Guild Wars 2

Need helping building a desktop from scratch for gaming. Any help would be appreciated.

Got this build from MMO-Champ http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2913-Mists-Raid-Previews-Mod-Recruitment-Blue-Posts-Setup-of-the-Month-Fan-Art

I ripped out a CD/DVD drive from an old computer, had to cut the connecting cords could I reuse that if so does what ever it connect to come with the cords or do they usually come with the CD/DVD drive?

I’d like to have an I-5 Processor and Windows 7 is there a way to move things around and keep the price under 750$?

Case NZXT GAMMA Classic – $40
Power Supply XFX Core Edition PRO 550W – $66
CPU Intel i3-2120 – $125
Heatsink Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO – $32
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H – $120
Memory 8GB G.Skill DDR3 12800 – $53
Graphics Card XFX 6870 or ASUS DCII GTX 560 – $137/ $170
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB – $103
DVD Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW – $22
Total $698 – $731

CPU is really important for guild wars 2, do not get an i3, i suggest getting an i5 3570k that’s what I have, it is probably your best bet for your money. A GTX560 should be fine, can’t comment on the ATI since I am not very familiar with them but Nvidia has a better rep in the gaming community than ATI. I built my PC for $1000 (Canadian):

i5 3570k @ 3.4 Ghz
8gb @ 1600Mhz RAM
GTX 570 HD 2.5gb RAM
500GB Caviar Blue (they were sold out of the black…)
Stock Heatsink (you only need aftermarket if you are going to OC)
775W Power Supply

Oh and I run at a constant 60fps with v-sync and doesn’t dropped too much off that in heavy WvWvW.

You can save a bit by going with a lower cost systemboard. You can get an ok one in the 75$ range from ASRock.
You can also drop the extra heatsink, go with the stock one.
I am unfamiliar with XFX power supplies. I would recomend a pc power and cooling or Seasonic. Do not skip on this one. To many problems are caused by cheap power supplies!
Look for sales on the HDD’s. I have seen them down in the 80$ range for ones of that type. Although if you can take having less storage space, get a SSD. Newegg has deals on them a lot.
Make sure to budget for the OS as well. OEM/Systembuilder 7 will run you about 120$.

If you live near a micro center get your cpu and motherboard from them. You will pay a lot less.

I have a higher end ASRock board myself and I swear by it. If you go with a cheaper board you would be able to get the I5 2500k, but you will sacrifice the ability to overclock, and you probably wont get a gen3 board, meaning you will not be able to upgrade to ivy bridge in the future without replacing the board.

That being said, do yourself a favor and get the 2500k. It is a much better chip and well worth the extra money for gaming.

XFX power supplies are not terrible, but their are better ones. As LeeChan said this is one of the last things you want to be cheap with. Seasonic, Antec,and Thermaltake usually work well for me and my customers.

This hard drive will save you a few bucks, and they work like a champ!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

That air cooler is worth every penny if you are going to overclock, or if the ambient temperature is very high where you are at. I use the same thing and I have my 2500k clocked at 3.7 ghz, at 58-60 degrees Celsius under full load. If you do not plan on overclocking and have normal temperatures where you are at, save your money.

Something else to consider, that cooler is large and will not fit in some cases. Double check the dimensions of your case and the area around the socket on your motherboard before buying that cooler.

That video card is decent enough. I use the same one. I can max out the settings on a lot of games at 1080p. You will not max everything on some of the more demanding games. (Battlefield 3 for example) In these cases you will have to turn down anti aliasing and some other settings.

Solid state is very fast for load times and file transfers, however you will not see much of an FPS boost in most games. Consider how important load times and boot times to you. Then weigh this against having much more storage space and lower prices. This is what you should consider when deciding on SSD or a standard mechanical drive.

All this being said. The system I use for gaming is very similar to the one you are about to purchase. I am very happy with it, but I am looking to upgrade the video card soon. I have a feeling if you buy that system as is, you will be looking to upgrade your video card within a year.

I run this game at 1080, all settings max except for shadows and shaders. Those are on medium. I get 60 fps with these settings, and you should expect similar results.

Alright I’ll look into all the suggestions and thanks everyone for the in-depth responses I appreciate it.

Might want to check this out.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-overclocking-pc-building,3273.html

I second the Microcenter suggestion and 2500k processor suggestion.

Depending on how old that system was that you ripped the CD/DVD from, you may need to make sure your new motherboard has PATA (Ribbon Cable) connections. Many motherboards have stopped putting PATA connections on the boards. I’m doubting that a new motherboard will come with ribbon cables either, so you’d have to buy those separately. To sum that up, you may need to add a SATA cd/dvd to your list.

Or…do what I do. My gaming PC does not have a cd/dvd. On the very rare occasion I need a cd/dvd for that comp, I just use a networked PC/Laptop’s cd/dvd rom. Hell, I even installed windows 7 through a flash drive.

Jseems that ideally you want a quad core for GW2, but it doesnt use the threading and all you get from an i7. That means an i5 would be ideal, but i3 should be fine. You might not be running top graphics, but you should be able to run balanced and get fine results.

also avoid AMD. It appears that they are bottlenecking GW2 and not getting near the performance any of the intel’s are getting. the i3 are better even. GTX560 will run everything in ultra modes graphic wise. From what I have seen, you also do not need 8 gigz of ram, but why not get it since its cheap and its pretty much the standard.

oddly enough, gw2 graphics card wise is easier run than SWTOR, but it requires better cpu.

I am running myself on a Quad Core Duo 2.8ghz (Q9550), gtx560, and 4 gigz. I havent played much and really early areas, but i been running on ultra settings fine. I should point out that even though its an older cpu, from the benchtests I seen on sites, its still faster than the i3 so take that for what it is..

Won’t he need more power for that xfx card? 750 watts? I know you need at least two free power connections to hook that up .. I have an xfx 6950 and it needs two, but runs at about 102fps at max settings, which is great.

Thank you both Tuttle and Madmardagan that was some quality information I was lacking. Yeah the CD/DVD drive had a ribbon cable so good call, also I’ve never installed an OS, so if I bought Windows 7 I’m assuming it would come on a CD. To install using a USB flash drive how would I go about it, just copy and paste it from the CD to the USB using another computer?

Thank you, Smiley. Here is a link that will help you install windows 7 from a usb flash drive:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/248995/how_to_install_windows_7_without_the_disc.html

…and yes you’d have to use a different computer to setup the flash drive. If you don’t have an extra computer, use someone else’s.

I am sorry I missed that. Good call Jayne. You will want more then 550 watts for this system. Shoot for 650-750.

Case NZXT GAMMA Classic – $40
Power Supply XFX Core Edition PRO 550W – $66
CPU Intel i3-2120 – $125
Heatsink Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO – $32
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H – $120
Memory 8GB G.Skill DDR3 12800 – $53
Graphics Card XFX 6870 or ASUS DCII GTX 560 – $137/ $170
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB – $103
DVD Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW – $22
Total $698 – $731[/quote]

1. If you’re going to spend over 120 for a processor, get AMD. At that price range, you get more for your money w/ a quad core for just over $100.

2. Don’t buy a heatsink. You’re not overclocking, so forget about that.

3. Check out ASRock for some good Mobos. They are a sister company to Asus and are built very well. Again, AMD will run WAY cheaper.

4. You don’t need more than 4GB of RAM. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you NEED more. It’s just not true.

5. If you go Nvidia, go with the 560Ti, no less. For ATI, the 6870 1GB is what I use and I average about 45 FPS. Don’t listen to anyone who says you need more than that. Do not spend over 170 for that.

6. You have to find a cheaper HDD. 500GB is plenty. Don’t over do it with this build. You can always add another HDD or SSD later.

Trust me, I build these every day.

PROOF:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727 $109
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157316 $89
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231313 $21
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521 $179
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767 $69
Case NZXT GAMMA Classic – $40
Power Supply XFX Core Edition PRO 550W – $66

TOTAL
$573 + $99 for Windows 7 OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

$672 + tax.

You can’t beat that dude. Trust me.

That looks awesome, Thank you so much Newkirk going to Newegg!

Smiley.8652:

Need helping building a desktop from scratch for gaming. Any help would be appreciated.

Got this build from MMO-Champ http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/2913-Mists-Raid-Previews-Mod-Recruitment-Blue-Posts-Setup-of-the-Month-Fan-Art

I ripped out a CD/DVD drive from an old computer, had to cut the connecting cords could I reuse that if so does what ever it connect to come with the cords or do they usually come with the CD/DVD drive?

I’d like to have an I-5 Processor and Windows 7 is there a way to move things around and keep the price under 750$?

Case NZXT GAMMA Classic – $40
Power Supply XFX Core Edition PRO 550W – $66
CPU Intel i3-2120 – $125
Heatsink Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO – $32
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H – $120
Memory 8GB G.Skill DDR3 12800 – $53
Graphics Card XFX 6870 or ASUS DCII GTX 560 – $137/ $170
Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB – $103
DVD Asus 24X SATA DVD+/-RW – $22
Total $698 – $731

i5 is the minimum for GW2, If I were you try and get a quad core or hex core makes life so much easier.

Newkirk will that power supply be enough people were saying to aim for a higher wattage.

That will be fine, MAYBE try bumping it to a 650, but no more. You will be able to power everything just fine with a 550, the only thing you have to take into account are extra things like fans in the long run.

I personally use a 650 and I haven’t had any type of issues whatsoever.

EDIT: Sorry for the late reply.

EDIT2: Just to let you know, anytime you see OEM, all that means is that you don’t get the box with it. So Windows 7 is still a completely authentic version of Windows, it just doesn’t come with a fancy box.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014&Tpk=XFX%20Core%20Edition%20PRO650W

Would that be the 650 Watt you recommend then?

The processor you linked how does it rate to a I-5?

Would any CD/DVD drive work with this setup such as?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106276

And just to be clear minus the links I just posted everything you linked under the “PROOF” is the parts to build the desktop? Sorry I’m pretty much a caveman with this stuff.

That PSU and DVD drive are perfect.

I would say that a high-end i5 would be on par if not better, but you’d be paying almost twice the money for it. If you bought everything I listed plus the items I added from your list, you’d have a fully built computer.

BE CAREFUL putting it together if you plan on it. If you never have, go on YouTube, do some research. I can’t tell you how many fried motherboards I see come in the store every week.

EDIT: Also, for the GFX card, the higher clock, the faster/better the card is. The XFX that I linked is 900mhz which is very good.

Alright buying this stuff then, yeah been watching videos and I’ll keep watching them. Thank you very much for all the info and taking the time to piece and link the items, I really appreciate it, take care.

There’s so much misinformation in here its pretty funny, an i5 2500k is capable of running 7970 crossfired, a 965BE will bottleneck a single 7970 via benchmarking.

Even though XFX PSU’s are rebadged Seasonic’s you still have to deal with XFX’s sub par service, which is only getting worse.

Also don’t buy a 6870, you can get a 7850 for the same money out the door.

I also would hold out till next week, nVidia is releasing the GTX 660 non Ti and should cause for another price drop on cards.

That’s another $100. This is a budget build. What he is getting is perfect to build upon.

Newkirk.6783:

That’s another $100. This is a budget build. What he is getting is perfect to build upon.

No hes not, socket AM3+ is dead, its been dead, the 8350 is the only hope for it, and even it is pretty bad.

Hes better off spending the extra $80 and getting the i5 3570, which is on sale for $199.99, rather than throwing away another $200 for something comparable to the i52500k once the 8350 drops.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115233&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-N82E16819115233-_-na-_-na&PID=3891137

Alright so my parts came in and i cant get the processor to fit into the mother board, there’s a white plastic piece that has a raise mid section that’s blocking the processor from dropping in. I’ll try to get a picture up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157316

Returning the old motherboard, would either of these work for my processor as well as the other parts listed above? If so which one is the best of the two?

Processor Purchased
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

1st Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637

2nd Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280

The CPU is supported on both. Check the manual to confirm the memory is good (should be):

http://www.msi.com/product/mb/970A-G46.html#/?div=CPUSupport
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/970%20Extreme3/?cat=CPU