My father introduced me to the “PC” at the age of 5 - it was an Atari 300XL with a 5 ¼ inch drive and a 300 baud modem that we used to connect to Prodigy. Since that time I’ve bought, built, upgraded and tweaked at least a dozen machines for myself. There’s something inherently satisfying about building a computer from scratch, choosing each and every part carefully, and then putting it together to form the perfect machine. Today we kick off a multi-part feature where we’ll take you through the steps to building a solid gaming computer with a budget of around $1500 and will be capable of playing all the best co-op games at the highest resolutions for many years to come.
While anyone can buy an off the shelf computer with similar specs for a similar price, you'll always have to make concessions. Building a computer is a time consuming processes of selecting parts, comparing options, putting it together, trouble shooting, and enjoying. It's not for everyone - but if you take your time and appreciate the price you'll come out the other side rewarded. As with anything co-op, having a buddy along for the ride to help you with your build is a great experience!
The Computer: What’s In there Anyway?
Inside that case you have a bunch of components that make a computer run. Each component has it's own unique person in the machine that's both incredibly complicated and intricate - we could spend forever just talking about that - but for now here is the 5000 foot overview of the components.
Motherboard - is the core of your system, it’s what the other components plug into to run. Processor - this is the brains of your system responsible for all computing tasks Memory - these sticks of RAM allow your computer to function by storing information temporarily Video Card - responsible for displaying images, video, and more. Hard Drive - a hard drive is permanent storage device for games, pictures, video, and more. Power Supply - a power supply is responsible for supplying electricity to all the components in a system. Case - the case is what houses all your components. There’s a variety of sizes and form factors available.
That’s it really - if you have all of the above (including a case) you’ll have yourself a functioning system. So lets look at each component and weigh some of the choices out there as well as what the benefits are to them. You can get computer components at local retailers like Best Buy or you can try online retailers like Amazon or NewEgg. We've used NewEgg for almost 10 years now and find them a solid, reputable, friendly, and fair company when purchasing computer components. While most times they are the cheapest, even when they aren't, that extra dollar or two is worth the piece of mind of purchasing through them.
One final note - these choices are merely our suggestions. We've offered some alternatives to each component, but even those are only a suggestion. Whatever you end up choosing for a component - make sure it's compatible with your other choices.
The first component you’ll need to choose is a processor. Your choice here will decide the other components in a system. Right now there’s two big players on the processor market - Intel and AMD. There’s a few things you want to look for in a processor...
Number of Cores - Each core in itself is a processor, the more cores you have the more applications it can work on at the same time. Clock Speed - This is how fast the processor works - though you can only compare this against the same line of processors. For instance a 3.0 Ghz Intel Chip might be faster than a 3.6Ghz AMD chip. L1, L2, or L3 Cache - these areas is where the chip can store instructions temporarily while working - generally the more the better. CPU Socket - This represents the pin configuration on the bottom of the chip, you’ll need to find a motherboard that supports it.
Our Choice: Intel i7-950 ($294) [Available at NewEgg]
Website: intel.com
We chose the The Intel i7-950 processor for our system. The chip runs at 3.06 Ghz, has 8MB of L3 Cache, and has four cores that can run two threads each for an effective 8 cores. The processor also supports something called Turbo Boost, which will dynamically increase the clock speed up to 3.33Ghz under heavy load.
The i7-950 series uses a LGA 1366 socket and requires 130W of power.
Alternatives:
Lower End - Intel i5-750 - 4 Cores, 2.66Ghz, 8MB L3 Cache, LGA 1156 ($199) [Available at NewEgg]
Higher End - Intel i7-980X - 6 Cores, 3.33Ghz, 12MB L3 Cache, LGA 1366) ($999) [Available at NewEgg]
Motherboards these days offer a lot of features, so some of the things you’ll need to look for is what kind of integrated options it offers. You’ll want a motherboard that not only supports the current components you are buying - but will allow breathing room if you upgrade down the road.
You’ll want to look at the form factor - usually ATX (bigger) or MicroATX (smaller). The bigger boards usually offer more features. Here’s some to look for...
USB Ports - Today just about every device is USB, and while a hub lets you expand up to 127 of these, it’s nice to have them built in. USB 3.0 are the fastest, though not many devices support this yet. Onboard Audio - You can save a few bucks by getting a board with a built-in sound card. Look for one that has 5.1 or 7.1 support and allows you to do digital out. PCI Express 16x Support - to run the fastest video cards you’ll need at least one of these slots, if not more for future upgrade or SLI support. SATA - All modern motherboards support SATA (Serial ATA), see if the board supports RAID as well and make sure it has at least 6 connectors for lots of hard drives if you go that route. SATA 3.0 is the latest and fastest specification, check if it supports that as well. Advanced Features - these include the ability to overclock in the bios and tweak settings and voltages to your liking to get the maximum potential out of your hardware.
Our Choice: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R ($210) [Available at NewEgg]
Website: gigabyte.us
We chose Gigabyte’s board based on solid reviews all around and for good brand reputation. The board uses twice the amount of copper as “traditional” motherboards to help keep temperatures down. It has 2 PCI-Express 16X slots, 8 Serial ATA 2.0 slots, 2 Serial ATA 3.0 slots, Gigabit Ethernet Support and onboard 7.1 channel audio. It also sports 12 USB ports - 10 USB 2.0 and 2 USB 3.0.
This is a socket 1366 board which will support our Intel i7-950 just fine. It also supports triple channel memory, which we’ll talk about in the memory section of this article.
Alternatives:
Lower End - GIGABYTE GA-H57M-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H57 ($129) [Available at NewEgg]
Higher End - ASUS Rampage III Extreme 3 Way SLI, Dolby Digital Sound, Advanced Overclocking Options ($339) [Available at NewEgg]
When choosing memory, you aren’t going to be comparing features so much as you are going to be comparing performance potential. Almost all of today’s modern PCs use DDR3 RAM. This means its the third generation of Double Data Rate RAM. Beyond this, each stick of memory is rated for different speeds which correspond to the speed at which it talks to your processor and other components.
While in days past you had to worry about this speed matching a specification on the processor, most motherboards allow you to run these speeds independently. In general, the higher the speed of the memory - the faster performance you can get out of it.
There’s one other specification that comes into play though which is called CAS Latency. The short of it is - this specifies the delay in clock cycles that memory waits before its ready to access a particular piece of data. So the lower the number here the better.
Here’s an example: DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - Cas Latency 9
This would be DDR3 RAM that runs at a BUS speed of 1333Mhz. It’s classified as PC3 10666 RAM with a CAS Latency of 9 cycles.
Finally memory can be run in double or triple channels. The i7 platform from intel is the currently the only one that supports triple channel memory, which means that memory on each stick is filled in parallel instead of sequentially, which decreases overall latency.
Our Choice: Corsair Dominator 6GB Kit - DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) CAS Latency - 8 ($149) [Available at NewEgg]
Website: corsair.com
We chose the Corsair kit for a variety of reasons - solid performance, room to grow for overclocking, and quality sticks of RAM with heat spreaders attached for optimal cooling. It comes with three sticks of RAM optimized for triple channel support too - perfect for our Intel i7-950 processor and Gigabyte motherboard.
Alternatives:
Lower End - Crucial 4GB Kit - DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) ($94) [Available at NewEgg]
Higher Priced - Corsair Dominator 12GB Kit - DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) CAS Latency - 8 ($299) [Available at NewEgg]
So this is a biggie, especially for gamers. Choosing a video card maybe the most time consuming and confusing part of building a gaming PC. Both Nvidia and AMD put out a full range of video cards from entry level to top of the line enthusiest and figuring out what is what involves decoding some strange numbering scheme that changes every year.
Your video card should support PCI-Express 16x, have at least 512Mb of on board video, and be at least in the “mid range” product lineup of the respective manufacturer. Most people agree that there’s a sweet spot for price vs performance. Right now that falls at about the $200 mark.
The other factor to consider is the 6 month cycle. Basically every 6-9 months video card manufacturers are going to release a new model of video card that’s bigger, better, and faster than something else on the market. You want to try to buy a card as early in the life cycle as possible so you don’t fall too far “behind.”
Our Choice: EVGA GeForce 460GTX Superclocked with 768MB of VRAM - ($155) [Available at NewEgg]
Website: EVGA.com
While some may argue that the recently released AMD 6870 based cards are where your money is at, we’re going with NVidia’s solution which can be found for around $20-$30 cheaper and sometimes even more with many offering rebates. The EVGA card comes overclocked out of the box, is backed by a lifetime warranty, and has an external exhaust cooler blowing hot air out of your case instead of keeping it inside.
The card is also excellent in pairs for SLI performance reaching the same level as the top of the line cards - this could be a cheaper upgrade option down the road. SLI allows you to pair two cards of similar make and model to divide up the graphics workload.
Perhaps best of all EVGA allows you to “trade up” your card within 90 days (for a price) if something newer and better comes out. With the card a little more than halfway through that lifecycle there’s a good chance you can upgrade soon if you want.
Alternatives:
Slightly Better: XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB ($199) [Available at NewEgg]
Higher End: EVGA GeForce GTX 580 - 1.5GB ($499) [Available at NewEgg]
Now that we’ve chosen a video card we can choose a power supply. Today’s video cards are extremely power hungry so you’re going to want at least a 650W PSU - at the bare minimum. We recommend going at least a 750W, or, if you plan to go the SLI route down the road, look even higher.
A power supply takes an AC current and converts it into DC current - to do this some power must be lost. Obviously, loss of “power” means its less energy efficient. Right now there’s a rating system out there called 80 Plus which measures how efficient a power supply is at different load levels. (http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx)
Our Choice: Corsair AX750 Modular Power Supply ($138) [Available at NewEgg]
Website: corsair.com
We chose the Corsair AX750 power supply for a few reasons. For one, it’s Gold Rated - which means it’s 87% efficient at peak load. It’s also modular, meaning we only need to attach the power cables we need to use in our system, thereby freeing up room and not having to worry about all these dangling extras. Finally 750W should be more than enough for our system while also helping things run cool and quiet.
Corsair’s PSUs have really gained ground in the industry rather quickly for their quiet operation and reliability, past experience with them made this an easy choice.
Alternatives:
Lower End: Antec Earthwats EA750 Power Supply ($90) [Available at NewEgg]
Higher End: Corsair HX1000 Series Modular Power Supply ($220) [Available at NewEgg]
Your hard drive is the storage mechanism for all your software and info. Today, hard drive space is incredibly cheap, but it’s also slow compared to the other components in the system. That’s why more and more folks are utilizing SSD, or solid state drives, as the main drive in the system to allow for faster boot times and quicker application launches for common apps. While these drives are more expensive, they offer performance 5 to 10 times greater than a standard hard drive.
Standard hard drives have a few factors that determine its speed - its interface and RPM both come into factor. The interface tells its maximum theoretical throughput. For instance, SATA 3.0Gb/s says the connection is a Serial ATA based connection with a maximum throughput of 3 Gigabits a second. The RPM tells you how fast the disc platters spin inside the drive. A drive rated at 7200RPMs will have platters that rotate 7200 times a minute - this means faster access to your data.
Finally, drives have two sizes - 2.5" and 3.5". While the 2.5" drives are typically for laptops, you can use these in many desktops just fine - as its a common formfactor for SSD drives.
Our Choice (SSD): Intel X-25M 80GB SSD ($179) [Available at NewEgg]
Our Choice (HD): Western Digital Black 1 Terabyte SATA 6.0GB/s 7200RPM ($89) [Available at NewEgg]
Alternatives:
This one is a little more up in the air. You might not necessarily need an SSD, saving yourself some money. There’s also plenty of other SSDs out there...for a price. We recommend looking at Intel, OCZ, Corsair, and Crucial if you are in the market for other size SSD drives.
For your standard hard drive make sure you get at least a 7200RPM drive. 500GB might be enough space for some, but at $85 a 1TB drive is a steal. Western Digital or Seagate are the way to go for these drives.
So now we have all of our components lined up - we need to choose something to hold it all. The computer case is important for a variety of reasons most of all - holding your components and keeping them cool with airflow.
Computer cases come in a variety of sizes and form factors based on the ATX standards system. You’ll see a case’s size noted as ATX Full Tower, ATX Mid Tower, ATX Desktop, ATX Mini Tower and many others. The two most popular form factors are Full and Mid Tower cases; for most the mid tower will be adequate in size for your components - but the full tower case usually offers advanced airflow and a few extra options which make it a nice alternative.
Other features many cases include are front panel audio ports and USB ports, eSATA ports for connecting external hard drives, fan controller options for adjusting fan speed, removable drive bays, and lighting options.
Our Choice: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case ($139) [Available at NewEgg]
Website: nzxt.com
As soon as we saw the NZXT Phantom Case in white, we knew this was the case for us. A full tower ATX case loaded with cooling features like spots for 7 fans (4 included), vented drive bays, side panel, and gromet slots for wiring and liquid cooling. Bonus features include a built in fan controller, front audio, usb, and eSATA connections, and a tool less design for installing drives.
Best of all it looked incredibly gorgeous.
Alternatives:
Lower End: Coolermaster HAF-912 Midtower Case ($60) [Available at NewEgg]
Higher End: Lian-Li PC-P80 Full Tower Case ($299) [Available at NewEgg]
Our Build - The Parts List
So now we have all the parts we’ll need to build the core of our PC, lets look at the final build list and price.
Intel i7-950 $294 Gigabyte X58A-UD3R $210 Corsair Dominator 6GB Kit - DDR3 1600 $149 EVGA GeForce 460GTX 768MB $155 (after rebate) Corsair AX750 Modular Power Supply $138 (after rebate) Intel X-25M 80GB SSD $179 Western Digital Black 1TB SATA 6.0GB/s 7200RPM $89 NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case $139 Total Price: $1353
Our original goal was to build a machine for under $1500 that's both powerful with legs to last us as for quite sometime. I think we've accomplished this with ease and left us some extra money to purchase things like an operating system and other accessories. Of course if this is your first PC you might need something like a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and/or speakers. We didn't take this into consideration but will touch on the subject in the third article in our PC building series.
Next up we're going to show you how to put all this stuff together in our video feature. Be on the lookout for that soon!
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