computer died

[SpaceBooger]

Thanks for the info... I don't plan on using it primarily for gaming, but I do want to be able to play the ones in my backlog I just don't want to spend extra money to play future games I don't yet own. So is this rig too powerful and should I cut back a little?

[gtmtnbiker]

gtmtnbiker, the projected power usage of either system would still be sub-300W, so it doesn't really matter. And, again, it's quad core vs dual core (Obviously, the quad core would be using more electricity ). Adding in a GPU later would sort of defeat the purpose of talking power consumption anyway, wouldn't it?

Yes, that would be a tradeoff. Getting a $50 fanless GPU versus spending $200+ on new motherboard/cpu.

So I bought the i3-2100 CPU for $99 and the Gigabyte board for $119.

Here's my current running total:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 $119
Intel i3-2100 3.1Ghz $99
Mushkin 128GB SSD $109
Samsung 2TB HD $100
Ceton 4 tuner card $199
Logitech wireless keyboard with trackpad $20

I still need a case, power supply, and ram.

Any preferred vendors for cases? Especially quiet ones. I'm also looking for an 80+ certified PSU.

[Ziggy]

Here are the specs I'm thinking about:
Processor: AMD FX-Series FX-6100 3.3GHz
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2P
GPU: GeForce GTX 560
Power Suply: 700W
Ram: 8gb
Hard Drive: 1TB

I cannot comment on the video card. I know you said you wanna be able to play future games without having to upgrade, but do you want to just be able to play them or play them on high or max settings? That's what you have to decide, really.

I would get a different motherboard. The Gigabyte you picked out, it goes for about $70 on Amazon. I don't know if you found it elsewhere for cheaper. But the Asus and Biostar boards I linked earlier aren't that much more money (they were about $100 each) and have way more features. SATA 6Gb/s versus 3Gb/s, USB 3.0, newer chipsets, faster (I think) RAM speeds supported, and probably some other stuff too. You might be thinking, "I don't have any devices that use USB 3.0 so I don't care." But if you think in the next few years you might have a camera or an mp3 player or whatever that uses USB 3.0, you might experience regret. What's $30 now? That's a relatively small amount compared to the pain in the ass of a mobo swap down the road, if it comes down to it. The SATA 6Gbs ports are probably worth the $30 alone for faster HDD read/write speeds. And if you ever decide to throw a solid state HDD in there, you'll be sorry you only have the 3Gbs ports. It's definitely worth getting the newer chipsets too. I'd imagine the newer chipsets are just better overall, but they probably support more CPUs too.

As far as the PSU, RAM and HDD, are those just the specs you're looking to get or did you pick something out already? Like I was saying in my earlier posts, those aren't really the important specs. I'm sure you'll get enough RAM for your needs, and I'm sure you'll pick out a hard drive large enough for your needs.

Watts really isn't a huge deal, 700w is probably more than you actually need. There's a PSU calculator on NewEgg, you input your components and it'll spit out how many watts you need. You'd be surprised how low it will be. Of course, it's also good to get a little more than you need. Anyways, I stand by my recommendations for PSUs. I think the one Enermax was about $80, that's really not a whole lot. I know you can get a 700w PSU off eBay for like $20, but trust me, it's not worth it. You'll just be here in a year posting a thread similar to this one.

As far as RAM goes, just be sure to get a good brand name. You wont save much with a shitty brand anyway, maybe $10/stick if that. Mushkin, Kingston, Crucial, etc, etc. As far as the speed goes, just pick whatever the fastest supported speed it. Whichever motherboard you end up getting, it'll probably support dual channel. So for that reason, it will be best to buy RAM in kits (matched pairs) so you can take advantage of dual channel. For example, you'd be better off buying two 4GB sticks rather than one 8GB stick. One stick wont run in dual channel for obvious reasons.

As for the hard drive, I have brand loyalty toward Western Digital. I haven't used Seagate in the longest time, but you should be alright with either. I wouldn't even consider any other brand though. The size isn't the real important factor. Firstly, if you end up getting a mobo that supports SATA 6Gb/s, then make sure you get a drive that supports 6Gb/s (as oppose to 3Gb/s). Also, the cache size is something to pay attention to. Larger cache should mean better performance.

Just my 2 cents.

[gtmtnbiker]

I still need a case, power supply, and ram.

Any preferred vendors for cases? Especially quiet ones. I'm also looking for an 80+ certified PSU.

I just ordered the rest of the stuff last night.

SeaSonic X Series 400w modular PSU $120
Pioneer 12x BD writer $89
Silverstone GD05B HTPC mATX case $94
8GB G-Skill Sniper DDR3 1600 RAM, $39
Rosewill RNX-180PCe wireless adapter $17

The running total is about $725. This will be the first PC that I will put together from scratch although I have done minor upgrades before.

If it goes well, I may also put together a new PC since my current one is about 7 years old and is pretty loud.

[gtmtnbiker]

So spacebooger, what did you end up doing to replace your PC?

I put my new HTPC together a few weeks ago and have been enjoying it. It's definitely a big improvement over the other HTPC which is Atom powered. I'm still learning the ins/outs of using Windows Media Center to play blu-rays, mkvs, and recorded shows.

I like how I have it setup to always sleep and only wakes up to record a show before going back to sleep. My previous cable box would always be running/recording 24x7. I'll have to take a few photos and post them into my game room thread.

Building a PC is somewhat like being on crack (not that I would know). I just ordered some components (PSU, case, SSD, HD) for my next build. I will go to Microcenter later this week to pick up the i5 and motherboard. This will be my new desktop replacement. The current PC is almost 8 years old, a Dell Precision 650, Dual Processor Pentium 4 3Ghz, 2GB of RAM. Wow, it has served me well.

I'm looking for a faster machine, especially when resuming from sleep. The current machine seems to take several minutes to re-establish a network connection. It'll be fun to put the new one together.

[SpaceBooger]

So spacebooger, what did you end up doing to replace your PC?

I tried a new power supply, that didn't work. Then I tired a new motherboard that didn't work.
So I got a machine that fit the exact specs I listed earlier for about $700 financed for a year non interest through newegg.
[quote="SpaceBooger]Processor: AMD FX-Series FX-6100 3.3GHz
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2P
GPU: GeForce GTX 560
Power Suply: 700W
Ram: 8gb
Hard Drive: 1TB[/quote]
I am loving the rig. I am playing Skyrim with almost everything maxed. I am able to play Sonic Generations with everything maxed so for my new games its great and that means all the old games I have on steam (Like: Ghostbusters, Transformers: WfC, etc) will run well.
So in the end I am real happy with the rig. I still want to figure out what is wrong with my old stuff so I can repair/use it to replace the P4 I use in my arcade cab.

[Cronozilla]

It sounds like you should be able to turn Skyrim up higher. I know there's some driver issues with it and it's got some obscure artificial limitations built in, but I thought they patched most of that up.

Even though it's not a Ti (or is it?), you should be able to max it.