Building a new Rig - Advice please?

[bobtheskull]

It is coming closer to that time where I have to say goodbye to an old friend who has been of fantastic service for 5 years. The problems have been increasing to the point that games are now unplayable. In 2 or 3 months I'll be in a position where I can build a new rig. Only trouble is, I've not really been keeping up with the market.

I've always been a firm supporter of AMD processors and nVidia cards. Now, however, most of my friends have done the unthinkable and switched to Intel. Even though nVidia has always been my first choice, I have become increasingly aware of several games on my account having 'problems with nVidia drivers' and either not being playable or being severely glitchy. (I can't recall which ones offhand.)

So... my question is, what would you guys suggest? Intel or AMD? nVidia? What models would you suggest? I'm not going to have a massive budget, but I'll be able to get something pretty decent.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

nVidia makes plenty of good cards, the 560Ti would probably be a nice card for the ~$800-1000 range build.

 

[Krynn72]

I've used different products from all four brands, in different configurations. Honestly, just look for the best value per dollar. You'll always find games having trouble with nvidia drivers, and games having issues with ati drivers. I dont think I've ever had a card that didnt give me some kind of grief with at least one game. At the moment I have an i5 processor and a 560ti. No regrets, though I think I may have gotten an unlucky faulty GPU. Hard to tell for sure though because the problems are weird as shit and very sporadic, so maybe its something else. Works supremely well 98% of the time though. Might upgrade the GPU when Arma 3 comes out though, just because.

 

[Viperidae]

Knowing your budget would be helpful. Currently, there's very little question about which is best in certain component categories. The toughest choice is the GPU and cases/cooling.

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Let's assume a budget of £800, sans new case:

∙£185 I5 3570k: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-404-IN (Gamers don't need anything more than this. Don't let people bullshit you. You could also go for a 2500k, depending on your mood.)

∙£80 MSI G43: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-202-MS&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=2261

∙£40 Patriot 8GB kit: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-052-PA&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1517 (You could buy almost any brand here. You could also double this, but your performance gain wouldn't be much.)

∙£100 Corsair HX650: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-095-CS

∙£120 Intel 520 128GB: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-022-IN (In a few weeks this will catch up to the NA price.)

The difficult part:

The best GPU choice can jump all over the place. GPU prices are generally falling now, and without knowing your budget this piece either get much faster or much slower. The other components I've listed so far I'd recommend to anyone, unless they were absolutely dead set on spending $2000 to get that 5% extra performance with an i7/quad channel. The GPU is where selection is very grey, very variable. So, provisionally I'd recommend:

∙~£280 Any non-chinese brand GTX 580: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-146-OK

That sets you at £805.

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Cases:

I honestly don't have many recommendations for these. The last case I bought was in 2006. Antec is the staple of good case design/manufacturing, so you can't really go wrong with them. These two are the most popular in the industry:

∙£45 Antec 300: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-101-AN&groupid=2362&catid=160&subcat=
∙£75 Antec Solo: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-058-AN&groupid=2362&catid=160&subcat=


Some optional, recommended parts pertaining to cases/cooling:

∙£18 Sata DVD Drive: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-099-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat= (Not everyone needs this, but some people still have IDE drives. (like me :l))
∙£27 Hyper 212: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-035-CM


Fans (unnecessary, but they could help with noise/heat):

∙£8.50 Exhaust fan: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-021-SY
∙£13 Intake/CPU fan(s): http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-031-SY

 

[Wanted Bob]

Just built a new rig myself, had a slightly higher budget though. Agree with most of the recommendations Viper gave:

- Corsair PSUs are really high quality, and this is one of the last parts you want to skimp on.

- I personally went for an Intel 2500k CPU, though you could go for an Ivy Bridge so long as you know your mobo will support it and you don't mind forking over the extra cash

- I really recommend getting an aftermarket cooler for your CPU if there is even the chance of you overclocking. Fans are cheap compared to all the other parts, and even without OCing I'm pretty sure the lower temps will help your CPUs lifespan. The Hyper 212 is an excellent cooler, just make sure your case can fit it BEFORE you buy it.

- Antec makes awesome cases, though I ended up buying an AZZA Solano 1000r. A buddy of mine has an Antec Eleven Hundred and loves it, so that would be a good choice for a "super-mid" size case.

- Make sure you look at all the physical specs of your parts, and ensure they work with the mobo and case you select. I almost bought some parts that wouldn't have fit in my case had I not done the research

Anyways, good luck with your building process!

EDIT: Sorry if some of the tips seem obvious, I just kinda ranted a bit

 

[ShinRa]

I vote for this setup:
i7-3930k 6 core
4x4GB PC1866 Quad Channel G.Skill
120GB SSD Samsung
GTX680 2GB
850W Corsair PSU
ASUS x79 SABERTOOTH Mobo w/PCIe 3.0 & Quad Channel RAM support

Yeahhhh it's totally out of your budget and doesn't necessarily answer any of your questions, but cmonnnn man, you only live once. You can't take money with you when you die SPEND IT! (trying to empower and coarse you into doing this)

EDIT - I just did a mock build of this on newegg and it's only $1800. So....actually....yeah....you should do this.

 

[Wanted Bob]

Yeah, though keep in mind that that list doesn't cover all of the necessary components. Still need a case, an HDD (cause 120GB SSD isn't enough), any peripherals to replace outdated ones, etc... add in shipping costs and the total rig price can balloon on you.

That said, those are some nice parts

 

[ShinRa]

Yeah, though keep in mind that that list doesn't cover all of the necessary components. Still need a case, an HDD (cause 120GB SSD isn't enough), any peripherals to replace outdated ones, etc... add in shipping costs and the total rig price can balloon on you.
That said, those are some nice parts

So true, I was thinking maybe if he kept his old HDD and peripherals (case included) it wouldn't be so bad. When I first made that post I was semi joking around, but after seeing the price, I'm about to pull the trigger on that set up myself

 

[Lt. Rice]

Best thing I could say is go check out futuremarks website here: http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/
There look at the "Value for money" tab and look through the parts. Make sure that what ever you get is relatively new. By that I mean within the last year. This only covers, CPU's, GPU's and Mobo's however. When it comes to buying a PSU it is good to look at corsair. Look for something that provides 500W power. That'll be sufficient for 1 card which is most likely what you will be doing with your budget. Check www.newegg.com too and sort by best ratings and look for a good priced PSU that has good reviews. A case really doesn't matter too much. Just make sure you grab a mid-sized tower. They generally fit most Mobo's. Being the ATX format. Plus, make sure the mobo and CPU are compatible. Look for the socket type on it. Usually a LGA 1155 socket. Now for ram, you're going to check www.newegg.com again and look for 2x4GB. Anything corsair or kingston should be fine. I personally got the vengeance model since you can OC it and it looks cool Depends on how much you want to spend. Contact me if you want more help.

Cheers