The Computer Megathread

[Isaac Fox]

What the forget? My dad is actually forbidding me to buy a new computer to make Blockland work again, unless it's for something that "actually matters".

[Ad Bot]

[Dnitro]

so im looking at getting rid of this damn gpu bottleneck, so i need a new cpu/mobo.

i found this. is it a good deal, or could i get better for around the same price?

[Treynolds416]

so im looking at getting rid of this damn gpu bottleneck, so i need a new cpu/mobo.

i found this. is it a good deal, or could i get better for around the same price?

Looks pretty good to me

[Awdax]

CPU:  Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX  LGA1155 Motherboard  ($51.97 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Mushkin Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card  ($164.98 @ Newegg)
Case:  Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply  ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer  ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $572.85
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
New build. Comments? Suggestions? Compatibility?

[Doomonkey]

-snip-
New build. Comments? Suggestions? Compatibility?

Your motherboard is a Micro ATX while your case is ATX. You may be able to fit the motherboard in there, but I have no idea if the slots will match up.

[Awdax]

Motherboard Compatibility: ATX, Micro ATX

So the motherboard will fit. I'm not sure about everything else though.

[Awdax]

So someone told me that the video card I selected needs a PSU with two 6-pin connectors.

Here is my set-up again:

-snip-

Here is the new PSU I am selecting.

Is this PSU alright for the GPU? Is there anything else incompatible?

New and hopefully final PSU selection.
Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

New list:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor
Motherboard:  ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX  LGA1155 Motherboard  ($51.97 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Mushkin Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card  ($164.98 @ Newegg)
Case:  Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply  ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer  ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $477.86
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-12 17:14 EDT-0400)

Everything check out alright?

[pecon98]

I have that Gpu, 100% recommend.

Also Micro ATX mobo's live up to their name, they're kinda cramped. I would recommend a full ATX mobo if you can.

[Awdax]

I'll probably upgrade it in the future. For now I'm not looking for anything special. Thanks for the information though!

EDIT: Okay! PcPartPicker says they're all compatible, I just want to make sure with you guys.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard:  ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX  LGA1155 Motherboard  ($51.97 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Mushkin Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card:  Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1GB Video Card  ($164.98 @ Newegg)
Case:  Thermaltake VM600M1W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:  Antec 550W ATX12V Power Supply  ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:  Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer  ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor:  Acer G205HVbd 20.0" Monitor  ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full (32/64-bit)  ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $852.83
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-13 02:01 EDT-0400)

I promise this is the last set-up, haha. As you probably already know I'm looking to use this as a gaming desktop. Games like Blockland and L4D2 for starters. In the future I'll upgrade it to something more powerful when I need to.

Again, just hoping this is all compatible. I'm going to run it by someone else anyways, but second opinions are always welcome!

[Dnitro]

-snip-

personally, id get a bigger hard drive, but other than that it's a good setup.

[Awdax]

Alright, good to know.

About the HDD, I don't think I would need anything larger. I still have 203GB of free space on my laptop. With this build, I'd probably get a bit more games - and I'll be able to record them without too much trouble since I'll have a better setup, and those .avi files will take up a lot of space.

But that's just me.

[Marcem]

Why are you getting a micro ATX motherboard?

[Awdax]

What's wrong with it?

From what I can see it's compatible with the CPU, RAM, GPU and stuff. And the case supports mATX.

[HerpaDerp]

mATX motherboards are usually the lowest quality motherboards and also have barely any room for expansion.

[Awdax]

What motherboard would you suggest than?

Is this alright?
ECS P67H2-A3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

EDIT: Also, the total is already around $850. I want to keep it somewhere around there. If I have to downgrade something okay. As long as everything is compatible.