The PC Build Thread

[Soul Assassin]

Firstly, that's a very good post with a decent amount of detail so kudos on that.

The bolded bit is a problem unless you're willing to buy second-hand parts (which may not be a bad idea given your budget constraints). An entry-level system with an i5 quad core is going to eat up most of that budget leaving no room for a graphics card that can manage 60fps*.

That 60fps requirement alone is probably going to cost around 6k in graphics horsepower (GTX 970).

Sad are the times, my friend.

He can do it if he checks/ask on Carbonite.

In the recent days/weeks I've seen i5's LGA1155 for around a R1000
4GB RAM on Takealot should be around R400
PSU should be around R700-R800
I've seen a lot of GTX 970's go for R4000-R5000 this week.

If he gets lucky or stretches his budget by just a couple hundred he can do it.

 

[Moeyy.]

Hi Neoprod,

thanks for the response, will it not be possible to add an LGA 1155 i5 onto my existing motherboard and buy a GTX 960?

if this is a viable option i can rustle up more cash and maybe upgrade the psu if you deem it necessary.

I have watched a few videos on youtube of a GTX960 running those games at playable levels on the new i3 cpu.

thank you

 

[Neoprod]

Hi Neoprod,

thanks for the response, will it not be possible to add an LGA 1155 i5 onto my existing motherboard and buy a GTX 960?

if this is a viable option i can rustle up more cash and maybe upgrade the psu if you deem it necessary.

That option is going to be cheaper than new motherboard, RAM, CPU...it does mean buying second-hand as I haven't seen new LGA-1155 cpu's around at the sites I browse. If you can get onto a sale from a reputable seller on Carbonite, that would be you sorted. I would suggest getting more RAM also with the CPU...oh and the new PSU as you mentioned.

I have watched a few videos on youtube of a GTX960 running those games at playable levels on the new i3 cpu.
thank you

This option is the one that's going to run you over budget - see Ponder's post quoted below. You can scale down the CPU a bit (I'd still recommend a quad core if someone was buying a brand new system and intending to keep it for a few years).

R3729 - Intel Skylake Core i5-6500
R1174 - GIGABYTE GA-H110M-S2PH DDR4
R657 - 2x Corsair ValueSelect 4GB DDR4-2133
R901 - Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" SATA6G 7200rpm
R786 - SeaSonic S12II 520w 80 PLUS Bronze
R7248 - TOTAL

GPU:
R3699 - Galax GeForce GTX 960 EXOC 4GB
R4199 - PowerColor Radeon R9 380X 4GB
Or there is this GTX 970 in Toti going for R4000

Depending on which GPU you choose that will leave you with R553 - R1053 for a chassis

 

[Neoprod]

I have watched a few videos on youtube of a GTX960 running those games at playable levels on the new i3 cpu.

One internet demerit - you wanted 60fps and now you're asking about playable? Tut tut.

 

[Moeyy.]

I do apologize for that. I would like 60fps but that seems to be really out of budget as you've mentioned. I will scale down the resolution for now.

Thank you for your help. I will follow the build ponder has given but I will attempt getting an LGA 1155 i5 (new or used) and then another 4GB stick of ram and a seasonic PSU.

 

[ponder]

Hi Moeyy,

Ok in your case we will have to look at the second hand market, Carbonite is a great place for this if you look at their rated sellers.

For CPU look at Ivy Bridge i5-3570 & i7-3770 CPU's, you have a H61 MB which does not overclock so no need to go for K-series CPUs but if a K series comes up at a good price that's also fine. I honestly have no idea what these older second hand kit goes for.

For RAM try and get 2x 4GB DDR3 1600 sticks.

Your PSU is 450W & a Thermaltake which is not the best quality and I have no idea how old it is but they do degrade with time. Considering this I would suggest a Galax GTX960 4GB from Wootware or if you could find another make on Carbonite second hand it's also ok. They overclock really well, don't use much power and run cool (depending on the make/model).

Wrt those games you mentioned they will all with the exception of witcher 3 run above 60FPs.
GTA 5 I run at about 80fps, CSGO around 200fps+, Witcher 3 at about 50fps. That said games like GTA 5 & Witcher 3 are not maxed out but pretty close where I would drop things like shadows, grass, visibility range etc a notch. I find the optimal setting by looking at the Geforce Guides from nVidia and play around with the settings until I'm happy and it's really hard to notice the difference unless you stand still and start closely looking at pixels.
http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/guides/grand-theft-auto-v-pc-graphics-and-performance-guide
http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/gu...-hunt-graphics-performance-and-tweaking-guide
Witcher I've noticed you don't have to play at 60fps plus. I found the sweet spot above 45fps, below that it feels laggy to me.

On Carbonite PM PotterH and see if he can help out with one of those ivy bridge cpus & ram, you never know as he might have something. He sells a lot of stuff and has a good rep.

I have R6.5k to spend (the price of a ps4/xbone)

This is what I currently have:

CPU - Intel g2020 LGA1155
RAM - 4GB 1333mhz DDR3
Motherboard - AsRock H61M-VS3 (mAtx)
GPU - None
PSU - Thermaltake litepower 450W
Case - Xigmatek Helios mAtx
HDD - 500GB 7200RPM


I will be buying a full HD 1920x1080 monitor in the near future.
I would like to keep the motherboard and psu if possible.
I do not wish to overclock.

Games that i want to play are - GTA V, CS:GO, Guild Wars, Spintires, Team Fortress and Witcher at 60FPS preferably.

 

[ponder]

That option is going to be cheaper than new motherboard, RAM, CPU...it does mean buying second-hand as I haven't seen new LGA-1155 cpu's around at the sites I browse.

The good thing about the older Intel CPUs is that they still perform really well in this day & age when it comes to gaming, there really has not been great leaps made with the newer gear. Even the older sandy bridge stuff is still ok to game on these days.

 

[Neoprod]

^^, still rocking a 2500k, ponds

 

[ponder]

^^, still rocking a 2500k, ponds

I rest my case

Seriously nothing wrong with them.

 

[Jim West]

The good thing about the older Intel CPUs is that they still perform really well in this day & age when it comes to gaming, there really has not been great leaps made with the newer gear. Even the older sandy bridge stuff is still ok to game on these days.

+1

Am still using i7-2600K

 

[kang]

And me? An i5-3570k

 

[Neoprod]

^^, Ivy Bridge elitist

 

[Nirv]

i7-3770K

 

[Solarion]

Is there anybody in JHB that makes these?

 

[kang]

i7-3770K

Stock cooler?

 

[Nirv]

Stock cooler?

CM Seidon 120+

 

[shuaiba]

thanks

 

[hermansteyn]

Stock cooler?

I'm still running my i7-3770K with stock cooler. No problems ;-)

 

[Pitbull]

Is there anybody in JHB that makes these?

View attachment 364732

Measure your case, buy Plexiglass or Perspex from Maizeys and have it cut to size. Can't be that difficult

 

[Soul Assassin]

Measure your case, buy Plexiglass or Perspex from Maizeys and have it cut to size. Can't be that difficult

That will probably be his best bet, they used to make them premade like the picture he attached, Gigabyte and Asus made them, they cost R400 a couple years back.