Build me a PC!

[Galaxial]

Hey all!
Undoubtedly you all know a lot more than I would when it comes to custom PC's, and I need your help in building a new one!
My old HP (2gb DDR3 ram, 500gb HDD, crappy graphics card/motherboard) has lasted me a good 3 years, and I think it'll be soon time to say good-bye to it!
So I'll give you all a challenge - can you build a PC that is both affordable, stylish and powerful?
It'll need to handle common (nerdy) tasks such as:
- Video editing
- Gaming
- Coding
- Graphics design

But yeah, I need your help with this, because I honestly haven't a clue whats on the market these days.
Any suggestions for accessories also welcome - I'm going to need a new keyboard(I've broke the W & A keys from overuse)/mouse, and eventually buy a PC headset (everyone always complains of the background noise in TS!)

Good luck

- Galaxial

 

[Airbus101]

What is your budget? that's really the key... hell the GTX690 card cost $1,000 so we need a point of reference

desktop or Laptop?

 

[Galaxial]

Woah, expensive gear
I'd say a $1,500 overall budget, as I'll just save up over-time and buy bits and bobs, rather than all in one go!

 

[OrangeAngel]

Alright. I'm on this. The build will be finished either tonight or tomorrow (the plans =P)

 

[Scheyst]

$1,500 is really overkill if you are patient and know when a good deal comes up. I got a pretty nice Samsung RF511-S02 a year ago for $750. It has a 2nd-gen Core i7, GeForce GT540M Graphics, 4GB DDR3 (can be expanded to 8GB), Optical Drive, Webcam, 4 hours of battery and a nicely customizable BIOS (for those power-users who care). For $750 it beat out most gaming desktops I looked at in terms of specs and is a reasonable size. It can run Skyrim on Ultra with no lag, cooperates nicely as a dual-boot hackintosh and saved me the trouble and risk of assembling my own rig.
Point is, if you just wait and keep your eyes out for sales you can get a really good machine at a relatively low price. I built my last machine and it was a lot more trouble maintaining/repairing and a lot more nerve-wracking assembling than I would have liked. Of course if you are looking for something even more powerful or want to be able to upgrade easily in the future there are certainly merits to building your own though.

 

[bearcat99]

I got a mac...

 

[whitemagehealu]

I just went to ibuypower, chose the parts and they put it together and sent it to me! They have good deals sometimes too. I got a free 1TB HD when I bought my computer.

 

[Galaxial]

Mac's are nice They've certainly appealed to me more so far in terms of their looks

 

[Zaspar]

I got a free 1TB HD when I bought my computer.

o.o totally jellly

 

[Galaxial]

@whitemagehealu I'm jelly too 0.0 ! Most I've ever had is 500gb!

 

[iTzDeXy]

WITHOUT AN OS - Around £500-600
i3 CPU 2100 3.1GHz
4-6GB DDR3 RAM (what ever MHz your motherboard supports, should say when you buy)
1TB HDD, 2TB if you record a lot in HD
AMD Radeon HD 6800 series, go for a 6850-6870 for better gaming and cheap price.
650W PSU
Case of your choose as long as everything fits

Cheap for what it puts out.

And this will help you choose a motherboard, right RAM type, etc and show you how to build it.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC315B2A086BA6AAF&feature=plcp

If you want to spend more go for a i7, get a SSD or 2 and even go for maybe a better GPU, but what I listed will be good enough for what you need, if you do a lot of editing in HD you might want to upgrade to i5/i7 and a SSD.

 

[OrangeAngel]

I got it!

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20447966

Sexy action right there. The SSD and the Blu-ray Player are optional. Just thought I'd add those in for shits and giggles. You can cut down on the RAM to 8GB if you so desire, if you do I'd recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095. Even with all the added extras and a decent 140ish dollar monitor(if you so desire) It would be just under your budget. Hehe without those extras you'd be around 1000ish dollars (if I did my math right).

Have fun! (I'd double check on compatibility, though I believe everything is compatible)

 

[xFuZe]

I got it!

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20447966

Sexy action right there. The SSD and the Blu-ray Player are optional. Just thought I'd add those in for shits and giggles. You can cut down on the RAM to 8GB if you so desire, if you do I'd recommend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095. Even with all the added extras and a decent 140ish dollar monitor(if you so desire) It would be just under your budget. Hehe without those extras you'd be around 1000ish dollars (if I did my math right).

Have fun! (I'd double check on compatibility, though I believe everything is compatible)

I would drop the processor, motherboard, and GFX.
You could buy the new motherboard that Kain is selling for 240$ or get an ASRock Extreme3 Gene3
I personally prefer Nvidia cards much more than AMD due to the fact that they have much better warranty and its cards tend to handle more graphics intense games (ex. BF3, Skyrim. Etc). If I would recommend you a card it would either be a 560 Ti 2GB <--2 GB is important, or a 570 GTX 1.5Gb. The extra 1gb or 500mb makes a HUGE difference. If you are to get 8gb of ram just get 4 Ripjaws 4 Gb 1600 (on sale can be 60$ but this was a few months ago). With this set up you can somewhat "future proof" later on you may need to add another graphics card so you want a power supply and motherboard which can handle it. With this set up, you will most likely be able to max out any game without huge fps problems. (You can run BF3 maxed out settings, literally maxed out, with a single GTX 560 Ti 2Gb, without much FPS problems. This is on a 64 slot capsian border server)

 

[kevinlive]

I should try to pick up some advice from these threads for when I'm gonna build my own gaming monster. Does anyone have like, important tips I should know? Also, since I'm in Europe, is buying it from USA profitable? Considering extra fees on sending it up to Norway (Errything is so cheap in the States :3).

 

[OrangeAngel]

I was sort of trying to be UNDER his budget. Not just barely under or over @xFuZe

 

[xFuZe]

Honestly, it does not really matter since the better parts, the longer it lasts for. @OrangeAngel
Kevin, not really unless shipping is free. Im pretty sure there are some good online retailers in the EU. @kevinlive

 

[OrangeAngel]

Isn't there an EU newegg?