Building my first gaming PC, any advice?

Question

So as the title implies I am building my first "gaming" PC. This was a budget build so it's nothing spectacular. I just wanted to build something low-end, but get the job done as well. I really enjoy computers I have a passion for them, so I thought building one would be an incredible experience.

Here are the specs:

Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive (Black)
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-H61M-DS2 LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel MOtherboard
GPU: ASUS HD7750-1GD5-V2 AMD Radeon HD 7750
Tower/Case: Cooler Master Elite 430
CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor G850
Keyboard: Razer Arctosa Gaming Keyboard
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
PSU: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500w
RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB

I have been studying up on PC building for the past 2 months, so I know the gist of how to build one. However their are multiple ways to go about the process of building everything. If you could using the parts that I listed give me any tips on building my PC? One thing I'm worried about is having parts be DOA, and that the tower will be too small.

? · Accepted Answer

Asking the same question twice is rude...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvLvotpUARMMoDcxs2dyExjsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20121227055058AAqQF5E

As for your build, not at all good for even a budget gaming PC.
That motherboard is old junk. It has the oldest H61 chipset, very low end.
Also Pentium G850 is a low end processor, not good for gaming.
Graphics card is also low end. Get HD 7770 or 7850. Or get GTX650 Ti.

Instead get:
CPU: Intel Core i3-3220, $120:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116775
That is of the latest 3rd generation Intel Core Ivy Bridge, the best budget gaming processor.
Motherboard: Any newer model with a Z77 chipset, like this ASRock, for $90:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297

Never install just a single RAM stick, always install an identical pair for fast, dual channel memory.
For gaming, best to get 8GB of RAM, in a dual kit (two x 4GB), and get G.Skill Ripjaws X Series or Corsair Vengeance - price $45 to $48
Or, if you only want the minimal 4GB, also get a dual kit (two x 2GB), about $25 or less.

Lisa · Answer

I didn't over analyze it but it looks pretty good as far as things fitting together and such.   I'm not really qualified to tell you anything about the part you chose, although they seem to be pretty decent.   Don't worry about things being DOA, it doesn't happen very often and it's pretty easy to fix.   The tower is ATX, along with the motherboard, so don't worry about that unless your video card is more than six inches wide (which it isn't).

My advise is to make sure you have to right cable connections on your monitor.   It looks like you'll need either a DVI, HDMI, or some other thing I've never seen.   Also, you might want to buy a couple fans for ventilation (on the top and back are good places) since the case only comes with one.

I'd also go and read reviews on newegg since they're usually pretty helpful.   If you really want to analyze your parts, you can compare them on anandtech.   And if you want some very useful advise, I would put a post on overclock.net.   It's a forum site dedicated to specifically computers; you can tell them your budget and they can make suggestions.

All and all a very good job.   Congratulations on building your first computer!
p.s. - I like the look of that case. :)

I&#39;mGoingDown · Answer

**EDIT**

Looking over, I hadn't realized that I linked you to a single stick of 8GB RAM. It's usually better to buy a 2x4GB kit.

You'll probably need to revise a couple of parts:

I'd really recommend you try to upgrade to a Core series CPU. Try this one and see if it doesn't put you over budget. At the least, you should be looking for a CPU clocked at upwards of 3.0 GHz:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

People sometimes tend to shy away from Gigabyte motherboards, but you should be fine. The RAM isn't compatible, though; your board can't handle more than DDR3 1333. Fortunately, you should be able to get 8GB for about the same price (you won't see a dramatic increase, but it can be nice to have):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233269 (I know this is out of stock, just an example).

Last thing, you're really really really going to want to try and get a PSU that's at least 80 PLUS Bronze Certified, and I'd go to about 700w, just to be safe:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152042&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Your case should be fine, and as far as parts being DOA, if you order from places like newegg, you shouldn't run into too much trouble. There are some great guides on the internet if you're having trouble with the actual assembly.

Shashank · Answer

The Optical Drive, Case, HDD, OS, keyboard are pretty good.
The GPU, PSU is good too.
Things to consider:
ASUS mobos are better and the processor is kind of weak.. The current gen games require tougher processors. If you have money, better go to the Intel i5-i7.. but if you want performance with lesser cost, then better go to AMDs. They give better overclocking facilities and are cheaper. But you need to buy a good heatsink for AMDs, but heatsinks are quite cheap.
SUGGESTED PROCESSOR: AMD FX 8120 (Find a good ASUS mobo for it)
RAM: Better go to 8GB ram from G-Skill. RAM is very cheap. 8GB RAM costs around $8.

Anonymous · Answer

Well you can take following things :)

1. procesr--intel i 7
2. RAM -- 8 GB of kingston DD3
3. HDD -- 2 TB
4. Graphic card Nvidia Geforce 9 series..check it here :)

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Windows 8 will do..

Just take these things and u can play any game for sure of world..

Cheers :)

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Building my first gaming PC, any advice?

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