Building a gaming desktop and need help with processor and motherboard?

Question

I want a decent gaming desktop[ that will last long. I don't plan to play high end games which require expensive equipment. At best I want to be able to play Fallout New Vegas smoothly and be able to multitask daily without any hardware issues.

For the processor, I was thinking about this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-115-220

The problem is that it's quite expensive for an i5 dual core and according to the reviews, the cooling system including is terrible. If I do buy the processor and an after cooler, what would a good Asus motherboard be for it that's cheap and effective?

If I don't decide to buy it, what is the AMD equivalent to the processor above and what motherboard would be good with it?

Answer 1

Hello, let me give you a few suggestions.



1. I suggest taking i3 2100, instead of i5 processor. The reason is: i3 2100 can play all the current games in the world, with large fps rate. It's a very powerful processor and i5, i7 should be bought only by the most demanding gamers, multitaskers, programers, graphics workers, etc.

Also, i3 2100 is not only cheaper. It's faster than i5 650, too:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=144

Also, i3 2100 needs no cooling whatsoever. So I think it's ideal for you.



2. I suggest this motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130593

I know you might be thinking it's a cheap thing, so it's not good. But that's not true. It may have fewer connections than others, but then, you won't be installing a lots of different hardware on your PC. And it supports i3, i5 and i7 all the same. The performance is the same. And you can use the money to buy other things, too.



3. I know AMD fans would disagree, but this is not the right time to buy an AMD processor... As you can see on the comparison bench in the link, even i3 is better than some of the best AMD processors. AMD will probably be the king of the hill for some time when it releases it's new processors. For the time being, intel is the king.



A comparison with the best AMD 6 core processor:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=203



*EDIT*



I started building a PC for myself a few days ago and also was confused by the selection of motherboards. They all look the same and different at the same time.

After reading on a few boards and came to a conclusion, that it doesn't really matter what motherboard you choose if you aren't planning to overclock and use an integrated graphics card.



Short info on MB models:



H61 - It has problems using the newest SSD hard disks (But that's fixed in the B3 revision I offered) and has a few less ports (meaning you can't connect like 5 hard disks, I think). But if you are just going to use no more than two hard drives - no problem. And it's not "slower" that any other motherboard. Just less connections. No overclocking.



H67 - +2 PCI express ports, more USB connections. No overclocking.



P67 - Doesn't support integrated graphics at all. Unlocks overclocking. Otherwise same as H67.



Z68 - Supports integrated graphics, unlocks overclocking. Otherwise same as H67



So to conclude - if you are planning to use a discrete GPU and don't plan overclocking your hardware, H61 or H67 are the best choices for you.



For comparison, this is the build I spent 50+ hours building:



SMG F3 1TB 3.5" SATA2 7200RPM 32MB



PC case w/o PSU Aerocool ATX PGS Vs-9, Toolless,



MB H61 S1155 MATX/H61MU-E35 B3 MSI



Crucial Rendition 4GB DDR3 1333 DIMM 240-PIN PC3-10600



CORSAIR GS PSU 800W 14CM ATX12V2.3 80+



INTEL CORE I3-2120 3.3G 3M LGA1155 BOX



TITAN CASE FAN 120X120X25MM PWM Z-AXIS



ASUS GTX 560Ti DirectCU II



800$

Answer 2

Your construct is fairly perfect. The processor you've, keep it. you dont favor to be needlessly spending funds on larger equipped stuff at the same time as the only you've already got is totally high quality. Your memory is high quality, portraits card is truly good. each thing is totally high quality. the purely element im going to the contact upon commonly is your difficult force. i'd noticeably recommend getting, first of all, a Sata 6.0 Gb/s and a couple of of them at that (Doesnt remember about difficult force length) yet they could be an same accurate element. 7200rpm, for sure. Than once you get the construct and do each thing you've performed to get it to artwork. After this, ask a question on the thanks to placed your difficult drives into Raid 0 so as that your % is almost doubled. this type once you interest and do modifying each thing plenty plenty swifter. believe me it really works. I placed my prevalent difficult drives (resembling yours) into raid 0 and it did like a a million.8x % improve. i'd answer your question interior the i7 and i5 element. the version between them isn't there clock %, no longer there cores, yet there cache. i7 has so a lot extra l3 cache. i5 is interior the middle, balanced. and i3 has a low quantity of cache. There are different issues yet i forgot. Dont change your motherboard, the added valuable that is the longer your computing device will very last and the added performance you could squeeze out.

Answer 3

If you want to keep costs low, then your system will not be viable for as long as if you build a slightly more powerful machine. I know it's easier for me to say than for you to do, but if you spend a little more now, you'll save in the future. If you can afford it I would go with an i5 750 processor and a DX58SO2 motherboard. That combination of Equipment should last you for a long time and handle anything you can throw at it. You can save money by getting by with an ok video card, and 4 gigs of ram (up to 24 gigs) but you can always upgrade later, or buy one video card now and add another later as your software demands since the DX58SO2 has (2) PCIe slots. In my experience the processor and motherboard are not items you want to skimp on.



A good ASUS mobo. is the ASUS P7P55D-E LX

and the AMD Phenom II is pretty close to the i5, but i5 family will just about always reign supreme.

The ASUS Crosshair III Formula is a good AMD compatible mother board that will withstand the test of time but if your looking for something cheaper, than a bundle might be what you need.



http://www.amazon.com/Asus-ASUS-M4A785-M-Motherboard-Bundle/dp/B004GJFYZW





Hope this helps, good luck with the build!

Answer 4

That's 1 generation back.



Quad core ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074&cm_re=i5_2400-_-19-115-074-_-Product



Z68 board ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502&cm_re=z68_motherboard-_-13-128-502-_-Product



or just grab that i3-2100 mentioned above.