Building a Gaming Computer Gaming Low budget. Help.

[nabeelfarooqui9]

ok, so let me just throw my budget out here, est: $600

I'm not sure, i could be more or less thats just a rough idea.

MY NEED: I want it to be able to play games like HITMAN ABSOLUTION at 50% - 60% atleast. And i want it to be able to play grand theft auto v,

I need help in the costs of the parts im choosing, if it can be better then please suggest parts.

Any way, I need help in every aspect.

RAM
I know what RAM is,
Im going for 6 to 8 gb, will ddr3 do the job? how much will it cost?


Processor
I believe that a i5 should be okay, a 3.0ghz one?
its around $200 right?
Should i pick another one?


GPU
okay so currently I have in my laptop a Nvidia 410m.
Its an integrated card. I obviously want a dedicated one.
Im not sure which to pick, please recommend a card, hopefully from Nvidia.
What does 128bit, 256bit mean in GPUs?
And what memory should the card have? 2gb?

EDIT: i found this card, http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt640
its price is around $150, can i go for this?


HDD
at the time of purchase Im thinking about 2 250gb hdds because if i need more I'll simply attach more.
so thats not a problem.


MotherBoard
I know s*it about these things. My plan is to tell my desired parts to the guy at the shop, from where im buying and getting it built (i'll just tell which parts I want). Then he'll just choose a good enough mother board for me? is this ok?


Did i miss anything? please help me

 

[TwoCables]

The only thing that's missing is the power supply (the "PSU"), but we should wait until you select a CPU and video card - especially the video card. The PSU is an investment, so we have to make sure it's a good one.

Anyway,

RAM:

Go for a 2 x 4 GB kit or 2 x 8 GB kit. Your only choice right now is DDR3. The cost can vary from roughly $50 USD give or take $10-$20 to almost $200 USD and more.

CPU:

Which i5? 2nd Generation, 3rd Generation, or 4th Generation Core i5? The cost should be at around $200 give or take $10 to $20 USD.

Video card:

Try to avoid being loyal to one side or the other (NVIDIA or AMD) because some AMD GPUs are way better, but some NVIDIA GPUs are better.

The 128bit or 256bit is the bandwidth of the memory. The higher the number, the faster the memory can be in some ways.

The amount of memory you'd want is about 2GB, yeah. The more the merrier, but it mostly benefits textures.

You can go for any video card you want, but the GT 640 might not be an appreciable upgrade from the 410m. You'll notice it, but I dunno...

HDD:

Yeah, this is a little bit of a personal thing because take me for example: I have two 60 GB solid state drives and it's all I need. One is for Windows and programs, and the other is for things like My Documents and even my desktop.

Like the power supply, the hard drive is a bit of an investment, so try to get good ones.

Motherboard:

Not really. I would also like to see you build it instead of making someone do it for you. That way, you can make sure it's done right the first time. You won't need to know how to do anything because you can lean on us.

I also recommend posting this thread over on Overclock.net, but make it clear that you're not overclocking. They are very good at building computers.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

Um....

CPU
oh, boy i didn't know that there were so many 'generations' of i5s
I guess i'll go with 4th gen if available in my country, otherwise 3rd should do, what do you recommend, 3.0ghz?

RAM
is kingston a good company?
take a look, Amazon.com: Kingston ValueRAM 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM Desktop Memory: Electronics
what is 1234'mhz'

GPU
why isn't the 640 good? its 128bit 2gb?

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

ok, i found this GPU: nvidia GTX 660. its a little pricey but is this better?

 

[TwoCables]

Um....

CPU
oh, boy i didn't know that there were so many 'generations' of i5s
I guess i'll go with 4th gen if available in my country, otherwise 3rd should do, what do you recommend, 3.0ghz?

2nd Generation is named "Sandy Bridge", 3rd is "Ivy Bridge", and 4th is "Haswell". Your CPU, the i3-2330M is a Sandy Bridge CPU (2nd Generation). Of course, it's only a dual core with Hyper Threading.

Anyway, here's the entire line of the 4th Generation Core i5 CPUs:

4th Generation Intel® Core

Here's the entire line of 3rd Generation Core i5s:

3rd Generation Intel® Core

2nd Generation:

2nd Generation Intel® Core



I would go with what you can afford because they're all very nice and fast.

RAM
is kingston a good company?
take a look, Amazon.com: Kingston ValueRAM 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM Desktop Memory: Electronics

Go with a kit that has two sticks in it for 2nd or 3rd Generation Core i5, or I think 4 sticks for 4th Generation Core i5. I'm not quite sure. However, going with just 1 stick isn't all that good of idea.

Anyway, I don't know anything about this stick of memory, but I guess Kingston is generally good for memory. A few others to look at are G.SKILL, Corsair, Mushkin, Kingston HyperX, Patriot, and I think even GeiL and Team Group.

what is 1234'mhz'

Megahertz. It's the clock speed, or "frequency". In very general terms, it's how fast it is.

GPU
why isn't the 640 good? its 128bit 2gb?

The GPU's processing power is relatively weak for today's modern games. It's basically just a simple video card that's not really intended for gamers. Compare specs like the CUDA cores, Graphics Clock, Memory Clock, Memory Interface, Memory Interface Width, as well as whatever else you can find to compare. For example, the GTX 650 isn't that much better in terms of the CUDA cores and Graphics Clock, but the memory specs are significantly better. Then if you step it up to the GTX 650 Ti, you get a huge boost in the number of CUDA Cores which helps tremendously for 3D performance.

Of course, it definitely depends on how much you can afford. I mean, if you want some serious 3D gaming performance on a budget, then I would look at the GTX 650 Ti at minimum. Or if you can afford it, the GTX 650 Ti BOOST. The BOOST version has the exact same memory specifications as the GTX 660 with a tiny improvement to the Graphics Clock and a few more CUDA cores (in comparison to the non-Boost version of the GTX 650 Ti). Of course, the GTX 660 provides another jump in the number of CUDA Cores which helps. Then there's the GTX 660 Ti which gets a big jump in the number of CUDA cores, but it has the same memory specifications as the GTX 660. Still, the big jump in CUDA Cores makes it noticeably faster.

The number of CUDA Cores is what helps the most, but everything else helps too (of course). The memory helps in processing textures and anything else that gets put in there. So, choosing a video card can be pretty easy when you know what you're looking for.

On AMD's side, I'm not really sure yet what to compare.


Edit:

ok, i found this GPU: nvidia GTX 660. its a little pricey but is this better?

Wow. Nice choice, especially considering what I just posted. Although, now I'm curious: how high can you go?

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

Wow. Nice choice, especially considering what I just posted. Although, now I'm curious: how high can you go?

I cant go really high, i just put it there as a consideration, because until i decide on the other parts I can't really say how much I have for a GPU.

on topic, so you think that the gtx 660 will be 'good' for gaming and in budget? If i have the money then i should go for that, right?


IDIT: i saw the list and this is what i chose: http://ark.intel.com/products/75036/Intel-Core-i5-4430-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz


it says that it has 4 cores, shouldn't a

i3 have 4 cores
i5 = 6
i7 = 8 ?

 

[TwoCables]

Wow. Nice choice, especially considering what I just posted. Although, now I'm curious: how high can you go?

I cant go really high, i just put it there as a consideration, because until i decide on the other parts I can't really say how much I have for a GPU.

on topic, so you think that the gtx 660 will be 'good' for gaming and in budget? If i have the money then i should go for that, right?


IDIT: i saw the list and this is what i chose: ARK | Intel® Core


it says that it has 4 cores, shouldn't a

i3 have 4 cores
i5 = 6
i7 = 8 ?

Nope. The i3 series is the one with dual core with Hyper-Threading the i5 is quad core only, and the i7 series is quad core with Hyper-Threading.

ARK | Your Source for Intel® Product Information



Like I said, your i3 CPU is a dual core with Hyper Threading.

Anyway, as I said before, I would look at the GTX 650 Ti at minimum, but the 650 Ti BOOST if you can afford it, or the GTX 660 or 660 Ti. However, the difference between the 650 Ti Boost and the GTX 660 Ti is much bigger than the difference between the 650 Ti BOOST and the plain GTX 660.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

*My whole life was a lie*

Anyway, my GPU will be one of those (650, 650 ti, 660 etc)
I'll decide when the other parts a chosen.

EDIT: but then why does it say that I have 4 cores?

http://prntscr.com/1frxwx

 

[TwoCables]

*My whole life was a lie*

Anyway, my GPU will be one of those (650, 650 ti, 660 etc)
I'll decide when the other parts a chosen.

EDIT: but then why does it say that I have 4 cores?

Screenshot by Lightshot

Because your CPU has Hyper Threading. Two threads per core. So Core 0 is split into two threads instead of 1, and Core 1 is split into 2 instead of 1, resulting in 4 total threads. Windows sees them as actual cores, but the physical CPU in your socket on your motherboard has just 2 cores.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

*My whole life was a lie*

Anyway, my GPU will be one of those (650, 650 ti, 660 etc)
I'll decide when the other parts a chosen.

EDIT: but then why does it say that I have 4 cores?

Screenshot by Lightshot

Because your CPU has Hyper Threading. Two threads per core. So Core 0 is split into two threads instead of 1, and Core 1 is split into 2 instead of 1, resulting in 4 total threads. Windows sees them as actual cores, but the physical CPU in your socket on your motherboard has just 2 cores.

oh, so they are kind off like virtual cores, but 4 actual physical cores are better? Ok, next topic:

RAM

is 8gb ok? (4gb + 4gb)


And I almost forgot,

OS
Should Windows 7 ultimate be good? (i have both windows 7 and 8 on different laptops) and I dont like the look and feel of 8, it seems like its new and unsupported. its unknown territory. Im asking that, 7 is still supported and will continue to be supported, right? By developers and Microsoft?


Oh, and I've seen many game requirements saying that:

RAM:
XP: 1gb min
Vista/7 : 2gb min

so, is 8 also with vista and 7? or is it even more heavier?

 

[TwoCables]

*My whole life was a lie*

Anyway, my GPU will be one of those (650, 650 ti, 660 etc)
I'll decide when the other parts a chosen.

EDIT: but then why does it say that I have 4 cores?

Screenshot by Lightshot

Because your CPU has Hyper Threading. Two threads per core. So Core 0 is split into two threads instead of 1, and Core 1 is split into 2 instead of 1, resulting in 4 total threads. Windows sees them as actual cores, but the physical CPU in your socket on your motherboard has just 2 cores.

oh, so they are kind off like virtual cores, but 4 actual physical cores are better?

Yep, because you don't have 2 cores doing the work of 4. You have 4 doing the work of 4.

Ok, next topic:

RAM

is 8gb ok? (4gb + 4gb)

Yep, that's what I was trying to tell you before. However, I don't know yet if Haswell (4th Generation) is better with 4 sticks or 2. I know that Sandy and Ivy Bridge (2nd and 3rd Gen) are good with 2 sticks...

And I almost forgot,

OS
Should Windows 7 ultimate be good? (i have both windows 7 and 8 on different laptops) and I dont like the look and feel of 8, it seems like its new and unsupported. its unknown territory. Im asking that, 7 is still supported and will continue to be supported, right? By developers and Microsoft?

Home Premium should be more than enough:

Windows 7, what's the difference between the editions? - Neowin

Windows 7, what's the difference between the editions? - Neowin

Windows 7 editions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Go with 64-bit, though. I recommend the Retail version (not OEM, or "System Builder") because then you'll be able to upgrade to a new motherboard or even a new system without having to buy a new copy.

Oh, and I've seen many game requirements saying that:

RAM:
XP: 1gb min
Vista/7 : 2gb min

so, is 8 also with vista and 7? or is it even more heavier?

I don't know, but I would assume it's either the same or perhaps even less because the last I remember, I thought Windows 8's requirements were lower than Windows 7's.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

I don't know, but I would assume it's either the same or perhaps even less because the last I remember, I thought Windows 8's requirements were lower than Windows 7's.

I think its low too, because visually 8 is very 'light' its just plain colours and tiles.

And dont bother about Haswell because most likely i will go for 3rd gen.

so a 3rd gen core i5 3.0 ghz is good enough? its costs?

 

[TwoCables]

I don't know, but I would assume it's either the same or perhaps even less because the last I remember, I thought Windows 8's requirements were lower than Windows 7's.

I think its low too, because visually 8 is very 'light' its just plain colours and tiles.

And dont bother about Haswell because most likely i will go for 3rd gen.

so a 3rd gen core i5 3.0 ghz is good enough? its costs?

Yeah, but the i5-4430 is Haswell. It's the 4th generation.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

whats the difference between generations?
like a 3rd gen i5 3ghz vs 4th gen i5 3ghz?

so the one you mentioned is around $190.

So i did a search on nvidia 660 gtx.
whats the difference between gigabye and inno3d?

are they the same thing? the gigabyte is of $260 - $320 while the inno3d is of $230?

 

[TwoCables]

whats the difference between generations?
like a 3rd gen i5 3ghz vs 4th gen i5 3ghz?

Well first, try to stop thinking in terms of 3.0 GHz. There's the clock speed, and then there's the turbo frequency. Check into it, you might like what you find out!

I don't know all the differences, but the differences result in better performance due to better processing efficiency. Of course, there are other differences, but these can all be explained by lots of articles that I think can be found on the internet.

so the one you mentioned is around $190.

That's actually the one you mentioned. It's Haswell, 4th generation.

So i did a search on nvidia 660 gtx.
whats the difference between gigabye and inno3d?

are they the same thing? the gigabyte is of $260 - $320 while the inno3d is of $230?

These are aftermarket brands, which is a good thing. They do things to improve upon the original design (the "reference" design). Compare them. You might find that there are differences in clock speeds, number of CUDA Cores, or the quality of the components used to build the card, the cooling, etc.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

Hm...

They are very similar, but I have decided for the Gigabyte version if my budget allows it.
Inno3d Inno3D
Gigabyte GIGABYTE - Graphics Card - NVIDIA - PCI Express Solution - GeForce 600 Series - GV-N660OC-2GD

 

[TwoCables]

Oh, yeah the Inno3D appears to be true to the reference design for people who can't afford the improvements that they could make to it.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

ok, so now we have

Intel Core i3 processor 4th gen $200

Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce gtx 660 $200

8gb RAM DDR3 $50-$60



Thats around $450-$460

Whats left?

I need a case, how much do they cost btw?
I need a PSU, cost?
A CD/DVD Burner, or just a CD/DVD Reader, cost?
And a motherboard, cost?

Can all these things be bought under $150?



I found this: http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/inde...dition-vs-geforce-gtx-660-gigabyte-oc-edition


Um.... it says that i should get 1920x1080 resolution. What would happen i fI use my current 1366x786 monitor? at least until i upgrade

 

[TwoCables]

ok, so now we have

Intel Core i3 processor 4th gen $200

Gigabyte Nvidia Geforce gtx 660 $200

8gb RAM DDR3 $50-$60



Thats around $450-$460

Whats left?

Wait, I thought that you didn't want 4th gen. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it that I know of, but still.

I need a case, how much do they cost btw?

Anywhere from about $20 to $300.

I need a PSU, cost?

For what you need, easily under $100. Very easily.

A CD/DVD Burner, or just a CD/DVD Reader, cost?

I guess anywhere from about $17 to about $40.

And a motherboard, cost?

Anywhere from about $80 to maybe $130, approximately.

Can all these things be bought under $150?

Everything but the case because there are cases you can get that can cost up to about $300.

I found this: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Inno3D Edition compare Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 Gigabyte OC Edition GPU


Um.... it says that i should get 1920x1080 resolution. What would happen i fI use my current 1366x786 monitor? at least until i upgrade

I think that's so you get to enjoy 1080p. Using a lower resolution will result in a little better 3D performance because it won't have to work as hard.

 

[nabeelfarooqui9]

ok, im going to bed now, i'll post when i wake up. And thanks for all your help. It has greatly helped me in choosing