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Advice for a new gamer

Post Date: 2012-04-25
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serenityjayne View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote serenityjayne Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Advice for a new gamer
    Posted: 25 Apr 2012 at 2:09pm
I have been a console gamer since I was a kid, mostly Nintendo, and the last few years I've been doing a lot more gaming on the XBox 360.

I am a lifetime Mac user (like Apple IIe, lifelong) who knows absolutely nothing about selecting parts for a computer. (I do use PC a at work.) But I want to game! Specifically, I want to play mods. The problem is that I have no idea how to proceed.


Budget:
$1200-1600 (This is a total guess, I want to spend what I need to do what I want.)

Expectations:
I want it to be able to play games well. I know that is subjective. What would it take to play Skyrim on Ultra with the High Res pack and multiple mods? I have a laptop and a tablet I can use for other computer things, so gaming is the only priority.

Usage:
I love RPG's and I want to be able to run Skyrim as well as possible with mods. Other games would be Witcher 2, Diablo 3, Fallout, etc. I don't play FPS or things like Battlefield, or Crysis.
I have a 28" 1920 x 1200 monitor.

Special Needs:
?

I didn't save any specs because I honestly have no idea what I'm doing. I have read tons and tons about chips and cooling and motherboards and GPU's, but everyone says different things... If you want I can try, but a point to start from would be super helpful.
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Muggz View Drop Down
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Posts: 109 		  Quote Muggz Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 25 Apr 2012 at 2:21pm
I don't have time to do a build at this time, but I will just say for running 1920x1200, max ultra games is probably not possible on a 1200-1600 build...I'll let others help you though. 
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Asangard View Drop Down
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Posts: 2209 		  Quote Asangard Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 25 Apr 2012 at 3:08pm
Hi Serenityjayne welcome to the forums.  With your budget I would look at the ODE v2 line of DS computers.  The level 1 uses the AMD HD7850 Graphics card and costs 1299 the level 2 uses the AMD HD 7870 Card and costs 1549.  Here is a really good review of these cards. There is a gaming section in the reveiw that shows each cards performance at different resolutions for different games.  For example for Skyrim (which you mentioned) set at ultra settings and 1920 x 1080 resolution the HD 7850 runs at 60 FPS average and the HD 7870 runs at 71.9 FPS on average.  With your 1920 x 1200 the FPS would be a little bit less.
 
The ODE V2 level 2 is at the top end of your budget and would be a really good choice.
 
The ODE line are pre-built so no customization but this enables DS to keep the prices down and they are still great computers for the price.
 
I hope this helps.
 


Edited by Asangard - 25 Apr 2012 at 3:13pm
All evil comes from within,
Not from Without,
Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path,
Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.
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serenityjayne View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote serenityjayne Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 9:15am
That level 2 looks good. Will I be able to switch things or add things later if I want to? Like say I wanted to add a SSD boot drive later, would that be possible? I also don't probably need to run it on ultra or whatever, I was just seeing what would be possible.

I did play around with a build, just to try and familiarize myself with the parts, but it was way more than that price. And I know that this is the best price vs. performance option. My only hesitation is perhaps a girly reason: aesthetics. I wanted a black computer and I hate red. I know that's not a logical reason to hesitate, but it's my first pc and I was really looking forward to making it look like it was mine.
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Asangard View Drop Down
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Posts: 2209 		  Quote Asangard Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 10:58am
The case has plenty of drive bays so yes you could add extra drives.  The motherboard supports Crossfire/SLI so you could add a 2nd graphics card later if you wanted.
 
 
All evil comes from within,
Not from Without,
Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path,
Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.
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bprat22 View Drop Down
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Posts: 20391 		  Quote bprat22 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 11:27am
Hope  ya don't mind if I chime in...If you want a black case with white led's in front try this.  The LED's do have a on/off switch.
 
Config # 680588    Cost $ 1511
 
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Carbide 500R (Black Finish)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V LE (Intel Z68 Chipset) (New B3 Revision) (Does Not Support SLI)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 600W Corsair GS
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Corsair A50 120mm Fan High Performance Cooler
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty
 
The biggest difference, which i don't normally recommend is the change from the i7-2600k to the i5-2500k.  For strictly gaming the 2500 is great.  The 2600/2700 chip is a bit faster in everyday tasks that use hyperthreading,.  But to stay in budget I made the change.
 
The 500R case comes in black or white and is pretty decent.  Wish it had a top fan like the ODE's 600T case, but it does have a side 200mm fan blowing right on the video card and mobo.
 
I meant to use the same mobo as ODE for comparison...P8Z77-V Lx, but only a little difference in price. Either work.
 
Just something to look at for the aesthetics you wanted.
 
Good LuckBig%20Smile


Edited by bprat22 - 26 Apr 2012 at 11:42am
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Asangard View Drop Down
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Posts: 2209 		  Quote Asangard Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 11:42am
Nice build bprat22 was just about to post something similar.
All evil comes from within,
Not from Without,
Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path,
Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.
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bprat22 View Drop Down
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Posts: 20391 		  Quote bprat22 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 11:44am
Between the 3 of us we might come up with something that worksBig%20Smile
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serenityjayne View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote serenityjayne Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 11:50am
Thanks! That one looks good too. Is there any difference between Z68 and Z77 chipsets? I'm not sure what affects performance more: motherboards, processors, or video cards?
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Asangard View Drop Down
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Posts: 2209 		  Quote Asangard Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 12:38pm
The P8Z77-V LX has native 3.0 USB and has a 3.0 PCIe graphics card slot.  In addition to some other nice features.  And it is only 8 dollars more that the Z68 in bpratt22's build.  It has four 3.0 USB ports which give 10 times faster retrival speeds. The 3.0 PCIe slot doubles the through put of the graphics card.
 
AS BP said for gaming the 2500 is great.  The 2600/2700 will not improve gaming performance, but would improve applications that can take advantage of the Hyperthreading including Windows 7.  But to bump up to the 2600 would be an additional $122.  If all you are concerned about is gaming the the 2500 will to the job.
 
Higher resolution monitors require more graphics power to run them.  So Monitors and Graphics cards are inter-related.  Basically the higher the resolution of the monitor that better graphics card you need.  I think the HD 7870 with your monitor is a nice fit.
 
All evil comes from within,
Not from Without,
Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path,
Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.
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serenityjayne View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote serenityjayne Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 1:28pm
Okay, I re-did it adding the Z77..

Build #680647
$1,519.00


Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Carbide 500R (Black Finish)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i5 2500K 3.30GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Does Not Support SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 600W Corsair GS
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Corsair A50 120mm Fan High Performance Cooler
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

It looks awesome, I think. Anythink I should change or add or whatever? I'm probably going to order this weekend, assuming I can convince my husband. (which shouldn't be hard)

I want to thank you guys for all your help with my questions and for being so welcoming. You're great! I'll keep you posted.
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bprat22 View Drop Down
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Posts: 20391 		  Quote bprat22 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 1:39pm
Nice build.   But you forgot the most important thing.....free t- shirt     Actually I also forgot to put it in.     This rig will give you very good gaming for some time
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Asangard View Drop Down
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Posts: 2209 		  Quote Asangard Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Apr 2012 at 2:13pm
Got to have the free t-shirt.  That way not only will you have a good gaming rig but you can look the part while gaming. LOL
All evil comes from within,
Not from Without,
Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path,
Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.
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