# What you you reccomend me for a computer?



## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

I have posted here a while ago asking if my computer had decent specs for gaming. They were horrible and i said i would eventually get a new computer. What you guys reccomend me for gaming. It should do everything a normal computer can but be good for gaming also. I dont see why it wouldnt do everything normal but i just want to make myself clear. Also, no laptops.

I do have a friend that knows how to put together a computer but I dont really want to go to him because i dont know him very well and i dont want to get any problems. 

My budget would be preferably 1k or less, but if you see a really good deal over 1k, i can afford it. 

Also, what is the best operating system? I am on Vista ATM and i hate it, every game i want to play, i have to type does ______ work on vista. That being said, please dont offer any vista comps, most arent made for gaming anyways. 

If you dont have any reccomendations, reccomend me some PC games. All my friends are playing Garrys Mod ATM. Any contribution to the thread would be helpful to keeping it up and having people see it and offer new ideas. Also, gaming mouses, keyboards, etc would help in my descision making also.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Also, i just failed in the tile, what would you* reccomend me for a new gamign computer


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## mcorton (Apr 16, 2009)

Are you wanting to build on or buy it already built.


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...evised-2011-and-updated-regularly-448272.html

Or you can look at a few companies like Falcon Northwest or Digital Storm, they make a good product but are kinda pricey. I would recommend looking into building one or having on built it's the way to go.


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## RockmasteR (Aug 10, 2007)

building a PC for 600$ is going to let you play Crysis 2 on good settings
check this out on Geforce.com and see if it helps

GeForce.com - Get the Most Out of Your GPU


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Ok thank you for all the comments, i would prefer to buy one prebuilt if possible but building one would be fine too. Who would i hire to build it though? I also checked out the sticky on this but id prefer if you guys could show me some parts or a computer to buy. 

To the guy above me, when i click on that link, it comes up blank.

Also, @llacrossedude, could you or someone else please explain to me if there is a huge diffrence between the build that cots about 900 and the build that costs about 1050? Is it a huge difference? i noticed that the only major price upgrades were graphics card and CPU.


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

There can be, it all depends on what you need the computer to do. For example if you get a low end Intel machine for 800 and a AMD machine for 1000 overall they will preform about the same. It all boils down to exactly what hardware you have and what you need the computer to do.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

I think i am going to get a prebuilt but i want to make sure i get the right one for gaming, i would replace the graphics card on all of these but that would be it. Also, i heard i shouldnt use i3 intel for gaming, is this true? because some i3 computers have great GHz. Im not an extremely serious gamer either. Playing crysis on the highest settings isnt my dream. Right now, i cant even run joint operations on the lowest settings, getting games to play fast on normal settings is what im looking for.

Could someone give me a site where i could customize a gaming computer and order it prebuilt also? ive been on one before but i forget the name. Power supply is supposed to be important too and im worried that the computers im looking at dont have a good PSU. 

Most likely one to buy HP - Pavilion Desktop / AMD Athlon&#153; II Processor / 4GB Memory / 1TB Hard Drive - p6754y 3 GHz need to replace the graphics card. 420 dollars, seems good to me.

Dell - Inspiron Desktop / Intel® Core&#153; i3 Processor / 4GB Memory / 1TB Hard Drive - I580-9186NBC i3 is the only thing im worried about. 3.2 Ghz.

HP - Pavilion Slimline Desktop / AMD Phenom&#153; II Processor / 4GB Memory / 750GB Hard Drive - s5730y 3.4 GHz, i heard in a review its hard to upgrade RAM which worries me but for about 200 extra dollars, im pretty sure this could be an amazing computer for me. 

Gateway - Desktop / Intel® Core&#153; i5 Processor / 6GB Memory / 1.5TB Hard Drive - DX4850-27EU 2.8 GHz is low compared to the others but it said 3.1 Turbo boost. What is this and is it hard to get. This is a good candidate if i5 is much better than i3 like people say, but i want opinions from here.


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

None of these computers can play any current games unless you put a graphics card in yourself, but the Gateway is the best of the 4.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

llacrossedude7 said:


> None of these computers can play any current games unless you put a graphics card in yourself, but the Gateway is the best of the 4.


Yes, i was planning on putting in a graphics card myself if i bought any of them. I am planning on spending another 150-250 on upgrading those. Should i worry about anything else other than the graphics card? 

Also, what is your opninion on the slim lime? if i spent a good 200 dollars to upgrade that, would it be a good computer?


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

Depending on the graphics card you get you might and most likely will need a PSU upgrade as well to supply enough clean power to your graphics card.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

llacrossedude7 said:


> Depending on the graphics card you get you might and most likely will need a PSU upgrade as well to supply enough clean power to your graphics card.


Ok thanks, ive found a couple more sites and im thinking about not getting the ones from best buy but building a custom one form the site centauruscomputers.com or Ibuypower.com or getting this specific model Titan, a Gaming PC at an Amazing Price 
is a quad core processor much better than a dual core? On the last one, i could upgrade to quad and it wouldnt be that much. 

Ive also read a lot about the power supply and some sites advertisements say that corsair power is much better. is this true or should i just get a 700 watt standard if im planning on buying from ibuypower?

EDIT: does dual graphics cards help a lot too. I dont want to spend an extra 90 dollars for 5fps more but if it makes a big difference, i would do it.


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

Don't go with Ibuypower they are horrible and offer mediocre customer support. I would stick with the Gateway and just upgrade it. Now about dual graphic cards, it depends on the games you will be playing and the resolution you will be playing on. So in most cases a single card will be fine.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

llacrossedude7 said:


> Don't go with Ibuypower they are horrible and offer mediocre customer support. I would stick with the Gateway and just upgrade it. Now about dual graphic cards, it depends on the games you will be playing and the resolution you will be playing on. So in most cases a single card will be fine.


thanks, im still considereing ibuypower but im aware my copmuter may not come to me in working condition. From what ive heard, they give u all the parts but its not put together properly on occasions. 

Im going to look at the reputations of centaurus and that other site and decide from then. 

Best Buy is of course, legitimate so i dont have to worry about problems with them.

Is there any way to find the specs on this cpmuter though Titan, a Gaming PC at an Amazing Price I cant seem to find what the cooling unit is and what the psu is. I dont want to buy a nice computer and have it suck because of those two.


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## -WOLF- (Jan 17, 2009)

You can probably go to the 'Contact Us' section and ask them directly.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

thanks, ive made my desciesion and despite what you said about ibuypower, i will take my chances and buy from them, now i have a couple of questions about which parts i should buy,

CoolerMaster HAF 932 Full Tower Gaming Case - Black does full case or mid tower make a huge difference?


im going with AMD Phenom™ II X4 955 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU 


4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand is this good or should i upgrade?

should i get this ATI Radeon HD 5570 - 1GB - Single Card or or this NVIDIA GeForce GT 440 - 1GB im not sure which is better but based on reviews solely, it seems like the first one is the best bet.

Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (AMD) - Standard 120mm Fan is this the ebst cooling i can get or is the defualt better? Liquid CPU Cooling System [AMD] - [Free Upgrade] Standard 120mm Fan should i get these two or go with a fan and heatsink? 

finally for the power supply, should a 700 watt standar work well? the price comes out to be 749 which is great the graphics cards difference is barely any so im not worried about that.


Do i need an SSD? i read this and it turned me off Do I need SSD for my gamin ring? - Yahoo! Answers but then i read this The SSD Relapse: Understanding and Choosing the Best SSD - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News it seems like SSD's dont work well on vista for some reason but i will be getting windows 7.


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## ssd-tweak (Jun 18, 2010)

In regards of SSD for your system, it depends a bit on your needs. It will speed things up, no doubt, but SSD's are still cutting edge technology and still has some maturing ahead to become as reliable as HDD's (despite what some vendors/manufacturers may say).

They do work smoothly for most people, though. Since you're going to be gaming, there will be much less load times, less lag, and less sound (spinning/clicking HDD sound), and less powerconsumption. Here is a comparison of one Intel x25m versus 2x HDD in RAID 0 for gaming purposes:

YouTube - Intel® SSD Gaming Demo

Intel is known for very stable SSD's, but they are lagging behind on the writespeed (sequential). If you want great read and write speed, OCZ Vertex 2 is a good choice. The price on the Vertex 2 should be dropping now, as the Vertex 3 has been released to resellers.

I have had a few SSD's, and they generally speed up pretty much anything I use, due to extremely low seektimes, fenomenal IOPS performance and random performance, and of course the great speed when reading and writing to the drive.

One thing to consider, is to calculate that you need to leave ~25% of the total capacity unused or unallocated, so that the drive has extra space to do internal "housekeeping".

That shoud cover some of the basics for your needs. If you want to know more, ask away.


Kind regards,

tweak


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

For your budget I would not worry about an SSD I would spend that extra money on a better graphics card, because those card you have picked out can barley run current games. So I would look into a something like a AMD HD 5770 or HD 6870.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

alright thanks. 

@ssd tweak but both of you if you guys know. I dont need an ssd right? it wont make my computer extremely slow without it or anything negative. also, what are your opinions on my memory, watts, cooling, and overall setup? i went much pricier with the cpu because im not playing many modern games. I will make the graphics card better and when i have my final build, ill post it.

Is the full tower a lot better than the mid tower or does it make a very minimal difference? And also quad core should just make my computer last longer right? not be more durable but in the future, it should be able to support newer games?

It said the graphics card requires AT LEAST 700 watts of power. does this mean i can get a 700 watt power supply and i should be fine or should i go with the 800? is 800 even enough?


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

That system at full load will only use about 500w so 700w will be fine the extra is headroom for overclocking and increased performance. Everything else though is fine.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

The Watts figure is only a guideline. There are other things to consider when looking at power supplies for gaming computers (like +12V amps, efficiency rating, build quality, etc). Some 700W PSUs are good, but others are the equivalent of 450W units.

If you want to play modern games at decent settings (but not maximum settings at ultra-high resolutions), a graphics card like the HD5770 would be good. And for the PSU, the Corsair 650W is a popular choice, high quality and reasonably priced.

Radeon HD5770 1gb - $120

Corsair 650W PSU - $70

As for your question about the SSD, solid state drives are more of a luxury than a necessity. They are quicker than standard IDE/SATA drives in certain situations, but also much more expensive. See ssd-tweak's reply in post #19.

Full/mid tower....... Go for the full size tower. It's better for future upgrades, and the extra space inside the case allows for better airflow and lower system temperatures.

Quad core won't make your computer last longer. I'm not sure what you mean.


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## ssd-tweak (Jun 18, 2010)

mikemac:

No, you don't _need_ an SSD. Your system will not be incredibly slow without one. Save that experience for later. I did too, when I first built my current system. I didn't add in SSD's until later on.

Your other questions has been addressed above.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Ok thanks guys, by make my system last longer, i meant it wont get outdated. I just have one more quick question. Is Sata better for hard drives. for 5 dollars more i could get a 6 Gb/s hard drive with sata. I dont exactly know what this means though. Is it better than a hard drive without one. 

Also, im going with a dual core computer but it has the highest Ghz. Its something like 3.3 not overclocked. Thanks for all the help. Im almost done and i will post the full build when im done. Im also switching to a different case so i can afford that pricey graphics card. Also upgrading the psu from generic brand to a corsair because like you guys said, they are more reliable.


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## ssd-tweak (Jun 18, 2010)

mikemac402 said:


> Ok thanks guys, by make my system last longer, i meant it wont get outdated. I just have one more quick question. Is Sata better for hard drives. for 5 dollars more i could get a 6 Gb/s hard drive with sata. I dont exactly know what this means though. Is it better than a hard drive without one.
> 
> Also, im going with a dual core computer but it has the highest Ghz. Its something like 3.3 not overclocked. Thanks for all the help. Im almost done and i will post the full build when im done. Im also switching to a different case so i can afford that pricey graphics card. Also upgrading the psu from generic brand to a corsair because like you guys said, they are more reliable.


I will let the real pro's answer your questions, and created this post mainly to snip out what was your text from the middle of the quotation in your last post.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

There are 2 common types of hard drives, the older IDE and the newer SATA. Your motherboard will most likely have more SATA ports than IDE, so go for a SATA drive. Check the manual or online specs to confirm before buying.

There's no difference in speed between the two types, but the SATA cable is much smaller which helps to improve the airflow from the front to the rear of the case.

If you're going for a 3.3GHz dual core CPU, that will be fine for games. Quad cores are becoming more popular, but not all games support 4 cores, so dual core is better at the moment. Check your motherboard specs to see if it will support quad for when you want to eventually upgrade from dual.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

ok thanks for the help, i know all of the parts fit because they ship the computer to me already built (or so they say). Just one more question if anyone knows. Does the Gb/s matter? the one with sata has 6 Gb/s and the standard one has 3 Gb/s. I dont know if this is good or bad.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

They will both be the same speed. The data transfer of hard drives that are labelled 3gb/s and 6gb/s are both lower than 3gb/s (gigabytes per second), so you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between them.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the standard one". The term SATA doesn't mean the hard drive has an extra feature that makes it quicker than other hard drives. SATA is the type of cable and connector that is used to attach the hard drive to the motherboard. It is just a newer version of the old IDE cable/connector.

Post a link to the pre-built computer you're thinking of buying, or links to the hard drives and motherboard if you're building it yourself.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

alright thanks for the help. I think ive finally decided what im going to get, heres what im getting price is 745

Case
NZXT Gamma Gaming Case *Black*

Case Lighting
None

iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction
None

iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion
None

Processor
AMD Athlon™ II X2 265 Dual-Core CPU 

Processor Cooling
Asetek 550LC Liquid CPU Cooling System (AMD) - Standard 120mm Fan

Memory
4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand

Video Card
AMD Radeon HD 6870 - 1GB - HIS Fan Turbo - Core: 920MHz - Single Card

Video Card Brand
Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA

Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-770T-USB3 -- AMD 770

Motherboard USB / SATA Interface
Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface

Power Supply
750 Watt -- Thermaltake TR2 TRX-750M 

Primary Hard Drive
500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Data Hard Drive
None

Optical Drive
24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black

2nd Optical Drive
None

Flash Media Reader / Writer
12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black

Meter Display
None

USB Expansion
None

Sound Card
3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Network Card
Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Operating System
None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only


thanks again for the help, if you see anything i should change out or improve, i wont be ordering it for another week or so so theres still time if i made errors.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Looks good. If the water cooling is optional, you could save some money by replacing it with a standard heatsink and fan.

As far as I can tell from looking online, the NZXT Gamma case has room for 6 fans, but only the rear fan is included, so you might need to buy and install an extra 120mm fan for the front of the case. This will cost about $5-15, depending on the quality. Check with the store to see if both case fans are already installed.

See if you can find out what make and model the 500gb hard drive is. Some are faster and more reliable than others.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

alright, thanks. A standard heatsink and fan would not affect performance? I would rather not upgrade the computer because im not very good and friends arent always trustable.

If i get liquid cooling, is that all i need? 

also, the hard drive does not have a brand name, i could pay an extra 158 for a 300 gb velociraptor but thats unreasonable.

I could get the hdd in raid 0 or raid 1 but i dont believe thats a company. The site is Ibuypower in case you didnt already know. 

You can check it out if you want. Im customizing the 479 dollar AMD.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

A standard heatsink and fan won't affect performance. That's what most people use. Liquid cooling is used by people who want to overclock their computers to improve the CPU's performance. As overclocking can be risky and is not needed for your gaming requirements, you probably won't be doing this, so you'll be fine with a standard heatsink and fan instead of water cooling.

All hard drives have a brand name (eg. Western Digital, Samsung, Seagate, Hitachi, etc). A good quality 500gb 7200rpm SATA hard drive costs about $50. You don't need a $158 Velociraptor.

RAID is where you combine 2 or more hard drives for increased performance or reliability. You don't need this.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

koala said:


> A standard heatsink and fan won't affect performance. That's what most people use. Liquid cooling is used by people who want to overclock their computers to improve the CPU's performance. As overclocking can be risky and is not needed for your gaming requirements, you probably won't be doing this, so you'll be fine with a standard heatsink and fan instead of water cooling.
> 
> All hard drives have a brand name (eg. Western Digital, Samsung, Seagate, Hitachi, etc). A good quality 500gb 7200rpm SATA hard drive costs about $50. You don't need a $158 Velociraptor.
> 
> RAID is where you combine 2 or more hard drives for increased performance or reliability. You don't need this.


all right, thanks for all of the help heres the final computer which i will most likely be ordering soon.

Case
NZXT Gamma Gaming Case *Black*

Case Lighting
None

iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction
None

iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion
None

Processor
AMD Athlon™ II X2 265 Dual-Core CPU 

Processor Cooling
Certified CPU Fan and Heatsink 

Memory
4 GB [2 GB X2] DDR3-1333 Memory Module - ** FREE Upgrade to DDR3-1600 ** Corsair or Major Brand

Video Card
AMD Radeon HD 6870 - 1GB - HIS Fan Turbo - Core: 920MHz - Single Card

Video Card Brand
Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA

Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-770T-USB3 -- AMD 770

Motherboard USB / SATA Interface
Motherboard default USB / SATA Interface

Power Supply
850 Watt -- XFX Core Edition PRO 

Primary Hard Drive
500 GB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 6.0Gb/s - Single Drive

Data Hard Drive
None

Optical Drive
24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black

2nd Optical Drive
None

Flash Media Reader / Writer
12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black

Meter Display
None

USB Expansion
None

Sound Card
3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard

Network Card
Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100)

Operating System
None- Pre-formatted Hard Drive Only

As you can see, i changed the power to 850 watt XFX. The reviews on this were great and i figured a little xtra wattage wouldnt hurt because the site reccomended 700 watts. 

This is what ill be ordering unless there are any problems you see. You seem to know what i want because i didnt realize what the liquid cooling system does until you said it, and now that i realize it, its a great idea. 

BTW the HDD is Sata, just like you reccomended i get. Only 5 more dollars.

Again, thanks for all the help from the community, if anyone has other ideas on what to put in my computer, feel free to help someone who doesnt know that much.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Good choice on the PSU. It will work well with your current setup and can still be used if you upgrade the graphics card or CPU at a later date.

Remember to ask the supplier about the 120mm front case fan before you place the order. This is important for the airflow inside the case which keeps the parts cool. Running a gaming computer with only a rear fan can cause overheating and reduce performance.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

All right, thanks for all the help from you and the rest of the community. I will make sure to call the manufacturer and ask for a front fan in my order. Im sure they could do it. Thanks again to all who contributed.

If i got the asetek liquid cooling system and got the push pull airflow, that would be a fan in front and a fan in back right? If i downgrade to the "liquid cpu cooling system (AMD)" would it be bad? most people say to stay away from the generic brands on that site. 

So, does push pull airflow give me a fan in front and a fan in back like you suggested? 

Also, do i have to do something special to overclock my PC? or can i just leave the liquid cooling in there and it wont be risky?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Liquid cooling will help your CPU to run about 5C cooler than a regular fan. It's up to you if you want to pay extra for it (probably an extra $40-60), but a CPU fan is good enough for a mid-range gaming computer like yours. The vast majority of gamers use fans instead of liquid cooling.

You still need the 120mm fan at the front of the case for the front-to-rear airflow to work, to keep the motherboard and the rest of the components inside the case cool.

If you're going to go for liquid cooling, stick with the higher quality Asetek (made by Corsair) rather than the cheaper AMD.

Overclocking can be risky and might void your warranty. It means increasing the clock speeds of the CPU and/or graphics card to make them run faster, and changing the voltage settings in BIOS for safety. You need to be very careful when overclocking because it can lead to overheating and it shortens the lifespan of the components. I suggest seeing how the computer performs before considering overclocking. If you want more details, have a look at some of the threads in our Hardware>Overclocking forum.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Alright, one last question. With the push pull airflow, i will have 2 120 mm fans? one in the rear and one in the front. The description just said one on each side of the radiator.

I wont even consider overclocking. I just wanted to know if a liquid cooling system would be fine because that is the only option if i want 2 fans. It seems that it should keep my copmuter consierably cooler which is definitely worth the price.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Yes, a push/pull configuration is where you have a fan low down at the front of the case positioned so it's pulling in cool air from outside, and another fan at the top rear of the case blowing out the warm air. The airflow path between these 2 fans passes over the motherboard and components, keeping them cool.



mikemac402 said:


> I just wanted to know if a liquid cooling system would be fine because that is the only option if i want 2 fans.


Yes, it will be fine if that's what you want, but liquid cooling is not the only option if you want 2 case fans. The other option, which is what most people do, is to just install the 2 case fans without the liquid cooling system, and install the heatsink/fan on top of the CPU.

Note, I'm talking about case fans (attached to the front and back of the case), not the CPU fan (which sits on top of the CPU/heatsink).


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Alright thanks, sorry if im asking a lot of questions but i just want to make sure. The push pull configuration should be about the same quality of cooling as if i had to install two case fans? 

Im not very good with technology. The most ive been able to do is change my graphics card and it took me a while to figure out. Im sure i could do it with time but im mostly just scared of messing up my computer. 

thanks for all your help and your quick response again.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

It's ok, ask all the questions you need. I just wanted to make sure you understand the difference between case fans and the CPU fan / liquid cooling.

The liquid cooling system is a replacement for the CPU heatsink/fan and it includes a rear case fan, so you still need the front case fan. See here for illustrations and more details about the Asetek 550LC - Asetek, Inc. - 550LC

So basically, you need 2 case fans (front and rear) for the airflow, and you can choose to have either a CPU heatsink/fan or liquid cooling for the CPU.

If it was my computer, I wouldn't get the liquid cooling. It's more expensive and adds very little to the performance of the computer.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Alright thanks, because of my budget, i will go with the fan and heatsink. 

Is the front case fan hard to install? I follow instructions well but thats about it. I will request if they can install the fan but i doubt they will from their reputation.

Ive done my research and heard both opinions on front case fans and i agree with you that someone who wants to take care of their computer should have a front case fan.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

There will be an air vent at the front of the case with 4 screw holes around it. You just need to screw the fan to the case, making sure it's pointing in the right direction to pull air in, and then attach the power cable from the fan to either the motherboard or one of the connectors from the PSU.

See here for full instructions - How to Connect an Additional Case Fan | eHow.co.uk

Let us know how you get on, or if you need any more advice. :smile:


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Im thinking of going with a different site because they are cheaper than the current one and have a better reputation but that doesnt change anything. I am thinking of changing my video card to a 5770 after thinking about budget and reading your posts. The good thing is that this site (cyberpowerpc) will install all te 120 mm fans for an extra 20.

Thanks for all the help, i will come back if i have more questions but i dont have any right now.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

I have new question about fans. Do i need a specific hard drive fan? shouldnt the case fans do the hard drive cooling by themselves? 

Ill be buying the maximum number of enermax 120 mm fans in a coolermaster HAF 912. The hard drive fan costs an extra 21 minimum and im not sure if i need one. From what ive read, if i have proper cooling, i wont need one.


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## llacrossedude7 (Jul 31, 2009)

Nope hard drives usually at full load, meaning running at 7200 RPM, will maintain a constant 30 to 35 degrees C or about 85 to 95 degrees F. So there is no need for a hard drive fan.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

The HAF 912 can take 6 case fans, and the PSU is positioned down at the bottom (most cases have the PSU near the top, but either way is fine).

Looking at the airflow diagram for this case (click here and scroll down), I would go for 2 120mm fans at the front (one of them blows directly onto the hard drive bay, the other is above it) and 1 120mm fan at the rear. If you mean it's going to cost an extra $21 for the bottom of the 2 front fans, then don't get it, just go for the one above it.

Side fans are not needed unless there is a specific heat problem that you need to fix. Having too many fans will increase the noise level and could cause turbulence which disrupts the front-to-rear airflow path, making it less effective.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Thanks for both opinions. I will have al 6 fans because it is in the description that i have the maximum number of case fans.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

New question that came up. I just realized im spending all of this money on a computer but not a monitor. The monitor i have right now is an Acer model x203h bd.

It seems like a decent monitor actually... 5ms and 16:9 ratio. Priced at 150 on amazon... Will this be suitable for gaming? is there a resolution problem or something like that?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

It will be fine for gaming. The 5ms response time means you won't get any screen tearing during fast action scenes, and the 1600x900 resolution can be handled by the graphics card at decent settings.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

generally when you buy a prebuilt system the psu will not be a good make and it will be very generic so at some point if doesn't do damage to the system it will need replaced as it will die on you.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

greenbrucelee said:


> generally when you buy a prebuilt system the psu will not be a good make and it will be very generic so at some point if doesn't do damage to the system it will need replaced as it will die on you.


This is a customized prebuilt so i pick the power supply. Sorry for not being very specific. I heard raidmax was cheap anyways so im going with a therma. 

Does anyone know the answer to my Monitor question? I think its fine but im not knowledgable and want a smarter persons opinion. Again, the model is an x203h bd Acer monitor 16:9.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

mikemac402 said:


> Does anyone know the answer to my Monitor question?


See my last reply.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

mikemac402 said:


> This is a customized prebuilt so i pick the power supply. Sorry for not being very specific. I heard raidmax was cheap anyways so im going with a therma.
> 
> Does anyone know the answer to my Monitor question? I think its fine but im not knowledgable and want a smarter persons opinion. Again, the model is an x203h bd Acer monitor 16:9.


raidmax are one of the worst. Power supplies are the most important part of your computer there is no need in having a good computer powered by a cheap n nasty power supply. Raidmax have a tendancy to destroy motherboards when they fail.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

"therma" - Do you mean Thermaltake? The XFX PSU you were looking at earlier would be better.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

koala said:


> "therma" - Do you mean Thermaltake? The XFX PSU you were looking at earlier would be better.


Yes, as in thermaltake, i heard the XFX was great but its sadly not available on the site. 

Also what do you mean the 1600:9000 would be fine at decent settings? I wont be buying a new monitor but im just wondering because i havent heard anything on if that (16:9) effects gameplay.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Which Thermaltake PSU is it? Model number and total watts.

16:9 is the display ratio (horizontal:vertical) for widescreen monitors. There's also 16:10, which is what my 22" widescreen monitor uses, that is slightly bigger vertically. And standard non-widescreen monitors use a 4:3 ratio, where the screen is more square than wide.

Higher resolutions (more pixels on the screen) require more processing power, so if you're playing at 1600x900 resolution (1600 horizontal pixels x 900 vertical pixels) then the framerates will be lower than they would be if you were playing at 1280x720 for example. This won't be a problem for your CPU and HD6870 graphics card, but you might have to drop some of the more demanding graphics settings (like antialiasing) in some games from Very High to High.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Ok thanks for the info, i have another monitor also thats Much smaller. My guess is a 4:3 and i could use that but i really have no reason too. The psu is 
750 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-750TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Read

I went with the corsair because its well known for quality products and only 12 dollars more. Also the deal on the graphics card ended so i think ill go with this:
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)

unless its too much money which it isnt ATM.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Corsair and Thermaltake are both good, and 750W is enough for your setup.

The GTX560 will give about the same framerates as the HD6870 you were looking at earlier, maybe slightly better depending on the game and settings. It uses more power (an extra 20W at full load), but your PSU can easily handle it.

With the GTX 560 being an nvidia card, you've got the advantage of being able to use the PhysX option in games that support it. This is a graphical feature that makes games look better, but it's not properly supported by ATI cards (ATIs have to use the CPU which is not as good as the GPU for this kind of thing).


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

koala said:


> Corsair and Thermaltake are both good, and 750W is enough for your setup.
> 
> The GTX560 will give about the same framerates as the HD6870 you were looking at earlier, maybe slightly better depending on the game and settings. It uses more power (an extra 20W at full load), but your PSU can easily handle it.
> 
> With the GTX 560 being an nvidia card, you've got the advantage of being able to use the PhysX option in games that support it. This is a graphical feature that makes games look better, but it's not properly supported by ATI cards (ATIs have to use the CPU which is not as good as the GPU for this kind of thing).


Yeah, thats pretty much what my research has said too. Physx supposedly slows down some games though because it causes more things in the game to move or produce and causes more stress on the graphics card. 

Just a question out of curiosity, and whoever may be looking at this, the extra price on the NIVIDIA is because of the physx right?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Prices change all the time, and get cheaper as newer models are released. I don't think the PhysX feature is related to the price, it's just that ATI cards tend to be cheaper than the equivalent nvidia.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

Alright guys, thanks for all of your help. I have finally brought my computer and from my research, it should be able to run stalker call of pripyat at max settings easily. Im hoping it can handle any game. Ill show you guys what i have now, and what ill be upgrading to. Thanks again for all of the help. I had to change some things because of budget but its not that big of a deal.

Computer i have now:

AMD dual core processor 2300 2.2 Ghz
3G RAM
NIVIDIa GeForce 8200
power supply is unknown haha. I have all that affects my fps.

New Computer :

*BASE_PRICE: [+585]
BLUETOOTH: None
CAS: CoolerMaster HAF 912 Mid-Tower Gaming Case w/ Adjustable HDD Cage [-52] (Black Color)
CASUPGRADE: None
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
CD2: None
CPU: AMD Phenom™II X4 955 Black Edition Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [+50]
CS_FAN: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case [+9]
FA_HDD: None
FAN: Thermaltake MaxOrb Enthusiast CPU Cooling Fan(Slient & Overclock Proof w/ Highest Efficiency Cooling) [+9]
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
FREEBIE_CU1: FREE Game: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
FREEBIE_RM: None
FREEGAME_VC02: None
GLASSES: None
HDD: 1TB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+17] (Single Hard Drive)
HDD2: None
IEEE_CARD: None
KEYBOARD: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
MB_ADDON: None
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Module (Corsair or Major Brand)
MONITOR: None
MONITOR2: None
MONITOR3: None
MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte GA-870A-UD3 AMD 870/SB850 chipset support DDR3 Ultra Durable™3 Socket AM3 ATX Mainboard w/ 7.1 Audio, GBLAN, Support 6-core CPU, CPU Auto Unlocker, USB3.0, SATA-III, ON/OFF Charge for IPod, RAID, 2 Gen2 PCIe, 2 PCIe X1, & 3 PCI
MOUSE: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
MULTIVIEW: Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
NCSW: None
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium [+104] (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: * 650 Watts - Corsair CMPSU-650TX 80 Plus Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready [+99]
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: 600Watts PMPO Subwoofer Stereo Speakers
TEMP: None
TVRC: None
USB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBFLASH: None
USBHD: None
USBX: None
VC_PHYSX: None
VIDEO: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card [+20] (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO2: None
VIDEO3: None
WNC: None
_PRICE: (+841)


They had a deal on that graphics card so i got that and lowered my psu. i realized id need an operating system so i got Windows 7 which was an extra 105. From the graphics card reviews, the geforce 450 runs better than the 5750 in every way. They said its pretty much a 5770 but uses less power and better at dx11. Switched to quad core so i wont have to upgrade it later, its worthe the extra money IMO.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Good choice on the Thermaltake MaxOrb. It's very quiet and does a good job at keeping temperatures down. It's also much cheaper than liquid cooling.

The GTS450 is a big drop from the HD6870 or GTX560 you were looking at earlier, which would both be better for gaming on your 1600x900 monitor. The 450 will work well at medium-high settings, but it's not in the same league as the other cards.


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## mikemac402 (Jan 24, 2011)

koala said:


> Good choice on the Thermaltake MaxOrb. It's very quiet and does a good job at keeping temperatures down. It's also much cheaper than liquid cooling.
> 
> The GTS450 is a big drop from the HD6870 or GTX560 you were looking at earlier, which would both be better for gaming on your 1600x900 monitor. The 450 will work well at medium-high settings, but it's not in the same league as the other cards.


yeah, i know that, i have another monitor i can use too. Its a dell Rev A03 (model number). Its 6ms and it looks like a perfect square to me, a lot smaller. Im planning to upgrade the card in the next too years because the 560 is way to espensive for me right now. I dont NEED it anyways. I should be bale to run most games fine.


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