Below is my budget-mainstream PC Build for Gaming and Video Editing. The ones best to invest extra money on is PC Casing, Power Supply, CPU Cooler, Hard Disk, RAM and CD-RW Drive as these can be use on newer PC Builds when you want to just upgrade the CPU and Motherboard. I’m not sure whether we would need to change RAM and GPU when newer Intel CPU comes out. Intel Motherboard tends to always change to sync with Intel’s CPU socket like 1155/2012. Prices below are in USD.
PC Build September 2012
Video Encoding + Gaming Rig
$330 [CPU] Core i7 3770K (4C/8T) OC @ 4.5 GHZ
$135 [Motherboard] ASRock Z77 Extreme4
$58 [RAM/Memory] Kingston HyperX 1600 C9 8GB (2x4GB)
$108 [CPU Cooler] Noctua NH-D14
$58 [RAM/Memory] Kingston HyperX 1600 C9 8GB (2x4GB)
$115 [Case] Corsair Carbide 500R (1 20cm Side Fan + 2 12cm Front Fan + 1 12cm Rear Fan)
$90 [PSU] FSP Group AURUM GOLD 500W (5 Years Warranty)
$25 [Keyboard + Mouse] Logitech Media Combo MK200
$30 [Speaker] Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System OEM
$30 [DVD-RW] LG Lite-On 20X DVDRW
$300 [Monitor] Dell U2412M IPS 8ms (Aspect Ratio 16:10 = 1920×1200)
$300 [GPU] AMD Sapphire HD 7870 OC (Exceptional Quality at 1920×1200 Resolution)
$98 [SSD] Intel 120 GB SSD (Store OS + Apps)
$98 [Hard Disk] Western Digital Black 64M 7200RPM 1TB (Store Video + Music + Document)
Total Cost: $1775 ($1475 without Monitor) or ($1175 without GPU+Monitor) or ($1077 without SSD)
Explanation:
Buy a PSU which has 80Plus Certification with Gold Rank to save electricity bills (Runs 87%-90% efficiency thereby less heat generated and less stress to your air-conditioner). If you plan to leave your PC on 24/7 this will be a good option (like long hours of seeding / folding / torrenting / encoding batch files). Buy a PC Tower Case that provides ample room for air flow and best with a side fan with dust filter to cooldown the south and north bridge of the motherboard when the front fans are obstructed by cooling HDD/SSD. You can add another 2 140cm fans on top for a positive airflow. If you tend to keep lots of video files like lossless music, movies or anime, get a 1 TB quality hard disk because you don’t want to lose those precious files. If you can afford, grab a SSD to install Operating System (OS) and applications (games / office tools) to load them faster. If you play PC games with low settings and just internet browser games, Intel Core i7 IGPU (Intergrated GPU HD 4000) will be sufficient to handle the task. 8 GB of RAM (Memory) will be sufficient for an OS (2GB) + Background/Running Apps (2GB) + 4 GB extra for any strenuous application like encoding + opening 60 tabs of websites while researching. A monitor with 1920×1200 is recommended for work and gaming, however if its just gaming and movies, get a 1920×1080 at 120Mhz Refresh Rate. You can use a water cooling for CPU but there are risk that it might leak eventually after years of usage, so might go for air instead and low-medium overclocking to extend the lifetime of your CPU to 5 years. 5 GHz creates tons of heat and can reduce CPU lifetime to 2-3 years which is not recommended.
PC Build for 2012 August
$225 [CPU] Core I5 3570K (4C/4T)
$163 [Motherboard] Gigabyte Z77X-D3H (ATX)
$108 [CPU Cooler] Noctua NH-D14 (Option 1 – For Overclocking CPU)
$35 [CPU Cooler] Hyper 212+ EVO (Option 2 – For Overclocking CPU)
$58 [RAM/Memory] Kingston HyperX 1600 C9 8GB (2x4GB)
$115 [PC Case] CoolerMaster CM690 II Advance
$173 [PSU/Power Supply] CORSAIR HX Series 750W Modular
$104 [Hard Disk] Western Digital Black 64M 7200RPM 1TB
$150 [GPU] Sapphire HD6850 1GB GDDR5 256Bit (Optional – High-end Games)
$20 [CD-RW Drive] LG (To install Windows OS/Operating System)
$25 [Keyboard + Mouse] Logitech Media Combo MK200
$58 [Speaker] Logitech Z323 Stereo Speaker USB
$150 [Monitor] Acer S231HL (LED) VGA+DVI 23 inch 1920 x 1080 5ms
$50 [UPS/Uninterruptible Power Supply] APC Back BE500R-AS (For Power Failure)
Total Cost: $1399
Explanation:
Use RAM with height 41mm or 4.1cm and below to allow big HSF (Heat Sink Fan) such as Noctua DH-14 (with 120mm fan outside) to fit in place. AMD 6850 or 6870 GPU products are able to play games well on 1920×1080 resolution well. Modular PSU (Power Supply Unit) allows more room to be preserve with less cables if you do not need to use all of them – makes it easier for cable management as well as replacing cable parts or parts that are faulty instead of RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) all of it to the manufacturer/seller.
Motherboard References
F – Motherboard Form Factor
A – ATX (Common Desktop – usually 4 RAM Slots with more PCI-Express Slots)
M – Micro ATX (Smaller Motherboard Size with lesser RAM and PCI-E Slots)
I – Mini ITX (Not sure what is this, haven’t seen one)
FAQ
What does low profile (LP) and high profile (HP) memory mean?
Low Memory Profile Sticks are designed to fit in tighter spaces, not as tall as normal ones.
LED vs LCD Monitors. which to buy?
LED consumes 20 Watts whereas LCD takes 55 Watts of electricity.
LED provides better color intensity.
LED cost a bit more than LCD in price.
LED back lit monitors are super thin.
PC Building Video
Noctua DH-14 Installation
[youtube url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djki8c31Dqs]
Cooler Master 690 II Advanced Case Video Review
[youtube url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed4RC6r2NTk]
References
Noctua NH D14 vs CoolerMaster Hyper 212
Noctua is much better in cooling CPU during load by 6 degrees lesser than 212. Is Noctua really worth the price? Yes, if you plan to overclock your CPU while keeping the load temperature down. Noctua also provides free new brackets within 5 years of your Noctua Purchase if Intel Motherboard comes up with new socket requirements. www.overclock.net/t/819568/review-noctua-nh-d14-vs-coolermaster-hyper-212
Monitor Buying Guide
reviews.cnet.com/monitor-buying-guide/
www.displaywars.com/21-inch-16×10-vs-23-inch-16×9
Other PC Build 2012
3DS Max – Rendering Architecture
$580 [CPU] Intel core i7 3930K
$125 [Motherboard] Asus P9x79 LE
$70 [RAM] Kingston 1333 4 GB x 4
$148 [GPU] MSI GTX 650 Power Edition
$200 [SSD] Intel 330 120 GB x 2
$100 [HDD] WD AV 1 TB
$20 [DVD-RW] Liteon DVD-RW
$123 [PSU] Corsair TX650M
$55 [Heatsink] CM Hyper 612S
$290 [Monitor] Dell U2412 IPS 24 inch 1920×1200 (16:10)
$100 [PC Case] Corsair Carbide 400R
Total $1945
Thanks Saurav for the correction! I have updated it.
Thats a i7 3770k not i5 3770k
Hi Darrel, perhaps you can adopt Windows 8 the latest operating system by Microsoft 🙂
@Ayumilove
Thx for your reply. Windows 7 it is then. Had a hard time deciding and just realized that support for XP will end next year 🙁
Hi Fake, you could grab 8GB (2 dimm x 4 GB) and it will be sufficient for most users. Currently I have 32GB RAM, and the most I used is approximately 5GB. I bought 4 sticks instead of 2 sticks of RAM because it was a Black Friday offer where 4 sticks is priced as 2 sticks 😀
Just a question, should the video encoding + gaming rig have 2 instances of ”
$58 [RAM/Memory] Kingston HyperX 1600 C9 8GB (2x4GB)”
Hi Darrel, choose Windows 7 instead of Windows XP. Reason being, Windows XP is being phased out and currently the new windows 8 has been released. However, some old games are not compatible with Windows 8 but it does not affect much on 7 and XP. Windows 8 has a little higher learning curve since it changes the START Menu and the other little things such as maneuvering through windows. What I like about Windows 7 is you can search for the program or file with the fast search bar under the Start Menu. It helps alot in navigating hard to find files/programs/windows-built-in-services such as Windows Firewall, COntrol Panel and others.
Hi Ayumilove
Which operating system would be better for gaming: Windows 7 or XP? (assuming I followed your build)
thx
Wow you are very good with your research on the internet. Also alot of effort for someone inexperience but you someone like you its so effortless. The information here is timeless!
I think i am crazy. I am not sure what it is what i want. However the information you given me is very useful. You mind is like working with webs because i said i want to play games so i can get socially accepted by people, and than you suddenly think oh ok he wants to use facebook but he doesnt really need a high performance computer for gaming.
Because i like gaming, also filming. But just cannot really decide, but interesting enough. I think there is a high performance compuer for rendering movies, really good qualilty. Professional qualilty. But the computer is not going to make me any smarter, it is just for comfort although it is a very nice feeling towards gaming, and making filmed with professional qualilty.
I also want to use several programs, because i want to learn programming. I was dumb before because of my vocabulary, syntax (sentence structure) and grammar, they were all a low level.
Hi Jack, if you are just performing office work + surfing internet + play flash games like Facebook, you will not be requiring a high end pc like mine above. You could grab components listed below and assemble it (Price in USD)
Pentium G2020 – $55
Asrock H61M motherboard – $45
Kingston 4GB DDR3-1333 x 1 – $30
WD Blue 500GB hard disk – $55
Liteon DVD writer – $18
Acbel 300W power supply – $30
Gigabyte GZ series casing – $23
Total Cost – $256
Hello Ayumilove, sorry to disappoint you but i do not really play games. I am considered just a beginner, because i want to play games so i can get into the social group.
Hi Jack, thanks for watching my videos! Building a PC is fun, especially if you start from scratch. What is your pc budget ($1000, $2000, $3000) so I can give my pc recommendation. Also, what types of games do you play? Flash Games does not need a graphic card whereas desktop games such as Diablo III, Starcraft II requires a good graphic card to reduce lag and play at a decent-high quality frame rate.
I been watching your AyumiLove Videos since 2006. I think. Also i am thinking to build my computer that will improve the performance of my game play. i do not know Anything about gaming computer no knowledge on cpu and other stuff, i am way behind. I am looking for a good computer that will not support lag during game playing and screen recording using fraps or what ever will not cause the game i am playing to lag. what do you recommend? i am just a beginner.
Hi Zephyrre, if you mean 2 GHZ above the stock clock speed (example 2600K stock speed 3.4 GHZ to 5.4 GHZ) you can with Sandy Bridge but with proper cooling, otherwise it shortens the CPU lifespan and might destroy it. If you are talking about smooth gaming, 4.0-4.2 GHz would suffice. Most of the bulk processing is done in GPU itself, therefore grab a good graphic card which can handle your monitor(s) resolution. If you want it to last like 4-5 years down the road, grab the latest graphic card like GTX 670 Palit (2012) and if you need more GPU processing power, do a SLI. This will allow to play excellent quality on a 2560×1600 resolution. Thanks for patronizing my site for MapleStory Guides. Cheers!
Heh, I’m still running an Athlon 64 X2, I’ve just been reading a lot lately: looking towards upgrading and all that. I see your point about Ivy Bridge being superior, clock for clock, to Sandy Bridge and that superiority is shown in no area better than video encoding. I myself am looking into more of a gaming build and am looking towards significant overclocks, say 2Ghz above factory settings, and would not be able to attain that with any stability as easily on an Ivy Bridge processor as on a Sandy Bridge. From your build (and from you saying as much) I can see that this is not a gaming centered rig but is instead a more all-purpose machine. I did not take this into account when I first commented. Thanks for the quick reply though. Your website is always my first choice for Maplestory guides, keep up the good work. Cheers!
Hi Zephyrre, what cooler are you running and your overclock speed and temperature? In pc forums, they mention that Ivy Bridge do overclock a little hotter but it also depends on your pc ventilation to keep it cool as well. Even though Ivy Bridge is a little hot, it saves some watts and has more processing power compared to Sandy Bridge if compared clock by clock.
I notice that in your build you have included optional coolers for if the builder wishes to overclock, yet have chosen an Ivy Bridge processor which runs extremely hot when overclocked and has, therefore, a lower overclock ceiling. I do not presume to be an expert on such matters, but I’ve been looking into the who IB vs. SB thing lately. Nice build by the way, I love how you’ve included the peripheral hardware as well.
Cheers.
Same here, thinking of buying one next year to upgrade my Intel Core 2 Duo. Takes hours to encode 720p videos but less with 480p.
Nice pc build. I wanted to make a med-high end pc but i didnt know what i really need it make it run.