I've been looking to build a computer for quite a while now, but I really didn't want to drop so much money on one.
Fortunately, League of Legends is a thing, so as of a tournament yesterday I am now the proud owner of a new:
Tower
650W Power supply
Keyboard
And I have a (relatively new) Razer Deathadder, which I completely love.
Now I'm fully interested in rounding out a brand-new gaming PC by buying the rest of the parts I need. Unfortunately, I'm a complete beginner at the whole "building a computer" thing - I've been researching everything about it in depth on my own, but I figure the gaming types around here wouldn't mind a chance to show off their build knowledge a bit and help me out in the process.
So from my understanding, I'm left needing a motherboard, a CPU, a video card, some sticks of RAM (the number of which I may want to change simply based on how many memory slots my motherboard has, right?), memory, and an optical drive.
Here's what I've been thinking about each:
Motherboard - Looking at 1150 LGA Intel CPUs, so I'll need a motherboard that's compatible. My knowledgeable friends have told me that the motherboard is one of the major things not to skimp on, so I'm willing to shell out a decent amount for a quality one, but from what I can tell $150-160 should be a solid ceiling on price. I'd appreciate suggestions here, since I'm pretty clueless overall on what makes motherboards better than others.
CPU - From what I can tell, it's basically either AMD as the cheaper option at the cost of a bit of quality, or Intel as the top notch but more expensive option. I've pretty much decided on an Intel processor, so what's left is picking a certain one. The debate came down to i7 or i5, and I'm looking at a 4th gen i5 for high performance and >$100 savings on the cheaper i7s that barely have any better features.
Video Card - I'm willing to drop some pretty solid money into a video card - looking at a max of around $300, preferably in the low $200s range. I've had a couple of good experiences with MSI graphics cards that have nvidia chipsets, so I may want to stick to them.
RAM - I'll probably get 16GB of pretty much whatever I can find that's cheap with good reviews.
Memory - Thinking HDD over SSD because SSD seems to be around 4x more expensive. I'd appreciate cost-efficient (and reliable) suggestions around the 500GB - 1 TB range.
Optical Drive - Doesn't seem to matter much. I'll be looking for a simple CD/DVD, probably with a burner. I don't expect this to run me much at all.
Feel free to let me know if anything I've assumed is wrong (or if you simply disagree), and feel free to make other suggestions. Like from what I've read and been told, a 650W power supply will be plenty to suit my needs, but I'm definitely no expert - that sort of thing.
I'm looking to spend no more than $700 or so, but a little more is possible if there's a major upgrade possible for the $750, maybe $800 range.
Thanks in advance for any input.
Fortunately, League of Legends is a thing, so as of a tournament yesterday I am now the proud owner of a new:
Tower
650W Power supply
Keyboard
And I have a (relatively new) Razer Deathadder, which I completely love.
Now I'm fully interested in rounding out a brand-new gaming PC by buying the rest of the parts I need. Unfortunately, I'm a complete beginner at the whole "building a computer" thing - I've been researching everything about it in depth on my own, but I figure the gaming types around here wouldn't mind a chance to show off their build knowledge a bit and help me out in the process.
So from my understanding, I'm left needing a motherboard, a CPU, a video card, some sticks of RAM (the number of which I may want to change simply based on how many memory slots my motherboard has, right?), memory, and an optical drive.
Here's what I've been thinking about each:
Motherboard - Looking at 1150 LGA Intel CPUs, so I'll need a motherboard that's compatible. My knowledgeable friends have told me that the motherboard is one of the major things not to skimp on, so I'm willing to shell out a decent amount for a quality one, but from what I can tell $150-160 should be a solid ceiling on price. I'd appreciate suggestions here, since I'm pretty clueless overall on what makes motherboards better than others.
CPU - From what I can tell, it's basically either AMD as the cheaper option at the cost of a bit of quality, or Intel as the top notch but more expensive option. I've pretty much decided on an Intel processor, so what's left is picking a certain one. The debate came down to i7 or i5, and I'm looking at a 4th gen i5 for high performance and >$100 savings on the cheaper i7s that barely have any better features.
Video Card - I'm willing to drop some pretty solid money into a video card - looking at a max of around $300, preferably in the low $200s range. I've had a couple of good experiences with MSI graphics cards that have nvidia chipsets, so I may want to stick to them.
RAM - I'll probably get 16GB of pretty much whatever I can find that's cheap with good reviews.
Memory - Thinking HDD over SSD because SSD seems to be around 4x more expensive. I'd appreciate cost-efficient (and reliable) suggestions around the 500GB - 1 TB range.
Optical Drive - Doesn't seem to matter much. I'll be looking for a simple CD/DVD, probably with a burner. I don't expect this to run me much at all.
Feel free to let me know if anything I've assumed is wrong (or if you simply disagree), and feel free to make other suggestions. Like from what I've read and been told, a 650W power supply will be plenty to suit my needs, but I'm definitely no expert - that sort of thing.
I'm looking to spend no more than $700 or so, but a little more is possible if there's a major upgrade possible for the $750, maybe $800 range.
Thanks in advance for any input.
