Hey fellas! I need a bit of help. I've decided to get a new PC as I don't actually have one where I live but the problem is, I'm pretty ignorant of the stuff out there. I know that the 3 main priorities in a gaming PC are processor, graphics card and ram but since my other PC which I used to have is quite old, I haven't really been up to date with the stuff in the market. I'd be looking to get something proper as I'd like to run some of the heavy duty sims on high graphics at silk smooth frame rate. The kind of sims I'd be playing would ofcourse be LFS, SimBin sims, rFactor and iRacing.

I know that out of those games, iRacing is probably the best game to look at in terms of a benchmark but thing is, they're not too specific about the specifications required plus, you can't trust them ofcourse :mad: but I would be looking to run that with a full grid at a pretty good frame rate. So like I said, I'd like some advice on what to get? In terms of manufacturers, I'll be going AMD and nVidia. I don't need a hard drive as I brought that from my other PC but I would need a motherboard for sure as I have nothing upgrade to. I'll be going for a desktop machine too as I'm not really fond of laptops plus the fact that I'll be using the PC for gaming only really.

So, what do you guys advise? In terms of budget, I don't really have one as I'm not spending my own cash at the moment but maybe give me some figures. Thanks

Quote from Leprekaun :

Hey fellas! I need a bit of help. I've decided to get a new PC as I don't actually have one where I live but the problem is, I'm pretty ignorant of the stuff out there. I know that the 3 main priorities in a gaming PC are processor, graphics card and ram but since my other PC which I used to have is quite old, I haven't really been up to date with the stuff in the market. I'd be looking to get something proper as I'd like to run some of the heavy duty sims on high graphics at silk smooth frame rate. The kind of sims I'd be playing would ofcourse be LFS, SimBin sims, rFactor and iRacing.

I know that out of those games, iRacing is probably the best game to look at in terms of a benchmark but thing is, they're not too specific about the specifications required plus, you can't trust them ofcourse :mad: but I would be looking to run that with a full grid at a pretty good frame rate. So like I said, I'd like some advice on what to get? In terms of manufacturers, I'll be going AMD and nVidia. I don't need a hard drive as I brought that from my other PC but I would need a motherboard for sure as I have nothing upgrade to. I'll be going for a desktop machine too as I'm not really fond of laptops plus the fact that I'll be using the PC for gaming only really.

So, what do you guys advise? In terms of budget, I don't really have one as I'm not spending my own cash at the moment but maybe give me some figures. Thanks

if you only want to spend around £500 then something like I have is a good rig.

remember this is mostly budget stuff

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/prod ... ATX-Motherboard_9742.html

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/prod ... 25Watt---Retail_9375.html

http://www.microdirect.co.uk/H ... GB-Green-PCI-E-HDMI-DVI-I

http://www.crucial.com/uk/stor ... ?IMODULE=BL2KIT25664AA80A get 8gb

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/prod ... ---Retail-Boxed_9854.html

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/prod ... r-DVD-Rewritab_10276.html

http://www.tekheads.co.uk/prod ... OM-Black---OEM_20688.html

I ain't bothered with cases on this list. But that pc should have no trouble running the latest games

Cheers Luke but about the motherboard, I noticed that the Phenom II isn't listed as one of the supported processors so should I go for a different one?

it works. Its what I'm running now. If it can run a phenom it can run a phenom 2. It it AM2+ but supports AM3 but the 940 is AM2+ anyway. The AM2+ ones also cost less. The mobo is actually really good for it's price.

I sugegst replace the 8000 series with maybe a 9600 GT or good Ati 4850?

Someone didn't read. The 8000 series is the onboard gpu of the mobo.

Why not Intel core 2 quad Q9400?

Basically same price but outperforms the Black on almost all games

No?

Edit: To be honest, instead here is a nice powerful Motherboard/CPU/Ram combo.

Intel core i5 - 750 (i5 is more for gaming - i7 is more for video montage and all that graphical work)
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 Motherboard

The only thing missing is the graphics card. And for a decent one you would splash out around £130 more.

(GTS250/HD4850)

Basically for £450 you should be able to build a powerful PC for gaming.

Edit 2: Talking rubbish man. Sorry. Around £350 from scan.co.uk.

Providing ofcourse you got the case/Power unit and the HDD already.

You dont exactly need to upgrade it at the same time (Well apart from the Power Unit maybe - depends what you have in your old pc at the moment.)

I always say, spend a little bit more - and recieve more out of it.

Well good luck. I am building my 3rd PC this December too and already am on a lookout for a nice setup aswell. Love building new computers, just need to start making up space in the house for another arrival

Quote from DevilDare :

The only thing missing is the graphics card. And for a decent one you would splash out around £130 more.

The Radeon 4890 falls nicely into this price range and is pretty damn good card.

the most important thing imho is shelf life... how long before you Have to build again ?

Quote from DevilDare :

Intel core i5 - 750 (i5 is more for gaming - i7 is more for video montage and all that graphical work)

Is this a fact? I wonder, the i7 sounds more tasty than i5

Well......

It has been proven.

Check out some reviews/tests and their benchmarks. The i5 beats the i7 on most game tests.

Quote from DevilDare :

Why not Intel core 2 quad Q9400?

Basically same price but outperforms the Black on almost all games

No?

Edit: To be honest, for around £300 you can get a nice powerful Motherboard/CPU/Ram combo.

Intel core i5 - 750 (i5 is more for gaming - i7 is more for video montage and all that graphical work)
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 Motherboard

The only thing missing is the graphics card. And for a decent one you would splash out around £130 more.

Basically for £450 you should be able to build a powerful PC for gaming.

Edit 2: Talking rubbish man. Sorry. Around £350 from scan.co.uk.

Providing ofcourse you got the case/Power unit and the HDD already.

You dont exactly need to upgrade it at the same time (Well apart from the Power Unit maybe - depends what you have in your old pc at the moment.)

I always say, spend a little bit more - and recieve more out of it.

Well good luck. I am building my 3rd PC this December too and already am on a lookout for a nice setup aswell. Love building new computers, just need to start making up space in the house for another arrival

someone didn't click all the links

What are you talking about?

the link with the gts 250

Quote from DevilDare :

Well......

It has been proven.

Check out some reviews/tests and their benchmarks. The i5 beats the i7 on most game tests.

But the i7 is faster in other games aswell, would hardly say most. The difference is minimal in virtually all the other tests i've seen aswell. The scores swing both ways

One example:

http://www.tomshardware.com/re ... ore-i5-gaming,2403-8.html

Quote from Luke.S :

the link with the gts 250

Ahh yes. Forgot to include the GTS250. However, a lot of people say that the HD4850 is better and cheaper. But yes, both should do nicely.

Quote from DejaVu :

But the i7 is faster in other games aswell, would hardly say most. The difference is minimal in virtually all the other tests i've seen aswell. The scores swing both ways

One example:

http://www.tomshardware.com/re ... ore-i5-gaming,2403-8.html

So whats the point? Why pay £70 or so for basically no difference to the eye in games?

Quote from DevilDare :

Ahh yes. Forgot to include the GTS250. However, a lot of people say that the HD4850 is better and cheaper. But yes, both should do nicely.



So whats the point? Why pay £70 or so for basically no difference to the eye in games?

lol fail. Me likes people who go for AMD and Nvidia. We are unique :P

Quote from Luke.S :

lol fail. Me likes people who go for AMD and Nvidia. We are unique :P

Mmmmm, mainstream components, unique.


VIA and then XGI (whatever happened to them?) THEN your unique...

I think he means unique in no nVidia/ATI preference.

Quote from Jakg :

VIA and then XGI (whatever happened to them?) THEN your unique...

Why not some ARM CPU?

Because ARM are shit

Quote from Jakg :

Because ARM are shit

Nah, they aren't for PPC's

+ almost all netbook-optimised lunixes support ARM.

w00t, Linux, my favourite OS ever.

</sarcasm>

Quote from Jakg :

w00t, Linux, my favourite OS ever.

</sarcasm>

Believe me, ARM's are so slow that even if windows would be ported to it, it would start like 15 minutes. (except Windows CE which is shit because it can't run Crysis).

Cheers for all the links guys but I have my reasons for choosing AMD and nVidia. I've previously had both ATi gfx cards and Intel processors but found that with ATi, I've had the classic issue of driver instability and in terms of processors, I just prefer AMD over Intel as I personally think it performs better. I won't be getting any parts from my old pc as its far away from where I live.

I'm glad the prices aren't too bad as I was really worried of seeing big prices like £1k.

I really appreciate the advice you guys are offering but I don't know much about hardware so please, give me complete rig suggestions as I wouldn't really be able to discuss the technical side of hardware all that well. I think in terms of processor, I think I'll go for the AMD Phenom II Q4 but in graphics cards, I've noticed that there are a bunch of different manufacturers (ASUS, XFX, etc.) for the nVidia cards so can anyone suggest the best manufacturer to go for? Also, in terms of soundcards, what would be the best one to go for? As I've used Creative before and was quite happy with it, what would be a good Creative soundcard? I'm not looking for high end stuff, just some good quality sound.