Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

Question

PC gaming noob looking for assistance

by Apr 26, 2014 8:39PM PDT

Hey guys. I have no idea how to build my own computer, so I'm looking to buy one online. I've built several custom pcs on origin and ibuypower but I'm not really sure I'm getting what I want. I'm looking to spend $750-$1250 on a desktop primarily for gaming. 90% of the time I just play League of Legends, but I would like some potential to play something like Titanfall or other shooter on decent settings (and LoL on high of course). If you have any suggestions please let me know otherwise could you tell me if this is decent? (apologies for the formatting I did the best I could):
Case 1 x Raidmax Cobra Gaming Case - Black
Case Lighting X

iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion 1 x iBUYPOWER Internal USB Expansion System + Bluetooth & Wireless N Module
Processor 1 x AMD FX-8350 CPU (8x 4.00GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
iBUYPOWER PowerDrive 1 x PowerDrive Level 1 - Up to 10% Overclocking
Processor Cooling 1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - Standard 120mm Fan
Memory 1 x 8 GB [4 GB X2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB - FREE Upgrade to R9 270 2GB - Single Card
Free Stuff 1 x [FREE] - McAfee Antivirus PLUS 2014 - FREE with any System ($49 Value)
Free Stuff 1 x [FREE Game Download] - AMD Never Settle Forever Silver Reward - Select 2 Free Games - Free w/ purchase of AMD Radeon R7 260, R9 270 Series Graphics Cards
Motherboard 1 x Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P -- AMD 970
Power Supply 1 x 600 Watt - Standard - Free Upgrade to 600W OCZ ModXStream Pro - 80 PLUS
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 64 GB ADATA SP900 SSD - Single Drive** Free Upgrade to 128GB SanDisk SSD
Data Hard Drive 1 x 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive
Optical Drive 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVD R/RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black
2nd Optical Drive X
Media Card Reader / Writer X
Meter Display X
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
USB Expansion Card X
Operating System 1 x Windows 8.1 + Office 365 Trial [Free 30-Day !!!] 64-bit
Keyboard 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard
Mouse 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse
Monitor X
2nd Monitor X
Speaker System 1 x Logitech S120 2.0 Speaker System
Webcam X
Advanced Build Options 1 x iBUYPOWER Specialized Advanced Packaging System - Protect your investment during transportation!
Case Engraving Service X
Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service
Rush Service 1 x No Rush Service (Ships in 5-10 business Days)
Total Price: 1026

Discussion is locked

5 Posts
- Collapse + Expand Details
- Collapse -
Answer
Personally....I'd bump the RAM to 16GB and I'd bump the PSU
by Apr 27, 2014 4:37AM PDT

to a quality single-rail 700 - 800W. You need some room to grow/expand and some indicate that PSU components, regardless of quality deteriorate, leaving them producing less power as they age. Also, if you copy your CDs-DVDs for backup..I also like having 2 optical drives to eliminate waiting for the source disc to finish copying before putting in the optical blanks for the write.

Good Luck and let us know the final configuration and how it works out.

VAPCMD

- Collapse -
Re
by cardmast3r Apr 27, 2014 11:55AM PDT

I'll take your word for it on the memory and the psu. Just 2 more questions though. Would you recommend the overclocking from ibuypower (if so 10 or 20), and is it an issue that my one primary hard drive is an SSD? I also have a similiar intel version for comparison now.

Case 1 x Raidmax Cobra Gaming Case - Titanium
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion 1 x iBUYPOWER Internal USB Expansion System + Bluetooth & Wireless N Module
Processor 1 x AMD FX-8350 CPU (8x 4.00GHz/8MB L3 Cache)
iBUYPOWER PowerDrive 1 x PowerDrive Level 1 - Up to 10% Overclocking
Processor Cooling 1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - Standard 120mm Fan
Memory 1 x 16 GB [8 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB - FREE Upgrade to R9 270 2GB - Single Card
Free Stuff 1 x [FREE] - McAfee Antivirus PLUS 2014 - FREE with any System ($49 Value)
Free Stuff 1 x [FREE Game Download] - AMD Never Settle Forever Silver Reward - Select 2 Free Games - Free w/ purchase of AMD Radeon R7 260, R9 270 Series Graphics Cards
Motherboard 1 x Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P -- AMD 970
Power Supply 1 x 700 Watt - Standard - Free Upgrade to 700W OCZ ModXStream Pro - 80 PLUS
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 64 GB ADATA SP900 SSD - Single Drive** Free Upgrade to 128GB SanDisk SSD
Data Hard Drive 1 x 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 32M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive
Optical Drive 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVDR/RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Operating System 1 x Windows 8.1 + Office 365 Trial [Free 30-Day !!!] 64-bit
Keyboard 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard
Mouse 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse
Speaker System 1 x Logitech S120 2.0 Speaker System
Advanced Build Options 1 x iBUYPOWER Specialized Advanced Packaging System - Protect your investment during transportation!
Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service
Rush Service 1 x No Rush Service (Ships in 5-10 business Days)
Total Price: 1133

Case 1 x Raidmax Cobra Gaming Case - Titanium
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion 1 x iBUYPOWER Internal USB Expansion System + Bluetooth & Wireless N Module
Processor 1 x Intel® Core™ i5-4670K Processor (4x 3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache) - Intel Core™ i5-4670K
iBUYPOWER PowerDrive 1 x PowerDrive Level 2 - Up to 20% Overclocking
Processor Cooling 1 x Liquid CPU Cooling System [SOCKET-1150] - Standard 120mm Fan
Memory 1 x 16 GB [8 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module - Corsair or Major Brand
Video Card 1 x AMD Radeon R7 265 2GB - FREE Upgrade to R9 270 2GB - Single Card
Free Stuff 1 x [FREE] - McAfee Antivirus PLUS 2014 - FREE with any System ($49 Value)
Free Stuff 1 x [FREE Game Download] - AMD Never Settle Forever Silver Reward - Select 2 Free Games - Free w/ purchase of AMD Radeon R7 260, R9 270 Series Graphics Cards
Motherboard 1 x Gigabyte GA-Z87-HD3 -- 1x PCIe 3.0 x16, 4x USB 3.0, 6x SATA-III 6Gb/s
Intel Smart Response Technology 1 x SSD Cache - 64 GB ADATA SP900 SSD
Power Supply 1 x 700 Watt - Standard - Free Upgrade to 700W OCZ ModXStream Pro - 80 PLUS
Primary Hard Drive 1 x 1 TB HARD DRIVE + [Free] 128GB SanDisk SSD (Save $90)

Optical Drive 1 x 24x Dual Format/Double Layer DVDR/RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black
Sound Card 1 x 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard
Network Card 1 x Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)
Operating System 1 x Windows 8.1 + Office 365 Trial [Free 30-Day !!!] 64-bit
Keyboard 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Keyboard
Mouse 1 x iBUYPOWER Standard Gaming Mouse
Speaker System 1 x Logitech S120 2.0 Speaker System
Advanced Build Options 1 x iBUYPOWER Specialized Advanced Packaging System - Protect your investment during transportation!
Warranty 1 x 3 Year Standard Warranty Service
Rush Service 1 x No Rush Service (Ships in 5-10 business Days)
Total Price: 1266

- Collapse -
Opinion
by Bob__B Apr 28, 2014 5:25AM PDT

Everyone has an opinion.

If you want to game go with the I5.
Bin that overclocking stuff.
Psu....that is a dual rail unit....it should work fine.
If it was me I'd swap that out for a single rail unit.
Perhaps Ibuypower has such an option?

- Collapse -
Don't believe in overclocking .... fast and reliable is
by VAPCMD Apr 28, 2014 12:25PM PDT

my objective and it's always served me well. Intel is my CPU of choice.

SSD is great.....

Re the OCZ PSU....I went to company website and it looks to me like they might be going out of the PSU business. Personally....I'd ask what else they offered in a quality single rail PSUs about 700-800W.

Let is know the final list AND how it works.

VAPCMD

- Collapse -
Answer
Changed my mind
by Apr 28, 2014 4:29PM PDT

Some of my friends have convinced me to build my own PC. I have a few components in mind, and I plan on waiting for some Newegg deals on some of them, but I would appreciate your input if you are an expert. I plan to play/stream league of legends with this PC and play other games (such as Titanfall, COD), so I will need some good stuff.

Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113285

Motherboard: I know I need an AM+ motherboard, and that it should be at least DDR3 1600, but I don't know anything about the different models.

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429
I figure this is probably the best price I can get for something decent. If the off brands are fine let me know.

SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148694
^That looks like a good deal. Might have to jump on that one quick.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239046
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820239050
Might have to go with HyperX for higher quality, but I'm wondering if I need the upgrade kit (link 2) or not.

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814550028
I'm told Nvidia sucks, so I think something like this might be better for me. If you think I need a better one to stream let me know.

Tower: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021
This one already has fans in it which is nice, but I'm not sure about ATX (motherboard compatibility) and if that will limit my choices on them or not. Please tell me anything you know about this or suggest a motherboard that goes with it. Also, if I would be better off with a motherboard not compatible with this one, I'd rather switch this out for a different tower that works with the better motherboard. Ofcourse if I need a bigger tower let me know that as well.

PSU: I actually have no idea how much power I need, or which PSU brand is the best.

Also, I do have a lot of tools available to me, but if I need some specialized tools I might need help finding those. If you have read this far I appreciate your time thank you for all your help!

Back to Computer Newbies forum

CNET Forums

Operating Systems
Software
Electronics & Gadgets
Hardware
Tablets & Mobile Devices
General Help
Brand Forums
Roadshow Autos
Off Topic

Other Forums

Forum Info