bang for buck gaming PC

OK to start , i use to build my own PC up to about 6 years ago , then i got a console and fell out of the PC loop , in fact i have not owned a PC that is running a windows operating system in the last 3 years opting to install a Linux distro on a old 725 socket AMD64 with 2gig of ram , that does anything i want to do , up until now .

Thing is i like playing BF3 but i know the console version cant shake a stick at whats happening on the PC version , big maps need big teams .

So now you have some idea of where im at , as in not upgraded and have no idea what products are what any more and not even brought a copy of Micro Mart in over two years so have no idea .

I cant afford a top line PC but i would like something that would give my a good gaming experience in BF3 .
If getting the best bang for buck means building it my self , i will do that .
I'm hopping for a complete system with everything except a monitor , as i did upgrade to a LCD from my CRT ( my only upgrade )

I have about a Grand to spend , there is flexibility , as in if spending that extra hundred gets me to bang for buck heaven . I don't know where that sweet spot is any more or how much i need to spend to get there , less spent is always better in my books but buying cheap and buying twice , is fools money .

I know i need to invest in a Good PSU and branded memory and a well ventilated , set out case . Thous are the basics of building reliable gaming PC system , or they where 6 years ago .

Basically i need advice so i can research my options and hopefully make an informed decision .

Hello,

Just so happened I was looking on here and saw your thread. As it happens I'm involved with a group of guys that play BF3 every night on the PC and rent their own servers to play on. Your right about BF3 in particular being a better experience on the PC.

Your budget is pretty bang on the money and you have 2 choices.

Build the system yourself or...

Configure the system and get someone else to build it like, CyberPowerSystems, Chillblast, Palicomp, PCSpecialist or Dino PC. All of which carry a good name, some are better than other in terms of value, service etc so its a good starting point to see whats out there. Might be worth getting back up to speed with the latest gear out there as well. Pick up the odd mag here and there. Computer Shopper, PC Advisor, Custom PC (definately) or PC Format (again definately as its more of a gaming orientated mag). The website HardwareHeaven.com is always a good source as are many others, Kitguru, OverClockers Club etc.

Intel are offering the best CPU's these days by and large, AMD just don't have the grunt and use a fair bit more power to achieve the same results as Intel if their overclocked. Intel boards are Socket 1156 these days with some good products on offer from Asus and MSI. Worth checking their websites to get a feel for the products on offer.

Graphics I would stick to a budget of somewhere near £200.00 to get the most out of a game from either Nvidia (can't go wrong) or AMD (some good bang for buck). Stick to a single card though...none of this silly crossfire (two cards) stuff as you would need a bigger PSU to power it.

PSU's, I would stick to either Corsair, Antec, CoolerMaster or BeQuiet in that order. They all carry a good name. Some near 500 to 750 Watt would probably meet you needs. Ebuyer.com is a great site to look at prices and what is on offer.

Case's I would go for something with good cooling. Looks wise is always a personal taste. You can see my case down below. I've found it strikes a good balance between cooling, price and most important...size to accommodate all the the gear that goes into a case these days.

Here is an example of what I have...just an example as its about a year old.

Manufacturer: Self-Built With My Own Two Hands
Processor: Intel Sandybridge i5-2500K (overclocked to 4.5GHz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600MHz DDR3
Hard Drive: 1TB Hitachi (2x500GB) 7200RPM
Video Card: MSI GTX570 Twin Frozr III Power Edition OC
Monitor: LG 22" W2261VP
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DX
Speakers Headphones: Turtle Beach Z6A 5.1
Keyboard: Steelseries MERC
Mouse: CM Storm Spawn
Mouse Surface: CM Storm Tactics Pad
Operation System: Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit)
Motherboard: Asrock P67 Extreme 4
Computer Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
PSU: CoolerMaster Silent Pro 700 Watt PSU

You can more expensive but I don't see the point. There is a price point sweet spot at the minute and you budget definately hits that. I wouldn't as you say buy cheap, spend twice, not recommended.

You can feel free to swing by our forums at www.solo-elite.com on the tech section to ask some gamers what gear they would recommend. Friendly guys and the ones who play BF3 like I mentioned. We do play a good range of popular titles from time to time and been gaming for about 13 years online as a group.

Feel free to drop by but I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Would go to bit-tech's forum and post your build question their as the hardware section of the forum has people on a weekely basis building new pc's and advice, the site is also the online version of Custom PC.

http://forums.bit-tech.net/

Also check out bit-tech's PC Hardware Buyer's guide as it covers all types of PC's and recommends the best buys.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide/2012/0...

Edited by deleted (Thu 20-Sep-12 18:37:09)

thank you both , very helpful and exactly the pointers i was looking for .

So far i have decided on my case Corsair Obsidian 550D , i know there are probably better cheaper options but past experience tells me , get the case you want and it could last a few rebuilds and the fact it takes a 240mm radiator in the top panel and already set up for silent computing and doesn't look to over the top , unassuming with good cooling options .

from my day reading the internet it seems IvyBridge Core i5-3570k might be a possible CPU , i don't intend to overclock but like to have options .

I need a motherboard for the above so off to read some more .

not even made a post and im banned from bit-tech's forum ? now that is ridiculousness like i have never witnessed in my life , register last night and was banned this morning ... no reason given !

Thats very odd, did you send a email to the site admin?

No i haven't and im not going to as i have already wasted my time with having to register !

The link you gave to the main site still works for me and have found useful to help me catch up , i now have a good idea of what i want and more importantly what i can afford .

Going to build it myself as this is still the only way you can get exactly what you can afford , all honesty the ready made gamer rigs are good value for money just there never exactly what i want .