Building a PC...

[CFFJR]

I'm looking into a new PC.

I hate asking for this, but looking at the ridiculous number of hardware options is overwhelming, to say the very least.

I of course need it to work well for gaming. I'm looking forward to Duke Nukem Forever and Skyrim, and it'd be nice to play those without issue if possible. I'd also use it for some graphic stuff, Adobe CS and the like. Most importantly though is that I want it to be future proof (yeah sure ). I've got to be able to easily upgrade the thing down the line.

I'd like to take a crack at building it myself (I constantly hear about how easy it is). Would anybody mind putting together a list of some appropriate parts? I'm pretty flexible in terms of budget (1000 plus), though I do need to account for OS and a Monitor (any suggestions on monitors, by the way?).

So uh, any help...?

[Anayo]

I don't know much about this stuff but I did put a PC together I use for gaming... someone more knowledgeable can correct me if I tell you anything naive.

Choose a motherboard first. You'll have to make sure 1) the CPU socket uses the CPU you want (different motherboards support different ones). Most games these days require a speed of about 2.5 Ghz average. You also have the option of dual core and quad core CPU's which have more processors on the same chip. Supposedly this helps performance with stuff like games.

2) Make sure the motherboard has at least 1 PCI express video card slot. I say 'at least' cause some motherboards support multiple video cards running together, which naturally costs more and requires a bigger power supply. You can easily necessitate getting a higher than 600 watt power supply with something like this.

3) Make sure the motherboard supports 4 GB or so of RAM. If you want more than 4 GB you'll need a 64 bit operating system. However I'm not aware any games out right now actually utilize this much memory. Most I've seen required was 2 GB, and that was something more recent.

I can't remember the exact parts I put together for mine but I have 4 GB of RAM, Windows XP 32-bit, a 3 GHz Pentium Core Duo, and some Nvidia card I can't remember the name of with 512 MB memory and good reviews on tiger direct. I can play recent stuff cranked up somewhere between medium and max settings, including Crysis, Fallout 3, CoD4, Batman Arkham Asylum, Resident Evil 5, etc. Friends who own XBOX 360's tell me the graphics look slightly better than what they have at home.

Considering your budget and that it's 2 years later you can probably get something way more awesome than mine, though. Just make sure you get parts that are compatible with each other, check customer reviews for what you get, and you probably can't go wrong.

[isiolia]

Well, just poking around Newegg...

Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 - Z68 board selection is somewhat slim thus far, as is feedback on what is there. Either way, this would be pretty representative pricewise. $144.99

CPU - i5 2500K - Logical price/performance pick around now. The 'K' denotes an unlocked multiplier if you want to overclock - the price premium over the standard 2500 is slim enough that it makes sense to have the option. $224.99

Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212+ - Standard value cooler pick. You could skip this and use the OEM cooler if you aren't planning overclock. $39.99

RAM - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - 4GB is fine right now, especially for gaming...but the cost for an 8GB kit isn't -that- much more, and you did mention some graphics work. $89.99

Case - Cooler Master HAF 912 - Again, more representational than anything. Could pay a little more, or there are other, similar options like the Antec 300 or NZXT Gama-001BK. Need to watch how many fans are included though, as lower tier cases often skimp on 'em, and adding more raises the cost. $59.99

PSU - CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W - Another that's more or less a good product at around what you could expect to spend on a good product. Capacity is fine unless you go with a monstrously high end video card or multiple cards (even then it'd depend on which)
PSU is very important in general for stability - not something you want to skimp on. $89.99

HDD - WD Black 1TB - Good basic drive - for performance you'd want an SSD more, but that's a significant cost increase. Could go smaller to shave some cost, or larger for not a lot more - I tend to think of storage as something you add to when you need it though. $89.99

Optical - HP DVD writer - Another thing where you have a wide range of viable options at the price point. A Blu-ray drive/burner is a bit more, but possibly something to consider if you see a use. $24.99

Video card - Varies on how gaming focused you think you'll be. Personally, I have an HD6870 right now, which would be a good sub-$200 pick. They're around $170-180 after rebate currently (example). At that price, if one doesn't cut it...put a second in, and have something better than nearly any single card on the market (if Crossfire is supported, etc)

In the mid-200s, a GeForce 560 Ti or a Radeon 6950 are good picks. If you're a really big Duke Nukem fan, then this bundle might be of interest (note - the GTX 560 is a lesser card than a 560 Ti, and normally would be around $200, not the $245 MSRP of that...but if you're buying the game anyway, you get some CE-ish stuff for half the cost of the actual CE).

That would bring your hardware costs to the $900-1000 range. Could cut it down a little if you keep things stock, go with 4GB of RAM, a smaller HDD, etc.
Windows OEM is $100-130, depending on the version (Home is $100, Professional $130).

Monitor varies. I'd say to try and get an IPS screen (higher quality, though slightly slower response times typically - also more expensive). Also could depend on if you want HDMI ports n' things to easily hook up newer consoles.
I think most of the ones I'd usually look at might be more than you'd be looking to spend though >_>;
Dell's Ultrasharp line are decent for an IPS, HP also has a line of relatively affordable IPS screens (ZR--W)...but they're still easily $100 more than similar TN panels.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Well you could be like me. I have built a few from scratch but I'm lazy, so, I'm just going with the kit computer route from now on.

It's still quite a bit cheaper than buying prebuilds from Dell or HP etc.

[irixith]

It's still quite a bit cheaper than buying prebuilds from Dell or HP etc.

This isn't true at all. It used to be, absolutely. Now companies like Dell are selling fully loaded i7 2600k units with 8GB RAM and serious discreet video for sub $500 during their ever frequent weekly sales. You simply cannot build that power at that price with parts. (The i7 2600k is $329 alone, sometimes as low as $299 if you're lucky .. and that's just your CPU!)

These days, you build your own for a variety of reasons, but one of them certainly can't be the cost saving.

Note: I live in Canada, and I understand things are a little different in "we screw you and you'll like it" European countries.

[JordanPlayer]

I would really consider putting a SSD in; a new controller just came out so older SSD drives (like OCZ Vertex 2) have been dropping in price a lot lately... while not as fast as the new drives they are way faster than a traditional HD. Get one that is somewhere between 120-240GB and use for your OS and commonly used apps/data. Right now an SSD is one of the most influential pieces of hardware in PC performance (along with graphics card).

These days, you build your own for a variety of reasons, but one of them certainly can't be the cost saving.

If the person building the machine can reuse parts (such as power supply, gfx card, sound card, hdd, case, sometimes RAM) then it does save money from buying a whole new system. Obviously you have to start somewhere and build the first PC, but after that you can continually upgrade different parts at different times which saves on buying a whole new machine. I have a computer that is over 3 years old that can still play anything current; about to put in an SSD + big HDD... prolly need to update graphics card soon but the initial investment lasted a long time before hardware upgrades.

[isiolia]

It's still quite a bit cheaper than buying prebuilds from Dell or HP etc.

This isn't true at all. It used to be, absolutely. Now companies like Dell are selling fully loaded i7 2600k units with 8GB RAM and serious discreet video for sub $500 during their ever frequent weekly sales. You simply cannot build that power at that price with parts. (The i7 2600k is $329 alone, sometimes as low as $299 if you're lucky .. and that's just your CPU!)

No they don't >_>

An XPS 8300 (Dell's home machine that can have a 2600K in it) -starts- at $699, the 2600K is a $220 addition, and the best video card they even offer in it is a 5670, for an extra $70.

Their $999 base config is roughly what you've decribed, 'cept that it includes a Radeon 5450 - bottom of the barrel for a discrete card.

I agree in general that Dell or HP or whatnot are very hard to beat at the low, low end and still have a legit Windows license/etc...but you're not getting a good gaming box from them for that.

[Anayo]

One more thing: don't be a cheapskate when it comes to COOLING your machine. Make sure this thing is well ventilated.

[CFFJR]

Wow.

First off, thanks for the detailed responses! That's exactly what I was hoping for.

I'm not sure where to start here, so I'll just go through Isiolia's parts list. Please forgive any stupid questions.

Looking at motherboards. The one you linked and several others say VGA card required. I of course know VGA, but I've never heard of a VGA card. Is there a big difference between that board and this one?

Regarding the case, is there any reason to go higher end beyond appearance? Space is an issue I'd guess, but the one you linked has that removable cage to solve that problem.

Regarding power supply, how do I know if I need a beefier PSU? Is this something where I just need to check the power needs of each individual component and figure it out? (I feel like that's a really dumb question, but I'd rather look dumb now than prove it by fucking up. )

I'm a little unclear on hdds vs. ssds. Is this something where you'd get an SSD instead of a normal hard drive? Or do they compliment each other? What's the benefit?

About the video card, I'd kinda like to go high end if I can. Out of interest I searched the 560 ti you mentioned, and it returned a whole mess of cards that all have similar, if not the same specs. Any thoughts?

As for the monitor, extra ports for consoles would be slick. I'd certainly use them. I do have room to play here price wise (and I'm not real clear on what's typical either, the prices I've seen vary wildly), so if there are any specific ones you like right now, I'd be interested in seeing them.

I know I just asked even more questions, but I really appreciate all the help.

[isiolia]

- The board specifies "VGA card required" because of the chipset that's in use. Intel's current consumer processor lineup all have an integrated GPU. Not all of their chipsets can actually access it - the Z68 chipset used on that motherboard can. It doesn't, however, have video ports, thus, a discrete card is still required.

- A better case might be larger/have more expansion, cool better and/or accomodate more robust cooling systems, have easier cable management, be lighter (aluminum), or just fit the aesthetics you prefer. As mentioned, higher end ones might include more fans out of the box too.

- Effectively, yes. Your biggest power draws, other than the CPU, tend to be video cards - so usually you'd just consider what you plan to use there. It's best to get something that has some headroom, but also isn't complete overkill as it's both more expensive, and probably not in an optimal operating range.
For a single card, 550-650W is normally plenty. Dual card, 750-850W range more.

- SSDs, currently, are used mostly for system drives. What they particularly excel at is seek time - your OS does tons of looking at little files all over your HDD. IE, you open Photoshop, and it jumps around to check config files, registry settings, plugins, fonts, etc. SSDs blow HDDs away when it comes to accessing those files quickly. They also tend to do rather well with data transfer speeds n' all too...but the cost per GB right now is way too high to use them for bulk storage.
In general, an SSD is about the biggest upgrade you can make for system responsiveness. Typical setup would be an SSD for boot/OS/apps, and then HDD(s) for media, games, that sort of thing.

- Neither major graphics OEM (AMD or nVidia) actually produce their own cards right now. They'll make a chip, make a reference design, and then various brands market cards. There are plenty of good OEMs - PNY and XFX are solid, Sapphire on the AMD side, ASUS and Gigabyte tend to be decent, etc. Often the user reviews are a good indication.

While there are plenty of hardware sites to check on, Tom's Hardware's monthly graphics guide is usually pretty good. Should be updated again soon I'd think. Just keep in mind that it's a fast-moving market - price shift a lot, and so would recommendations as a result.

- I personally have two HP 24" IPS monitors, a LP2475W and a ZR24W. The former is more expensive ($590 or so), but has a boatload of inputs (Composite, S-Video, Component, VGA, DVI, Displayport, and HDMI). The one out now is a v.2 of some kind.
The latter is a little less expensive (I bought it at a promo price when it came out, but it's like $510 now) and has only basic inputs.

Expensive compared to some...but not for a 24" IPS monitor. Neither are perfect, but I've been generally happy with them. Still, I'd say to hunt around. I usually check the discussions here.