LA_Kings_Fan Posted July 29, 2014 Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) OK, many know I've built my own computer system, and helped Convertor with his new rig, and people have been impressed with our FPS (frames per second) in COD 4 and asked about our rigs and wondered why their $500 to $1000 off the shelf HP or DELL laptop or desktop performed worse, until they realized in each case Convertor and I both spent over $2,000 to $2,500 on our systems. But lately more than a handful of people have asked me about upgrades they can make to their systems and/or can they build a whole new complete rig on a budget ( $750 to $1000 ) and still play their favorite video games at a decent FPS or play the latest and greatest games like TITANFALL, BattleField 4, Crysis 3 and others, like Convertor and I can with our systems, BUT without breaking the bank ! And of course the answer is YES ! Firstly ... while most off the shelf ( Best Buy, Costco, FRY's, etc ) store bought computers tend to be fine for your basic computer user that wants to run MS Windows and MS OFFICE and browse the Internet and what not, they tend not to be set up for GAMING generally and don't usually offer much if any path to future upgrades. They tend to bundle cheaper components ( motherboards, CPU, RAM, Graphics cards ) that greatly limit your ability to upgrade as your need for a more powerful gaming computer increases. So in general, it IS a much more prudent and practical path that YOU customize and build YOUR OWN Computer from scratch. And NO it's that difficult these days, plus there are lots of video's on youtube and forums you can go to for assistance at assembly assistance should you need help, including right here ... as several people on FA have built their own rigs and some do it for a living. Second ... you need to know where to go and when to buy your New Computer components. At least in the USA ... Get familiar with the names like http://www.newegg.com/ , http://www.tigerdirect.com/ , http://www.ncixus.com/ , http://www.superbiiz.com/ and lastly Amazon.com ... all good places for quality products, quality service and discount pricing. As for WHEN, well there are always SALES going on at most of these sites, and you've got to sign up ( Free, they just want your email ) for notices on some of the offers ... but the other thing to be aware of and often keep an eye on for good deals is their OPEN BOX, Refurbished, Clearance and COMBO DEALS sections, { NewEgg OPEN BOX = http://www.newegg.com/Open-Box/Store?Type=OPENBOX , NewEgg Refurbished = http://www.newegg.com/Refurbished/Store , NewEgg Clearance = http://www.newegg.com/Clearance/Store?Type=Clearance , NewEgg COMBO DEALS = http://www.newegg.com/Special/Combo.aspx?listType=combo&name=Combo-Deals } ... particularly with the Open Box stuff, you can often find great savings, especially on Graphics Cards, and often the item was simply not wanted and returned to NewEgg sometimes UN-opened, and carries the full manufacturer's Warranty and NewEggs returns policy, but be sure to read any fine print so as not to get burned. Third ... can YOU help me ? I'm not that good at this stuff and you seem to know what you're doing ... WHY YES I CAN Here's a nice little COMBO group of deals from NEWEGG, based around using a BITFENIX Case in various colors that can help you customize your computer to match your style and personality within a price range of $375 to $1050 no less ! http://promotions.newegg.com/combo/14-3855/index.html?icid=268319 OK, nice but what would YOU Suggest ? Well let me list for you a BUDGET AMD and a BUDGET INTEL system for you, to give you some examples of what you can expect ... BUDGET - AMD / AMD (ATI) - GAMING RIG {$750-$1000}* CPU / PROCESSOR CHIP = AMD FX-6350 Vishera 6-core 3.9 GHz Socket AM3+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113327 = $140.00 @ NewEgg http://www.amd.com/en-us/products/processors/desktop/fx MOTHER BOARD (BLUE Themed Build)= ASUS M5A99FX-PRO R2.0 Socket AM3+ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131851 = $115.00 @ NewEgg (AMIR = After Mail in Rebates, and other Discounts) http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A99FX_PRO_R20/overview/ CASE = BITFENIX BFC-NEO-100 (Multiple Color options to personalize your computer to YOU.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345042 = $46.00 - $60.00 @ NewEgg (based on color choice & window option) http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=95258 = $51.00 @ NCIXUS.com (based on color choice & window option) http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/neos/ http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/neos-window RAM / MEMORY = G. SKILL Ripjaws X-series 8 GB DDR3 1600 SDRAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231445 = $90.00 @ NewEgg http://www.gskill.com/en/product/f3-12800cl8d-8gbxm GRAPHICS CARD / GPU = SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon R9 270X 2 GB Vapor-X #100364VXL http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202059 = $190.00 @ NewEgg (AMIR) http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1227&pid=2036&psn=&lid=1&leg=0 POWER SUPPLY = RAIDMAX #RX635AP - 635 Watt 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152046 = $40.00 @ NewEgg (AMIR) http://raidmax.com/psu/rx_635ap.html SSD (OS / BOOT Drive) = CRUCIAL MX100 series 128 GB, SATA 3 Solid State Drive #CT128MX100SSD1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148819 = $75.00 @ NewEgg http://www.crucial.com/ProductDisplay?urlRequestType=Base&catalogId=10151&categoryId=12507&productId=125501&urlLangId=-1&langId=-1&top_category=&parent_category_rn=12507&storeId=10151 HDD (STORAGE Drive) = SEAGATE Barracuda Series #ST1000DM003, 1 TB 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache SATA 6 Gb/s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840 = $55.00 @ NewEgg http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard-drives/desktop-hard-drives/desktop-hdd/ DVD/CD Burner-Reader (Optical Drive) = ASUS #DRW24F1ST 24x DVD speed / CD Optical Burner / Reader http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135305 = $20.00 @ NewEgg https://www.asus.com/Optical_Drives/DRW24F1ST/ CPU HEATSINK COOLER = COOLERMASTER Hyper 212 EVO w/ 120 mm PWM Fan http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099 = $35.00 @ NewEgg http://us.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/cooling/hyper-series/hyper-212-evo.html BUDGET - AMD / AMD (ATI) - GAMING RIG … TOTAL = $800.00 +/- } * * Prices will vary depending on package deals, discounts, shipping charges, local taxes, and component changes, items you can bring over from your previous computer, etc. … it also assumes you already have a Monitor, keyboard, mouse and Windows Operating system. Edited July 29, 2014 by LA_Kings_Fan 2 Quote
LA_Kings_Fan Posted July 29, 2014 Author Posted July 29, 2014 Next .... BUDGET - INTEL / nVIDIA - GAMING RIG {$750-$1000}* CPU / PROCESSOR CHIP = INTEL Core i5-4670K Haswell Quad-core 3.4 GHz LGA 1150 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899 = $235.00 @ NewEgg http://ark.intel.com/products/75048/Intel-Core-i5-4670K-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_80-GHz MOTHER BOARD Option #1 (GOLD Themed Build) = ASUS Z87-A (NFC Express Edition) LGA 1150 ATX MoBo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132070 = $130.00 @ NewEgg (AMIR) http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z87A_NFC_EXPRESS_EDITION/ MOTHER BOARD Option #2 (RED Themed Build) = EVGA Z87 FTW LGA 1150 ATX MoBo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188133 = $150.00 @ NewEgg (AMIR) http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=141-HW-E877-KR CASE = BITFENIX BFC-NEO-100 (Multiple Color options to personalize your computer to YOU.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811345042 = $46.00 - $60.00 @ NewEgg (based on color choice & window option) http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/neos/ http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/neos-window GOLD & BLACKRED & BLACK RAM / MEMORYOption #1 (GOLD Themed) = CORSAIR Vengeance series 8 GB DDR3 1600 SDRAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233576 = $95.00 @ NewEgg http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-8gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9r RAM / MEMORYOption #2 (RED Themed) = CORSAIR Vengeance series 8 GB DDR3 1600 SDRAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233180&leaderboard=1 = $80.00 @ NewEgg http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-8gb-dual-channel-ddr3-memory-kit-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9r GRAPHICS CARD / GPU = eVGA nVidia GeForce GTX 760 2 GB #02GP42763KR http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130933 = $215.00 @ NewEgg (AMIR) http://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=02G-P4-2763-KR POWER SUPPLY = CORSAIR CXM series #CX750M - 750 Watt 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139051 = $80.00 @ NewEgg (AMIR) http://www.corsair.com/en-us/cx-series-cx750m-modular-atx-power-supply-750-watt-80-plus-bronze-certified-modular-psu SSD (OS / BOOT Drive) = CRUCIAL MX100 series 128 GB, SATA 3 Solid State Drive #CT128MX100SSD1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148819 = $75.00 @ NewEgg http://www.crucial.com/ProductDisplay?urlRequestType=Base&catalogId=10151&categoryId=12507&productId=125501&urlLangId=-1&langId=-1&top_category=&parent_category_rn=12507&storeId=10151 HDD (STORAGE Drive) = WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Black Series #WD1003FZEX, 1 TB 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236625 = $80.00 @ NewEgg http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=760 CPU HEATSINK COOLER = COOLERMASTER Seidon 120 mm AIO Liquid Cooler w/ Fan http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103179 = $45.00 @ NewEgg http://us.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/cooling/seidon/seidon-120m.html BUDGET - INTEL / nVIDIA - GAMING RIG … TOTAL = $1,000.00 +/- } * * Prices will vary depending on package deals, discounts, shipping charges, local taxes, and component changes, items you can bring over from your previous computer, etc. … it also assumes you already have a Monitor, keyboard, mouse and Windows Operating system. IF anyone has questions please feel free to PM me or ask in the thread, thanks for taking the time to look and good luck on building your rig ! 6 Quote
rabbit Posted July 29, 2014 Posted July 29, 2014 AMD CPUs generally get too hot even though that 212 cooler would keep most of em under 45 degrees. Everything else looks sweet though. Reaper helped me find some parts for my upcoming custom build. Just waiting for the 4790K to come in the mail any day now! Quote
Krayzie Posted July 29, 2014 Posted July 29, 2014 ASRock also makes some pretty good motherboards. Quote
docwarren Posted July 29, 2014 Posted July 29, 2014 Yeah.... my stock HP Pavillion with Vista from 2008 that I stripped down and tweaked is still kicking, but with Sonofdoc getting into ET and bringing him to COD in the next few months, I have been thinking about building a new rig and have him play on current one instead of the laptop. Now just gotta convince the wife. Thanks for the info. Quote
LA_Kings_Fan Posted July 29, 2014 Author Posted July 29, 2014 (edited) AMD CPUs generally get too hot even though that 212 cooler would keep most of em under 45 degrees. Everything else looks sweet though. Reaper helped me find some parts for my upcoming custom build. Just waiting for the 4790K to come in the mail any day now! NO, that USED to be the case ... BUT, starting from Intel's 3rd generation CPUs, extremely hot temperatures were caused by a gap between the IHS and die which were caused by the glue that was used to seal the lid shut. of course, TIM will also have an effect but, imo, the gap that is created between the IHS and die of the CPU is a bigger contributor to the rise of temperatures as the IHS and die do not receive the proper contact they need. Thus, you will see much higher temperatures with the INTEL ivy bridge and haswell CPU's compared to AMD's latest Vishera CPU. And NO I'm not an AMD fan boy, I have and do recommend INTEL CPU's , however what you said is no longer true with the current releases of each CPU's, and for a BUDGET BUILD, AMD would be a FINE OPTION ... BTW, just a note to those unaware, AMD 'plays' a game with the nomenclature of how many "CORES" their CPU's really have. While an INTEL QUAD CORE actually has FOUR physical cores inside, an AMD "Quad Core" is equivalent to an Intel DUAL CORE with HYPER THREADING or "virtual cores" ... sections of the CPU that will off load and handle some of the computing resources, but are not considered physical cores because they require particular software commands to function so most programs and games will only see it as using half as many cores. AMD Quad = Intel Dual, AMD 6 core = Intel 3 core (if they made one), AMD 8 core = Intel QUAD Core ... Intel QUAD CORE w/ Hyper Threading ( ie the Core i7 2700K ) = not much on the AMD side, until you get into their 'server' CPU's and they get into 12 and even 16 "compute core" chips ... but I digress Edited July 29, 2014 by LA_Kings_Fan 2 Quote
ronaldounit0 Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 I'd also like to add that particular games respond to AMD/Intel and Radeon/Nvidia differently (mostly because of software). However, many fixes come out for the aforementioned brands, so never rule one out because you read that it responds poorly (I looked at this thread and it swayed my opinion, but that was wrong to let it do so: http://forums.dayzgame.com/index.php?/topic/159972-dayz-amd-vs-intel/ ). I am more than satisfied with my Intel/Nvidia setup, and I hear that others feel the same way with their AMD/Radeon setups. For someone who is still learning about all of this, FOR ME, it's sort of a "pick a brand and go with it" situation. Quote
TulsaGeoff Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Nice little systems! I really like those BITFENIX cases. I've never seen them before. Simple and elegant and not expensive! Quote
Vanaraud Posted July 30, 2014 Posted July 30, 2014 Nice builds. Also I´d like to add some tips. For future proof I´d suggest H97\Z97 chipsets atm, should support new upcoming Intel CPUs. Also Mantle support in upcoming games could turn the tides with AMD CPU\GPU combo, have to keep eye on news. Didn´t find any specs for those Bitfenix cases on their site: what are the physical dimensions for GPU\PSU\CPU cooler they can fit? Quote
LA_Kings_Fan Posted July 30, 2014 Author Posted July 30, 2014 (edited) Nice little systems! I really like those BITFENIX cases. I've never seen them before. Simple and elegant and not expensive! Yeah they are kind of NEW ... and I agree really nice little cases and impossible to beat for the money, clean looks, quality build, custom colors and options to personalize to YOU and a color themed build ... all at about the price of HALF what most other manufacturers are charging for something similar. I was gonna suggest ANTEC or COUGAR cases for a budget build, but then saw these, and it's a no brainer. Nice builds. Also I´d like to add some tips. For future proof I´d suggest H97\Z97 chipsets atm, should support new upcoming Intel CPUs. Also Mantle support in upcoming games could turn the tides with AMD CPU\GPU combo, have to keep eye on news. Didn´t find any specs for those Bitfenix cases on their site: what are the physical dimensions for GPU\PSU\CPU cooler they can fit? While I'd tend to agree it's generally better to option for the latest and greatest MoBo Chipsets and CPU processors for long term future proofing ... however with a BUDGET BUILD that may not be so critical, and in fact you may find better bargains on previous generation components that frankly still offer you as good if not sometimes better performance. Case in point I'm perfectly happy with my Sandy-Bridge Intel i7 2700K CPU and ASUS ROG Maximus Gene Z-68 MoBo that I've been able to OC up to and past 4.8 GHz (for sanity I run it @ 4.2 though) and you might find those USED for a LOT LESS than you can buy a NEW HASWELL CPU that frankly just doesn't OC as well. It can be hit and miss ? As for Mantle and the whole AMD (ATI) Radeon Graphics cards { Team RED } versus the nVidia GeForce GPU { Team GREEN } debate, I find myself in the odd place of loving Intel CPU's and MoBo's paired with AMD GPU Graphics cards, thus you don't HAVE to go all AMD or Intel + nVidia, you can mix and match. And frankly theses days when you're talking $200+ or higher end video cards it's kind of a wash to say any one brand or architecture is better than the other ... BOTH companies produce wonderful performing cards that are leaps and bounds better and more stable than the products they were putting out just a handful of years ago. I know many swear by nVidia, but I had 3 nVidia cards fail on me, as well as my friend Convertors nVidia card, all four cards died within a years time, and we both switched over to AMD because it was more cost effective. I'm still using 2 AMD cards, Convertor is back to nVidia and both of us are completely happy with the cards we've got. I will say this though ... as for Brands ... IF you go nVidia, I'd strongly suggest eVGA cards. That company makes some of the BEST Video cards on the market period and has flat out the BEST Customer service and warranty in the industry bar none ! IF you go the AMD route I'd suggest SAPPHIRE, MSI or ASUS ... I've had bad luck with XFX cards before and they no longer offer the lifetime warranty they used to. Only other brands I have experience with is PowerColor and I had to RMA that card, but it might have been my PSU was too weak to power the card ? They used to be considered a lower level player, but I tend to like what they appear to be putting out on the market these days and would be willing to try them again. As for the BitFenix NEO Cases ... there is a SPEC's TAB on the website maybe you missed seeing ? http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/neos#specs Dimensions (WxHxD) = 185mm x 429mm x 470mm Motherboard Sizes = Mini-ITX, mATX, ATX 5.25" Drive Bays = 2 3.5" Drive Bays = 3 2.5" Drive Bays = 3 Cooling Front = 2 x 120mm (optional) Cooling Rear = 1 x 120mm (included) PCI Slots = 7 I/O = 1 x USB3.0, 1 x USB2.0, HD Audio Power Supply = PS2 ATX (bottom, multi direction) Extras / Features = Front Dust Filter, PSU Dust Filter, Tool-Free Drive Locking Some more on 'em ... Reviews / News - http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2014/07/08/bitfenix-neos-review/1 http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/introducing-bitfenix-neos-the-simple-affordable-gaming-chassis.html http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6545/bitfenix-neos-mid-tower-chassis-review/index.html http://www.eteknix.com/bitfenix-neos-mid-tower-chassis-review/ Videos - http://youtu.be/Dx6tck7UgDs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLcyWQ9YCIs http://youtu.be/4Re-vl4JEyY Edited July 30, 2014 by LA_Kings_Fan Quote
Vanaraud Posted July 31, 2014 Posted July 31, 2014 The thing about future proof is, that the z97\z87 boards cost the same amount of $$$, so why not take a newer one which "could"(still little bit sceptic about it) support next gen CPU-s. Also I didn´t miss the specs tab but I still can´t find any numbers for CPU cooling height and max graphics dimensions. And I run also Intel CPU+ ATI GPU but if we wait and see a bit theres a chance to run all AMD for less money and same performance with Mantle support. About brands then I´d take the best from current generation: some are good at one generation\model some are better in other. For example: ASUS put his DCU heatsink on AMDs r9 290x Hawaii GPU which is too small for that heatsink, so Sapphire Tri-x would be my recommendation, for rest of the r7\9 cards its vice versa... MSI in my opinion has messed up the whole last patch of mobos\gpus, though I run last gen MSI mobo\gpu combination. So it takes some digging to find up best parts for you´re liking and specific CPU\mobo\gpu. Though I think MSI has done a good job with "Gaming" red+black branding and to me it seems it sells better than actual performance specs on reviews... Quote
Krayzie Posted July 31, 2014 Posted July 31, 2014 Though I think MSI has done a good job with "Gaming" red+black branding and to me it seems it sells better than actual performance specs on reviews... I love my MSI card, although it is a Nvidia 660Ti. It hasn't given me any issues and stays nice and cool. Quote
LA_Kings_Fan Posted July 31, 2014 Author Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) Also I didn´t miss the specs tab but I still can´t find any numbers for CPU cooling height and max graphics dimensions. The one video I posted had that info ... CPU Cooler MAXIMUM Height = 160 mm tall for NEO / 155 mm tall for the WINDOW NEO MAX GPU Card Length = 300 mm Length so it will fit a 7990 GPU card and most R9 290X Cards, but some Custom R9 290X Cards or a R9 295X2 card might require you to remove the SSD Cage ? I don't think there are any nVidia GTX cards longer than 300 mm, but I don't know 100% for sure ? Edited July 31, 2014 by LA_Kings_Fan Quote
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