Hi All.
Just wondering if anyone had their own / ideas for decent gaming rigs for about $2000.
Never built a computer before and thought it would be better than buying a standard one.
Gaming Rig - $2000
LRowelly on 20/03/2014 - 12:33
Comments
I'd suggest cutting out the SSD and putting that extra money on a GTX780 since it will run cooler and use less power. Though i personally have the SSD you mentioned (btw its 250Gb only), it really doesn't affect gaming much unless you install it onto the SSD, could help by using cache (?).
Also could get rid of the ODD as well since you can download via steam and other gaming libraries (origin, uplay etc.)
I would suggest keeping the SSD. Wont directly effect gaming. Will directly effect everything else that uses the hard drive and will make the whole computer feel quicker in general. Just my 2c.
Yup does feel quicker when you're on the desktop and startup and general use like browsing, I can second that.
not only that, games now need a lot of loading before it starts.. if you use a standard HD it will make this loading a lot painful as I learned with my new rig loading BF4 from HD.. changed to the SSD and it a lot better.
SSD drastically speeds up map loading times. Definitely worth it in my book.
But you would have to install the game onto the SSD for it to have any effect.
But you would have to install the game onto the SSD for it to have any effect.
Indeed you would. Indeed you would. Yep. You'd need to put the games on the SSD. For it to have any effect.
And With a 256GB drive, you could put a few of your favorite games on there.
If your favourite game happens to be a Steam Game, is it possible without putting all steam files on the SSD?
You'd have to use a symlink to move some of your games to the SSD and keep the actual library on the HDD.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21813…
http://www.traynier.com/software/steammoverNot hard to achieve either.
When you install steam games you can choose where they are installed. I have steam and dota2 install on my SSD and everything else on my HDD
thanks for the help scrim.
don't really have a desktop currently, mainly just using my laptop but that's getting a bit outdated as well as the fact it's loud and gets hot when i try to run games on lowest graphics.
Don't really have any peripherals currently, was just trying to see a decent build first before i started looking at those
I am looking to build one myself too and have done some research on graphics cards. I'd go with gtx780 instead because it is more power efficient and quieter. Also better performance. True it is a little more expensive but nvidia seems to be way ahead of and in terms of driver support.
I can already see this turning into the good ol' Nvidia vs AMD debate.
Lol probably… but i believe it all comes down to preference.. I run nvidia because it was quieter and cooler when on load with a better performance then AMD (at the time, it was GTX 780 vs 7970, though price wise it wasnt better T.T)
Both are equally good options, considering most people only play games at 1080p as opposed to 1440p.
Avoid Asrock:
http://forums.overclockers.com.au/showthread.php?t=1062005
"ASRock is using D-PAK MOSFETs under the heatsinks, D-PAKs were phased out years ago on enthusiast VRMs because of their lack of performance compared to newer low RDS(ON) packages such as PowerPAK and LF-PAK when it comes to thermals. They can cause a lot of heat … . ."
And on other overclocking forums. The quality is poor. And no, it doesn't seem they have changed. For $2K I'd want an i7 at least. Next gen consoles will use at least six (tablet, but still) cores.
Are you sure thats the case for all mobos? I thought they used PowerPAK for X79 and LF-PAK for Z68…
Never had an issue with my Z68 Extreme4 and it's been powering an i5-2500k at 4.4GHz since day one. I would definitely buy another board from them.
I have been running a z87 extreme 3 for a while now. No abnormal temps.
Building your own rig is a rewarding experience. I often use similar components to those picked by system builders (e.g. see pccasegear's systems - http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=14…).
I would definitely keep the SSD especially for a gaming rig. Games run and load up faster. I saw a big difference in loading times from my WD 320GB Velociraptor 10,000rpm to the 250GB SSD I have now, especially in BF3.
If you're worried about space, if you follow scrimshaws advice (nice recommendatioms btw) and have a 2TB HDD. What I do is download my games through steam which does fill up my SSD but then I back up the files to my 2TB HDD and then delete them off the SSD. That way you don't have to redownload them and just install them when you want to play them and only keep the games you play constantly installed the SSD.
At the moment I only have installed Far Cry 3, Counterstrike Source, BF3 and BF4. The rest is on my other HDD.
Terms of graphics cards I have a 280X and love it. Had a GTX670 before but it died on me 7 months later. I went AMD for once due to better compatibility with BF4 and noise doesn't bother me especially when I have headphones on and up loud. Plus the price is good compared to the Nvidia equivalent.
You can also have steam directly install the games to the HDD which is what i do. That way, you can still access the games, just install the ones you play alot or have massive load time on the SSD if you prefer it to load faster.
$2000 is a lot to put into a gaming rig. However, I would also expect roughly 400 to 500 dollars of your budget to include accessories and monitor as well. Windows 8 also costs an extra $109.
For example
$1,650 ($2,050) Gaming/Multi-Purpose Config Quiet OC
CPU: Intel Core i5 4670K $275
Mobo: ASRock Z87M Extreme4 $155
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) G.Skill Ares/Sniper DDR3-1866 $105
SSD: Samsung Evo 840 256GB $179
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB $97
GPU: Gigabyte 4GB AMD Radeon R9 290 OC $529
Case: Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 $89
PSU: Antec Neo Eco 620W Bronze $97
ODD: Pioneer DVD-RW $20
CPU HSF: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 $89
Mounting Kit: Noctua NM-i115x Mounting Kit For Intel $9
Peripherals: [ 23" LG 23EA53V-P / Ducky 2087/2108 Zero w/ 40A-L o-ring mod / JSCO JNL-101K / Creative Gigaworks T20 Series II ] ($414)
Total: $1,640 ($2,054)
What sort of computer are you using now? Do you already have peripherals like monitor, gaming mouse, keyboard, headsets etc?