Computer Build Help

Technology and Gaming
#1

This is the first build I’ve ever done and I need some help. I’ve got a lot of the basics covered but I still have some hardware questions. Also, keep in mind this is being designed as a gaming rig too :slight_smile: :

1.) AMD VS. Intel: I know this one has been going on for ages but I need to know from experience. Which one is better? I’m leaning towards an Intel Core i7 2600k. The extreme is nice but just seems a little too pricey for someone like me who hasn’t done a build before

2.) NVidia VS. AMD/ATI: Thinking about the Evga GeForce GTX 560. But how does AMD/ATI compare? And for NVidia, does the brand (like Evga) make a difference?

3.) Does the brand of ram matter? If I find some smaller brand of RAM that’s cheaper than patriot or Corsair, does that effect my computer’s overall performance at all? And also, would 8 gigs be enough?

4.) I’ve heard during the first boot that you’re supposed to keep the side of the case off. That seems logical but what confuses me is that I heard during the New Egg build on YouTube that if you don’t do this, the computer won’t work. I’m sure he was screwing with everyone but he seemed pretty serious.

5.) Does the case really matter? I’ve seen cases that are $20 to hundreds of dollars. And how much of a difference is there between full tower and mid tower cases?

6.) How should I set up my hard drives? Would 1 tb be enough for a games, photos, and videos? Should I partition this one drive to make two? Or should I buy more drives? And what about SSD’s? I’d love one but they seen a little too pricey for me.

Thanks for your help :slight_smile:

#2

  1. I just built a new computer this week, and was advised against getting the i7 2600k, because games at this point don’t use 8 cores, and I don’t do enough video or audio work for it to matter. If you’re going to mainly use it for gaming, save yourself the money and go for the i5 2500k.

  2. Both are fairly competitive right now. I’m not sure how much of a difference manufacturer makes, especially since I just carried over the card I already had.

  3. Yes. I can’t remember all of the good brands, but you mentioned Corsair, I know they’re good, so is Kingston, and my new RAM is Crucial. 8 gigs should be plenty, but you can get more if you get a good deal or just want more :stuck_out_tongue:

  4. I’m not sure, seems like BS to me. I didn’t fasten the side on because it was my first build that was more than swapping out a video card or RAM, I wanted to be able to quickly get inside and connect/change stuff I may have missed.

  5. Different cases have different features. Mine has four front USB ports, a front eSATA port, and front headphone/mic ports. My brother in law told me his case has a tray that slides out for the PSU, when I mentioned that it may be a pain if I had to remove mine. I would assume the difference between full and mid tower cases is size. I don’t know how much it matters, but I would probably go for full if it didn’t, just so I had more room to work and manage cables.

  6. Before I did my upgrade, I was running off of one 1 TB hard drive, with no partitions, and it was fine. About 100 games installed on Steam, a few from other sources, a bunch of random junk in my Downloads folder, etc. and still had 300 GB free. If you’re unsure, you could get a second 1 TB, or even a 2 TB. I have a 128 GB SSD in my new build, it’s mainly Windows, Firefox, and other essential programs, plus two games, and I haven’t played them yet since finishing the build, so I’m not sure how much the performance increased yet.

Keep in mind that, before a few weeks ago, I was just about as new as you when it comes to building computers. It’s pretty easy, just make sure your processor is seated properly before you close the clamp, and make sure you get your CPU cooler on correctly, with the right amount of thermal paste. The rest just takes some dextrous fingers and time.

#3

Here is my input:

  1. Intel will smash AMD in benchmarks, but it also costs a lot more to go with Intel. The advantage of the Intel i7 2600K: super fast speed, great for gaming.
    The advantage of AMD, mainly AM3+ processors: Pretty cheap, AMD doesn’t release a new socket as often as Intel meaning you most likely will be able to keep the AM3+ motherboard for quite a long time. If you get an AMD FX series CPU you’ll have close to i7 Sandy Bridge performance in gaming.

  2. It doesn’t matter. Developers optimize for Nvidia slightly more than they do for AMD, while most AMD cards are cheaper than their Nvidia counterparts.

  3. Lesser known branded RAM could end up being faulty but actual performance wouldn’t be affected (because of required standards). Kingston is usually really cheap but still reliable. 8GB would definitely be enough, so go for it if you can afford it.

  4. He was screwing with you.

  5. The case features matter depending on your needs. Any basic case would do no harm. The expensive cases come with extra external ports and a more thermal efficient layout, but the difference in your experience on Windows won’t change. If you want to run crossfire/SLI with multiple drives and a large power supply then you will want a full size ATX tower. If you plan on running one hard drive and only one video card for the rest of your gaming career, then a mid sized tower (microATX motherboard) would be fine.

  6. A 1TB hard drive would be really good. If you can find a good deal on a larger hard drive go ahead, but 1TB is definitely enough. The SSD would improve startup and shutdown, file transfer speeds, game loading times and in some cases your FPS. They are expensive but are great for gaming. If you buy one, install Windows and programs on the SSD and keep your personal files on your HDD.

#4
  1. There are a confusing number of options for memory. The vast majority are quite diverse in what they package and sell as being “their memory”. In reality, there is only ONE supplier in the U.S. that actually manufacturers memory and that is Micron. Everyone else is simply a re-distributor or assembler and that includes Corsair and Kingston. I’ve seen crap modules from BOTH of them. People don’t know it but, you can actually purchase a “Kingston” module and end up with Elixir chips built on a 3rd party branded board. Companies even buy modules from other distributors and assemblers and simply stick their label on them. Unless you’ve been in the memory distribution and assembly industry you never really know what it is you’re getting.

The SAFEST bet for typical U.S. end users is Crucial Memory. Crucial is the division of Micron and has the highest percentage of quality chips used in their retail distribution. That doesn’t mean you’re always going to get Micron original modules, but it does mean that their testing process is superior to the vast majority of other makes. Personally, I know who to call and what to specify in order to guarantee that I’m getting the best.

The only true manufacturers are Micron, based out of the U.S., Samsung and Hynix, based out of South Korea, Elpida, based out of Japan and Nanya and Winbond based out of Taiwan.

The reason there are so few TRUE manufacturers is that it costs about $3-$4 billion to get a single 12" fab started. That’s about half of Kingston’s entire revenue for last year and why they aren’t a true manufacturer. It would surprise you to know that the largest memory company that assembles memory in the continental U.S. is actually a company you’ve never even heard of.

#5

1 & 2. The story of AMD vs their competition (Nvidia and ATI) is that their competition will outperform them at the high end, but they have a nice compromise of performance and price. Given that the latest console generation has mostly stagnated PC graphics, there’s currently not much reason to get the absolute latest in graphics unless you’re a real PC enthusiast and play Metro 2033 at ultra-high graphics all day; anything else, even the good-looking games on highest level, will run very very well. (Ultimately, I would recommend an AMD graphics card just over $100 or so.) CPU, I think people talk a bit too much over when most anything 2.33Ghz+ and dual-core will seem to get the job done. Very few games use more than two cores, and even fewer use them effectively.

  1. RAM speed can help, certainly - it’s not entirely just size. A lot of game development practice is in learning how not to gobble up memory so quickly, and manage it well. When programmers falter, fast memory makes up for it. I often just go for any highly consumer-recommended memory on Newegg.

  2. Yes. Completely true. You also must make a dodecahedron circle and utter a prayer to the PC gods on first startup.
    Actually, what he may have meant is that this can help you determine if all connections are okay, nothing sounds strange, and no fans are hitting anything. This has happened to me once or twice - but since I had the cover off, the sound was loud to me, I shutdown right away and fixed it.

  3. Technically-speaking, any case will do. Sometimes you want to have expansion opportunities available; mostly it’s for durability. I made the mistake of getting a super-cheap, cool-looking case for my first build. By now, the drive bay covers are really falling apart and I moved to a new one. One of the biggest appeals of a good case is that the fans are quiet if you have one, slow, big one.

  4. Games are getting big…1TB I would recommend as a good first drive; you can always get another later to add to it. Right now, it seems to be a good price point.
    One unfortunate thing to note is that reviews for hard drives are always poor. It’s not mankind’s best evolution in technology, and lots of people always get hard drive failures. Just as a reminder, always back up important things every so often

#6

Anything over a 2.3 dual core? Hahahaha, riiiight

#7

Great! Thanks for everyone’s help!

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