Hi friends! I think I've decided I want to invest in a new computer this year, but I want to become smarter about putting my own together so I've been looking into barebone systems on newegg. I want the machine specifically for gaming as I intend to get more into PC gaming and stray away from consoles.
Consoles have been good to me the past few years as I've not really been able to afford a new computer. But with D3 on the horizon, I decided I really just want an awesome machine or at least adequately awesome one to play it on when it comes out. And I figure this may be the best way to afford getting a new computer as I can get each piece of hardware for the system one at a time. Sure beats just financing a whole new complete machine.
I'm not nearly as computer savvy as I once was so I would appreciate you not making fun of me for having any stupid questions. For example, one stupid question I have is, are there DVD drives on these barebones? Or do I need to get them separately? See? Try to answer that without speaking down on me like the Comic Book Guy would on Bart.
I've been looking at these here to get an idea of where to start. Are all these necessarily mini computers? Can I get a barebone system that isn't a mini-computer? Do I want to do that?? Really this is the first time I've shopped for a new system in many years so any suggestions and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I reckon by the time it's all over, I'm thinking maybe I'm willing to go as high as 1200 dollars? I mean, it is much cheaper to buy a PC this way, isn't it?
Ive looked them over and the speeds of the CPU's are on the slow side, Onboard graphics wont work for graphic intensive games. Could upgrade them but im not sure these bigger graphic cards can fit inside the case, Even so the power supplys would also need some work as they are also on the low side.
Are you only wanting a system for D3 or other games?
Honestly id go with a decent/high end system and be done with it.
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You know its going to be a good day when you enter a corner sideways.
Well I guess what I wanted to do was get the part of the computer that's just the case and the motherboard and then you buy the different parts you want for it as you go along. I thought that was the gist of what a barebones system was.
I see. Yes I suppose it's these full size ones I'm looking for. My fault for linking to those mini ones. It's just under that Newegg site those were the only barebones I was seeing.
Intels are more expensive than AMD. But AMD still perform very very well. Never had a problem with any of my AMD CPU's.
Im not a pro on motherboards but i was looking the other day for something identical to mine for my brother. With a Nvidia chipset and can support 4 or 6 AM3 core CPU's. Aswell as 5-6 SATA ports + 2 or 3 way SLi
A nice Geforce GTX 560 will do very nicely! along with a 3+ GHz 4 core CPU. 4 to 8GB RAM with a 700w PSU.
Maybe a total of around $600-700 there.
I plan on getting a GTX 560 in next few months to replace my GTX 275.
The above motherboard is very identical to mine, Except it can only take 2 graphics card and not 3 and takes DDR3 instead of DDR2. Everything listed above should work with it
$630 so far. minus RAM. Not sure what else you need. Keyboard, Mouse, Hard drives?
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You know its going to be a good day when you enter a corner sideways.
I was always under the impression the AMD processors were nicer and more expensive. Those specs seem like a really nice start. So are you getting a chassis for all this too? Or do you already have that?
Yeah I got confused I guess cause they were showing the minis and the barebones side by side. Is this one here then a regular barebones or a mini? And if I'm gonna build my own, do I actually want to go with one of these barebones or do I also need to purchase one of these cases?
Like I'm basically looking for the middle ground between buying a fully built ready to go PC at Best Buy and completely building something myself requiring just about every component.
I basically just want a PC that is easy for me to upgrade its hardware and one where I can choose which processors and video cards initially go into it.
Check out this link and pick a case you like, This link shows all the coolermaster cases which have good ventilation Newegg cases
You dont need to go the barebone route. Can basically pick out a case you like then add motherboard and the rest yourself. Like the list ive posted in my other post will all fit into a case with room to spare
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You know its going to be a good day when you enter a corner sideways.
I think I'd be happy as long as my PC is quieter than my 360 when running a game off the CD. Those things sound like jets taking off.
So yes, I agree the first logical step then would be to get the case first. I'm gonna go with Ophion's suggestion I think. I was actually reading reviews of this same case last night and it had a lot of good reviews. Unless any of you think it's worth spending a little extra to get this one. I realize though price ranges between certain amounts provide more or less the same thing. And it's not until you're willing to go over a hundred that the quality really starts to change. So I'd rather not spend an extra ten or twenty bucks if it's not that much greater than the cheaper one.
Thanks all of you for your feedback so far. I should point out that yes, I am starting completely from scratch and this is the first time I've ever done anything like this. So once I get my case ordered I'll probably be asking you for help again.
After much research I've finally decided on a barebones kit. It's this one here. While the larger harddrive isn't SSD, the 40 gig one still is. So I can run my OS off the SSD with plenty of room to spare while using the other one for mostly storage.
The motherboard will allow me to upgrade the processor to the i7 which I'll do at a later time. I think the i5 will work just fine for me in the meantime. Same with the video card. I've read plenty of good reviews on the one that is in there already and I think when Diablo 3 comes out if I'm really not satisfied with how good the game looks then, then I'll upgrade it for sure.
This just seemed like a pretty good price for a barebones kit that included the video card already which like I said I can just easily upgrade at a later time. And I really dig that SSD harddrive. So soon I think I'll place my order for this then I just gotta look around for another fan and then a monitor. Yihuu!
Really? I mean, it contains pretty much everything except a CPU fan and keyboard mouse and monitor.
Most other barebone kits on that site don't come with a video card. And the ones on Newegg are a rather limited and really just begin with purchasing cases. So after rebate this thing is just under 800 dollars and I can get a nice monitor four about 150 so the entire system will be around 1000. If I bought a completely assembled machine at Best Buy this would all cost me at least 1500 I reckon.
Granted it would be nice if this one came with the i7.
Well as I said, I'll be looking to upgrade the video card in due time. But this barebones kit came with a video card which will allow me to get everything put together sooner. I reckon by the time D3 or even Skyrim comes out I'll be getting a better video card for it. Until then, I really think that video card will work just fine.
Consoles have been good to me the past few years as I've not really been able to afford a new computer. But with D3 on the horizon, I decided I really just want an awesome machine or at least adequately awesome one to play it on when it comes out. And I figure this may be the best way to afford getting a new computer as I can get each piece of hardware for the system one at a time. Sure beats just financing a whole new complete machine.
I'm not nearly as computer savvy as I once was so I would appreciate you not making fun of me for having any stupid questions. For example, one stupid question I have is, are there DVD drives on these barebones? Or do I need to get them separately? See? Try to answer that without speaking down on me like the Comic Book Guy would on Bart.
I've been looking at these here to get an idea of where to start. Are all these necessarily mini computers? Can I get a barebone system that isn't a mini-computer? Do I want to do that?? Really this is the first time I've shopped for a new system in many years so any suggestions and recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I reckon by the time it's all over, I'm thinking maybe I'm willing to go as high as 1200 dollars? I mean, it is much cheaper to buy a PC this way, isn't it?
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Im not sure those barebone systems will be powerful enough. Maybe at low settings.
My system is
ASUS M4N82 Motherboard
Geforce GTX 275 O/C
AMD Phenom x4 965 3.4Ghz
4GB DDR2 RAM
750W PSU
plays every game at max detail and settings. I plan on over clocking CPU to 4 Ghz and getting 2 new GTX 560 Ti and running them in SLi.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Are you only wanting a system for D3 or other games?
Honestly id go with a decent/high end system and be done with it.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Im not a pro on motherboards but i was looking the other day for something identical to mine for my brother. With a Nvidia chipset and can support 4 or 6 AM3 core CPU's. Aswell as 5-6 SATA ports + 2 or 3 way SLi
A nice Geforce GTX 560 will do very nicely! along with a 3+ GHz 4 core CPU. 4 to 8GB RAM with a 700w PSU.
Maybe a total of around $600-700 there.
I plan on getting a GTX 560 in next few months to replace my GTX 275.
GTX 560 Ti
750w PSU
AMD x4 3.4Ghz CPU
ASUS M4N98TD EVO
The above motherboard is very identical to mine, Except it can only take 2 graphics card and not 3 and takes DDR3 instead of DDR2. Everything listed above should work with it
$630 so far. minus RAM. Not sure what else you need. Keyboard, Mouse, Hard drives?
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Like I'm basically looking for the middle ground between buying a fully built ready to go PC at Best Buy and completely building something myself requiring just about every component.
I basically just want a PC that is easy for me to upgrade its hardware and one where I can choose which processors and video cards initially go into it.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
You dont need to go the barebone route. Can basically pick out a case you like then add motherboard and the rest yourself. Like the list ive posted in my other post will all fit into a case with room to spare
@Maddog, out of those cases you linked to, which might you recommend that's under 100 dollars?
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Pick out a case you like the style of, Doesnt matter which either one of them will be perfect
$75 - $100
Or
$50 - $75
My case is all black. Getting some custom vinyl stickers made up.
So yes, I agree the first logical step then would be to get the case first. I'm gonna go with Ophion's suggestion I think. I was actually reading reviews of this same case last night and it had a lot of good reviews. Unless any of you think it's worth spending a little extra to get this one. I realize though price ranges between certain amounts provide more or less the same thing. And it's not until you're willing to go over a hundred that the quality really starts to change. So I'd rather not spend an extra ten or twenty bucks if it's not that much greater than the cheaper one.
Thanks all of you for your feedback so far. I should point out that yes, I am starting completely from scratch and this is the first time I've ever done anything like this. So once I get my case ordered I'll probably be asking you for help again.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
The motherboard will allow me to upgrade the processor to the i7 which I'll do at a later time. I think the i5 will work just fine for me in the meantime. Same with the video card. I've read plenty of good reviews on the one that is in there already and I think when Diablo 3 comes out if I'm really not satisfied with how good the game looks then, then I'll upgrade it for sure.
This just seemed like a pretty good price for a barebones kit that included the video card already which like I said I can just easily upgrade at a later time. And I really dig that SSD harddrive. So soon I think I'll place my order for this then I just gotta look around for another fan and then a monitor. Yihuu!
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Most other barebone kits on that site don't come with a video card. And the ones on Newegg are a rather limited and really just begin with purchasing cases. So after rebate this thing is just under 800 dollars and I can get a nice monitor four about 150 so the entire system will be around 1000. If I bought a completely assembled machine at Best Buy this would all cost me at least 1500 I reckon.
Granted it would be nice if this one came with the i7.
Siaynoq's Playthroughs
Siaynoq's Playthroughs