New PC advices needed

Hi guys

i'm in need of buying a new desktop PC, and i would like some advices from you techy people

_budget: let's say 500-600€. I can think about something more though if it's really convenient, but i would like to stay low.

_usage:
- the most resources-hungry thing i plan to do is playing GW (perhaps GW2, almost certainly no other big games).
- I don't do video or image editing, i don't use 3DSM etc.
- I won't overclock, nor likely update my hardware in the next few years.
- As far as the OS is concerned, i'm wondering if i'm better off buying a new Win7 64bit, or going on using XP 32bit. What do you think? Is the cost worth it?
- I won't use multiple video cards. I'll probably use only one HDD, since now they come with 500GB/1TB, and i've already got an external usb disk with 500GB, which is more than enough for me.

_screen resolution: 1680x1050 since this is the max GW resolution iirc (i have to buy a new monitor, maybe a 18" or 20", i don't think i will need a bigger one).

What's your suggested setup? (Also sorry if i didn't provided enough information, feel free to ask me in case).


I've got no experience in building computers. Should i buy the individual components and try building it on my own, despite my noobiness, or would i be better buying a prebuilt/custom built in your opinion? I live in Italy (north-east).


Thank you all for your help

well, building the pc yourself will get you a lot more performance for your money, but i must admit, buying a prebuilt pc is convenient.

i think 500-600 euro's is about 800$, maybe a bit more, so if you're building it yourself, i'd go with an i5 (the i5 750 is an excellent choice) setup with 4-6 gb of ram (i'm not big on ram, so ask someone else for the best type of memory), and maybe a radeon 5770 (which will do everything you want and more) or, if you can stretch your budget a little, an nvidia gtx 460 (which will give you more security for the future). a ~550w PSU should be able to power this system I think.

Mobo: MSI 770-G45 ~60€
CPU: AMD Athlon X4 635 ~105€
MEM: 2x2GB DDR3 1333 ~80€
GRK: 5770 ~140€
Case+PSU: Antec NSK-4482B EC ~85€
HDD: Samsung 1TB F3 ~60€
DVD: Samsung SH-S233C ~20€
Assembly and shipping ~50€
Total: 600€

You def. want to get Windows 7 64 bit - it is the only sensible choice right now. XP will not have Microsoft Support past 2014 and XP, as good as it was in the past, is vastly inferior to Windows 7. Also, GW can support higher resolutions than 1680 x 1050 - I game at 1920 x 1080 for example. As for whether you should build your own or not, it's up to you, but remember, it's not as hard you you probably think it is, and you will save money building it yourself. I can't help you with pricing since you're in Italy and I don't know the prices there, but with a 600 Euro budget, you will probably want to look for an AMD dual core system with an ATI 5600 or 5700 series video card.

Ty all for your answers

Some questions btw:

I was a bit unsure in my OP as the resolution & monitor, and actually now i'm tempted to give a try to a 1920x1080 (maybe 22" or 24", but i'm a bit noob about monitors, so i would like some advice also about this ), but i know that it would add another 150€ to the list, so i have to think about it.


Then about the RAM. I've found browsing tom's hardware.it some guys on a forum (not an article) saying that DDR3 is not worth it since it costs 2x (almost) a DDR2, and the gain in performance of DDR3 isn't noticeable under 1600, and now motherboards still accept DDR2, so it should be better to save some money buying a DDR2. What's your opinion? (I'm a total noob about this so don't blame me if these infos are inaccurate ). Remember that i don't plan on upgrading my RAM.

I'm checking prices now, i'll let you know.

No no, DDR3 is now mainstream and cheaper than DDR2. Also, you'd have to buy a much older motherboard at this point. You want this to be future proof.

I'd recommend an AMD setup in all honesty. Did you have a site in mind you want to order the parts from? Building a computer is actually very easy, you'll be really surprised.

Yap i actually keep seeing only DDR3 suggested, it was only a curiosity. Thanks for the answer though

I'm browsing www.tomshw.it and i will probably take a look at www.e-key.it because it seems a bit more professional than others, but i'm really not big at all at ebuying, so any advice would be really appreciated. I wouldn't mind also using an european eshop (outside Italy i mean) if it's worth it and if you say it's good.

Which parts should i go for, if i wanted an AMD setup?

CPU: http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=5272
Mobo: http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=7846
RAM: http://www.e-key.it/catalog.aspx?ID=762&name=4GB
Graphics Card: http://www.e-key.it/product_details....1163-05-20R%29
Case:http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=4278
HDD: http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=13963
PSU: http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=1676

That's the best I can do from that website, though there might be a better Motherboard choice, I had abit of difficulty navigating through that website and the choice are quite limited.

Thank you a lot. However, i've seen that components on tomshardware.com are far cheaper than the same ones on tomshw.it (the italian version of tom's hardware) because in the latter they choose different websites.

For example i've found the Intel Core i5-750 CPU at 139.8€ on newegg.com and amazon.com, and the same CPU from 180€ to 200€ on the italian ones. The same happend for the AMD Athlon II X4 635, 70-75€ on one side, 100€ on the other.

So, now i'm wondering how much the shipping will cost if i buy them on some international site.


I'm trying to understand now how do you choose the motherboard, i know i have to choose a socket compatible with the CPU one, and a support for the RAM DDR3 1333 (which almost all have), but the choice i have on tomshardware.com is overwhelming. What do i have to look at when i choose the motherboard? Is there any manufacturer i have to avoid or something?

In the end with the system suggested i will end up spending 750€, because i have to buy also monitor, keyboard and OS. What if i wanted to save some money on the CPU+MoBo? I don't think i will need a quad core, so i could go with a dual core:


AMD Athlon II X2 245 @ 47€

or the better performing (as it's been said):

AMD Phenom II X2 555 @ 73€

Is the cost difference worth it for the way i'm going to use it? Why should i choose the phenom II over the athlon II?


Then, as far as the MoBo is concerned, i've found on this forum the advice not to buy the 770 one because it's old and it doesn't have an upgrade path. What does it mean? I'm not planning on upgrading my pc at all, so what kind of harm could to this kind of motherboard? It's been also said that the game performance depends highly on the GPU, and not so much on the CPU and MoBo, so i'm assuming that i can try to save something on these two pieces, but i'm only trying to understand, so please correct me if i'm doing it wrong .

Asus MoBo AMD770 chipset @ 63€

or the same thing (or, at least, it seems ) from another manufacturer:

GigaByte MoBo AMD770 chipset @ 62€

Why should i choose one manufacturer over the other?

Another one is the MSI 770. If i don't go wrong, the difference between the MSI 770-G45 and the MSI 770-C45 is that the former supports the CrossFire, that i don't need since i don't plan on adding another graphics card. Should i go for this?

MSI 770-C45 @ 54€


Thank you sooo much for your help

Hi there, for what you want to do with your PC, you don't need all that much in the way of a "performance" computer, but you don't want to cut your nose off to spite your face either.

The MSI motherboard has everything you need and if you don't care about Crossfire or USB 3.0 or SATA 6, it's not a bad choice. All 3 of the motherboards you listed are from respectable manufacturers (aka I'd buy from any of them without hesitation).

I would suggest that you get the Phenom II CPU, it's much better than the Athlon in every way. Faster core speed, way more Cache, unlocked just all around at least 2x as good for gaming and any other demanding application. It's worth the extra cash.

Ok my friend if I had 750 Euros of my own money to spend on a computer, this is what I would get:

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=6828

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=7002

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=5888

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=5568

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=1955

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=3003

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=6711

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=6949

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=6331

http://www.e-key.it/product_details.aspx?ID=13833

Total = 700 Euros and you can find any keyboard you want for 50 Euros. This will annihilate GW1 - Max Out GW2 and all at 1080p resolution (which is the way to game, trust me). If you wanted to drop your resolution to say 1600 x 900 you could easily substitute an HD5770 (for the video card) and save yourself 40-50 Euros. I'll stand by the quality of any of the brands I picked there, all are products I have experience with, both for myself and clients over the past few years.

Good Luck and let me know if there are any questions.

WOW thank you a lot!!

Only two things: you say that if i drop the resolution to 1600x900 i could pick an HD5770, are you saying that with the HD5770 i wouldn't be able to play at 1080 or that there will be some important drawbacks?

Next, have you got any advice about what should i look at when buying a keyboard? I've seen 12€ ones, are they not to be trusted?

Thanks again for your time

You could get a logitech g19 if you had the money I suggest picking up a logitech g11 theyre awesome, and about the video card GTX 460 is the pretty good better then a hd5770 I think.

Well the 5770 is a nice video card, but it's not nearly as powerful as the 460. I can't say 100% for sure (no official specs are out yet), but I don't think that the 5770 will play GW2 at 1080p resolution with Max settings ingame. Now, I'm sure that it will play it, but you would likely need to lower the ingame graphics settings at that resolution. As for keyboard/mouse that's really a matter of personal preference. I like to have a nice gaming mouse, but I'm content with my $20 Microsoft standard keyboard. Some people use a crappy mouse but have a fancier keyboard... it's really all about what feels best to you. I suggest trying to find a store with some display models that you can test; or stick with something that you have tried or used before and liked.

You can also pickup a hd4850 for $80 its still a good card

Swahnee, Elder's build is perfect, except drop the GTX 460 and get this:

http://www.e-key.it/product_details....PCI-E,DVI,HDMI

It harmonizes better with an AMD setup, and is more powerful for less money.

Agreed Better Bang for your Euro.

Sorry for the long silence but i've just changed internet provider and my connection has been down for two weeks as i've had a few problems with the router.


Thank you very much for all your help, i really think i'm going to spend my money wisely this time