This is the build I recommend to PC gamer that want a computer that can play any game out there with pretty good FPS:

 

CPU:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

 

Thermal paste for CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

 

MotherBoard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

 

Graphics card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130826

 

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017

 

HardDrive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

 

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

 

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

 

 

Now feel free to change out the motherboard with another Z77 montherboard. Any mondern day Z77 motherboard will support everything I just posted there. This is just a default build I recommend everyone at 1st then build off of that...

 

Seeing as it appears you're going with a stock heatsink for this build, wouldn't the thermal paste be unnecessary?  And I'd personally go a small bit higher for the PSU; perhaps a 650w?  This is the one I have in my rig now and it has held up to everything I've thrown at it;

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052

 

Also, for those looking for a good mobo substitution, the Gigabyte I have has worked marvelously for me and has a good feature set;

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128546

Edited March 31, 201313 yr by FCV96

I'd look into shelling out the extra bit of cash for a 660Ti, it can make a big difference vs. the stock 660. And yeah, I'd get a different heatsink if you're buying an unlocked processor. The whole point of an unlocked CPU is to overclock it.

This is the verbatim build I ended up doing for myself:

Intel Core i7 3770K CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544

PNY XLR8 nVidia GeForce GTX 670 GPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133452

NZXT Apollo SECC Black Steel Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146025

Zalman CNPS5X Performa Heatsink/Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118128

I already have 6GB of OCZ Reaper DDR3 RAM and a 1200W Thermaltake Toughpower PSU from my previous build that I'm just going to re-use for this system. I got a new copy of Windows 8 Pro recently so everything should be nice and modern once I piece it together. With some luck, I should be up and running again by or before this weekend. The things I posted up above were non-negotiable as far as change-outs were concerned, as I needed a standard PCI slot on my motherboard, plus overclocking potential, and I had a set amount of money I could spend from my tax refund. It's never a good time to have a computer die on you, but this was the best timing I can imagine since I got a decent chunk of money back from Uncle Sam that covers almost all of the cost here.

Edited April 5, 201313 yr by Jay
Fixed a board software bug preventing this post from showing correctly

Seeing as it appears you're going with a stock heatsink for this build, wouldn't the thermal paste be unnecessary?  And I'd personally go a small bit higher for the PSU; perhaps a 650w?  This is the one I have in my rig now and it has held up to everything I've thrown at it;

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052

 

Also, for those looking for a good mobo substitution, the Gigabyte I have has worked marvelously for me and has a good feature set;

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128546

 

1.) There is no need to have that extra unless your going to run like 400 fans. As this build stands it uses around 444 WATTs. That 600 watt power supply is plenty... Now lets say I add another hard drive, that only adds about 20 more watts. No need for that extra 50.... If anything you could go with a 550 and be fine.

 

2.) Gigabyte has a horrible reputation with motherboards failing, has terrible customer support. ASUS motherboards have been the top selling motherboards, they are reliable, customer support is awesome, and ther motherboards have features that no other company has. That one I linked, has a built in trouble shooter, has lights that can tell you if something isnt working right. Such as the RAM, Graphics card, CPU ect... I have used Gigabyte before I had that motherboard for about 3 months before it died on me... My first motherboard was an old ASUS and it lasted about 3 years (it still works, as I use it to trouble shoot PSU's and graphics cards) before I decided to upgrade and get a better CPU. Right now I have a ASUS motherboard and I haven't had 1 problem since I got it about 5 months ago.

I'd look into shelling out the extra bit of cash for a 660Ti, it can make a big difference vs. the stock 660. And yeah, I'd get a different heatsink if you're buying an unlocked processor. The whole point of an unlocked CPU is to overclock it.

This is the verbatim build I ended up doing for myself:

Intel Core i7 3770K CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116501

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128544

PNY XLR8 nVidia GeForce GTX 670 GPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133452

NZXT Apollo SECC Black Steel Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146025

Zalman CNPS5X Performa Heatsink/Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118128

I already have 6GB of OCZ Reaper DDR3 RAM and a 1200W Thermaltake Toughpower PSU from my previous build that I'm just going to re-use for this system. I got a new copy of Windows 8 Pro recently so everything should be nice and modern once I piece it together. With some luck, I should be up and running again by or before this weekend. The things I posted up above were non-negotiable as far as change-outs were concerned, as I needed a standard PCI slot on my motherboard, plus overclocking potential, and I had a set amount of money I could spend from my tax refund. It's never a good time to have a computer die on you, but this was the best timing I can imagine since I got a decent chunk of money back from Uncle Sam that covers almost all of the cost here.

 

 

I meant to link a heatsink don't know why I didn't. But the only reason why I didnt link the 660TI is because this is a demo build people build off of and take stuff off and add different things on. I would highly recommend a 660TI, but if you are on a budget thats when you get the 660...

Edited April 5, 201313 yr by Jay
Fixing a bug

Firstly, laptops aren't upgradeable, you're stuck with what you have until you buy a new one.

No. HP says my laptops CPU can be upgraded. Although its not easy to do, my model can be. It can only be upgraded with the list of CPUs in the manual. I want to know which AMD cpu is good enough.

Gigabyte has a horrible reputation according to who? HardwareCancuks.com slated them at #2 in sales volume last year, only losing out to ASUS, and many of their boards, including the one I ordered were generally well reviewd. As far as tech support is concerned, I can't comment as I haven't dealt with them yet. That being said, ASUS isn't at platinum level either. In a Laptop Magazine review a few years ago, when asked to help setup Windows Homegroup, ASUS was able to tell them how, but not what Homegroup actually did. And as far as quality is concerned, I love ASUS, but two of their boards have died on me in the past. As a matter of fact, my current board, the ASUS M4A79T Deluxe, died after a year of ownership. But I didn't let that failure detour me, since simply put; stuff happens. Many of their electronics are mass produced by a company called Pegatron. And I could have just simply got a dud. So I bought the exact same one again, and it's working right now. I'll see if I can sell it once I get my new PC together. I didn't get an ASUS this time because I needed specific types of slots, with OC capability, with a specific price point and a reputable brand. So I went with Gigabyte. I've owned MSI and eVGA boards in the past too, and they also did well for the most part. The MSI's northbridge fan failed after 3 years which caused it to overheat and reboot at random. Again, stuff happens.

Regarding power supplies, it's always better to have more wattage than less. Remember that a PSU that quotes 550W has 550W at it's peak volume. It doesn't consistently run at 550. And it's always good to be able to accomodate other devices for those who wish to put in other heavy duty devices like another graphics card for an SLI or CrossFireX setup. It may also futureproof your machine. I've had the same Thermaltake 1200W Toughpower PSU since the year 2006. This upcoming build of mine will be the third computer in a row I've used it in. It's been a great investment. People do need to be careful of amperage too. I blew out a 1000W BFGTech PSU trying to power an 8800GTX because it didn't supply enough amperage on the 12v rail connecting to my graphics card. I made sure not to make the same mistake twice.

On a previous note, apparently my last post of my build specs didn't show up properly, and I'm not sure why. Lets try this again.


Intel Core i7 3770K CPU

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H Motherboard

PNY XLR8 nVidia GeForce GTX 670 GPU

NZXT Apollo SECC Black Steel Case

Zalman CNPS5X Performa Heatsink/Fan

Also bucky16, have fun with that. You're likely either going to have to do a BIOS flash and a complete teardown yourself, or send it out to the factory which will likely cost the same amount as the CPU chip itself with shipping costs.

Edited March 31, 201313 yr by unr3al

1.) There is no need to have that extra unless your going to run like 400 fans. As this build stands it uses around 444 WATTs. That 600 watt power supply is plenty... Now lets say I add another hard drive, that only adds about 20 more watts. No need for that extra 50.... If anything you could go with a 550 and be fine.

 

2.) Gigabyte has a horrible reputation with motherboards failing, has terrible customer support. ASUS motherboards have been the top selling motherboards, they are reliable, customer support is awesome, and ther motherboards have features that no other company has. That one I linked, has a built in trouble shooter, has lights that can tell you if something isnt working right. Such as the RAM, Graphics card, CPU ect... I have used Gigabyte before I had that motherboard for about 3 months before it died on me... My first motherboard was an old ASUS and it lasted about 3 years (it still works, as I use it to trouble shoot PSU's and graphics cards) before I decided to upgrade and get a better CPU. Right now I have a ASUS motherboard and I haven't had 1 problem since I got it about 5 months ago.

 

I don't think it is necessarily fair to judge Gigabyte as a company based upon a single sour experience.  I've clearly had a good experience as my mobo works flawlessly and hasn't self-destructed.  Each company generally has their good and bad units based upon the highly variable assembly and production process.  I can probably say the same thing regarding Asus for particular experiences.  Both Gigabyte and Asus, however, are admirable and have been in the business for quite some time. 

 

And as Unr3al said, a higher wattage is always welcome provided it is in your price range. 

Looks like I got my new PC up and running properly (typing this on it right now). I just need to stress test it to see how it handles games. I installed Unreal Tournament III on it and played a round, worked out well. I'm installing GTA IV currently, and I'll put an ENB on it with LCPDFR and try it tomorrow. I don't have time to put everything on it tonight since I have work tomorrow. I'll let you fellas know tomorrow, and look into posting some screenshots, and FPS averages I get in some games.

Is the 3770k really necessary? Isn't the 3570k effectively the same when it comes to actual, noticeable performance? Also, what about the NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti? What kind of FPS could I get in GTA IV on max settings, or Battlefield 3 on Ultra?

 

Thanks.

for those that wana get a laptop id recommend getting a quad core acer laptop its what im currently using for my game and the average fps is about 25 I can run some enbs pretty decent but in the long run wouldn't recommend it, as soon as gta v comes out ill be upgrading to a desktop just not much you can do to a laptop but its useful for traveling

Is the 3770k really necessary? Isn't the 3570k effectively the same when it comes to actual, noticeable performance? Also, what about the NVIDIA GTX 660 Ti? What kind of FPS could I get in GTA IV on max settings, or Battlefield 3 on Ultra?

 

Thanks.

I wanted it because it had HyperThreading, more Cache and generally runs at cooler temps. The 3770K wins out in most benchmarks, specifically those that feature programs that know how to take advantage of HyperThreading. I usually spend about $300 on my CPU chips, so beyond my pricing limit; I'll make no compromises. The 660Ti is a good enough card. It's a gamer on a budget card, sort of like how the 3570K is a gamer on a budget CPU. I bought the 670 because it's about a 5% difference between itself and the 680, and a small OC will fix that. The 660Ti is more noticeable. Regarding GTA IV, I don't know how it would run in GTA IV or Battlefield 3 since I don't have one. Worse than my setup, I'm sure. I usually maintain 40-75FPS on surface streets in GTA IV, 120FPS+ indoors with everything maxed. I've dipped as low as 28FPS, it generally has to do with heavy shadow casting and bloom lighting effects. With everything maxed out the way it is, I don't think there would be room for an ENB with high framerates. It would make the game playable, but barely, and those spots that are 28FPS would probably drop to 14FPS. Battlefield 3 I already had on Ultra with my older Phenom II CPU and my 570GTX, I just had to turn FSAA down to almost nothing, generally had around 45FPS in multiplayer. This time I have it at 16X, haven't tested it beyond the first singleplayer mission.

Edited April 9, 201313 yr by unr3al

I wanted it because it had HyperThreading, more Cache and generally runs at cooler temps. The 3770K wins out in most benchmarks, specifically those that feature programs that know how to take advantage of HyperThreading. I usually spend about $300 on my CPU chips, so beyond my pricing limit; I'll make compromises. The 660Ti is a good enough card. It's a gamer on a budget card, sort of like how the 3570K is a gamer on a budget CPU. I bought the 670 because it's about a 5% difference between itself and the 680, and a small OC will fix that. The 660Ti is more noticeable. Regarding GTA IV, I don't know how it would run in GTA IV or Battlefield 3 since I don't have one. Worse than my setup, I'm sure. I usually maintain 40-75FPS on surface streets in GTA IV, 120FPS+ indoors with everything maxed. I've dipped as low as 28FPS, it generally has to do with heavy shadow casting and bloom lighting effects. With everything maxed out the way it is, I don't think there would be room for an ENB with high framerates. It would make the game playable, but barely, and those spots that are 28FPS would probably drop to 14FPS. Battlefield 3 I already had on Ultra with my older Phenom II CPU and my 570GTX, I just had to turn FSAA down to almost nothing, generally had around 45FPS in multiplayer. This time I have it at 16X, haven't tested it beyond the first singleplayer mission.

Thanks for the detailed response! I am building my second rig now and have chosen the GTX 670 and the 3570k. I am holding off on ordering the parts since I am still on the fence about the CPU. The extra $100 for the 3770k would hold me off another month or 2 until I get the extra money together, I'm still not sure if it's worth it. The thing that amazes me is that GTA IV came out in 2008, and even with today's most advanced hardware, we still have a problem running it with high FPS!

Edited April 9, 201313 yr by Senatov

It was just a poorly coded console port, plain and simple. And it shouldn't have been this hard to run. The XBOX and XBOX 360 are both based on PC parts, so the coding for modern games is extremely similar. They didn't even add in the ability to have FSAA which is one of the main graphical advantages of PC versions of console based games. That just goes to show you how little effort Rockstar put into it. GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas never had these kind of problems. They ran fine on moderate hardware and brilliantly on good hardware. Even with high polygon count cars. Plus they never had the 'taxi glitch' error back then either.

What settings are you supposed to run an ENB on then? What frame rates do you get with it?

Thanks for the help by the way

It's up to what kind of hardware you have. I tested an ENB (not necessarily the best looking one that exists) on my system with everything in GTA IV maxed out, and it runs around 40 fps or so. Sometimes over, sometimes under. It wouldn't be acceptable performance for multiplayer, nor for video recording. But otherwise it's playable. The only high polygon count cars I have loaded in are the police cars. Everything else has been left alone so far.

as the title says best Video Card, Processor, operating system  please leave description and link if possible Im looking for 30 fps with GTAIV,LCPD-FR,ELS,Simple Trainer, Mods,Scripts,Frap* running., Thanks,God Speed, ~Ficdawg. say $700-$750 limit for tower hardware...Video Card, Processor, operating system. 

 

Make sure you get a nice processor, quad-core i5 or i7 and a decent video card with 1gig minimum, I like ATI gaming cards.  Everything else you can upgrade later.  

 

Check out Newegg.com and even Ebay has pretty good prices, although most of the ebay machines do not have OS's installed to keep the prices really low.

 

Good day,

DrDetroit

Thanks Dr.D i have my computer guru that is going to help me jus upgrade my tower...hes just not a Gamer but knows hot to put a Tower together..thanks again Dr.D.

i will be leaving for the united states Army soon and i use to be a pro css player just quit for a long time and got really rusty, but i have an Acer Aspire 3200 with a GeForce 9200 Gfx card it runs like crap but it kinda does the job (not Really), depending on how much i will make or if i get my sign on bonus i wanna get a computer that will run gta iv and lcpdFr mod at ease with no lag at all and i wanna be able to record my games that i play. i was thinking something like this.. if you can find something cheaper for me that will run gta iv and lcpdFr and other games let me know not really looking to spend that much but maybe like $800 but help would be much appreciated

 

the price is $1375

 

 

Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Maximum 120MM Case Cooling Fans for your selected case Noise Reduction Technology: Sound Absorbing Foam on Side, Top And Bottom panels CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-3770K 3.50 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 (All Venom OC Certified) Performance Tuning Protection Plan by Intel: None Venom Boost Fast And Efficient Factory Overclocking: No Overclocking Cooling Fan: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan) Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant Motherboard: [CrossFireX] MSI Z77A-G41 Intel Z77 Chipset DDR3 ATX Mainboard w/ IRST, Winki 3, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB3.0, SATA-III RAID, 2x PCIe X16 (1 Gen3, 1 Gen2), 2 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI Intel Smart Response Technology for Z77: 30 GB Corsair Nova 2 SATA II 3.0Gb/s SSD - 270MB/s Read & 220MB/s Write (Single Drive) Memory: 16GB (4GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand) Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 1GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA) Freebies: None Video Card 2: AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by AMD) Freebies: None Video Card 3: None Power Supply Upgrade: 600 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready Hard Drive: 64GB SanDisk SATA III 6.0Gb/s SSD - 490 MB/s Read & 240 MB/s Write (Single Drive) Data Hard Drive: None Hard Drive Cooling Fan: None External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None USB Flash Drive: None Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR) Optical Drive 2: None External Optical Drive: None Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO   Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network Keyboard: AZZA Multimedia USB Gaming Keyboard Mouse: AZZA Optical 1600dpi Gaming Mouse with Weight Adjustable Cartridge Mouse Pad: None Headset: Cooler Master Storm Sonuz Gaming Headset w/ Flexible Headband & Detachable Microphone Gaming Gear: None Extra Thermal Display: None Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card: None External Wireless Network Card: None Wireless 802.11 B/G/N Access Point: None Bluetooth: None Flash Media Reader/Writer: None Video Camera: None Tablet: None Cable: 10-FT HDMI v1.4 Cable Type-A Male to Male High Speed Cable (1 piece) Power Protection: None IEEE1394 Card: None Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports USB Port: None Operating System: Microsoft® Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition) Media Center Remote Control & TV Tuner: None Office Suite: Free Microsoft® Office® 2010 STARTER EDITION (Reduced-Functionality versions of Word and Excel that include advertising) Games: None Ultra Care Option: None Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT Rush Service: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS

 

I'd lose the 16GB of RAM and cut that in half, spend more on the graphics card, and I'd consider getting Windows 8 so you can run with less resource usage and make use of Direct X 11.1 when it comes out. Also why in the world would you only have a 64GB solid state for a hard drive? You won't be able to fit anything on that.

Edited April 27, 201312 yr by unr3al

I'd lose the 16GB of RAM and cut that in half, spend more on the graphics card, and I'd consider getting Windows 8 so you can run with less resource usage and make use of Direct X 11.1 when it comes out. Also why in the world would you only have a 64GB solid state for a hard drive? You won't be able to fit anything on that.

i was just using that as example i have a 1 TB external hard drive with all my gaming mods and games on it but i understand i wont get an amazing gaming computer with only 800 so it all depends on if i can get an apartment instead of the barracks and it also depends on my fiance' but i appreciate the advice. is there a way you think i can get most of my lagging to stop with the setup i have now or something so that when i do run the mod i can still make traffic stops and go to call outs with out the whole city not showing up like when i start it up the buildings and road go away any suggestions how i can improve all that stuff?