hear. I don't know about nVidia.
I can do Crysis 2 with Ultra DX11 + Hi Res texture pack with just the one, but it's pretty laggish. Goes around 20-30 FPS.

You'll want a 7200RPM HDD. Don't get an SSD. Tech-unwise people tend to break those within 2-3 months because they use it as RAM. I don't really care how large your HDD is. I recommend at least 500GB of space minimum. But then, memory's cheap. A 7200RPM HDD with a TB of memory should cost you ~$100. Western Digital is known for making the most durable HDDs.

Having said all that, this probably comes out to a some 800-900W power supply. Using 'The Google', you'd find the good brands, but five days ago I bought a 900W power supply from Antec for ~$140. A regular 700W will go for $100. Antec only sells Continuous Power supplies, which means your PSU won't break if you constantly use up maximum power. If you don't buy Antec, then you're going to want a PSU with a power rating that is several hundred watts higher than your estimated average power usage rate.

At any rate, a computer with 8GBs of RAM, a good amount of HDD space, and is at least a Dual Core will probably never crash.

Don't want to build the computer yourself? Too scared or too lazy? If you're scared, don't be. Making a computer is a lot easier than it sounds nowadays. It's literally like the toddler game where you stick shape blocks into matching holes. In fact, the only hard part about making a computer is finding compatible parts.
So:
ASUS Motherboard supports second generation Core i series as well as Crossfire/SLI at highest settings.
Intel Core i5 2500k @3.3GHz. Will do.
Corsair 8GB (4x2) 1866MHz DDR3 RAM. Get up to three of these. The motherboard I suggested supports that many.
XFX ATI Radeon HD6850 1GB VRAM, scores ~2800 on videobenchmark.net. Get one or two of these. You probably only need one, but if BF3 lags for you then go for the two.
Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s HDD. Best in the business.
Antec 900W Continuous Power Supply. This is what I bought.
Antec ATX Mid-Tower case. No comment.

Costs ~$1000+. Though to be honest all you need is a good graphics card, appropriate cooling, 8GBs of RAM, and a Quad Core CPU. That should run you ~$600.
You should take this post to a tech forum and see if there are any improvements, also get some advice for cooling systems. You might require water cooling.

o.O

[debussybunny563]

After Mr. Kidnapper's detailed post, may I humbly suggest Alienware?

http://www.alienware.com/

[jediaction]

Originally Posted by dubastot

A Mac... :P

So you need a good processor which would probably be a higher end i7 or i5. A tonne of RAM really isn't needed so 6-8GB of it would be good. The Graphics card is very important so you should go with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 560 Ti or something higher. Ensure your powering system is strong enough and you have sufficient fans, liquid cooling usually isn't needed so forget that.

No Macs for games. Arty, get a Windows 7. Macs are more for office work, while Windows are not as reliable, but they can do so much more.

[x2495iiii]

Originally Posted by dubastot

o.O

You're just grumpy he said no to Mac.

Originally Posted by debussybunny563

After Mr. Kidnapper's detailed post, may I humbly suggest Alienware?

I always thought you pay for the logo when buying Alienware.

[arty-fishL]

Thanks all. These are very good suggestions. I don't have infinite money, I wasn't planning on buying a super amazing computer. What I think I will do is buy a good gaming computer and then upgrade it later on.

[jediaction]

Originally Posted by x2495iiii

You're just grumpy he said no to Mac.



I always thought you pay for the logo when buying Alienware.

Macs are not perfect. I don't care what anyone says, we had this conversation before...and Macs lost. So, whatever dudes, but Arty, don't get a Mac. If you want gaming, you get a Windows Computer.

[Dj Tech42]

Originally Posted by jediaction

Macs are not perfect. I don't care what anyone says, we had this conversation before...and Macs lost. So, whatever dudes, but Arty, don't get a Mac. If you want gaming, you get a Windows Computer.

Macs don't lose. They just aren't good for gaming. However, they own in everything else

And the whole thing about "the Macs lost" was a biased poll because there aren't as many Mac users so you are saying because there were less votes for Mac, Windows won, which isn't true because it just has more market share. That doesn't mean it is better.