Looking to finally get into PC Gaming

[Aaron S]

Hello everyone!

I'm finally considering to making the switch to build my own PC to game on. I was looking around at PC part picker's website and I've found this build that is apparently good for first timers. Here is the link: http://

A couple of questions I have for this are 1) Do you recommend a cooler for the cpu? If so, how would it work with the cpu (like installing it and such) and which cooler would recommend?

If I were to get both an SSD and an HDD, how would you install both on the motherboard? Are there 2 ways on the motherboard to make this happen?

Are sound cards recommended on your PC? For network adapters I'm just going to use a wireless one that I plug into one of the USB ports. If there's another way that you'd recommend I'd be all ears. Thanks for anyone that can help me out with this, I really really appreciate it! I'm siked I'm finally building my own PC.

 

[migronesien]

1. I only recommend a CPU cooler if you're going to overclock it. Otherwise it can stay stock. Installation is pretty easy. Normaly there are 4 pins 1 on each side of the cooler which you can simply pull out or push in until it snaps.

2. You give each drive power from your PSU and there is a cable comming from your motherboard which has like 3-5 or something plugs which you can put in randomly in your drives.

3. No need for a sound card, expect you're planning on making quality music and stuff like this.

4. Wireless USB stick is enough for WLAN.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Overall, it's not a bad build. Just a bit dated and, as usual, does not include an operating system.

Here's a updated build with a newer graphics card and OS:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($69.78 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 370 2GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $652.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 10:48 EDT-0400

As for your questions:

1) The CPU comes with it's own stock cooler (unless it's labeled OEM) which is more than sufficient to keep a processor cool under normal operating conditions. Some people will recommend getting a third party cooler with a larger fan for better cooling and/or quieter functioning. Each cooler will have it's own way of being installed so it's a good idea to read through the manual and maybe watch a video or two.

2) The SSD and HDD are both SATA drives and use SATA cables to connect directly to the motherboard. Modern motherboards come with anywhere between 2 and 12 SATA ports for SSDs, HDDs, and Optical Drives.

3) Over the past few years, on-board audio has really improved to the point where only true audiophiles would need a discrete sound card. On-board audio and a decent set of speakers are usually more than enough for the typical user.

4) While my personal preference would be using a wired connection to the modem/router, you can use a wireless USB or (better) PCI-Ex1 internal card for wireless access (assuming you have a wireless network at home).

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask here!

-Wolf sends

 

[Elemential]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($172.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $595.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 10:53 EDT-0400

I'd rather get this as a first time build. With this build you can later upgrade to an i5/i7 giving you more power for gaming, video editing, photo editing etc.

With this build the stock cooler is more than enough as for the x4-860k you probably would need a better cpu cooler as they tend to get very hot.

If you get a ssd and a hdd you would connect them to the mobo via sata cables which are included with the mobo. You just put the drives in the driver bays and connect them.

You definitely do not need a sound card unless you buy one without it. The h97m mobo has one. The only other reason to purchase a sound card is if you are a audiophile and litterally care about each aspect of the quality of the sound.

You can connect to the internet via an ethernet cable from the router to the motherboard. This would guarantee better down/up speeds and possibly even ping.

 

[Aaron S]

Overall, it's not a bad build. Just a bit dated and, as usual, does not include an operating system.

Here's a updated build with a newer graphics card and OS:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($69.78 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 370 2GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $652.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 10:48 EDT-0400

As for your questions:

1) The CPU comes with it's own stock cooler (unless it's labeled OEM) which is more than sufficient to keep a processor cool under normal operating conditions. Some people will recommend getting a third party cooler with a larger fan for better cooling and/or quieter functioning. Each cooler will have it's own way of being installed so it's a good idea to read through the manual and maybe watch a video or two.

2) The SSD and HDD are both SATA drives and use SATA cables to connect directly to the motherboard. Modern motherboards come with anywhere between 2 and 12 SATA ports for SSDs, HDDs, and Optical Drives.

3) Over the past few years, on-board audio has really improved to the point where only true audiophiles would need a discrete sound card. On-board audio and a decent set of speakers are usually more than enough for the typical user.

4) While my personal preference would be using a wired connection to the modem/router, you can use a wireless USB or (better) PCI-Ex1 internal card for wireless access (assuming you have a wireless network at home).

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask here!

-Wolf sends

I see. Thanks for those answers! Would you say upgrading both cpu and gpu's are fairly easy along with updating software for them and such? I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed here about building my own PC but I've heard it's the best thing ever for gaming when you get the hang of it.

 

[Aaron S]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($172.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $595.56
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-03 10:53 EDT-0400

I'd rather get this as a first time build. With this build you can later upgrade to an i5/i7 giving you more power for gaming, video editing, photo editing etc.

With this build the stock cooler is more than enough as for the x4-860k you probably would need a better cpu cooler as they tend to get very hot.

If you get a ssd and a hdd you would connect them to the mobo via sata cables which are included with the mobo. You just put the drives in the driver bays and connect them.

You definitely do not need a sound card unless you buy one without it. The h97m mobo has one. The only other reason to purchase a sound card is if you are a audiophile and litterally care about each aspect of the quality of the sound.

You can connect to the internet via an ethernet cable from the router to the motherboard. This would guarantee better down/up speeds and possibly even ping.

Thanks for the reply! So say if I did sometime want to upgrade to a better processor, are there any sites available to find out if the motherboard is compatible with them?

 

[Aaron S]

One thing I forgot to ask was I see that some graphics cards have either like 2gb or 4gb on the card. What does this exactly mean and is either 2 or 4gb better for gaming or does it not matter that much? I ask because I know that you already have RAM put into the motherboard so what would the smalled amount of gb's have to do with being on the gpu. Thanks

 

[Wolfshadw]

What CPU you can use is fully dependent on what motherboard you have. Each motherboard's web site maintains a list of supported CPUs. For instance, in the build I linked, here is the CPU Support List. For the motherboard in the build Elemential provided, here is the CPU Support List. AMD CPU Sockets will only accept AMD processors and Intel CPU sockets will only accept Intel processors. Beyond that, you really need to check any given motherboard's CPU Support List to determine what processors are available for it.

If you do intend to upgrade the processor to a point where you need to also change the motherboard, you will likely also need to completely reinstall your operating system and all of your programs.

That said, changing out a graphics card is a lot easier. You can use any AMD or NVidia graphics card in any AMD or Intel based motherboard. It's likely you will need to install new drivers for a new graphics card, but drivers are readily available on both AMD's and NVidia's web sites.

-Wolf sends

 

[Wolfshadw]

A graphic card requires memory in order to run. Just a couple of years back, a graphics card with even 1GB of Video RAM (VRAM) was unheard of. If a system or program required more than the amount of RAM available from the graphics card, it would borrow from the system memory whatever it needed.

Now, with so much advancement in technologies, graphic cards can usually carry all the video memory they would ever need. How much they need depends on what you're using your system for and the resolution of your monitor(s). Generally speaking, for a single display 1080p monitor, 1-2GB of VRAM would suffice. For multiple displays, each at 1080p or higher resolutions, you'll want to make sure the graphics card has more VRAM, say 2-4GB or more.

-Wolf sends

 

[Aaron S]

A graphic card requires memory in order to run. Just a couple of years back, a graphics card with even 1GB of Video RAM (VRAM) was unheard of. If a system or program required more than the amount of RAM available from the graphics card, it would borrow from the system memory whatever it needed.

Now, with so much advancement in technologies, graphic cards can usually carry all the video memory they would ever need. How much they need depends on what you're using your system for and the resolution of your monitor(s). Generally speaking, for a single display 1080p monitor, 1-2GB of VRAM would suffice. For multiple displays, each at 1080p or higher resolutions, you'll want to make sure the graphics card has more VRAM, say 2-4GB or more.

-Wolf sends

Excellent. Thanks again for the helpful points, I really appreciate it!